Masthead / Typography analysis

Masthead / Typography Analysis

NME also uses the idea of letters to represent other words and make a shorter, more memorable masthead. White capitalized initials are used in an orange/red rectangular box in the corner of the page; the colours work well together because they are so dissimilar, which makes the masthead easier to read. 

Q magazine have a very simple masthead with simply a single white letter, with a red square box behind it. The serif font is quite formal as is has no embellishment which other magazines may have, and there is a drop shadow to make it less of a flat image. The idea of using one letter makes it easy to remember, and doesn't take up a large space on the front page. 

Vibe magazine has a masthead which changes in colour depending on the image used for the front cover. It is a simple sans serif font, which stretches across the page, rather than being positioned in one corner or the middle. The genre of music is reflected in the masthead because the font has smooth lines, and does not connote any elements of a roughed up, edgy variety of music, such as indie. 


Kerrang's masthead is very different from Vibe,Q and NME's due its more thrown together, rough appearance. The font is white and has black lines through it to reflect both the strings of a guitar (an instrument frequently used by the artists in the rock genre), and smashed glass. The idea of smashed glass suits this genre as rock musicians are infamously impulsive, and often known to get into fights. The background of the masthead is black, a colour frequently associated with rock music due to bands wearing a lot of black, and the connotations with this colour mirror ideas raised by rock music.  

Photos - Contents Page

House Style

How is house style established?

Definition:

House style is established by creating a fluent colour scheme, and typography throughout the magazine. This is important as it makes the magazine have a continuous feel, and ensures that each page is aesthetically connected to every other page. Having a house style makes the magazine more memorable, and achieves recognition simply through using a recurring visual theme. 

Creating a clear, unified house style is important because it enables the reader to easily identify the magazine simply through a few constantly appearing features. NME use red as a main colour, but in other cases primary block colours, as a fill colour for the boxes around article text and titles. This is to pick up on the original design of the magazine masthead which has white writing and a red box around it. They also use the same font for feature titles throughout, this can be seen in my examples for the words 'repeat' and 'inside'. the typography has a stencil effect and thick black lines in order to create a 'scrapbook' or 'home made' feel, rather than the more formal fonts and layout seen in magazines such as Q or Mixmag. 

Images:

As you can see magazines use images which are similar in colours and styles for the main image on the front page and the images used for the double page spreads of the feature. A variety of shots is used within the double page spread, but because of the similar looks, colours, and backgrounds, the reader is able to identify the main feature as the same article as on the front. 

 
 

These images are all from Q magazine, but are from different issues. despite this, they all have a similar essence of simplicity and creativity, usually involving the colour red somehow to reflect the logo of the magazine. 









Design features: 

Using recurring design elements helps to unify the magazines style, and ensure that a magazine is easy to identify on every page: even if the articles are contrasting, it is visually easy to place them in the same magazine. 

 These are some common design features used within a proliferation of magazines, which help not only make it more aesthetically pleasing, but also helps connect the front page, contents and dps together, as there is a recurring theme throughout. 

Page Furniture / Design elements

What is page furniture? 

Examples: 

A drops cap is a very commonly used design element within magazines due to its simplicity, yet ability to attract the eye. A drops cap is the deliberate enlargement and/or embellishment of the first letter of the opening word to a feature, and it is effective because it pulls the readers focus towards the text and encourages them to read. 

Varying shapes and boarders around key words or mastheads also grab the attention of readers as it makes more significant words stand out. By using similar shapes or colours throughout the magazine, house style is unified, and the design of the page is easily identifiable to the specific magazine.


Other design elements such as watermarks and decorative pull quotes make a feature more visually pleasing and create a professional look. Too many items of page furniture would over crowd the page and draw attention away from the main body of test or main image, so it is important to research into what similar magazines have done in order to create a balance within my own work. 




Design features I hope to include:

(imovie) 

Page Numbers and Pricing

The number of pages in a magazine and the cost of a magazine will correlate to the frequency of its publishing. This is important research to gather because it will help me to decide how many articles I should include, which will be reflected in the page numbers and subsequently the price. When I have decided on the amount of pages I would like, I can appropriately conclude on a price which will fit the pattern. A factor which I will also have to decide on before I can form a price is how frequently I would plan to publish the magazine, because a weekly magazine would need to cost less in order to sustain demand. 

Understanding of type of shot used

The genre of music I am promoting within my magazine is dance/house, therefore I researched currently existing magazines or magazine issues which had a similar theme. by doing this, I was able to recognise that they all used a very similar camera shot, even if the content was varied, the angle and type of shot was usually the same.

Magazine Examples by Slidely Slideshow

Through these examples I can deduce that I should use a medium to close up shot for my front cover, rather than a long shot showing the artists whole body. I should also encourage the subject in the image to pose in a strong and dominant way, because that is a trait often found in the front cover photos of these magazines. This is commonly a pose taken by female artists of this genre as it is male dominated form of music production, and consequently women who become successful in this area are stereotypically strong and independent. There were no obvious extreme angles on the front covers in almost 100% of the research I carried out, therefore I will use an eye level medium shot for my front cover. 

Unedited and Edited Photos - DPS

First Image Before and After

Second Image Before and After

Third Image before ad after

Unedited and Edited Photo - Front page

 

Features of Front Page

Double Page Spread Article

Features of Contents Page

Original Designs

My Genre

House/Dance/Club music

I chose this genre of music because it has a lot of variations within the title of dance, for example; drum and bass, dubstep, trance and house can all be promoted together. Dance music using synthesized and computer generated sounds originate from the 1970s, with the most famous first fully synthesized song being Donna Summers 'I feel love'. The electronic tones, and the techniques used to create them, such as looping and sampling, have continued to be used in electro and, especially, house music.

Donna Summer - I feel love (live)

Dance music has evolved over the decades, with trance/drum and bass/rave becoming most noticeably popular since the 1990s.  
Below is a playlist showing a range of songs that fit my genre, and an example of a song in this genre you can listen to. 

Rusko - Everyday (Netsky remix) 

Iconography:

The general stereotype for lovers of this music, and the artists within the genre, is a love of partying. Going out and having a good time is top priority, and alcohol takes a lead role in making every night a night to remember. Drugs are also conventionally associated with this genre due to the rave revolution in the 1990's which saw a massive rise in the UK's consumption of drugs among youth. Clothing wise, there are no specific generalisations other than casual and well-known brands, and there are also no typical hair or make up styles specified to this genre. Music videos commonly display montages of large crowds at concerts and festivals, and the DJ getting just as into it at the fans. 

Example Artists:

Tara Pilkington's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

Original Photographs

These are the first set of photographs I took. Although some were intended to be used on my front cover, I eventually took better ones and used these for my contents page and double page spread. 

Possible Magazine Titles

I have chosen to create a magazine with a house/dance genre and therefore I need to choose a title which fits the music type and suits the target audience. I created a mind map of my initial ideas and then chose the 6 which I liked the most and thought would suit the magazine best.

My original ideas:

My options:

(Dance Music Central) I feel this would be appropriate for my music magazine because the initials make it a catchy name, and the full title is simply summarising the fact that this magazine would provide information on all good house/dance music. 



This is obviously appropriate for the magazine genre, and I like it because it lets a reader know immediately the type of music the magazine is promoting, and it's short so therefore more memorable. 



This word is musically related and I like it for my magazine title because it immediately implies to the reader that the magazine has a musical theme. 



I feel spin would be a good title for my magazine because house/dance music is played by DJs who use decks, therefore it applies to the method of playing this genre of music.



This magazine would be a mixture of all types of house/dance music and therefore this name reflects that there is a variety of styles within the magazine, and it is not restricted to one style within the genre. 




House/dance music is commonly favoured in clubs and at gigs (locations where strobe lights may be used) therefore this name reflects an aspect of life that many dance music fans may lead. 



Feedback:

Lucy, 16 - " I like the name DMC best because its short and therefore will be easier to remember."

James, 16 - " I think that the name House is good but maybe a bit too basic, because although thats what your magazine is focused on, it's a bit obvious."

Charlotte, 16 - " DMC is my favourite out of these because it summarises what the magazine is about, while still only having a short name by using the initials. The shorter the name is the easier it is to remember."

Harry, 17 - " I like the name Strobe and House because they are simple, and would instantly make me think of this genre of music."

Natalie, 22 - " I like DMC because other names like decibel and strobe just don't sound catchy, whereas the three letter initials make it easily identifiable, and because they are easy to pronounce together, it's catchier and more memorable."

Danni, 21 - " I think that Spin and DMC are the best names in this selection due to the fact that spin is very well connected to the physical act of how this genre of music is played, and DMC is able to have a longer name which fully represents what's within the magazine, yet it has a short, snappy title."

Becca, 17 - " I prefer the name House because it sounds cool and I can quickly identify which genre of music the magazine is promoting."

Ellie, 17 - " My favourite from this list is DMC and my least favourite is Fusion. Fusion sounds a bit cheesy to me." 

Emma, 19 - " Personally I like both House and DMC, but if I had to choose one it would probably be DMC just because I know that I could remember that easily, and  like how it has an extended name as well."

Kirsty, 20 - " I think Spin is the best name because I don't know any magazines with a name similar to that, and it instantly makes me think of DJ's and therefore dance music."