Front cover research 6- Rolling Stone

Consolidating my ideas research: contents page

I would like to use an interesting layout for my contents page, for example, a large photo in the middle, and text wrap on it, to make it more interesting. What I would like to have in my magazine is strong synergy in between my front cover,contents, so that the reader would still be aware as to what magazine he is reading.

I should make it clear as to what genre my music magazine is even on the contents page, so it would be clear to the reader without doubt that this is the genre that they will be reading about.

I know I would like more than photo on my contents page, so it would be more intriguing than just one simple photo.

I would also like to have a colour scheme to my contents page, an editor's note and little details as such in order to have that professional finish in the end.
The style of my photos should be retro, some in black and white and some rather bright in contrast. I would like some of them to be naturalistic and not making eye contact with the photo, I would also like some to break some conventions but not too much.
I would like to have different styled fonts, with different kerning, size, style of font and colour in order to split the information clearly ,and the page numbers to either be on the photos or the side of the text.

Consolidating my ideas research: front cover

These are the things I have liked/disliked from all of the front covers that I have researched:

I would like to have cover stories, leads and puffs etc... to make my front cover more interesting, as it would be more aesthetic, bright and attractive to a viewer of my age. Having intriguing leads would ensure that the reader would want to purchase my magazine. I would like my front cover to be colourful as it would be conventional of vintage magazines to be bright and vibrant.

Since I know how important the colour scheme is depending on the genre of the music magazine that you want to create, I will ensure mine will be bright and joyful. Not only are details such as those are important, but also links to social media are essential as they are one of the key things to attracting a young teenage audience.

I also know how important leads and puffs are, and where the should be placed for a good effect, and I will apply this knowledge to place my puffs accordingly on my front cover.

I now know how to make effective cover stories , so that they would intrigue a reader to pick up the magazine, and I hope to use this on my own magazine. I will also add effective secondary leads, as it will help me create a high quality front cover.

In order to have a vintage masthead, you mustn't make it 3D, however, I would like mine to be 3D therefore I will pick a font that has a gentle hint of 3D.

The main picture does not always have to be at the centre, but I would like mine to be as close to the centre as possible. I will possibly include a sharp looking pug to grab the attention to the reader.

I know the importance of picking a good layout and whitespace , and so I will spend some time trying to find the perfect one for my own magazine.

Front cover research 5: Q

I will be looking at this Q front cover for inspiration for my own work, in hopes to make my layout appear professional. Not only is that the reason I will be analysing Q, but also because Bauer releases this magazine, and that is one of the constitutions that I am interested in to 'selling' my magazine for.

What I really like about it is the colour scheme, and how the cover stories are placed around the central image.
What I find odd is that the whitespace is so plain, however it is effective and actually looks good, having a busier whitespace would drag the attention away from the central image, the cover stories and possibly the main headline.







The masthead

The iconic Q is in the red box-out as always, with it's housestyle white serif letter, which is placed at the top right hand corner as usual.
However, what is unusual is that there is a little slogan just above the name, in the boxout. Q does that at times, but not usually, this break it's own housestyle and convention, which I find rather odd.
What is also odd about the use of the masthead overall is that in some issues, the masthead is brought to the foreground and hides parts of the central image, depending on size. However, on the equal amount of time it is brought back and parts of the central image go on the foreground of the box-out, just like in this instance, that the model's hair and slight part of head is seen in front of the masthead.


The Image

What I like about the central image is that it's placement is not exactly central, as it is carefully composed alongside the actual cover stories. I also like the pose of The Smiths, however, their facial expressions look awkward and forced, which I find rather unattractive in a photo.
I also really like how the colour scheme of pink is accompanied by the strong black and white effect placed on the photo.








The Cover Stories




The main cover story is large, and bright because of the fiery pink, and small kerning ,sans serif font.
I love the size of the name of the band and the fact that such a colour is used as it is considered not masculine, it is very unconventional for a male band to be accompanied by such a colour.
What I also really like about  this cover story is that there is a pull quote from possibly a review that states how they feel about the band. I will consider using something like this for my own magazine, as I feel it is very effective.
What I also really like is that 'The' is in a little box out, and even though it is plain black, it still manages to stand out just as well as the magnificent pink. The underlined text is in bold, and the words themselves intrigue me as a reader because of how dramatic they sound, and therefore act as a lead.

I really like the location of this cover story, and I will try to locate one of mine in a more distinct location on my front cover as well.

outfit ideas for a future photoshoot

DPS research 4: MOJO

How this research influenced my planning and creativity:

• I now know I will use page furniture in order to make my DPS more interesting
• I will use an effective colour scheme such as this one
• I will consider taking a similar style photo for my DPS with my star.

Research: Q&A style articles (FLEA)

I have analysed a Q&A to learn how to form such style interviews and how to make them interesting to read, and I hope this will help me with writing in the future.




My favourite part of this article is this beautiful photo and how it is the centre of the article. It is a full body image and I really like how text wrap is used around the photo, and it is the main thing of the article- the artist that the article is about.