Research into similar products: different music magazine for conventions.

This Is a double page spread from the music magazine “NME” the magazine contains one main image only and it uses the band in this case “the vaccines”  for direct address by having the members looking directly at the camera, this is something I plan to do for my magazine. I find the layout particularly interesting as the image covers  a whole page and a third of the second page with text from the main cover line filling what’s left so this have gave me a layout idea for my magazine. The colour however is very dull and dark and I plan the opposite so I will not look for this magazine for colour inspiration.

Research into similar products: similar band

Swedish house mafia

Origin:   Stockholm, Sweden

Genres: Progressive house electro house

Members: Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, Steve Angello

Swedish House Mafia were a Swedish electronic music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008. The supergroup placed at number ten on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll 2011

layout exercise

for this magazine article "M" i was given the task to name the band who are apart of the R&B genre. i thought the band had a french feel so i researched similar artists and i saw a band called the eagles so i decided to call them the buzzards which i google translated for the french name. mt cover lines where based on similar artists like Chris brown, Ne-yo and usher. i choose this font because its big and broad and is sort of similar to the "the blues genre"

For the "music x"  magazine i was given the artist Bjork who is an Icelandic cult singer. i chose a font which was similar to the masthead because i am not too familiar with the genre  but i also wanted it to be unique. i researched some similar artists to put on my magazine and in the end i chose: radio head, pan sonic and beck.

for the magazine "pitch " i was given a picture of Marilyn Manson who in the picture looks like something from a horror movie so i wanted to choose a font that would keep to the theme. i chose the red color because the connotations  closely follow the theme as well as the hard rock  theme so likened them to def leppard AC DC and marrilion 

for the magazine "M" i was given an image of drake who is an "R&B" artist  i chose not to create a busy (full) page of writing as i thought this genre of music  may  want more focus on the music/artists. for the main cover line i used drakes latest album "what a time to be alive". for the other cover lines i used similar artists such as kanye west. the cover lines font was bold and similar to the masthead but the main cover line i chose a more rebellious font.  

for the magazine article "sound" the main image contained king of Leon who took up the majority of the page with a small section for the main cover line  in which i chose their latest album "mechanical bull" i also used a similar font to the "kings of Leon" which was already gave to me. for the sub cover lines i did want them to cover the bands faces so i moved them towards bottom with a similar to the masthead.

preliminary task

For this Preliminary Task I have used a word processor (Microsoft word) and an Image Manipulation program (Paint.net) to produce a front cover of a sixth form magazine. I then drafted a contents page using pen and paper. I have used a medium close up photo of myself along with a masthead, cover lines, a main cover line, a bar-code, a skyline, PUFFs and a PUG. This will help me because from this I have practised the skills and conventions needed for my final product and I can improve upon my work at a later date.

Research into similar products: Similar artist

Pierre David Guetta (French pronunciation: ​[david geta]; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ, record producer and remixer. He co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster (2004) and Pop Life (2007) featuring 2 tracks with the UK's Tara McDonald. Guetta has sold over nine million albums and 30 million singles worldwide. In 2011 Guetta was voted as the #1 DJ in the 'DJ Mag Top 100 DJs' fan poll.In 2015, Billboard crowned "When Love Takes Over" as the number one dance-pop collaboration of all time.

Research into similar products: Different magazine for conventions

Masthead- the mast head (blender) stretches across the page with the image crossing over. The mast head is essential to all music magazines

Main image- the main images takes up the centre of the magazine and stretches from bottom to top over the mast head leaving room on the sides for text. A main image is required for a magazine front page.

Main cover line- the main cover line links to the main image and is clear to see because it’s larger and in a different font to other cover lines. The main cover line is needed on all magazine front covers.

Sub cover lines- the sub cover lines are on the right, they are not essential but it does give your magazine more content to attract more customers.

Bar code- the bar code is needed to make the magazine official.

Left third- the left third is clear to see because the font and colour is unique when it is combined so you can see that it is “blender”

Colour scheme- the colour scheme is blue and white which fits the house style.

Research into similar products: Similar artist

Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop. The duo's songs are considered essential in the French house scene. The group was managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter (Busy P), the head of Ed Banger Records.Early in the group's career, the band members were influenced by groups including The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones. The group is known for emphasising using visual and story components associated with their musical productions, and for using disguises while in public and/or performing; specifically ornate helmets and gloves to assume robot personas in most of their public appearances since 2001. The duo rarely grant interviews or appear on television.

research into similar products: band/artist profie

artist: Calvin Harris

born: 17 January 1984

Calvin Harris is a Scottish DJ, record producer, recording artist and remixer. His debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and was the precursor to his top-10 singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls". In 2009, Harris released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry within two months of release. Its lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became Harris's first number one on the UK Singles Chart.

research into similar products: potential band names

For my music genre I am using electro house so when it comes to my choices in bands or artists that will appear in my magazine there name most closely reflect to the genre. In a previous post I have mentioned sweetish house mafia and avicii. Almost all solo artists use their name or nickname for example avicii’s birth name is Tim Bergling. When comes to me deciding on potential band names I want them to link to “electro” when I think of electro connotations I think of fast, bright , powerful and many others. When I look at the band major lazer I can see a link between Lazar and electro. So the names I have originally come up with are: the bolts, Lazar party and mr shock.

research into similar products: music magazine

this is another magazine from the "mix mag". there is limited number of magazines for my genre  but the mix mag magazine i analysed before was a sort of limited edition. this means that the house style is different but personally i prefer the blue and black. however i can take ideas on layout and cover lines which will be a lot of help 

Research into similar products: music genre

Electro house is a hard form of house music. Electro house is characterized (cross over) by a prominent bassline and/or kick drum and a tempo between 125 and 135 beats per minute. Its origins were influenced by electro, electroclash, pop, synthpop, and tech house. bands/ aretists related to this genre are Swedish house mafia and aviici, These are the of bands/artists match my genre closely so I can use these as guidance for the type of bands in my music magazine.

research into similar product: potential colour scheme

Recently I have looked at similar products other (music magazines) and they have given me a good idea for my choices. For my music magazine I plan on using a colour scheme of light blue (possibly neon), white and black. These colours may change in the future but for now it’s my initial plan. I may use separate colours like a yellow for titles and headings. This is similar to a magazine I have recently analysed called “mix mag”. I chose this because it is eye catching on a newsstand as blue attracts and demands attention because to me it reminds me of lighting and electricity which fits my genre “electro” the black and white is mainly for my text and background to keep it simple but this is not a final decision. The main us for the white is for the background so my conventions such as pugs, puffs and masthead can really stand out and have the focus in them. The blue colour will hopefully be used as the masthead and possibly coverlines.

research into similar products

today i have analysed another magazine this time from "billboarded" my analysis covers the conventions, layout, photography and colour.  i will be analysing the front cover, contents page and double page spread.

the front cover has all the needed convention such as date and price. the masthead is slightly different because it goes down the page not across however this still means it covers the left third so its easily identified. there is a main cover line and sub cover lines to show there's more to the magazine. the colour scheme is bright and colour full which match's the "pop" theme. there is a main image which covers the majority of the page,

the contents page follows the general layout to a contents  page with the contents on the left/bottom with images on the right. most of the images have artists looking at the camera (direct address). the colour scheme is again bright and cheerful.

the double page  spread keeps to the bright colour scheme and a main image looking directly at the camera for effect. the image goes on both pages. besides from a main image the double page sprad is heavily worded.

research into similar products

today i have collected a magazine cover page,contents page and double page spread from the magazine "mix mag" which is from the electro house genre and the genre i am looking to do for my music magazine.  this means that this article will be the most helpful when i make my decisions such as font.

the front cover has a masthead which made up of a unique font that makes it easily recognisable especially for the left third. the cover page has all the needed conventions which includes: date, price and bar code. the main image is slightly different to other magazines because usually the artists cover the majority of the page apart from this one also the artists are in costume but this how they (daft punk) are usually shown on a magazine. the article also contains a skyline, puffs and pugs which makes the magazine seem exclusive. the colour scheme follows the music genre quite closely as light blue looks like  lighting which looks electronic. 

the contents page is fairly similar to most contents page because the actual page numbers and information is kept on the left hand side with the photography on the right. the photography its self  is relativity big with the one photo of an artist looking directly at the camera for direct address. the colour of the contents page particularly the background  follows the sort of electro fell with the bright neon colours.

the double page spread is quite different as the one page  is quite  heavily worded in text whereas the other is made up mainly of images. the photos all have the same effect on them which makes them look like the genre (electro) the colour scheme is kept constant through out even on the cover page which keeps to the electro vibe. the colours also makes the images stand out and the text clear to read.

drafting and planning: investigating typography

Today i have analysed a set of images which contain a different style in font on the main cover line and  i have ordered them 1-6 with 1 been the best and 6 been the worst. to determine my order i had to match the font to the ethos which in this case was "urban yet chic" my order in the end read E,B,F,A,D and C. i have analysed my decisions next to each image  as seen above.  overall i think pictures  E,B and F would be applicable however pictures A,D and C would not be acceptable. this exercise has showed me how i should think when designing my fonts. 

research into similar products

I have now annotated a second music magazine article contents page this time from the magazine "Q" i have looked at the layout, photography and colour scheme.