Flat Plans with Written Rationale

Colour Usage: For my main colour scheme, I will be featuring a black, red and white colour scheme. As discovered through previous research, these three colours are used to create an overall powerful yet simple and professional colour scheme which does not detract the audience's attention away from the content itself. The colour scheme is powerful and effective, yet subtle and not immediately noticeable. The red and black will contrast against the white background wherever possible to produce this effect.

Image Usage: For the image usage, I was considering a profile shot of the subject either: holding a guitar; playing a guitar or looking at a guitar. The body language will reflect the entire theme of the magazine, as he will not be 'angry' or 'arrogant' as previous cover images have portrayed the subject, and instead will portray normal body language. As for the setting, an outdoor setting would be desirable, however I encountered problems with the lighting the last time I tried to take outdoor photographs.

Text Usage: For the main cover, I would be focusing mainly on teaser use and possibly puns to attract the audience and get them engaged with the magazine before even picking it up. I would use these in other forms of text, such as sell lines, headlines and slogans. The logo for my magazine would also need to be of a consistent look throughout the whole magazine, as well as keeping the text/font the same all the way through to create a coherent feel towards my magazine.

Layout and Font:  Overall, on the main cover, font style will be interesting and professional, meaning that untraditional fonts are not an option. This ensures people take my magazine seriously and it actually gives a positive and impressive first impression. Also having an organised and well-structured layout will make it easier for readers to be able to read the articles and enjoy the magazine. The headline may be placed diagonally to offer a difference to the traditional horizontal orientation of the text. This emphasises key pieces of text on the cover, such as the main sell line or regular sell lines. As for framing, the main image would usually be framed in the center-left of the cover, allowing space for the masthead above, sell lines to the right and the main sell line and strap line below. This gives space for the subject of the main image to be clearly seen by readers, but also allows key conventions to be featured alongside it on the page.

Colour Usage: Much like the aforementioned cover page, a black/white/red colour scheme shall be implemented. The white gives a subtle and gentle highlight to the page, yet the red and black allow a subtle implementation of power and emphasis without being too overpowering. The black and white colours will contrast against each other, creating specific stand-out areas for the contents page. For other areas where causing the areas to stand out is not a priority and not required as much as other parts of the page, the colour red could be implemented into the contents page to give a subtle emphasis on the area it is positioned on, but not an overpowering one which requires the reader's immediate focus.

Image Usage: For the contents page, the images which are used would not be as prominent as the one(s) on the main cover, and would generally be smaller. This even includes the image used to represent the main article, which may only be 60% of the original page size. There could also be many smaller images used to represent the numerous other articles within the magazine. The images would link to the magazine's theme of featuring new and upcoming artists, therefore feature images of the artists the magazine will feature, standing confidently to represent their desire to be the biggest they can possibly be.

Text Usage: The text featured on the page would be generally in third-person, and give minor clues as to what will be featured within the article. This would mean that parts from the article were not revealed in these section, but merely hinted towards. This is an example of how the contents page would use teasers to draw the reader into the magazine and get them prepared for the many articles that are inside. A masthead would also be present on the contents page, creating a sense of cohesion throughout the magazine. Like previously, it would be featured in the top-left of the page as well as the essential information.

Layout and Font: For the contents page, the general rules also apply. The font style must be coherent throughout the magazine, ensuring that the font is also professional and simple. The simple fonts work best in professional magazines, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Using fonts that are generally classed as unprofessional will cause your magazine to appear in the same way. The contents page is also structured well so that there is room for everything to be featured on the page without making it seem overcrowded. The main article image preview would be placed in the lower-right hand side of the page, due to this being the first area the reader traditionally sees when they turn the page. To the left of the page, there will be a table of contents running down the left hand side of the page, giving a clear idea of what will be featured in the magazine. Underneath the table of contents, there will be a smaller image, possibly placed diagonal, which will link to a smaller article within the magazine.

 Colour Usage: Finally, for the colour scheme on the article page, the colour scheme would generally be that of white/black/red, as seen in the previous two pages. There may be certain colours that are added/changed depending on the colour of the background image. For the background of the article, I hope to have a slightly transparent image to go behind the article text so that the text can still be black, but the blank white background does not appear boring or unappealing to the reader. The red/white/black colour scheme will still ensure that a sense of emphasis and power is created, despite the lack of strong and poignant colours such as green or blue. The colours contrast in a light way, rather than an obvious and distracting way. This ensures the reader focuses primarily on the article itself rather than the colour scheme.

Image Usage: For the images used within the double-page spread, there will only be one prominent image used. This is the image featured on the left hand side of the page, the main article image. This image will be of the subject of the article, the new artist of whom the article is reporting on. As for the second image, this will be an almost transparent image placed behind the article text. This image bears no real significance to the article itself, and is merely positioned there so that the article text does not stand out blatantly against a blank white background. This image could be something such as a patch of grass. Were it to be an outdoor shot like this, the weather would need to be bright and uplifting to give the connotations that the new and upcoming artist has a bright future ahead.

Text Usage: The article text would be written in the third-person due to the fact that the article would be reporting on the subject of the article. The language used would be positive and have connotations that resemble the subject's desire and determination to do well. The article image may be accompanied by a caption/pun as many other music magazines do. This enforces a casual and informal reading experience for the reader, ensuring they are happy and relaxed with the publication they are reading. The article would also need to have a headline/article title with a strapline underneath to give information to the reader.

Layout and Font: The fonts featured on this page can vary, yet the main body article text still remains a regular, simple font such as Times New Roman or Arial. Unlike the previous two pages, there may be certain features which the font can be changed for, such as the article title. The font would still need to be simple and not off-putting, but may not necessarily need to adopt a professional tone like Times New Roman or Arial. For example, Impact may be a suitable font to use due to it's simplicity yet emphasis on the text. Unlike the previous two pages, two of the features of the double-page spread overlap (being the article title and the main article image). The text will be placed over a relatively blank piece of the article picture to ensure it is still legible, but also helps to create a sense of cohesion between the two pages. Unlike the main cover, text would not be placed diagonal to produce effect due to the fact that this was only required to draw the reader's attention to the magazine itself. Now the reader is reading the magazine, grabbing their attention is not required as much anymore, so text can be written using the traditional horizontal orientation. Usually, the main article image would be framed in such a way that the subject is standing in a profile shot, showing them in full. This has connotations to the fact that the subject wants as much exposure in the music industry as possible. By displaying the subject in full profile, the reader can get a better grasp on who the article is talking about, and can assume the subject will have a big presence on the music industry due to the fact they are standing confidently in the shot.

Audience Research and Analysis of Data

I will now analyse research I carried out on a selection of random individuals. 11 people carried out the survey.

For the first question, I asked for their age range. 9 people stated they fell within the age range of 13 to 17, whereas only 2 fell into the age range of 25 to 34. This lets me bear in mind that the majority of people answering this survey are teenagers. Because this is my primary target audience, this will help me understand what content to feature in my magazine which will best suit them.

For my next question, I asked for the gender of those filling out the survey. 5 people said they were female, whereas 6 said they were male. This conforms to my existing beliefs that music is unisex and the magazine should reflect that. It should not focus on one specific genre or artists which is stereotypically associated with one gender or the other. The colour scheme should also be unisex, ensuring that there are no prominent colours which are stereotypically associated with a specific gender (such as blue or pink).

For this question, I inquired about which genres of music the participants listened to. This question gave them the opportunity to select more than one option where applicable. 8 people said they listened to Rock music, 7 said Indie/Alternative (the genre my magazine was intended to be centred around), 1 said Rap, 2 said Classical, 4 said Pop, 2 said Electronic and 4 said than another type of music was of interest to them. This lets me know that my magazine will do well should it be focused on my preferred genre of Indie/Alternative music.

For the fourth question, I inquired what would be the maximum price the participant would be willing to pay for a music magazine that matched their style of music. Surprisingly, 2 people stated they would only be willing to pay 99p for the magazine. 1 person said £1.99, 4 people said £2.99, 2 people said £3.99, 1 person said £4.99 and 1 person said £7.99. The majority stated that £2.99 would be the maximum they were willing to pay for the magazine, indicating that £2.99 should be the price for my magazine.

For the next question (another multiple choice question) I inquired as to which articles the participants would be most inclined to read inside the magazine. What I found was that all three options were relatively close to each other, with Interviews being chosen by 8 people, New/Upcoming Artists being chosen by 6 and Reviews being picked by 7. Due to this, I can safely assume that no matter which article type I finally decide to feature within my publication, the reader is still likely to read it regardless.

For my next question, I asked the participants which of these existing music magazines they read. The results showed that 4 read Q, 5 read NME and 4 read Kerrang!. 4 did not read any of the magazines that I featured as available options. Based on these results, I can see that a fair majority of participants read music magazines focused on rock, with 5/11 participants reading NME and 4 reading Q, the two magazines which I had stated would influence my own.

For this question,  I gave a bit more of a specific choice for question 5, asking specifically whether they would be interested in reading about articles which talk about new/upcoming artists. 9 said they they would be interested in reading about these, whereas 2 said they would not be. Due to this, I can safely include the desired article of an interview/report of an upcoming artist without worrying about whether the target audience will find it interesting or not, as 9/11 said they would be.

Surprisingly, only 1/11 people said they were subscribed to an existing music magazine. 10/11 said they were not. This lets me know that I need to change the traditional format of music magazines if I ever wish my readers to subscribe to the magazine for copies of new issues whenever they're released. Although I do need to vary from existing and overused techniques, I must not forget to also follow the main and key conventions of magazines to ensure it is clear that it is a music magazine, and does not feel too dissimilar to existing publications.

For my final question, I asked the participants of the survey whether a free gift coming free with the magazine would persuade them to purchase the magazine. No-one said it would not persuade them, but just under half said it may, depending on the gift. The remaining 6 said it would. While the majority said it would, I need to bear in mind that the gift must be suitable for the style of the magazine. In this case, a cover CD produced by various artists who fit into the genre of the magazine, or guitar plectrums for guitarists.

Proposal Table with Potential Problems

I have considered the possibility that there may be problems when creating my magazine. I have listed these potential problems, as well as ways to deal with them, below.

Potential area where there might be a problem	How I will deal with this problem
Front cover images  - Low quality images. - Bad lighting - Stretched out of proportion - Bad framing	- To overcome the potential problem where there may be bad quality images, I will ensure that the camera I am using to take the photographs is of a good standard. I should ensure the resolution of the images is fairly high to avoid the problem of the quality dropping when the image is stretched to fit the page. - Bad lighting is another potential problem, one which I encountered when creating my preliminary task. The camera was facing into the sun during the photoshoot, so any objects in the frame were silhouetted partially by the sunlight. In future designs, I will make sure that the subjects in the frame are subjected to similar/identical lighting to anything in the background so that no specific area of the image stands out when compared to any other area of the page, and the lighting should be even and spread equally across the page. - Stretching images may be compulsory to ensure images fit on the page correctly. This could lead to a problem if I change the resolution ratio, as this would change the overall look of the image entirely, rather than making the whole image larger or smaller. This would be used so that the whole image would be able to fit into a specified space on the page. Stretching the image without taking the resolution ratio into consideration would make the image appear stretched and squashed. To combat this, I would press 'shift' while resizing the image to ensure the resolution ratio remained the same so that the image does not look stretched or squashed. - Bad framing is something which may affect the overall look of the magazine. If the magazine's subject(s) are centred in the frame, the sell lines would need to be placed on either side of them, which would create an overall unprofessional look. The subject(s) should be aligned either left or right so there is plenty of room for the sell lines on the opposite side.
Article Inside Magazine - Structured Incorrectly - Font Unsuitable - Colour - Overuse of Key Conventions	- Having an article structured incorrectly can ruin the otherwise professional look of the magazine, such as if columns are missing from the magazine, or there are no paragraphs. The omission of these key conventions would ruin the look of an otherwise professional magazine. - Making the font a suitable type is a subtle, yet important feature I need to be wary of when creating my magazine. If I use a less traditional font to write my magazine in such as Comic Sans MS etc. this would also detract from the 'professional-standard' of a magazine. - Colour is also of vital importance when creating my magazine. If the colours do not blend well, and contrast against each other, this may cause eye strain for the reader, and would decrease the effectiveness of the magazine experience overall. I will use colours that contrast well together, such as black and white. - The final thing I must be wary of is to only use key conventions if it will benefit the look of the article overall. If I use a strapline in an article where a strapline is not effective, this will decrease the aesthetic look of the article. Similarly, if I use a drop cap or pull quote when the article would be better off without them, this may not be beneficial to the article. I must be careful to pick and choose which key conventions I include to ensure the magazine follows conventions, however still appears aesthetically pleasing to look at, and does not look crowded with features.
Images to accompany article - Poorly sized - Poorly positioned - Low Quality	- Because an article typically has a large image to accompany it on a double-page spread, I must ensure I resize it to an appropriate size whilst still maintaining a good quality image resolution. Similarly to before, holding down 'shift' while resizing the images would cause the resolution ratio to remain the same, hence keeping the quality of the image the same. - A poorly positioned image would detract the aesthetics from the overall look of the page, so ensuring that an image is positioned in an appropriate place on the page is vital. For example, positioning an image in the centre of an article is occasionally found in some publications, however it is traditionally found around the article itself. As for the large image featured on the double-page spread, the image would need to take up the entire page, and not just a small section of it. By ensuring the image is as large as it can possibly be, it emphasises the overall article and would ensure the picture itself has significance. - Because of the fact the double-page spread main image is taking up an entire page, the quality is vital. If the image is of poor quality, the overall look of the double-page spread would be compromised, and the large image would not have the same impact as if the image was of a higher quality.

Institutional Research

Institution	Details
EMAP	EMAP (East Midland Allied Press) is an institution that specialised in the production of business magazines. It used to produce many computer/technology magazines up until the mid-1990s (such as Internet Magazine and Nintendo Official Magazine), whereas now, only publish 20, with some including: Broadcast, Nursing Times and Screen International.
Condé Nast	Condé Nast is a magazine publisher based in New York City. They produce 18 consumer magazines such as: GQ, Vanity Fair and Vogue. They publish various different styles of magazines, such as Fashion and Lifestyle, Home, Bridal, Golf, Food, Travel, Technology, Culture and Trade. Conde Nast acquired the news and information site Reddit in 2006, and has acquired other well-known brands since, such as ArsTechnica.com.
Natmags	Nat Mags (now known as Hearst Magazines after merging with Hachette Filipacchi Médias in 2011) published some well known publications, including that of Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Coast. It is reported to be the largest digital publisher in the UK. As well as working with magazines, National Magazines also works with television, radio stations, internet businesses and real estate.
IPC Media	IPC Media was founded in the mid-1950s, and features many leading brands of magazines in the UK. It is the publisher of many famous brands, including Pick Me Up!, Nuts, NME, SoapLife and TV Times. Because of this, it claims to be the UK's biggest publisher of consumer magazines. It also manages to sell 350 million copies per year across all of it's brands.
Future Publishing	Future Publishing (known simply as Future, or Future plc.) is a publishing company located in Bath. It was the sixth largest media publishing company in the United Kingdom in 2006. Impressively, it manages to publish over 150 magazines under it's name, including publications such as: PC Gamer, PlayStation Official Magazine, Nintendo Official Magazine and Computer Arts.
Bauer Media	Bauer media is an international publishing company based in Hamburg, Germany. It operates in 15 companies worldwide and is the company which publishes some of Britain's best known publications, including music magazines like Q and Kerrang!, as well as women's weekly magazines such as Take a Break and Bella. It has offices in countries such as Germany, the UK, the USA and China.

Main Task Proposal Table - Stage 2

I created another proposal table to propose my idea for a music magazine which I plan to create. Unlike the previous proposal table, I have documented my ideas in more detail and in more depth than before.

Describe your idea for the brief: For this task, I will design a music magazine that is called ‘Soundcheck’, which relates to the term in which an artist rehearses their music before a live event or show. This is usually the time where an artist’s sound is not perfected yet, and they are getting used to the stage and atmosphere itself. This relates to the theme of the magazine, which aims to present new and upcoming artists who will soon become ‘seen’ by lots of music fans, allowing the magazine to have a niche by presenting new and upcoming artists. For my main article, I plan to hold an interview-type article about a new and upcoming artist on a double-page spread.

Genre/ sub genre: list similar texts which have inspired your thoughts: The genre of the magazine is primarily rock and alternative music. Taking inspiration from publications such as ‘NME’, ‘Q’ and ‘Spin’, my music magazine will feature traditional, casual style of article writing, with the way the articles are written being both informal and serious at the same time. Obviously, this is hard to achieve during an interview-style article. Captions under the article images are also a good way to add informality and humour to the magazine, while the article delivers the often serious and more formal text.

Target audience: gender/ age/ characteristics/ behaviour: For the target audience, I will aim my magazine towards a teen – adult demographic. The magazine will not be gender-specific due to the fact that music is not gender-specific either, and people of both sexes can enjoy music. Because of this unisex target audience, the colour scheme will need to be created to coincide with this impartiality. I have seen colour schemes in previous magazines such as Q or NME (which are both aimed at no specific gender of people) use a white/black/red colour scheme. None of these colours have any connotations with gender, and yet are still able to make the magazine look overall more appealing and stand out.

Major conventions I will use: In my magazine, I hope to utilise some of the major conventions that are present in previous magazines that I have researched for my own magazine. On the main cover, I will include a masthead (positioned in the top-left corner of the main cover), sell lines (including a main sell line), small descriptions which give extra detail about each of these sell lines, as well as necessary information such as a barcode, issue number and issue date. The one other convention that I will include is a main image, hopefully taking up a majority of the page like in past publications. For the contents page, I will include pictures, equipped with small numbers which link the pictures on the contents page to the page number which features the corresponding article. Finally, for the double-page spread, I will use a large, main image on one of the pages. On the other page, I will feature the article text, which will follow conventions by being written in a regular, easy-to-read font such as Arial or Times New Roman. Pull quotes and straplines are also widely used amongst many publications and so I may include them in my publication.

Conventions I may subvert/ change/ not use: Having the necessary information on the contents page does not seem necessary, as the reader has already picked up the magazine, and so will already be familiar with the issue number and date when they pick up the magazine. Having the necessary information on the main cover is good enough to warrant it’s absence on the contents. Because the theme of the article (an interview), I do not believe that a drop cap would be necessary.

Original images: what/ where/ what: On the main cover, I will have a large, prominent image of a subject, possibly with their faces covered by a black bar, which will then hold the main sell line. This will be used due to the fact that the artist is unknown. Inside, I will use images of different artists for the contents page, however will use different images of the artist featured on the main cover to represent him on the article page – this is due to the fact that when researching other student’s work, I found many had repeated the same image multiple times throughout the entire magazine, which gave an overall repetitive and unprofessional result.

Potential difficulties/ Plan B: During the creation of the magazine, I may face many difficulties during the creation of the magazine. One of the main difficulties that I may face is the image quality. When looking at previous student’s existing work, I noticed that very few of the images were of professional quality. I must ensure that images I take are of a high quality, and can be stretched and manipulated and still maintain the quality that is desired of them to appear of a professional standard. Getting the colour scheme right is also something that I may find particularly difficult. It appears difficult to get the colour scheme exactly right, and using too much of one colour and not enough of another colour is a minor detail which is the border between an amateur publication and a professional-looking publication. Many professional-quality publications have colour schemes that you do not notice in the grand scheme of things, yet amateur ones feature colours that are instantly noticeable to the reader. Because of this, I will try and utilise the colours on the page so that it is not noticeable, yet still has a strong impact on the reader.