research - title ideas

below are some initial title ideas
1. Hellz Bellz
2. Devil's Downloads
3. Gear
4. Nihilism
5. Black Sacrament

and my font ideas are below

Mood Board

Below is the moodbaord i am going to use to help me design my magazine.

magazine treatment

My magazine will target audiences between 16 and 21. The audience is a niche audience because of the specialism and the small fanbase associated with Heavy Metal. The magazine will be laid out with an equal mix of text and pictures. The themes are associated with the featured bands inside and will therefore use logos and pictures of the bands. Typical features will be the band interviews, music reviews, latest releases and an audience comments page. Potential advertisers include EMP Online – a heavy metal merchandise website, Grindstore – a band merchandise website and upcoming bands who need publicity. The editorial team will be made up of heavy metal enthusiasts and experienced writers so that it is understandable and appeals to the target audience. 

Music magazine ideas

I have 3 ideas about the magazine i want to make for my main task. They are as followed; a heavy metal genre magazine, a specialist guitar magazine, and a rock magazine. The first 2 apply to niche audiences while the rock magazine applies to a more mainstream audience. The 3 music magazines have influenced my ideas through the use of color, cover lines, puffs and their appeal to me.

Research and planning - Metal Hammer

The front page of Metal Hammer shows the main focus of the magazine ‘breaking’ through the front cover. It is devoid of cover lines on the central image and only features some band names at the top of the page. This shows the magazine has a large enough fanbase to not need coverlines to draw in it’s audience, the masthead and front image alone does that. The masthead font and the central image both show rebellion because the masthead appears to have bullet holes and breaks running through the text and the central image depicts the main focus breaking through something. This connotes that the audience are also rebellious and are a niche group. The colour scheme is dark, blacks and reds with very little white, which shows that it isn’t a cheery magazine and doesn’t rely on colour to draw in customers. This means that it’s fanbase only increases through it’s audience talking about it and using the internet to advertise itself.

The contents page of Metal Hammer is quite disorganised. There are pictures placed randomly around a block of text that acts as page markers. The page titles are in a different font to the description, which allows the reader to easily find the article they’re looking for. The disorganised layout shows that readers don’t particularly care about layout or prefer the rebellious nature of the magazine’s front cover to be shown throughout the magazine. The colour scheme of the contents page differs to front page because there is more white than black and red. This shows the text easier. 

Research and planning - Q magazine analysis

The front cover of Q features the focus of their main article in a dress and looking directly at the reader. It is a medium shot so you can see her body language. The colours are soft but eye catching(whites and pinks) with some bolder colours on certain articles to pull in potential readers. This connotes that the readers aren’t rebellious teenagers and are probably more approachable than readers of Kerrang!. The coverlines suggest that the articles range from Indie music to Pop, showing that the magazine caters for a variety of genres. 

The double page spread instantly draws your eyes through the use of the close up on the woman. Her face Is calm and dark, connoting that the article is probably about something serious and is probably personal. The text is basic, small font and black on a white background. The lack of extravagance in the article supports the connotations that it is serious. This is different to the front cover which was very bright and eye-catching. This shows that Q covers all aspects of a singer in an interveiw.

Research and planning - Kerrang front page, contents page and double page spread

The masthead is large and black so it stands out. The font is scratched and looks rebellious, hinting towards the nature of the target audience. It connotes that the magazine is for younger audience who aren’t mainstream-shown by the messy layout of the magazine and the masthead.

The center image is of the main article and the main caption is in bold white letters, connoting that the article may be relating directly to the future of the band. This will draw in fans of the band that may not necessarily be fans of the magazine.

The puffs are also used to draw people in; they give the buyer the chance to display their favorite band anywhere they like. The cover lines display direct links to articles inside the magazine and are used in conjunction with pictures to add more reason for fans to buy the magazine. The colors and the masthead are instantly recognizable to readers and don’t vary much from issue to issue.

This is the contents page from Kerrang. It shows more articles and pictures relating to them so it draws the reader’s eyes to their favorite band.  The largest picture is the main article. Down the side of the pictures are cover lines for other articles. The color scheme is basic black and white with some yellow used on a black square to make it stand out, this seems to be used for article group titles and numbers mostly though. There is also an editor’s note, and an advertisement for a subscription to the magazine.

The double page spread shows a large picture of the celebrity it covers. It is colorful, the colors being red black and white. This draws your attention to the title and in conjunction with the large picture it gives the reader a quick idea of what the article is about. The interview is coloured so that the questions can be easily noticed in the text. The picture is a medium shot, letting you see the man’s body language while also allowing you to view his facial expression.  The mode of address is informal, relating to the niche target audience.