Evaluation Of Music Magazine

Peer Feedback On Music Magazine

 

 

 

Finished Music Magazine

 

This is my final and complete front cover for my music magazine. I am happy with how it turned out even though I feel I rushed it slightly. I like the fact I stuck to the traditional and basic layout of one main image in the centre of the page and the masthead at the top, in the centre. I like that I have used different elements from different magazines and taken inspiration from them. I like the fact the picture really grabs your attention and looks at the reader, intriguing you to buy the magazine. I think if I was to re-do this project, I would take more time doing the pictures as some of them are a tad blurry.

 

 

Although there are only a few things on my contents page, I think I filled the space available well and it doesn't look gappy. I like that the bottom picture and the social network icons add a bit more colour to this page just because the cover and double-page spread have such neutral colours. I the fact that I added a gradient background gives the contents page something that's a bit more interesting to look at and less harsh, rather than a plan white background. I think the two lines by the social media links adds extra detail to the page and a sense of professionalism.  

 

My double-page spread is probably my favourite page I created out of the three. I like the little details around the edge of the page as I feel they make the magazine look sophisticated and professional which is what I wanted. If I was to improve this page, I would, again, take a bit more time with the photos and got to know how to work the camera a bit more so I could brighten the background slightly. Overall, I am pleased with how my magazine turned out as a whole.

Creating My Music Magazine Double-Page Spread

I started by getting an A3 landscape page in Publisher and added a line down the middle so I knew the centre of the page, I then saved it as a picture and opened it in Photoshop. Luckily, my photo didn't need editing so I just added it to the left side of the page. I then used the eye-drop tool to get the colour of background from my photo and filled the right side of the page so it looked at though the photo had been shot with that much background.

For the title of my feature page, I took inspiration from the Q magazine page I analysed where they made the first letter of their article much larger rather than having a page. I made the "O" from my cover star's name and made that big as I still wanted a title.

 

I then added a by-line that summed up the interview.

 

 

I added details to the page to fill in the corners and make the pages look more professional:

• the "R" from "Record" from the front cover in the top left corner with a line above and below it
• the page number
• the date of the magazine
• the "model is wearing.." information
• a website to subscribe for the magazine
• in the top right corner, I have "feature" with a line above and below it so people know this is the feature story

 

For the article content, I put it in two columns which is what I've seen in most magazines. I put the introduction in a bolder writing than I did the actual interview - and the question asked by the magazine are in a slightly different colour than the cover star's answer so it's easier for the reader to know who is saying what. The arrows at the end of the interview are a little extra detail and show the reader the interview continues onto the next page.

 

 

To finish, I added a quote from the interview in the gap on the page with the picture.

 

 

This is my final double-page spread:

 











Creating My Music Magazine Contents Page

I wanted to keep the colours I used on my cover throughout my magazine so it didn't look like parts of several different magazines and had a slight house style.

To start my contents page, I went onto publisher and chose the blank A4 portrait option and added a background, I went with an off-white/slightly grey colour with a slight gradient. I then saved this as a picture and opened it in Photoshop. The photo I have chosen for my contents page, again didn't need much editing, I just sharpened it slightly. I didn't want to be editing my pictures too much so thought about this when taking the pictures. I then this to the background.

 

 

The way I did the title of the page was taken from the Vibe Magazine contents page that I analysed because I liked the way it was different and unexpected yet professional looking. I went on DaFont.com and found a font that I liked and then saved it three times and cropped them to suit the look I wanted. I also added another photo so the page didn't look so bare and to fill the space.

 





 

I added two sub-headings to break up the stories on my contents page so they wouldn't be all in one block. I also took inspiration from the Vibe contents page for this as they used a different font so they stood out.

 

 

 

I then added in a selected few of the stories that would be in my magazine and I chose the most interesting ones to persuade the reader to buy it. I made the numbers red, to match the red on the front cover, and made certain words in each of the stories bold and a slightly different colour so they would stand out and the reader knows that that is the main focus of that article.

 

 

 

Lastly, I added little details to the page;

• pull quote on the photo from the interview with the cover star
• pages numbers to the photos on the contents page
• page number
• date of magazine
• social media information

 

This is my final completed contents page:

 





 

I think my contents went well and I think it looks the same style as my cover which is what I wanted and didn't want it to look like it was separate magazines.





Creating My Music Magazine Cover

From the beginning of this project, I knew I wanted my music magazine to look professional and like one of the more high-end music magazines, so I thought about this throughout the creation.

Firstly I took the layout template that I created for my college magazine because I thought that would be a good layout for my music magazine too and would help with the placement of things on my cover. I then took the photo that I would be using for my cover and opened it in Photoshop. I didn't think it needed too much editing but I sharpened it up slightly.

I decided to call my magazine "Record Magazine" as it's something associated with music. For the masthead, I searched DaFont.com to see if there was anything that appealed to me. I found this one which reminded me slightly of the font that's the same as Rolling Stone. I edited it so it was red, to add some colour and I erased the background. I then added it to the photo.

 

 

I then added the word "magazine" in a smaller size and different font underneath "record". Having it a different font and size, I thought would make the "record" stand out more as that would be the most recognisable thing if you were going to buy this magazine. I also added the date of the magazine under "magazine" as it's a common thing for a magazine to have.

 

 

 

When analysing different magazine covers, I saw on a Billboard Magazine cover that the barcode, price and website for the magazine together in the corner, so I took this idea and used it for my magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

I then added the anchorage title and the sell-line to go with it. I used a fonts from Photoshop and kept the title just the name of the cover star and the sell-line something short and snappy to intrigue the reader.

 

I added all the other sell-lines to the page, some with slightly more information than others e.g. instead of putting "interview with Haim", I just put the sell-line "Haim".

 





 

 

Then, to make the sell-lines stand out more and not look so flat and boring on the cover, I added the effect of a 'Drop Shadow' to all of them. I also added little lines between each sell-line (which I took from the Rolling Stone cover I analysed for inspiration) to break them up a bit and look more sophisticated.

 

 

 

This is my final cover:

 

 

I'm really happy with how my cover turned out. I think it looks simple but sophisticated which is the feel I was hoping for.



 



 

 

Music Magazine Photos

I took several photos for my music magazine as I wanted a few different ones to choose from. I had the model choose different poses and wear a change of outfit so it would make the magazine look more professional because that way it's not the same repetitive photo being used.

 

I think this pose would be good for the double page spread as it's engaging with the reader and looks like she is looking at the reader. I like the circled one the most as it feels it's just the right one and everything looks in the correct place with the tilt of her head to the way she has the jacket.

 

 

 

This pose would be good for the front cover as it's a more close-up shot and again the model is looking at the camera in some of the photos so looking at the reader to buy the magazine. The circled photo would be my pick for the cover as she's looking at the camera and her hand isn't covering her mouth.

 

 

I think these two poses below would be good for the contents page but I think I need a change of outfit for the page, just to add a little bit of contrast.

I think one of these photos would be good for the contents page as, again the model is looking at the camera and there is a change of clothes. I also like that there's a bit more of a background which would be good to put a pull quote there on the contents page. I think they all look a tad blurry as I had trouble with the camera but the circled one looks the least blurry and I think the facial expression is the best so would be the best option for the contents page.