Making My cover / Improving it

This is my original image, it was taken using 3 point lighting and a high quality camera. When I first put this picture on Photoshop, i was unhappy that the background wasn't symmetrical. So I copied the left background and put it on a new layer. I also copied the outline of Tim and Will and put it on a new layer. I then slotted the copied background between the two layers of Will and Tim, then flipped it horizontally.

This is the layer structure after I rearranged the background. As you can see, I have also thickened Tim's hair in the photo bellow in order to make it less messy and uneven.




I then downloaded 2 fonts which looked damaged and broken, in order to follow rock ideology. After that, I started adding the main feature story, the colour of the fonts follow the iconic rock colours, red, black and white.

I then added a Footer in which is also following the iconic rock colours. I lowered the opacity of the footer so you can still see the faint picture underneath.

After that, I added a pull quote showing the singer who said it. I also decided to add merchandise of my magazine to create more content on my front cover. Here are the logos on the merchandise:

As an addition to my improved logo, I have also added a little slogan which says: Unleash Your Inner Rock. This gives the audience a direct mode of address, making them think the magazine is personal to them and that they have a connection with it. The slogan is in a very modern font in order to appeal to today's audience.













I then started to add a plug and headlines, this will show the audience the vast amount of content my magazine has to offer. The colour of the text also follows the iconic rock colours.






I then added my improved masthead along with the new slogan. I then added an extra plug to fill the empty space in the bottom right corner.

This is my finished magazine draft, I have added glass smashes in order o show the rock genres loud and violent iconography. I would like to develop this further by perhaps changing the mise-en-scene of the photo and darkening the photo I use.

Improving cover

I feel that my magazine cover looks very immature and tacky. I think this is due to the plugs, they don't looks very professional and they don't look like your conventional plugs.

I also think the feature stories text are a bit too the same and doesn't really attract / bring the reader in.

In order to make the feature stories appear more eye-catching I have made them different colours and fonts so they stand out. I also think the type of broken fonts make the text more suitable for the genre of magazine.

In order to fill the cover up more and to make it more colourful, I have added these extra feature stories which include pictures to make them seem even more interesting.

To make the plugs more interesting and less dull, I made the shape a pick in order to fit the rock conventions. I also added a few more colours in order to catch the readers eye. 

Further more, I have added a skyline in order to make the cover more busy. 

To make the band Falling Fearless more believable, I have given Tim a logo on his shirt, kind of like merchandise. This will make the band appear more official. The red logo also follows the conventional rock colours along with the shirt.

Logo Design

I feel my main logo is a little boring and plain so I decided to add a fiery, lava texture to it as this represents hell which is a common topic in most rock songs.

This video helped me know how to put a texture on text:

Here are my 4 logo designs with the lava texture. Each time i changed the layer blend in order to achieve a certain effect.

 This was my first design, however I feel that you can't see the lava texture very clearly, this makes the logo look extremely similar to my original logo design. I need to make the texture have a stronger effect on the text.

  

I really like this logo design as you can really see the lava texture, i also like the fact that it has its own colour scheme of burgundy and poppy red. The darkness of the logo is good as it resembles rock ideology, however due to the logo being dark, it could be lost in the main image if i were to make that darker also.

This is similar to my previous logo experiment, except this appears more vibrant, showing a little more colour. I really like this design apart from the fact that I still think that it will be lost within the main image  due to most of the colour in the text being dark purple.

This is my favourite design as it sticks to the conventional rock colours of red and black. I also like it as the lava effect which is now coloured black, makes the text looked smashed which follows rock iconography, which is what I am aiming for, due the glass smashes on my original cover.

How to Improve my Cover

- I may change the main image so it resembles the rock genre a little more.
For example, most rock magazine covers are dark and dingy, they are also far more damaged than my magazine.

- I would also change the bottom plug as I feel it looks a bit tacky and unprofessional. Here are some  I found which I like.

- To improve my cover I will check spelling as it says "Greend Day" instead of "Green Day"

- I will also consider changing the white background to something more Gothic to resemble the rock genre.

Questionnaire / Focus Groups

Questionnaire

How often do you buy magazines?

Never  

Once a month

Never

Never

Never

Once a week

Never

Not very regularly

Never

OCCASIONALLY

What do you look for in a magazine and why?

Interviews with my favourite artists

The information because I like to see what the artists are up to in the music industry.

The free gifts, especially albums as I like to hear different artists that perhaps I have never heard before.

I look for competitions because I like getting the wins

My favourite artists because I like to hear about them and support them.

I look for the free gifts as I like getting merchandise of my favourite bands

I look for the interviews with my favourite artists as I like to know everything about them

Entertaining content like quiz’s

I look for the free gift in the magazine as it adds to the content of the magazine.

I LIKE THE GOSSIP IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AS IT IS INTERESTING AND GIVES YOU AN INSIGHT INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.

What free gifts would you like to see included in your magazine?

Posters, CD

CD’s

CD’s for the same reasons

CD or Guiness

Posters of my favourite artists

Posters of my favourite artists and bands

I like the CD’s as it gives me a chance to listen to new upcoming artists

A local gig guide, to show me when certain gigs are on and where they are on.

As you can get hours of entertainment out of it whereas you only read a magazine once.

A CD AS YOU CAN DISCOVER NEW ARTISTS

What bands / artists would you like to hear about in your chosen magazine?

Paramore

Arctic Monkeys

Ariana Grande

Justin Bieber

Iron Maiden

Ed Sheeran

Beyoncé

Eminem

All Time Low

KANYE WEST

What do you dislike most about magazines and why?

Adverts, I find them pointless

The quizzes, I find them immature

The adverts, they take up half of a magazine even though we are not interested.

The artists I’m not interested in

The adverts, they take up too much of the pages that I pay for

When there is a lot of pictures and very little writing, this is because I prefer more content and like my magazine to last a while.

When magazines talk about different genres, other than the one I am reading

I don’t like the posters you get as I feel like the magazine is dumping things on me that just go in the bin.

I don’t like the pages as they waste the pages of the mag.

THE CHILDISH QUIZZZES AND HORRORSCOPES

What do you like the most about magazines and why?

Interviews, engage more with the artist

Gossip in the music industry, I find it interesting

Album ratings, like to see if an album is worth buying

Interviews

Interviews as they are interesting.

The album reviews, as they help me decide what album is worth the money

I like the advert as they normally advertise things relevant to the music genre I am reading about.

I really like horoscopes as they entertain me.

I like the CD’s as you can get hours of entertainment out of them.

THE GOSSIP IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY (FOR THE SAME REASON)

How much will you be willing to pay for a magazine and why?

£3.00 anything over will be too expensive.

Price would be based on amount of pages and content.

£2.50, anything over I think would be too expensive.

£1, because I don’t want to pay a lot for something I don’t read.

£3.50, anything over will be too expensive

£3 based on if the magazine had over 150 pages and a lot of content

£2.50 as I only enjoy reading them every now and then and don’t want to spend a lot on the.

£1 As I don’t regularly read magazines and only really like the horoscopes.  

£2.50 the free gifts add to the price.

£2.50 ANY MORE WILL NOT BE WORTH THE MONEY

Do you regularly purchase a certain magazine, if not, why?

No, because most of them include bands I don’t like.

Kerrang

No, I rarely see my favourite bands in them

NO, I don’t have time to read

I purchase NME

No, I can’t afford to pay for them monthly

No, because I only like reading them every now and then.

No as I only really like the horoscopes

No, I prefer books

NO, I ONLY BUY THEM IF THEY HAVE GOSSIP IN ABOUT MY FAVOURITE ATISTS

What are your favourite music genres of magazine?

Alternative rock and indie rock

Alternative and Indie Rock

Pop and RnB

Hip Hop

Alternative Rock and Country

RnB and Pop

Pop

Rock

Rock

POP

How many pages would you prefer in a magazine?

50-100

100 – 150

50-100

30-60

150+

200

100+

100-200

150+

150ISH