This is my first attempt at creating my contents page. After completing my research; i decided to go against the conventions of an indie magazine contents page. This is because i wanted to experiment and see which layout was most asthetically pleasing. ...

I chose to use this as my final front cover because it looked more asthetically pleasing and i found that it attracted the correct audience. I layed the page out conventional to most music magazines, this is because i didnt want to risk it not looking like a typical indie magazine. I chose the colour scheme as mainly black,grey and blue. This was because it was a calm tone and looked good when it was put together. But i also added some yellow to the page so that certain things were able to stand out and capture the readers attention. I chose the title to be "project indie"; this was so that it was easy to see who the magazine was aimed at and what it is about. Overall i think the cover of my magazine project is high quality and looking back on my preliminary project; i can see how much my skills and techniques have improved.

This image will be used for my main front cover image. This is because it is a good quality, semi-professional and portrays typical indie's. I had stuck to the rule that my main image has to be a medium close up, i wasnt sure whether this would work at first but after several shots i managed to get the lighting background, facial expressions and overall mood of the image to fit the genre.

Questionnaire:

1) Are you male or female?
2) What type of music do you listen to?
3) Why do you prefer this music?
4) If there are any, what type of new music would you like to try?
5) What attracts you to a magazine?
6) In a magazine, what makes a good contents page?
7) What do you like best about a magazines front cover?

I asked 20 people to fill in my questionnaire and these are the results that i got back:

1) female - 11
male - 9

2)RnB - 5
Indie - 9
Rock - 6

3)Enables me to express my emotions - 7
Sounds interesting - 6
I like the band/artist - 7

4)Classic - 3
Indie - 6
Pop - 5
Punk - 4
Metal - 2

5)The colour scheme - 4
The cover artists - 6
Promotions - 2
Layout - 5
Price - 3

6)Easy layout - 9
Only main articles - 3
Lots of pictures - 5
Messy layout - 3

7)Colour scheme - 7
Font - 4
Mise-en-scene - 2
Images - 5
Promotions - 2




Here are some of the names i thought of for my indie magazine:

• Domination
• Indie Traumatic
• Project:INDIE
• Silent!Space
• Distortion
• IndieGO

The name i decided to use is... Project:INDIE. This is because i thought it stood out and had originality. The title looks like it belongs to a music magazine and it clearly shows the audience that the magazine is based on indie music.

Colour scheme:

Title: I chose to do the title the way i did on the front cover of the school magazine because it is fun and it also appeals to the younger generations in the school. The colours for the title are blue and yellow, this is the same colour scheme as the school logo. The title of the magazine is conventional, it is in the top left hand side of the cover.

Images: I chose to have a picture of a pupil playing the trumpet on the front cover because the school is a specialist music college and it shows how much fun people have in their time at school. The camera shot is a medium close-up. This is the top half of the torso. I chose this type of shot so that people can see the school uniform and can also see what he is doing. The lighting on the picture is fairly light, this is because it is next to windows. I used the lighting from the classroom windows to make the picture seem natural and appropriate.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme for my preliminary project is based on the colours of the Biddulph High School logo. The colours are blue and yellow. I decided to use different shades of blue's and yellow's to make the cover eye-catching and attractive.

The main image: The main image on the cover of my preliminary cover is of a pupil playing the trumpet. I decided to use this picture because it shows what kind of practical things go on in the school, how much fun pupils have during school and the fact that it is a specialist music college. The camera angle is a mid-shot. This is so that people can see the top half of the music students body, they also need to see the musical instrument; which enables them to see that it is a music college.

Fonts: The title font is from 1001fonts.com, i used this because it had a variety of fonts ranging from calligraphy to rock/stone. I used this particular font because it is the kind of font used for college's. The font is all in capital letters, i decided to do this so it stands out from the background and makes the cover eye-catching. The colour scheme used for the title font is blue, yellow and black. This is because the colour scheme of the school and its logo is blue, yellow and black.

Layout: I chose a simple layout for the cover of the newsletter, this is so that it is easy to read and students are able to read the cover quickly. I decided not to put lots of information on the front cover, this is so that it doesnt look to over-crowded. If the cover was over-crowded then the students might not be bothered to read it. The main article is written in the centre of the cover, overlapping the main image, this is so that it is clear what the magazine is about and what is going to be the main thing to read about. The pictures at the bottom of the cover show what else is in the newsletter and makes the pupils want to read further about the different articles.

Title: The title is conventionally in the top left hand corner of the page. I decided to put it on a slant so that it attracts the readers eye and makes the page more interesting. The colours of the title are blue, yellow and black. I did this so that they are the same as the school colour scheme and logo. I used the same font as the cover so that the pupils can see that they are related.

Images: I used 3 different images for the contents page. This is because there are 3 main articles for the issue. All of the images have something to do with music because the school is a specialist music college. The pictures i used show what goes on at school and how much fun the pupils have during their time at school. These factors attract people to read the information. The camera shots used in the images are mainly medium close ups. This is so you can see the pupils emotions but also what they are doing. The lighting for the images are all fairly bright. I did this purposely so that it represents a fun, bubbly and enjoyable atmosphere.

Colour scheme: The colour scheme used throughout the whole preliminary product is blue, yellow and black. This is because the colours are based on the school colour scheme and logo. I did this so that the pupils can clearly see that it is a school newsletter containing information about school.

Fonts: The fonts used are all from 1001fonts.com, i discovered this website when doind my research. It is a good website because there is a variety of fonts to choose from depending on what you want to do. I used these kinds of fonts because they are fun and typical school type's of fonts.

Layout: The layout for the contents page is more complex than the front cover. This is because it needs to contain more information about what is in the magazine. The headings of the articles are bigger than the actual analysis of them because i need to attract the pupils to read them. Therefore, making them bigger would emphasise the headings and make them more eye-catching. The pictures are slanted to different degree's of rotation, this is so that they seem fun and also stand out from the rest of the magazine. I decided to make the images stand out alot more than the rest of the information so that the pupils get easily attracted to them. Younger people are more likely to look at pictures rather than the actual information.

Title: The title of the page is in contrasting colours; blue, black and white. The font of the title is in a sci-fi theme, which portrays the style of the magazine. The size is a lot larger than the other writing on the pages, which shows how the magazine editors have tried to make the title stand out and capture the readers attention instantly.



Images: The images are all cartoons, which makes the magazine seem less formal. The images are all of particular risks. This implies that the magazine was created to inform people and give information rather than gossip or music news.



Fonts and colours: The fonts are particularly sci-fi, which gives away the mood of the magazine. It also helps to attract the correct target audience for the magazine. The subheadings are in blue and black, this ties them in with the main title but also makes them stand out from the rest of the article. It makes it obvious that they are headings for different pieces of information on the page. If people want to quickly see what's in the article, they can clearly read the subheadings to see what is in it.




Title: The title of this NME contents page isn’t conventional, a typical contents page would have “contents” as the title. This magazine has “NME this week” as the title. They did this to make it less formal and be able to attract the correct audience efficiently. The title is in capital letters to make it stand out and so it is clearly the title.
Images: The main image on the page is also the image for the main article. It has writing over it, this suggests that the band needs an image aswell as a caption, so that the audience knows exactly who they are. The image is fairly dull, which suggests the genre is rock.
Fonts and colours: The colours on the page are red, black and white. This is so that the red writing stands out from the rest. They have used to red writing to show the band index and the NME title. The white background makes all of the writing and images stand out to attract the audience. The subheadings have a black background, this is so that they stand out and people will instantly read them.







Title: The middle of the magazine title is covered, this has been done because the magazine brand is well known and the audience doesn’t need to know the name. The colour of the title is pink. This contrasts with the background and makes the title stand out more. The title is in capital letters which also makes it more. It is spread across the top of the cover making it a conventional title.




Images: There is only one image of the cover of the magazine. It is a picture of a women posing. The pose is girly, casual and fashionable, this suggests that the magazine is aimed more at females who are fashion conscious. The model wears a purple dress which contrasts from the background but also matches the sub-title next to her.




Fonts and Colours: The colours used on the cover of this magazine are black, pink, purple and white. The editor uses the pink writing in the article analysis to emphasis certain words which describe it and attract the readers to the article subject. Purple is used once on the subheading;' first look at fall’, this is because it is the main article in the magazine so it needs to be the main thing that catches the readers attention and makes them want to read more.





Placement: The main image is placed in the middle of the magazine cover, it is done in this way so that the audience knows who and what the magazine is about. The subheadings and article analysis' are placed around the edge of the models body. This has been done so that the body and face is emphasised. The title is written over her arms but not her face. This shows how important her face is to the cover and branding of the magazine. There is also writing on her lower body, this shows that the models body is also unimportant.

Title: the title of the double page spread is “samata x”. It doesn’t stand out too much, which makes it not as clear to the audience as it could be. The title is larger than the information underneath it, the editors have done this so that it is obvious what the title is. The colour of the title is black, this is so that it stands out from the background and catches the readers eye.



Images: The main image stands out a lot from the background and the other pieces of information on the pages, the woman overlaps the 3 images on the left side of the page, this suggests that she is more important and the key piece of the article. Her pose is strong and shows that she is confident at what she is doing. Her clothes are blue, denim and brown. All of these colours stand out from the white background and capture the readers attention.



Fonts and colours: The fonts and colours of this double page spread are fairly simple. The font is small, which gives the impression that the images are the most important part of the article. The font of the writing is simple and plain, this fits the genre and mood of the magazine because the atmosphere of the page is calm and peaceful.



Title: The title of this page isn’t contents, it is.. “NME this week”. The magazine editors have done this because “contents” doesn’t really fit with the genre. Due to the title being less formal, it will attract the right people for the magazine. The title is in a light colour and the background is in a dark green. This makes the title stand out and shows clearly that it is the pages title.



Images: The images on this page are of articles inside the magazine. This is good for the brand because the audience can see what's inside the magazine before they look through it. The images are small because they are not as important as the features and descriptions. Although there is no writing over the pictures, to make sure the audience can see them clearly.



Fonts and colours: The colour theme for this contents page is green, white and red. All of these colours contrast each other a lot. The magazine has done this so that certain things stand out and catch the readers eye easily. The NME title is in red, they have done this so the reader can see the brand. This suggests that they needed to do this so people know the brand of the magazine. The fonts are all in capital letters, which shows the informality of the brand. It also makes the writing clear and easy to read.







Title: The title is in the top, left-hand corner of the magazine cover. This is a conventional title because it is placed where the audience expects it to be. The title stands out from the background and the rest of the cover because it is bright red. This catches the readers eye so they see the brand of the magazine as soon as they see the cover.




Images: The main image is of Arcade Fire, people may not know this, so therefore in the middle of the image is contrasting white writing; ‘arcade fire’. The band covers a small corner of the title, this suggests that the magazine brand is well known. It could also suggest that because the title isn't covered completely that some people haven't heard/seen the brand.



Subheadings: The subheadings are smaller than the main titles but the colour of the writing contrasts with the background, making it stand out so they audience can clearly see them.



Mise-En-Scene: The only mise-en-scene on the cover is the small image under the title of the magazine. The editor will have placed it there because it is underneath the conventional title and easily viewable.



Fonts and Colours: The main colour scheme of the magazine cover is black, blue and red. The black background is used so that the blue and red writing stands out easily and the audience can read the text. The main article is in bright blue, this has been done because the audience's eyes will be attracted to the writing and invite them to read to whole magazine. The white writing tends to be used for the other, less important articles titles and then the summary of the article is written in red. This is done because all of the colours contrast and make the magazine seem fun and interesting to read.


Placement: The main image is placed in the middle of the magazine, this is so that it is clear who the magazine is writing about in that issue. The other articles and placed around the edge of the picture, this is so the audience can see the bands face but shows that their bodies are less important so they can be covered with writing. The title is placed in the top, left hand corner of the page, this is conventional because that is where most titles are considered to be.

Title: The title of the magazine is unconventional, it is in the centre of the first page. This was done so that it is different and unique, also so that it attracts people to the difference of the magazine. The colour of the title blends in with the colours of the mise-en-scene (mainly clothes). The colours are bland, but the gold and black fits the RnB genre of the magazine.

Images: There is only one image on this double page spread, which shows that the writing is more important than the images. The picture is of a band and is large, it takes up over half of the double page. This emphasises the importance of the band and clearly shows what the article is going to be about. The main person out of the band is in a bold colour whereas the other members of the band are faded into the background, this hints that they are less important and the one in the bolder colour is the most important person.



Fonts and colours: The colours are simple, but very effective. They are black and gold, this ties in with the genre, which is RnB. These colours also add a calm and considerate tone to the magazine. The font is small and simple. Part of the article is written in white with a black background, this makes the audience want to read that part before the rest, which helps to show the main importance to the article.


Titles: On this contents cover, the title of the magazine is in a large bold font at the top centre of the contents page. This could suggest that the magazine name isnt well known, so emphasis of the title throughout the magazine will make it easier for people to rememeber the name. Also, there isnt anything covering the title at all, which also suggests the brand isnt very well known. The black colour of the "drummer" title makes it stand out from the white background. But the contents title is white on a red background, which makes it stand out moreso, this is done to make sure the reader knows excatly which is the main title for the contents page.



Images: The main, largest image on the contents page is linked to the main article in the magazine. This image has "exclusive" written over it, this may be so that the readers know that it is the main, exclusive article in the magazine. The lighting on the two smaller images at the bottom of the page are alot lighter, this makes them stand out from the background, but also makes the main image stand out and clearly shows that its the main article.



Fonts and colours: The colour scheme of the contents page is red, white and black. This is fitting in with the genre as the genre is rock. They have done this so that it attracts the correct audience and makes them feel that the magazine has been created for them. The red colours are used to make certain things stand out, such as; the title, images and regular features. This is effective because people instantly look at the colours so they can see whats in the magazine each week.



Subheadings: The features and regulars subheadings are written in a colour that contrasts with the background. This is so that they are obvious and people will read it because they stand out. The subheadings are smaller than the main heading, suggesting it is less important. They aren't written over any pictures which shows that the images are more important and are used to capture the audience rather than the writing.


Title: The title of the magazine is ‘Kerrang’. This isn’t particularly easy to read because the writing is covered by the main image of the magazine, ‘Avenged Sevenfold’. The editors have done this because the brand is already well-known and established, so the name of the magazine is easily recognisable. The title is black and in capital letters, this makes it stand out from the background of the cover. The title of the magazine is spread across the top of the magazine, this makes it a conventional title.

Images: There are a few pictures on the cover of the magazine, this draws in the audiences attention and makes them want to read more. The main picture is of a band, Avenged Sevenfold. The pose for the cover is aggressive and angry, this suggests that the band is a heavy rock band. The people in the band wear black clothing and have tattoos. This suggests a rock theme throughout the magazine.

Fonts and Colours: The colour scheme on the cover of this magazine is mainly red, yellow, black and white. All of these colours stand out from each other and make the magazine look abstract and individual, this will catch the readers eye and make the magazine stand out from others. Red writing is used to emphasis the subtitles of other articles within the magazine. White writing is used for the analysis of the less important articles and also the main article heading. The editors use white writing for the main article heading so that it stands out from the black clothing that the band members are wearing.

Subheadings: The subheadings are written all across the bottom of the main image of the magazine, this suggests that the band members bodies are unimportant and that it is just the faces that people are interested in. The subheadings are written in red, this is so that it contrasts with the rest of the magazine and makes it stand out and catch the readers eye.

Title: The double page title is unconventional as it isn't in the top left corner of the page like people expect it to be. The title is actually in the centre of both pages in a bold font. It is placed on a bright blue background to make it stand out from the rest of the page and make it obvious that this is the title for the article.

Images: The key image to the article takes up a whole page. This shows that they are the main people that the article is based on. The people in the picture are holding a relaxed pose, this shows that the magazine takes a laid back approached.


Fonts and colours: The colour scheme on the double page is mainly blue, white and black. The editors have used blue to make certain things on the pages stand out. Such as; the title, features and what the band has said (speech). The article writing is black, they have done this so that the writing stands out from the black background. The fonts on the page are simple and easy to read, this is because the people that the magazine are aimed at (indies), tend to be laid back and calm.

I chose to have this as my inspirational product because i liked the layout and the colour scheme. i thought that this would be good to look at when designing my final product.

I have chosen to do print for my foundation portfolio. This is because i enjoy the aspects of magazine media and find the work interesting. I enjoy the photography and design aspect of print and it will also help me inprove my skills using a camera and the different angles etc.

Hiya, my name is Jade Breed. I am an AS media studies student currently creating a foundation portfolio. This blog is for putting all of my research, planning, ideas, analysis and final product. It will tell people how i am progressing and what i think is going well and what i think is going bad. I will need to update my blog often so that people are aware of what is going on with the project.


Project schedule: