F11. Music Magazine: Front Cover First Draft Evaluation

Above is my first draft of my front cover and from looking at it I have made a few new choices.
- I have now decieded that the title of 'Saddles and Singers' is too long and old fashioned for a teen inspired country music magazine so I have gone back to my orginal mind map which is below and I have reselected a title.

I have now decieded on the title Lasso.
- I have also decieded that I will have nature as the backgorund to my picture rather than a white backgorund.

F10. Music Magazine: Construction of the Front Cover First Draft

I am currently creating a layout of my first draft and to do this, I am using the fonts I have already decieded on with an image that is similar to the final image I would like to use. I am using lines from the rulers to appropriately align my work so that it is within the rule of thirds and all the text is aligned together as well.

F9. Music Magazine: Front Cover First Photoshoot

These are all the photos, I took during my first photo shoot.

During my first photo shoot, I learnt several things that will help improve my photographs:
- The use of the tartan background is not appropriate for a country music magazine and also does not create the best type of pictures.
-The denim dress is nicely fitting with country music however the model is quite slim, a thick caridagan or jacket needs to be used to make her appear bigger. To the right is an example of type of clothing is more appropriate.
-Her hair does appear well wavy and with volume but it appears better with a section of it of off her face so that her face can be seen more clearly.
-Having the guitar in frame but not all of it is the preferred layout of the photograph.
-I have also found that my model appears better with her face slightly tilted to the side and not smiling therefore I will position my model like this.

F8. Music Magazine: Front Cover Font tools

Below are images and explanations of all the different tools I used within my font research to create an appropriate font.

Swatches tool allows me to create images by using a colour mixer or creating colours by picking them up of off the image. This is the tool I used for all the colour.

The stroke tool controls the stroke of text and boxes. The stroke is the line which outlines each shape. I was able to increase and decrease the weight and style of the strokes by using this tool.

Above is the colour tool which enables anyone to control the colour of the fill and the stroke of all text and shapes. It also allows you to remove colour from the fill and stroke. A colour can be created on the swatches and brought onto here, the colour can then be slightly edited and placed somewhere via this tool.

This is the character tool which is the tool I used the most while creating different text styles. This application allows me to change the font, style, sway, width, length and positioning. I used this tool greatly while I was creating fonts.

F7. Music Magazine: Front Cover Font Research

Above is the original font research that I did for my very first draft and although I used this information throughout I continued to change and edit my font as I went along in hope of improving my magazine front as much as possible.

F6. Music Magazine: Front Cover Title Research

I knew that I wanted to create a country music magazine, and a key part of any magazine is the name that magazine is known by. I wanted to use a country inspired name and below is a mind map of different names that I could have used for the name.

After doing this, I have decided that my country music magazine will go by the name of Saddles & Singers. I will now endeavor to create a style in which to display this title.

Later on in my project, I came back to this research and I decided to change the name of my magazine to Lasso as it is shorter, snappier and an overall better magazine name,

F5. Music Magazine: Front Cover Research- How to Light

How to use lighting.

There are three different angles of light.

Front light:

This is where the light is behind the camera and is shining on the person. This produces a shadow behind the person and is often used to bring out the details but wont show the texture or shape of the subject as much.

Side Light:

This is where the light is being shone from either left or right of the camera and the subject. It will produce shadow on the opposite side to where the light is. It helps bring out texture and contours of the subject, creating a more three dimensional photograph. 

Back Light:

This is where the light is being shone from behind the subject. The majority of the light will be coming from behind the subject and will be hitting the subject from the side. This effect creates an atmospheric photograph.

F4. Music Magazine: Poses Research

I have decided to trial a range of poses with my model. Below are a range of different photographs with and without guitars that I will try. I have found from trial photographs of my model that she appears best when she is side on and when she has a lips closed in a very slight smile. Many of the pictures below show the model with their mouths closed in a slight smile. 

These are the poses with a guitar.

I prefer the pictures where not all the guitar is visible as the model appears more important in the frame. 

Below are the poses without a guitar.

I prefer the images with a guitar but a common feature of the images of the country stars is that they are not smiling with their teeth but instead they are smiling with closed mouths and soft eyes.

F3. Music Magazine: Music Magazine Alignment

The majorty of her features have remained within the middle to comply with the rules. The letters in the title are quite evenly spaced to create howver the majority of the letters lay within the middle third with three on either side to create a balance. The two blocks of text are on either side of the page in two seperate thirds to balance each other out. Both the blocks of text involve something to make them stand out, the bottom piece has red lines encoporated and the top has bigger bolder writing at the top.

This also conforms to the rule of thirds well. The model's features stay within the middle third which means that with this alone the page is well balanced.  The title and the top banner make up the exact top third, in the divide between the second and last thirds is more strong white writing to balance the top.

The last third would look quite empty if more writing and interest was added so in the bottom right third there is a strip of green with writing and an image, this balances the page. In the top and second left thirds there are two rectangles which fit perfectly within their third. The top banner is spilt into three which fits into the thirds perfectly

This is conforms to the rule of thirds well. Her body is not only laying sololy in the main third but her head, torso and legs are split into the thirds as well. The text also stays in the three long thirds so this stays in the thirds. The title stays in the top third. The text and all the images stay within their thirds with only a few exceptions

F2. Music Magazine: Focused Magazine Research

I have found four country music magazines with female models to compare and analyse, as I will use a female model for the front cover of my magazine.

Model
All of the models have big wavy blonde hair with pale eyes, this therefore shows me the generalized look for. They also all have wind swept hair.

Props
In Cowgirl and Country Weekly, a musical prop has been used so they have used a guitar and a microphone. I would like to use a guitar to represent the genre more

Pose of model
In all but one of the magazines, the model is staring out at the reader with a strong stare, therefore I now know that is commonly used for country magazines

Position of the bar code
The bar code is not always featured on the front however  when it is, it is floated in the bottom left hand corner. I will take this into consideration.

Title
The letters in most of the magazines are long rounded letters which are mostly equidistant. They normally have block colour however in one of the magazines they have used a slight gradient fill. The block colour is used more and it is also more eye-catching for the readers.
All of the magazines apart from the blue version of Country Weekly go over the photograph however the Country Weekly edition has an even more powerful photograph so it goes over the top.
I will use large, long rounded letters with a block fill and unless my picture is incredibly strong the writing will cover the image.

Backdrop
The backdrops where mostly plain with warm colours that are associated with country. I will use this when I do my photo shoots to create a better photo. 

Banners
The white edition of Country Weekly features a pale green gradient however most do not feature this and I believe this creates a better look.

Secondary photographs
Country Weekly features another picture lain over the top in both editions however I don't think this works well so I will not be including this feature.

Fonts
The title font and the subtitles' fonts are different fonts. Cowboys and Indians have only four different fonts whereas Country weekly and cowgirl both only have two. I will aim to use between two and three different fonts to match this research.

Dates
The magazines have displayed the date in two different places, either above the barcode or below the title. I will place my title in one of these places to match my research but also conforming with where looks better.

Boxes and circles
Country weekly features boxes and circles which are slightly transparent over the page to include more information about what is inside the magazine.I will consider using a box or circle when I am constructing my magazine if it fits with the rules of design.

F1. Music Magazine: Front Cover Intial Research

I have decided to do a country magazine, below are several different country music magazine front covers that I will aspire to make my front cover that I will make similar to.

Titles
They are large, central and positioned across the top. Two of the above are serif font, this breaks a design rule however country may be more fitting with serif font.

Model
The photograph shows the model from the stomach upwards. The models are never bearing their teeth or properly smiling as a more demure look fits with country. Two of the models have in their possession an iconic link to country music such as the cowboy hat and the guitar, I will try to incorporate this.

Text
The text is always down one third with model based in the other two. All the magazines feature larger bolder writing for the introduction to the piece of information with regular writing placed underneath. Two of the magazines feature the cover stars name in large, I intended to also use this. Two of the magazines have san serif text down the side which is different from the title and I will use this also.

I have looked at many different country music magazines and I have seen that nearly all female country stars that are big enough to feature on the front of a magazine are pale with blonde hair and blue eyes. I will use a model with similar asthetics so that my magazine is fitting of a country style.

Music Magazine: Target Audience

Target Market

My target market will consistent of a considerably niche market. I will aim my magazine at 15-17 year old girls who are young yet interested in country music. They will still be in full-time education however they will have other things which will take up there time such as part time retail jobs and hobbies/ clubs. They will have an interest in singing themselves and will be interested in music and playing music as a whole but are focused more on country music. They will most likely belong to the middle class and be fairly wealthy living in a large house and are financially comfortable. The may also have a holiday home as they are wealthy and enjoy spending time with their families. They will live in small towns and villages yet will be close to cities and hotspots where they can experience more. They will most likely be interested in animals, perhaps even horses which are clearly linked with Country music.

On a magazine my target market will be drawn more to feminine colours and young men or women models as these types of people interest them more. They will be looking for articles that involve country singers but also bring in their likes such as animals and hobbies. As they are of this age group they may be looking for subject matters that are important to them at this age such as boys, hair, make-up and clothes advice. They will be looking for fairly adult and serious magazines as they break into adulthood however will still desire a youthful flare which does not make the magazine childish but produces a more interesting subject matter. As they are interested in music, they will want the magazine to really focus on this but to also introduce the instruments as well as this will also be of interest for them.

Target Market Samples:

-          Holly Glenister. She has a strong interest in country music and plays the piano with aspirations to one day learn how to play the guitar. She lives in a town and is in full time education and is a keen ballerina in her spare time. She comes from a fairly wealthy family who live in a nice large house in a nice area. She is seventeen years old.

-          Ellie Smith. She also has a strong interest in country music and in films featuring country themes and music. She can also play the piano and is interested in singing. She lives in a village which is surrounded by other small villages and towns. She is in full time education. She also lives in a large house and is wealthy, she previously owned a holiday home abroad. She babysits her brother and family friends in her spare time. She also enjoys running and cycling. She is seventeen years old.

-          Megan Lines. She is interested in female country singers and enjoys their music the most. She is keen horse rider and feels that this is where her interest in country started from. She is from a middle class background and owns a large house in England and a holiday home in Spain. She also lives in a small village however it is close to larger towns. She enjoys singing and until recently went to frequent singing lessons. She works part-time at the stables when she is not in school. She is sixteen years old.

School Magazine: Final Contents Page

School Magazine: Contents Page Construction

I decieded two fonts which i believed corresponded well. I put the font in size 12 first however i don't think that this is the right decision as it is too small and difficult to read.

This is with size 18 font which I prefer.

I then looked at the actual writing and I thought that they did not create a nice or well designed piece of writing so I choose to change it around. Below is the result.

I then looked at the colour, the writing is the colour of the wall below to keep the image tied in however I used  the darker, but I think this is too dark so it tried the lighter colour.

I think this is too light so I believe my orginal colour was the best idea for the magazine.

I then spaced out my text so that it filled the entirety of the window however I think that this is too spaced out.

This together left me with the above image which is my final contents page.

School Magazine: Contents Page Photo Shoot

I put my model in a classroom with plenty of light to simulate the conditions that I would like for my image, I took many different photograhs, where I changed the costuming slightly and her positioning as can be seen below but I finally decided on one singular image.

School Magazine: Contents Page Plannings

I took the picture that I wished to use for my contents page and I printed it many times. I was planning to design how I would create my contents page by myself.
Firstly I placed the text in the top middle third.

However, I felt that this did not balance the dark image of the girl so this would not be good positioning.

I then put the text laying over the model, however this was hard to see and still did not create a balance.

I then put the text in the top left third and I believe this creates a good balance between the dark model and the dark text, but the text is too close to the edge in this image and must be floated.

 I then placed the text here, but this is floated but too low down so I realised that I has to find a happy medium. I then thought that I could edit the normal layout of the word contents to make the page more interesting. Below I have tried this.

I tried this but I do not like it so I will not use this. Below is my final design that I wish to use with all my design features.

School Magazine: Contents Page Specific Research

For the contents page of my school magazine, I wanted to use a different model in a different setting and a different set up. I selected similar images to the one I wished to create to consider how I wanted my image.

 Background
I will not use other people in my background as I want the image to be quite simple with the focus  on the person studying. I like the background of a window as it brings in natural light which could eb used in the image, it also symbolises light being brought in which is a very good symbol of a school as it makes the school seem bright, happy and wholesome.
Model
I will be using a model similar to the girl in the first image and I think having the model's hair over one side makes her look smarter and tidier so I will also do this. I hope to have my model holding a pen and writing as they are in the first and second images as this shows studying and intellect which I would like to display in my magazine.