Font styles

I decided to see what other people thought about the typography I would use on my magazine. I decided to show my title to a range of people that would be interested in buying my magazine,( so my target audience).

I found that just by asking random peers, I found that they prefered the bolder fonts, in which I use on my magazine cover and plan to use on my contents and also double page spread.

Where does my magazine "fit" in the market?

I have styled my own magazine on other more independent less well known magazines that are usually only found in larger book or newsagent shops such as borders and WHSmith. These magazines are often monthly, this may be due to the price. The price of the magazines is usually over £3, but no more than £5. The quality of the magazines however is usually very high, as they are usually thick glossy magazines, sometimes with many advertisements. There is also only usually a few avaliable in stock as iv notcied they are supplied for a niche market. Also alot of them are American, which means they would have had to have been shipped over. These include, NYLON, N.E.E.T, INDIE, TEEN VOGUE, amoungst others.
I decided to do a small survey on a group of peers that fit the genre of my magazine to see how much they would pay for a similar magazine.

Survey on Magazine Prices

After doing my survey on 8 teens, the outcome proved that they were willing to pay between £2-£3 for the magazine. I priced my magazine at £2.80 as I was then able to stick with the needs of the consumer but also able to make a profit.

Colours

I was thinking about the colours that I wished to use for my magazine. I want to keep the colours fairly simple, and have variations of the same colour. But I may also try colours that contrast with each other. I feel that as i have tried to make the outfit that my model is wearing contrast, e.g. (Blue skit, yellow shoes), that if I try and make the colours on the same page contrast it may all look abit much. But if I try this where the model is wearing all black for example, this may work.

Firstly I wanted to look at different variations of the same colour.

This is a colour range of purple. As you can see it ranges from the darkest (black) to a lilac. I like this colour as I feel it captures a youthful vibe, and fits well with the age range I am trying to capture, as teenage girls often like the colour purple. Purple is a sterotypical "girly" colour. Another reason I like this colour is the fact that it goes quite well with the "electro" theme, as quite a few artists have the colour purple on their album artwork. This is a link to my work as the colours will attract certain people to look at the magazine cover.

This colour scheme is actually called "teenage". I really like the vibrant colours as I feel for my magazine the colours need to really stand out, like the music stands out. I quite like the electric pink colour on the right hand side as it is really feminine, but also it really stands out as it is so bright. I dont think these colours would work well together however as I feel it gives across quite a childish vibe.

This colour scheme is also quite childlike, but I like it. It conveys quite a youthful vibe, but also quite a feminine girly vibe. I am not overly keen on the yellow colours, but I really like the pink colours as they are really beight and eye catching.

FRONT COVER

This is my final copy of my magazine cover.

I am pleased with the final outcome.

I recodnise that my final cover is quite similar in terms of colour and fontography. This is because I realised that the work i had produced for the preliminary task was of the same sort of genre, and I think my work looked quite good, so I used elements that I had already used.

I chose to make the background a shocking neon pink colour as I think it really stands out and would grab anyones attention, it also gives a connotation of being aimed at females, and because of the strength and brightness of the colour, females ages between 15-23. If it where aimed at older females the colour may have been more subtle.

I chose this image of Rachael as I liked the pose she was pulling as it is quite different, and is more interesting than just looking at someone standing upright. It also looks asthough she is singing which is what I wanted as I think it further promotes the fact that the magazine is a music magazine. The fact that she is also holding a microphone also promotes this. I chose for Rachael to wear an all in one black jumpsuit from topshop, and some black ankle boots. I think the outfit is very appropriate as topshop clothes are often linked to the genre of music I am wanting to show, but also the fact that the outfit is black, contrasts well with the bright pink background. The fact that she is showing alot of leg may also attract attention from a male audience who may find it attractive.

I decided to write the word "London" on the background behind in a graffiti style as i felt that it was infitting with the urban new London feel. I had seen it written like this on a cover of Elle magazine and felt it looked really effective and although someone had just wrote it. I feel it again appeals to my target audience that may be the quite arty types.

As for the Masthead, I chose the same font style that I used for the preliminary task. I feel it captures a modern, quirky edgy feel as the letters are big and bold and have sharp edges and a shaddow.

As for the rest of the type, I chose to vary the different styles to make it more visually exciting but to also to vary the size and style. I also chose to make parts of the fonts bigger for more empahsis and attention. For example I made Rachaels name bigger than the rest of the text as I wanted it to stand out against the rest.

Preliminary Magazine Cover

This is the preliminary task that I completed on photoshop, using basic skills. It was the first time I had used photoshop, but I already had an idea about what I wanted to create. In general I think my idea worked quite well. Similarly to what I am creating now, I wanted to make my work look quite arty and fashionable. As we where asked to create a school magazine, I focused more on what would be a textiles or fashion department magazine. I chose the title "Boutons er flechettes" as it is french for buttons and zips, which I thought worked well as fashion is often linked with france and also it generally sounds more interesting than just being called "buttons and zips".

I also thought very carefully about the colour sheme I used. I wanted to be on trend and use fluorecent "rave" ish colours, so i opted for the neon pink colour and the light turquoise blue for the masthead. I think although these colours dont exactly match, the contrast makes it "work".

I also decided to edit the image and make it black and white. I felt the black and white looked very effective in comparison to the bright colour behind it. I also felt that by the main image being black and white, there was more room to play around with colour schemes because most colours will fit the black and white theme. It also gives it a "fashion" "stylish" effect, which being a fashion magazine, it needed to convey.

I also wanted to find a suitable font that also suited the genre of modern fashion and style. I felt the one I chose works perfectly and I really like it and think it looks professional as it has the shaddow effect on it.

I will use this to help me with my final front cover.

Experimenting with the front cover, colours, pictures and font.

This is the front page image that I created. I decided from research that I wanted to have a white background with a contrasting masthead. I think that the colour of the masthead works well here as it is linking with the love heart that Rachael is holding in the picture. However, I feel that the White background doesnt work very well as it just makes it seem unfinished. I really liked the font that I found on photoshop. I think it fully captures the style I am going for, (indie electro) as it looks very modern and bold and strong. I definatley want to use this font on my final product.

This was another experiment, but this time with a different name for the magazine. As my magazine is aimed at new/unsigned artists, I wanted to think of a name that would make this clear. "Introduire" is french for "Introducing" which I think fits well because effectivley the magazine is introducing new talent. I also think the fact that it is black works well too, as it stands out very well. However I still feel that the white background gives an unfinished feel.














As I felt that the white background wasnt working, I tried a pale blue background which I felt worked with the red heart in the picture, which is kind of a focal point. I like the contrast of quite a watery, pastel shade with the very vibrant red colour, however I still didnt think this looked right.

This is my favourate of the ones I tested. I chose the picture as the black outfit contrasts well with the very bright background. The picture also gives a "loud" feel which is excatly what I want to convey. I think the bright pink and the black works very well together, and the colours are sterotypical of the genre.
From this, I am going to further the layers and start adding to this to make it look more like a front cover.

Photographs that I took for my front cover

I took around 60 photographs of my friend posing in different ways, wearing different clothes. I asked her to model for my front cover as I felt that she is aestheticly pleasing. This is important as, as she is on the front cover, it will draw peoples attention to her and make them interested and look. I felt that she had the right sort of style and look that I was going for- quite quirky, arty and fashionable. She has also had experience of modelling so was naturally good at pulling poses for the camera.

The look I was trying to acheive in my photos, was quite a fun, colourful, fashionable and loud vibe.

Also as my magazine is primarily aimed at a female audience, I feel it was vital to have styled her in a specific way to appeal to a female audience, as females sterotypically are attracted to clothes and beauty.

However, I do understand that my magazine would now also possibly appeal to a male audience. I feel this because the photographs are aimed to create an impression as they are quite dramatic colours and poses. There is also alot of flesh showing which could be classed as quite provocative.

I chose clothes that had bright colours or where of the "indie" style. A generic feature of this is clashing colours, or very bright fluorecent colours. I wanted the outfits to look quite quirky and mis-matched to give the "individul" style. I feel by presenting the "star" in this way will appeal to the audience I am trying to target. For example people who like "indie" fashion will be interested in "indie" music.

I also looked to indie electro stars for inspiration on how they posed in pictures and also how they dressed. For example pictures of Lily Allen, Little Boots and La Roux. I feel this is evident in my work by the use of the image of the whole body and not just a generic shot of the face.

I decided to use the prop of a microphone in my pictures to create a music feel. When I was doing my research on pictures of music stars, they where often featured with a musical instrument. This links in very well as promoting my magazine as a music magazine and not a fashion magazine.

Masthead Research

Here are some examples of mastheads that I have found from magazines that are closely linked to the genre of my own magazine.

The mastheads above, I have taken and cropped from "NYLON" magazine. The masthead is the same every time a new issue comes out although the colour is constantly changing. However the colours always have a relevance to the issue and work well with the other colour scheme used on the front over. For example, The baby pink version of the title was used to contrast with the stars black hair, and also worked well with what she was wearing. The other typography on the page was also of a modern style and used colours such as baby blue and lilac, which worked well as a colour scheme. This also could give the connotation of innocence, as the colours are quite childlike. This could emply that the star is portayed as being innocent.

A feature that always come through in every issue with the mastehead is that the colours always have a "female" vibe or connotation. The colours are often quite feminine, so different shades of pink, yellow. The colours are often fluorecent, or very vibrant which also fits in with the genre of the magazine.

The actual font of the masthead gives a stong feel as the lettering is bold, and the letters are equally spaced between each other. Also as the letters are filled, so they arent transparent which would also give a "weaker" feel.

The white background I feel is very effective, it makes the vibrant lettering stand out very well.

The masthead makes it clear the audience it will be aimed at. For example the colours give the magazine a young teenage modern feel. The colours give an "out there" feel, and quite a loud feel. For example, just by looking at the masthead makes it clear that it wouldnt be exactly suitible for a buisiness person, or a person from an older generation.

Masthead/Typography

I started thinking and looking into different types of font for the masthead and the other font that will be used on the page. From looking at the magazines such as NYLON and INDIE, and also from researching a few album covers of the music genre I wish to base my magazine on, I came to the conclusion that the lettering styles where bold, and stood out very well. I also noticed the use of either very bright neon colours such as pink and yellow where used quite often. But also the use of black and white, which also looked very effective.
The mastheads of the magazines always stand out and are very noticeable and striking.

Ideas for images for my front cover

I found these images on topshop.com blog. I think they are a good inspiration as the clothing that is bought from topshop also fits the "indie" sterotype. So if i style the model that is to be on the cover of my own magazine in this way, I should hopefully attract the right audience. Another thing I like about these images is the way in which they are posing. The models either are looking straight into the camera, or posing in quite a dramatic way (such as jumping). This makes the images seem quite quirky and cool. Also, as i have decided to have a simple background on my own cover, quite a dramatic pose would look quite effective. I like the way the image doesnt seem organised. It is made to look natural. By positioning the model slightly left or right, it makes the whole image seem more interesting.

Image ideas/Research/Front Cover

From previous research into front covers that I found effective, I noticed that somthing that kept coming up was the simplicity of the images. Not only where the images quite simple, but the backgrounds are kept plain. This focuses all attention onto the image, which is the most important part as this needs to be of good quality to appeal to an audience. I uploaded these pictures of album art from various artists that fit the genre of "Electro-pop" in which I am interested. I found that as a genre, the styles that are runnign through are similar. From this I thought that if i where to use this technique on the cover of my magazine, not only should it look quite effective and striking, but also appeal to my ideal target audience. There is also use of black and white, which again is used in the magazines I was drawn to (NYLON & INDIE). But then also minimal use of colour, but when colour is used it is only used slightly. For example, the "New Young Pony Club" album artwork is kept very simple with the white background, and then the images of the band are also simple and dressed in black, contrasting with the white background, and then the title is in a bright florecent pink, which stands out to the other colours. I feel this looks very effective and I would like to use this style in my own magazine.

INDIE MAGAZINE

I decided to look at "INDIE" magazine. This magazine really caught my eye, which I think is very important for magazines, as when they are put next to many different magazines they need to stand out. This particular magazine challenges the generic look of magazines as there is no text around the outside of the main image explaining what is in the issue. I think this could work well as it makes the magazine seem even more intriguing as the consumer would actually have to pick the magazine up and have a quick flick through before buying. This also could have a disadvantage as they wouldn't know what the magazine featured, so could be mislead. However, as the image is the main focal point, it is important that this captures the eye, as it should promote the magazine in the right way. Below the masthead however, there is a sub title that states "The Independant Style Magazine", the word Style is very important here as style can be related to may things, including music and fashion. Especially as the magazine is named "INDIE"

Again, like "NYLON" magazine, the front cover of "INDIE" magazine is also kept simple. Even more simple than NYLON infact due to lack of text.

I think the use of colour is also effective on this magazine. The background is kept plain, but the colours that are used on the magazine are linked to the colours of the clothing that the model is wearing. So they compliment each other which looks good. There is use of contrast which makes the magazines look visually attractive and eye catching. For example, a darker image paired with a lighter more pastel background. Or a black and white image on a black, or white background also looks very striking.

NYLON MAGAZINE. FRONT COVER.

Although my magazine is to be a music magazine, I wanted to gain ideas from various different magazines, for example fashion magazines as I feel this would be very closely linked to my magazine. I fet looking at other publications would provide me with ideas on typography, imagery, and colour schemes.
I first looked at NYLON. Nylon is a magazine which mainly focuses on fashion, music and indie culture. It could be described as being an "Indie" style magazine due to the style of clothes and music that it promotes.

It stood out as being different to me as it is always kept very simple. Simplicity is somthing that I would like to encorperate within my own work. This makes the image more of a focal point, which is exactly what I want to acheive. I also find the colour scheme quite interesting. The colour scheme fits/goes with what the model is wearing. The colours range from black, through different shades of purple and lilac, fitting in with the white background.

The fontography is also interesting to look at and makes the magazine look quite quirky and cool. It also higlights what is going to take up bigger sections of the magazine, for example, the main feature is in a bigger font, and the smaller features are in smaller fonts, etcetc.

Wordle - electro pop

Wordle - electro pop: ""

Indie/Electro Pop

I decided to gather a few photographs of the sort of artists I am looking to feature in my magazine. These artists fall into the catorgory of "Indie/Electro Pop".














From looking at these few images of the larger, more well known artists of the genre, I have found that they are quite creative to look at, which I like and find inspirational. The images convey quite a quirky fashionable feel which is quite arty. The images capture quite a simple feel, and quite alot of the time just feature the artist, or artists and their instrument. Another thing that I notice about images that are used is the bright use of colour, or the use of black and white.
The background is kept clear so this automatically makes the picture seem very simple, i like the simplicity as it focuses the attention onto the artist. The Focus point of alot of the pictures is the musical instrument. In the above pictures a keyboard is featured quite often, this is typical of the genre as keyboards are often used to get the right sound for the genre. However they are also seen as being "retro" wich is also a current trend that is quite popular at the minute, not only within music, but again, also in fashion.
These pictures have inspired me to think about the ways in which I would like to feature the cover artist on my own music magazine. I would like to draw on the fact that the imagery is kept very simple. There is use of bright colour, but contrasting maybe with a black and white image. And that the instrument is a main part of the photograph.



"Indie" culture/sterotype

The clothes that are worn could be described as "indie" which links in with fashion, but also comes hand in hand with the musical genre. For example, people who listen to the "indie" genre of music are usually expected to be labelled as "indie" themselves.

Sterotypically, people who are labelled, or label themselves as "Indie" dress in a certain way and listen to "Indie" music, and do social activities such as go to gigs, enjoy band music and are often described to be festival goers.

The age range of people that are put under this catorgory is generally younger teens, from about age 15 right through to mid 20's.

Indie has become quite popular in the last few years, as celebrities in the media are often described as being indie, due to the way they dress, the social activities they take part in, the music they listen to, and even their sense of humour.
The celebrities have been described as "Young London". As they generally live and work in London, wear typically "British" fashion clothes, and hang out in the trendiest clubs in London.
The sort of female stars that conform are the likes of Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof, Peaches Geldof,Kelly Osbourne, Daisy Lowe, Agyness Deyn, Kate Moss.

Many of the younger fans of these people, who look up to and admire the ways in which these stars dress will be interested in the same sort of lifestyles. For example the music and the fashion.
I think it is important to realise that my magazine will feature an unsigned act, which will not be well known so it is crucial to advertise and promote the artist to the right audience.
I feel by styling the artist in a particular way, and dressing them in the sort of clothes that would appeal to the audience of this type of music and fashion scene, I will therfore attract the right audience towards the style of my magazine.