This is the post in which i will write about my project and try my best to evaluate my efforts so wish me luck !
The task was to produce :
The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine (if done as a group task, each member of the group to produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style).
All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate(s), minimum of four images per candidate.
So first of all the question that was going through my mind was the type of music i wanted to cover?
I grew up listening to hardcore music and had more than enough knowledge of the genre to compile possibly a whole magazines worth but i knew that wasn’t the direction that i wanted to take my magazine.
So at this point i put the question of genre on hold.
I knew i wanted to produce something slightly different so i decided to make sure my magazine would be a FREE magazine picked up in shops around central london and other major cities in the uk. This would mean that the magazine would be paid for by advertising. This didnt pose as a problem because i knew my target audience wouldn’t be put of by this if the advertising was geared towards their needs and wants.
At this point i put together a questionnaire and took to the streets of London , asking 35 people various questions reguarding content of the magazine , from this i decided to produce a magazine geared towards hip hop and electro which was perfect because that is exactly what i wanted to produce.
Knowing my strenghs i decided to put the main emphasis on photography , producing a strong cover image to attract and drag readers in to picking up a free magazine and building up a monthly readership.
As you can see from my “possible photos” catagory and my flickr account i had more than enough photographs to choose from.
First of all i thought i’d run with the hip hop side of the magazinee so i used an image of my friend leo , i thought this image worked nicely however i wasn’t quite happy with its pulling power , so i later decided to change it.
From looking at various free and fashion magazines aimed at my target audience i noticed how the majority of them have a verry simple front cover usually only having the name of the magazine and maybe a little bit of information so i made a concious decision to run with this theme and keep it for my final product.
As for my contents page , i found that alot of contents pages are really over crowded and quite hard to navigate around so in my initial idea i kept it as simple as i thought were possible. Just an image with a classic typeography. I was actually reallyhappy with this layout but later on during the production of my finished product i found a way which linked in even better so decided to run with that instead.
Once i had all the information that i needed and all my rough ideas down on paper it was time to start producing my main product! EXCITING RIGHT?
The idea for my front cover uses a hand drawn font which adds a touch of home craft and traditional D.I.Y ZINE my target audience are familliar with and love.
I’ve kept the cover as simple and as clutter free as possible , just containing as you can see , the masthead and the declaration that it is a free product.
In the design you can clearly see both parts , and i’ve kept the “free” text exactly the same as the title to continue the left to right continuity.
As for the image i deliberately decided to opt for a high key black and white image for the front cover.
This decision was made due to my knowledge of photography and knowing that the dark black tones on a white page would really leap out and grab the viewers attention. This “leaping out” effect as said was accomplished without using any bright colours which i was determined to avoid to keep a sense of beautiful simplicity to the product as a whole. The model ( Laura Davidson) was chosen to be on the cover because she has the key attributes of a model yet holds “unconventional” qualitys such as a lip piercing and short scruffy hair. This relates to the musical theme of the magazine whilst her modeling attributes back up the fashion side my product.
This image was chosen for the cover because of the heir of debauchery it posseses , and its ability to embrace all the energy of a night out in a single frame. Sex is a big part of teenage and young adults lives ( and yes im sure it also applies to you older folk too , naughty naughty) so i tried to embody this sexuality without making it top shelf material and i think i succeded in this task and am glad i used a medium close up to do so.
The name “wired” magazine is a polysemantic idea which came to me whilst watching videos of club nights in london. Here is a selection of meanings behind the name.
1. Electronic music and alot of popular music in general involves alot of wires and leads
2.When one does not sleep due to a long night out staying awake on adrenaline and enjoyment , you are feeling wired
3. The use of casual drugs ever present in teenage music culture such as marijuana , cocaine , mdma and speed leave the user feeling somewhat wired
4. A wire implies a connection of sorts , so this magazine “wired” is the link between new music and music listeners. A direct connection transporting information into the readers heads.
The idea for my contents page was to eliminate the standard codes and conventions of a contents page.
From personal experience i like to browse through a magazine and come across interesting articles and enjoy the surprise rather than planning on reading id before hand and missing out on other pieces that may appeal to me just as much but the write up on the contents page has not done it justice
For “wired magazine” however , the contents page each month will be filled with a message such as “find out for yourself”
or “enjoy the exploration” etc etc. This simple break from the rules would intrigue the reader even more and entice them to read on with breath of fresh air behind them , knowing this is going to be something new and exciting.
The image was chosen to completely contrast the cover page.
The subtle lighting of the face against a black background without any sense of sexuality or mayhem at all.
Natalie adams , the model conveys a sense of tranquility which reflects the type of music involved within, Cover image being the electro and party music whilst the chilled out image of Natalie on the contents page reflects the hip hop side of the magazine.
I went for a classic type font because i think it fits with the image even more than an outlandish wild font or a simple helvetica.
The choice of making the writing white was a fairly easy decision because i feel it leaps from the page due to the majority of the image being black.
My double page spread was a tough one , i wanted to produce something humorus which readers could relate to but also be tied in with images for some visual representation. Being a part of my target audience at this point really helped , i was able to speak of personal experiences that most people have been through at one time.
If i am completely honest , the double page spread was extremely last minute so i decided to turn it into a message for readers which i thought was a funny personal touch. If i was to work on this again , i would definately have produced an article or a review of some sorts because i am pretty confident in my creative writing.
In terms of Institution and publishing , This magazine would be self publicised and free of any institutional links.
This is because it content should be unhindered and uncensored in the way of what suits up top would think is acceptable and completely loose what it is the target audience is interested in. Distribution would not be a problem because the brands which advertise in the magazine would stock copies of the magazine by the entrance and counter of their stores each month.
