Fonts

Throughout my magazine I will be using several different fonts although they are all different they go well together. After looking at my two other magazines I have noticed that they also use a range of different fonts to go with different features throughout they magazines. They also have two of three consistent fonts used without. Using signature bands fonts that people can associate with the band was also a thing commonly used. Using different and clashing fonts add to the rebellious vibe that is associated with rock. I will try to apply these techniques when picking my fonts as using the wrong font can change the theme of the magazine.



This is the font I would use for my magazine title. I like the way the font is very urban styled as it goes well with the rock theme of the magazine. The sound wave line going through the text goes with the title of the magazine well ‘loudspeaker’. It also gives the text a rebellious feel. I think this text will appeal to the target audience as they are individualists and this font face is original. It also suggests rock music which should appeal to them.



This is a font I will use on my contents page. It will go well with my diary of a groupie feature. It looks hand written and the scribbled style of it makes it seem more rock and modern. I think this will appeal to my target audience as not only does it go well with the feature but is also goes well with the other fonts on the page.



I will use this font as my band logo font. This font will be what features on the all of my bands album covers and what readers will associate with the band. I will use it as people will recognize it and associate it with my band. I will use it on my cover page and double page spread page.



This is font I will use on all of my pages. It will be a useful font to use for subtitles. It is decorative and its distorted look is very rock. I think it will appeal to my target audience as it looks good, goes with my other fonts and it suggests rock music.



This font I am going to use consistently throughout my pages. This font is simple and readable enough for me to use for my main pieces of text. It has a modern feel to it that will go with my other fonts.

Flat Plans

This is my first flat plan for my front cover. I have made it very minimalistic and have based it on the metal hammer cover. The main focus on this page will be the cover image. I have placed the masthead at the top of the page and placed a strapline at the bottom of the page. This creates a frame for the main image. This layout is very plain and it contains no main cells or any main flash. This layout worked well for metal hammer however I feel it won’t appeal as much to my target audience. The target audience of metal hammer has a really good music knowledge and won’t need much information about the magazine to buy it. My target audience is more students and they will want value for money and like to read about new bands. A more exciting front cover would be appropriate.



My next flat plan is how I want my front cover to look. I have placed the masthead on the top of the page which is typical of many magazines. The main image will act as the background with other elements of the cover placed on top of it. To make my magazine look individual I will use different shaped boxes that will contain content. My main flash will be placed sharp cut square which will not only make it stand out but will give it a rock edge. My main cell, which will be located below my main flash, will be in layered boxes. The text box will be placed above the box containing the image. On the right hand side of the page I will place a main cell with a list of other bands featured this issue. This is similar to what rock sound includes on its cover. I liked this as not only does it look good but it appeals to the target audience as it tells them exactly what they are buying. Beneath this I have placed the bar code, price and issue number. I have placed it in the right hand corner as I don’t want it to be the focus of the page at all. On the left hand corner I have placed a banner giving more details about the reviews the magazine contains. I feel this cover will appeal more to the target audience as it gives them more of an insight to what is in the magazine. It also gives the cover more of a design and its a lot more exciting than the other cover.



This is the flat plan for my contents page. I have split the page into three sections. The column on the left hand side contains a list of the things that feature every week in the magazine. The bottom half of the page contains an image of the band on the cover with the page number their interview will feature on. This is so people who buy the magazine who are fans of the band can get to that page easily. The interview with the band is also one of the main features in the magazine and therefore i want it to be a main focus. The right hand column contains images and page numbers of the features exclusive to this week. This is like a bulletin board and i will give all the pictures borders to help add to this effect. People may recognize some bands in the pictures and my want to skip to that page. It also helps give the contents page an unusual layout and rebel look. Although it has a messy layout it is still easy to read and will make it easy for the reader to go to pages they want.

This is the flat plan for my double page spread. This is my layout idea for my interview feature. The top half of the page is an image of the band. The interview with the band is located on the bottom half of the page. There is a small fact box about the band located in the bottom right hand corner of the page. I have placed the title of the page on the left hand side slightly above the start of the interview article. The image of the band is the main focus of the page. If readers are just flicking through the magazine the size of the image should be enough to stop them on that page. They may also recognize the band and want to read about them. I have included a fact box as i feel this will appeal to my target audience. They will like to read about new bands and if they have never heard of this band they may like to know a bit more about them.

Analysis of existing magazines

The magazine is called Rock Sound. From its name alone you can tell the magazine is rock music one.

The target audience for this magazine will be people who listen to rock music.They will also be individualists. They will probably be students around the age of 16 – 25, as they will have more time to listen to music.

The masthead isn’t right at the top of the page. It is a little bit lower to allow room for the free gift information. The tagline is under this. The main flash occupies the centre of the page with the main cells arranged at the edges. Some of the main cells overlap the imagery associated with the main flash. This effect helps give the cover a causal and informal feel. The price, issue number bar code etc … is located in the right hand corner. This mean that you don’t really take much notice of it and when you look at the cover the focus is on the content of the magazine.

The font used for the title is a sans serif and very rocky edged font. The use of an outer shadow helps give the text an outline without taking away any of its masculinity. It also gives it a 3D effect without looking cheesy. The size of this font is quite big and it is easily readable. Under this the tagline has been placed. It has been underlined to help make it stand out and it is written using the same font face that had previously been used. The size of it is a lot smaller, however it is still readable. This font is used throughout the cover. The second font used on the cover is a more decorative font. It is softer and not as bold as the other font used, it is also a serif font. Both fonts go well together and help add to the rock music feel of the cover.

Most of the colours used on this cover are light. The title font is green. This coordinates with the items of green clothing that the people in the picture are wearing. It also helps the title stand out really well against light coloured background. Other pieces of text are in a contrasting bright yellow colour. This really makes the pieces of text written in this colour stand out a lot more than the title. Also using contrasting colours gives the magazine a rebellious and individual feel. Other colours used are white black and grey. These colours are used well and help all of the colours look good together. I think the light background ensures that anything placed on top of it stands out and its cloudy pattern helps make it more interesting.

There are four images on the cover. The main one is of the band featured in this issue. Their facial expressions and posture are quite serious and they look like they mean business. This is a reflecting a rock attitude. The other images are a lot smaller than this one. They each are positioned with the main cells they are associated with. One shows a member of the band Megadeth with a similar posture and facial expression as the image associated with the main flash (serious facial expression and posture). The next image shows a rocker posing with a guitar in a typical rock star pose. The final image is of two previews of the posters featured in the magazine.

The main flash is an interview and it contains a small summery of what the interview will be about and the bands name. There are two main cells that have information about free gifts. On the left side of the cover there is a list of bands that will be featured in the magazine. On the right hand side there are three main cells. Each of them contains a little bit of information about a feature in the magazine. The last piece of content on the page is in the top right hand corner. It is presented as a sticker and overlaps the name of the magazine. This also gives the reader a preview of album releases the magazine has reviewed. The cover uses a combination of colour and font size to make pieces of typography stand out. Most of the content on this cover is band names. By just stating a band name the magazine assumes that the reader should have already heard of these bands. At one point they just use the initials of a band (FFAF) assuming the reader will know who they are. This shows that the readers of this magazine will already have musical knowledge. Everything is also written is capital letters. This makes everything you read feel important. The language used is informal and adds a casual tone to the cover.

The cover appeals to the target audience in many different ways. The text on the cover is straight to the point, by listing the bands featured. From the cover you know exactly what you are going to read in this magazine. Students like things to be value for money and by listing all the bands featured it makes you feel there is more in the magazine then there actually is. The fonts used are also quite masculine and appealing. They help reflect the rock genre of the magazine. The colour scheme is unusual and will appeal to individualists.



This is the cover for Metal Hammer magazine. Metal Hammer is a rock and heavy metal magazine.

The target audience for this magazine will be individualists. Metal music is often seen as rebellious and will appeal to this group of people. Metal music is dominated by male fans therefore the magazine will be more aimed at a male target market.

The font used for the title of the magazine is sans serif. Its very bold and masculine. It looks very metallic as if it has been made out of a piece of metal. Metal has been placed on the side of the H. This effect looks quite cool and goes well with the metal theme. Two of the other fonts used on the page are more decorative. This is because they are signature fonts of the band they are advertising as being in the magazine. The third font used is similar to the title font but not as bold. There are three colours used on the cover white, black and red. The text on the page is written in either red or white and this helps out stand out against the dark background colour.

There is one main image on the cover. It is quite an aggressive image as it shows a lead singer of the band Disturbed breaking through some glass. You can see the other members of the band in the pieces of shattered glass. The focus of this image is the lead singer as he is the most recognizable member of the band.

The image is the main focus of the whole front cover. There is no piece of text associated with the image. The cover doesn't even state the bands name. This suggests that if you buy this magazine you would already have knowledge in this genre of music. There is another example of this as a band acronym is also used instead of the bands full name. A strap line advertising other bands featured in the magazine has been place on the top of the cover. There is no information about whether it will be an interview or a review just the band names are stated.

I think the cover will appeal to the target audience. Its aggressive imagery and masculine fonts go with the metal tone of the magazine. The dark colours used also reflect the metal music genre.



This is the Rock Sound contents page.

It is easy read as everything in the magazine is separated into categorises rather than the pages being listed in number order. This makes it easy for the reader to skip to the pages they want to read. All of the pages are listed on the left hand side of the page and the use of a red and white background helps makes the writing stand out. The red half of the page has pictures of bands with the page number they are on placed on top of them. This is good because readers will recognize a band they like and can go straight to that page. This also makes the contents page more visually interesting. The red half of the page is lightly patterned and this helps give the colour a more rock rebellious feel.

Overall I think this contents page is really effective. It has an easy to use organization of its pages and the layout of the pictures help give is a scrapbook feel. The patterned background and it's patchy colour scheme really gives it a rock feel. I think this page will appeal to the target audience as it is easy to use and it looks well put together.




The language of the article is quite casual and descriptive. It sets the mood of the interview by describing the setting in which it is taking place. The article isn’t split into paragraphs and is just two columns of text. The article is located on the right hand side of the double page spread as the photo of the band takes up the rest of it. The article is highlighted as it is on a white column. This helps the black text stand out. The bands name is used as a heading and is also in the bands signature font. A little summery of the band is highlighted in red and has been placed next to the heading.

The picture takes up a whole page and then some. The bands logo and a quote from the interview have been placed on top of the image. The quote has been placed in a transparent green box to help make it stand out. The facial expressions of the band members are serious and the most recognizable member of the band (the lead singer) had been placed in the middle and more towards the front. The members of the band are wearing black and this really makes them stand out against the green background. The other image on the page is in the top right hand corner of the white column. It is a small black and white photo of the band performing live with black patterns coming off of it. It makes the white column more interesting without overpowering the text.

Overall I think the layout and tone of the article will suite the target audience. Its casual and descriptive language will help keep their attention throughout the article and the use of a large image helps make it clear that the article is about the band. The large picture also looks very rock and will appeal to the target audience too.

Target Audience

I will be creating a rock and metal music magazine. To help me establish my target audience i will analyze two media packs from two magazines of a similar genre. The first one i will analyze is Metal Hammer.



The first thing Metal Hammer stats is the average age and gender of the reader. 85% are young males and the average age is 22. 41% are in employment and 51% are studying. It then goes onto explain the reader habits. The first fact they give is that an average reader spends 3 hours reading each issue and 85% will keep the issue for future reference. The next point is about how the reader will responded to the magazine. 61% of readers will make a purchase as a result of the magazine and 61% will visit a company's website as a result of something in the magazine. The next points are how the readers are involved in the music scene. Half or the readers go to a music gig at least once a month and 79% will be attending a music festival in the next twelve months. 2/3 of the readers also play the guitar and 1/3 are in a band. 76% feel they are the first to know about new music and 93% give advise to friends and family. £112 is the average amount spent by on reader on music each month.

From this i conclude that the readers of Metal Hammer are passionate about music.They have a good knowledge about music and love to talk about it. They are also male and young.




This is the media pack for Rocksound. The first thing in the media pack is key facts about the magazine. It has the circulation,readership and frequency. It also has the core target as being 15- 24 year old. It also states what shops the magazine will be available at. The next page has more specific facts about the readers habits. The first thing they state is that 58% of readers are female with an mean age of 21. 80% of which regularly go to gigs and festivals and 61% spend over £25 a month on clothes. 30% also by a new computer game every month. 73% are musicians and 63% visit a music shop once a week. Readers spend and average of 2 hours reader each issues and often keep it for future reference.

"The elusive and highly desirable youth culture market. For
our readers, music is more than something they listen to.
It’s a way of life. Rock music defines the clothes they wear,
the films they like and the games they play. Readers turn to
Rock Sound to tell them what’s hot and what’s happening
in the music scene that makes their world. Our readers
influence others to purchase products. They are usually the
first to know and take pride in spreading the word."

Above is a quote taken from the media pack. It gives a detailed review of the personality of their readers.

Overall i conclude that the average Rocksound reader is female and aged in between 15 - 24. They love to spread the word about new music and enjoy going to gigs and festivals. They also take a lot of pride in the way they look.

Both these media pack have been helpful in helping me establish my target audience. The target audience of my magazine will be:

Aged between 15 - 24 - this is a good range and isn't too broad.
Students - students will have more time to listen to new music they are also more excepting of new and upcoming bands.
Individualists - my target audience will like too look good and mainly shop at clothes store such as H&M. They like to stand out and will think of themselves as "emo" or "scene".
Most of them will be musicians themselves

Knowing my target audience is a key part of making my magazine successful. I can make all of the people i use in my magazine will look appealing and wear similar clothes to them. I can also use a language they can relate with. If i wrote my magazine articles too formally that may put them off. Using a more relaxed and having a conversational tone to my articles will help the target audience feel more relaxed and make them enjoy reading it. Knowing my target audience means that i can make the content of my magazine appropriate to them. If i put articles in my magazine about stuff they didn't want to read about (e.g. spice girls reunion) then they wont want to buy the magazine.

Introduction

In this task we have been asked to create a four page music magazine. I have chosen to create a rock magazine. In this task i will be using skill i have learnt from the preliminary coursework task.

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