Music Magazine Titles

- Kerrang
- Mojo
- NME
- Q


Examples of these certain magazines:

All of these certain magazines are music magazines that represent music and are a chance to read all the latest news about different music bands. These magazines also give the opportunity to buy tickets for popular bands and include all the information that you need to know. All of these magazines are full of pictures which attract the reader to the type of magazine being sold.

Every single one of these magazine includes a big bold picture on the front of it that shows us which type of music that is going to be inside the magazine. The information accross the front of the magazine cover informs us about what type of information we are going to discover inside this text. This allows us to find out what magazine we want before we buy it, depending on what information is inside.

Analysis of Music Magazines

I started analysing music magazines that I found interesting, such as the ones in the previous blog. The pictures show my thoughts, comments and personal opinions on each of the different magazines. I also added which I think could be improved to benefit the magazine in the future. 

Research - Music Magazines.

When I had completed my recent task, I started looking at music magazines. I looked at many different kinds of ones and reflected on the ones in which I enjoyed viewing the most.

Here are some examples:

This particular magazine stood out to me as the colours worked well together so firstly attracted me towards the magazine. I also was intrigued by the words overlapping the different models used. The girl used on the top right pages is wearing exaggerated outfits which matches the colour technique, this works well as she is the main image on the covers and all the attention is drawn towards her. 

This double spread is effective, and I chose this to publish on my blog as an example as it shows a variety of items, such as pictures, writing, a list of gigs and a playlist. This double page includes a lot of information and an impressive layout. 

This music magazine caught my attention due to the popular, well known artist modelling on the front cover. It includes big bold writing and titles as well as strap lines and quotes from inside the magazine. 

This research into magazines helped me into collecting more ideas for my own music magazine designs.

Medium Close Up Shot

When I took my medium close up shot I took many different pictures with different poses until I found the right one for my front page magazine. I began taking my pictures without my model smiling and the outcome was this: 

This was the first medium close up shot that I took of my model, I was happy with the uniform that she was wearing, however I knew that there was something missing. So I added red lipstick and the outcome was this: 

I preferred this look more than the previous, but as I knew the picture was for the front page magazine so I thought that it should be more natural looking. This is what led me to my final photo:

This is how I came up with my final picture. I kept the uniform and make up the exact same as I was extremely happy with these ideas and then I caught a picture of my model smiling which overall gives the magazine a better atmosphere and aura towards it. The model also looks very happy which makes the audience more attractive to this magazine as it represents a happy environment on the school. This is why I chose this picture to use on my front page magazine as it fitted all the criteria that it was meant to in my personal opinion. 

My magazine pages analysed.

Front page: 

When my front page magazine was finished I realised that there was many things that I would repeat if I was asked to do this task again, however there were also many different elements that I would change to this front page design.  I was extremely pleased with the colour scheme as it all when really well together. The reason I chose this specific colour scheme was due to the models lipstick and I made sure I fitted all the colours used around this. I was also pleased with the medium close up shot that I took myself, I found this picture natural and a perfect fit for the type of magazine that I was designing. Another would be the title of the magazine 'BEAVERWOOD' the capitals stand out to the audience and as the title is placed down the side like a strap line it has more effect and is different from most magazines. Next time I done a task like this one I would consider a different uniform for the model, an idea would be a uniform that would match the school that I named this magazine this is because Beaverwood is a realistic school. I would also change the border of '99p' as this is black and is not very noticeable towards the audience. When this magazine page is printed it is hard to notice the '99p' and this is a huge negative as it is a main aspect that the audience needs to know. ( price ) Usually this is one of the first things a reader will look at before buying the magazine. Overall I was very pleased with the outcome of this design.  

Contents page:

I was pleased with the outcome of my contents page but in my own opinion I think I could have made many changes and I preferred my front page design. Some of the things that I like about my contents page are the layout of the pictures and the border around them individually which is present. The red writing goes extremely well with the colour scheme, so my contents page matches the front page and model. Although I would choose to change the type of title that I used, if I were to do this task again I would make the title bigger and bolder by using a different type of font/word art. This way it would also match the title on the front page. I would also change the borders around my text so that they were more bold and stood out to the audience. I would add  a background to make the whole page look more attractive and finished. Overall I personally was pleased with the outcome of this and think it matched my front page to the highest standards that it could have reached. 

My Final Magazine Front Cover and Contents Page.

This is what my final front page magazine looks like. I was very pleased with the outcome of this, the ideas that I took from my questionaire worked well together.

For example:

- The colours

- Types of things to include

- Having no theme set

I also asked many of my target audience how they would like the layout. I had different types of feedback so I had to make a personal decision of my own. To help me make my final decision on the layout I looked at many different popular magazines to browse through different layouts to see which one would suit my magazine best. I looked at magazines like LOOK and HEAT. I got many ideas from these magazines and combined them to create a magazine layout that was suitable for my own one.

This is my final design for my contents page. I used the colour red to match the front cover of my magazine. However I didn't make a questionaire for my contents page on how to design it etc. I just made the colours match and included all the information on the front cover onto my list on contents page. I also double checked that all of the information listed was included on my front page and that I hadn't made any mistakes. I also added three pictures on angles with coloured borders to make it look more attractive and effective.

I will annotate both of these pages and post it onto my blog.

My Contents Page

I designed my contents page to match my front page as it was important to make sure they were designed to match each other. I made sure that the colours resembled the front page so I used, red, white and black as these were my three main colours. 


I also added three pictures of school pictures to make the magazine seem more realistic. I made them a border and they are viewed at different angles to create a better effect. 


I wrote the information which would be included in the magazine in a list, this is easily understood by the reader. 


NOTE: more changes will be made to my contents page.

My Questionnaire Results.

For my questionnaire I made sure that I asked members of my target market particular questions to make sure that I got the results that I needed in order to benefit my front page and contents page of my school magazine design. 

I asked 10 members of my target audience. 

The colour scheme:

Pink             = 3

Purple         = 2

Blue             =1

Green          = 0

Black/grey =0

Red             =4

My colour scheme would be mainly red.

The theme:

Summer    =1

Winter       =2

Autumn     =0

Spring        =2

No theme  =5

My magazine wouldn't have a theme.

What should be in the magazine:

Information about clubs:                                        =3

Pictures about clubs:                                               =1

Information on universities/higher education:   =3

Exam technique:                                                      =3

My magazine would include information about clubs, information on universities and higher education and exam technique.

When this magazine would be published: 

Every week                                                =3

Every month                                              =4

I would publish this magazine every month.

Student feedback included:

Yes =10

No  =0

I will include student feedback.

What three things to include in the magazine: 

Charities                                           =1

Clubs                                                =4

School trips                                     =0

Upcoming events                           = 2

News                                               =3

Student questions and answers  =0

Teachers comments                     =0

I will include clubs, upcoming events and news.

Specific theme: 

Yes =2

No  =8

I wouldn't have any specific theme for my magazine. 

Useful websites for education/help: 

Yes =10

No  =0

I would include useful websites for education and help.

My last question was for members of my target audience which I asked to make comments on what they would personally want to see in the magazine. They commented saying they would like to know further information about clubs and extra help for exams and coursework.  Theses comments were the most popular. 

Overall my results gave me the opportunity to include certain elements in my magazine that my target audience would benefit from, making my magazine more popular.

My Front Page Magazine

Medium close up shot: 

This will include:

-      - A 16 year old girl which matches my target audience

-     -  Dark brown hair

-      - Long hair

-      - Red lipstick

-      - Dark make up on the eyes

-      - Wearing a white long sleeved shirt

-      - A black tie

Name: Beaverwood School

Colour theme: Red, white and black 

I decided to use the colour theme of red white and black because the model is wearing a white shirt, a black tie and red lipstick. As these were the three colours that stood out the most and they were hugely focused on due to the model I made the decision that these colours would be best to use for all the extra designs I added to the magazine front cover. I also used these colours as black and white are smart colours used in many different uniforms, for example:
- Work
- Sixth form
- University Students
I added the red to make it more colourful and to have a main colour to focus on, which was bright and matched the black and white colours. I decided to use red as it is a popular colour and used on many young girls and models.

I designed my front cover and my contents page, I made sure that the colours were matching and it all worked well together. The main colours used are red, white and black. I carried on editing my front page by moving certain things around to make it look even better. I finished my contents page by adding three pictures of everyday school children at school. They were also teenage girls which matches my target audience.

More Research

I started researching which types of elements my target audience would want to see in a school or college magazine.

I chose to target my magazine at teenage girls, this is because I could understand types of elements that they would want to see in this particular tpe of magazine as I am around the same age.

I designed a questionaire and these are the questions that I asked:

Media Coursework Questionnaire.

1.   What colour would you prefer for the magazine?

-      Pink

-      Purple

-      Blue

-      Green

-      Black/grey

-      red

2.   What theme would you prefer for the magazine?

-      Summer

-      Winter

-      Autumn          

-      Spring

-      No theme

3.   Which would you prefer in the magazine:

-      Information on clubs

-      Pictures from clubs

-      Information on universities/higher education

-      Exam technique

4.   How big would you like the font?

-      Small

-      Medium

-      Large

-      Extra large

5.   Would you like an update of this particular magazine:

-      Every week

-      Every month

-      During the seasons throughout the school year

6.   Would you like a feedback part where you as a student can participate in the magazine?

-      Yes

-      No

7.   What 3 things would you like to see in the magazine?

-      Charities

-      Clubs

-      School trips

-      Upcoming events

-      News

-      Student questions and answers

-      Teachers comments

8.   Would you want a certain theme for the magazine?

-      Yes

-      No

9.   In the magazine would you like there to be a page of useful websites for education and help?

-      Yes

-      No

10.                What do you want to see in the magazine: ( write below )

I collected my results and took them into consideration during the process of designing my magazine cover. It also gave me a wider range of ideas to use on my design and I included elements of my results.

Introduction to my AS Media Work:

My AS Media coursework consisted of me planning and researching existing magazine front covers, contents pages and double page spreads in order to understand what particular target markets want and how the producers produce this work and present this to their audience so that they can give their consumers what they want and persuade them to buy the products with the particular presentation and what the magazine offers.
Throughout my work, I will make sure that I do a large amount of research so that I know what particular group I want my target audience to be and when I have decided what target audience I would like to aim my products at through many questionnaires and individual primary research I can make my products to suit them and constantly find out what they want to see present in a magazine so I can thouroughly understand what they are interested in in order to buy a magazine.

I began by collecting ideas for my magazine cover by analysing different types of original magazines such as:
- Heat
- Look
- Vogue
- Closer

This helped me to understand what types of elements I needed to include on my personal design of my magazine cover as I knew what sorts of layouts to use.

After analysing original magazine covers I started to look at school magazines as this is what would benefit me due to our task being to design a magazine suitable for school or college students.

  This is the type of magazine cover that I analysed for an original design.


My analysed LOOK magazine: