The evolution of my magazine front cover

Since I have finally completed the design of my front cover, I have decided to look back at my first mock-up and compare the designs to see how I have improved. Here are my previous mock-up designs compared to my final design:

As you can see, I have definitely improved since I first designed my first cover; I am very happy with how the final product turned out.

Conventions of my front cover

I have included a lot of conventional features for my magazine front cover, so you can say that I have conformed to real media products. There are certain features which I have not included such as a pug, however I think that it looks fine without it. I think that these features would definitely attract readers because it looks eye catching, according to my respondents who I have asked for feed back.

Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I think I have improved greatly since the start of the course when I first designed a magazine cover for my preliminary task; I have gained a lot more knowledge and understanding of the conventional features of a magazine and why they are used in real media products. In addition, I have also learned to challenge some of the conventions in a way that will improve my media product for the better. Here are some of the things I have improved:

Editing Software / Serif Page Plus

When I first used this programme, it took me quite a while to get used to all the functions such as colour changing, grouping and cropping. Comparing my first magazine cover and my final magazine cover, you can see a drastic change since I have a lot more features included on my final cover such as more cover lines, a wider range of font and changing the font sizes. These are all due to me learning how to use Serif to improve my work in the best way possible. I have learnt to use lots of features that I didn't know how to use before, for example cropping became a lot easier once I figured out how to change the sizes of the cropping brush, also I have figured out how to access a wide range of colours and shades to choose from. Overall, I am happy with the final product because I have learnt how to use this software to improve my design.

Fonts

I have learnt to use a range of different fonts for my magazine cover; at first I simply used one or two fonts for the front cover however, my final pages contained a wide range of fonts to convey different meanings. Some examples of fonts I have used are Arial Black, Century gothic and Verdana. My creative pages definitely look better with a range of fonts rather than just one or two.

Secondary Images

As you can see, my first magazine cover did not contain any secondary images however my final cover contain 2 secondary images. The reason I have used secondary images for my final page is to attract my target audience; my final cover definitely looks better with secondary images rather than having no secondary images. I have also learnt why secondary images are included in real media products. Overall, I am happy that I have included these secondary images because my target audience will feel more attracted to buy my magazine if they see artists they like.

Challenging conventions

Not only have I learnt all the conventional features of a magazine, but I have also learnt to challenge these conventions appropriately. Choosing not to conform to certain conventions does not make your media product bad, if anything it may be more desirable and may attract more readers. In my case, I have used black and white images in my magazine which is not a conventional feature since hardly any music magazines do this. I have done this to attract my target audience and to create a unique, creative style to my media product. In addition, I have asked a lot of respondents which colour would suit my indie magazine and a lot of them responded that black and white is suited to the indie genre so that is another reason why I did this. Overall, I am happy challenging the conventions of a magazine as long as it benefits me and the readers of my magazine.

Here is a comparison of my first magazine cover and my final magazine cover:

 

 As you can see, I have improved quite a lot with the addition of several features including more fonts, secondary images and challenging conventions. I am very happy with how my final product turned out.

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Double Page Spread - Final *Updated

I have made minor changes to my double page spread since my last update:

• I have changed the article to 3 columns instead of 4 because it looks much neater and organised
• I have changed the font to 'Gothic720 BT' because it is simple and easy to read, in addition my previous font 'Times New Roman' was very over-used and had no real potential to be good.
• I have added an introduction at the start of the article to give context to the readers before reading the article.

Overall, I am happy with the changes I made and proud of the final result.

Front Cover - Final

I have made minor changes since my third mock-up, however I am fully satisfied with the final version of my front cover.

The first change I have made is that I made the main headline "Francis Basco, Solo artist of the year" bigger. The reason I made it bigger is because I compared my front cover to other magazine covers, and I realized that it was just a bit too small for a front cover. I have conformed to the conventions of real media products since it has influenced me to make the heading bigger. I do think that it is more beneficial for the readers because it is definitely more eye-catching. There is a more likely chance that readers will spot the magazine on the shelf if the heading is bigger and bright.

The other change I have made is the size and font of the issue number and date; I have changed the font to Accord Heavy SF because it looks more eye-catching than my previous font. It would be more beneficial if the date / issue number is bigger so that the audience can identify if they already have this issue or not.

Those are the only changes I have made since the previous mock-up however I am happy with how it turned out in the end.

Contents Page - Final

For my contents page, I have included the main features that you would find in a conventional media product such as secondary images, use of colour, headings and font size. For the secondary images, I did not use any pictures of Francis since I have used him for my front cover, as well as the double page spread. In this page, I have used three other artists/cover models to make the magazine more diverse. With every image, I included the page number at the top corner so that the readers can easily locate the article within the magazine. In relation to the colours, I have kept with the same house style for my magazine which is red, black and white. I have done this because my readers will easily know that this is an Indigo magazine; I have kept the same house style for my front cover, double page spread and contents.

The four sub headings I have included are: Features, Latest Releases, News and Live. The sub heading 'Features' is a conventional feature for many magazine contents pages because it allows the readers to identify the main articles in the magazine; this is also the same reason why I have included this sub heading. For my magazine, the main article is "Francis Basco, solo artist of the year" since I have clearly shown this on my front cover so I have included this heading under the 'Features' so that readers can find it easily, with the addition of the page number obviously. The sub heading 'Latest Releases' is specific to  my magazine since I have based my magazine on upcoming artists; it is not included in many magazine contents page so I would consider it not a convention. The main reason I have included this is so that my target audience can find new upcoming artists, since I am targeting readers who appreciate indie artists and would want to discover new music all the time.

Similarly to most magazine contents pages, I have included the links to social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr with the usernames of the official Indigo page. The reason I have included this is so that the target audience can visit any of the magazine's social media accounts and find out more information on latest updates, news and events. This is a conventional feature within mot magazines so I am conforming to the conventions with this feature.

Other conventional features include the issue number and the date which is essential for all magazines so the readers know when this magazine was published.

a vlog

I made a practice vlog to see how well I can communicate with a camera, since I will be making vlogs to update my coursework in the future. This vlog shows how I can use different forms of media, not just text posts and pictures.

A change in my Central Image?

There is a possibility of changing the central image for my front cover since I have noticed that it looks quite similar to my double page spread. As you can see, the two pictures look quite similar; this may be problematic since I do not want the two pictures to look the same.

I might change the central image of my magazine cover to this picture instead:

 

I think that this image may be suitable for my front cover since it does not look similar to the double page spread. However, there may be some implications with changing the cover image because it will take more time to adjust, which is not beneficial since I still have to work on my contents  page. In addition, I may not end up using the image which means it will waste time and effort. It is not certain yet if I am changing the front cover, but it is just a possibility.

The Commercial Media Triangle

Media producers, including magazine publishers rely on a structure that will help increase their revenue. The Commercial Media Triangle consists of three parts:

Circulation - Amount of people who buy the magazine.
Readership - Total number of people who will read the magazine.
Advertisers - Company's advertising their products.

Front Cover / 3rd Mock Up

As you can see, I have drastically improved a lot of features to my front cover since my last mock-up; I have changed, removed and added features to my front cover to improve it.

What I have changed:

• I changed the background of the front cover to plain black because a few respondents have mentioned how they don't like the previous background; I was also not satisfied with the previous background so I decided to change it to something else. In addition, I think that the white cover lines definitely stand out more because the colours contrast.
• I changed the price of my magazine from £2.99 to £3.99 because I think the price reflects on the quality of the magazine therefore I want the audience to know that my magazine is of high quality.
• I changed the puff; the previous puff simply read "FREE POSTER INSIDE!" but the new one reads "FREE LAST DINOSAURS POSTER!" with the "Last Dinosaurs" logo written in red. By including the name of the band, I think that the audience will most likely buy the magazine since they are familiar with the band instead of getting a random poster of a band that they're not familiar with. In addition, listeners of the band Last Dinosaurs will definitely feel persuaded to buy the magazine since the poster will encourage them.
• I have changed the position of the main cover line "FRANCIS BASCO: Solo artist of the year" into the centre of the magazine so that it conveys that he is the main article of the magazine. I have also increased the size of the font, as well as adding an "official!" logo at the top to convey that it is exclusive and official...obviously. I wrote it in red so it is clearly noticeable.
• I changed the size, as well as the logo of my mast head; the mast head is still INDIGO however I got rid of the box around the logo because I felt that it was not necessary. In addition, I increased the size so that it fills up the majority of the top part of the magazine.
• I also added secondary images on my front cover because it looks more like a magazine cover.
• I have also included the logos of several bands at the bottom of the front cover so that it can target the audience more, in addition they may feel compelled to buy the magazine if they have the bands that they like in the magazine.

Semiotic analysis of non-music magazines

Feedback for my Final DPS

I showed my final double page spread to some participants and asked them what they think of it; here is what they said:

• I like the way you have written "Francis Basco" up on the guitar neck because it looks creative
• The picture used is striking and shows the artist is passionate and professional which makes me want to read the article
• The article is enjoyable to read, and the language is appealing.
• I like the use of secondary images as it looks like an actual magazine article
• I like how the colours are the same as the front cover because it shows that you managed to keep a house style for your magazine
• It's sophisticated and detailed with the use of colours
• It also shows the single of the artist which may attract more people to buy it

Overall, the feedback is positive and I did not receive any negative feedback from the participants.

Double Page Spread - 2nd Mock-Up

Indigo Rate Card

Influnces for my Double Page Spread

While I was designing my double page spread, I searched for music magazine double page spreads that would inspire me to come up with my own design. Here are some of the ones that have influenced my design:

This double page spread has certain features which are included in my own design; the use of colours in this design is quite similar to mine, for example the red box which surrounds the first letter of the article. My design uses the same colour scheme which is red and white. In addition, the white box which surrounds the article text is almost similar as mine, however I made mine slightly transparent.

Similarly to the previous design, the colour scheme is very identical to my own design with the use of red and white text. In addition, the central image is in black and white so it is the same as my design. The use of large texts as quotations has also influenced me to enlarge the quotes on my design. There are also secondary images on this design which made me decide to include secondary images on my own design.

Unlike the previous designs, this double page spread writes the article around the cover model which I think is very creative. The other designs have the articles written away from the cover model but this doesn't; this has influenced me to do the same so I included the articles around the cover model rather than away from the cover model.

Double Page Spread semiotic analysis

For my first mock up double page spread, I have included a lot of features including quotes, secondary and the cover model; all of these features are conventions of a double page spread which I have researched. I found quite a few magazine double page spreads which have influenced me to design my own. One of the most obvious feature is the name of the artist "FRANCIS BASCO"; I have chosen to write this in capitals because it stands out and it conveys his importance in the article. The colour of his name is in red because it follows the house style of my magazine , which is black, white and red. The cover model, and the background of the image is in black and white because of the house style of the magazine. The use of these colours allow the reader to identify that this is an Indigo magazine; the colour scheme will be recognizable to anyone.

 

I have written the quote "All you need is passion" in in white since it complements the background colour, in addition it stands out quite well. I have also changed the size of each word so that they are all different sizes, I think that this is effective because some words are bigger than others, for example "Passion" is quite large because it is quite a dramatic word and it can impact the reader.

 

For the articles, I have created a transparent box and wrote the articles on top of it. I have done this because it is clear to read the articles; I think that it is better than using a plain white box because it will look too simple and boring. I have also included a drop capital for the first letter of the article. "F" is written in white font and it is in a red box with white border lines. Again, these colours match the colour scheme of the magazine. I have included this feature because it is a common feature in most magazines, and it looks quite attractive.

 

I decided to use the pictures from my photo-shoot as the secondary images because they are still decent pictures so I wanted to  include them in  my double page spread somehow. The best option is for me to use them as the secondary images. 

 

Contents page plan

Double Page Spread 1st mock-up.

Here is the first mock up design for my double page spread; I'm quite happy with how it turned out however it is not the same as the plan which I originally was going to do. I will ask feedback from others to see what I can improve.

Magazine cover Feedback (2nd mock-up)

After I made improvements from my 1st mock-up front cover, I have decided to ask other people what they think of my 2nd mock-up front cover. I filmed their responses; I have gained a a lot of positive feedback, however there is definitely room for improvements.

After hearing their responses, here are some of the improvements I will make:

• I will consider changing the price since some of my respondents have said that it may be too expensive, however others say it is a good price.
• I will add a pug
• I will improve my puff, or consider adding more.

After making these improvements, I will see what other feedback I will get in the future.

How magazines make money.

Magazine publishers earn money from advertisements, subscriptions & the sales generated from newsstands. One of the most common way, though is through advertisements. For popular magazines such as "Marie Claire" or "Cosmopolitan", it is much easier for them to generate revenue through the advertisements in their magazines since they have a stable customer base that continually purchase and read every issue. Marie Claire has a total of 351 pages per magazine, however 90 of these pages contain adverts; Marie Claire charges £17,807 for one full page of advertising which means they will gain a total of £1,602,630 for advertising revenue. So, the more magazines purchased by consumers, the more they will gain revenue. Here is a screen shot of Marie Claire's rate card which includes their rate for advertising:

Companies who choose to advertise their products in Marie Claire have done this because they know that Marie Claire has a loyal customer base so they know that consumers will view their products, and may be persuaded in buying them. Usually, companies with similar target audiences will more likely to advertise their products in a magazine that would be interested in buying them, for example new fashion products would be advertised in Marie Claire and fitness products would be advertised in Men's Health.

Double Page Spread Image - Selection process

For my double page spread, I used one of the pictures I took during the photo shoot with the cover model. Here is the image I will be using:

There are several reasons why I chose this picture rather than the others which I took. Firstly, I think that this picture is very high quality and it would be appropriate to use for a double page spread since the picture is horizontal instead of vertical. Since the picture is horizontal, I have more room for editing and more space to include the features of a double page spread such as the articles, quotes and cover lines. Another reason why I chose this picture is that you can clearly see the cover model's body position and facial expressions which is what I was aiming to capture during the photo-shoot; the use of the mid-close up shot clearly focuses on the way he is playing the guitar, as well as his facial expressions which convey focus and passion whilst he is singing. In addition to this, you can see the clothes he is wearing clearly. I think that the lighting in this picture is very good too since I used natural light outside rather than artificial light, it looks rather simple, minimalistic and natural; there are no obvious lighting effects done on the picture.

There are some reasons why I did not choose the other pictures -

1. I think that this picture is not the best because I did not like the angle in which it was taken; during the photo-shoot, I tried experimenting with different angles and shots to see which one captured the model's body position and facial expressions the best. This one did not appeal to me because you cannot see the guitar clearly, in addition he is not singing in this shot which conveys a rather dull and boring facial expression on his face.

This picture was a little better than the previous one, however it is not the best. I think that the use of the long mid-shot here is irrelevant as I did not need to capture the cover model's legs. I think that I should use a more zoomed in picture to really capture his facial expressions, whilst showing the right amount of body position to show what he is doing.

I think that this is a decent picture, however it should not be used in the double page spread since the cover model is not singing. Even though I like the quality of this picture, I would much rather prefer one where he is singing to convey how passionate he is about his music.

Double Page Spread plan

Magazine Cover Picture - Selection Process

After the photo-shoot, I ended up with 5 final photos that I will use for my magazine cover. Out of the 5 photos, I have decided to choose this photo for the final front cover. I have chosen this photo for various reasons, firstly this photo captures the cover model's body posture and facial expressions very clearly which is important because it conveys the type of artist he is. His facial expression is very concentrated so it shows how passionate he is about his music, in addition he is holding a guitar to show the readers what type of genre he produces. I think that the mid shot angle of this photo is the best angle to use as you can clearly see he is playing the guitar, as well as his clothes and face.

The background image complements the cover model very well; the white wall behind him contrasts with his overall body and the color of his clothes which enhances the picture more clearly. The cover model would have been harder to see if the background was a darker shade of color; I think that white was the correct background to use for this photo-shoot.

There are a few reasons why I did not choose the other pictures -

I do no think that this is the right picture to use for my magazine cover; the lighting in the picture is definitely too dark and you cannot see the cover model's face properly.In addition, the shadow in the background doesn't appeal to me because I would prefer a picture where the background is completely white. A completely white background will complement the colors of his clothes and will contrast well. Overall, I don't like this picture so I will not use it.

This is a decent picture, however the cover model's facial expressions are not "dramatic" enough; I think that the model should be singing so that the readers understand that he is a singer, as well a guitar player.

This is not the best photo to use since you cannot see the whole guitar; I would prefer to use a photo where you can see the guitar as well as the cover model playing it.










In conclusion, I think that the chosen photo appeals most to my target audience which is why I have chosen it; I think that it would make a good magazine cover.

Artists that I may include in my magazine

Since the genre of my magazine is indie, it is important that I include indie artists. I will include indie artists that are both popular and unknown within the genre, so that it can attract both types of audiences. Readers who want to read about their favourite artists and readers who want to discover new music, will both benefit from this since there is a diverse combination of artists included. Here are some of the artists I will include in my magazine:

  

Sarah Jaffe

                             Oh Wonder 
                             

                     The xx                                                                    Tallest Man on Earth

Some of the more popular indie artists within the genre are The xx, whilst some upcoming artists that are lesser known are Oh Wonder. I think that it is good to include a variety of artists so that it will attract a lot more people who will be interested in buying my magazine.

The Photo-shoot

I have planned the photo-shoot before carrying it out, you can read it here - Planning my photo-shoot. 

The location of my photo-shoot is outside the chapel since this location has a white background which I think is an appropriate background for my cover model. In addition, I chose an outside location since I prefer to use natural light than artificial light. The cover model played a guitar during the photo-shoot because I wanted to capture him immersed in his music; we can see that he is focused whilst playing the guitar. I think that his outfit, which is mostly red, contrasts well with the white background behind him since it enhances his body language; it is much clearer to see what he is doing.

I took several photos during the photo-shoot because it is more useful to have lots of photos to choose from afterwards; I deleted the ones which I think are not good enough. Overall, I ended up with about 20 photos, however these are the ones that I think were the best quality:

Cover Model: Francis Basco