Double page spreads
NME
NME
The inside pages of this magazine don’t always seem to follow a particular similarity, especially in double spread feature stories or interviews etc. Each one fits in with the interview or story in the text. But they do all seem to follow a masculine ‘modern rock’ theme which is appropriate for the target audience of old teens and younger adults interested in rock music. Both of the double pages fit in with a chosen theme, for example all the fonts stick to a similar style, and all of the colours tie in with each other and the chosen pictures (and often either compliment or contrast with the colours within the main pictures featured).
Audience
As I continued my research into music magazines, I realized although girls and young women do but the popular rock magazines, the magazines are not aimed directly at women as they all follow quite a masculine theme. I realized that there is a gap in the market that can aim a similar kind of music magazine, still for lovers of rock, but maybe with a slightly more light hearted feminine touch so that they appeal more to a female audience. I will research some popular female fashion magazines and take ideas from them to team with what I have found from the rock music magazines I have already researched to help me create my magazine.
Photographs
I decided to look more into what sort of photographs are included in magazines, both on the front cover and on double page spreads. I wanted to find out how the photographs are included in a theme of a page, what sort of background the picture has, who is in the picture, how close up this person is and what sort of things surround the photograph once it is in the magazine.
I came to the conclusion that pictures really do vary from magazine to magazine, and within each magazine itself. Pictures never get too distant, but they definitely vary in how close up they are, what angle they are taken from or placed at, how many people are included in the photograph, whether the picture is black or white and what sort of background it has. I most magazines the picture is tied into a theme either by the theme fitting with the style of clothing the person featured in the picture is wearing or by the colours in the theme matching those colours worn by the person in the photograph.
Themes
Most rock magazines themes are based on a grungy, dark look or an up to date modern rock style. Female fashion magazines often look quite simplistic, artistic looking and modern. I would like to be able to tie these themes together is I can to create an appropriate theme for my magazine.
Colours
In music magazines like Rolling Stones and NME colours like red, yellow, black and white our predominantly used but pink is also used to make things stand out and give the magazine a sort of modern funky slant to it. Fashion magazines often us simple colours black, white a grey with one other colour. I will try not to mix up too many colours like some music magazines do in order to help it appeal to the female audience I would like my magazine to attract, I will attempt to stick to black and white and add one or two colours to appeal the woman’s eye.
Layout
Front covers
Often have a main large picture in the centre nest to a large title explaining it. The title of the magazine is at the top and other stories and smaller pictures go down the sides and along the bottom (alongside the barcode which is generally always at the bottom). My magazine will follow a similar layout to this.
Contents Page
In most contents pages they have a large picture as a main focus point, and then a list of features in the magazine listed down one side with the page numbers next to them. They often have smaller pictures nearer to the edges of the page linking to certain highlighted articles. Most magazines also dedicate a small part of their contents page to a small bit of text convincing readers to register with the magazine to get it delivered to the doors whilst also saving money, this usually has a picture of either the front cover of that issue or of a previous issue of that magazine alongside the text. Most contents pages also have a main title either saying the word ‘contents’ or a word or phrase that is something relating to the main story/article in that issue of the magazine, but normally it is the word ‘contents’.
Double page spreads
These normally have one main picture either across the two pages or taking quite a large chunk of one page, the main text normally fits around this picture. The title goes along the top of either one of both pictures. Under the title there is normally a summary or introduction of what will be included in the main text. Other smaller pictures are often used either to show other places the person featured in the article has been, or a chronological picture gallery of the person or just more smaller pictures linking to the article. Sometimes there is a box at the bottom of a page with pictures of members of the public and quotes they have said relating to something included in the double page spread, whether that is a disgracing picture of a star or a new album an up and coming band has released. Boxes or circles are often used to make a certain piece of random or important information on. And a lot of pages also have a box with writing in that relates slightly to the article, but either leads onto something later in the magazine, links to the next issue or makes the reader want to read because the article they’ve just read has got them in the right state of mind, e.g. entering a competition to win gig tickets to see a particular band after reading about that band. Also these pages normally have the page number in the bottom outside corner of each page, unless something is in the way of it.
Audience
As I continued my research into music magazines, I realized although girls and young women do but the popular rock magazines, the magazines are not aimed directly at women as they all follow quite a masculine theme. I realized that there is a gap in the market that can aim a similar kind of music magazine, still for lovers of rock, but maybe with a slightly more light hearted feminine touch so that they appeal more to a female audience. I will research some popular female fashion magazines and take ideas from them to team with what I have found from the rock music magazines I have already researched to help me create my magazine.
Photographs
I decided to look more into what sort of photographs are included in magazines, both on the front cover and on double page spreads. I wanted to find out how the photographs are included in a theme of a page, what sort of background the picture has, who is in the picture, how close up this person is and what sort of things surround the photograph once it is in the magazine.
I came to the conclusion that pictures really do vary from magazine to magazine, and within each magazine itself. Pictures never get too distant, but they definitely vary in how close up they are, what angle they are taken from or placed at, how many people are included in the photograph, whether the picture is black or white and what sort of background it has. I most magazines the picture is tied into a theme either by the theme fitting with the style of clothing the person featured in the picture is wearing or by the colours in the theme matching those colours worn by the person in the photograph.
Themes
Most rock magazines themes are based on a grungy, dark look or an up to date modern rock style. Female fashion magazines often look quite simplistic, artistic looking and modern. I would like to be able to tie these themes together is I can to create an appropriate theme for my magazine.
Colours
In music magazines like Rolling Stones and NME colours like red, yellow, black and white our predominantly used but pink is also used to make things stand out and give the magazine a sort of modern funky slant to it. Fashion magazines often us simple colours black, white a grey with one other colour. I will try not to mix up too many colours like some music magazines do in order to help it appeal to the female audience I would like my magazine to attract, I will attempt to stick to black and white and add one or two colours to appeal the woman’s eye.
Layout
Front covers
Often have a main large picture in the centre nest to a large title explaining it. The title of the magazine is at the top and other stories and smaller pictures go down the sides and along the bottom (alongside the barcode which is generally always at the bottom). My magazine will follow a similar layout to this.
Contents Page
In most contents pages they have a large picture as a main focus point, and then a list of features in the magazine listed down one side with the page numbers next to them. They often have smaller pictures nearer to the edges of the page linking to certain highlighted articles. Most magazines also dedicate a small part of their contents page to a small bit of text convincing readers to register with the magazine to get it delivered to the doors whilst also saving money, this usually has a picture of either the front cover of that issue or of a previous issue of that magazine alongside the text. Most contents pages also have a main title either saying the word ‘contents’ or a word or phrase that is something relating to the main story/article in that issue of the magazine, but normally it is the word ‘contents’.
Double page spreads
These normally have one main picture either across the two pages or taking quite a large chunk of one page, the main text normally fits around this picture. The title goes along the top of either one of both pictures. Under the title there is normally a summary or introduction of what will be included in the main text. Other smaller pictures are often used either to show other places the person featured in the article has been, or a chronological picture gallery of the person or just more smaller pictures linking to the article. Sometimes there is a box at the bottom of a page with pictures of members of the public and quotes they have said relating to something included in the double page spread, whether that is a disgracing picture of a star or a new album an up and coming band has released. Boxes or circles are often used to make a certain piece of random or important information on. And a lot of pages also have a box with writing in that relates slightly to the article, but either leads onto something later in the magazine, links to the next issue or makes the reader want to read because the article they’ve just read has got them in the right state of mind, e.g. entering a competition to win gig tickets to see a particular band after reading about that band. Also these pages normally have the page number in the bottom outside corner of each page, unless something is in the way of it.
Voice
The voice used in a lot of the rock music magazines I read was quite colloquial and laid back, using taboo words and common slang/ non-standard language. At the same time there is a feeling to these magazines that makes you feel like the writer knows what they’re talking about using musical abbreviations for bands, guitar positions and gig venues that makes the reader want to be part of that world the writer is talking about. In the older teenage/young adult female fashion magazines I have been reading the voice sounds more upper class, but at the same time slightly chattier and therefore more appealing to a gossipy female audience. In my music magazine I will try to make the voice I use in my magazine slightly chattier than in typical rock magazines.
Genre
I have decided to go mainly for a rock music genre; I have decided this because rock magazines seem to be the most popular music magazines sold. I have decided however to make mine follow a slightly more feminine theme to fit into the niche I found in the music magazines market.
Text
Content – titles are short, eye-catching and straight to the point. The main text for the double page spread is relevant, but in music magazines especially, often random or slightly out of the ordinary thing can be added in or around the main text to add interest to the article and to give the slightly quirky feel to the magazine that you often get in similar indie and rock music magazines.
Font – Titles are bold, colourful and eye-catching even inside the magazine. Whereas large chunks of text are smaller, simple fonts in plain colours (normally black, or white on a black background) that are easy to read.
Content – titles are short, eye-catching and straight to the point. The main text for the double page spread is relevant, but in music magazines especially, often random or slightly out of the ordinary thing can be added in or around the main text to add interest to the article and to give the slightly quirky feel to the magazine that you often get in similar indie and rock music magazines.
Font – Titles are bold, colourful and eye-catching even inside the magazine. Whereas large chunks of text are smaller, simple fonts in plain colours (normally black, or white on a black background) that are easy to read.
Magazine title
When researching I realised there were a lot of different names for magazines (music, fashion and others) and that the names needed to be appropriate for the type of magazine and the audience being targeted. For example Glamour magazine is for young, glamorous, fashion conscious women, therefore the name is really self explanatory. Kerrang and NME are both aimed at teens and young adults interested in rock and indie music, they both sound funky and cool which is appropriate for the target readers. Although I want my magazine to be targeted at females more than Kerrang and NME are, I do want it to have a more musical name, rather than sounding like a fashion magazine. I used my own musical knowledge to think of possible names for my magazine:
-Verse
-Treble
-Anthem
-Crochet
-Alto
-Sonic
-Voicebox
-Andante
-Repeat
When researching I realised there were a lot of different names for magazines (music, fashion and others) and that the names needed to be appropriate for the type of magazine and the audience being targeted. For example Glamour magazine is for young, glamorous, fashion conscious women, therefore the name is really self explanatory. Kerrang and NME are both aimed at teens and young adults interested in rock and indie music, they both sound funky and cool which is appropriate for the target readers. Although I want my magazine to be targeted at females more than Kerrang and NME are, I do want it to have a more musical name, rather than sounding like a fashion magazine. I used my own musical knowledge to think of possible names for my magazine:
-Verse
-Treble
-Anthem
-Crochet
-Alto
-Sonic
-Voicebox
-Andante
-Repeat
I finally decided on the name Anthem because it sounds strong and bold as well as being appropriate from the genre of my magazine. To make sure it would be a popular name I asked 30 college students if they preferred that name or one of the others, 28 said they preferred anthem, 2 said they would prefer another name. Therefore I decided to keep Anthem as my magazine title.
I then tried out a few different fonts to see which one would look best for my magazine, I choose Happy Killer in the end as i thought this was simple, and was strong and bold without lookin too masculine (see in picture, Happy Killer is the bottom font used)
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