Planning

Initial Hand-Drawn Drafts:

For this task, I had to draw out my initial ideas for the front cover, contents and double spread of my rock magazine. When drawing my drafts for all three pages, I also had to compare them to an existing magazine which I had analysed (in the case Q).

All three pages of my initial hand drawn drafts are in some ways similar to the existing magazine opposite. The reason for this, is because Q magazine follows the general conventions of a rock magazine and so I wanted mine to be similar in some ways. One of the ways in which they are similar is on each of the front covers, there is a pull quote. This gives the reader a glimpse of something that has been said in the main article, making them want to read on.

Overall, by completing my initial drafts for my rock magazine I am more aware of typical conventions used and where to place them. I have included conventions that have been used on Q magazine, however, when I draw my final magazine pages, they may look different to my initial ones because I aim to make mine unique. 

Initial Magazine Name Ideas:

 

Before I started to draw out my drafts for my magazine, I needed to think of a name. As I am going to create a rock magazine, I created a mind map of all the names that I could think of. Most of the names I came up with include the word 'Rock' because I want people to be able to instantly recognise the genre of the magazine by looking at the masthead. The three names which stood out for me were 'Rock Radar', 'Magnitude' and 'Pure Rock'. I particularly like the name 'Rock Radar' because it uses alliteration and the word 'Radar' connotes to the audience that the magazine is constantly aware of any upcoming news in the rock genre. 'Magnitude' sounds like a very harsh and serious word, which reflects the rock genre because the people in the industry care about their music. 'Pure Rock' again allows the audience to identify the genre and reassures them that they are buying a rock magazine because of the word 'Pure', meaning that rock is the only genre the magazine focuses on.

After reviewing my list of potential names for my rock magazine, I have decided to use the name 'Rock Radar'. This is due to a number of reasons, and the first being that potential buyers of the magazine will be able to recognise the genre because it has the word 'rock' in it. 'Rock Radar' also uses alliteration which therefore makes the name catchy and more memorable. As previously mentioned, the word 'Radar' also indicates that the magazine is very up to date with all of its content and aware of the latest news in the rock genre and so this will attract passionate rock fans to buy it. I also conducted a survey (scroll down to view) and the majority of the people who answered it, liked 'Rock Radar' the best. Finally, I conducted a survey (scroll down to view) asking people what they thought was their favourite name out of the three above and the majority chose 'Rock Radar'.

Development of Initial Planning Ideas:

I created these three mind maps to show what elements that I should include on my front cover, contents and double page spread when I make my magazine, also bearing in mind how these things will relate/attract the target audience (16-25 year olds).Throughout these mind maps I included many points about sticking with the same 'house style' on all of my pages. This way, the reader feels at home and would possibly be able to relate to some of the colours on display because he/she wears the same coloured clothing. For example, they may wear black which is stereotypical of rock fans, and can also more often than not be found in rock magazines.

Now that I have written these ideas down on paper and put them on my blog, I can refer back to them when I start to construct my final magazine. By thinking about what elements I can include on my magazine pages, I feel when I make my magazine I will be fully aware of what I have to do and not waste time trying to think of ideas.

Magazine Pitch:

The purpose of my magazine pitch was to outline all of the elements that I had to consider in order for my magazine to be successful. During the Prezi, I talk about some of the existing magazines within the genre (rock), where my magazine will fit in the market, who the magazine is aimed at, what magazine publisher I will pitch my magazine to, what visual style my magazine will follow, whether I will subvert/challenge any representations within the genre and finally whether I think my magazine will be a success.

 

Initial Masthead Typeface Ideas:

Next, I selected a group of different font styles from the website www.dafont.com which I thought I could possibly use for my masthead. For each of the fonts I changed the text to my magazine name 'Rock Radar' to give me a preview of what the masthead would look like with each font. I also noted down the actual name of the font so that I could instantly find the one I want when referring back to the website and when making my magazine.

I printed out the A4 sheet and asked people in my media class which typeface they thought best suited a the magazine. Overall, fifteen people gave their opinions on what they thought was the best typeface and the one with the most tally's was 'Typhoon'. When reviewing my results, I think that when I come to making my final magazine I will consider the 'Typhoon' typeface but also probably explore others. This is because these are only my initial ideas and so I may find another typeface that I like the look of at a later date.  

Survey:

In order to continue developing ideas for my magazine, I created another survey on 'Survey Monkey'. The questions asked were all to get responses to help me not only name my magazine, but to also understand what content people most want to see in a rock magazine. 







Question 1 Results:





The first question asked in my survey was 'What is your gender?'. By asking this question and gaining responses, I know what gender mostly reads magazines and I will therefore need to aim my magazine at them. Most of the people who answered my survey were men so I need to base my magazine on what I think will appeal to them. A small portion, however, were females and so I aim to find a balance in my magazine in order to maintain the interests of both genders. 

Question 2 Results:

My second question was 'How old are you?' and one of the three options ran away with the results. This was the second option for people aged between 16 - 24 which means that when I make my magazine, I will need to include certain elements that will appeal to people of this age bracket. As people of these ages are still very young, informal language is most likely to appeal to them because they are more care-free and less mature as opposed to older people who like Jazz magazines.

Question 3 Results:



Question number 3 was 'Out of the following, which is the best title for a rock magazine?' and the most popular one was 'Rock Radar'. From my mind map I selected my favourite three names and put them into my survey for people to vote for their favourite one. 'Rock Radar' was initially the name that I liked best and so I am going to stick with the results of my survey and make this my magazine name.

Question 4 Results:

The fourth question was 'What would you most enjoy reading about in a rock magazine?'. From the results, it is clear that people would most like to see an interview with a rock band/artist and so this is what I will aim to create. I think this is because most rock fans will enjoy getting an insight into their favourite artists lives in this genre. I will begin by writing a draft of the interview showing the interviewer and the person in question's dialogue in a word document before creating my final page on photoshop.

Question 5 Results:

My final question was 'Do you think there is a gap in the music magazine market for a rock magazine?'. Most people said there is, however, some people said that there is not. This means that when I make my magazine I will have to make it unique, whilst also making it appeal to the target audience by using a variety of conventions that are typically used in rock. I am aiming to focus on modern rock because my target audience is late teenagers/young adults and so they will be very interested in the latest trends and songs of rock.

Overall, gaining responses to my survey has played an important role because I now know multiple things to help me when thinking about my rock magazine. I now know to include an interview with a band/artist, what to name my magazine (Rock Radar), what age group mostly reads magazine etc. I can now think about how I can apply/display certain elements in my magazine whilst always bearing in mind my target audience.

Second Hand-Drawn Drafts:

Third Hand-Drawn Drafts:

For my third and final hand drawn draft of my front cover, I tried to include a large number of the typical conventions that are used in modern rock magazines whilst also making sure my magazine is as unique as possible. The main Conventions which I have included are things such as a big masthead, a main headline and a pull quote, multiple cover lines and banners, a pug and finally the main image of the artist.

The masthead 'Rock Radar' was the most voted for in my survey and gives the audience immediate awareness as to what genre the magazine focuses on (rock). It is located at the top of the page and is big and bold, making it stand out and easy to read for people looking to buy it.

The main headline 'Oscar Chatterji' is also bold making it stand out. By including the main artists name on the cover of the magazine, people are instantly made aware of who the main article in the magazine will be focused on. Having this feature will also attract people to buy the magazine, especially if the main artist is one they are fond of.

Adding a pull quote underneath the headline gives the reader a glimpse of what the artist is about, and so depending on the readers perspective of what the artist has said, it may make them buy the magazine and want to read on.

Cover lines almost act as a back up to attract the audience, both primary and secondary. If the reader is not too keen on someone featured in the magazine, it is almost guaranteed that an artist that they are interested in will be present on the cover lines, persuading them to eventually buy it. Banners also allow extra room for things featured in the magazine and also the barcode in the bottom corner, keeping it out of the way.

The pug 'win tickets to see Oscar Chatterji live' gains peoples attention and attracts them to purchase the magazine. Most people like to be in with a chance to win free things and so this comes as a bonus, along with the giveaway of the free poster.

Finally, the main image holds some rock ideologies such as earrings and large spikey hair. It uses a direct mode of address which some people will see as unity between themselves and the magazine. Also, the artist in the picture (Oscar Chatterji), has his arms folded which is a typical representation of rock because the artists in it and the genre itself are both seen as rebellious/hostile by some.



In my contents page I have also used multiple conventions such as a the large heading 'Contents' making it clearly visible and easy to read. The font and colour are also the same as the headline on the front cover sticking to my magazines house style theme.

I have also included a number of pictures in order to maintain the readers interest. This also allows them to see who they are able to read about and what page they are featured on. There are eight images all together on the contents page and two of them are notably larger than the rest to show who the main artist(s) featured in the magazine is.

The column running down the right hand side of the page displays text (and page numbers) which tells the readers where certain things such as news and reviews can be found. Again, it is clear and easy to read because each section is located in a box and out of the way of pictures and other distracting features. As the text is limited on the contents page, it holds connotations of informality which will attract the youthful target audience because they prefer images of their favourite artists in the genre.

Under each of the pictures I have included the names of the artist(s) that are visible in the images. Although most rock fans will be very familiar with these artists, a small number may not be and so I feel it is important to make a note of who these people are. The two larger images of the artists will also include pull quotes underneath them to attract people to delve deeper into the magazine and read more about the artist(s).





Finally, for my double page spread I believe I have included a large number of conventions that can be found in rock magazines of today. My double page spread consists of an interview with my rock artist 'Jack Jeffery' as this was the most popular choice when reviewing the results from my survey. I felt it was important to include a picture as well as the article because, again, going back to my contents page, the target audience for my magazine will appreciate pictures more than text because they are visually interesting.

When first looking at it, it is clear that the double page spread follows the typical layout of most articles in this genre. The artist is located on the right of the page (showing the audience who they are reading about) and the interview involving the artist is located on the left, making it clear and easy to read.

The picture itself takes up all of one side of the spread which is a common convention found in magazines of all genres, not just rock. The artist is also wearing an earring which reflects some of the ideologies associated with rock. A pull quote has been included underneath to clearly indicate that it is this particular person who has said this, aiming to tempt the reader to read the article.

Moving onto the left side of the page, the first thing that is visible if the headline 'Jack Jeffery'. As previously stated, the headline follows the same design as the headlines for the previous two pages, keeping to the house style theme of the magazine. As the artists name is the headline, people may or may not recognise him, but either way will be intrigued to read on and find out more about the artist.

The strapline gives the reader some additional information as to what the article about. By not giving too much away, the reader is able to get a rough idea as to what the article is about, but not enough to understand it fully, therefore making them want to read on.

The interview has a couple of conventions which make it look realistic and interesting to read. One of these features is the use of a drop cap. By adding a drop cap at the start of the article people know where to start reading as it is big and one of the first things noticeable. The other convention is the use of another pull quote in the centre of the text. This draws the readers attention and also maintains their interest depending on what has been said.

Computer Roughs:

Article for Double Page Spread:

When analysing the results of my survey, it was clear that people wanted to read an interview with a rock artist in my double page spread. Therefore I have written an interview that I will use in my final magazine, although, it must be noted that some of the words and layout may be changed if necessary. The interview sticks to conventions of rock because of some of the informal language that is used. For example, there are various uses of taboo language. As I previously mentioned, when I make the final double page spread there are certain aspects that I will need to change, this includes the name of my artist depending on who I use for my pictures.

To view my article for my double page spread: PLEASE CLICK HERE

Photographs for Final Construction:

Above is an image of all my photographs that I took for my front cover, contents and double page spread for my final product. Although most of the pictures will not be featured in my magazine, all of them represented the genre well, following many ideologies commonly associated with rock.