Magazine Statistics

Classic Rock (67,399)
Kerrang! (76,937)
Metal Hammer (45,809)
Mixmag (35,817)
Mojo (106,218 )
NME (64,033)
Q (131,330)
Rock Sound (23,021)
Terrorizer (14,952)
The Fly  (103,051)
Uncut (91,028 )
Word (33,217)

These are the statistic I found of magazine consumption in one year.

It is clear to see on these results that Q magazine is a very high selling magazine. It is also clear to see that Terrorizer magazine has the lowest consumption figures in one year.

I believe this magazine has the lowest figures for magazine consumption because it only caters for heavy rock music and not all types of music. It also only advertise pacific type of bands, for example rock, punk bands.  However the front cover is good because to gives the readers (target audience) a CD of the latest band and also advertises one band which they think the readers will want to hear about. However this is just the latest issue and it does not do this in every issue. 

Results of Questionnaire

The results I found were interesting.
I found out that 50% of 40 people buy a magazine once a month.
I found out that 75% of 40 people don't always buy a magazine but they buy the same type.
I found that the most popular types of magazine is fashion and music.
The reasons for this are because:
>People like the gossip
>People like the free stuff
>People like the problem pages
>People like interviews but only with well known bands.

Because of these results I will include problem pages, interviews and gossip about celebrities. I would make my magazine run once a month therefore it can be exclusive and a thicker magazine, as we have more time to write articles.

Contents Pages

I don't like this contents page as i think it is too simple and looks cheap. It is clearly a set up picture instead of an action shot. There is only one picture to represent lots of pages. However it is good to find the right page if you are looking for something in particular. I like the two different colors as they are not over powering and are subtle. 

I like this style contents page as it looks professional and has lot of color. I like the idea of putting the page number on the picture instead of guessing which article is which picture. It is not over powering. It is simple but very effective. 

Practise Magazine Front cover

This is my practise magazine front cover. I have tried to emulate the one on the right hand side and I created the one on the left hand side. 

The last two weeks I have been working on trying to emulate the magazine front cover on the right hand side. I took a picture of a friend in my class and down loaded it on to photo shop. I learned how to use different effects which took me a long time. If I had more time I would spend more time on the actual picture by touching it up. I would also spend more time on the title of the magazine as I believe it doesn't stand out as much as the title on the right hand side.

I found out that it is easier to edit a picture if it has a plain background. Therefore for my actual photo shoot I will shoot it in a studio with a one color background.  I also think it looks more professional and stands out more if it is in black and white therefore I think I will use a plain white back drop as it will make the picture stand out. I will use three letters as my magazine title as I think this worked really well and is easy for readers to recognise. I like it how the magazine front cover on the right hand side has stuck to two colors, and I think I will also use this. For my actual photo shoot I will use better lighting to catch the shapes of the persons face. 

Questionnaire

I organised a questionnaire for 40 people. I passed them around and received all of them back. 

These are the questions I asked:

How often do you buy magazines?

3-4 a week

1- 2 a fortnight

once a month

3-4 a year

Do you always buy the same magazine?

yes always

different each time

not always the same but the same type

What type of magazine do you read?

Fashion

Music

Celebrity

other

Why do you like it?

..................................... 

Differences between Front Covers

I love the front cover on the right hand side as it is colorful without being to full on and it has some class about it. It really highlights the blond hair how it is half covering the magazines name and how it is alumnus yellow.  The writing also stands out as it is on a white background and in in pink as well as in bubble writing. The magazine front cover on the left hand side is cartoon and makes the magazine seem like it is for a younger age then intended. There is so much going on that the reader doesn't know where to look first as it is too complicated. Overall i prefer the magazine front cover in the right hand side as i think it is more professional.

The magazine cover on the right hand side is black and white which catches the readers eye and just focuses on one person with her name written across her in gold which is very effective as you look her name straight after the pictures but is in gold so you eyes are not drawn to it first. The magazine on the left hand side is a cartoon which I don't think is very effective. It is colorful which does stand out but doesn't convince the reader to buy it. It advertises a free CD which is good and encourages readers to buy the magazine if they get something free with it. Overall I prefer the front cover on the right hand side because it has a lot more things on the front cover with out being crowded and also has a little bit of color . 

The Magazine Cover on the left hand side is colorful and the picture is very focused on her eyes. The magazine cover on the right hand side is in black and white and focuses more on the surroundings and the guitar rather then the person. It has created the effect of old fashion times when all people sang with was a guitar. The name of the magazine both stands out in the front covers and they both advertise the main person or band the magazine is head lining. Overall I prefer the front cover on the left hand side as I believe it stands out more and the front cover on the right hand side doesn't stand out as much as it is not really black and white, it is faded black and white. It would be a lot more effective if it wasn't faded, and would stand out a lot more.

Magazine Design

I have looked at a lot of front covers and there is certain elements which all magazines have such as bar codes, prices, the date and the name of the magazine. 

However on quite a lot of magazines the front cover also has headlines of either there top story or of many stories inside the magazine. It may also have a advertisement for a competition inside. 

Magazine front covers also usually have a main picture of a popular band or they have many small pictures of celebrates. I will have one main picture that will catch the readers eyes. 

Target Audiences

Magazines often use stereotypes to sell their magazine. They target the typical person not just one individual. They do this to make it a simple process. They target audiences by using pacific adverts. They find there typical person by doing a large survey and finding out what is most common. 

I am creating a rock magazine therefore my target audience is teenagers. I will do this by putting certain adverts into my magazine, for example I will put an advert for a phone. I will write about and shoot pictures of young up to date bands or solo artists that I think teenagers will be interested in. I will put a competition in the magazine with a prize that teenagers actually want to win, for example tickets to a concert. I will target my audience by making the price for the magazine not to expensive so that teenagers can afford it. 

Examples of front cover designs

I searched the internet for front covers i liked and that stood out to me. I commented on what i liked about them and what i didn't like.

I like this front cover as it has many bright colors because is the summer edition. It has many things writing on the front telling the readers what is inside but still makes the reader look directly at the main picture as it is jumping out. I like it how it is only one person as it really focuses the attention on the guitar so the readers know straight away it is a music magazine.

The cover design on the right hand side is very intense. It has been done with good lighting and is just a simple profile picture which is very powerful and effective. You immediately look in to his eyes. I really like how this front cover is black and white it shows his shadows and emotions on his face. 

The front cover on the left really stands out, your eyes are immediately drawn to the bright red lips in the centre of the magazine. Then slowly you realise the eyes in the corner of the picture. Because the picture is separate from the title it makes the reader notice the picture and then the title this is because the title is on a white background and the picture is so colorful. 

Deciding

I decided to design the front cover and a few pages of a magazine insted of creating a small film. I decided on the magazine because I am more interested in the layout and photographs of a magazine. I also looked at a few sample films with the rest of the class.The theme for the magazine is music.
Once I decided I wanted to do the magazine I started to look through the music magazine "Q" , I looked at the layout of different pages and how they presented a double page spread. I like how most of the pictures were in black and white, I thought this was professional and showed the shape for the musicians face through lighting which really stood out.

I also created a calendar to keep track of 

my time