Planning: Rough Magazines

As i am a fan of the rock/indie genre, i have always found the different ways rock is presented such as using horrifying dark pictures or a picture that is comedic can enable the designer be very creative when designing a magazine. As i was most comfortable with the conventions of a rock magazine, i decided to create the three products around this genre. 

Magazine Cover

- Above is my rough design of the front cover. It shows a main image stretched across the whole page. the reason i chose this is i have found that many music magazines such as kerrang and Q use full bleed photographs. This gives it a stylish effect and can engage with a readers mind, even if they are standing from a distance.

- The masthead is stretched across the top, in the conventional place most titles are placed, along with a banner just above it advertising other articles within the magazine. It is placed at the top so then it does not draw attention from the main picture below and it also is placed there so that it is not attached to any articles but can be recognised as the creator of the magazine. The issue number is also placed just below the masthead, so that if the audience is a common collector of this magazine they will know what issue they are buying.

- On the left hand side of the page, this is where other articles will be advertised to the reader, so that they do not draw attention away from the main feature article but when the reader is reviewing the magazine in detail, he/she will be able to find out what else is inside.

- On the right hand side is a smaller image along with some text that will be further advertising items within the magazine. Although there is another, much smaller image placed on the main page, it hardly takes any attention away from the main picture and it is tiny compared to the main image.

- Where it says 'Main cover line' is where the main feature within the magazine will be placed. The size of the font and style of it has to be big in order to show that it's the main feature of the magazine and also to associate itself with the image.

- All magazines have barcodes in order for them to be sold. in the bottom left hand corner, i have placed a barcode along with the price just above it, as i believed this to be the most conventional and sophisticated place. It does not steal any attention away from any other object on the page and is out of the way.

Magazine Contents Page

- Above is my rough design of the contents page. As you can see on one side, there is a whole column filled up with two images, that will show important articles within the magazine. I believe this is a better method than using just text, as the reader is able to visually react quicker to images and therefore the articles through pictures. Using pictures on the contents page is commonly used. Alongside the images are captions where the images will be related to an article name and page number.

-  The masthead is placed on the top of the page, where it would conventionally be. As it will be at the top with the largest font, it will be recognisable by the reader and they will know they are on the contents page.

- Also on the right hand column the articles and page numbers will be displayed. They will be shown in a smaller font so they do not draw attention away from the images or the masthead. This is commonly used in music magazines.

- There is also a small images beside the masthead. This image will be used for a picture of the editor as this is a common convention within all magazines, as the editor addresses the reader.

Double Page Spread

- On the left hand column, three images will be displayed, based on the feature article. Using images is always used within feature articles, as it is more engaging with the audience and they like to view different photos of their favourite band or artists.

- The right hand column show's the masthead in the middle. Although this is not a conventional place for the masthead, i believe putting it here gives the magazine a sense of individualism and creativity. The masthead is also the biggest font on the double page spread, so the reader can instantly understand what feature there on and be able to relate the article to the front cover and contents page.

- Below and above the article are the article information, where the interview will be shown. As there will be a lot more interview information, more space will be needed, which as you can see has been provided above.