MAGAZINE LAYOUT- Lauren Homer

FRONT COVERI want my magazine to be called ‘INDIE

WORKS’. I would like my masthead to be in either black, red or purple. I have looked on

a font website called ‘da bomb’. I have decided on a few fonts that fit the genre to

the magazine. These fonts are called ‘Punks’, Punk Inside’, ‘Dharma Punk’, ‘Indie Hype’, ‘Indie Summer’, ‘Rock's Death’. I have chosen these conventions

for my masthead due to my research. All of the magazines that I have looked at have similar styles. You can see the colours and

fonts that are on magazines in my audience profiles research task.

My ideas for the main image at the moment is to have a white

background , so that the lighting is quite bright. I would like to take a long shot of a person (preferably a female), dressed in the outfits that I have designed in my initial ideas task, holding an electric guitar in

one hand and a tea cup in the other. These ideas will represent

the story which will be featured on the main cover line. The reason for this idea, is because I really liked the front cover design on an issue of NME, which I have wrote about in my music magazine analysis. It features Mark Ronson holding a

trumpet, against a white background. This is where I got my inspiration from. I really liked the idea of using props, costume and lighting as this links with mise-en-

scene.

Some of the cover lines that I would like to feature will be featured in my contents page. The two secondary

cover lines will be ‘new and upcoming bands’ (which will be my story for the double page spread) and ‘bands on

tour’. The main cover line will be ‘too posh to mosh’, which will link to my

main front cover image. The reason for these cover lines are that I believe that they are stereo typical to my

target audience. The main story (new and upcoming bands) is written in a

interview format, which was the most popular choice that people voted for in

my questionnaire. I would like the footer of my magazine to say

a list of bands that are going to be mentioned in my magazine. I got this

inspiration from a magazine called ‘The Fly’ which I have analyzed as part of my

research. I would like each band to be written in the colour’s that are linked to my colour

scheme (black or red or purple).

I would like the puff to be in the shape of a circle and have a give

away such as free concert tickets or free merchandise. I think this will

be a good giveaway and would attract a lot of people to buy the

magazine if it had a good giveaway. I would like to use a transparent

effect on this, like I used on the puff in my student magazine design.

Again, the colour’s should be within the colour scheme.

I would like the skyline on my front cover to say something

about this issue of my magazine being a ‘limited edition’ or ‘big

issue’. I would like to use this, as I found these are what the skylines

say on most magazines that I have looked at as part of my

research.

The price of my magazine will be displayed just above my barcode. The price of the magazine will be around

£1.70 - £2.00. This is the price that most people voted for in my questionnaire

when asked what they would be willing to pay for.

CONTENTS

I do not want the editors letter to be a huge feature of my

contents page. I found that in my student magazine, I wanted to put too much in my editors letter which I then found very difficult to fit in around all of

the other features. I would like to keep it short, explaining a

few things that will be featured in the magazine. I would like

the writing to be in a script font (looks handwritten) so it

appears more personal from the editor.

These sections will say the stories that I will like to include in my

magazine. I am aiming to feature around 20-25 stories. I would like

to have around 4 sections in which 5 or 6 stories will be included

underneath. My sections will be at the bottom of the contents page,

so the images, headlines and editors letter all comes above and are seen separate to the stories.

This is what I found on the contents page from looking at

other magazines. I would like the font of my stories to be written in

capitals and it quite a bold, tall font.

I would like the headline of my contents page to say the main headline of what my magazine is called in a smaller

font to what it is on the front cover, then to have ‘CONTENTS’ to be written in a bigger font, so that it is the

main focus. I would preferably like contents to be written in a sans serif fonts. I want it to look quite bold, and preferably

in the same font as what my sections will be written in. I would like contents to be white or black. These are quite mono colours, so they will not clash with the main and

secondary images that will also be displayed on the contents page.

I would like the main image to be a close up head shot of a girl, making direct eye contact with the camera (what will be the audience). I want

there to be a focus on her eye makeup, which should look very

exaggerated and quite edgy, linking back to the genre of the magazine. I

would like the girls hair to have a messy hairstyle, and pulling a face. Preferably winking or biting her lip.

The girl will need to be quite young , so she fits in with my target audience. The look of her will also need to fit in with my look and feel of the magazine and reflect both my research of other magazines,

and the choices I have made based on my questionnaire results.

For my secondary image, I would like to have a mid shot of a girl or boy holding up a vinyl record (preferably of an indie band). I would like the main

focus to be of the vinyl and then I would like the person holding it

to be in the background – maybe out of focus. The reason

for this is because this way, I think the image will look quite minimal which was a popular choice in my questionnaire

when asked what type of layout would be preferred. If I don’t not use this idea, then I will take a photo of somebody performing (maybe playing an instrument), which will probably have a low angle shot. I have not decided what I want the image to look like yet, I just know I want the idea of a vinyl. I would like this image to link to a story that I

hope to feature on my contents page.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADAs I have already planned out my double page spread, I have a good idea for what I am going to include. My headline will state

‘CAR CRASH CITY’, as this is the band that is going to be featured on my double page spread. I would like the font to be quite bold and take up around a ¼ of the page. The fonts that I

wish to use will be similar to the font I have mentioned that I will feature on my front cover for my Masthead (‘Punks’, Punk Inside’, ‘Dharma Punk’, ‘Indie Hype’, ‘Indie Summer’,

‘Rock's Death’). All the fonts look informal and are really suited to the genre of my magazine. I want to make quite a big deal of

the band I am writing about for my double page, so I want to make a statement with my headline.

I plan to have the main image of the band I am

writing about. I plan to take the photos from a low angle,

looking up at the band as they perform. I feel as

thought this is a really good image for my double page

spread as the article is going to be all about the band and where they are performing.

The image should include all members playing an

instrument and I want the image to reflect the story that will be written on the

opposing page. The sections will contain the story about ‘CAR CRASH CITY’. As I have already written the story that will be featured on the

double page spread, I will just copy and paste this when it comes to designing the double page. The story is in an

interview format, mentioning each person in the band, having there say about their band. I would like the font to be serif

and quite standard, it needs to be a step down from what the font will be like for the headline.

The strap line for the double page spread will simply say ‘Interview – new and upcoming bands’. This is already written on my draft of the double page

spread. I would like it to sit in the corner, just above the main image (so that it is still informative and doesn’t take any

attention away from the main image). I would like it to be in a bright colour so that it can still be seen and possibly be written in a sans serif font, to make a

link with the headline. I have already written this as part of my double page spread. The stand

is basically an introduction to my

interview and gives a brief of what is featured. I plan for the font to be quite small, and to be

positioned just under the headline. I would like the

font to preferably in black or white,

depending on the colour background that I

choose, which again will either be black or white.

I have already planned out what block quotes I am going to be including on this page. I have just referenced them

from my interview that I have already written. I would like the block quotes to be displayed in small boxes that are seen to have a clear contrast between the sections. The box should be in a different colour (sticking with the colour scheme) and made transparent. I would like the

quotes to be in italics and too look quite formal, so I would like the font to be serif.