Mock Ups Of Front Cover, Contents, & Double Page Spread

Front Cover, Contents Page, Double Page Spread & Mood Board

Front Cover

Above is the final version of the front page. It follows the codes and conventions in some ways because the bar code is located in the bottom right hand corner with a website written below it. The website was written in order to give promotion to the company. Also as you can see there is a black lightening bolt with 'FREE CD INSIDE' written across it. This is a lure, as the readers will be more likely to buy a magazine if there are enticements. The 'Free Posters Inside' is also a lure. 

Contents Page

Above is a final version of the contents page. As you can see it has very bright colours, which will catch the eye of the reader. There are no lures on this page. As you can see the main image is an eye-level long shot of Jenai. The graffiti on the ramp in which Jenai is stood, is also eye-catching. Where there is a black star and it says 'Subscribe! Just Visit www.moesh.com/subscribe' this is also in some ways promoting the company with the website. 

Double Page Spread

Above is the final version of the double page spread. As you can see it's very different from the front page and contents as the colours are not quite as bright. There are 5 different images used on this, whereas on the contents and front page there is only one image. This page follows the codes and conventions of real magazines in some ways, because as you can see i have written a quote and made it stand out by placing it on a eye-catching shape. 

Mood Board

Lastly, above is my mood board. It includes most of the pictures which i used on the front page, contents and double page spread. It also includes two of the fonts which i used and the main colours which are used in my work.

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?

Our target audience as you know is those who appreciate rap and urban music. There is a gap for this in the market as there are hardly any rap magazines. 'Vibe' magazine, the magazine i mentioned previously, isn't actually a rap magazine, but its a music magazine that often features rap artists. It is a niche market because obviously its only a small part of the population that enjoy that kind of music.

I believe that the magazine institution that would distribute our magazine is 'Bauer'. The reason i think this is because i researched Bauer and it appears they distributed other music magazines/channels for example; 4Music,  Kerrang, Kiss 100, and many more.

Above is the logo for Bauer Media. It appears from the research i have done that this company have experience with our kind of magazine, as they have distributed others like it.

I believe that 'Emap' is the company that would definitely not distribute our magazine. The reason for this is because that company focus on digital media, broadcasting in particular, advertising and film.

Question 2: How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?

In our music magazine we have represented no particular social group, we have just tried to aim it mostly at our target audience. And our target audience is those who enjoy rap music. Like i have stated before, we wrote not formal, but not informal either so that way we can get everyone involved with the magazine and everyone will be able to understand it. The way Jenai is posed in the pictures has a little bit of attitude but isn't really forced, it was just a quick easy pose. This doesn't make a difference, but as she is a female it will attract the male part of our target audience. Vibe is a magazine that is rather like ours, because it usually features rap artists.

Above is a picture of the front cover of Vibe magazine. As you can see, Eminem is the main cover image and he is a very famous rap artist. The way he is stood in this image attracts females to the magazine. 

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During this blog, i have learnt a great deal about technologies. The many different technologies i came to work with during the time are:

Internet: I used the internet to search for other magazines to analyze, and to do other research. Also if ever i had an queries i would google it.

PowerPoint: I used PowerPoint a lot because our teachers provided us with many PowerPoint's in order to help us. Also at the very beginning of all of this work, i started to do everything on PowerPoint before transferring it straight onto my blog.

Digital Camera: Obviously i used a digital camera in order to take the pictures for the front cover, contents page and double page spread. This is something i was already quite confident in using, but it still gave me extra practice.

Photoshop: Photoshop is something i had used a few times previously for photography, but not very much at all. I used it during this piece of work in order to edit pictures of put things together like mock ups etc.
Blogger: Obviously blogger is the main one out of all of these, for everything i have done has been uploaded onto here.

Scanner: In a few cases, i done my work on a piece of paper. Instead of typing it all up i thought it would be logical to scan the work and then upload it straight to blogger.

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Even though my preliminary task wasn't very detailed, it still helped me a lot with my actual music magazine. The preliminary helped me improve ideas for the real thing. When i created the contents page of a college magazine for the preliminary, i had to research other magazines, and i noticed things on magazines that i would never usually notice.

I now understand the codes and conventions of magazines a lot better, and know how to make a magazine look a lot more professional. There are still some things in Photoshop that i do not quite understand how to work, but i know more than i did in the beginning. Before i made the magazine, i only had some experience with Photoshop because i do A level photography. But now, after weeks of using it, i can edit pictures easier.

One thing that i did already know before this task, was how to set up shots better and how to consider locations of the shoots. The reason i already knew a lot about this is because like i said previously i took A level photography. I also did GCSE media studies so learnt a lot about camera shots and angles then.

Final Double Page Spread

Final Contents Page

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your music magazine?

I believe that the core buyers of our music magazine will be those that enjoy rap and urban music. Without meaning to be stereotypical, I believe that boys are more likely to buy it because there are more male rap artists than there are female. There is a no particular ethnicity that will enjoy our magazine more, because rap and urban music is enjoyed by black people, white people, asian people and every other race.

Above is a print screen of my FindYourTribe results which you will have seen previously on my blog. As you can see my result was 'Smart Urban'. This was relevant seeing as our music genre was rap/urban.

The people who we are mainly targeting in our magazine, do not dress or act in any particular way. But there is a stereotype. They where brands such as 'Nike' and 'Lacoste' or other sporty brands like that. Below are some pictures of rap artists, to give you a rough idea of what there appearance is like. 

Preliminary Task

The reason I chose this as the front cover of my preliminary task is because it is a very simple picture, but both Jenai and myself are students, which is relevant for a college magazine. 

Above is my front cover of my college magazine made especially for the preliminary task. As you can see, it does not have very much detail but that is because it was just a practice version before Jenai and myself made the actual thing. It was made on paint, as it had to be made at home and I do not have Photoshop or publisher on my laptop. That is why the quality is not brilliant.

Above, is my mock up of a contents page for my preliminary task. It was also made in paint like the actual front cover, for the same reason. The one problem with using paint for this task, is that I couldn't slightly slant the boxes. I wanted the images along the right hand side to be slightly slanted.

Illustrations

Mood Board

As you can see, above is my mood board. It shows the fonts used on our magazine, and the main colours. It also shows our three main images.

Flat Plan

Mock Up Of Double Page Spread

The reason we chose this as one of the images for the double page spread is because it was one of my favourite images from the shoot. As you can see, it is a low angle shot, meaning the camera is looking up at the model, Jenai. This gives it a good effect, making her look superior and important, this might attract people to the magazine. Also in the picture she looks happy and not too serious about it, which makes it funner and more interesting. 

Above is the first mock up version of our double page spread.

Above is the second mockup version of our double page spread.



Final Front Cover

Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Me and Jenai attempted to attract and address our target audience in many ways.

Use of language/Mode of address: When we was writing our front cover, contents and double page spread we had the thoughts of the audience in our heads. We tried to make it not come across too informal, or too formal. We want everyone who reads it to feel comfortable with it and understand what we're saying at all times.

Use of font: We used a very simple font throughout the magazine we created. For the masthead we used, as stated before, was used by the band 'Boy Better Know' for their logo. It is easy to read and also very eye catching.

Contents: In the contents we included things like, stories and images of lost legends. Examples of lost legends are Tupac, Biggie, Michael Jackson, Aliyah and more. This will attract people because real rap and music fans would like to know about and see pictures of these legends.

Images: The majority of the images used were as i have said before, of Jenai. This will attract teenage boys which is partly who we are trying to target.

Layout: Our magazine has a very simple layout, but it is also attractive. The front cover will attract boys as the model is a female. Also, the double page spread includes a very interesting interview by Jenai the model. This will also attract males for the same reason. And it will also attract females because they might look up to Jenai or just generally want to know more about her.

Question 1: In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?

The music magazine created by myself and Jenai, uses develops and challenges forms and conventions of real music magazines in many different ways. Firstly, our masthead is very stereotypical. It is in a font that is clear and easy to read, and it is blue. Also, the main cover image is placed in front of the masthead like on most magazine front covers.

We both decided that the skate park was a good place to take the pictures for our magazine. The reason for this is because at this one, like most skate parks, there is a lot of graffiti, and this gives it a very urban look. We thought this would be relevant for our magazine, because our music magazine is focusing on urban/rap music. The picture is an eye-level medium shot. We did not manipulate the photographs we took in Photoshop; we just cropped out the background in some of them. The reason we cropped out the background was so the actual model herself would capture the attention of readers, not the background.

The outfit that Jenai is wearing the picture was not particularly planned, she just wore what she felt would relate to our magazine. She settled with a simple grey/blue jumper, beige coat, leggings and chestnut uggs. 


The main feature in our magazine was Jenai herself. There was no particular reason for this, just our other model couldn't make it to the shoot, so Jenai stepped up. But the fact that Jenai is a teenager, might attract teenagers to the magazine. Also, the fact that she is a female, might attract more males to the magazine. 


The font we decided on for the masthead is a font used by a group called 'BBK' which stands for 'Boy Better Know'. Jenai and myself enjoy listening to there music, and we also like the font used to write 'Boy Better Know' and this is the reason we chose that font. For the rest of the writing, for example the contents or the interview or stories on the double page spread, we used just a simple font. This is so it's easy for everyone to read, and doesn't take the attention off of the images. This is in some ways following the codes and conventions of real music magazines. Most real magazines use an interesting font for the masthead or headlines etc, but then for the main articles and things, they use simple fonts.


On the front cover, contents and double page spread, we didn't use particularly formal language, but it wasn't informal either, it was just average. Even though we were mainly trying to target people who like rap, we want to also attract people enjoy other genres, so we didn't set a particular tone to our writing. 


Genre is reflected well in our magazine, because even though stereotypically rap is for males, our model is a female. Also the main story is about a female rap group. This will attract males to the magazine because obviously there are pictures of females and thats what males like to see. Also, females will be attracted to it, because the pictures will make them feel like they can relate if they listen to that kind of music. 


Firstly, the front cover. It is very much following the codes and conventions of real music magazines. As you can see the bar code is placed in the bottom right hand corner. This is just like on a real music magazine. Also the main cover image is placed in front of the masthead.. This is also following the codes and conventions. We didn't deliberately do this to make it look like other magazines that is just the way it turned out. Also the contents page is in some ways following the codes and conventions. There is a part which says about subscribing, which you would usually find on the contents page in real music magazines. And lastly, our double page spread doesn't follow any of the codes and conventions of a real music magazine.


Overall, we have mostly  followed the codes and conventions instead of challenging them, but this doesn't mean we haven't challenged them in some areas.  The reason we mostly followed the codes, is so that we didn't dissatisfy the audience who we were trying to attract. Because obviously audiences have expectations, and if we challenge the codes and conventions too much, the audience could easily be disappointed which is what we don't want.   

Audience Research Questionnaire

Mock Up Of Contents Page

The reason we chose this image for the contents page, is because it is a full body shot of the model Jenai, meaning that we would have enough room to write the whole contents next to it. This image also shows contrast. It is an urban magazine, and the pose Jenai is doing has a little attitude in it. But then the background is of greenery, and is very soft and relaxed. 

This is the first mock up of our contents page. As you can tell there is not very much detail. And also, the writing is not the clearest it could be because of the background, so for the real contents will be get rid of the background. I added drop shadows to some of the text and that gave it a good effect and made the writing stand out a great deal more. That is something i only learnt to do during this portfolio. 

Here is our second mock up for contents page. As you can see, because it is just a plain black background, the writing is a lot easier to read. As you can see we have written the website at the bottom right of the page, 'www.moesh.com' this is promotion for the website to get more people to go on it. 

Mock Up Of Front Cover

Above is the unedited version of the image we chose for the front cover. The reason we chose this one, was because it was one of the nicest ones. As you can see, Jenai is in focus, and the background is slightly blurred out. To take this image, we borrowed one of the digital cameras from the college, so that the images were of a good quality. 

Above is the first mock up of our front cover. It is very simple, but the drop shadows on the writing gives it a good effect and is kind of eye catching. The background in this image and the graffiti kind of takes the attention away from the model and the story lines.

Above is the second mock up of our front cover. It is better than the first mock up because in this one there is just a white background, meaning the model and the writing is getting more attention. 

Front Cover Analysis

Cover Image: As you can see, Chris Brown is placed in front of the Mast Head to draw more attention to him. Also the way he is stood, he seems confident and it draws in females. They Chris Brown, because he is obviously very good looking and is an icon for most females.

Lure: As you can see, they have made the word ‘Virgin’ stand out by putting it red and bold and bigger than the rest.
Also where it says ‘Mega Music Issue’ it makes it seem like this magazine is more important than the others, so it makes people want to buy it more.

House Style: ‘Vibe’ magazine uses pretty much the same font type on the whole of the front cover. Also the four main colours used are white green black and red.

Mast Head: The masthead for ‘Vibe’ magazine, is fairly simple, just a white bold font. It is placed behind the image slightly, so that it can be seen, but does not take the attention of f of the cover image. This is the case with most magazine front covers though.

Barcode: As you can see, ‘Vibe’ is not following the codes and conventions of magazines because generally, the barcode is positioned in the bottom right hand corner of the front page.

Mode of Address: In most magazines, the mode of address is either formal, or informal. But this magazine is not particularly formal, or informal, its more in the middle.

Cover Image: As you can see, the main image is of Cheryl Cole. The way she is posing, is very likely to attract men to the magazine, as she is very pretty, and the way her tongue is sticking out, boys will find is attractive. Also, the way that it appears to be raining in the image, and the way that Cheryl Cole has wet hair as if she has been out in the rain or in the shower or something, is also eye catching for boys. Also, Cheryl Cole is actually placed behind the masthead, unlike on most magazines where the cover image is infront of the masthead.

Lure: The lure of this magazine, is not only Cheryl Cole and her positioning, but the word 'Rocks'. The reason the word Rocks is a lure, is because it is very bold and big, compared to the rest of the writing on the magazine front cover.

House Style: Q magazine has pretty much the same font all over the cover, except some of the fronts are bold, and some are italicized, whereas some are not. With this cover, they have stuck to darker colours, which makes it bolder. 

Masthead: The masthead for Q magazine is simple, and it is a little bit like a logo. It is a simple 'Q' on a red background.

Barcode: Just like Vibe magazine, Q is not following the codes and conventions of magazines, as there is no barcode at all on the front cover, which means it is most probably on the back of the magazine.

Mode of Address: Q magazine appear to be using a more informal language than some magazines. The word 'Rocks' would be classed more as casual than formal.

Cover Image: The cover image of this magazine is following the codes and conventions because it is placed behind the masthead like the majority of magazines. The image is of Drake the music artist, with a very blank expression on his face. The image is in greyscale, and the background is just simple. But this image will draw in those who appreciate RnB or rap music. Also this cover image will attract many girls, as he is seen as attractive by a lot of teenage females.

Lure: The lure is the part that says 'Why he's not your typical rapper'. This is the lure because it comes across that they know something about Drake that we don't, and that will make people want to buy the magazine to find out.

House Style: The whole front cover is using the same font, but different colours and sizes, and some is bold whereas some is normal or italicized. As you can see the whole front cover is full of pastel colours, which makes it a little duller.

Masthead: The masthead is very simple, like the other 2 magazines i've already analysed. It is just the word 'Jet' in a simple font and simple colour. It is also infront of Drake, like i stated when i wrote about the Cover Image.

Barcode: Just like the other two magazines, Jet is not following the codes and conventions. The barcode is positioned on the bottom left instead of the bottom right.

Mode of Address: The mode of address of Jet magazine is informal. This is made clear where it says 'Chuck Brown: Bustin' Loose Again'. The word bustin' has been shortened and this is casual.

Cover Image: The image on this front cover has clearly been chosen to catch the eye of men, because it is of Pink (Alecia Moore) holding her top open. Also the way she is posed with her mouth open, makes males more likely to want the magazine than females. The cover image, like the majority of magazine covers, is infront of the masthead.

Lure: The lure is both the cover image itself, and where it says 'Special Report.' It makes people want to read the special report, as the way it was underlined with red and the whole thing is surrounded by a yellow box, makes it seem important.

House Style: This magazine has no particular house style as you can see, because there are many different fonts being used. They have stuck to the same colours, black grey and red.

Masthead: The masthead for this magazine is obviously part of the actual 'Rolling Stone' logo. Red writing with a simple font. It is also behind the cover image which i have previously stated. Also, the lure which says 'Special Report' is partially infront of the masthead.

Barcode: The barcode for this 'Rolling Stone' magazine is in the same position as the barcode on the Jet magazine. The only difference is this barcode is portrait whereas on Jet magazine it was landscape.

Mode of Address: The mode of address for the 'Rolling Stone' is informal. "Screw anybody who doesn't like it!" That is a quotation from Pink, shown on the front of the magazine. The wording of that shows that it is casual and informal.

Cover Image: The cover image on this magazine, is of a rock band called Avenged Sevenfold, as it says below the image. The man that is dominating the image, seems to be holding a chain. And the way they're all dressed and posing is a bit scary, and very much punk/rock like. They appear to be living up to there title of 'Worlds most dangerous band'. This is very eye catching for people who like that kind of thing.

Lure: The lure for this magazine, is the word 'Free'. Enticements always make people more likely to buy a magazine because they get more than they pay for. In this case, the thing that is being given away, is posters.

House Style: On this front cover, many different fonts are used, which means they do not follow the same house style.

Masthead: The masthead for this front cover, is 'Kerrang' in a rugged font, but it is mostly being hidden by the cover image. The boldness of the font, makes it very eye catching and it gives it a very rocky look.

Barcode: Unlike the previous 4 magazine front covers, this magazine is following the codes and conventions, by having the barcode in the bottom right hand corner.

Mode of Address: Like the most of the other magazine front covers i have analysed, this is also informal. The way it says 'sex, drugs and violence'. This is casual, and it is also a bad influence for the younger generation.

Double Page Spread Analysis

Layout: The layout of this double page spread, is very clear and easy to read. As you can see, the images are in grey scale, and although this could make it look dull, the bright red and white writing brightens it up.

House Style: As you can see, the images are in grey scale, and although this could make it look dull, the bright red and white writing brightens it up. And they have stuck to the red and white on both pages. It appears that the same font is used pretty much all the way across the double page spread, except on the title.

Layout: The layout of this double page spread is very different to the one above. As you can see, there is one image dominating it, but there are still other smaller images on the side.

House Style: This double page spread pretty much follows the same house style. The main colours used are blue and black. But with this spread, there are a few different fonts used, instead of using the same one all over. This gives it some variety and makes it less boring.

Layout: This layout is the most interesting out of all my 5 chosen double page spreads, in my opinion. There are many pictures of Solange Knowles, striking different poses in each picture.The person who created this double page spread must have been rather talented in Photoshop in order to put all the images together. Then the writing is all spread around the main image, which is in colour whereas the rest are in black and white. 

House Style:  There is no particular colour or font used on this spread. As you can see one of the images is in colour whereas the rest are in black and white as i said above. 

Layout: Out of the 5 double page spreads this one seems to have the sloppiest layout, but it is also very eye-catching. There are many images on here which is one of the things which captures the eye of the reader. 

House Style:  This double page spread mainly has darker colours like red and black, but then there is also a lot of white as well. Similar fonts have been used all over the spread. 

Layout: The layout is very simple but very effective. All members of Black Eyed Peas are stood in similar positions. Then all of the writing is placed on the right hand page of the double page spread. The writing is in many paragraphs but only one column. 

House Style:  The main colours used here are black and different shades of gold. Each member of Black Eyed Peas has a piece of gold clothing or jewelry on them somewhere. And then some of the writing is also in gold, making them match. Also the same font is used all over except for the title which says ;Will He, Won't He?' 

Location of Shoot

Above is an image of the location where we took the pictures for our front cover. This is a skate park in Higginson Park, Marlow. The reason we chose this place to take our images, was because the graffiti gives it an urban look, which goes well as our magazine is a about a girl rap group called 'PYT'.
Originally, our location for the shoot was going to be under a bridge at Gossmore Park, as there is a lot of graffiti there and it also has an extremely urban look about it. But then half way through our planning stage, we decided that this skate park would probably be a better place.
The fact that the front cover image is based in the skate park, it may attract people that enjoy skating to the magazine. Another reason we chose this particular location, is because of the surroundings. Very close to this skate park, is a wood. If we ran out of places in the skate park to take photographs, we had the woods and other surroundings to move onto.

Find Your Tribe

Just incase the writing above isn't clear enough, it says:
'You are Smart Urban! You want a good job and know that’s about looking presentable. You love the preppy look – the girls in Gossip Girl have great style. You hate anything uncouth – see fighting, drugs and Wetherspoons. You’re much more likely to be spotted at a cool club, or commuting to work.'

I in some ways agree with this, but there are some parts which do not apply to me. I believe that this thing is not accurate though, because some of the questions asked were completely irrelevant and wouldn't contribute in any way to the final decision of which tribe you were part of.

Contents Page Analysis

Layout: As you can see, this contents page is a little unorganised. I think it is only half of it, because it doesn't look like a full contents. Also, it is not as attractive as other contents pages as there are not many pictures, and lots of writing. The main image is of Kate Perry, in a pose that is likely to attract men to the magazine.

Mode of Address: It appears that this contents is coming across to the audience as informal. The reason i believe this is because it says '...listening pixie goes bonkers.' bonkers is a word that isn't likely to be used in a formal conversation.

House Style: On this contents, the same font has been pretty much maintained throughout, except one thing. But even though the fonts are the same, they are of different sizes and styles. This makes the contents look smarter than if they were to use many different fonts.

Lure: The lure on this contents, is Kate Perry. The way she is posed is somewhat 'seductive' meaning men will be more likely to read it. The only problem with this, is that there is nothing luring female into the magazine.

Editorial&Subscription: As you can see from the image above, this magazine doesn't follow the codes and conventions. The reason for this is that there is no section offering the readers to subscribe to this magazine. Also there is no part showing an editors letter, which is what some magazines do.

Layout: It is clear that the layout of this contents is better than the previous one. It is easier to read, and even the the main image is very boring it is still altogether a better layout.

Mode of Address: The contents page isn't clear enough to read it all, but from the bits that I can read, it seems formal.

House Style: With this contents page, they have used pretty much the same font all over, with maybe a few exceptions.

Lure: This contents page, doesn't actually have a lure,

Editorial&Subscription: Unlike the previous contents page, this one partly follows the code and conventions, as there is a paragraph at the bottom about subscription. This increases the amount of magazines they will sell. This is overall making them a profit.

Layout: Compared to the previous two, this contents page is more interesting to look at. The reason for this is because there are more images which grab the attention of the reader.

Mode of Address: It appears that this magazine is very formal. The reason i believe this is because it says "I've done many things with my pubic hair..." and this is not a formal way to speak to the audience, it's much more casual.

House Style: On this contents page, all of the fonts used are very similar, but not all exactly the same.

Lure: The lure of this contents page, is the piece underneath the title, where 'Rob Flynn' from a bang called 'Machine Head' made a confession, but only one sentence of the confession is shown, as a teaser. The reason this is a lure, is because it makes whoever is reading the magazine, want to read ahead and find out the full confession.

Editorial&Subscription: This contents page includes both an editorial and a subscription. The editorial is in the top left, and the subscription part is in the bottom right.

Layout: The layout of this contents is very attractive for females because obviously females like make-up a whole lot more than boys do. It is also very clear and simple, and easy for the audience to read. 

House Style: The main colour used here is pink, from the make-up products to the writing. And also the fonts are similar. 

Lure: The lure of this contents page is obviously the pictures of the make-up products for females. Females may like to read the magazine to find out which products are best and which products are newest out and worth purchasing etc. 

Editorial&Subscription: In the bottom right hand corner is the editorial. This is following the codes and conventions of other magazines. 

Layout: This layout is very simple but clever. As you can see it is of Ciara in a fairly seductive pose, with the actual contents of the magazine written above her. 

House Style: There is no particular house style here. A number of different fonts have been used to give the contents page variety. And also there is no colours used throughout, just different ones. But the colours seem to be duller colours like grey and brown. 

Lure: The lure is obviously the main image. As Ciara looks a bit seductive it will very much attract males to the magazine. 

Editorial&Subscription: This particular contents page does not include an editorial or information about subscription.