Magazine Front cover

My Music Magazine cover

I kept the original background of my photo, as I added instruments in the background, I put instruments in the background as it's a music magazine, therefore fits the context. I used the colors - White, black and red, as 'NME' uses 3 colors. 

Red has been used as the background for '30 greatest hits', as red is a color of love, and in the double page spread I mention how the artist bonds with her sister, as her sister teaches her how to play the guitar. 

I use a bar code to make it look like a real music magazine, therefore fits the convention, however I also put the price in the corner of the title 'Swag', and the date '10th of July', this indicates the price and date like a normal music magazine. 

The masthead 'swag' is on the left hand side, as the logo 'NME' is also on the left hand side, as the majority of people tend to read from left to right. The white writing of the masthead 'Swag' is on  black background squares that allow the white text to stand out, as it contrasts with the darker background.

The large anchoring image shows the artist who's article is on the double page spread, therefore the front cover links to the contents and double page spread. The shot of the girl is off her looking towards the cover lines, as it refers she is saying look at them, which shows the audience that this music magazine is important. 

The cover lines are in red and black, a part of the colors I chose to use, the drums and her checked shirt are also red, while black is used in the cover lines to make the writing stand out, as black is the darkest color , therefore stands out against a white background.

I also include a quote underneath the cover line 'Musical Festival', I use the quote 'A great time' , this is because this phrase is from the double page spread, therefore the use of  quotes allows the reader to read further, as quotes interest the audience.  

Improvements for my music magazine

I would make sure that their was more than one image, the image that I would have included would have been a  medium close up, as MCU focuses on the subject, therefore my artist would have been the focus of the object, instead of the instruments as show in my music magazine cover.

I would have kept the title plain, rather then adding the grey color to the letter 'W', as the letter 'W' would have stood out more if it was white, as the color white is of purity and innocence, which suggest that the artist of the cover is innocent, this is shown through the double page spread, as she bonds with her sister, also is shown on the contents page as the writings background is also white.

Magazine contents page

The phrase 'GOSHA THIS WEEK' is kept as the masthead, as it's a contents page, therefore  the artist is on the contents page, as the music magazine is revolved on 'Gosha'.

The colors used on the contents page is red, black and white. I use red, as red is a bright, striking - eye - catching color, while black is a dark, sinister color, black is used to suggest that she was secretive off making her album 'Swag', however white is a pure innocent color that refers to her innocence of wearing 'her glasses'.

I include the phrase  'Band Index', as the features displayed are conventionally in a list, therefore it suggests that a contents page is full of articles and interesting news, this indicates that some people will then purchase the magazine if it looks attractable with information. 

The image is off a young girl, therefore it is aimed at females who can take the artist as an inspiration. However to improve, i could have added images on bot female and male, therefore it would have appealed to a wider audience other then girls, 

The image is a medium shot, therefore it is a picture from the waist and up, this shot directs the reader/ viewer to the image of the girl. However, it would have been better if the image was  direct mode of address, this would have meant that the image would have had to be a extreme close up, this would have allowed the audience to feel a connection with the magazine.

Music magazine, Double Page Spread

The phrase that I use ' Some think i'm a show off, but i'm just me', this quote is used as the title, as the double page spread is an article on the artist who holds a microphone, the image off her hand is slanted on the writing 'allowed me', this provides a visual image of Gosha allowing the journalist too visit her debut room- it creates graphology in the readers mind, and wanting to read the third paragraph. 

Black, bold font is used, therefore the audience can read the title, The title as a quote is persuasive, as it attracts some to purchase the magazine, as some are interested in an artists life.

I've structured the writing in columns, therefore it fits the  conventions of a double  page spread.

To conclude, I created my music magazine cover, contents page and double page spread on Photoshop. This enabled me to experiment with different tools, for example,I used the pen tool on the double page spread, as I needed to erase the background from the artist in the picture. I erased the background as I wanted the double page spread to follow a specific style. I chose to use Lilly Allen's double page spread as a style model for my double page spread, this allowed me to copy some of the conventions used in the double page spread.

I changed the font of  my dps, as the 'pristina' font looks more elegant, and suits the audience of girls.