Friday, 9 January 2009

My Music Magazine Double Page Spread Evaluation



This is my first draft of my double page spread. This page is very simple as I have tried to see what the article should look like from a reader’s point of view. I have added a background which holds a deeper meaning for some readers who know of the article and I have added images of the band that I have interviewed. It is fairly easy to understand the concept as I have made it as simple as possible.

The main target audience for this specific article are for those who have read the book “Breaking Dawn” for which the band, Ocean Black, are being interviewed for, as they have recently made a music video for the film version of the book. This requires knowledge of not only the book, but of the band and the fact that the film is coming out.

The colours I have used for the background are black and white, which goes as the cover of the “Breaking Dawn” book, is a chess board. I thought this would seem amusing to the readers as if it’s a little inside joke. The entire text on the page will be red as is the text on the book. I am imitating the book cover and all of its colours to go with the article I have written.
The layout is simple enough. All the text has been pushed over on to the second page so as to show the image of the band and background of the page.

As I think that my double page spread is very unique and professionally done, I don’t really find that there is much to change. However I think that the text could be made bolder and bigger so it is easier to read.

My Music magazine Contents Page Evaluation


This is my first draft contents page of my music magazine. I have made it simple yet understandable with my choice of pictures and text. This is so that my audience will be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. I have based this on other music magazine publications such as NME and Kerrang!

The main basic colours of the page are green with a white background which will be featured all over the publication. This is very efficient as if we used lots of colour around the pages such as black the reader will end up with smudge marks on their fingers because of the printing ink. It is also simple as I do not want too much colour on to the page.
I have layed out the page in to two sections. The first section, which is on the left hand side, will hold the names of the all the bands/artists that are featured in that issue and the page number of were to find them. The second section, the right hand side, holds the usual features of the magazine such as news, up and coming tours/gigs e.t.c. this makes it easier for the reader to look for something than just simply guessing where the band/artist is in the magazine.

Even though the page is very neatly designed, I still think that I should add some more colour and images to the background as it still looks quite plain. I think that if I did add more colours I would use black as the colour represents some of the cults and social groups that will read my magazine such as Goths and Emo’s.

My Music Magazine Cover Evaluation


This is my first draft cover of my new music publication called Chemical Waste! I have based this magazine on other successful music publications. Have made sure that I have added puffs, buzz words, anchorage text and have made use of the sweep spot by putting a big clear heading for my main topic. I have even added a bar code for to make it look authentic.

The target audience for my magazine is 15-25 year olds. This is because they not only start to come into money, but they also buy lots of magazines at this age. The social audience is for people who listen to rock and its main genres such as Punk, Metal, Gothic e.t.c. I have catered to those who like different types of rock music as this makes the publications audience wider. this means that my magazine will be perfect for those who belong to cults like Emos and Goths.

The colours on my magazines are have been kept basic with only black, white and various shades of green. This is so that the cover does not look too over done and cluttered with colours. I have only used one image as I don’t want too much happening on the page to make it looked too jumbled up. All colours have to go together so it looks professional. The layout is very simple so as to make sure the readers know what they are looking of on the cover of the magazine.

To make improvements I think that I could add some more text to the cover. I could also change some of the colours I have made to the text from green to black for example. I want my magazine cover to speak out to the readers and grab their attention. I could maybe add some more pictures so as to make it look even more authentic. I will also change the image as i think that it is not entirely suitable for my magazine. I will take a better image that will suit all of my readers.

Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Contents page Preliminary task Evaluation


This is my contents page. This is just a simple contents page. I wanted it to be plain as I thought if I added too much information or colours on the page it would confuse the readers. The contents page is fairly easy to understand to read as there is not much on there.

I have decided not to add colours as I thought it would be nice to have a particular theme for the rest of the pages such as black and white. It is basic and simple.

I think that I should make some improvements to my magazine contents page. This is because some people might think it is plain and boring. I will add pictures and a letter from the editor. I will also add some colour to the page but I will keep it simple and just have two colours.

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

School Magazine Cover Evaluation-Preliminary Task


This is my school/college magazine. The magazine has been arranged simply just like the way any music, fashion or gossip magazine is. I have used puffs, buzz words and have even included a logo. In my personal opinion, I think that my magazine looks almost professional. I have put most of the topics my magazine will be covering on to the front cover for my target audience such as music, fashion and the annual school/college topics and events like exams, trips, deadlines, Easter mass e.t.c

The chosen target audience is obviously at teenagers with the ages of 11-19. This means that the audience is quite young and will not appeal to people who are for example 25 or 35 year old. The magazine discusses issues and topics that are usually dealt with in schools and colleges like exam preparation to notices about up and coming inset days and half term.

I have used a lot of different colours to appeal to every one whether they are 13 or 18. This is because different colours attract different people. For example, most 13 tear olds prefer bright colours like yellow or orange, whereas most 17 year olds prefer darker colours like blue and purple.

I think that I will change the background colour of the magazine as it is quite plain and dull. It brings no life to the cover. I think that I will also change the colour of the text as it is too colourful. I think that it needs no more than 3 main colours.
I will also make sure that there is not too much text, just small pieces of information like the name s of bands and events. I will do this because it will not give the articles away. I want my readers to be surprised when they open they open the magazine.

Wednesday, 10 December 2008

Analysis of a Double Page Spread

The choice of band that the article has featured suggests that the target audience will be quite mature. This is because of the formal language used and the supporting image. Also notice the mention of 80’s rock and roll icon Bruce Springsteen. This tells us that the audience will be in their 30’s and 40’s.

The language used inside of the magazine is quite formal. This also tells us that the target audience will be older as they do not understand certain slang words younger people use. For example: inevitably, this desolate environment has shaped Fallon’s world view.

The colours used are quite plain. They have used simple whites and reds to convey an attractive layout. The reds are supposed to lock in the reader’s attention. The main source of colour is from the image and even the image is quite plain with no bold or florescent colours like Mixmag or Kerrang! would use.

Even though the style of the text is clear to read, the font has been changed through out the magazine. No page has the same font as each other. It’s as if they are trying to keep each page unique.

The image has covered one full page and leaks over to the next. Most of the second page is made up by text about the band and their background. This image is trying to convey the bands rough and tough side of where they grew up and how it’s affected their music.

The tone of the article is addressing the reader as if the reader knows some of the background information on the band. This makes the band feel like they know the band personally.

The band in this image is being presented as a rough but ready band, which despite their ups and downs in the music business, are still moving forward. This is a strong but powerful image for this magazine as Q is quite an old magazine for older people. However like the article the magazine is still strong and is widely recommended for those in search of good music publications.

The cover of the magazine and the double page spread of the article are both quite similar. This is because of the font style of the writing. Although they are different they are on the same lines of being simple and easy to read. The colours are both plain but both have red logos or titles. There are also other articles in the magazine which are also quite similar to the one shown above.
The band does require some of its fans to be knowledgeable so as to understand the context of the article. This is so they can get a better understanding of what type of band they are and what they are doing for the new music generation. They want us, the fans, to understand the struggle and pain it has brought them so that we can fully appreciate the beauty of the music in which has caused a great struggle.