Initial Frames: Double Page Spread 31/3/16

In the attached image you can see that I have drawn some rough frames in place for my double page spread on the inDesign program. On the left hand side, across the top of the page, I have drawn two horizontal boxes for the name of the artist and a headline. I have decided to reuse the dotted line separation bars so that the story is easier to read. Below this, there will be three vertical boxes for the interview with Clayton to be displayed. These are all the same width but vary in length. Beneath the first column, there is a smaller frame where I shall place another image of Clayton. 

On the right hand side of the page, there are minimal frames because the majority of the page will be taken up by the image. I want to keep this side very simple as I really want to take an image that contains mise-en-scene. The series of frames on the far right hand side will contain details such as the name of the magazine and the page number. I will also include a drop quote as these look very effective and intrigue the reader to read the entire interview. 

Sketching My Double Page Spread 29/3/16

Before I started creating my double page spread on inDesign, I decided to produce a rough sketch that would help me with the overall layout. I find this very helpful as it is an easy way of seeing how the text and image will look alongside each other. At this stage, I only drew the frames and a quick image to see if the layout would look eye-catching and effective. In general, I am pleased with how this turned out as although its only rough, I do believe it looks visually pleasing. 

A very common convention that I noticed when analysing previous magazines was that the main image would often take up an entire page. This was very common in Kerrang and Mojo magazines so I decided to use this idea on my own double page spread. I think this will look striking and immediately draw the readers attention due to its size. I do want it to remain fairly simple as not to clutter the pages as I think that having two busy pages side by side will look unprofessional. I really liked using black dotted line separation bars to divide up the text on my contents page so I have decided to include them here as well. 

I would like to have 3 columns of text as not to over complicate the page. This will keep the page looking structured and sophisticated. I want to use a drop capital at the start of my story as this is a very common magazine convention and helps the reader locate the beginning of the text. I also want to include a smaller image in the bottom left hand corner of the page to make the page more exciting. I am considering using mise-en-scene somewhere on this page as it will look effective and add a whole new level of creativity. 

My Rough Cut Front Cover Complete 28/3/16

Overall, I am very pleased with my rough cut front contents page. It looks stylish and professional which is exactly what I was aiming for.  The images stand out on the page as they are striking, bright and creative. As you can see, I decided to go with the long shot of Clayton as my target audience said it would be most suitable. I agree with this comment as I have numerous medium close-up shots already. I believe that carrying the same fonts through from my front cover looks effective as it makes the magazine flow and creates a brand identity. I think the arrow looks creative and definitely encourages me to read on.

There isn't much of a colour scheme as there are no bright colours on the page other than those within Clayton's outfit, the female duo's outfits and the social media logos. I continued the grey gradient from the front cover onto the contents page so that the magazine seems to flow. I believe that the amount of writing I have included is necessary although it is fairly difficult to differentiate between page number, title and blurb.

If I was to make any further improvements, I would firstly section off the heading so that the reader can see clear differences between the changes in stories. I will also change the colour scheme to make the page more exciting as at the moment it looks rather monotone. I also think that the pictures aren't that eye-catching and lack relevance. I will ensure that I change this in the future to make the page more visually pleasing.

I created this subscription voucher in the hopes that it would draw attention. By using luring devices such as discounts and free gifts, an audience would be more likely to subscribe. I kept it simple by using the generic 'Native' title which I coloured white and placed inside a black text box. This convention is very popular, particularly in NME magazine.

My Contents Page Images 26/3/16

TAKING PHOTOS FOR MY CONTENTS PAGE

To make the contents page more interesting, I wanted images of more than just Clayton. I decided to therefore take an image of a female duo that would be part of the 'new discoveries' section. I still wanted Clayton to wear the red and blue checked shirt, navy blue jacket and black jeans so that the theme seemed to follow throughout the entirety of the magazine. I took a number of images but chose my favourite 2 of Clayton to ask my target audience what their preferred photo was. I was happy with the first image I took of the females so decided to keep it.

Photo 1: Medium Close-up

For this photo, I wanted Clayton to relax a bit and show his more friendly and relaxed side. As I have a serious image of Clayton on the front, I asked him to smile and look off camera as if he was laughing at something in the distance. I was very pleased with the outcome of this photo as the colours are very vivid and the image is well focused. As the photo wasn't taken in-studio, the lighting wasn't suitable and therefore the image is very bright and there is a shadow behind him. If I use this image, I will manipulate it on Photoshop to alter the brightness and contrast. 

Photo 2: 2-shot Medium close-up



I have decided that this girl group will be known as the 'Urban Artists' as this is one of the new discovery group names. I wanted the image to be taken outdoors as the clothing the females are wearing wouldn't have looked as effective in-studio. The lighting in this image is perfect as you can easily see the facial expressions of the duo. I like the tree behind them as it links to the name of the magazine as the word 'Native' has connotations of nature and the outdoors. 

Photo 3: Long Shot



I really like this image of Clayton as the style of shot is very effective as we can see his entire body. He looks cool yet calm due to his relaxed facial expressions. The way I positioned him is striking and immediately draws attention as it is fairly powerful. The background is plain white but still looks effective as there is texture as well. This laid-back image will take pride of place on my contents page if it is chosen as favourite by my target audience.

Progress of Contents Page 24/3/16

Looking at the image below, it is visible that I have slowly been adding text in the

desired fonts as well as playing around with the layout and the size and colour of the arrow. I think that the idea of having dotted sectioning lines was a very clever as it looks effective and acts as a creative border as well. I have decided to use the same 'Native Alien' font for the title and 'Arial Narrow' for the main text. There are 8 headings followed by blurbs about what the pages have to offer- the majority of contents I analysed followed this convention. 

I am unsure as to whether or not I want a coloured background so for now I have decided to add a grey gradient inside the arrow to match the front cover. I have double underlined the section headers so that they stand out from the rest of the writing and also made the font larger for the page numbers so that they are easier to notice. I have chosen to place the city names where the magazine is most influential below the title as this is a personal touch that strengthens brand identity. This convention was found on the contents page of a Mojo magazine that I had previously analysed.

I have kept the right hand side empty ready to display my images but this is roughly the amount of room I would like them to cover. I don't want the images too close to the text as this may make the page look rather overcrowded. NME's contents pages are fairly cluttered yet still visually pleasing so I will still keep this option in mind. There isn't much of a colour scheme to carry through onto this page as I have kept all writing black. I think I may have to change this in the future if it doesn't look effective once my images are in place. 

Initial Frames: Contents Page 23/3/16

As you can see in the attached image, I have decided to draw some rough frames in place for the contents page of my magazine on the inDesign program. I have included a large frame across the top of the page for the location of the arrow and the word 'contents' to be displayed. Above this, I will have small details such as the month it was released. The series of thin frames down the left hand side of the page will contain all my story titles including their page numbers and a small blurb. I have drawn a large frame on the right had side as I would like to place numerous images of different sizes in here.

I haven't included frames for things such as social media links as I will wait and see what room I have left once the writing and images have been displayed. There will also be small brand identity details that I wish to include on the page. By including small things that link to the brand of the magazine, the magazine flows more effectively as similar features can be noticed throughout.

Sketching My Contents Page 20/3/16

Before I started creating my magazine contents page on inDesign, I decided to produce a rough sketch of my initial idea. This is a helpful way of seeing how the text shall fit alongside the images, gives me an understanding of font and image size and whether or not the layout will look effective overall. By only drawing the fames without writing at this stage, I can see if the layout will be suitable for the amount of text I desire to write. Additionally, by including small figurine drawings in the style of shot I would like to take, I can see if they look visually pleasing and suit the page.

As my front cover is fairly simple, I wanted to make my contents page more striking with a lot of text, numerous images and creative layout. I have therefore decided to have a large variety of stories. I am going to include 2 images and a subscription box advertising the magazine. I really like the idea of having black dotted line separation bars as they help to split up the page and look effective as the text and images are in there own sections.

Furthermore, I have chosen this layout as Mojo used a similar layout to this with the writing down the left hand side and image on the right. This convention is sophisticated and adds a sense of structure and formality. I think that a large arrow with 'contents' written inside it will look very striking and act as a luring device for readers to read on. I want to have small pieces of text and images that strengthen the brand identity of my magazine such as city names where the magazine has been most influential.

My Rough Cut Front Cover Complete 16/3/16

I am very happy with my rough cut front cover as I believe it is professional and sophisticated. The image stands out on the page and the striking facial expression and choice of styling makes it even more eye catching. I believe the fonts suit the genre as they are bold and the sharp and jagged edges may connote the fairly violent beat within some house and garage style songs. I think the arrow heads look creative and add a new dimension to the page. Additionally, they draw the readers attention straight to the name of the magazine.

I am pleased that I asked Clayton to look away from the camera as I think it may have looked intimidating if he was staring blankly at the reader. Moreover, by looking away, it adds a sense of intrigue as the reader is curious as to what the artists background is as there is no emotion in his eyes. There isn't much of a colour scheme as there are no bright colours on the page other than those within Clayton's outfit. I would like to change this in the future as it is an important convention in magazines to have a colour scheme throughout. 

If I was to make any further improvements, I would firstly change the colour scheme to make the page more exciting in general. I will also make the writing smaller so that it doesn't overlap Clayton and look unprofessional and difficult to read. I will also adapt my bar code as barcodes stereotypical contain long product identification codes. It may also be necessary to take a new photo for my front cover as I would like to change Clayton's outfit so that it doesn't clash with the new colour scheme. 

Progress of Front Cover 14/4/16

After re-evaluating my draft front cover, I decided to swap around some fonts, add a grey gradient background and re-position a few of the frames. I believe this layout and background will look better from afar as the gradient makes the writing more eye catching and more visually pleasing overall. As you can see, I have kept the writing black as not to take attention away from the main image. 

I created the gradient by drawing a large rectangular frame, selecting the window tab, clicking on gradient and altering the colours until I was happy with the shade of grey. I created a bar code on the photo shop programme by drawing a 1 by 1 selection bar and filling it with monochromatic 'noise'. I have left a large blank border around the outside of the page as any writing that overlaps the outer window will be cut off. 

As you can see, there isn't much space for my image but this is because I would like some of writing to overlap the image. Due to the fact that the image is a medium close-up shot, Clayton's face should fit neatly within the space I have left and his body should be the main piece covered by the text. I asked my target audience if they thought the front cover was attractive at this stage without the image and the consensus was that it was very pleasing to the eye. This has given me confidence in thinking it will look even more effective with the photoshopped image in place. 

Front Cover Image Manipulation 11/4/16

After showing my target audience the two images I had taken for my front cover, the final consensus was that the medium close-up was the preferred photo so I decided to take this advice and use it. As I stated in my previous blog, I was unable to take my images in-studio therefore the only white wall I had available also consisted of a door. Due to the height and broadness of my model, I couldn't fit him exactly on the walled area so had to position him so that he overlapped the door frame. This looks rather unprofessional so I decided to edit it using Photoshop. Here is the manipulated image:

To the left is the photo of Clayton that I shall be using on my front cover. I decided to completely remove the background as I would like to create a grey gradient and place it behind him. I managed to remove the background by using the magnetic lasso tool and carefully tracing around Clayton before inverting the process and deleting the background. Additionally, as you can tell, Clayton's hair is spiky and voluminous so I created a mask to neatly go around the individual strands of hair and make it as realistic as possible.

As well as removing the background, I also used the blemish tool to erase a few small imperfections. Once I was happy with the photo, I used the essentials bar (shown above) to alter the brightness, exposure, contrast, saturation and hue. By doing this, I had complete control on what his finished complexion would look like and made the image look more professional. 

Meet my Cover Artist 9/3/16

TAKING PHOTOS FOR MY FRONT COVER

Knowing that I wanted a young, male DJ on my front cover, I decided to ask my brother if he would model as 'Clayton James'. I believe he has the correct image for my magazine genre and looks very edgy with his dark hair and gingery beard. As I initially decided to have all black writing on my front cover, I wanted Clayton to wear fairly bright clothing to add a pop of colour. I decided to style him in a red and blue checked shirt with a navy blue jacket and black jeans. Here are the photos I took:

Photo 1: Mid-shot



For this image, I asked Clayton to look away from the camera, put his hands in his pockets and have a serious expression on his face. Although I was very pleased with the lighting, focus and colouring of this photo, I was unable to take it in-studio so unfortunately I didn't have a large enough white background to take the image against. Therefore there was a door frame and handle in the shot but I will still experiment on Photoshop to see if I can create a plain white backdrop and also remove the shadow from the side of his head.

Photo 2: Medium Close-up




For this photo, I wanted Clayton to maintain his serious facial expression as I thought this looked very effective and suited the genre of my magazine. I was very pleased with the outcome of this photo as it is bright, well focused and follows the rule of thirds method. Yet again I struggled with the issue of having a door frame in the image as well as a shadow so I shall attempt to remove this on Photoshop.

Choosing Fonts & Creating a Front Cover Draft 7/3/16

Before I took my photos I wanted to produce a quick draft version of my front cover so I got an idea of image sizes and how the text would fit around my photo. In order to make my magazine look professional and effective, I used the website 'DaFont' to select some creative and new typography styles for my front cover. I decided to use four different font types so that I could differentiate between the banner, story titles and blurb information. The four fonts I chose are as follows:

Once I was happy with the fonts I had chosen, I began to fill in the frames I had initially made with text. After analysing previous front covers I was already knowledgeable on the type of stories music magazines tend to display so immediately knew what to include. I chose to have 4 main stories displayed on my front cover covering the latest hits, new discoveries, globalisation of music and of course, my main artist story. 

In order to make my audience want to read on, I created puns for my story headlines, kept the blurbs short and snappy and thought of a unique cover artist name. As I wanted a male to be the DJ on the front cover, I thought it was necessary to have a powerful and striking name. I took inspiration from the name of the model (my brother) and swapped his first and last name to create 'Clayton James'. Here is the finished draft cover:

Initial Frames: Front Cover 4/3/16

I have began to put some rough frames in place for the front cover of my magazine on the inDesign program. I have included a large frame across the top of the page for the name of my magazine. There are two small, thin frames above this box where I shall place details such as the date, issue number, price and website. There are two frames on either side of the banner box where I have decided place a series of arrow heads. I believe this looks really effective as it draws your attention to the name of the magazine and fits in with the word 'Native' as they look like tribal markings. Here is an example:

>> NATIVE <<

The rest of the boxes will contain story titles and small blurbs.  the largest frame will contain my main image. As you can tell from my sketch, this image will consist of a male posing as a famous DJ. The large frame in the bottom right-hand corner will contain his name as this will have to be the largest piece of writing other than the banner. Information about the cover story will continue below the artists name. 

Sketching My Magazine Cover 3/3/16

Before I started creating my magazine cover on inDesign, I decided to produce a rough sketch of my idea. By doing this, I could see how the text would surround my image, get an understanding of sizes and see if the layout looked effective in general. I decided not to include any writing in my sketch other than the name of the magazine as not to overcomplicate things at this stage, instead I drew a series of text frames where the writing would be placed.

I would like to keep the front cover fairly simple and have the main focus on the cover artist. I have therefore decided to only have 4 main stories on the front so that the page doesn't look cluttered. I am going to include a large plus sign and a black separation bar as these were effective conventions I noticed on previous magazines. Moreover, I only want one main image and no smaller ones surrounding it at as I believe this will look more professional and minimalistic. 

Furthermore, I have chosen to just have one main artist on the cover as this was a typical convention on many of the covers I analysed. I was mostly inspired by Vibe and The Rolling Stone when creating this design. As well as including the necessities such as stories and images, I will also be using a barcode as well as details such as an issue release number and the price. 

Creating an Identity for my Magazine 1/3/16

In an attempt to create the most appealing magazine I could, I decided to ask a few people what they thought of my general idea. As you can see from the previous magazine pages I have analysed, it is visible that the majority are aimed at the younger generation. I would like to produce a magazine with a similar target audience (16-25) as I believe this demographic would be most interested in the genre of music that I would like to focus on. 

My initial idea was to create a 'house' music magazine as this style of music is extremely popular at the moment due to club culture and DJ domination in the latest charts. Additionally, I enjoy this type of music so believe it would be a lot easier to create a magazine inspired by a genre I find pleasing and entertaining. Furthermore, there isn't a specific gender attached to this style of music so both sexes would enjoy reading my magazine.

When I asked those within my target age range what their opinion was on a 'house' music magazine they suggested I also include 'garage' music as the two genres link together quite nicely. This idea would also expand the number of readers interested in my magazine as there would be coverage on both styles of music. After concluding on a both a 'house' and 'garage' style music magazine, I began to think of a name. Here were my options:

NATIVE

EGO

OCTAVE

ALIEN

RAVE

After questioning many on which name they liked most, the final consensus was that 'Native' would be most suited. I believe it is very striking and immediately draws your attention as well as creating a sense of intrigue. My research really helped me to come to a decision as to what would be popular for young, active and music obsessed people. Here are the end results:

Magazine name: NATIVE

Genre: House and Garage music

Target Age: Younger generation (ages 16-25)

Target Gender: Both males and females