Fonts

After looking at the mastheads and fonts on other magazines such as "Q" and "Mojo" I went on www.dafont.com to look for fonts to use in my own magazine. Dafont has thousands of different fonts available for free download.

Different fonts can signal and provoke different moods and can be the defining part of a brand or product. There are two types of font: sans serif and serif. Serif fonts are considered easier to read as the strokes at the ends join letters together nicely.

I was looking for a font that would stand out as my masthead and appeal to my target audience without being too complicated or hard to read. I was also looking for a simple but sophisticated font to use for my main article and contents page.

The first font (above) that I looked at for my masthead was called "Stentiga". I didn't think this would work well as my masthead as it is quite slim and doesn't stand out enough and therefore don't think it would be suitable for the front of a magazine cover.

The second one (above) was called "Boris Black Bloxx". I liked this font because it is bold and eye catching, but I thought it was not appealing enough for my target audience as a masthead as it is quite bubbly and would probably appeal more to a younger, female audience and be more suitable for perhaps the Pop genre.

The third was called "Tosca Zero" (above). This is the one I chose for the masthead of my magazine because it stands out and is unique and eye catching. The cracked and eroded style to the front suggests connotations of breaking the mould and being original - something my target audience would aspire to do.

I am going to use for my main flash is called "Alte Haas Grotesk" (below) I like this because it is simple, clear to read and sophisticated like the main flash that appears on other magazines such as "Q".

Below are some of the fonts I considered for the main sells on the cover of my magazine. I also thought I could use these on the contents page and double page spread to continue a theme in my magazine.

Above font is called Impact Label, I liked this font because it it really bold and eye catching and I feel itwould look good on the list of artists names on my front cover.

The font above is called "Mom's Typewriter", I liked this because it looks vintage and this would appeal to my target audience and fit with the theme of my magazine.

Body font:

The font below is called "contra" and I will use this for the body font/small writing on my magazine cover and for the main article on my double page spread. This is similar to the type of font used in the magazines such as "Q", I have previously analysed. It is a serif font and I think this will make my articles and writing easier for my audience to read.

Flat Plans

Flat Plans (left hand page)

Below - (right hand page) After looking at several examples from other magazines such as Q and Mojo, Idecided my double page spread will contain one photo of the artist featured. This will be on the right hand page. On the left hand page will be some of an article and on the right hand page next to the photograph will be the other half of the article.

The article I am going to write will be an interview and set out in questions and answers and it will seem to continue on to the next pages of my magazine. On the first page of my doublepage spread, I have the name of the person being interviewed in big font which is the same as my mast head, and a small description of what the article is, this is so that it is clear who and what the article is about. Along the bottom of both pages there will be a small area for the page number, date and name of my magazine. This is so the readers know which page they are on and find it easy to access pages they want by looking at the contents page.

The background of my article will be dark grey and I will stick the my continuing colour scheme of white, blacks and red.

Cover 1

Cover 2When drawing my flat plans, I decided to draw 2 ideas for my magazine cover. For my first cover I used a duet band singing, for my second I used a solo artist. I also changed the mast head by making it 3D on the first cover and 2D on the second.

Out of the two flat plans I created for the cover of my magazine, I had decided to use Cover 2 because I feel it looked better and would appeal more to my target audience as it appears more sophisticated than the other cover.

I will be using fonts that are attractive and appealing such as an old typewriter font on my main sells and I have included features such as the date, issue number, bar code and price on the cover of my magazine as this is needed for the reader to know when purchasing.

In my final magazine the main image on my cover didn't show a guitar as I couldn't get the prop for the photoshoot and I changed my artist's name from Mozzy to Noah, I felt this would appeal to my target audience more as Mozzy seemed quite immature and child-like. I also made the price smaller and I didn't put it in a bubble, this was to make my magazine appear more sophisticated and interest my target audience more.

Contents
The contents of my magazine will contain the same masthead that is on the cover of magazine. This is to produce familiarity to the readers as my masthead will be same every issue as the title becomes one of the most familiar things in a magazine or any kind of product.

I have two pictures on my contents and they will have numbers on to show which page they are on in the magazine.

There are 3 sections on my contents page: Features, Every month and Shuffle for you. The features will be things that are unique to this issue of my magazine. Every month will be the things that are in every issue of my magazine and Shuffle for you will be things such as songs the readers might like to download and movie reviews. I got this idea from looking at contents pages from magazines with a similiar target audience to mine such as Q and Mojo.

The fonts used will be pretty basic for the contents information but the headings such as Features will be in a font that is featured on my cover, again to produce familiarity to the readers and target audience. I will also include the issue number and date on my contents page.

I will stick to a simple colour scheme of red white and black, this will appeal to my target audience as it is not too visually busy or colourful.

Here is a labelled copy of my front cover flat plan.

For my final magazine contents page, I changed the position of the photos and added a "this months acts" box which showed a list of featured artists mentioned in my magazine. This is because when creating my magazine on InDesign I felt it looked much better and would allure my target audience more because they would want to know more of what was in the magazine. I also changed the smaller picture of 3 people to pictures of tickets so that it would make the featuring competition more important and visible. I also changed "features" to "this month" to make my magazine more unique.

Analysis Of Existing Magazines

This double page spread only contains one photograph but is dominated by it. The image is a large black and white photograph of Bon Iver, the artist featured in the article. The photograph takes up one and half pages of the spread. He is standing alone with his hands on the back of his head suggesting he is relaxed and confident. In the background there is a white church/house and a cloudy sky. There is a caption on the photograph in the bottom right hand corner explaining who is in the photo, what it is, where it was taken and when. In the top of the left page there is a title - "American Gothic" and underneath this, before the article starts there is a paragraph explaining what and who the article is about. The first letter of the article is started with a drop capital and the first sentence of the article is also in capital letters.

The contents page from "Q" magazine is set out so that it is easy to read and easy to understand. The contents page is similar to the cover of the magazine by using the same sort of fonts and using the same sort of colour scheme to the one presented on the cover of the magazine, sticking to the black, white and red theme. There is a black strip title along the top of the page that says "Q Contents" and the issue date and number. The contents is split into 3 categories: Features, every month and Q review. This issue of "Q" magazine has an "oasis special" category. The main focus of the page is a large image that takes up over half of the entire contents page, of The Courteeners to show that they are an important feature in this issue of the magazine and there is another smaller image in the "Q" review category.

The title of this magazine is "Mojo - the music magazine". The word "mojo" is very big and in capital letters all the way across the top of the page and "the music magazine" is much smaller and in a different font going across the word "mojo" expressing the greater importance of the word. The main image is in front of the masthead and covering it a little bit. The word "mojo" is often used to identify someone as possessing a "magic touch/power" of creativity or charm. This is to make the magazine appear magic and creative and appeals to the target audience who feel it could affect their own "mojo" if they read this particular magazine.

The fonts used on the front of "Mojo" are all sans serif fonts and similar to "Q" magazine there about about 3 different fonts used to avoid over complicating the cover and making it look confusing. All of the fonts used are bold and stand out to attract people to the magazine and make it look modern. The sizes of the fonts on the magazine vary, the main flash being the largest and the main sells being smaller.

The colour scheme used on "mojo" magazine is even more limited than that used on the cover of "Q" magazine. They have only used one colour (peach - plus black and white). This, much like "Q" magazine, works with the black clothing worn by the cover stars - Led Zeppelin - and makes the peach colour stand out and attract the eye of the reader. The light grey/white background also contrasts the colours of the font which makes it more attractive to the reader.

"Mojo" uses less writing on the cover of the magazine than "Q". "Mojo" uses short sentences with lots of full stops and punctuation such as question marks to exclamation marks to give the magazine some "attitude" and make it seem exciting. They have also used artist and band names on the cover which suggests the reader of the magazine already has some knowledge on the subject. Also "Mojo" has used numbers ("10 more losers") to give the effect of a packed issue.

The main image on the front of the cover is of Led Zeppelin (who the main flash is about). They are posed in a triangle style and all have a serious look on their faces. This gives the magazine "attitude" and goes with the name "mojo". Their black clothes also contrast to the background and make them stand out.

There is less on the cover of "mojo" than the cover of "Q" but it looks just as good. "Mojo" also has the essential information such as bar code, magazine issue and price. However the barcode is in the top right hand corner and the price and issue is just above the mast head more to the left hand side at the top.

The title of this magazine cover is "Q" which is very simple, yet affective. The meaning behind the letter "Q" is not explained on the magazine itself, however I believe it is a play on words and represents the phonetic spelling of the letter and means the word cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play) as there were original plans to name the magazine this. The masthead of the magazine is always in the top left hand corner of the cover every month and is fundamentally always a white "Q" on a red square background. This gives recognisable elements to the magazine and brings familiarity to the readers.

There are about three different fonts on the cover of Q magazine. The fonts used on the cover of "Q" magazine are a mixture of sans serif and serif. The larger fonts (such as the ones used in the main flash and headings of the main sells) are mostly sans serif and bold and bring a modern vibe to the magazine and the smaller fonts next to the main sells and the strap line of the magazine are serif fonts and not bold and these bring a traditional vibe to the magazine. Both the modern and traditional feel to the magazine appeals to the target audience as it makes them feel like they are getting the best of both in this magazine - something vintage and something new. The size of the font varies, names of artists featured in the magazine - such as U2, Oasis and The Stone Roses - being the largest on the page, the main flash and main featuring artist (Lily Allen) being the largest in the middle of the cover. They have also used italic for quotes and for emphasizing emotive words such as "wicked" to attract the target audiences attention.

The colour scheme used on the cover of this issue of "Q" magazine is limited and simple but very bold. Only 2 colours have been used (red and blue - plus black and white). This matches the black hair and clothing worn by the cover feature Lily Allen and also the black panthers beside her and creates a contrast to the light grey/white background making everything stand out and attracting the reader.

"Q" uses language to attract the reader by using such as informal and familiar sayings such as"sexy beast" and "55-pint interview". This makes the reader feel more comfortable and likely to buy the magazine and also refers to the target audience they are aiming for and suggest men who like to go to the pub can read this with a pint. They have also used numbers on the cover to make the issue appear more packed to the reader. For example; "181 more reviews", "the 25 greatest rock movies" and "55 pint interview". This makes the reader believe they are getting the most out of the magazine for their money. The use of band names on the cover assumes that the reader of the magazine already has knowledge of the subject area and knows who the bands are.

The image used on the cover of this magazine is a posed photograph of Lily Allen (with two black panthers photoshopped in). This image is very suggestive as she is wearing no clothes on the top half of her body and uses the sexuality of the star to appeal to the target audience of mostly men and suggests she will be revealing lots of juicy details within the magazine. The pose is suggestive because she is looking back over her shoulder with her hand up to her mouth. The cover of "Q" magazine has a mixed variety of cover stars and is commonly more often a male artist or band.

The main sells of the magazine are mostly about interviews with bands and artists and the main flash is referring to the image on the cover of the magazine. The cover of the magazine also contains the essential information such as bar code, magazine issue and price all in the bottom right hand corner.

Target Audience

It is necessary for a magazine to have a target audience in mind when producing a magazine for it to be successful. This is so that they know how to specifically aim their magazine at a certain audience, know what they want and sell lots of the magazine. Other than sex and age, another important thing to consider when choosing a target audience for a magazine is socio-economic classification which is a common way of measuring social class according to the job of the main bread winner of a household. These are set out in categories of different jobs: A, B, C1, C2, D & E.

A - high ranking professionals; lawyers, doctors etc
B - middle ranking professional; middle managers in businesses, teachers etc
C1 - “white-collar” (office) workers; junior managers, office clerks, bank clerks, nurses etc
C2 - skilled manual workers; carpenters, electricians etc
D - semi and unskilled manual workers; drivers, post sorters, labourers etc
E - people subsisting on state benefits; the unemployed, pensioners etc

I took a print screen from the National Readership Survey website (www.nrs.co.uk) which gives statistics about which people read "Q" and "Mojo" magazine. This information tells me that the main audience that buy "Q" magazine are mostly men, around 85% of the readers are aged 15-44 and two thirds of the readers are in the ABC1 category. I can also tell from these statistics that the main audience that buy "mojo" are very similar as that of "Q", though "Mojo" has a smaller amount of readers and the amount is different, the trends are the same.

From the Bauer website (http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Q/Audience Profile) I found a small section describing the psychographics/Audience Profile for readers of Q Magazine. The readers of Q Magazine are "Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don’t define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion, but their love of music will never be to the detriment of their other passions, such as film, sport and comedy."

From this I know I should target my magazine at mostly men aged 15-44 in the socio economic category ABC1.

Introduction to Main Task

The main task will be a development of my previous preliminary coursework blog of creating a student magazine for my college.

For my main task I have been asked to design a music magazine. I have decided to create a magazine similar to "Q" magazine which involves a variety of genres such as indie and rock and artists ranging from Lily Allen to The Killers. I will design a front cover, contents page and double page spread. I will be using both Adobe Photoshop and InDesign to create my magazine.

Katie Richardson AS Media Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task, I have been asked to design a Sussex Downs college magazine using Adobe InDesign. I have chosen teenage students as the target audience for my college magazine and it is called "EC" which stands for "Everything college".

These are the flat plans I made in the process of designing my magazine. One is for the front cover and the other is for the contents page of the magazine.

I decided that the masthead for my magazine would be bold, a different font to the rest of text and biggest on the page. This is so that it stands out and attracts attention. Underneath the masthead I used the tagline "everything college" which is what the masthead stands for. This is so that the readers know what the magazine is about.

I used informative language and I avoided using too formal language in my main flash and main sells so that it would appeal to my target audience as I feel they would be happier reading something more relaxed. I also personalised my strap line by using the word "your" to get the reader involved.

On the cover of my magazine I put the issue number and the date of issue. This is so that the target audience knows they are reading the most up to date issue of the magazine. I did not use price or a bar code as this is a college magazine for students which will be free.

The layout of my contents page was simple yet effective. It involved words and pictures so that the layout of the page wasn't boring. This would appeal to my target audience because they wouldn't want to read a magazine that was loads of writing. I kept my contents in easy to read and easy to find categories for an easy read. I used the brand logo at the top of the contents page to give a feel of familiarity to the magazine.

These are the two photographs I took for the front cover of my magazine. The first photo was not a suitable choice for my magazine as I took the photograph in landscape which would not fit precisely onto the cover the way I wanted it too. Also you cannot see directly into the persons eyes as his hair is in the way and his head is tilted at an odd angle. Therefore I chose to use the second photograph for the cover of my magazine. Firstly because the background suited my cover story for my magazine. Secondly, the photograph is in portrait and would fit my magazine perfectly the way I wanted. Furthermore, the person in the photo is looking directly at the camera and is smiling which will appeal to the target audience as they would not want to read a magazine that seemed unfriendly or uninviting.


I am pleased with the final outcome of my college magazine for students. I think to improve my magazine cover I should make the writing stand out more so that it is easier to read and also include some more main sells so that the magazine looks like it contains more. To improve my contents page I would use a different colour background to make it look less plain. I am pleased with the cover of my magazine because I think the colours work well and I really like the brand logo. This was something that stood out to my target audience when I asked for feedback on my magazine.