Potential Fonts

I decided that |I want to use a font for my masthead that is reflective of the genre of my music magazine (Indie Rock). I visited the website “DaFont.com” to look for potential fonts or for inspiration for me to design my own font. I found a variety of different font styles that I liked and thought would be appropriate for my aim. I believe that the fonts that I choose are eye-catching and professional but still reflect and suit my genre. Below are the four fonts which caught my attention on the website:

I am undecided on what font I should use for my masthead. I like all of them but I believe the first font doesn't really suit the Indie Rock genre and instead suits the Heavy Metal genre more because it is similar to the font that Iron Maiden uses. Therefore I am going to send this picture of the four fonts to different people within my target audience to find out what font they think suits the Indie Rock genre more and then ask why they think this. 

Social Media Responses: Make-Up Experiments

I decided to find out what make-up looks was most popular amongst my target audience. I used Google hangouts and instant message to send pictures of each of the three makeup looks to people within my target audience. Before I sent the images, I asked them to respond with which make-up look they liked the most and to explain why this was their favourite. These were the responses that I received:
                                                                               

 

These social media responses show that my target audience prefer the second make-up look because the red-toned brown eyeshadow makes her eye's stand out more. I also like the second make-up look the most because of this reason and also because I like the winged eye-liner makes her follow the Indie Rock star image more. Therefore I am going to use the second make-up look on my model when I take the photographs for the magazine photoshoot. 

Social Media Responses: Outfit Experiments

I decided to find out what outfit was most popular amongst my target audience. I used Google hangouts and instant messaging to send the outfit collages to people within my target audience. Before I sent the images, I asked them which to say which outfit they liked the most out of the five and to explain why this was their favourite. These were the responses that I recieved:

These social media responses show that my target audience prefers the first outfit, because they like the colours and the overall aesthetic of the outfit. However I also like the look of the fishnet tights underneath the ripped denim, therefore I shall take some photographs with the fishnet tights underneath the jeans and some without. The second favourite outfit was the third outfit. Therefore when doing my photoshoots I shall use both of these outfits. 

Outfit Experiments

I decided to try a 5 different outfits on my model to see what clothes would suit her best. I used a variety of different clothing which I believed would make my model fit in Indie Rock star image. I used both black skinny jeans and blue boyfriend jeans. I also used a variety of different t-shirts, including band t-shirts and plain, basic t-shirts. I decided that my model should wear combat styled boots because they look edgy and go well with both style of jean that I used on my model. I took a variety of pictures of the outfits and then made a collage of them so that the whole outfit and its details could be clearly seen. The outfits can been seen below:

Outfit One: 

Outfit Two:

Outfit Three:

Outfit Four:

Outfit Five:

I am unsure as to what outfit is my favourite, therefore I will use social media sites as well as instant messaging to find out what outfit people in my target audience like the best. I can also ask them to explain why they choose that outfit to help provide me with additional information which could help with other design elements for photoshoots and the magazine itself. 

Make-Up Experiments

For makeup I decided to experiment with different eye-makeup looks. I decided to use fairly natural face makeup by using primer, BB Cream, concealer, cream contour, bronzer and a translucent powder. For the eyes I experimented with different warm toned eyeshadows as well as eyeliner. Below are pictures showing the finished makeup look and the products that I used to achieve them:

Make-Up Look One:

For this look I used a two brown eyeshadows to try and create a 90’s grunge eye makeup look. I applied the eyeshadow to both the eyelid and beneath the lower case line, I did this to make the eye make appear more smokey and messy. I used a volumising mascara on both the top and bottom eyelashes to create lots of definition and make the eyelashes appear thick and almost clumpy.

Make-Up Look Two:

For this look I took a red-toned brown eyeshadow and applied it to the eyelids and beneath the lower lash line. I made the eyeshadow more heavy beneath the lower lashes because it thought that it would make the models eyes stand out more. I then applied a liquid eyeliner to the eyelid and made it winged to create extra definition. I used a volumising mascara on both the top and bottom eyelashes to create lots of definition and make the eyelashes appear thick and almost clumpy.

Make-Up Look Three: 

For this look I took a warm-toned brown eyeshadow and applied it to the eyelids and beneath the lower lash line. I thought that this eyeshadow would help to create a 90’s grunge, eye make-up look. I used a volumising mascara on both the top and bottom eyelashes to create lots of definition and make the eyelashes appear thick and almost clumpy.

My personal favourite make-up look is the second one. This is because I think the eye make-up looks interesting and the red-toned brown eyeshadow helps to make the models eyes “pop”. I think the colour of the eyeshadow also compliments her hair colour more than the other eyeshadows. However I will use social media and instant messaging to find out what make-up look people within my target audience prefer. This will help me to make the magazine more interesting and appealing to them. 

Meet My Model

The model that I have chosen is Josie. Josie is 17 years old and is currently studying her a-levels. I have chosen Josie as my model because I agree with the majority of my focus group. Josie is generally quite edgy in terms of her fashion and style. I believe that her edgy fashion sense will help  her to feel more comfortable within the photoshoot which will reflect in the photographs. She also enjoys music of the Indie Rock genre, which will help her to understand the Indie Rock star image.

I believe that Josie will be a good model when taking photographs for my magazine, because I have used her as model for previous photography projects which means that she has experience in front of the camera and will therefore be confident and have her own ideas for poses and facial expressions. I also believe that Josie’s red hair also makes her appear more alternative and edgy which will be helpful when creating an Indie Rock star image. 

However because I believe the name Josie doesn't really suit the Indie Rock star image I have decide that on the magazine she will be known as Astrid. This is because I think the name is more different which makes it appropriate to the Indie Rock star image in comparison to Josie which is an abbreviation of the name Josephine which is a more traditional name.  

Focus Group Analysis

From holding my focus group I was able to get more accurate interpretation of what my target audience likes about my ideas and what they think should be included in the magazine.

The questions I asked in my focus group were:

Do you think that the name Phoenix is appropriate name for an Indie Rock music magazine? Why?

How much do you think an Indie Rock Music magazine should cost?

Do you think that the magazine should include a free single/cd?

Do you think that having a band index on the contents page will help with the sale of the magazine?

Do you think that the magazine should include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs?

Which model do you think suits the Indie Rock Star image more?  Leah OR Josie?

The focus group agreed that Phoenix was an appropriate name for an Indie Rock and then they gave reasons for why the thought that it was appropriate. One of these reasons was that fact that I could easily create a logo for the magazine.

The focus group told me that they believed that £3.50 was an appropriate price for a music magazine because of my target audience is teenagers and young adults, who are unlikely to have a lot of money; therefore £3.50 is a good price for them. The focus group also believes that £3.50 is an appropriate price for the content that will be provided.  Therefore I am going make my music magazine cost £3.50 because these are all valid points for why the cost of the magazine should be £3.50.

The focus group told me that they think that my magazine should not include a free single/cd because it might not appeal to everyone because they might not like the artist or bands whose single/cd it is. Also including a single/cd would mean that the price of the magazine would have to be increase which might make my target audience to buy the magazine because it might be too expensive for them. Therefore I am not going to include a free single/cd in my magazine because of these reasons.

The focus group helped me to realise that not everyone knows that a band index is, however once it is explained to them they believe that it is helpful, because it provides additional information. I personally don’t believe that the band index will help with the sale of the magazine therefore I will do additional research to find out if my target audience would like to see a band index on the contents page.

The focus group told me that they thought that the magazine should include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs. They thought this because they thought that it would make more people want to buy the magazine because of the chance to win something. Therefore I am going to include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs in my magazine because it will either make a good cover line on the magazine front cover or an advert on the contents page.

The majority of the focus group told me that they thought that Josie would suit the Indie Rock star image more than Leah would because they thought that she looked more ‘edgy’. However because I need to include different people on my contents page, I will still take photographs of Leah and will use clothing and makeup to make her appear more ‘edgy’.

Focus Group

I decided that I should hold a focus group to do more research and gain additional opinions from my target audience on my initial ideas. It is important to do research because it allows me to gain extra ideas and research as well as feedback; this will then allow me to create a music magazine that it well catered for my target audience. I decided to film my focus group with three of my friends, Emily, Kaye and Charis Mills. You can watch my focus group below: 

Questionnaire Results

After giving my questionnaire to 20 people of different ages and genders I calculated the results and decided that it would be best to turn the answers into pie charts so that I could easily analyse the results.

The pie chart shows that out of the three names Phoenix, Indi and InTune; the most popular is Phoenix because 60% favoured it. I personally prefer the name Phoenix however to get further research I will create a focus group asking if they agree that Phoenix is an appropriate name for an Indie Rock magazine and why they have this opinion. 

                 

The pie chart shows that out of the three different colour schemes, the most popular colour scheme was red, black and white. Whilst I agree with this decision I also think that I should use a colour scheme that is related to the colours in my main image. However I will make sure to include red, black and white font through out my magazine because I believe that the colours compliment each other nicely. 

The pie chart shows that 90% of the people I asked think that my music magazine should be released monthly. I agree with this decision because it will allow for the issues to be made to a high standard. 

The pie chart shows that out of the 5 different price options; £3.00, £3.50, £4.00, £4.50 and £5.00; the most popular option was £3.50 because 35% of people choose that option. The pie chart also shows that nobody would willingly pay £5.00 for a music magazine therefore I will not sell my magazine for that price option. However I believe that £3.50 is not a high enough cost for a good quality music magazine that will feature many articles. Therefore when I hold the focus group I will ask for their opinions on what the cost of the magazine should be. 

This pie charts shows that 65% of the people I asked would find a band index on the magazine contents page useful. However 20% would find it very useful and 15% wouldn't find it very useful. This therefore suggests that people would prefer to have a band index on the contents page rather than there not being one. Therefore when I hold the focus group I will ask for their opinions on either they think that a band index on the contents page will help with the sale of the magazine. 

The pie chart shows that out of the 5 different double page spread article ideas that the most popular article idea was about the artist answering questions and talking about their new album or tour because 45% of the people asked choose it. The second most popular article idea was the artist answering questions and talking about what tour is like for them. I like both of these article ideas equally however I feel like I will be able to come up with better questions for talking about their new album or tour because there is more content to cover. 

The pie chart shows 95% of people believe that I should include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs whilst 5% disagrees. I think that competitions might come across as tacky and might not seem legitimate which might potentially put people of off buying the magazine. Therefore when I hold the focus group I will ask for additional opinions on if I should include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs. 

The pie chart shows that out of the 6 different location ideas for the photographs for the magazine front cover and double page spread there were 2 options that were equally popular. These were; Brick Lane or Camden (Graffiti Backgrounds) and 5 Arches Park. I like both of these ideas and I also like the idea of taking photographs in a studio location using different coloured backgrounds. Because I will need to take a variety of different of photographs for the magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread I think that I will take photographs at all of these locations and then using social media and focus groups to choose the best photographs for the magazine. 

The pie chart shows that there was an equally divided opinion on whether the magazine should include a free magazine or cd that is related to the genre of the magazine. Whilst the free single or cd will attract more people to the magazine because it appears that they are getting better value for money, the price of the magazine might have to increase to ensure for that artists or bands who single/cd is will get their moneys worth. Therefore when I hold the focus group I will ask for their opinions on whether the magazine should or shouldn't include a single or cd. 

Questionnaire

I have created this questionnaire because I want use it to find out what my target audience would like the magazine to be like. I can then use the answers from the questionnaire to help with my decisions for my final ideas. I will give my questionnaire to at least 20 different people within the age range of 15-25 so that I have a variety of answers that reflects the whole range of my target audience.

Software

To create my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread I will use Adobe Photoshop CS4. I will use photoshop because it has a variety of tools that I can use to create professional looking magazine. Photoshop is easy to navigate because on the left had side of the document it shows each layer that you add to the file; this make it easy to see what you have added and makes it more easy to edit each individual layer. Along the top of the photoshop document there are sections that split up each of the tools; this makes it even easier to navigate and find the tools and effects that I want. Some of the tools on photoshop that I plan to use are the transform tool, to adjust the size of shapes and images, the textbox tool to add different text and fonts to my magazine and the shape tool to add rectangles and lines to specific parts of the magazine.

I will also use the website “Picmonkey” to edit the additional images that I add to my magazine. For example the extra images that I add to my double page spread and any other images that I add on my contents page. “Picmonkey”  is clearly laid out which therefore makes it easy to navigate around and edit images. 

I will also use DaFont.com to some of the fonts that I use on my magazine such as for the Masthead. DaFont has thousands of different fonts available to download therefore I will have many font styles to choose from. 

Initial Ideas

After researching different music magazines and their genres I have decided that I want the genre of my music magazine to be Indie Rock. I have decided on this genre because it is the genre of music that I listen to and is a similar style to my own; therefore I feel like I will be able to produce this genre of magazine to the best of my ability. I am going to use the original NME as inspiration when designing my music magazine.

Before deciding on my final ideas I am going to produce a questionnaire to find out my target audiences opinion on all of the favourite ideas. This will help me make a successful magazine because it will be based around the ideas that my target audience liked the most.

Target Audience: 
The target audience for my music magazine is teenagers over the age of 15, young adults as well as aspiring indie rock bands/artists. This will allow me to use a mode of address that is colloquial however is still vaguely formal; this will then make it appropriate to all ages.

Masthead/Name Ideas: 
I came up with 6 possible name ideas for my magazine, these are;
- Phoenix
- Indi
- InTune
- Base
- Clash
- Beat

My favourite names out of these three are Phoenix, Indi and InTune, therefore I will use these three names on the questionnaire that I will produce to find out which name is most popular.

Colour Scheme: 
I want to use a black, red and white colour scheme for my music magazine because I feel like these colour best reflect the genre of the magazine. However when I produce a questionnaire I will feature different colour options on it to find out what colours will be most popular.

Star Image Mood-board and Ideas

Star Image Ideas: 

For my magazine I will use a female model. I will take a variety of photographs of the model wearing different clothing however I will make sure that the clothing is of an indie/alternative style that is laid back so that my model becomes an indie/alternative icon. The items of clothing that intend to use are black skinny jeans, light blue boyfriend jeans with distressed knees, green and purple flannels and either plain t-shirts or graphic t-shirts, i.e. band t-shirts. The model will also wear either combat styled boots, chelsea boots or converse.

For makeup I want the model to have relatively grunge makeup. To create this I will use warm toned brown eyeshadows, clumpy mascara and possibly winged eyeliner.

Initial Ideas Brainstorm

Star Image

The theory of ‘Star Image’ was created by Ricard Dyer. In this theory he proposes that celebrities and icons are constructed out of a range of materials by institutions for financial gain. Dyer has split his theory up into different sub-sections, these are; Constructions, Hegemony (Cultural Beliefs) as well as  Audience and Institution.

Constructions: 
Dyer believes that celebrities are built for an audience instead of being a real person; for example, stars are sometimes built to be different to create originality and likeablility. This construction is then emphasised through magazines, music videos and advertisements. Record companies are usually responsible for the construction of a “star”.
Audience and Institution: 
Dyer believes that celebrities are built only to make money. Therefore every “star” is constructed to met the interest a specific target audience to generate revenue for record companies. The “stars’ are constructed to be what the record companies believe audiences want.
Hegemony (Cultural Beliefs): 
Dyer believes that celebrities are constructed to have certain beliefs, values and attitudes. Therefore audiences relate to them because they have features/ideas that they share or admire. This results in audiences seeing “stars” as role models and aspiring to be them.

There are many examples of bands/artists for all genres of music which posses a star image, some of them are; The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rhianna, Lana Del Rey and One Direction.

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers: 

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are an alternative band from Los Angeles who formed in 1983. The band has an easily recognisable logo which is a star. This logo appears through out all of their work; on album covers, merchandise as well as in their music video for their song ‘Californication’ . This helps to successfully sell the band because the audience will become familiar with the logo which will help the record company to make money. 

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are portrayed to have a ‘don’t care’ attitude which denotes the idea that they are cool. This attitude will attract a specific type of audience, if the band lost this attitude it is likely that they will suffer a lack of sales. 

This research on star image suggests that artists/bands must posses a star image in order for them to be successful and popular within the current culture. Therefore I am going to create a star image for the individual on the main image that appears on the magazine front cover, contents page and double page in order for my magazine to sell successfully. 

Mode of Address

Mode of address is how the media talks to the audience. There are four main types of modes these are; first person, third person, formal and informal. First person is used when someone is talking about themselves, as in “I and Me”; the first person mode is likely to be used in a magazine when someone is being interviewed. Third person is used when talking about someone, as in “He and She”; the third person mode is likely to be used in a magazine when someone is writing a review. Informal modes are be presented in different ways, for example by colloquial language or expletive language. Colloquial language is usually involves words that have been abbreviated, which can be interpreted as ‘slang’. Colloquial words are more acceptable in writing than expletive language, which is also known as swear words.

The mode of address for music magazines are affected by the magazines genre, the format of magazine and the magazines target audience.  Therefore if the genre of the magazine is rock or alternative it is unlikely that the text would be formal because it doesn't fit in with the genre. It is more likely that a rock or alternative magazine would use colloquialisms and expletive language because it fits the genre better.

Colour

To find out what colours might work together or might not work together you can use a colour wheel chart. The first colour wheel was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666 however it was actually more of a pie chart because the bands of colour were dispersed in wedges around a circle. In the current colour wheel there are 12 colours and they are split up into three sections; primary, secondary and tertiary colours. The Primary colours include; red, yellow and blue. The secondary colours include; green, orange and purple. Tertiary colours are made when primary and secondary colours are mixed together; they are then named after both of the colours involved for example blue-green and yellow orange.

If a colour scheme is not harmonious it can look dull or chaotic however if the colour scheme is too monotonous then it can also look boring. Which will make the reader uninterested in the text or image, therefore colour is important when designing a magazine. You can use the colour wheel chart to create colour harmonies. Colour harmony is pleasing to the eye because the colours work well together which creates a sense of order a balance; this helps to capture the reader attention. There are seven different colour harmonies however the main two are; Complementary and Analogous. 

Complementary colours are colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel, for example blue and orange.  When complementary colours are used it creates vibrancy, therefore complementary colour schemes needs to be managed to make sure that they are not too striking. Complementary colours are bad too use for text because they make it difficult to read so should only really be used to make something stand out. 

Analogous colours are three colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, for example green, green-yellow and yellow. Therefore the colours work well together and create fluency.  Usually one of the colours is more dominant and has the most pigment. Analogous colour schemes are pleasing to the eye which makes the appropriate to use when creating an image. 

For a magazine to appear sophisticated it must have an appropriate colour scheme. Colour schemes play an important role in selling the magazine because the colour is what will capture the audiences attentions when looking at a magazine. Therefore when designing a magazine front cover, designers have to make sure that they use colours that work well together yet still stand out. The colour wheel is a useful tool for designers to use because it shows a range of colours that do and don't work well together. However colours also connote different ideas and atmospheres, so designers have to make sure that they use colours that promote the correct idea about the magazine. For example red is a colour that is often associated with danger and love. It is also very intense which creates attention. So if therefore good to use for mastheads, headlines and logos.

When designing my music magazine I will make sure that I use colours that work well together to make sure that my magazine is aesthetically pleasing. I will not use complementary colours for large sections of text because they are difficult to read, however I will use them for text that I want to make stand out.

Typography

Typography is the way text is presented and arranged within a page. Typography includes factors such as; font, colour and spacing. Typography is very important when it comes to designing and producing a magazine, because the font style, font size and font colour can determine whether someone decides to buy or not to buy the magazine. When producing the magazine you need to make sure that the font is easy and clear to read at arms length, you also need to make sure that the colours don't contrast with other colours on the page because otherwise it will be difficult to read and people will be less likely to buy it.

The most common typography fonts used for magazines are Serif and San Serif. Serif fonts make distinctive shapes, using small decorative lines on the end of certain strokes. Popular examples of  Serif fonts, are Georgia, Century, Times New Roman and Book Antigua. San Serif fonts do not use small decorative lines at the end of strokes. Popular examples of San Serif fonts, are Arial, Calibri, Lucida Sans and Verdana. According to multiple studies, most people find San Serif fonts harder to read than Serif fonts. Because of this San Serifs fonts are usually used for smaller amounts of text such as captions or headlines.

Kerning is also an important feature of typography. Kerning refers to adjusting the space between characters, so that the font is in proportion which creates a visually pleasing structure to the text. Kerning helps to make certain letters combinations look better, for example MW, WA VA, and TA. A lack of kerning can result in difficulty to read groups of text or articles. 

From analysing magazines I have realised how much of an important role typography has in the overall look and effect of the magazine. If the magazine has poor typography it will make the magazine look less aesthetically pleasing to the reader/audience, this will therefore effect the magazine negatively because less copies are likely to be sold. However if the magazine has good typography the magazine will look aesthetically pleasing and will have fluency which means that more copies are likely to be sold.

When designing and producing my music magazine I will pay close attention to how I structure my typography. I will make sure that I use San Serif fonts for large titles so that they are easy to read. I will also ensure that I sure appropriate kerning so that large amounts of text and titles are clear and easy to read.