Product review as of December 2015

After receiving feedback on both of these products, i have come to the conclusion that some things need to be altered. These changes and alterations include changing the article themselves such as removing the cover band and changing some of the text "Coming out new single". Also changing the font of the cover stories to match the masthead and the genre of the entirety of the magazine.

Additionally the contents will be altered due to the lack of consistency in terms of the house style, it seems like it is separate from the cover. Currently the "contents" title font is completely different from the cover- seems US College rather than a rock magazine. It also needs an increased amount of pages to reflect an actual product much like the ones i researched previously. In this case i believe that the whole of the contents will need to be changed in order to reflect both the house style and the genre of the magazine in general.

Contents development

This is an initial template for what may become my final version of the contents page. I have chosen a font similar to the original masthead found on the cover, which continues the general theme of the magazine, and appropriate genre.

  My contents was further developed to include picture frames and the house style colour was added along with a geometric design to add an element of intrigue. Once i received feedback, I decided to start from scratch due to faults in design as well as many other elements.  

This is what the contents finally came to. The background image of a hotel building creates an appropriate look due to the applied neon glow effect. The overall layout of the page is unique due to the slanted text however, the house style still remains intact.

Due to feedback i have decided to change the entirety of the contents page to make it fit the conventions of the genre and the house style of the magazine as a whole. The "contents" text is a smaller version of the masthead from the cover and the text of the sub-titles "Features" and "News", have been altered to look handwritten/brushstroke. This is an influence taken from the magazines that i have previously analysed. Additionally the text is displayed down the right hand side only and is not presented at an angle much like the previous version, making it harder to read. The page itself is much more disciplined in terms of layout as not many things overlap e.g. the text over the picture.  

Cover development

On this initial cover idea i have used a monochrome setting on most of the image and additionally, i have incorporated this into my title. Some of the image, specifically the models face, has colour added to it to make that the main focus of the cover itself. The background is part of the original image and was planned out to provide that grittier, more dirty appearance as well as linking in well with the genre.

Text has been added however, only basic effects have been applied which do not represent the conventions of the genre - darker, grittier visualisation. Also text has been added to the top of the page to show topics of the magazine itself (these are not main topics). Finally the masthead colour has changed to reflect the colour scheme of the magazine, red. Slight alterations to the masthead have been made to make it more visually appealing e.g. the previously seen white glow of certain areas has been erased to make it more refined.

This is a much more refined version of the cover. Improvements have been made such as; the text looks like that of a conventional magazine in this genre due to the colour changes and approach to the font. Additionally a strapline has been added displaying the focus of the main article featured within the magazine's double page spread. The text at the top of the page has been altered slightly to make it look clearer to read as well as adding Metallica's logo in replace of just the text stating their name.

Representation

Throughout the overall construction of my magazine, certain social groups have been represented. These groups vary from an age of adolescent people to a slightly older society. This is presented within my product through different fonts, colours and even the overall layout of it. The entirety of the product itself is merged between two mainstream conventions of the rock/alternative genre; grittier/darker presentation, and a more modern one appealing to a younger generation e.g. KERRANG! By merging the two, I am aiming for a target audience of both older and younger generations.

Font/Title research and ideas

The genre I have chosen is alternative rock. This is because of my interest in this genre and knowledge of the current state of the industry. Although there are many magazines currently on the market that are following this genre, I intend to make mine unique however, still following the general conventions of the typical magazine whilst avoiding to conform to their house styles.

This is a possible font choice for the masthead of the magazine cover. I somewhat like this as it has more of a grittier look whilst remaining bold and grabbing the attention of the consumer. This font also matches the genre well as it has similarities to existing products I previously analysed such as Kerrang!

Other fonts such as the ones above are also possibilities due to the bold personality of the fonts aswell as the individual differences, such as on Blacklisted.

Initial Title Ideas

•        Riffed
•        Thrash
•        Alt Rock
•        Amped
•        Soundage

These are potential titles/ mastheads for my magazine. Many are based off of puns of music/ instruments such as “Riffed” which plays on the riff/ solo when playing the guitar.    

Ø        The Unknown font looks the best with the                chosen title due to the likeliness to the chosen          genre.

Analysis of colour from previous products

The colours of this cover are mainly presented as much bolder than the conventional cover from this genre. The background colours are dull colours in contrast to the ones in the foreground. This may be purposely employed to present the band as the main focus of the cover, and the harmonious colours reinforce this point due to parts of the text and features in the same yellow/orange as one of the band members blazer.

This cover’s colour scheme follows a more conventional route when it comes to this genre. The darker, more dull colours of this cover make it more apparent of what genre the magazine will be presenting; rock.

This is a mixture of both of the previous two covers as it shows both dull and slightly brighter colours. Although it is not apparent what type of magazine this is at first, at closer inspection of the image and the title, which are cleverly presented in a way to draw attention to them, it becomes seemingly obvious what it is. This shows that colour is not the most important factor in this process when paired along with a good image and title however, helps to present the genre, due to my liking of the second and aspects of the third which will be carried over throughout my development.   


The colour scheme of the magazine will mainly follow black and white, monochrome shades along with a third added colour e.g. red or yellow. (These colours will mainly be used on the cover and contents: 

Most of the products I have previously analysed follow a simple black + white colour scheme for the background however, have 1 main colour that is presented increasingly vivid in contrast to the background. These primary colour shades will be represented through the above colours of either red or green as I feel as though these produce the brightest effect for the foreground. 

Write up on institutions and audiences

Due to the rapid increase in technological advances, media has also adapted along with this. Referring to Rob Hind's work, 31% of all adults in the UK now consume magazines digitally compared to their physical counterparts. This also implies to the music magazine industry. Music magazine companies have therefore had to adapt to the current situation of the industry whilst trying to stay traditional to what many bought in the first place. One company which has done one such thing is NME. Their magazine has evolved to become a multi-platform brand which can be accessed on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, have their own playlists on Spotify and has its own Youtube channel; an alternative form of social media/general media. Social media itself can help the magazine a great deal as it can then rival, not only other companies, but the music industry as a whole itself by providing fans with more options when it comes to reading and/or listening. When companies such as NME take on this approach, they advance their profit margins and increase popularity and stature over other magazines that do not take this approach in the modern age such as Melody Maker.

So many people are using their smartphones and tablets as alternatives to the physical versions of magazines as they may find these versions more portable and increasingly efficient. Another reason why many people are using their smartphones as a source to read their magazines is that a big reason magazines had become so popular was that they could be read to kill time and/or when people needed a distraction. Smartphones and tablets themselves can already be classed as distractions without the added need for the magazine itself however, by letting consumers read their products on their media devices such as the previously mentioned ones, magazines will proactively be provided with an increase in revenue.

When developing my final product I will take many of these key elements into mind as it may provide an accurate representation into the insight of a realistic magazine. Things such as social media websites; provided with actual links and original imagery, would be included as well as other features that modern day magazines use to link consumers to the internet such as QR codes. My magazine will find ways to rival other companies currently on the market with features relating to the theme/genre: Alternative rock music magazine. This would include a Spotify playlist as this is a free music streaming website and maybe even a burnt CD with short tracks included.

Prezi Presentation - Research into existing music magazine products

Language and register

By delving deeper into the previously analysed products, I am able to analyse the language and the register in which it is portrayed throughout all three. The overall tone of the language is conveyed to be increasingly engaging with the reader and I have therefore translated this onto my own product. The occasional use of slang terms makes the text seem familiar and more appealing to a wider audience especially due to today's use of the English language. By applying these existing conventions into my product, this allows me to appeal to the mainly younger age group that I had originally targeted, as the overall representation of the text will appear less formal and increasingly like the spoken language.    

Research into existing products - 3

I have chosen to use many aspects from this contents page however, these features have been manipulated in my product such as; image placement and layout of information.

Research into existing products - 2

Research into existing products

This is the initial research into current/existing products on the market in the music magazine industry. By analyzing these products, I can find idea that inspire me to carry over into my final product. 

Target Audience

For my music magazine "RIFFED", I will try and appeal to an older, more mature audience (15+). This is due to the nature of the rock and alternative genre, and the register of language used throughout the media representation of the genre as a whole.

Preliminary School Magazine Contents Page

This is the original contents page without adjustments.

This is the final version with amendments including page number, features and issue number + date.

Preliminary Magazine Cover

The aim for this was to create an initial cover for my preliminary product. This was a chance to experiment with different fonts, layouts etc. that will aid me within my final design (for the music magazine). 

Analysis for prelim of existing school magazines

This is an analysis of current school magazine's showing the representation, choice of text, colour etc.

Photoshop Tutorial - Astronaut

My aim in this post was to experiment with the different tools in Photoshop that may provide useful when it comes to my final products and developments towards that stage. The poster itself was to make it seem retro or old which has been shown through many of these different layers and techniques (e.g. layering images over the certain other layers whilst reducing the opacity). 

This is my test in photoshop using different techniques to apply different effects. I may use some of these in my final product.

This is an updated version, experimenting with some new techniques on different layers/objects.

Introduction

Welcome to my foundation portfolio where you will find all my work and my progress within it. This aims to provide a detailed presentation of the many different products and research i have completed in order to offer an insight towards the creation of my final product.