Question seven

From the first task which we had to do which was to design a simple layout for a school magazine, I was new to the software of InDesign so I didn't understand much of the formats and how to create and use layers etc. I enjoyed using the software and my skills kept developing the more I was using the software. I felt the more I was playing around the more I was learning about how to use more tools within the software, this was with some extra help of looking up videos for tricks so I could develop my skills quickly and effectively. From the first task my work was very basic, just a simple drag a box and add text to an image and done, it didn’t take me very long to create as it was so basic but I found the more I was using it like planning for the main task I could see my skills massively develop. It also helped that I was looking into more magazines to get the look of a more professional feel to a magazine so it doesn't look tacky and cheap, this was helping me create my main magazine pages and helping them develop together, looking back now I can see a huge difference in what I have done from the beginning to the finished piece. 

Here is my first magazine which i create for the school:

These two magazines as you can see are very basic and seem to have been put together with minor thought, not much creative thinking was done before doing these and did not have a full understanding of the software. Now i have had time to practice and work with the software to gain a better understand of how stuff works and looked up magazines i have created a much cleaner and more attractive cover and contents page. Here are my other pages:

As you can see there is a large progress from my initial pages, these pages look a lot more professional and thought through. First the images which have been taken for my music magazines you can tell have been through a set plan of action to make work and go with the feel of the page itself whereas the school magazine pages you can tell were just quickly thrown together without thinking of lighting, placement or people. The music magazine images look a lot better than the others because they look more professional and more appealing to the eye. The cell lines which i have created on my front cover of my music magazine is set out around the image and the layout is to match so the picture is the main source of attention but the cell lines are still noticeable. whereas with my school magazine they are just thrown on the page without thought. The contents page which i created for the school magazine the color co-ordination for it is very bad with the black and blue writing and background makes it very hard to read whereas i learn't from that and as you can see from my music magazine there is a huge difference in color schemes to make the not overlap each other. The layout of the school magazine contents page has the same kind of layout as my music magazine but a lot less developed. i didnt understand most of the software i was working with at the time and quickly threw it together whereas i took my time, made things look a lot cleaner and precise when working with the music magazine. The whole layout with the colors changed on my music magazine looks a lot better making it clearer and a lot more attractive than my school magazine. 

I think I have improved with my layout techniques and the eye to see whether things will work or not work, before I kind of didn’t think before acting when planning out a page. Now I feel more comfortable waiting for a great idea rather than settling for an average idea. I feel my work with computer skills and working around InDesign and other software’s like Photoshop has improved because I’m now able to go onto them straight away and crack on with something rather than taking my time and getting introduced to new things and ways to edit, I feel I still have much to improve on but at this moment in time I’m at a very high level of understanding most software which is helped with designing a music magazine. It has also made me pay more attention to small details in my work as you have to be very precise about placement as it is very important for a professional look.

Question six

When I have been working with different software on the computer to help me edit things for my pages and how to edit images. I have also had to use online sources and help bring them onto my blog page so it is visible. This shows a wide variation of ways of using the blog account to my advantage making it took more attractive.

The main things which I have used to create my pages and design my blog were…

·         InDesign

·         Photoshop

·         Digital camera

·         Blogger

·         PowerPoint/Slideshare

When working on indesign for my magazine I had to use different techniques of using this, like when I was working for my article I had to change the page layout of the software so I could fit two pages onto the screen to make them work together and have a nice clean look to them, I also had to work with layers on all images and text to make the be in different areas over each other, this makes it easier because you can arrange all the types of things available on the page and can arrange the easily. I also had to make certain things when working with the article like a ‘drop capital and pull quotes’ a drop capital works by highlighting the letter selected, click onto paragraph palette and then choose how many lines you want the capital to drop whether it is three or four, you then press enter to return to the page and you can change front and color from there.

When working in Photoshop you had to get used to how you can change things and how to remove effects on a picture you may not like, you work in layers just like InDesign so they are quite similar in that context. You have a wide range of effects to use and can crop pictures to fit the size you want, change shading etc. I enjoyed working with Photoshop as I was already familiar with the software and knew how to use it.

When using the digital camera I was already very familiar with using one of these as I have used them within other subjects I have done, I used them in ICT and I have used them for person usage. When taking a picture it was thinking of an angle to use the camera or the back grounding so it wasn’t as straight forward as a simple snap thought had to go into them, when putting a picture onto the computer you had to use a cord to connect to the computer and transfer the pictures across to your area. You could the edit these in Photoshop or from adobe-bridge you could send the image onto your InDesign page.

When I was using blogger at first I found the layout a bit weird but it is very easy to adapt too as the size and layout becomes a lot more easy to understand over time, when you are creating a post you have to edit one together and you can either save it as a draft or as a post which will be sent onto your blog, this made it easy to upload work when it’s completed or when you feel work needs to be improved.

I have had to use PowerPoint on my blog as it has made it easier to show a clear image of what I have done as I can use easy signals from each slide of what im looking at rather than a basic show and tell layout. 

Question five

I have attracted my target audience by including many things on the front cover and contents page which are directed to the audience of my choice. I have added band names which are popular to the youth and those knowing exclusive information about them would interest them into purchasing the magazine which I have created. I have also used a set color scheme, I chosen punk rock/indie feel so I think from the cover with the use of black and white image gives of an interesting feel maybe a dark inside on something and gives a nice look to it, the color scheme with words makes it stand out to the eye so it would also attract them with it sticking out to them. The way that I have laid out my contents page is very attractive to my set audience, with its easy to read layout and use of pictures of those who could be within a band or a solo artist gives a good feel to the magazine, the colors which I have used I feel work very well to create a nice feel to the magazine so the audience will enjoy that it makes them look like they are going into a professional look to it. I have used a certain text which I feel is attractive to read as it is not to fancy or boring so the person reading will be more interested in something with a creative font rather than a boring font. On my article I have used a very clean layout with very organised layout with the main image on the one side of the page which is showing a urban back grounding with I have moved also onto the back of the page with writing on, I feel this will appeal to the audience as it is attractive and gives it a nice feel to it. I have used appropriate pull quotes to interest the reader such as information about new albums being realised which when I researched was a big thing for most readers as they are interested in touring and what they want to see within an interview form. The picture has a very punk/indie feel to it with the punk type of background and the suits gives them the touch of class which some say is a indie type of formal wear but with a touch of urban feel to it so I thought this image would reach out towards the target audience very well. The mode of address I have used is quite formal and appropriate for the situation as it is a serious interview so the speech had to be very serious, I feel that this was important for this type of interview as the audience will want to gain as much information about a band which they like so this would attract them as they know it will be a very reliable source for extra exclusive information they may not have knew about.

Question four

The reader of my magazine would be mainly aimed towards 16+ as it is more directed for new music, the younger generations tend to want to explore with music and within the magazine they are able to find new bands they may not have heard of before and gain a fond liking to them, I would say I have a mixture of male and female readers towards the magazines which I have created. I would say it would be very equal balanced with the genders as I have not directed for one certain gender as I wanted to reach out to a larger target audience.  I created a mood board:

it represented how things could look and what my target audience would be interested too and how I could adapt though things into my music magazine to create a wider range of an audience. When I did my questionnaire I found out information about what people would like to see and how they would like to see it shown on a page. The audience which I am aiming for said they would mainly like to see male artists on the images or a mix band of male and female, I have took this information and put it together on my page using a male band and one mix band to create an accurate balance of what my audience wants. I feel listening to information from audience was important and to frequently check-up whether the audience I was aiming for found the images and the look of magazine was appropriate to the audience just in case it was not accurate. I did this until I felt it was a good finished product and would aim at the audience well which is people ages from 16+ and any gender.

Question three

Question two

The magazine which I have created represents what people often wall ‘hipster’ these types of people will search for unknown bands and try to stay out of the line of mainstream music, the types of music they mainly listen to is punk rock/indie so I feel I am aiming directly towards them. The way that I found it easy to direct them with was the pictures used, the costume is often linked to what they would wear, black clothing or denim jackets, suits with a urban edge to them , so this would reach out to them as they may be able to see what they are wearing and relate to it and would be more interested than most people of what they perform as they have the same dress sense as them so would cause a higher interest than most people who would look at the magazine. The pose on my front cover has a dark edge to it which may attract them as from what I have researched they are interested into the darker side of music and this gives of a sense of dark inside to a band member, the contents page has a more relaxed feel and the images which are apparent match this, the image on my article is also possibly what they would see as appealing. The pose of the images are very serious which I feel gives an interesting feel to the pages as they would be intrigued by this, the body language also has this effect. The type of writing which would appeal to them is quite a formal language, they are a very serious set of people as they like to learn and find out more information about a subject about something they like etc. a certain band. 

Question one

Front cover

For my front cover I have gone for quite a basic layout, even though this layout is basic I feel that it is very easy to read and has an attractive colour scheme. The image is a close up shot of a lead singer of a band. I have added a black and white effect to give it an original look and it fits with the genre of the magazine with it having a rather rock theme. The masthead is correctly placed in front of the singer who is named ‘Miles Kean’ this shows a direct image of the person and that the magazine has information about him inside. I had a few issues with placing with the masthead as the colours would often clash with the dark background; also the colour of the zip became an issue when looking into colours because it would clash with most colours which are of a conventional music magazine. I avoided this by using the space which I could create by centring words and moving the words around so it would fit into place appropriately with no issues reading the writing. The sub image which I have in place is well suited for this magazine and stands out with its brighter background making it stand out from the stuff around it, I have made the pose quite relaxed and in casual wear. The clothing which I have used is suited to my genre of punk/indie is black clothing which is often seen being worn by band members, this is apparent within both the main image and secondly in the sub image. I have added a pug to my front cover for people who are interested in special deals on a magazine if they were to be regulars to the magazine. At the top of the page I have information about the website and the issue of the magazine, these are essential as magazines are often collected by collectors so having the issue is a must and the website is so that people can gain more information or even purchase more things from the website if they are interested. The cell lines which I have chosen have a very convectional feel to them with a standard down the side of the page layout, the colour scheme follows most magazines with a black, red and yellow being of use. I have followed what I thought was the most obvious convections you would see on a front cover of a magazine such as the colour scheme was appropriate, the layout was simple and easy to see and is attractive to the eye with its basic look, the image is showing a certain band member and the masthead which is used shows what is being shows well and there Is no confusion of what you are reading or seeing within the picture area, I have used the pug which can be seen on most front covers or contents pages, I feel I should have maybe gone away and tried to challenge more of the regular things you find on front covers and been a bit more creative with my work but I do feel that these were defiantly effective and were pleasing to the eye like most professional magazines.

Contents page

With the contents page I have created I tried to give off a different feel to the front cover with a more attractive and cleaner feel to it other than the darker black and white effect, it is bright and very easy to read. I have followed a very conventional style with having the main information on the left hand side of the page showing what is going to be within the magazine, the picture which I have used has got over it a small bit of information of who it is and what page they are on etc. I have done this to show a sense of professionalism as I saw this in a magazine of ‘Q’ which was the main inspiration for my type of contents page, once again I have followed a very set colour scheme which is mainly black, red and white. I feel that these colours work very well for this page as it makes it stand out and attractive to the eye. The text which I have used is not a standard block text I have tried to be as creative as I can with font sizing within reasoning, I think the font I have used is attractive and pleasing to the eye as a reader. The people within my pictures are very serious and I feel that this had to be important as with the genre which I am showing they do not often show a sense of immaturity they are normally very serious and do not show any other side towards the public. The dress sense for this picture matches my genre with mainly black clothing and the use of lighting which is here gives a nice effect to make them stand out as if they are shinning on and doing well, as if they are in the lime light. I have followed what I see as a very convectional contents page, I was looking for inspiration and found this main layout from Q… This image

Was the main inspiration for my contents page and I just thought to follow the main layout of this and used its convectional balance of attractiveness and serious feel about it to create my contents page.

Article

For the article which I have created I tried to be a little more creative with the back grounding of my magazine, when I took my picture I used an urban type of background to give a urban feel to it but I also noticed if I dragged it across onto two pages it will suit and still leave the writing clear to read and made the page look attractive and different. The image which I have used is a serious one with the band members together showing a nice clear image, the person at the front is the lead singer and the others are musicians. The costume used here would possibly challenge the back ground using and what people would expect of the area with the posh look in a urban environment, I thought this worked really well as it showed both sides of what fame could do, having them facing away from the urban wall shows them turning a new side and turning their back on their old ways which they may have lead.  I feel the image is well set out and is attractive to the eye with its good use of lighting. The text on the other page which I have used is very convectional, I have used columns to create an attractive look to the page with the use of three columns to fit all the text in well. I have used drop capitals at the start of my text which can be seen in nearly all magazines and I have also used pull quotes which could catch the eye of a reader flicking through pages to try and see interesting stories. The masthead is showing well and stands off the page with its boldness and colour. The only thing which I feel could have been better is the amount I written I feel I could have included more to the page to give a cleaner look to it as I feel it has a few blank spaces here and there. I feel that it has a very attractive layout and I got this type of magazine idea from a mixture of Q and Kerrang, I feel that the mix of these two gives an attractive and clean feel to.