Results

Results from questionnaire 

The most popular options from the questionnaire via a vote were:

IMAGE
Mid-shot/full body shot- An equal amount of people voted for a mid-shot or full body shot.
an Individual talent- Most people wanted an individual on the front cover
Do not care about the gender- There was only one vote for male and one vote for female; most people did not mind what gender the talent was

DESIGN
Non-cluttered- Slightly more people wanted a non-cluttered cover 
Black, white and blue, dark and dull colours- These were the most popular colour options, closely followed by red and purple. More people wanted the colours to be dark and dull than light and bright
Sans serif font- The majority of people chose sans serif over serif and handwriting

MASTHEAD
At the top and to the left- This I was expecting, as this layout is the normal, conventional way to position the masthead

NAME SUGGESTIONS

• Broken Strings
• Innocent youth
• Sound Prism 
• Colour Riff
• Siren

After looking at the suggestions I received, I have decided that 'Siren' is the most fitting and suitable name for my magazine. However I may make alterations.

I like this name suggestion because it fits the type of magazine I wanted to create and links to music (A siren being a mythical being that would lead sailors to their deaths by song). It has a dark tone to it, and will go nicely with my magazine.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire 

In order to gain more information on how I should layout my magazine I have constructed a questionnaire which I shall take around and interview my target audience with.

Image
1. Camera shot

• Close-shot
• Mid-shot
• Full-body shot

2. 

• Group
• Individual

3. What gender should the talent be?

• Male
• Female
• A mix of both
• Don't mind
• Other

Design

• Cluttered- lots of text and patterns
• Non-cluttered-neat and minimal
• Own ideas:

Colour Scheme
1. Choose three-four from the list.

• Red 
• blue
• green
• yellow
• purple
• orange
• white 
• black

2. Tones

• Dark
• Light

3. Saturation

• Bright
• Dull

Font

• Serif: A
• Sans Serif: A
• Handwriting: 

Masthead location
1.

• Top 
• Middle
• Bottom

2.

• Left
• Right
• Centre

Name Suggestions



Tag-line suggestions 

David Carson

David Carson

David Carson, an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design. He was the art director for the magazine 'Ray Gun' where he used non-conformative designs that went against what normal magazines looked like. However for my magazine I will stick to the conventions, as a magazine in Carson's style might be confusing and if not done properly will not result in a successful outcome. Although I do like the style, I think it best that I follow conventional magazines.

Fifty Quid Bloke

Fifty-Quid Bloke

A term made known by Nick Hepworth, editor of 'The Word' magazine used to describe a customer type who typically spends his Friday afternoons buying albums in HMV. For the first time, people over 35 are buying more albums than young people. 

This is because of the way the world is changing, as magazines are being replaced by the internet and digital versions. Young people no longer find interest in buying records and albums as they can obtain music easily through technology. Magazines are now more popular among older people who find familiarity in purchasing physical items and those who are deeply interested in their music prefer to have something they can own.  The Fifty-Quid Bloke could be dying out, as 'The Word' magazine was cancelled, and many entertainment shops on the high street have also been shut down. HMV itself almost joined them but was rescued at the last minute and it fortunately still around.

The patterns of music consumption have changed. Spotify, iTunes and other ways of consuming music have had an effect on the industry. 

The internet is mostly used by young people, and they can find any information about music they'd need. And it's usual free, whereas magazines cost money.

Personally, I think that the Fifty-Quid Bloke may one day become extinct, however similar groups of people are being formed in our society, especially amongst the young people. A small percentage of teens still enjoy connecting with their music on a higher level, buying albums, listening to old bands from the last century and owning vintage items including records and old retro posters. So while the one breed may be dying out, I think there will always be a group of people who can still fit the description of the Fifty-Quid Bloke, with a few differences of course.

Practice

Testing my cover

In order to have a better idea for the cover of my magazine I have put together a test cover to help me decide where to position text, images, masthead, etc...

I drew an image of an ideal cover model in Photoshop using a graphics tablet and then took it to Pixlr where I added the text and extra images (which were found on Google)

I'll probably use a very similar design for my final outcome, sticking with the dark colour palette and general text arrangement. I'll also need to get a photograph of a real model looking similar to the one in the picture.

Alternative Music

The reason I have been looking at grunge is because it is listed among other alternative music types, including rock, punk and Indie rock.

I intend for my magazine to contain elements of a few different alternative genres, mostly Indie rock however.

LIST OF TYPE OF MUSIC | MUSIC GENRES

• Alternative
  • Art Punk
  • Alternative Rock
  • College Rock
  • Experimental Rock
  • Goth / Gothic Rock
  • Grunge
  • Hardcore Punk
  • Hard Rock
  • Indie Rock
  • Lo-fi
  • New Wave
  • Progressive Rock
  • Punk

A lot of elements of the grunge era have also been carried into todays youth, and are widely popular among my 'struggler' audience. Some music today also contains features of the genre and incorporate them into modern music.

 

History of Grunge

The History of Grunge

Grunge is associated with the alternative music genre, particularly alternative rock with first emerged in the mid 1980's in America, especially in Seattle, where its other name (Seattle Sound) originates from. It revolved around the independent record label and in the 90's it had become widely popular. Bands most famous for contributing to this movement are Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. Grunge rock became the most popular form of hard rock at the time. 

Grunge is often identified for its guitar sounds that use high levels of distortion, and also 'fuzz'. However, it also involves much slower tempos, dissonant harmonies, and more complex instrumentation—which is reminiscent of heavy metal. Lyrics are typically angst-filled,often addressing themes such as social alienation, apathy, confinement, and a desire for freedom. This fits in with my target audience, the 'Strugglers' and 'Explorers' as they seek escape. 

A man named Paul Rambali first used the term 'grunge' in 1978 in an issue of NME to describe mainstream guitar rock however Mark Arm, the vocalist for the Seattle band Green River—and later Mudhoney—is generally credited as being the first to use the term grunge to describe this genre of music. 

Grunge

Grunge

Looking at the Grunge style, I have done some research and recreated some images in this style as I will be using it for my magazine.

The images I have found usually show dark colours with a faded effect and rarely ever contain bright, vivid tones. Usually quite dark in nature as well, with a slight hint of underlying bliss or peacefulness.

My own 

I have done some images in the style, to try and experiment with what I'll need for my magazine. Grunge is all about looking depressing and 'edgy'. Using Pixlr I gave the images a more gritty look and darkened the colours, adding filters and dusty-looking overlays.

The cigarette is NOT real it is in fact a lolly stick from a Chupa Chup but I used it because it added to the 90's, rebellious grunge vibe.



Experimenting

Experimenting with image editing 

After:

Before:

Using Pixlr I have done some more experimenting with editing my own photographs, just to get some more ideas for the images that will be included in my magazine. 

Before:

After:

Photoshop CS5

Using Photoshop I have made more
drastic changes to images, as it has a wider range of tools.

For this particular edit, I cut out the background and added an image behind. After this I added transparent gradients to make the lighting appear on the upper layer (Containing the floating, cut-out image of the person) . I added a microphone to the hand and also made the lights appear brighter and more blurred by adding a layer of white paint and using a gradient blur to give them more of a glow.

For background image used:

( http://www.lizzydavisphotography.com/sites/default/files/photography/P1290126-Edit.jpg ) 

More content

Making-up an Artist

In order for my magazine to only use primary content that I have acquired myself, I must invent a person to feature on my double page spread. 

And so, Jonathan is born.

 Using the criteria for my target audience, I created a character who would appeal to them. A lot of Indie music is done by male singers and features a grungy, 'edgy' looking crew or solo singer.
By creating this character, I can now produce my own content including my own images, interviews, songs and so forth.
His personality

• Pretentious
• 'Edgy'
• Dark
• Emotional
• Struggler 
• Rebellious 

Jonathan Samn is meant to be a representative for my audience to give my magazine the 'Indie grunge' vibes and also allow me to experiment and create a lot of content.

Working together with my friend who plays the role of Jonathan, Sam Pidgeon, I have also created a pretend album to use as reference in my content.
'Cloud 9' is an Indie pop album featuring nine tracks, three of which we have named. This 'album' is again meant to appeal to my target audience, especially the 'Strugglers'. The 'Explorers in my audience will also enjoy the character and his album as it is intended to be new and niche.

Content

Content

Front page

• Mid-shot image of a model who represents the target audience, sporting the Indie/grunge style
• Cover lines 
• Yusuf: The facts
• An interview with Jonathan
• Ironic Shout: On Tour

Contents
Images of models/artists and a list of all the pages along with information about the magazine and a note from the author.

Double-Page spread

Interview with made-up artist, Jonathan Samn, about an upcoming album. For this I shall interview a friend who will play the role of Jonathan to allow me to create a realistic, authentic interview. He will also serve as a model for the images on this page and for the album cover of the made-up album I will create for this project. 

Interview

Me: Okay hello, I'm here with Jonathan Samn, the one and only!
Jonathan: Hey.
Me: So you've got a new album coming out, haven't you?
Jonathan: Yeah, pretty excited. It's quite auto-biographical I must say. It's very emotional.
Me: So what are the songs featured on the album? I know there's 'Tripping Off', which everyone is very excited about.
Jonathan: Yeah, it's about my descent into a pit of unhappiness. It's very emotional. It details a very important moment in my life, I don't want to go into it but basically my mum died. Yeah, died of a pretty gruesome car accident. I said I wasn't going to go into details but I think it's too late now. 
Me: If you don't want to talk about it that's fine.
Jonathan: No I'll talk about it more. She was in hospital, dying a lot. I don't care, you need to hear my story. If you don't want to hear about it it's in my album. Listen to it, it's £12.9, a bit pricey but that's the price you pay for a harder life.
Me: Did it take you a lot of work for this?
Jonathan: Yeah, all my life basically. For this. It's an artists dream to be able to produce something which puts your soul into it. I feel like without this album I am nothing.
Me: Your fans are very excited, can you tell them anything about it?
Jonathan: There's a bonus track, about my rebirth. 
Me: That's very deep.
Jonathan: Yeah, a rebirth into my new life, that I am in now, or will be going to soon. You better be excited for it, it's called 'Death'.
Me: So what was your inspiration for this album?
Jonathan: Basically some hard times in my life, a sequence of events which lead to my downfall, it's b****y hard. 
Me: So it's called 'Cloud 9', what's the meaning behind that?
Jonathan: Well when people are happy they say they're on cloud nine. I've never been that happy. But I feel like I was that happy last year, but now I'm not that happy an it's about my descent into that unhappiness. 
Me: That's very deep. How does this album differ from your previous releases?
Jonathan: It's a bit more auto-biographical, a bit more grungy, got harsher sound to it to reflect the harsher stages of my life but I think this is my best album yet.
Me: I think so too.
Jonathan: Thanks, you should think that.
Me: When do you think you'll be going on tour again?
Jonathan: Oh I don't know if I can manage a tour, but I will manage it for my fans. March 25th to August 28th, that's my tour dates. But I don't think I'll be able to make it, I'm not sure, but make sure you come. I'm in Birmingham, London, Glasgow, all around the UK and Worldwide. But I don't know because I'm so sad at the moment.
Me: Well I hope you're able to make it that tour. 
Jonathan: The tickets are on sale tomorrow.
Me: What can you tell me about the other songs on your album?
Jonathan: 'Rock Bottom', it's got a few euphemisms in there about my life and who I am, and 'Falling Slowly', ah that song. It's a slow song, it's a break in the middle of my album from all the harshness, a kind of euphoria in falling into this sadness when I liked to be sad and I was fine with it. I was kind of falling slowly into a depression and it's very deep.
Me: I feel like this album really reflects what you're going through.
Jonathan: It does. 

My Audience

Attracting my audience

In order to attract my chosen audience of young students aged 15-24 I must ensure that my magazine has content and design that appeals to them. 

To do this I shall include:

• An artistic, cluttered design with dark colours.
• A double page spread on an in-depth interview with an upcoming indie musician and their new album.
• Grunge fonts and design.
• Sans Serif font.
• Lots of artists and music-related content.
• Pictures of band members and singers.
• Artsy design and decorative patterns to appeal to the artistic members of my audience.

On the right is a discontinued music magazine called 'The Fly' which was given out for free. On the right is a magazine that looks at fashion and style rather than music but is still Indie. From these two examples I can learn that the shot I use for my front cover does not matter as both use a different shot for the people on the front cover. One also uses fairly bright colours, contradicting my previous beliefs that dark colours had to be used. However 'The Fly' does use dark colours and is a music magazine, meaning I will most likely lean towards using darker tones. Both magazines contain little on the covers, with a small amount of text. The only text not relating to the masthead on the 'Indie' magazine is ' Oh I see' written in a handwriting font. On 'The Fly' however, there is slightly more text with the band name written in big, capital red letters and smaller text both above and below it. 

Persona

Persona

Mass or Niche?:

Niche, my audience will be select and specifically aimed at a certain group of people.

Age: Young people from the ages 13-21

Gender: Male or female although slightly more leaning towards female

Interests: Music, parties, instruments, indie-pop/indie-rock, art, design, fashion and music artists

Lifestyle: Fun, adventurous, fantasy, creative, enjoy art and expressing emotion, us sparkle children

Socio-economic group: Students, although not really class-specific 

Penumbra effect: Friends of target audience, family and other young people who spend time on social network sites like Tumblr or Instagram who might read about it from other people.

Psychographics: Strugglers, explorers and maybe aspirers.

I feel that my target audience is:

Indie

• Students
• Spend a lot of time with friends
• Go to gigs often
• Listen to music on a daily basis via their iPop/phone while going about their day
• Have a strong connection with music
• Wear a fashion style that consists mostly of skinny jeans, plaid shirts and canvas shoes.
• Likely have experience with playing an instrument themselves
• Use websites like Tumblr, Instagram or have their own blog
• May drink alcohol and/or smoke
• Might have an interest in tattoos and piercings 
• Have an 'edgy', artistic style

Hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow

This relates to my project as my audience will be of a western culture, meaning they should have all these needs and be able to purchase such luxuries as magazines. However as my magazine is aimed at Strugglers and Explorers they might not have self-esteem or safety and security. However they should have self-actualisation, especially creativity and spontaneity. Their physiological needs might not all be met however, as some could be from poor backgrounds and not have a stable home that supplies them with clothing or luxury needs.