As you can see one of the most eye catching items on my front cover is the masthead reading the name of the magazine; Rock&Lashers. I had made this stand out in a stylish way by using a large font size consisting of black and a white ‘&’ symbol.
As we travel further down the page we see the main/lead image partnered with the cover line. The lead image is of the band, ‘Boulek’ who are featured in the magazine.
The photograph is an original image and has been done so that the band can portray them selves the way in which they want to be seen; quirky and fresh. One of the members is maintaining eye contact with the camera, which involves the reader more. The main colour theme of the front cover is white/black/pink. It is quirky with a stylistic background, which was achieved using the brush tool, to give it that up-to-date feel and ‘indie’ vibe. The front cover has a deliberately 80s kitsch feel to it. The 80s style and iconography is very popular with my target audience.
The Ting Tings have an 80s retro feel that has inspired my magazine's house style
This theme is continued as we go on to the contents page. There is a slight change in the colour theme, black/white/purple to keep it fresh and to maintain a house style. The name of the magazine is featured in the top right hand corner of the page. There are numerous amounts of original images which act at the mains sells of the magazine.
The written main sells are listed neatly on the bottom left/middle of the page. With page numbers being white and a slightly larger font size which makes it easier to read and to add style. The contents page is very neat yet effective and contains just the right amount to sell the inside of the magazine to the reader, I gathered this data and knowledge from arranging a focus group; this included females aged between 18-25, there was 20 women and we spoke about their likes and dislikes in a magazine. i.e.’ How many main sells do you like a magazine to feature?’ the data collected was then used to help me when designing features etc in my magazine.
My double page spread is based on an interview which was undertaken with a new band, Boulek which is the lead article on my front cover. The name of the band acts as the header on the page, it is in a bright pink making it standout against its black boxed background.
The quirky background is continued with a continuous pattern, which was achieved by using the brush tool again. The main colour theme is again purple/black/white. The text is in three columns which run downwards, left to right. They are in a white column, and the text is in a black font of size 8.
There are 3 insert photographs on this page. There are original images and present the band in the way that they want to be portrayed to the public. The second page of the DPS mainly consists of insert photographs, a large one which covers the majority of the left hand side of the page. This is to balance the amount of text with the images.
I have made certain choices about the band that acted as the lead image in my magazine and how their photographs and image is portrayed. I choose to make my photo shoot with ‘Boulek’ very indie and fresh. I wanted it to be a sleek photo shoot and I changed the brightness and contrast to make the photos look this way. Subtle touches like the models maintaining eye-contact with the reader all add to the theme of getting them represented in the way I wanted them to be seen. I had control over the representation on my featured band, Boulek.
I mediated my photos and the tone and register of the article. I had to decide which photographs to include and which pull quotes and direct quotes were chosen for the DPS. I wanted to ensure that where possible the attitudes and values of Boulek reflect those of the readers.
I also highlighted certain phrases that the band said in their interview in the pull quote. This was done the highlight the aspects of the band, phrases which represent the band to be rock and roll i.e. ‘We were absolutely sloshed’ and to get that indie vibe; this is how I wanted the band to be represented. All these factors help to portray the correct image of ‘Boulek’.
They are a new band on the music scene and in media image is very important, I had to make sure that they were portrayed and represented in the way which they wanted to be seen to their target audience, but for it also to have connections to the theme of the magazine, Rock&Lashers.
Pigeons and Peacocks: a magazine produced by students at the London College of Fashion. The quirky layout and 1980s inspired photo-shoots in the magazine influenced the layout and house style of my magazine.
I think that IPC would publish my magazine; this is because they publish a broad range of mainstream music and lifestyle magazines. However, I used magazines such as ‘Q’ and ‘Pigeons and Peacocks- London School of Fashion’ to add inspiration to my original thoughts.
The main readers of Rock&Lashers are aged between 18-25, they are mostly females .Most of my readers are into music and want to know what’s happening fresh on the music scene every week. I completed some primary research before beginning on my project, in the form of a question. I found out that 62% of people downloaded music, 54% of people visit music sites and 62% have been to a gig. The readers have that ‘indie’ and ‘rock and roll’ vibe about them and this is why the magazine looks closely at how it is published to appeal to this audience.
I believe that the unique selling point in my magazine is the exclusive interviews with the new up-coming bands that are now hitting the music scene. This is the main sell of my magazine and this shows the readers what the main story is in the magazine. The readers of my magazine are young people who are interested in this and this has been done for this reason. The target audience would also like the magazine as it also includes other relevant features which they are interested in and want to read about; other bands, up-coming festivals etc.
I have learnt a great deal in this particular production connected to both Photoshop CS3 and also digital cameras. I have played around with Photoshop before but not to this extent. I loved being creative with the programme and learning new techniques every step of the way. I learnt how to import photographs and change them to suit the house style of my magazine; changing the contrast and brightness and other techniques to do this. I also became more familiar with tools such as the ‘magnetic lasso’ and ‘polygonal lasso’ tool. As I got more confident with certain tools I saw a clear improvement in my work and designs.
I was very excited about this particular task and couldn’t wait to begin. I had ideas flying from everywhere but I knew that I had managed my time well and make sure that I kept on track. I started by collecting both primary and secondary research. I understood that my audience and their needs were very important. They would be the ones purchasing my magazine so I needed to make sure that my magazine contained articles and features that they would actually want to read.
I gathered lots of information and used this as the base of my magazine. Although I had many of my own ideas, I had to make sure that I included key features; interviews with band members; making sure my magazine was a suitable price; that the house style was relevant and appealing to my target audience etc. I then completed more primary research and soon began to realise that the importance of my clear and iconic masthead was very big. I needed a design which was unique, quirky, and clear and that would appeal and connect to my target audience.
This would be a big trademark of my magazine; people would see the masthead and immediately, without reading it, know which magazine it was, I had to get it correct. I experimented a lot until I finally found a design which I think best suited and belonged to my magazine, and its house style as a whole. I also began to realise the importance of the ‘left-third’ when designing my front cover. This was the part of the magazine that would be seen when on a stand, when people are choosing which magazine to buy. It had to be quirky and eye-catching; something which made it better than the other magazines on the shelf. I needed it to be bright and yet still resemble the house style of my magazine.
I also needed to include an icon which people would see and want to read about. All of this was evaluated when designing and producing the front page. I also had to make sure that the musicians featured in my magazine were represented in the way that fitted their style, genre and image; how the band want to be seen as well as keeping with the theme of my magazine. I picked up on clear quotes and phrases and used this; in pull quotes for instance, this highlighted the key parts of the band in a way in which they want to be portrayed to the audience.
A major part of learning and developing my skills was when importing my photographs and manipulating them using Photoshop. I changed the way they looked; experimenting with the brightness and contrast and also changing the backlight and shadows, all of this added to the final effect. It also added to my knowledge of using both Photoshop and digital cameras to their full potential. I wish to continue using Photoshop and hope to gather even more knowledge and techniques along the way, I believe that this particular production has increased both my knowledge and confidence and I have enjoyed it all very much.
