Flat Plan of my magazine

Flat Plan

Existing Flat Plan

Q Magazine Flatplan

This is a flatplan for Q magazine. A flatplan is a rough layout of where everything is going to go and what page it will be on. It shows clearly what will be on what page and therefore makes it easier when creating the magazine. 

Representation

Representation of Men and Women in the Music Industry.

Men and women are represented very differently within the music industry. Women are often represented as a sexual object and this is shown clearly, by how they are dressed within the music industry. Women are often dressed in small tight outfits, and often have a lot of skin showing. Whereas men are represented as powerful and smart, as they are often dressed in suits or casual smart outfits. Another example is that the women's body language is more provocative way, however the men's body language is a lot more relaxed and they stand casually. This gives women a bad image and reputation, just based on the outfits they wear and their body language. Below are some image examples of music magazines which show the difference of how men and women are represented.                                                              

Mood Board

Mood Board of Magazines

This is a mood board of pop magazines. This shows the clear style of a pop magazine and the general theme and costume ideas through pop magazines. I have noticed that they generally always use a close up of the model on the front cover or a mid shot if they are showing costume and the body of the artist. All images are generally quite sexualised too. 

Chosen Genre

Chosen Genre

For my music magazine I have chosen to do a pop magazine as I believe this is a good genre to do as there are large target audiences and there is a wide range of ways to make the magazine using the layouts and fonts. I am able to easily identify key features of a pop magazine and what kind of outfit and make-up my model would need for the main image. I listen to a lot of pop music, and therefore will be able to make sub-headings based on my understanding of typical sub-heading and main feature story themes. I have a good understanding of what’s a typical convention of a pop magazine and therefore believe I will do better on a pop genre than any other genre. As I have read many pop magazines I feel confident on knowing typical layouts and colour schemes as well as fonts used and their sizes depending on importance of the story.

photoshop workshop - Recreation of front cover

Recreation of an Existing Magazine Cover

Billboard magazine cover

My recreation of the magazine cover

what I did: 

For this task we were asked to recreate a existing magazine front cover. using photoshop I chose to recreate a billboard magazine. The tools I used were a rectangular marquee tool, eyedropper tool, magic eraser tool, paint bucket tool, horizontal type tool, ellipse tool. From this task I have learnt to develop my photoshop skills and ability. I have also learnt what the typical codes and conventions of a magazine front cover. 

Audience research - Findings from questionnaire

Finding from Questionnaire

From my questionnaire I found out that the most popular age group was 16-17, and female. This means my magazine will be targeted at this age group and gender. It also allows me to give a distinct colour scheme to my magazine to reach my target audience. The most popular music genre was pop, which means I will be able to give my artist the right clothing and make-up to show the audience clearly what genre the magazine is. Most people read magazines every week, therefore my magazine will include a weekly chart update, so it can tell the audience that the magazine will be updated weekly so they can keep up to date with the charts. I found that 'Billboard' was the most popular magazine for my target audience, therefore I will use 'Billboard' as my inspiration. The most important part of a magazine was the front cover and the celebrity that is featured.

Audience research – create a questionnaire

Create a Questionnaire.

To make a successful magazine cover I will create a questionnaire to find out the most popular type of music and what they audience would want to read in my magazine. I will send my questionnaire to my target audience to find out what would make the best magazine for my target audience. The questions I will use are: 

- How old are you?

- What gender are you?

- What genre of music do you like?
- On average how often do you read music magazines?

- What magazine is most interesting interesting?

- What is the most important part of a magazine?
- Where do you look for the top music charts?

These questions will help me find out what would make a successful magazine. It will let me know what genre is most popular, what people find most interesting about magazines and how often people read magazines. 

Magazine placement within a shop

Magazine Placement 

The music magazines are located in the middle as this is very central and means that this will be the first place you will look. They are also at head height which means they can easily and therefore this can be seen as a boost in sales as they will be noticed first and therefore people will pick them up and want to buy them. By them being located in the middle this shows us that they are a best seller because the shop has decided to give them the prime position. The genre of magazine I will be making is pop. These are located in the very centre as they are typically the brightest magazine and therefore stands out more than the others. 

Audience Research - Profiles

Audience Research Profiles

Pop music is generally heard by teenagers between the ages of 14 and 21, however older people also sometimes listen to pop music as well. There is no age limit, but some older people find pop music immature. Female are the main gender in the pop music industry.  Rap music is generally listened to by teenagers  between ages of 14 and 21 as well. Many older people will find rap music to inappropriate as they tend to use explicit language. Country music is listened to by almost all ages in parts of western America. In America children are brought into the likes of country because of their surroundings. However audiences in England would not listen to country music at all.

I compared the list of artists listened to by a 65 year old and a 14 year old to compare who they would listen too. The top artists for the 65-year-old listener included a few currently popular artists along with many  artists from years ago. While the top artists for the 14-year-old includes only the current artists.  Many 65-year-olds will not want to listen to current pop music, but rather pop music from when they were younger. Pop has changed a lot over time.

Institutions

Institutions 

Bauer

The Bauer Media Group is one of the most successful media companies within the world. More than their 570 magazines, which includes Kerrang. 50 radio stations, TV stations and over 300 digital products are consumed by millions of people around the world. The company’s portfolio also includes printing companies, postal services and services in the fields of distribution, marketing and media sales. The groups turnover is stable and more than two billion Euros. With global positioning strategies, the Bauer media group underscores it’s passion for people and brands. The claim “we think popular” highlights the Bauer media group perception of it and as a publisher of popular media and provides inspiration and motivation to its more than 11,000 employees in 16 countries. magazines such as Q magazine and kerrang are published by Bauer.  

Time inc

The first issue of Time (March 3, 1923), featuring Speaker Joseph G. Cannon. Time magazine was created in 1923 by Briton Haden and Henry Luce, making it the first weekly news magazine in the United States. Time inc is one of the world’s most influential media companies- its home to 90 iconic brands as well as more than 50 diverse brands within the united kingdom. Their digital properties include more than 50 websites reaching 120 million monthly digital visitors, 1 billion user-initiated video streams and a social footprint of 146 million through the platforms of social media such as face book, twitter and YouTube. magazines such as NOW and Women's magazine are published  by Time Inc.

IPC

IPC was founded in 1957 as the Institute for Printed Circuits. As more electronics assembly companies became involved with the association, the name was changed to the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits. By the 1990s, most people in the industry could not remember the full name and/or didn't agree on what the words in the name meant. Since the 1957, IPC has been guiding the electronic interconnection industry throughout the years. A global trade association dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its more than 3,500 member companies. IPC represents all facets of the industry including design, printed board manufacturing, and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2 trillion global electronics industry.

Billboard Magazine History

History of a Music Magazine

Billboard magazine is primarily a music industry publication. Billboard magazine is one of the top leading magazines in the music industry. The magazine has a huge impact on the music business and its artists. While many regard Billboard as the contemporary guide to the music business, the magazine debut publication was in 1894, before the music industry as we know it today existed.  Billboard magazine was first launched in the fall of 1894 by two partners of the names; William H. Donald and James H. Hennegan. This was made as a publication for the billposting business. Both had worked with the printing industries prior to the publication of Billboard magazine. Donaldson saw the need for a new publication that would inform the roving bill posters of industry news; what’s more, the new publication could help both the families printing first stay in touch with their major clients. The magazine was named ‘Billboard Advertising’ and was published monthly. The first issue came out on November 1^st 1894 and was eight pages long and with a cover price of 10 cents.

The magazine's first cover main story was R.C. Campbell; who at that time was president of the Billboard magazine  company.  In June 1896, the first signs of entertainment coverage started appearing into ‘Billboard Advertising’ with the introduction of a fair advertisement. The magazine began reporting on the carnival and fair attraction. The magazine also began running ads such as colourfully named attractions such as cook’s royal roman hippodrome. In February 1897, ‘Billboard Advertising’ made a huge shift in direction. The magazine had shortened the name to just ‘The Billboard’ and carried the name to 1961. Listing of fair and ads for outdoor attraction began to dominate the magazine. By the time the 1960’s came around, the magazine was still called ‘The Billboard’ and coverage of tent shows and carny pitchmen still shared space with the music stories, charts and reviews. 

                                                                                                                                                                     

It was time for another huge change and so with the issue dated January 9^th 1961 the carnival and fair coverage was put into a new publication and ‘The Billboard’ took on a new name ‘Billboard Music Week’. Billboard was no longer business magazine but a music magazine. Today ‘Billboard’ magazine is now managed by president and publisher John Killcullen, with editors Tamara Conniff and Ken Schlager. Under the new managment, the magazine underwent a major redesign. Although music is still the heart of the matter the magazine and its new platformed website have expanded their scope to cover all manner of digital and mobile entertainment. ‘Billboard’ is now read in more than 100       countries and attracts more than 2.5 million readers each month.

Annontation - DPS layout

Annotation of Double Page Spread Layout

The main typical conventions for a double page are the tile, main image and a story. The title is mainly found as the largest text on the page. This makes the title of the story stand out, and easily lets the consumer find the page quicker. There is always an image of who the story is about and this tends to be the biggest picture on the page. The shots are either a mid shot or a close up as this makes the artist more noticeable. The story is written in columns and are often interview styled. The font and colours used vary from artist to artist as the double page spread is based on the style and personality of the artist. For example the double page spread about Nicki Minaj is in pink and has big bold writing, this was used as she is represented as having a very girly character, and pink is a stereotypical girly colour. Another example is the double page spread about Beyonce is in purple and has very edgy font. This relates to Beyonce’s personality as purple is a royal colour and she is known as ‘Queen B’ and the edgy writing matches her and the name of the article as she is seen as a very strong and powerful woman. 

Double Page Spread analysis

Double page spread analysis

Q Magazine, have a modern and sleek layout. There is a large photograph of the artist that the article is about. In this case it is lady gaga. There is a constant colour scheme through out the magazine and it continues into the double page spread. The colour scheme consists of red, black and white. The main mage of the artist is put in black and white, the background of the article is white with black writing and the large L is in red. All 3 of these colours portray fairly similar meanings.

Red is associated with energy, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire and love. Black is associated with power, elegance, formality and mystery. White is associated with elegance, power and innocence. These all have similar meanings as they are all associated with power and elegance. Therefore by using them colours it makes the artist and the magazine look powerful and elegant. However black and red can be quite dark and mysterious, which gives the magazine have a mysterious side to it, but the white brings a lighter side and balanced out the colours to give it an overall positive look. Your eye is instantly drawn towards the red letter 'L' because it takes up the most of the page and is in bright red. There is a large red L on the white background underneath the writing. This makes the artist stand out as it is the first letter of her name. The main image is of Lady Gaga, this image portrays a bad image for women because she is practically naked and it is very provocative, this however this could mean that it would also attract a male audience as well as a female audience. The title isn’t very large, and is placed at the top of the page which is a typical convention of a double page spread. However the title doesn't stand out as much, however the large red L makes up for this and stands out land makes people look at it and want to read it because its different to how a magazine would stereotypically lay a double page spread. The article is in columns, which is a typical convention of a magazine double page spread. 

Billboard magazine have gone for a more lively and colourful look, using striking fonts and images. The use of lively colours could show off the artist, who the double page spread is about and their personality. The colour scheme for the double page spread does not follow the same colour scheme that is on the front cover, this is because the front cover and contents page will have a theme that represents the style of the magazine, where as the double page spread has a theme that represents the style of the artist. The colour scheme for the double page spread is purple, grey and white. The colour purple is often associated with royalty, and therefor this colour fits in well with the article as the artist is Beyoncé, and she is often related to as ‘Queen B’, therefor using the colour purple is a good reflection of the artist. Native Americans associate grey with friendship, as Beyoncé originates from America, this could symbolize her friendship with all the readers and makes her and the magazine more welcoming and friendly. Lastly the colour white is associated with purity and kindness. This represents that Beyoncé is pure and natural and is kind, this will then create a relationship between Beyoncé and the readers. The title of the double page spread is ‘ Fiercely Creative’ and is in bold white font at the top of the page. This is a typical convention to have the title at the top of the page as it will be where you first look, also by having it in large bold font and in white it stands out completely against the dark purple font and draws the audience in. There is a large photo of Beyoncé on the right hand side. This makes her and the article stand out more as when the reader is flicking through the magazine, Beyoncé's face will stand out and will make the reader stop and read the article. The article is in columns, this is a typical convention of a double page spread article.

­­­­

 Blender magazine has gone for a black and white theme which a hint of blue and purple for their article. This choice of colour has is used to represent the artist. the colour scheme is very simple, the colour white represents purity and innocence, which contrast with the models pose and could show two sides to the artist. The colour black represents power and goes along with the models pose. The choice of the colour blue and purple represent royalty and therefore shows the artist as very powerful.  The main features on the double page spread includes; a masthead, main image, main body of text and a summary of the article. These are all typical conventions of a double page spread. The subject isn't wearing much clothing which portrays a bad image for women because it is very provocative due to the minimal clothing, however this could be another way to bring in a wider audience. The main body of text is very structured in two columns which is a typical convention of a double page spread. The summary of the article just gives a short summary of what you are able to find, to hook the reader and draw them in. This is typically placed above the main body.