Analysis of Mixmag magazine contents page

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2 thirds of this magazine contents are filled with a picture and stories which will be inside, the other third is taken up by the advertisement of the free CD which get when you open the magazine, this section tells you a little bit about the album which you get free and also is showing what songs are on this album. I think this is a good idea to use when you don’t have the biggest magazine and you don’t have enough stories to fill the page without making things too big and looking stupid. If I find myself in this position I might think about doing something like this. I do like the layout of this page as usually when you only have A4 contents pages you have the written on the left hand side then images on the right, but this magazine has done the opposite in going with  larger image on the left and the written on the right. I like this idea as I think it looks original and unique because it is not being a sheep and following what other magazines tend to do. I may go with this style but I’m not sure.

There are two images used in this contents and the main one really fits in with the style of the magazine as it is a DJ/dance magazine and it has a girl dancing in the club. The other image fits, but in a different style to the other picture, as this magazine isn’t, mainstream and the band that they have put in this mag don’t look like the type who like dance music they look more like an indie band who would be in something like kerrang. I think this is a good idea but I my contents I will stick to images which I think people can relate to with the genre/style of the magazine.

The title on the contents page is the only bit of text which uses ‘san serif’ text style which is when they letters curl at the end. I think this works with the style of the magazine because of how it is a DJ magazine I get the picture of the letters being spun round on the decs and it has created this sort of effect. All the other text is ‘san’ which means it is very straight and very bold , this makes it stand out from  the page whereas ‘san serif’ doesn’t in my opinion. Most of the time though in magazines the titles are in the style of ‘san’ and the rest of the text is in ‘san serif’ but in this case they have went opposite.  As in most magazines the main stories title are in bold and the little introduction is not, as it is not as important. The colour scheme in which has been used is black and white mainly with the odd bit of yellow or pink for the title and to advertise that free CD you get inside. On my contents page I will go mainly for a white background with black written with a stand out colour which is involved on the front cover so it looks like it fits in with the magazine itself.

Analysis of Mojo contents page

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The layout of this page is the first thing which strikes you when you turn onto the page; it’s not what you would expect to see in every magazine contents. What I mean by this is that, it has its own unique style, this is through having what looks like a receipt running through the middle of the page which is the actual bit in which you get told what is where in the magazine. I like this magazine because of its uniqueness; I have never seen any other contents like this as they are usually more formal than this. When making my contents I will have a try at making my contents like this and see what it looks like. Also the placement of the pictures is a key thing because they have four pictures on the right hand side, they go in a pattern of colour then a black and white one. If they had decided to put the two coloured ones at the top of the page and the others at the bottom this would not have the same effect because when you see the coloured image it draws your attention to the black and white one above which then has the same effect on your attention been taking towards the coloured one above. All these little things have helped make this content as effective as it is and when creating mine I will have to have the same mind set. They also have added in the title of the magazine at the top of the page in the exact same way as it is presented on the cover, e.g. same font and size. On some magazine contents they tend have the title of ‘contents’ at the top of the page, this looks silly in my opinion as everyone will know it’s the contents, so on mine I will have the title of the magazine on this page.

The type of writing used is ‘san’ and ‘san serif’. San means there are no fancy flicks at the end of the writing. This is made for the title in most cases including this one, this is because it is big, bold and stands out more than ‘san serif’ writing, it has more of a convincing look about it because of its boldness, I think this it shows that they are not messing around and if you want fancy flicks on your title you’ll have to go somewhere else. San serif writing is used for the actual text which is not meant to be standing out, for example, the little bits of text under the main story titles. When making my magazine I will go with this type of text as this is how it is meant to be.

The colours used mainly on this page are, black, white and red. There is an image of what looks like a magazine cover for a story in the magazine, this has the colours red, white and black on, so it looks like they have stuck to the colour scheme from that. Having the black text is the best colour to have on top of a white background as it is the most obvious contrast in colours which makes it easy to spot things and to read. I will most likely go with this style when it comes to making mine.

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There is a colour scheme involving four colours to make this cover, these are blue, red, white and black. There is also a change in font size and boldness. To create this cover they have put the most important words/names in a large bold font which is bigger than the rest of the words around it. For example, ‘U2’, ‘OASIS’ and ‘THE STONE ROSES’. These are the most important things in the magazine after Lilly Allen herself. This catches the audiences eye so it they. These words are also in black as it creates a stand out colour contrast because it is basically a white background with the black written, this does make the written stand out a lot but the sheer boldness of the text itself makes it stand out the most. The colour red has been used in two different ways on this cover, as it has been used for the word ‘exclusive’, this word has been put in red because this is something exclusive which you will not see anywhere else except in this magazine. The other words in red have been used to represent the other side of her. The word ‘wicked’ is in red, and when I think of the colour red I think of blood, and the panthers on the front can cause a bloody scene. This is showing she has a bad side to her and she can cause a stir up in the music industry. I will use this idea when creating my magazine as it separates the importance out of the things on the cover and gives a nice effect.

The layout of this cover is something what I liked because it lets the image dominate the whole page as it only has the person’s name over the image and the rest of the things like the inside stories are tucked away in the top right corner and more inside stuff is as the bottom of the page. Also there are many layers used in this as the image is behind the artists name, but the actual name of the magazine is used in a layer below the main image as her arm goes over part of the logo. One of the panthers on the front then covers one of her feet. I like this idea so when making mine I am going to see what it looks like having the main image covering parts of the title to see what it looks like. I also noticed that one of the panthers is covering the Lilly Allen text, this is showing that they are more aggressive and get/want more attention than Lilly herself.

The main image is a long shot of her with her back to the camera and tilting her head and making eye contact with the camera. The way in which she is positioned in this shot is showing a cheeky, arrogant side to her. This shot goes with the quote which is in the double page spread. It looks like she doesn’t want this shot taken of her, so she makes them get her attention and she looks over her shoulder like she doesn’t have to do this but if she wants the attention which she always seems to be want she will have to have her photo taken. When taking my photo I think I am just going to go for a mid-close up as I think it catches the audiences eye more.

Analysis of Mojo magaizne

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The main image on this cover is a mid-shot of Bob Marley with his arms folded, laughing face and looks like he’s leaning back. This image is replicating the chilled out life that Jamaicans and Bob Marley have, it seems as though whatever problems they have they can just get high and laugh it off. I think they have went for a mid-shot to show the real emotion on his face and also so you don’t have to see a long-shot of what he is wearing because it probably won’t be the best dress sense and people care more about what Bob Marley is rather than what he looks like. When taking my photo for my cover I will have this shot in mind purely because of the happiness in which is being shown. So, depending on the genre of my mag, will depend on what the emotions are like in the photo.

The colour scheme used on this cover really does work well; the colours used are black, red, yellow and green with a black and white photo. Having this photo in black and white reminds you of the times of when he was around as a digital camera may have only been getting invented 10 years after he died. Also this black and white image really brings out the Rasta colours which are used for all the text associated with the man himself. If they had decided to go with random colours on this cover, for example, blue, it would have looked stupid as this edition is all about Bob Marley and the colour blue has no association with him where as green, yellow and red do. When creating my cover I will think about having a black and white image as I like the effect it has on this one. When it is on the shelf you will not expect it to stand out because of the image but in fact I think it will stand out more as all the other magazines will be full of bright colours so this one will look unique.

The layout and style of this magazine is very original as it has many different fonts, font sizes and also the angle at which the text is at. There is text all over the page, a CD cover over half of his body. I think all of this contributes to replicating the laid back style that he used to have. It seems like they have just chose a font, text and a size and just put it anywhere on the page and not really thought about what other people think it looks like as long as the producers like it. The text which has been put on an angle is showing the highs and lows in which he faced in his life. Also there is a photo in the top right corner which just looked like it has been planted and left there, whereas if this was anybody else on the front it would not have been just left there as it looks messy and un-neat but because of the style of this magazine it looks cool. I will consider using this effect when creating my cover if it fits in with the style of the edition; just like this one has with the laid back lifestyle of the Rasta’s.

Analysis of NME cover

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The cover is image dominated as it has a mid-shot of the three men who make up ‘magnetic man’. This is an original type of shot that you’d expect to see on the cover of a magazine as it is mid-shot, but, in this shot it’s the sunglasses in which they are all wearing. This is unusual to see on the cover of a magazine as the creators of magazines tend to make the eyes an important part of it as they draw the reader in. But, seen as though they have sunglasses on, the creator of the magazine must have been thinking whether it would have the same effect because when you think of them having sunglasses on in your head you wouldn’t think it would work. Surprisingly though I think it does as even though the sunglasses are covering their eyes, you still know they are looking into your eyes trying to draw you in. This also gives them an attitude like the last one I analysed as they are breaking the rules kind of and wearing sunglasses where really the eyes are meant to be showing. When it comes to taking my photos I will think about this, as I think it gives a different kind of effect to what having their eyes on show.

The creator of this magazine has deliberately chosen to go with this layout, where he has bunched all the information up into two different parts of the page, this is so he can create the main source of attention and focus towards the main image of ‘magnetic man’. This layout is the same as the other ‘NME’ cover I annotated in where all the stories inside are bunched up in a column on the side of the page but this time instead of having it in the bottom left he has went with it being in the middle but the other bit of information is in the same place in the top left. I think is because when looking at the magazine you look at both bits of information, but between looking at both you will glance at the main image and see the eyes looking at you but in this case you’ll see some black sunglasses looking your way.

The fonts and boldness of the writing shows how important each thing is on this cover, as the most important text and the stuff they want most noticed is in a big, black bold font which catches the audiences eye immediately. The positioning of the men on the photo are placed in front of the actual name of the magazine, I think this is showing that they think they are bigger and more important than the magazine itself. The colours used on this cover are, grey, black and white. This is representing the seriousness of both the men on the front and the actual magazine. This is showing they do not mess around by putting bright childish colours on as this magazine is aimed at one type of people and that only, so they don’t care if other people don’t like it as long as their target audience does.

Diary entry week 1

In the first week of the project I completed the preliminary task, this was to design and front cover and contents page for a school magazine. I took all four of the photos which I used for this after we had a photography lesson on how to use the cameras. Before we actually made the magazine we had to annotate existing school magazines and look at the codes and conventions of what to put on my magazine. Once I had completed the task of making my school magazine I had to evaluate it.

Evaluation of School Magazine

Front cover

I annotated the magazine “Bishopbriggs Academy” magazine cover, I wanted my magazine cover to look nothing like this as it looked boring and un-finished, this is because there is more white on the page than actual things to look at and read. I only liked one thing which they have done and that is the idea of having a very large picture of their school badge, I was originally thinking about going along with this Idea, but in the end I didn’t even go with the schools badge as I thought the cover would look better without it, instead I chose to put it on my contents page, small in the top right corner which kept it looking neat.

On my front cover I went for one main dominant image which took up the whole page. This is the complete opposite to what Bishopbriggs went with. I chose to go with the one image as I think it looks neat and tidy. Also, by having many images on the front cover I think it gives it less of an effect on the audience to when there is only one image as the eyes on the one image catch your eye and seem to follow you until you have a read of it. Also the image on my cover is a mid-close up, whereas Bishopbriggs’ images are either a long shot or a normal mid shot. This also doesn’t give the same effect as having a mid-close up as the audience will not be able to make connection with the magazine and the person on the front.

Bishopsbriggs title took up about one quarter of the page which I decided to go with also. This is because the title/name of the magazine is one of the most important things on the cover of any magazine as it is showing what it is called. Consumers may  then want to tell a friend about a magazine and if the title was tiny at the top of the page it wouldn’t stick in the readers mind unlike if the title was very bold and large. The thing I didn’t like about Bishopsbriggs title was that one of the words was at an angle, this makes the magazine look childish and unprofessional. So, I just went with the straight across the page style.

Contents

I analysed George Stevenson’s contents page, I thought about kind of replicating their style of it as I like how they split it up into three different sections as it breaks the complexity of it up and it makes easier for the reader to find it something if they are only looking for one specific thing.

On their front cover they have used a background colour then didn’t carry it on to the contents. I thought this was a bad design when I first looked at it, but when I came to choosing the background of mine I couldn’t pick a good enough colour which was going to make it look neat. Every colour I went for made it look too childish. I even took a photo of the background which is on my front cover, but it just didn’t seem to look right. So, in the end I tried just using a white background and out of all of them this one looked the best.

They have decided not to go with any images on their contents, when you think of this in your head it doesn’t seem like a good idea but when you actually see it for real I didn’t even notice no images, as the coloured blocks has taken the images place. I always had the idea of putting photos on my contents as you imagine them to be there.

My School Magazine

Conventions of school magazines

 Bishopbriggs front

On the cover of this magazine, they have put a large photo of their badge. This is a good Idea as it catches your attention the most out of everything on it. I will think about using this idea as you instantly know what school this magazine is from.

Throughout the magazine they have used the colour blue for all their titles which is a main colour involved in the schools badge. I will do this as it makes the overall product more professional as you haven’t just used random colours; you’ve stuck to a colour scheme.

On the Bishopbriggs front cover they have put two images of students skiing and also one of the school team. These are two completely different types of sports, this is showing that the academy offers a range of different sports from one extreme to the other and gives students every opportunity to try something different. The footballing image is a long shot whereas the skiing photo is a mid shot. This is to show all the people in the school team the chances that they get to be In the team as there are 16 playersI may choose to use this on my magazine as it shows to people who look at the magazine all of the opportunities that come your way if you went to that school.

George Stevenson contents

In the George Stevenson contents page and also throughout the magazine they have placed the page numbers at the top left and right corners of the page. This is a unique part of the page to place the numbers as they are normally at the bottom of the page because you read from the top to the bottom. I will not be using this design because I think having them at the top makes them look a bit odd and out of place so I will have them at the bottom as I feel they look better there.

On the front cover they have used a background colour of green. At the top of the page the green is a strong one but as you get towards the bottom of the page they have faded it out to white which they carry on throughout the rest of the magazine (white background). I like the fact that they have used that same colour throughout the rest of the pages but considering the colour is white it makes the magazine look boring and un-finished. I will go with the idea of using the same background colour throughout but I will not use the colour white because of the reasons I have said above.

On the contents page they have split it up into different sections depending on what genre it comes into. For example they have a section on ‘sport’ and ‘entertainment’. I think this is a good idea as it can save you time when looking for one thing that you want to read. I will take this idea into consideration when making my magazines as I like it but I may also chose my own idea.