Choosing of Text Font

A graph to show my audiences opinions' on the typeface.



Grab shot of researching on www.dafont.com

When it came to choosing which title font I should you I went onto
www.dafont.com which gave me a wide selection of texts that would be suitable for my music magazine. I placed all these possibilities into photoshop and compared them. In my oppinion I did like quite a few but thought I should ask my target audience on there oppinion and use this as a set of results.

As you can see from the pie chart above, It shows each font 1-6 and the amount of people who have chosen the font they prefer. The majority of people prefer font 3 as shown and afterwards when I asked them why they said that it looks established and mixes well with the genre Indie Pop. Whereas all the others seem too fancy for a music magazine representing Indie Pop.

In my opinion I was quite fond of "Font 1" however do not think it is entirely appropriate for the masthead of the magazine. Therefore I have decided that I may use this font on the coverlines/straplines or maybe even the contents page.

Taking the above into account, I have decided that Font 3 works well with the Music Magazine I intend to make. I will do a pre-layout to see if this Font style works well with the photograph I have chosen AMBIENT.

Grab shots of Editing Front cover

Grab shots
In this section I will show the process of my front cover; I will do this by showing the grab shots I have taken throughout the process.

Firstly, I edited the photograph by changing the brightness and contrast making the photograph brighter and more intense. I then changed the vibrance to enhance the image and place more colour into the picture.
I enhanced the Hue/saturation also so that the picture looks brighter and contrasts with the models red lipstick.




As you can see from above, I uploaded my photograph into photograph- Then brightened the photo using the balance and then did the same for the contrast. This enhanced the photo and almost "brang it to life".

Here is a zoomed in grab of the spot healing tool in process. As you can see its a huge improvement from the previous one. Additionally I used the clone tool to make her teeth a whiter colour- This looks more professional and overall more presentable.

Masthead, Coverlines and Straplines




Coverlines

Front cover photograph

After taking 110 photographs, I managed to select my final chosen picture for my magazine Cover. I chose this photo for many different reasons. Firstly the lighting is very well lit therefore will look better when brightened and contrasted in photoshop. I will also change the exposure as I believe this will work well. As you can see she is gazing into the camera which meets the eye of the reader- And almost grabs there attention. In terms of mise en scene, her body language displays attitude which links in well with the type of genre (Indie Pop). In photoshop, I will use the spot healing tool and patch tool to erase any blemishes that are shown. Additionally, I intend to brighten her teeth to make the red lipstick even more of a statement. I have been consulting whether to use the quick selection tool to cut her out and place her onto a different background- However I will decide this when I start editing. Additionally I will crop the photograph so both sides are even- preparing for my Front cover text.

Taking the photographs

After a day of taking photographs of my model Bethan Davis; In total I took 110 photographs- I made sure that I took this amount so it gave me a variety of photos in which I thought would be suitable for my front cover, contents and double page spread. I made sure before taking the photographs that the lighting was well lit otherwise It would ruin the background of the photos as a yellow tint would form.

I used a number of different props also which identify a key aspect into the artists attitude and overall personality. These props were An apple, A black frame, Pearls, Guitar and a Rose. In terms of clothing- Bethan Davis wore a silver and white dress, Plain Vest with Skinny Jeans. Her hair and make up were styled to meet the indie genre- Her hair looks quite messed up and looks as if not a lot of effort has gone into it- Also her make up is bright which reveals her personality and indie pop nature. In terms of camera angles for my front cover I used a medium shot as this enables us to see the artist but also lets us see her props.

Here is a grab shot of the folder where my photos are in:

I created a mood board of all my ideas and also photographs of my mode. This gives an singight into the research and thought of creating my artists- It mainly focuses mise-en-scene (clothing, body language,props). During my research I became very aware of what type of fashion I was going to percieve to my target audience. An indie pop artist normallyhas a unique style. I thought my model should wear a statement dress for part of the photographs, Then a plain top with skinny jeans for the other part. In my view this represents an typical Indie girl very well.

Ideas for pictures

Research into Music Magazine Photography

Before taking my photographs for my music magazine, I decided to do some research into Indie Pop artists. I have decided to use a female for the photoshoot which will represent the Indie Pop artist- I shall discuss the name and story behind the singer later in my research.

I wish to set the scene using props which gives an indication into the type of artist she is. The two artists in the pictures are Ellie goulding and Diana Vickers who share the similiar musical genre. I like the positioning of the third picture- Medium shot. Additionally the other photograph shows a rose this gives it a unique yet quirky sense to the overal photo. This is the sort of props I would like to use in my photographs and will test them out when I do. Furthermore; In the picture with the male artist I believe the frame is extremely effective and stands out to the audience due to its indiviuality.

Genre of Music

The music genre I have chosen is "INDIE POP" for my magazine. Indie pop has become increasingly popular with everyone in the 21st century and appeals to a wide audience.

Definition of :Indie pop
(also known as twee pop or twee music in the United States) is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid eighties, The Smiths.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_pop

I have looked at "Indie pop" artists for inspiration, such as:

Jason Mraz
Kate Nash
Ladyhawke
VV Brown
Ellie goulding
Daisy Dares You
Florence and the Machine
Diana Vickers
Vampire Weekend
Lily Allen

Indie Pop market research:

Taken from www.UKTRIBES.com
Indie Pop:
Musically, Vampire Weekend, The Killers, The Klaxons, Glasvegas, Lily Allen, Pete Doherty, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party are currently important – and members don’t go off a band just because they have chart success. Indie kids are particularly fond of bands with teenage members, like Cajun Dance Party or Laura Mauling, where there’s a small gap between the band and their audience.
Fashion of Indie Pop Artists:
Fashion-wise, the uniform of Converse and skinny jeans, fringes, band T-shirts and lots of jewellery remains unchanged. Clothes are second-hand not vintage.

Wearing:

Foppish, floppy haircut
Waistcoat
Thick rimmed glasses
Skinny Jeans
Cardigan
Stripy T-shirt
Bleached Hair for Girls
Lots of Jewellery

When taking my photographs I will make sure I take the style of an Indie Pop artist into condsideration- So it appeals to my target Audience.

Magazine Name ideas

After researching numerous magazines and looking at the names of them I have come up with a sample of names in which I hope to use one of them. I have asked approximately 20 people in the age group 15-30 on their preffered choice. I have used language techniques in the following such as CLASH! this is onamatopeic.

VIEW.
SCENE
PULSE
FRAME.
ZONE
VAMP!
SAINT
S P A C E
CLA.SH!
NATION.

I did a survey and asked the target audience of 15-30 year old Boys and Girls on their opinion of an Indie Pop Music magazine.

Definition of Nation: A nation is a grouping of people who share real or imagined common history, culture, language or ethnic origin, often possessing or seeking its own government.
Taken from www.google.com
Therefore in the context of Indie Pop; I believe that Nation is used to group together the generation who have the same musical interests. Nation is Hyperbole as it exaggerates the the target audience- However this will draw in other readers due to the enticing connotation.

Inside- NME magazine analysis

There are approximatly 70 pages in this magazine 23 of which are taken up by adverts. The first advert you come across is the male artist named Devlin promoting his new album "bud sweat and beers". This reinforces the target audience due to the picture of the male and also the title of the album. The magazine mainly focuses on new albums/cds clothing merchandise and gig dates for small and big bands.

In total there are 7 pages of double spread. One of these double pages are about the band "Upfront" with one page that takes up a picture of the lead vocalist. The article focuses on the "big weekend" at Camber sans. It focuses on the actual events and also the headliners such as Upfront. In addition there are feedback from people who were actually there which also reinforces the audience who buy NME.
Throughtout the magazine a unified house style is created all mastheads are kept in the same text throughout with bold capital black font. It is kept quite simplistic also throughout the magazine which helps the reader as it is clearer.

The cover

The cover- NME magazine Analysis

The masthead of the magazine is NME which stands for New musical express. This is a short yet catchy title which draws attention to the reader due to its bold contrasting font and short initals. The use of the colour white contrasts with the males bright red hair and works well with the light blue background. There is not a visible strapline on the magazine however there is a bordered frame in which all pictures/text is kept within. The main image is of the lead vocalist from 'My chemical romance' Gerard. It is a medium close up of the male- His gaze is focused towards the camera with a glaring stare which creates an ominious sense. The photo has been edited to make it brighter and the males skin looks very pale which goes together well with the background and creates an even more distinctive contrasting view due to the colour of his hair. As a reader we can not see exactly what the singer is wearing however his clothing is not busy- I can see a dark top with a simple chain around his neck which adds effect to the overall picture. His eyes are very dark and almost gothic-like which reinforces the type of music inside the magazine. The magazine talks to the reader by various ways- one of which is the picture as it is gazing to the reader. In addition one of the coverlines that is directed in the corner claims "NME awards tour 2011 Amazing line-up revealed". This encourages the audience to read the magazine as they would no doubt want to find out who is at the NME awards. In addition, similiarily to Kerrang- NME promotes the coverline "FREE MICK ROCK POSTERS". It also gives the reader a preview of the free posters that they will be given with the magazine- Additionally this could mean that some readers buy the magazine just because of the posters that are given. In addition the main coverline is the band My chemical romance and an actual quote has been placed centre to the magazine which reads "We loath what Goth has become". This emotive language captures the readers attention as we want to find out what they mean by the Gothic change. This also reinforces the genre of music in NME. As well on the cover there are 3 other photographs- the coverline above states "FREE MICK ROCK POSTERS" and under each photo it reads the bands name. This does not look like a busy cover and the photos to the side are kept very small and defined- This works well due to the simplicity of the magazine cover. If there were too many photos on this cover I think it would look too corrupt and busy.

I have used the grab tool to highlight the masthead of the magazine. As you can see it is presented in a bold font which is white. This reflects and contrasts well with the main picture and also looks very simplistic towards the background. No graphic features have been placed on the font style however I believe this works well with the unified house style.

Similiarly to Kerrang; NME uses the symbol "+" to reinforce the extra bands which are presented in the Magazine. The is a list of bands as you can see from the grab shot. They read; Damon Albarn, Rihanna, Pete Doherty, These news puritans, Magnetic Man, Tame Impala and Foals. As you can see from these lists of bands they are very much male orrientated, except from Rihanna. Rihanna is an rnb female artist which opens larger audience than just focusing on Males. The text for this is all placed in the same font under the same colour. However after every over band they are placed in bold to simply seperate them from the chronilogical order. The symbol + is placed in black which immediately draws your attention due to the white text around it and also the pale blue background.

This coverline has been placed to the left hand corner of the magazine in a unified columist form- Similiarly to Kerrang. The word "FREE" almost jumps out to the reader as it is placed in a bold font- also the black colour forces the reader to look at the pictures which are shown. The photos have been placed in a unified form which the bands name underneath them- which Is similar to Kerrang. A white border has also been placed round this which makes the layout look more professional and structered.








The main image is of the lead vocalist from 'My chemical romance' Gerard. It is a medium close up of the male- His gaze is focused towards the camera with a glaring stare which creates an ominious sense. Additionally his gaze also seems intentisied due to the darkness around his eyes- This also reinforces the genre of the music. The photohgraph itself is kept very simplistic without the use of props and additonal coloured clothing. This however works well due to the unified house style

NME General Analysis

NME stands for New musical express and is well known for knowing about the youth culutre and popular music at this time, for example indie/rock/punk/rnb. NME is often promoted in festivals such as Reading and Leeds and is hugely popular in the younger generation. NME is produced by the published named IPC media (www.ipcmedia.com)

Research shows that 26% of NME'S readers are actually male, therefore the target audience for NME in my opinion would be young males.The main photo clearly portrays the audience in which it wishes to target. Adverts are used in NME to also reinforce this idea however I shall discuss this in due course.

According to http://www.nme.com/mediapack/
The nme.com audience is made up of key demographic groups that can be difficult to target through other media: -
65% Male*
50% 16-24*
23% 25-34*
79% ABC1*

NME costs £2.30 which is clearly shown in the left hand corner and also the bottom corner of the magazine. NME is published weekly and this was found on their website.
According to research on the NRS website, the readership is can see how many readers are reading the NME magazine this is :325,000. Which is a huge amount for a music magazine therefore enforces its popularity. In addition the circulation for this magazine is to 33,875 people.

In total there are 78 pages in NME and 22 of these pages are taken up from advertising. Therefore 28% is taken up through advertisment- This is a great amount for a music magazine therefore is trying to target its audience more due to the amount of pages taken up.

Inside- Magazine Analysis

Inside

In total there is 70 pages in the magazine and there is 20 pages that are used for advertising. Therefore 28% of the magazine consists of advertising. This does in fact show that Kerrang relies on adverts.

The advertisements used are categorized into Programmmes, Gig information, Clothing fashion, and Phone deals (Vodafone). All advertisements in this magazine fall under these headings.

The articles in this magazine differ from each other. Firstly the first article is about the lead vocalist in a band and talks about the “Rock world” of her band. This is a very short article although it’s a double spread one side takes up of a photo of the vocalist. In addition another article discusses a gig that happened on the 3^rd November 2010- It gives an almost diary of the gig and how it went. Additionally to the side of the article there is the opinions of people that went to the gig so overall feedback from 5 people. The main article will be the interview with Paramore- This is spread over four pages it is not all interview questions but questions are randomly placed onto the pages with a background in which the audience can clearly recognize are interview questions. This helps the reader, as they may just want to read the questions than a detailed perception of there “amazing year”.

If I was to categorize the articles I would say; Interviews; Diaries; Summaries and perceptions.

How many double page spreads are there? What are they about?

The first double page spread I come across is about the lead vocalist from the band “Arch enemy” the masthead reads “Highway to health” straight away we realize that this has something to do with fighting away health risks- Also to back this point up the picture of the vocalist is set as if she is in a boxing ring with her fists clenched and make up to suggest she is in a fight. In terms of the content it talks about how “The last 12 months will sadly be remembered as the year we lost several heroes in the world of rock”. This is a very compelling article, which will inevitably cause great sympathy to the readers. However the article later goes on to discussing the bands upcoming tour and talks about the “new materials” they have created.

The next double spread is a diary from the live gig in London from the “Parkway drive band”. 10 Photographs are placed on this article and there is little writing however the cover lines within the article stand out using a key also. To the side it states KKKKK= classic KKKK= excellent KKK= good KK= average K= poor. This could help the reader in deciding whether they read the article or not, in this case the ratings given are KKKK therefore entices the reader in to reading the article. The article talks about the bands recent success but primarily focuses on the gig mentioning the support bands “Comeback Kid”, “Bleeding through” etc.

Overall there are 6 double page spread articles which full under the categorizes Interviews, diaries and summaries.

After analysising the magazine I had come across one part of the magazine in which I was not sure if it was an advert or an article. It is about the band “My chemical romance” and gives a large context- after reading it; it talks about the new album and how it differs from recent success. However at the end of this context it reads Download! And gives the date and also shows the front cover of the album. In my opinion I would say that this is a mixture of both article and advertisement as it is promoting their new album however gives context about the band and their upcoming success.

Kerrang does in fact have a unified house style. The language used is definitely for the audience of 15-20 year olds as it using swear words such as “Pure fucking metal”. This is consistent throughout the cover lines and also the articles. Additionally throughout the magazine the colours schemes are kept very dark as shown on the cover- it could be suggested that if a double page spread were taken out of the magazine it would be easily recognizable due to the colour. The text is kept the same- all mastheads are the same font and also the same size this is unified throughout the magazine. Graphical elements have been placed within the articles and also borders have been placed around but look more graphic this has been placed on more than one article and advertisement. The fact they have kept this unified style throughout shows the constancy in the magazine and also shows theyre target audience. The use of swear words reveals the audience they wish to captivate.

The cover- Magazine Analysis

The Cover

The title is “Kerrang!" the exclaimation mark emphasises the loud connations which go with the onamatopeic stragergy. The dark colours used tell us its a music magazine and also insinuates the type of music.

The masthead is in a bold black font with design patterns embedded into the font to make it look like very loud and rock punk. It is placed on a white background so it stands out to the audience. Also a red border is placed round this for more effect but also to link it with the colour’s situated on the front cover.

There is a strap line on the background, situated on the top and bottom of the magazine. The strap line at the top of the magazine has text in it, which is a quotation “we want to do everything!” All text is in capitals so it stands out to the audience and grabs the attention. Furthermore there is a strap line on the bottom of the magazine, which has the names of ten other bands next to a plus sign, which implies that more stories will be

in the magazine about them. This is useful as it attracts a wider market of people who might be interested in certain bands in particular for example: You me at Six.

The main image is the lead singer of the band Paramore- Hayley Williams. She looks like she is standing up but we can not tell this certainly as it is a medium shot and is partially covered by the text situated in the middle of the magazine.

Hayley Williams is winking at the camera but her gaze is looking direct to the audience. It looks as if she has her arms covered and her head is pushed to the right, which covers the title partly. In terms of clothes they do not stand out entirely to the audience, I can see she is wearing a dark colored top, which goes well with the magazine colors. However her bright colored hair stands out more which therefore makes the magazine look even more attractive.

After looking at the front cover there are eight other images. Four of these links in with the main image and are pictures of paramore as a band- we know this because above the images there is a title, which reads “Paramore” and then claims “Their private photo album revealed”. The other four photos are placed on the left hand side of the magazine and are vertical- they are of four different bands and above them it claims “4 Giant posters” therefore these small images give the audience and insight into the large posters that are given with the magazine.

The cover lines read “Marilyn Manson- 10 years on: How he took on the world” this lets the audience know that there will be a cover story based on Marilyn Manson. Additionally the main focal point of the magazine is Paramore and around the images there is text claiming “Exclusive, Plus their private photo album revealed Inside their most successful Year ever” therefore we know that there will be a large story on the success of Paramore in 2010.

Here is a grab shot of the coverline which is situated on the bottom of the magazine. However attention has been drawn to it due to the colour and also bold font.

The main colors of the magazine are black, red, yellow and white. This links in with the theme of rock/indie music- therefore works well in demonstrating the type of music magazine it is. The fonts look also very loud and rocky- effects have been placed behind the fonts to make them stand out to the audience. Additionally I have noticed all the fonts are in capitals this makes the magazine look more forceful which links in with the loud music from the following bands.

On the cover there are a few language features, which are used for different reasons. Firstly the title; Kerrang is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound of an electric guitar. This is very emotive and captures the audience because when it is said out loud it gives the impression of a very loud musicality feature. Additionally hyperbole is used- “How he took on the world” this is used to exaggerate the text and also captivate an audience into believing there is an exclusive story with gossip.

How does the cover talk to its reader? Additionally strategies are used on the front cover that talks to the reader. Words such as “WIN, FREE, GIANT, EXCLUSIVE” are used in capitals and also with a background behind to reinforce the words in which they are trying to put forward.

Kerrang is seen as a unique yet brand identified magazine. The dark colours on the cover indicate the type of music in the magazine and are well known for its loud text. Unlike other magazines such as Q which keep to there consistent text that do not exactly look loud. Kerrang is easily recognizable due to the font sizes and types and overall layout of the magazine.

All the fonts on the cover are kept the same style this proves consistency and also helps readers find Kerrang in shops apart from similar music magazine e.g.NME. Words that wish to be highlighted to the reader are placed in a different colour or a background is placed behind to emphasize the importance. All text that relates to a band is kept in the same font size and style, which shows the distinction from band and quotes.

Annotation of Magazine cover

Magazine Analysis- General

Magazine Analysis of Kerrang- General

After studying "Kerrang magazine I have found out that the company that produces “Kerrang” magazine is “Bauer London Lifestyle LTD” I found this out by looking at the back cover of the magazine where it tells the audience the company and also shows the logo.

In my opinion the main target audience for kerrang magazine would be 15-20 year olds- favorite music being Rock, metal, indie and punk. I believe this is the target audience due to the front cover and inside the magazine- if you look at the stories and overall context it would be suitable for people over the age of 15 years. Additionally the bands shown on the front cover have an age group between 18-20 years of age. Additionally after looking at the advertisements in the magazine I can tell that they are aimed at this age group- For example the new programme “Misfits” is shown which is a programme to do with a group of friends aged 18 above. Furthermore there are advertising pages at the back of the magazine, which are for male and female clothing fashion- the types of clothes also would be worn by the younger generation.

According to http://www.bauermusic.co.uk/ the company claims their audience is:

"Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1823270.stm

This is taken from the link above. It is from the deputy editor of the Kerrang.
This shows his view on the audience who read Kerrang-
The "fans are getting younger and younger".

The overall cost for this magazine is £2.20, which is indicated on the front cover of the magazine under the barcode. This magazine comes out weekly also.
Circulation: According to BBC news: "Kerrang!'s circulation jumped almost 50% in the second half of 2001 thanks to the a renaissance in rock music with bands like Linkin Park, Alien Ant Farm, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit".

Work out the approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation. What does this tell you?

In total there is 70 pages in the magazine and there is 20 pages that are used for advertising. Therefore 28% of the magazine consists of advertising. This does in fact show that Kerrang relies on adverts within this issue of the magazine. Additionally after studying the magazine as a whole all the adverts consist of teeange clothing or gigs for the younger generation. One advert that particularly stood out was the programme "Misfits" which is about a group of teenage girls and boys on channel 4.

Final magazine cover

This is my final front cover. As you can see it has differed greatly from previous drafts. I decided to use more text asfrom my feedback people suggested that it needed more context in order to attract my target audience. Additionally I added a strap line at the bottom the the magazine with text in front of it- I changed the opacity to 80% so you can see the text through- I believe this is quite effective.

Also i situated the logo to the left hand corner of the magazine so it is easily recognizable. I have used the colours of Green,yellow,blue,black and white throughtout the cover and wish to continue this onto the contents page. I changed a few of the headline's type of font as i believed it looked too busy on the front cover- so i simplified the effects and overall font. Though, in the headlines I made sure that certain words stand out, I did this by underlining words or making them bold as shown.

In terms of the title- After i found the most suitable type of font I thought it needed to stand out more to the reader. I added a white effect to the text and believe it looks more attractive- Also it would be suitable for my target audience which is school children at Wilmington school.

Editing Front Cover

After going on www.dafont.com I believe I have found a suitable text for the title. I have asked a group of people and they are believe that this font is suitable and goes well with the genre of the magazine. Additionally I have added more text and changed the fonts so they stand out to the audience. However as you can see from the magazine it still looks quite empty- therefore I think I should add more text on the left side of the picture. Also with the "new after school clubs" text I am not entirely happy with the positioning of it- I will try to place a box on the bottom of the page and change the opacity.

Starting the Front Cover

As you can see, I have started my front cover. I have used the quick selection tool to cut the picture out without the background as this is not needed. I have positioned my picture and decided it looks best to the right then I will be able to put text around it. I have placed the title on the top of the magazine but have not decided which font will be suitable yet- Therefore I will go onto www.dafont.com and find a suitable text for the title. As you can see from the background i have used a gradient so the yellow background comes through; then I filled the rest of the background with a light blue colour which is the schools' colours. I intend to use the colours yellow, blue, green, black and white for the magazine- I hope to stick to these throughout the contents also. I will carry on adding texts around the picture and also positioning certain parts differently.

Preliminary excercise Ideas

Ideas for Front cover

Title: Wilmington Times; Wilmington Weekly; Wilmo
Target audience? All years? Lower years?
School trips- Reviews inside magazine, Ski trip photographs
New teachers on the cover
Sporting events
Calender for upcoming year
After school clubs
Christmas- January Exams

Preliminary excercise Picture

This is my chosen picture for the front cover of the school magazine. However the light in the background seems to bright therefore I will have to use the quick selection tool to cut out the background. Additionally, I will enhance the colours so they stand out more and look more vibrant on the front Cover. I used this picture as I believe it looks professionable and demotrates younger years involving themselves in a Science lesson.

Preliminary exercise

Preliminary exercise:
using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.