Evaluation: Question 5

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Masthead My masthead was In-D. Although it wasn’t the most creative, it is short, stands out and immediately tells any readers what music genre the magazine is generally based on – indie.

My masthead was in a unique font like all magazines, this font is only used on the masthead. My masthead is also in bold which also helps make it stand out. The colour of the masthead corresponds with the colour scheme of the page – which is mostly dark red, white and black. The masthead is in the dark red colour.

Its positioned at the very top of the front cover page, in the top left corner, and the bottom of the masthead is layered under the main image. The masthead is the largest piece of text on the page so instantly catches the audience’s eye, immediately telling them what music my magazine is based on.

Colour Scheme My colour scheme was pretty consistent throughout the whole production. On my front cover and contents page I was using the combination of dark red, white and black as my main colours. On my DPS, I came away from using these colours and mainly used white due to the background and colours of my artist (clothing, etc.)

The colours I used were heavily associated with the indie genre, hence why I believe they were a good choice. The white background also makes the black/red text stand out very nicely and all text is clear and readable whilst the colours work well to make the magazine look nice but professional also.

Cover Lines I used five cover lines on my front cover along with my main cover line, six in total. Each one advertises an article that would appear inside the magazine, each cover line I would suggest with help from real magazines and describe them alike.

Like typical front covers, my cover lines were positioned right to the side of the page, and off the main image. My main cover line which is marginally bigger than the rest as it is related to my main image, is positioned towards the bottom of the page, just over the guitar which the band artist holds in the image.

Each cover line also corresponds with the colour scheme, the article name of each one is in the white, whilst the short description below each one is in the dark red. I also based the cover lines off the feedback I received from the questionnaire, if one band was particularly popular with the audience (Oasis), I wold include them on the front cover.

Front Cover Image The band on my front cover aren’t well known, but up and coming. Immediately, this appeals to those who are interested in young, up and coming bands. I believe the main works well as the cover lines are all based on bands who have, or who are becoming some of the best ever in the indie genre, so its good for the magazine that an up and coming band have some spotlight.

The image was taken against a plain, white background which not only works with the colour scheme but also makes all the text on the cover stand out. The shot is a medium shot/medium close up and all band members give direct address towards the reader.

Contents Page: TextThe way in which I would set out my text and what articles I would include was based upon the research and planning I did before hand. I used inspiration from other magazines such as NME to structure my contents page and what I should include on the contents. Besides the masthead and title ‘CONTENTS’, the text I used was for the content titles and the actual listed contents with a short insight to each one under the article name. Again, I used the colours red, black and white with my text to keep a consistent colour scheme.

Based off my questionnaire feedback, the majority of replies said they preferred images to text, therefore I made sure I had a good amount of images included – which I did in four images.

The masthead which is positioned in the top right is in its unique font, the word ‘CONTENTS’ is bold and very large, the rest of the text is mostly bold, basic font and a readable size.

Contents Page: Images I used a total of four images on my contents page. Each one relates to an article which is included inside the magazine. I positioned my four images in the bottom right of the page, clumped together. Although this isn’t typical of music magazines, to clump images together, I believe it works quite well and leaves a lot of room for the text so it isn’t hard to read and clumped together.

Three of the images relate to indie artists/band which feature inside, and one image was of the Glastonbury festival last year which is relevant to the page that gives information about upcoming gigs and festivals.

Double Page Spread: Text The text is the article of which is based from the interview I did with the artist Matthew Bowden in which I would ask him various question, some within the music industry and some away from it. The colour of my text was white as that is what seemed best with the background. Above the actual article, I quoted Matthew when he spoke about his fans.

The text covers a whole page, whilst the image and artist is on the second page.

Double Page Spread: Image The image I used was to emphasise who the artist is, and make the public aware of him.

Matthew poses away from the camera, holding a guitar of his that he uses in his music.

The image focuses on the artist and nothing else, hence why on my DPS he is put to one clear page whilst the text and article is on the left page.