Development of Music Magazine

To start with I am trying to decide on what picture to use for my front cover, and at the moment it is between the following:

 I like this picture because it adds layers to the cover, and also has an interesting background, which will connote the grunge and authenticity of the new band I'm featuring. However, I think that this also connotes that Amelia, the girl at the front is more important because she is further forward, and this is not the impression I want readers to have from the front cover.

 I like this picture because it has clear direct address from both girls, and also shows their contrast in personalities, making them an interesting band. This picture also allows good space for the mast head, headline and cover lines. I think it is quite dramatic, and the expression from both will draw readers in.

This picture was the final one I was considering. I liked the shape that it allowed space for both cover lines ext, and again allows me to present the humble and non-society band. However, again I don't think I would want to use this one as the cover photo because of the height of people connoting importance or authority.

Below is how I have edited my front cover picture, and it shows the difference between the original and the one I've decided to use for the cover. I have enhanced the colours, which makes the image of the two girls stand out more. This highlights the colours in the image, particularly their eyes, both of which are blue, which increases the direct address by drawing your eye to it more. The background has been made more white, making the magazine appear more professional .

Masthead

I've decided to call my magazine 'Tones', because of the musical connotations of the word. It will be an indie/rock music centralised magazine, so i want the font to relate to this. The fonts I've been looking at include:

I liked this one because it was a simple shape, and slightly rubbed out giving it the worn look and makes it look older. I think this would be good because most of the musicians in the band will be this, hard working or 'worn' and relates to the type of music inside, and has the connotations of the magazine not being about image but being about music.

In this part of the development I began to start creating the front cover on In Design. Firstly, I had to develop a mast head, and create from this a brand for the magazine. I decided to call it tones, and wanted a recognisable mast head so began trying simple, and bold fonts, so that the magazine can be seen from a distance and will stand out on shop shelves. I did want to use an effect on the text that would make it more interesting than just a bold text, and started experimenting with simple effects to create more of a different brand image.

When I tried this effect with the mast head, I decided to use this for the develpment of the brand, and thought that by adding a simple coloured circle in the 'O' of 'tones', adds more musical connotations to the mast head. It creates the image of a record, giving the brand image more musical connotations. I will further develop this image to make it more recognisable as a record, and have also taken the colour scheme into consideration when creating it, by using the pink/purple from the cover stars top. The colour of the 'record' can change to fit into the colour scheme of the magazine each issue.

In this edit I have began adding features to the cover to entice readers, including a plug in the top right hand corner. It is in relation to the banner at the top of the page, advertising a competition within which will entice readers. the colours of texts and the banner have remained in the colour scheme to continue the image.















I've now started adding the headline and a quote to further interest readers with the reference to Simon Cowell a well known music industry man known for his harsh ways. Readers may be interested to know about their relationship and connections with him. The text that has been added is currently black, however I'm not sure about this for the headline and I'm also not sure about the font for the headline.















I decided to add some pictures to the front cover to experiment with added layers and colour. I think that these colours fit in well, however it might be harder to fit in other cover lines. I am also concerned at this point about the quote with the headline, as I don't feel like it as readable as I would like; the background is fairly dark, making it more difficult to see.
















I've aded a strapline here to give the magazine a more mature look and feel, and make it appear more developed. At this point of my cover construction I have began to add detail that will make it stand out as a higher quality and look more 'real'. For example, adding the Reading Festival logo, as it is a very recognisable logo, particularly to avid music listeners that will be reading this magazine. The yellow colours in it also contrast with the rest, making it stand out more. I have also added small lines around the 'O' of 'tones' to create the image of a record more. I've moved the headline and quote, and also the colour to white, making it more readable and stand out more.











I have finished the banner and have decided to change several aspects of the fonts and positions of features on the page. I've adjusted the position of the headline 'The Crows', allowing it to stretch the width of the page, which in my opinion adds attention to it, and also changed the font to the same one as the mast head. I have also taken the pictures from the cover, intending to add them to another past of the magazine, probably the contents page. By keeping the cover simple I believe that it adds sophistication and keeps it from looking messy. Its allowed me to add a lot more cover lines. I've started changing the colour of the title of the cover line.

This is the finished version of my magazine cover. There is a date and issue number, along with a barcode at the bottom of the page.