Ideas for Magazine Features

From the research that I have carried out, as well as taking into account my own desired outcome, I have come up with several solid ideas for my magazine's features. The interview section of my magazine will be one featuring a new artist, someone whom my magazine will be helping to promote in light of recent successes- their music will be of an indie/rock genre. I think that this will satisfy all my readers' interests, whilst also enticing a wide range of age groups.

Ideas for Magazine Contents Page

My contents page will not be laid out as per a usual page of this type- this is because many readers will usually avoid reading a contents page, which is something I do not want to happen in my magazine. The page will feature the heading of 'In This Issue' rather than the standard 'Contents'.

Ideas for Magazine Cover

My magazine's cover will be quite basic, with a short list of the magazine's main features, in bold font, in a collumn down one edge- I think that this will make the page simple for my readers to navigate, as well as being eyecatching for a potential reader.

House Style

House Style

My magazine's general house style will consists of several main components; it's layout will remain quite basic and easy to navigate, whilst at the same time remianing interesting and eyecatching through use of bold, strong images and stylish, yet easily readable fonts. The colours I will use on the cover of, and inside my magazine will include a predominant use of greyscale, with some colour- I feel that this gives the magazine a sophisticated, stylish image, for an artistic, intelligent reader.
Below are some magazine covers that have influenced my own in some way:

It is the positioning of the people featured on these covers that I admire- the first being a medium close-up, yet from an over the shoulder angle- an interesting pose, one that would be fitting for use on my own magazine. The second pose is one with many slightly jarring, unnatural angles, perfect for capturing the attrntion of a potential reader.

I like these magazine covers because of their uses of colour- the first on uses solely black and white imagery, which proves

very effective in highlighting the model's facial features, without distractions like gimmicky, bright, vibrant colour. The second cover uses some colour, but with a predominant use of blacks, whites and greys. These small, snippets of rich colour are effective as they contrast well with their monochrome backgrounds, bringing more attention to them overall.

Next I have experimented with some fonts to potentially feature on my front cover, as headings and for the main title. These fonts may also appear as headings within the magazine:

These fonts all appear handwritten- I feel that this will give the magazine more of a personal feel, making the magazine more relateable for a reader. Also, the second font in particular resembles a signiture or autograph, tying in with the music theme by reminding a reader of the famous people present in the magazine's features. The fourth font is also particularly appealing as it appears similar to something that may have been found more often in the 1950's/60's, used on records and other publications of the time. Using this font would give my magazine a nostalgic feel.

Title

My magazine's title will be 'Anthem'. I chose this title for a number of reasons:
-It ties on well with the music theme of the magazine, with an anthem being a song of loyalty or devotion, usually found in rock/pop.
-It is relatively short, meaning that a general reader is more likely to remember it.
-The word itself is basic and easy to pronounce, yet interesting, meaning that it won't distract from the actual magazine's features, but will still be memorable.

Photoshop Experiment- Gaussian Blur

Here I have experimented with the Gaussian blur tool on photoshop- it allows you to highlight certain parts of your image to be much more defined than the blurred backgrounds they are on.

Photoshop Experiment- History Brush

Here I have experimented with using the history brush tool on photoshop- the tool is used to highlight certain areas of colour on an otherwise greyscale canvas.

Analysis of Survey Results

I made a survey on Surveymonkey.com, to try to see what kind of things I need to include in my magazine.

The results of question 1 showed me that 60% of those who took my survey currently buy NME magazine. This shows me that quite  large proportion of my magazine's readers enjoy the kind of features of this magazine, such as the primarily indie artists featured, as well as enjoying parties, gigs and up to date fashion.
40% of those who took the survey buy Kerrang magazine, which shows me that another significant proportion of my readers will enjoy rock music, as well as the fashion and events that relate to such a genre.

Question 2's results informed me of my potential reader's favourite bands. The genres of the bands and artists listed included pop, indie, rock, dance, acoustic/folk and pop-punk. This tells me that my own magazine should feature artists of these genres. More specifically, bands that were mentioned several times by name included: Bombay Bicycle Club; Mumford & Sons, You Me At Six and Lady Gaga. These artists are all current, and should therefore feature heavily, through reviews of their events & albums, as well as interviews, in my own magazine.

Question 3 told me of the colours my potential readers would prefer to see in a magazine. Popular colours included grey (60%), black (40%, purple (50%), beige (40%), white (70%) and teal (40%). These colours should therefore feature predominantly in my magazine's house style, as well as individual features.

60% of those who took my survey stated in Question 4 that they would like the majority of the magazine's format to be through pictures & photographs, 20% said via pararaphs of text, and 20% said to feature both in equal amounts. This tells me that whilst the majority of the information should be eyecatching, informative images, there should also be a significant amount of text as well.

Every single person who took my survey stated in Question 5 that they think artist interviews are very important to a magazine- these will be featured heavily because of this. 80% of people thought that event listings were important, 40% wanted articles about current issues in music, 40% wanted gig reviews, and a further 40% wanted biographies of significant artists. These features were the most popular in my survey, and together I think they would create a very interesting, diverse mixture of features, appealing to many readers.

70% of people said in Question 6 that the most they would pay for a music magazine would be between £3 and £3.50. This is a reasonable amount for the production of a good quality, well researched magazine, so the price of the magazine will be towards the lower scale of these two amounts, so as to also impress a reader with a lower price than expected.

In Question 7, the favourite genres of music mentioned were as follows:
Pop- 30%
Pop-Rock/Pop-Punk- 40%
Rock- 20%
Metal- 20%
Indie Rock- 60%
RnB- 30%
Folk- 50%
Punk- 40%
This shows me that whislt all of these genres should be featured in the magazine, those that should be more predominant are Indie-Rock, Folk, Punk and Pop-Rock/Pop-Punk.

Not much was revealed by Question 8, wherein people were asked what they thought was missing from current music magazines- many people couldn't think of specific features, and one person mentioned photography. This tells me that the current music magazines contain plenty of features I can include in my own magazine, without missing out on the things my readers will want. I will also be certain to make sure that there is plenty of photography featured as well, in the form of live show photographs, as well as intertwined with artist interviews.

In Question 9, 80% of people stated that free music downloads/cds would make them more inclined to buy a music magazine. 60 also said they would like band merchandise as well. Due to these results, I will be sure to offer such things as free gifts with my own magazine.

Reader Profile

Q Double Page Spread

Q Contents Page

Q Magazine Front Cover

NME Contents Page

NME Double Page Spread

NME Magazine Front Cover

Mixmag Contents Page

Mixmag Double-Page Spread

Mixmag Cover Analysis

The Final Design for My Contents Page

How I Made My Contents Page Using Photoshop

Flat Plan for Contents Page

Analysis Of Magazine Cover

I chose to keep my front cover relatively simplistic, with just a large main image, main header and title/slogan. This was to keep the focus of the magazine on it's subject, without adding unecessary or tacky gimmicks.
The photo I used was appropriate; it is similar to other photos I have seen on magazine's of the same genre, and the styled hair, makeup and parts of clothing that can be seen fit in with the idea of 'the fashion issue'.

This Is My Final College Magazine Cover Design

How I Created My Magazine Cover Using Photoshop

Flat Plan For Magazine Cover

Photographs and Magazine Covers That Have Inspired My Own Design

These Photographs give an impression of sophistication and style, which is the kind of image I would like my magazine to have.

College Magazine Survey Example

'College'- Second College Magazine Analysis

'Pigeons and Peacocks' - College Magazine Analysis

Front Cover Analysis