First Digital Mock-up

Today, I finished my first digital mock-up. It is of my front cover, and uses all, if not most of the conventions of a classical music magazine. I have used another classical music magazine as inspiration for my magazine. Here is the inspiration for my magazine cover digital draft

In my digital draft of my cover, I have used a photo of a classical artist as oppose to the photos I will be taking as I have not yet finished editing them. Once I have finished my photo shoot and the photos are finished editing. This is my digital draft of the magazine cover, inspired by the one above. It also uses my hand-drawn draughts as a basis for the organisation of the sell lines, main headline, cover model, free CD, date/price/issue, masthead and bar code.

The free CD offer was later made bigger to further increase it's effectiveness as a free offer/advertisement. this makes the offer more appealing to customers and make it more eye catching, as offers tend to draw more attention to magazines, therefore the magazine is more appealing to it's audience.

Title and Masthead

For my front cover, I will need a masthead. I will also need to decide on my final title, the font and the colour, as I've had a few ideas regarding them. Initially, I was going to use the name 'The Bandstand' for my magazine, as it is relevant to the genre and is musical terminology, but still common knowledge as to not alienate readers who don't play the instruments or in bands. However, I decided that this was unnecessary, and that 'Bandstand', without the 'The', was much more catchy and took up slightly less space on the magazine cover. My first idea of the Masthead was to have it black, so that it would stand out from the background which would likely be a light cream, gold or brown.

However, once I began my digital mock-up of the magazine cover, I quickly discovered that the black just didn't stand out as much as I'd hoped. This led me to change the main colour of the Masthead to cream. This didn't stand out too well either, so I used a copy of the original to be a shadow on the back of the cream. This made the Masthead stand out against the background, but still fit in with the magazine.

Hand Drawn Drafts

I have done some hand drawn drafts for my magazine cover. This depicts the layout of the magazine, as well as the position of the cover model.

From this design, the institution logo was removed, the free CD was moved, and the "Sweet Music" Main Headline was moved to the right side from the left. The name was also shortened, from "The Bandstand" to "Bandstand". The cover model's posture was also changed, this time holding a Trumpet as a prop on the image.

From the 2nd design, more changes have occurred. The institution logo has been put back, as it is conventional of the magazines I have looked at. the free CD has been moved to a more conventional place, as well as freeing up more room for the main headline, which is now on the left. The sell lines were shifted to fit with the new design while still standing out. The cover model's position, stance and action have also been changed, and this time she is holding a Trombone as opposed to a trumpet.

Throughout all the designs, the only elements that have been kept in the same location are the bar-code and the date/price/issue text. The name of the magazine will be Bandstand, as it is shorter, mor attention grabbing, and allows more space for other things on the cover.

Initial Ideas Based on Market Research

For the name of my magazine, I have had a few names that I have thought of. These are: Classical, The Classical, The Classic, The Composer and The Bandstand. Out of all of these names, I am beginning to lean towards the two names The Composer and The Bandstand. The reason for this is that both are related to classical music, and are words that a classical music fan would know, specifying the audience. However, these words are not uncommon ones, meaning that the name suggests that it could be read by a wide range of audiences.

Hand-drawn drafts:

I am using mood boards for the costuming of my cover model, as well as the hair, make-up and props.

My current ideas for my magazine include a name of The Bandstand for the magazine. A colour scheme that i have been thinking about involves the use of colours such as browns, tans, golds and whites. This helps to represent the colours of the classical instruments used in the music. These are both specific conventions of the genre of music and magazine. The fonts I will use will be French Script MT and Times New Roman, as these both fit with the classical theme.

Pricing the magazine

Having researched the prices for the three music magazines that I aspire for my magazine to be like, the prices are very similar. two of the mgazines are on sale for £4.25, while one is slightly more expensive at £4.70. These prices lead me to believe that I should price my magazine at either £4.30 or £4.35, as this is a good middle ground between the two. This price is also affordable to the audience, as even though I intend to appeal to a younger audience, it is one with enough money to keep up their interest. The three magazines are also only printed in monthly issues, hence the more expensive price, therefore I will also have my magazine as a monthly issue.

Target Audience

I have used a Prezi To explain the target audience, as well as my research into other genres of magazine's audience and how it can be related to my magazine's genre and audience.

The audience for my magazine will therefore be aimed at will be within the 15-25 age range, as that age range buys more magazines than any other, and will be female, as classical magazines are bought more by women. This abides by the conventions for Classical music magazines.

Studying the conventions of music magazines from different genres

Conventions Commonly Used
Musical magazines usually follow a lot of the conventions that other type of magazines follow. They always feature a person in the middle, usually in a medium close-up frame. The colours used in each, however, are different. They are used to connote the type of music and by extension the audience that listens to them. The cover models are often smiling, and shown being happy against a blank or non-distracting background, which appeals to the majority of musical audiences.

The Classical Magazine
The colours of the classical magazine are fairly neutral, using browns and golds to represent the colours of musical instruments. The browns are used to represent the wooden finish of classical instruments such as pianos and violins, and golds to represent trombones, tubas and other brass instruments. The clothing used in the classical magazine is used to show the formal theme, which is further demonstrated by the title font and ordered appearance of the magazine. The cover model is shown smiling, a convention that is often used in musical magazines, with the exception of rock-related ones, as this does not appeal to the intended audience.

The Sell Lines
The subtitles and subheadings on this magazine are designed to not stand out. They are made to fit in with the magazine, and blend with he magazine's colours while still standing out. they are subtle enough to not distract from the cover model, whilst still being readable against the brown and gold background.

The Cover Photo
The cover photo uses the most common conventions found on magazines. The cover model is smiling and in a medium close-up shot, but is not looking at the camera. She is also wearing a bright white top, to offer contrast against the darker background. The background is mainly blurred, making the cover model stand out further. The dark browns and golds of the background are chosen as they are the colours of common classical instruments, but also because it allows the cover model's clothing to have contrast. The cover model also represents the audience,  as the majority of the audience is middle aged women. Because of this, the cover model could be seen to have aspiration value, as it gives something for the audience to aspire to become.

The Rock Magazine
This magazine differs in style and colour from the other two magazines. It's colour scheme is much more oriented to the audience, with it being black, white and red. These colours are usually associated with the genre of music, as well as the audience that listens to it. the bands shown on these covers are usually dressed in black or other dark colours to better appeal to their audience. The cover models are often not shown smiling, as it does not fit with the serious theme of the magazine. the title is shown to be cracked and all in capitals, representing the shouting and loudness which is often heard in this style of music.

The Sell Lines
The subheadings on this magazine are designed to contrast whatever they are placed on. This is shown on the main cover heading, as it is placed against the black of the cover model's jacket, so is made white to stand out as much as it can. this is designed to not distract from the picture, but to be the net thing you look at after the cover photo and masthead. The other subheadings shown here are on a red background, and therefor have a font colour of yellow to contrast it.

The Cover Photo
Unlike most other music magazines, The cover photo doesn't use the conventions that others do. Cover photos on other magazines generally have all of their models in a medium close-up, with the model smiling and looking happy. This magazine, however, follows the conventions of not magazines as a whole, but the rock genre of magazines, with the cover models not smiling at all, and only the leader in a medium close-up. this is normal for this genre of magazine, and is therefore a convention of the genre. The colours used and the paleness of the model's skin all help to attract the audience.

The Pop Magazine
This magazine is by far the most colourful, and it's colour scheme is the most obvious to be designed towards the audience. The magazine still uses the same conventions as the other two magazines, with a slightly different style and very vivid colour scheme. The cover model is abiding most conventions for musical magazines, wearing contrasting colours and having a very slight smile. the colour scheme is a very bright pink, helping it appeal to it's audience.

The Sell Lines
The cover uses bright colours on most of the subheadings to attract attention to them. However, it is the free giveaway subheading that will likely attract most of it's audience, using band members and artists popular with the audience. They often offer contrast against the white background, and never directly cross with the blue of the cover model's clothing as it would make it a lot harder to read.

The Cover Photo
Colours are used in the cover photo to great effect. As appose to washing out the colours for the cover model to make them appear more pale like in the rock magazine, they have made the skin, lips, hair and clothing more vivid. This is used to make the cover model stand out against the bright white background. The cover model is looking directly at the camera, as appose to the classical magazine where she is looking away. This is following the normal conventions of cover photos.

The conventions used in magazines of a Classical genre are very much the same as those used in other magazines. Using a LIIAR analysis, we see that these magazines strongly use the same conventions, with only a few things differing between them. Their use of language and colour is often the same. all three use the cover model as aspiration for the audience, as well as sex appeal aimed at the male audience.

The language used in all three magazines reflects the genre and is mostly the same throughout. Each of the magazines uses a simple font with not much variation. Often, the sell lines used by the magazine end in either an exclamation mark, a question mark or no punctuation at all, and all of these magazines abide to that convention. The cover model often has a prop that is related to the classical genre, commonly a musical instrument. These are symbolic of the genre, as you would not find a trombone or violin on a pop magazine.

Most of the magazines do not show their publisher, except for Music magazine. This is produced by the BBC, one of the most widely known media companies in the world. Using this, the magazine can use the popular name to sell itself, as the BBC is a powerful name and almost assures quality. The others do not show their institution's logos, as the institution's name is not well known and won't help sell the magazine.

All three magazines display examples of ideology. Both Classic fm and Classical Music magazine contain a female ideology, as the female audience is supposed to aspire to being like the cover models used. Therefore, the cover models are shown in a close up, showing off their facial features, looking at the camera. The cover models are also heavily edited to remove any spots or imperfections. This leads the cover models to have an aspirational value to the female audience. The cover models also have sex appeal, aimed at the male audience. The Music magazine has a male cover model and therefore appeals to the male audience, being an aspiration for them to achieve.

The audience for this magazine genre is of the middle aged group, with the larger portion of the audience being female. therefore, the cover models are mainly women to give aspiration to the readers. The magazine also uses basic fonts to make the audience able to read it better. Using classical music specific language, such as the names of the instruments and the parts on them, helps the audience to connect with the magazine and feel as though it is more targeted at them as appose to a wide range of audiences. This specific targeting leads the readers to feel as though the magazine is written with them in mind.

The magazine represents it's audience as classy and sophisticated. This is done through the use of genre specific language, as well as the browns, whites and red colours chosen for the cover photo and the font colour. This further helps the magazine engage with the reader. Using the classical instruments, the magazine represents it's audience's appearance, as the audience will likely own their own instruments.

Explaining the choice of music genre

The magazine genre I have chosen for my music magazine is Classical music. I have chosen this genre because it is a genre of music that i am interested in. I can also get some classical instruments to use for the cover photo and double page spread, along with the person who plays it. This helps in making the photo look more authentic then it would with someone who'd never used such an instrument before. This genre also allows me to write about things relative to the audience and use the appropriate terminology on the double page spread.



There are many well known artists from the past who have made Classical music, famous ones such as Mozart and Beethoven, and less well known ones in more recent times such as Lisa Batiashvili and Ludovico Einaudi, who are both more recent artists that the other two. The music produced in this genre is usually on brass, piano and string instruments. These instruments are commonly used together, as they compliment each other very well, with the brass taking the background, string being fairly predominant and the piano being used as the main instrument.


In the Top 40 Downloads Chart, pictured below, you will notice that none of the songs in it are of a classical genre. This is because the audience that classical music is meant to be targeted at is an older or middle aged audience, and therefore wouldn't use a computer for their musical needs. Because of this, they do not often download music from websites which contribute to the downloads chart, meaning that the chart isn't a true representation of what people are listening too. Therefore, the classical music that they listen to won't appear in the Top 40 Downloads Chart.

Music Magazine Brief

The brief we were given for this task was to produce a front page, contents page and double spread of a new music magazine.

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text must be original, produced by me, with a minimum of four images.

Finished Magazine cover & contents page, along with an evaluation!

My front cover and contents page have been completed and they can be seen bellow. They both use a green colour scheme and circuit boards, which both help to connote the technology theme of the magazine. My cover model is in a medium close-up, and she is posed exactly as I intended her to be. I had photos in a similar frame, but she was forcing a smile, and it did not look natural, so I used one of the photos in which I had made her laugh so that it looked more genuine and realistic. The cover stories were originally going to be some of the others on the contents page, but they were changed to work better with the cover model and give a purpose to the photo. The cover model was edited to give her a brighter appearance, lighten her hair and bracelets, as well as her skin being changed to appear smoother.

I began by creating the banner for the top, which is where the magazine's name would be. it was given a light green background with a darker green frame, though the light green background was soon dropped to add a circuit board to help show the technology theme of the magazine.

The circuit board was added. It is much better than the light green, as it shows the title off a lot better, as well as connoting the theme of the magazine through a recognisable and unique masthead.

The title is now added, in a white font. I was very sceptical about using this colour as the font colour against the light circuit board background, but it turned out well and was much more readable at a distance than a black font colour, so it was kept. I think it fits much more with the colours of the magazine.

A bar code has been added. I started out by placing a green box around the  bar code, and the cutting the bar code's shape out of it, with the bar code on a separate layer. Once the green boarder had been correctly sized, the two were linked so that they could be moved together should i want to re-position them.

A QT code was added to the front cover, and given another green frame. The frame was created in the same way as the bar code's frame was. As the magazine is centralised on a technology theme, it seemed appropriate to have a QT code, as they are designed to take the user to a website when scanned with a bar code scanner app. This website could either be the magazine's website or an entry form for a magazine contest.

I began editing my cover photo's model, and preparing the photo to me used on the magazine cover. Some colour effects were used, and her skin was smoothed a little, but largely remained the same.

The cover photo was added to the magazine. More editing effects were applied, including adding more colour to her hair and skin, as well as brightening up the background. Her bracelets, hair and lips were made particularly more colourful to add a more varied colour palette to the magazine. this makes it more bright and attractive, drawing in more attention that the green colour scheme alone.

As the cover model was being obstructed by the masthead, I decided to cut out her head and hair and move it into a layer above the masthead. this gives the whole magazine more depth, and makes the photo and mast head look more professional. a soft brush was used to feather the top of her head so that no sharp or jagged edges would appear where it had been cut out.

The main cover story was added, along with the QT code's description. Initially, the QT code's description was also going to be placed on a circuit board background, but this distracted from the main headline too much and therefore was dropped in favour of the darker green used for the boarders and frames of the other elements. A price was also added above the bar code, with the same green background as the frames used on other elements.

The contents page was much more simple than the front cover. It did not require any cover photo, and therefore I could do everything as I wanted from the start without having to worry about weather the cover photo fitted in with the rest of the page. The masthead of the page is the same as the front cover for consistency and to fit with the theme of technology. The contents list was mostly made up of original concepts for cover stories on the magazine's front cover. The background photo is exactly the same as the mastheads, except using Photoshop's colour select took to select the lighter green of the circuit board and recolour it to be a more fitting green, then inverting the selection and filling it black. I don't find this too noticeable, and feel as though it fits in with the colour scheme of the magazine.

I have used a lot of the conventions that are normally used in such magazines. The colour scheme is very fitting with the theme, and the font is appropriate. Both are consistent throughout the front cover and the contents page. These conventions have been used to make the magazine seem more authentic and real. I have used Photoshop and the Apple Macs to achieve a professional look in my opinion, and I have used a lot of it's tools which without wouldn't have been finished to as higher standard. The use of these tools is what has allowed me to finish it in such short time, spending only a maximum of 5 hours on the magazine cover, and 1 hour and a half on the contents page.

If I were to do this task again, I would defiantly pick a more focused cover model, as the photo shoot took quite a while due to distractions. I would also use a different cover photo, as I am not completely satisfied with the one I ended up with due to it being somewhat blurry and not taken with a great quality camera. The contents page I would have liked to have spent more time on, and would have liked to have come up with more realistic cover stories and contents page stories. Making my own Circuit board on Photoshop to use as the background would also have been preferable, but i am happy with the overall product.

Front Cover Photography!

I have taken the photos that I need for my front cover, there were a few different angles that I experimented with, but I decided on a simple and conventional medium close up. As I took the photos on a side and most of the photos I don't intend to use, the ones which I think would be suitable have been rotated to the correct way up.