Cover 1

This cover layout idea was one with concepts taken from my analysis on the ‘Rock Sound’ magazine cover. The biggest influence was likely on the cover lines that are the collection of band names + more at the bottom right of the page. This design idea appealed to me because the placement does not obscure the main image too much and it is very easy for readers to locate. Although this itself is not what my questionnaire showed the audience to have in high demand, the fact that this would highlight which bands are featured in this issue appeals to my target audience who in my questionnaire ranked ‘Interviews with bands’ as the most important component of a magazine to them. Unlike in my other cover designs, I did not include a skyline in this design, the reason for this was because although rock conventions typically name bands at the top on the skyline, with bands named near the bottom left, the purpose of the skyline is made redundant; the removal of it also makes the design seem much more spacious and makes the main image have much more presence on the page. I have placed the location for the main cover story quote on the central left hand side of the page, this is where the eyes naturally fall, and I believe that with an interesting quote in addition to its location, it will fulfil its purpose of catching the audience’s eye and giving them a tease of the content. Also as the eyes drift to the left hand side of the page the audience will then make the link between the quote and the cover story title, this will engage the audience and give them a deeper insight and amplify the tease as to what the exclusive feature contains. My target audience is aged between around 15-25 years old and fit the lower Letters of the demographic and so will not have much to spend, this fact likely means a high value would be off-putting and the price is not a positive appeal to the audience unless it’s a bargain. As such the strength in this layout also lies in the fact that the price is very small and located near the barcode, the barcode itself is a symbol of merchandise and by placing the two items so close together the reader will not be surprised if the pricing is not a bargain, because seeing .the barcode has already prepared them. The reason this layout does not have a date is because it is presuming the format of the issue number will include the month and year rather than just the number; this trend is popular in rock genre magazines and makes the magazine cover look a bit more spacious and easier to create.

Cover 2

This second idea is more direct in its appeal than the first, the cover lines and quotes are in the central section of the page, the readers’ natural focus. In order to try and relate the quote more to the main image and main cover line, I have placed the quote directly under the main cover line and in the centre of the main image. Unlike the first idea, this means less attention will be paid to the quote; however it will have more relevance and serve as a more informed teaser at a glance in contrast to the first layout. This layout uses cover lines to advertise its articles, the purpose of this was to create an interest in the subject of the article, however my questionnaire has shown that this had the opposite effect on my target audience. My target audience prefer to know which bands are the centre of the stories rather than what the cause of the stories are. Like in the first layout the price is located in the bottom right, above the bar code, however in this design the date and issue number are located above the masthead. Although this idea has not become successful in the bigger magazines that stick their issue no. and date in with the Barcode box, this could potentially create a unique layout aspect to the magazine that could entice readers. In this layout I have also ensured that the band members in the main image will over-lap the masthead, because although the mast-head is the source of brand-identity, it’s been made clear through my questionnaire that my audience demands focus on the band and I have met this demand like most other magazines have, by putting my members over my mast-head. On the skyline at the top are the other featured bands, this is a convention used by many other magazines such as Kerrang. Other magazines such as rock Sound use it to advertise their freebies or merchandise, however as I already have the left corners for this, the only other option was to put in more features to fill this skyline. This makes the page look cluttered though and the top left cover line in particular will likely cover an important part of the main image.

Cd FreebieIn every one of my designs I took inspiration from the classical music magazines advertisement of their Cd on their cover, my readers would be very passionate and magazine mix or old album, my readers would want to know what’s on their Cd. This interest would be teased on the front cover in an iconic spot among magazine readers that uses the typical layout conventions of other magazines to promote the magazine’s CD. On the Cd title section will also be a sticker in a bright contrasting colour against the rest of the cover. This will bring attention to this section of the cover such as Rock Sound do to advertise their Freebies. It also creates a variety of graphics on the cover making it more appealing by marginally breaking the house style the rest of the page sets.

Layout Analysis

Cover 3

In this Design the biggest change is positioning the masthead over the main image. This instantly makes the masthead the subject of the magazine; a possible reason for doing this is to increase the magazine’s brand identity. Unlike most rock genre magazines the brand name is not printed on the postcode in these designs and so the brand itself will not be very well known. The 2nd big change is that this design includes a “The first interview” sticker (Blue colour not certain, will likely be one more suited to the house style), this increases the sense of exclusivity on the cover page and the buzzword “First” becomes the unique selling point of the feature. I developed this layout after thinking about the focus of the magazine, by using the centre of the magazine to cover solely the main feature; the audience are more likely to find it a rare find. To combat the absence of focus on the remaining articles I used a skyline and added a box at the footer of the page similar to the cover pages of Kerrang! I analysed. The aim of this design is to draw attention to the main story before picking out any band names they will recognize from the list on the skyline and footer. Following the theme of the main image being priority, the main cover line describing it has also been greatly increased in size to accommodate the image. The slogan for the magazine has also been positioned above the masthead in this design; this is so that it stands out and can be read easily. In typical conventions the slogan would likely be covered up quite a bit by the main image, however with so much focus on the main image in this design, I decided that more brand identity was needed and by making the slogan stand out in such a clear part of the page, this could be achieved. The target audience is passionate about their music and so the magazine must match this in order to appeal to them; I have shown the magazines passion through the use of band names listed as features at both the head and foot of the page. By encompassing the page in band names it also creates a strong link between the bands and the magazine. The first step to creating a link between audience and magazine is sharing interests, and by listing many featured bands, the likely-hood of the target audiences’ favoured bands being included increases thus making the magazine more appealing to them.

Interestingly through my questionnaire in the additional section at the end, I was recommended to put the main image in front of the masthead. Reflecting on it, I think this would be the better option now as it would continue the focus on the main image which the layout of this page has so far worked toward.

Web Links

One important aspect of the cover page my questionnaire has shown I've forgotten, is a web or social media link. My target audience are all tech users after all, and likely subscribed online and so a web link should be visible on my contents and cover page.

Regarding location on the cover page, it is a common convention to place it either under the title of the page or on the barcode.