Narcassist - Joe Walsh

The Crookes Narcassist Cover

template For Narcassist

First Draft Cover

Music Magazine layout draft

Q Readership Profile

Brand Description

The UK's biggest selling monthly music magazine, Q is the arbiter of quality music. The magazine sits at the heart of a cross-platform brand that discovers great music of substance for its consumers. The Q brand has developed a worldwide reputation as a trusted and premium quality voice of musical authority amongst fans, musicians and the music industry alike - one that is founded upon Q's unrivalled access, world-beating exclusives and outstanding production values. This reputation is extended not only through the magazine but also across online, radio, TV and on into Q's unique events, which encompass exclusive, intimate live shows with major stars and the world famous annual Q Awards.

Platforms

• Q Magazine
• Q Radio
• www.qthemusic.com
• Q TV - Sky 364 , Virgin Media 338
• Q Awards

Follow Q on Twitter (www.twitter.com/qmagazine) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/QMagazine)

Audience Profile

Q's audience is composed of passionate, engaged and open minded music fans driven to continually discover new music - and to use this lust for discovery to influence their friends. The audience is split 75% male to 25% female and is affluent (with 68% ABC1).

 (Courtesy of Bauer Media)

NME Readership

(courtesy of IPC Media - Publishers of NME)

LIIAR: NME Carl Barat Double Page Spread

NME uses its own very bold font in order to create a good, impacting title to the page which also relates to the main image, Carl Barat aiming a gun. The use of a large black font connotes focus and dedication, things which him ‘taking aim’ will need therefore it all helps to add to the dedication of him in whatever his latest venture may be. In the same way the use of purple ties in with the main image because his jacket may be or at least looks purple so therefore this helps everything to sit better on the page. NME, instead of using a more active font or background chooses to use plain fonts/backgrounds. This works well because it represents most NME articles and also gives it a formality to the design because of the restraint to cluttering the page with un-needed designs. IPC media insures that this does not happen in the magazines it publishes because they have to look professional in order for them to be a reputed publishing house and also because a lot of people would not buy a shoddy piece of workmanship.

A pull out quote is used on the main image, this type of quote, with explicit language, is conventional to us as a pull quote in not only NME but most music magazines because this makes a band/artist more taboo, therefore we seem to like the more. Also swearing has a certain casual and colloquial language about it therefore it works because it means that this person, your idol, is being more relaxed in conversation, therefore a connection is made, thus more magazines are bought with people who are liked in.

The ideology of the magazine is to ensure that new music is covered, Carl Barat, a former member of The Libertines is a pull for readers because they were a band almost legendary to NME and the indie genre. Because they were highly regarded then, band members like Carl are always well regarded and will get a good rep by the magazine. An interview like this will be either the main one that week, or part of the main 2 -3 articles which are of more famous artists therefore pull more of an audience. The rest of the magazine is full with new music, or shorter pieces which are about bigger bands so therefore they need articles like this to give to magazine a metaphorical backbone.

This page has to represent NME well, and does so fore mostly because of the use of the same or similar font as on the masthead therefore keeping a solid design template the whole way through the magazine. This helps because even if the magazine is open you can immediately be recognised by anyone. It could be argued also that this is a means of extra advertising, for example in London where it has a huge readership if someone sees someone else reading about an artist or band that they like then they instantaneously know what magazine it is therefore they can immediately go and buy it afterwards, therefore this could be labelled as a type of indirect advertising.

As well as representing NME well, the page also has to represent the artist well too. It does this by the bold letter fonts (mentioned earlier) and the use of colour to create a focused, refined image and piece about Carl Barat which has matured a lot since the last time he was in the magazine with another band. It does this with the plain; however not dull font and background, which also helps NME to retain its own image. This works because it is simplistic, minimalistic and very professionally designed, which helps IPC media by giving it a good reputation for design.  

LIIAR: Oasis NME Contents

Language: The cover uses two main images of Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher show that even though this is a much older issue they are still very much the prominent figures even now and then. On the left you can see a band index, showing that NME used to put the music as most important not so long ago, however this has now disappeared. This was there so that you could pick up a copy and then see whether the band that you like is in there and it also helps to show the huge wealth of music in the magazine, and how important this is the magazines ethos. The masthead is also on this page because it is only the first page and makes the contents reemit the NME feel, and makes it proud to be NME. Next to this is the title ‘This Week’ rather than just a contents page because this makes it seem more like the highlights from the magazine than just your average contents which simple lists all the articles. The central feature is longer because it is outlining the main article; also it is about one of the biggest bands around at the time so therefore has to have a larger place because of this. The right hand side contents list has article omitted to make it briefer and lists all of the features, with page numbers next to the few of these articles featured. This makes it seem like there is more in the magazine than there probably is. At the bottom there is a subscription advert, this is conventional for most magazines because the contents is the first page that you see and also because it will usually have a little space left over for things like this. The colour scheme continues the traditional NME colours, black, white and red and uses yellow on the subscription advert because it stands out very well against the other colours used because it is bright and different, and very abstracted from the other colourings. The entire font is clear and easy to read which is conventional for all contents pages because it makes it easier to find articles and features that you are looking for in the magazine and also makes it look a lot more professional.

Institution: NME is created by IPC media which creates a magazine for every audience, the other magazine most closely related to NME is UNCUT which focuses on older music like classic rock, therefore NME has a specific, yet large wealth of artists/bands who are new to cover.

Ideology: The idea behind this magazine is to create a magazine which explores and highlights good new music and this is displayed on the contents because of the bands index which lists them no matter how obscure they may be, therefore continuing the trend of new music. It does however have to cover older bands too, who may not be as obscure because these are the cover bands who get people to buy the magazine. Although the magazine contents have to be very bold in order to attract attention, however it cannot diverge from the conventional smartness of the magazine and the element of refinement in the magazine.

Audience: NME is aimed at 16 – 25 year old male and female, even though the bands included are most probably more masculine therefore aimed at men more. NME covers quite non-specific genres because it has a lot of other genres as well as rock/indie for example it does look at hip hop/ rap very briefly in a few issues. They have to do this in order to fit in with the New music brief that they have, and with it being new music, it has to look at a wider range of genres, which are all new.  

Representation: The contents page has to represent the magazine well and also in a just way rather than being completely abstracted from the rest of the magazine, because if it did then none of the magazine would look like it fitted and the whole magazine would then look like a shoddy publication, resulting in a lot less people reading the magazine. The contents represents the rest of the magazine because it continues the use of the same colour scheme, which means that it sits well, which results in the magazine looking a lot more professional and makes it work better. As well as this though the contents has to represent the audience, so therefore needs to look fresh and new, like a lot of NME readers are. This is done by using colours like white and red because they are fresher and then the black helps to refine this and give the page some maturity and definition rather than it be a mass of different overwhelming colours which have no relevance to the rest of the magazine and this page.    

LIIAR: Liam Gallagher NME Double Page Spread

Language:  By using bold serif capitals  writing as a masthead for the left page of the double page spread it ensures that you see it and also that it still retains it formal and refined roots from the start of the magazine. The colour scheme words well for this part too because it is using NME’s trademark colourings and also it keeps it from looking tacky while not letting it be dull. The main image spread across the whole of the right page works well because Liam Gallagher is an instantly recognisable character, especially because of his leery look with Beatles-ish glasses and Paul Weller hair, which only a true fame monger can pull off. There is a short paragraph or so tagline below this masthead which tells you about the article and him before you begin to read the whole lengthy article (around 3 pages of writing) also this serves as an introduction to the piece. The writing is organised into columns which are arranged in thirds of the page, this is quite unique to NME as most other music magazines conventionally use wider columns which take up more of the page. Unconventionally NME use this in order to give it more of the feel of a newspaper article and it could be connoted from this; the feel of it being more serious news which must be read, rather than just being a music magazine. Liam appears here promoting his new band ‘Beady Eye’ and it could be argued that the use of circles in the piece supports this, for example the article begins with a large O and also a quote from his is seen inside a circle which I think could be a subconscious reference to the name of the band, and you could even go as far as to say that his sunglasses also support this theory.

Institution: NME is controlled by IPC media, an expansive company which controls magazines which are all aimed at specific audiences which can be seen here because it is aimed at people who are older (younger people don’t need so much refinement in a magazine) and also because I think that this issue is also aimed at consumer who are not weekly readers because it has him on the cover, which will be aimed at an older generation or at least people who grew up listening to his music.

Ideology: The ideology of the magazine is to provide a good, refined interview with Liam Gallagher which reflects the age and maturity of his new band, while making it look good, clean and like a fresh interview, rather than ‘just another’ Liam Gallagher interview. This interview has to attract both young and old audiences because he is a figure who is sort of in the ‘twilight’ if you will because he is in-between both age ranges / generations. The language of the interview is kept very informal, which is conventional for all music magazines, however NME seems to deviate from music a lot more than other magazines; for example Q magazine highlights all bands when mentioned whereas at least on this page not one other band is mentioned, showing that NME is more obsessed with celebrity and almost ‘gossip’ than magazines like Q. However, this could be put down to it being aimed at a younger audience whom want to know more about their idols personally, strengths, weaknesses and opinions. The main image portrays Liam in a classic pose, fairly leery or at least imposing with classic hands in pockets and leaning forwards.  The clothes are over the top, but this is to show and emphasize his own clothing brand and because he has always been quite a controversial dresser.

Audience:  I think that this piece is aimed at both the weekly NME readers who read for other features and also at Oasis/Beady Eye fans because NME’s typical readership are young people aged around 16 -25 however a lot of Oasis fans are older than this, therefore Liam’s interview being so big means that it could probably have been used in order to pull in other readers more interested in him than the rest of the magazine. Because of this, NME has to fine tune a balance which caters for both types of readers. They have done this by using a formal styles coupled with simplistic and minimalist styles for younger readers as to appeal to the too.

Representation: The pages represent Liam and the magazine similarly, in a very informal, yet matured and refined style. It does this to Liam because of the topics chosen and the photos which are used for him, and it does this for the magazine by using serif typestyles which even when work emboldened very well and look very refined. The white pages works very well because they are quite formal yet look clean and fresh, which is how they are trying to portray a renewed Liam Gallagher and his band.

Target Audience: Music Magazine

Target Audience: Music Magazine on Prezi

Genre of Magazine:

Music Genre for my Magazine on Prezi

LIIAR: Liam Gallagher NME contents page

Language: The contents page of NME is conventional for music magazine because it uses a lot of images in a spread out way which makes it very accessible because it is so open and more inter active. It does however have a small list which shows the main, regular features of the magazine, this is conventional because all music magazines have a list containing the main features of the magazine. Quotes from artists interviewed are anchored just below the image, these are generally the most rude or controversial comment for the article, because it is still aimed at young people. Also because it is a music magazine these parts of interviews help us to see another side of those who are being interviewed, rather than being on the pedestals we place them on. It is in a simple black and white colour scheme to keep it simple and easily read because it does not need a lot of colour or excitement, this would detract from the articles stated. Although it is still a mixture, NME now uses more Serif fonts than it used to, which is because it has started to look more refined because now it has the age to support the legendary status of the magazine. This is becoming quite the trend for music magazine, Q although always being refined, has become a lot smarter and more professionally designed than it used to be. On the bottom right NME utilises the space to put in an advert for subscription over Christmas, this will be conventional in most magazines at this time of year (November) as they want to use any free space in order to plug their own product so that they do have a definite readership for the coming year.

Institution: IPC media is the publishing house which produces NME and rather than having it all published by the same people all their magazines are ran separately in separate offices so therefore this magazine will not look the same as UNCUT for example ( another IPC product).

Ideology: The ideology on the cover is continued on the contents page, the more famous on the page (Liam Gallagher and Tom Meighan) are placed at the top of the page and centrally in order to be seen and read, the lesser articles are spread around them. This placement shows how the magazine focuses on the more famous musicians but uses them in order to introduce other artists, because you would not buy the magazine if there was no one you knew in it. However it does keep a lot of unheard of acts in the contents as these are all featured musicians with article about them or interviews with them.  The layout makes it look more formal and well designed by being quite simplistic and spacious, whilst the pictures keep it easy to read and not overbearing, just as a contents should be.

Audience: NME is aimed at 16 – 19 year old men who have a keen interest in music. This contents represents this because it uses acts who are either not much older than their target audience (20’s ) so therefore more of the targeted audience are likely to buy it because they see people alike to themselves.

Representation:  NME as of late has started to represent itself in a much more formal, professional way which is reflected here by the serif fonts and minimalistic spacious designs. However it does keep its youth appeal by still using bold sans serif fonts so that it does not look ‘boring’ like it may if the font/ design looked too old.

LIIAR: Liam Gallagher NME Cover

Language: in NME’s splash you can see one large masthead stating NME in red which is conventional for NME because it has always been there since the start of the magazine and is never changed in place. The skyline tells us about Kasabian and a quote from them “HYDE PARK IS CALLING” this shows how the magazine is interested in this, and that this is one of the main topics that the magazine will be talking about. The date is located with the price in small just below the masthead, this is there because it is more of a referential place to have it and because this way it is more likely to be noticed. It does however have the date and price anchored to the barcode also but this is less obvious because it blend in with the rest of the writing on the barcode, (other prices and the website). The barcode is here in order for it to not encroach onto the main image and stay more out of the way because otherwise it may make the magazine tacky and unprofessional. Both the left and right third of the magazine are filled with cover lines about the bands/artists involved in the magazine. Anchored onto the main image is a large quote from Liam Gallagher, which is supposed to make you want to the magazine because of who he is and who he is talking about the colour scheme works well because it has always been used on NME magazine, but only recently exclusively. The red works well on all the largest lettering because it is the largest and brightest colour on the magazine.

Institution: IPC Media creates NME and a lot like Bauer Media (Q magazine) it has magazines which are specifically targeted at certain audiences for example Rugby World.

Ideology: NME’s ethos is to create a publication which focuses more on the music of the times , Live and CD review wise rather than just focusing on one certain aspect of music. It may regularly be disloyal to bands it used to like because it simply wants to be bought because of who is in it at the time. It helps that NME sells itself as part newspaper and part magazine because it is weekly and its short therefore more brief and concise than a longer monthly magazine which would be harder and more expensive to read.

Audience: NME is aimed at young people aged 16 – 19 or slightly older and as a majority is read by men, music magazine tend to be more aimed at men because there seem to be more music writers who are male not female. Also it holds more laddish bands as good and will not feature people like JLS or Justin Bieber because they are usually only liked by girls.  

Representation: NME represents itself quite formally and professionally, like a paper, because this makes it look a lot more refined and substantial than it is. The black and white image of Liam Gallagher helps to create this effect because of its aged look, and how respectful it looks. This represents NME well because it isn’t a cheap picture of a band no one has heard of, showing  that NME has grown up a lot so now even weekly can afford to get big names upon its pages.

LIIAR: Liam Gallagher Q Magazine Double Page Spread

Language:  In relation to the cover article each interview has a small masthead in the skyline which states “Music That Changed My Life” then a larger title for the piece, which in this case is the band ELBOW. It splits the interview up into columns in order to keep it from becoming too all ensuing and takes up the entire page with just words, which makes it more difficult and too big to read; this makes it feel more colloquial and like a brief chat. When a member of a band talks it is written in red and scripted in order to make it easier to imagine the whole conversation as you read about it. The band names in the interview have been highlighted to emphasize the importance of music in the magazine but also to make sure that the original subject of the interview is (music that changed my life) down the centre of the first page there are a few album covers, these are here because when you first look at the interview these draw your eye after the masthead and picture and make the interview feel more interactive and somewhat more referential because these are more ‘absolute’ facts. The main image shows the whole band in a very relaxed situation rather than if they were posing for an album interview where they may be more serious. This image though, by being very casual makes the interview wholly informal which helps because influences is something that we are all interested in from a band we like which helps if they seem to be talking to us.

Institution: this represents Bauer media well because it has kept in form with the rest of the magazine and is a band that are targeted at a certain type of audience, because younger people may find them ‘boring’.

Ideology:  The ethos of Q magazine is continued on these pages, this is shown because of how the magazine highlights all of the mentions of other bands, showing that they are interested in the music still and not just trying to get another interview with the band. The interviews graphics also have to be kept formal, as they have been, in order to keep with the convention of Q’s style and appearance.

Audience: The piece is aimed at men aged 20 – 30+ but because the music of Elbow does not straight away appeal to ‘lad’ lads the interview has to show a different side to elbow, a more chatty and ordinary side than they would have already seen. We can see it is aimed at readers interested in music because it has highlighted the key influences of the band, showing more than just another phatic interview.

Representation:  Elbow are a very mature band so therefore the piece has to represent this, it does this by a greyscale picture which gives them a look of more age/experience and helps to make them look more respected and refined. This in turn represents the magazine well because they look relaxed and yet smart, like the magazine tries to pass itself off as.

LIIAR: Liam Gallagher Q Magazine Contents Page

Language: Q magazine, rather than having the conventionally 1 page listed contents spreads its contents across two pages in order to create more of a visual appeal.  In the centre of the page most of the images are located, this is so that all of the written parts can be spread around this so that then when a reader is flicking through they will seer the edges of the contents page, making accessible while keeping a good graphic appeal throughout the magazine. It still has the month that the magazine is issued in the bottom right along with the Q logo and websites, the Q magazine website and a way to subscribe to the magazine. It uses red & white as a main colour scheme with black writing, this is consistent with the logo and the rest of the magazine.

Institution: Bauer media, whilst designing the magazine will always try to create a good, refined fel to it which helps to sell the magazine to older generations as it is formal in design and writing.

Ideology:  Q magazine’s contents wants to create  a contents which keeps with how the front cover appears, therefore here we have a lot of big stars or at least well renowned musicians, for example Bowie, Coldplay and Beyonce, showing that this magazine has only the best/best known artists, not just anyone. The spacious design of the contents helps to keep the magazine keep with its want to look refined and formal rather than just being a loose and unprofessional publication.

Audience: The contents is constructed in order to entice new readers rather than reinforce the old readers because they will know at least roughly where parts of the magazine are, so therefore won’t need this to tell them where to look for different parts of the magazine.

Representation: The contents continues the good representations which the cover started by looking formal and refined, this represtents the magazine well because it suites the vocabulary and grammatical choices displayed in the magazine and also the views because it uses prolific artists, unlike NME who, chances are, you won’t recognise them every week.

LIIAR: Liam Gallagher Q Magazine Front Cover

            Language: Q uses a large square masthead which is recognised by everyone because it is such a prolific magazine and well reputed. It is located at the top left so that it coincides with the left third and also so that it can be seen from the top this is conventional to magazines because this is the part of the magazine which will be seen most, and consumers will always look here for the masthead. This magazine is slightly unconventional because it is a 25^th Anniversary Collector’s Editions, which is displayed on the skyline which can also be seen when the magazine is sticking out of a rack. This is especially attractive because it is a collector’s edition magazine so therefore people are more likely to buy it because of this. The right third of the magazine is a list of artists who are covered in the magazine with the title cover line “THE MUSIC THAT CHANGED MY LIFE” and the list contains musicians that most people have heard of and know, therefore may buy the magazine. On the left third it simply says “#03 OF 25 COVERS TO COLLECT” to try and make absolute collectors collect other issues which just have different covers. The main image is of Liam Gallagher, someone who is easily recognised by everyone especially by people who are likely to pick up and read Q. His name is anchored on the lower part of the page in a font which is handwritten, so therefore gives it more of a personal feel and connotes that the artist wants to tell the reader about it. The barcode is located with the price and date as they will conventionally be located together rather being in completely different places. At the bottom there is another cover line: “PLUS! 145 ALBUMS TO DISCOVER” is also there so that regular readers are shown that regular articles are have not been removed and also so that there are other things in the magazine rather than just interviews with the ‘big stars’.

Institution: Bauer Media publishes Q, and an assortment of other magazines. Each of these magazines are aimed at an individual and specific target audience rather than trying to reach the whole of the market within their one magazine. Q is aimed at men around 20 – 30+ or older because it presents itself as more formal and refined than other music magazines.  

Ideology: The ideology of the magazine is to be a ‘Q’uality music magazine which provides a more refined version of a music magazine than NME or Kerrang! would, with a larger span of genres than these magazines.

Audience: this cover is aimed at people whom know music well and know the key ‘players’ in it. So therefore they will use big name stars like Liam Gallagher in order to attract readers because these are people that everyone knows whereas NME may use more obscure artists because readers rely on it for new music rather than those who are already famous. Q is aimed more at men than women, and its readership will be older than NME, so they will by 20 - 30+ years old because it is more refined than a lot of other magazines.

Representation: Q magazine represents itself through looking smart and refined, without cluttering the cover with cover lines and a series of anchored images which relate to these. It is a very formal cover with formal features, for example the large Q is in a serif font, therefore making it more formal and smart. Also there is the gold lined border which can be seen lining around the page which again helps to make it look smarter and more refined rather than an unprofessional magazine which is cluttered and badly designed.

LIIAR: The Libertines NME Cover

 Language: The whole of this magazine cover is plastered with different types of media language and terminology, meaning every weekly cover of this magazine has been planned thoroughly, which is why is is one of the most popular magazines around. For example, the skyline is filled with cover line which are placed there in order for the consumer to see them and to realise what is in it, then hopefully buy the magazine. These coverlines also contain tellers, which all state who is in the issue and who is included in this image. These help to sell the issue because if someone recognises a musician they may buy it for those artists. Teller's are used here so that people read how indepth the interview is, and how interesting these interviews will be. The masthead is especially bold because this is the main selling point of this magazine, as a widely reputed magazine like this everyone knows it by name, and generally people will buy it weekly rather than every so often when someone they like is in the magazine. Flashes are being used for the Reading & Leeds logo's, this has to be like this because then you know it is the definitive Reading & Leeds issue rather than a cheap sell from a somewhat 'dodgy' magazine. The main image overlaps onto the skline, this makes the image sit a lot better, and makes the magzine more naturally created. This graphology means that it keeps the cover very centerally focused on the band, making it a bolder cover, which in turn does represent The Libertines. They have been used because they are a well reputed band, especially with NME readers and the 'indie' scene. Most of the font is in Sans Serif, this is to make it a lot bolder, also this relates to the masthead, which in turn is bold and big, meaning that font is consistenty used. "The first interview in five years" has Serifs, which I think make it much more personal to the reader, especially if it is a band that they cherish. The have been dressed like this in order to create a very sheepish, yet rebellious look which represents their style in music and also their fashion senses. Pete and Carl (center) have been placed there because they are the core of the band and also the ones which are (especially Pete) in the press regularly. The bottom of tthe page is full of more cover lines to try and snare readers more because of extra content and more bands they like. The barcode is with the date and price so they are all easily located and so that the consumer can find them easily if they need to see them.

Institution- This piece of Media is created by New Musical Express, which in turn was a company created by the Ignite network. This institution also creates Uncut & Nuts which are all also more aimed at men than at women. NME has been a long standing magzine, so therefore wants to represent the repute it has acheived over the year by making a smart, professional magazine which isn't plastered with coverlines and tellers as much as, for example a gossip magazine may be because it relies upon and also values its readers more and relise they arer likely to buy it regardless, more like a newspaper than a more conventional  magazine.

Idealogy- This cover and the magazines in general always appeal to the reader by being on the readers level or side. For example in a gossip magazine the reader is the inferior because they are only reading the magazine to find out about other people, who are most probably better than them in the view of the magazine, so therefore the reader is reading simply for the stories of the superiorm, however they are not on the magazines level because they do not know the subject of the article. Also in another example: GQ may be percieved to look down upon its readers as its a very formal magazine which again like NME relies more on monthly devotees as it is a magazine you have to grasp rather than one to flick through. However by being so formal you could argue that they may be deemed that they are too uptight and may look down on readers as inferiors. NME however is written in a style such as that it becomes a very personal read which results in more dedicated followers, also through it keeps its ability to be picked up and read too by being so short, so therefore will cater for both consumer types as a choice between a light read and a very indepth musical look into it.. This is shown on this cover by the mixture of both Sans Serif and Serif fonts meaning that it has the boldness that appeals to one time readers combined because of the bright colour scheme and large lettering which attracts attention, however the Serif texts adds a personality and individuality to the cover, meaning it is still highly regarded by its readers.

Audience- NME is generally aimed at the most new and pop sort of social grouping, which means it has a large fanbase, it may however carry them through into older age but it is more likely to fall out of favour as it flits between liking and not liking certain bands/artists. This cover inparticular however is aimed at indie Britain, which is generally linked to The Libertines who were first regarded as some of the first starteds of the rock subgenre of this genre. therefore meaning that anyone who regards rock/indie/punk as average or better is already interested in this cover because of them being on it. Also the multitude of other bands mentioned around the coverlines of the magazine also help to tell the reader to buy it because of who it contains. Also the flash containg the Reading & Leeds logos attracts anyone who may have tickets for the festival because they will surely want to know who will be playing and aqlso anyone who is interested in this festival will also buy it to have all the latest 'gossip'. then of courzse there will be the usual readers who will be it every week or every other week, most probably predominantly male because the indie/rock scene is mainly male bands.

Representation- NME readers generally like The Libertines, as most rock magazine readers like bands with 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll' because they are deemed to have swagger and an element of respect is born out of that. NME present The Liberitnes as a very good band on the cover, rather than the shambles of druggies that newspapers usually present them as (especially Pete) because if they weren't to present in a good light then NME would loose a lot of readers as then the institution would be deemed as 'goody two shoes' and not on the same level as the reader or on the side of the reader so to speak.

LIIAR

Language - What does each of your products need to contain:
- Masthead
- The main image
-Bright colour scheme with clear house-style of two or three main colours.
- Thumbnail images that illustrate other articles
- Anchorage
- Price & barcode
- Teasing contents along the bottom
- Competitions and free gifts
- Main article / feature advertised must relate to the the main image.
I -  magazine for an existing publisher, whose other publications have something in common with yours / are totally different to yours (gap in the market)
I - What message / moral / values do you intend your magazine to convey about your chosen College and your target audience?
A - Briefly outline the target audience (you can develop it later when you've made more decisions)
R - How do you intend your target audience / College / and the students of that College to be represented? i.e. positively / negatively / accurately / stereotypically / unconventionally

Conventions Of A Magazine

The first thing which the customer notices is of course the masthead; located on the top left of the page. This tells us what magazine it is, and perhaps due to the font and style what the magazine is about. Most magazines however we would know anyway. Mastheads generally tend to be bold,  big letters which stand out on the magazine rack.

Next, you look down across the left third which contains the contents of the magazine, trying to sell it to the consumer. Conventionally this will have an transparent background so you can see the rest of the main image behind it. This is located here because when on the magazine rack the left third will generally be left showing, meaning some people may see an article they like so therefore buy the magazine.

Cover Lines also attract the reader, they can be located mostly anywhere on the front cover, however they will most probably link with the main image and be under, or around it. Cover lines may just be a quote from an interview but they make you want to read that feature in full because of the quote.

Sell lines are something which magazines will always use, as their slogans will be put on every magazine, located below the masthead for example NME's would be 'New Music Express' this tells the reader what the magazine is about and what it should be bought for.

The splash is the full image in full, with everything included in the image. Barcodes are read electronically  and must be on the cover because they contain the price for when you are buying it, also on magazines; unlike papers they are located on the front because the back page is ussually a full page advert. Dateline's must be included to show what day it went out, an d so that consumers make sure they haven't bought the same one twice. Also this means the shop will know when it should no longer be stocked.

The credit shows who wrote the included article so that they have been credited for the work that they have produced. Skyline's are located above the masthead and will tell you the features of the magazine, they are located there so that if the magazine is sticking out you can see this series of words so therefore want to read it.

Graphology is the way that the page is laid out and structured and how it comes together, for emample if the writings centeral, tilted, sidelined or any other structural choices. Colour schemes set the mood for the magazine, and also define its audience, for example if you have brighter colours it may be associated with a younger audience or perhaps gossip magazines, whereas more subdued darked colours mean that its more adult and mature. Also the vocabulary of the magazine will tell you the audience it is aimed at, for example a gossip magazine will have simpler language included than National Geographic etc.

The main image is what will become the background, and may have other images spread around it. These images are meant to show what is in the magazine and make people want to buy it because of this main image. These will generally show the main feature of the magazine.

Screamers are writing which comes out at you and attracts your attention straight away, meaning you see it and want to know more. Flash is effects that are used on the cover, of if adverts are in the cover in a star or another shape.The teller tells us, as the aduience what is in it and may give is a quote or a feature in the magazine. A kicker may be anywhere on the page and will tell you a page number, in order to 'kick' you on. This is in a smaller font and will be a short anecdote on the magazine. Anchorage is how the images is attached to the wording around it and how they are placed together.

The Brief

Main Task: Using DTP and an image manipulation produce the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you – minimum of four images.  

Evaluation of College Magazine

Evaluation of College Magazine Cover

Language:

            I think that my magazine challenges most college magazines conventions because they mainly include the college title in their masthead, putting students off because they may deem it too ‘swotty’ whereas I think that my magazine means it is more for students and not a representative of the college, a representative of them. Constructing this media product has taught me a lot more about how Photoshop works, especially with typography, how to blog efficiently and about online software’s like Prezi or GoAnimate which make the blog and all course work a lot more interactive and also easier to process. This also links to my magazine because it showed me how important the backup website is for a ‘community’ element to the magazine and also to make it more interactive.

            I think that the anchorage of the magazine works well because the ‘THE’ in the top left corner draws your eye to read across the whole skyline and also down onto the masthead, meaning that ‘THE’ connotes two meanings (The College Journal & the place to be for: Cinema, Fashion, Music, Students.) then the slant provided by the date and price leads you across them, after that they drift towards the main image, then down the cover lines. This works well because it means the magazine isn’t cramped and doesn’t have too much information for you to process at once like a lot of magazines. By making the ‘COLLEGE’ part into a banner head I think it looks more professional and attracts your attention a lot more than if it wasn’t this big.

            The image works well because it is casual as the attire is laid back, meaning it keeps the image friendly and not overwhelming while it doesn’t look out of place. The trees and vegetation in the background, I think, helps to make the college like a much fresher place and very vibrant rather than dull and grey buildings. I wanted to capture the ‘Wyke’ part of the handbook in order to instil a sense of pride in the college on the image without actually using one of the college signs, so that it was coming from the students not as something from the college itself.

            While arranging the layout, I wanted to make sure that I had a left third and a right third (not full however) which were both at least used. The left third is used for cover lines as this may be sticking out when in a rack of magazines, therefore drawing attention to it and straight away telling consumers what is in it. I used the right third for factual information (date, price, barcode) as this may also be standing out so may tempt people by a good, worthy price however the right third does not encroach over the main image and clutter the magazine by doing so, which I think would make it look cheap and tacky. I made sure that I used a skyline so that this also conveys information to a consumer if showing, and have used only four words because these are probably suited best to the target audience.

INSTITUTION:

            My media product would be distributed by the college and at the college because it is for the students. It would be ran by students however separately without an overbearing input from the college in order to maintain its independence, which would represent the target audience more than if the college wrote it, which would be aiming more to advertise the college to others who saw the magazine and not give the college a more ‘community’ magazine. I have seen this done through most of my market research which means that the magazine isn’t really exclusive or as appealing to the students of the college when this happens.

            This is shown by the cover lines because it never slates the college, and the image does not portray a dismal, unhappy college but a sunny, bright college denotation which can be connoted to mean an opportunistic college with future and ‘Bright Horizons’

IDEALOGY:

            The ideology for my magazine is to create a magazine that is ran by students, read by students and also revered by students, creating a community sense with it and making it read by everyone in the college as more of a ‘local’ newspaper telling them about what’s going on. This sense of community will be broadened by the interactive discussions on the website so that everyone who buys the magazine, hopefully the whole college, will be involved in their college.

            This is represented on the cover by the use of students and also by the inclusion of more social events like music reviews and film reviews, and also by the ‘Letters From Students’ cover line being the foremost line therefore this can be connoted as being the most important part to the magazine: the inclusion/interactivity of students.

AUDIENCE:

            The audience for my magazine would be the students at Wyke College, and if it developed into a franchise could expand to other colleges or be a template for other college magazines. It would be aimed at people aged 16 -19 and male and female students equally so that it applies to everyone. It would not only tell them about the college but also be a social reference for fashion, music and television/film or general everyday talking points to students of this age. By doing this it means that it would be more likely for them to regard it as ‘their own’ magazine and give it a sense of community.

            To do this on the cover I have included a student dressed casually as they may be on any day, therefore making it accessible to students because to appoint it adheres to their stereotype. Also I used a compressed font in order to create an impression of a smart sleekness which is fresh and also represents the college. I have used yellow and blue for the masthead as they are friendly colours which appeal and attract readers, and they also complement each other very well.

REPRESENTATION:

            The magazine will represent the college as a very social place; with fashionable, popular students as this is the description any student would want so therefore students look up to the representation of them. It has to be fresh and classy in order for it to not look tacky and average, as students/consumers don’t want to be taken for fools. Also the magazine has to represent the college in a good light to other people who may come across the magazine so that the college looks like a good learning centre and somewhere people are proud to say they go to.

            To do this I have made the magazine look professional through the image quality and the writing which is embossed onto the page giving it more depth and a refined quality about it. The use of the thirds and the skyline in the layout helps because it has reason to be there and is not just spontaneously scattered around or across the page making it look cheap and unprofessional.