Colour Usage: On the front cover, I am aiming to use a maximum of four colours: black, grey, white and cranberry (purple/pink). I am only using a small amount of colours due to the genre of the magazine I am wanting to create. From the research I did, I know that most popular rap magazines only have a small running house theme. For example, 'XXL' is mainly black, white and red. I think this is good product to compare mine too as it follows the same conventions I want my magazine to have even though it's aimed towards males, and mine will be for the female gender. I have chosen black and white as I think they are very traditional yet symbolic colours for the rap industry. The black may connote the harshness and deep meaning to the genre, and white juxtaposes with this by symbolizing new beginnings and positivity, which many hip hop artists inherit when starting out in the business. I think by incorporating white and grey, neutralizes the page and adds a sense of 'freshness'. To continue with the conventions of a professional rap magazine, I concluded to using a cranberry colour. This will associate well with the target audience as it is quite a feminine colour. I aim to use this to add a 'pop of colour' to my front cover, and I have yet to decide whether to include it in the masthead.
 |
| Flatplan of Front Cover |
Image Usage: I will have one main image, on the front cover, which will be a beautiful female in a natural position with a 'chocolate box' facial expression. I feel like this will really make her eyes and natural beauty stand out. The image will be either medium close- up or a close- up shot as this camera angle is commonly seen on front covers. I want the model to be in fashionable clothing. I haven't quite figured out what colour this will be yet, preferably an all black or all white outfit. I want her makeup to be simplistic but also connecting with the house theme colours, so maybe a dark red lipstick to add a pop of colour. Furthermore, I have not decided how I want my models hair, but I will be practicing different styles a couple of days before the actual photoshoot. I want everything to connect with the rap industry but also have a connection with females and be attractive to them. Furthermore, I have not yet decided how I want the background of the image to be. I will be photographing the models on either a plain white canvas or a green screen, therefore I can decide whether the simplistic background is suitable, or whether I should add some graphics, such as fading from grey to white etc. I think this will add complexity and interest to my front cover, although I do not want it to look too cluttered, therefore will decide when designing my page.
Text Usage: On the front cover, I aim to use a bunch of different words to captivate the audience. I have not yet decided what story's will be featured on the front cover, but I will ensure they will use language that will attract my primary audience. Furthermore, I aim to use the word 'Win' in the puff, offering a lucky winner tickets for an artist or a new gadget. I think by using the word 'Win' will interest teenagers as most don't necessarily have a lot of spare money to spend on themselves, therefore anything that they could possibly win is a bonus. This may attract a wider target audience, especially if the prize I offer to giveaway is a good one that people outside my primary target audience would be interested in. Lastly, I aim to use special terminology that rap lovers will understand, this will make them feel connected to my magazine, however I am still yet to decide what slang to use.Layout and Font: My music magazine will hold all of the normal conventions of a front cover, however I will make it clear as to what genre of magazine it is. I will do this by the use of coverlines and the main image. I will place the masthead at the top of the page as it will be the first word you will come across when seeing the front cover. I will make sure this is in an attractive font, but still convey the feelings of rap and hip hop. I am also yet to decide on whether I want it black, grey and white or the cranberry colour (which would add a pop of colour). There will be a banner at the top suggesting viewers to look on the website for new information etc, this will increase my audience, as looking at new gossip online may be easier for some people, other than going out and buying my magazine. This will add professionalism to my magazine too and make it more realistic. I will then include the web address, date and issue number underneath the masthead, as I think this is a good place to locate important information. This is also seen on other music magazines, therefore, will hopefully make mine look skilled like the others. Moreover, I will feature three to four cover lines down the left hand side of the page, this then applies to the 'Rule of Thirds', and will attract the audience when on a magazine stand. I will make sure they are interesting story's and the font will be a one I use throughout my magazine. I think it needs to be quite simplistic and modern, connoting with how my magazine will be, 'new and trendy'. If I decide to illustrate the background for the main image then the coverlines will be white. I think this will add contrast to my page, and make the font stand out, which is what I want. Additionally, I will place a puff underneath the masthead promoting a competition inside. I'm yet to decide what the shape of the puff will be and what colour it will be, but hopefully it will attract more individuals when they glance at my magazine. The main coverline will be aligned to the right of the page, in the middle of the main image. This will be larger than the other coverlines, as it will connect with the model on the front. I want it to be obvious that both are intertwined. The font and colour will be the same as the other coverlines however will stand out more by the size of it. On the bottom left of the page will be the magazine institution, this will allow magazine lovers to recognise what organisation is backing my magazine, and again this may increase readers, (I am yet to decide who the magazine institution is). Lastly, the barcode will be situated at the bottom right hand side of the page. I was debating on putting it underneath the masthead, however decided against this because the magazine information looked better there. I am going to generate my own barcode on a internet website so it is specialised for my work. This convention is seen on almost 210,000 magazines throughout the World, therefore, would look highly unprofessional if I did not include one.
Contents Page
Colour Usage: On the contents page, my aim is to incorporate the same colours that I used on the front cover, so I have a running house theme. I have not yet decided on what colours I will use for each convention on the page, however I do know that the masthead featured on the contents will be identical as the one on the front cover. I think the headline will be in either white, to contrast from a colourful background, or black. I also want to add a border around the page in the colour cranberry, personally I think this will add a running theme throughout my pages, as the colours connect. Furthermore, the date and page number will be in either black or white, depending on the background. On the content of the page, I will have the writing in black, and the page number in a house theme colour, just so everything follows a specific scheme.
 |
| Flatplan of Contents Page |
Text Usage: Again, I have not yet decided exactly what content will be featured on this page, however, I know that the language I use has to be aimed towards my target audience. From my research, I understand that most people wanted to read celebrity gossip and interviews, therefore I will try and include as many articles about this on the contents page, for example, 'A Day in the Life of...' and '...'s Top 10 R 'n' B Tunes ATM'.
Layout and Font: The layout from my contents page is inspired from magazines like 'Vibe' and 'XXL'. They are very minimalistic compared to other genre's of magazines like 'Q'. I think by it being simple really emphasises the main image and secondary images. I placed the masthead and contents page at the top so it will be easily recognisable when flicking to this page.
Double Page Spread
Colour Usage: I aim to incorporate the house theme of black, white, grey and cranberry onto this double page spread. I would like the article headline to be in the cranberry colour, as well as the quotes on the main image. I feel as though this will add a pop of colour considering the text will be in either black or white. I may also add a quote between the article text, and this will be in the colour cranberry too. I want the background of the double page spread to be in white, as I feel like the contrast will be too harsh if its any other colour. Furthermore, I aim to follow the same colour scheme when taking images of my model, so it all fits together. The page number and date will be in a basic colour of black, so its easily visible.
 |
| Flatplan of Double Page Spread |
Image Usage: I am planning on using one main image on the left page as I think this will add more effect to the article. Most rap genre double page spreads only contain one image, therefore I want to follow this trend. I want the model to be dressed in either an all black or all white outfit, as this is a popular style seen within the rap genre industry. Personally, I think it would make the pages look unprofessional if the model was dressed in a bright colour, and sort of childish. I want her outfit to fit with the rest of the page, without standing out in a negative way. The model will also have gold or silver jewerly on, such as hoop earrings. Again, this is to connect with hip hop culture.
Text Usage: The text on this page will be very informative towards my target audience. I aim on producing a story/ interview led article, therefore it will interest people that enjoy reading stories or interviews on celebrities. I also plan on using words that connect with the audience, therefore they will feel more involved with my magazine. I am yet to write the double page spread article, but when I do I plan on it being very detailed, using a lot of teenage/ rap language.
Layout and Font: The layout will be very simplistic as I don't think rap articles are cluttered. They always look modern which is how I want mine to be. The main image will take up all of the left page, and I will also feature the headline on that side too. This is so the right page doesn't look too full with the text on it too. On the right, I will use three columns to include the text in, I think this makes the double page spread look very professional and is used in most music magazines. The font used will be very modern and bold, as the colour will be quite feminine. I wanted to balance out the femininity as I presumed using both a girly font and colour would deter it from being a rap genre, as I still want to convey a sense of 'harshness' and 'gangster'. For the article headline, I want it to be a purple/ cranberry snakeskin colour, as I think instead of it being one solid colour, it will definitely signify the hip hop culture. Furthermore, by using an animal skin as the background for headline, will connote 'Power' and represent dual expression of good and evil. This will again connect with the celebrity the article is based on, as I wish to talk about how she went through good and bad to get where she is today.
No comments:
Post a Comment