24th Feb: Research and planning

I have been researching music magazines such as NME and Q, I believe these are brilliant magazine and are shown to be successful due to their recognisable names. Both magazines used the same codes and conventions such as a Masthead, cover lines, flashes and variety of font sizes but the same font design.

The front cover of both magazines, use a main image which is relevant to the main article in the double page spread. I believe I will be using this for my magazine as I think it link the magazine well. The Masthead remains dominant and in the same position, which shows that it will always be recognisable – also, as the logo is on the left third it will be the first thing readers see when they look at a stack of magazines. Both of the celebrities featured on the front cover are giving direct eye contact to the reader, this shows an immediate connection and makes the magazine very personal and welcoming. I think when I will take pictures for my front cover; I will use more than one model as I think the NME issue works more effectively and makes the cover more fun. The use of colour is continued throughout the magazine which is important as it makes the magazine flow better. I like the colours use in NME, however feel that they are two bright. For my magazine I will definitely use darker colours to give it more of an indie feel.

The contents page are also very similar as they both include one main image and a story to lead with that and a list down the side of the pages, with page numbers. The background is simply white which makes the text better to see and the images clearer. However, I feel this is too plain and I would use a similar background image to my front cover to make the magazine have a continuous theme. Everything is well framed and there are no gaps or sense of emptiness which suggest that the contents page needs to be filled.

The double page spread seems to me the easiest to produce as one side of the page (either left or right) have a big image of the main article celebrity with a quote or a caption. Then, on the opposite hand side, the article is featured. In my opinion, the Arctic Monkeys double page spread is better as the titles is not the name of the band (which readers should already know due to the front cover and their own personal interest. I think the heading has to stand out and take up 3 quarters of the page in order to look effective and grab the reader’s attention onto that page and that specific article. Each spread had a by-line showing who the article and photos were produced by, this is defiantly something I will include in my magazine as it gives a sense of professionalism.