Title Block Designs

Here are the potential designs I have create for my electronic dance music magazine's title block. I made a monochrome design and one with colour for most of them, though the colours are subject to change depending on the house style I choose for my magazine when I create it. I experimented with various fonts to try and create a 'modern' look, which is what would be expected of a electronic music magazine.

Design 1:

Design 2:

Design 3:

Design 4:

Title Block Analysis

Before I began designing my title block, I decided to do some research into the design of title blocks. From it, I learned about how the style of the title block changes depending on the genre and target audience. This includes the size, name and font style, as I found out, which all come together to convey a message.

Looking at the logo, a reader can get the impression that the magazine is centred on the rock or heavy metal genre of music. We can tell this from the colour of the title. Black and white are the colours used. Both of these are strong colours which contrast against each other when used together. Black, the colour used for the text itself, will usually make any other colour stand out against it. In this case, however, it is the white background that does this for the black.

The font is stylised to make it look like cracked glass. This may be to represent the rock or metal genre – both are hard materials, and the font looks cracked, but not so broken that you cannot make out the text. The bold text also helps to make the title stand out. The letters, though easy to read as a whole word, are slightly rotated or moved out of place. This shows the chaos that is usually associated with those genres whilst still making the words legible.

The word ‘Kerrang!’ is onomatopoeia for the sound made by an electric guitar. An electric guitar is a common instrument used in both the rock and metal genres, so there is little doubt that fans of the genre will recognize the word and the sound. By taking all of this information into account, the target audience is likely to be fans of rock and metal music – mainly males.

It is difficult to tell what genre of music the magazine covers from the title alone. The logo itself stands out, however, because of the name and colours used. A white letter inside a red box is eye-catching because red is a bold colour. The font used looks very formal compared to the ones used for other music magazines, suggesting that the magazine is targeted at an older audience. It could also suggest that the magazine has been published for a long time.

The title itself is a point that many potential readers would become curious over, as they would want to know what 'Q' stands for and means at first, making it mysterious. It means 'cue' as in 'cue the music' which is a phrase used to tell somebody to start the music. It isn't a phrase that is commonly used now, however, which again implies that the magazine is targeted at an older audience. The reference to the phrase could also mean that the magazine focuses on the most popular music at the time, so it is centred on pop music. It also makes it clear that the magazine is focused on music.

 

The name of the magazine gives a good idea as to what genre it is. The Rolling Stones were a rock band in the 1960s that are still famous to this day, and so a magazine named after them would obviously be centred on famous music artists and groups. The colours used are red, black and white. Those three colours are strong colours that make each other stand out. The colours are also big and bold, making them stand out more to any potential buyers.

The font used, in contrast to Kerrang! looks quite sophisticated but also old fashioned, which may have been done in tribute to the Rolling Stones. It may also hint that, like Q, the magazine is targeted at an older audience. In addition, it could be telling us that the magazine will cover more mature themes and articles in comparison to other magazines on the market. The name can also suggest that it is a stable magazine that won't be easy stopped - a rolling stone is hard to slow down or halt.

Final Magazine Proposal And Character Profile

With the feedback from my focus group, I was able to develop on my plan to create a proposal for my magazine. I know from them that my ideas would sit well with my target audience, and that I should go ahead with them. Because I know I can go ahead with my ideas, I can go into more specific details.

Final Magazine Proposal

My magazine is going to be based around electronic dance music (EDM). Electronic dance covers a wide range of music, and so my magazine will do have a variety of content in the same manner. I have decided that the title of the magazine will be Remix. I believe this is relevant to the genre I am covering as a lot of dance music tracks are remixes of existing songs. Remixes are also a common creation of DJs, who often make a lot of dance music. It’s also a short and catchy title that will stick in the head of a buyer.

My ideal target audience will be males and females between the ages of 16-24. The magazine would be slightly more focused towards males, however. I have chosen this age because that is the age group that EDM is most popular in. They are also an outgoing age group, especially towards the early twenties. Those in that age group will be likely to go to clubs on the weekends when they aren’t at sixth form or university. The social class I will be targeting will be class D, as a good portion of the target audience will be in full-time education, and so will not be able to afford much. In terms of lifestyle categories, I will more likely be targeting the Trendies, Groupies and Egoists, as they are the ones most likely to go out to clubs, and so enjoy more EDM.

My magazine will be published once every month. I decided on a monthly publication as it will allow for more time for me to gather more content for my magazine. There aren’t always many newsworthy events in the dance world, so publishing the magazine too often could lead to it lacking in interesting articles. I also have to consider how many times a month my audience will be willing to pay for the magazine. Once is a suitable amount to start from and I can observe whether or not the audience likes that. Thanks to my survey results and focus group, I already know that most people in my target audience would prefer a monthly publication.

I have decided to make an EDM magazine because I know that there aren’t many magazines in the UK that appeal specifically to that audience. There are only two major EDM magazines in the UK – Mixmag and DJ magazine. Mixmag has a heavier focus on clubs and advertising them, and is also targeted at a much higher social class, which means that there’s less competition in the one that I’m targeting. I’m aware that I may appear to be targeting a niche audience, but most people in that age group have been to a party or rave and heard dance music, and my magazine would be a good way to find out more about it.

My magazine could contain a variety of articles. From my survey results I can tell that my target audience would be interested in seeing interviews from artists both famous and up-and-coming. I can also feature music reviews and articles otherwise focusing on one artist or group. As long as the articles don’t focus too much on the artist’s personal life, they should hold the reader’s interest.

It will promote the idea that young adults enjoy going out and partying by featuring them doing that in pictures.

My survey results tell me that the feature that draws them to a magazine the most is the cover model. I also know that a famous cover model is much more likely to draw in potential buyers. Therefore, I will use a famous EDM artist or DJ as the cover model. I can also use cover lines that draw emphasis to famous artists or buzz words. The former would look like celebrity endorsement, which is a good way to persuade buyers to purchase the magazine.

Character Profile

This is Ashley. She is a seventeen year old full time student at sixth form. Although she has to go to it five days a week, she likes to go out with her friends on the weekends. One of the activities she likes to do with her friends is go out partying – usually at a club. There she gets to hear – among other things – new electronic dance music. She remembers the name of any songs she hears and looks up more music from the artist on the internet when she gets home. She also likes to use social networking to keep in touch of her friends outside of sixth form.

Star Image Analysis

As part of the research for my magazine, I had to do some research into the representation of celebrities on magazine covers. By doing this research I've learned how the views of a person, even a well known one, can be completely changed through the use of misc en scene - particularly anchorage text, facial expressions, body language and colours used. This will help me to create my cover image when I make the cover page for my magazine, as I will know what features will best appeal to my target audience.

Star Image Analysis (Jennifer Lopez)

InStyle

Denotation	Connotation
A mid shot is used.	The mid shot puts more emphasis on Jennifer's dress and facial expression, allowing the audience to feel closer to her.
Jennifer is put in the centre of the cover, with no other objects or people on it.	She is framed in such a way that makes her the centre of attention, and there are no distractions other than the text and stars used as decoration. This makes the audience know that they should be focused on her.
She is smiling and using a direct mode of address.	The smile and eye contact shows that she is a confident woman and also a friendly one.
She has a hand on her hips and is turned towards the audience side-on.	Her pose shows that she is confident in herself and her body.
She is wearing a fancy, fashionable dress.	The dress shows off her figure, again showing her confidence. The confidence also shows that she is a person that the audience is supposed to know – a celebrity.
“Jennifer Lopez On Fame, Family & Turning Forty”	She is still happy with her life even after hitting that age. The alliteration also draws attention to her being able to juggle her personal life, celebrity status and family.

Cosmopolitan

Denotation	Connotation
A mid shot is used.	The shot puts more emphasis on Jennifer's pose and facial expression, letting us see more of her confidence.
Red, orange and yellow are the main colours used.	All three are bright and vibrant and are energetic colours, implying that she is just that – vibrant and energetic.
Jennifer is put in the centre of the cover, with no other objects or people on it.	Just like the last cover, this makes it so she is put at the centre of attention with no distractions. This also shows that she is of importance, since there is nothing to take attention from her.
Her hands are pulling up her dress, exposing her thighs.	Her pose shows that she is confident in her look and figure.
She is wearing a revealing, bright-coloured dress.	Again, this shows her confidence in her body, and also that she isn't afraid to show it off.
“Jennifer Lopez Answers Your Burning Questions”	She isn't afraid to talk about personal matters.

FHM

Denotation	Connotation
The long shot used manages to fit all of her body.	The shot used puts the focus on her clothing (or lack of it) rather than her face.
The main colour used is blue.	Blue is a confident colour, showing that she is a confident woman. It's also a masculine colour. Considering that the magazine aims to draw in men, the heavy use of the colour is another way it draws in readers.
The image barely contains all of her body.	This puts her at the centre of attention, but more so on her body than her face.
She is looking straight at the audience with a straight face.	Her stare shows that she is confident and brave.
She is on her knees, with one hand on her underwear.	She is in a seductive pose, suggesting that she is not only confident with her body. The pose also adds sex appeal, as it is a submissive pose that suggests she wants a man beside her.
She is dressed in her underwear and nothing else.	This also adds to the sex appeal, making her look more attractive.
“GODDESS! Back off Affleck, J.Lo's still our girl!”	She is still attractive, even now. Despite her age and years in the public eye, she's still good enough for men to think think of her as a sex icon.

People

Denotation	Connotation
A medium close up shot is used.	The shot puts the focus on Jennifer, but also on her two children, again making them the main attraction. The focus on the three of them makes it clearer how much she cares for her two children.
Light colours are used such as baby blue and cream.	The colours give a gentle and soothing portrayal of the trio.
The image is framed around Jennifer and her twins.	This also makes them appear to be the centre of attention, which makes the image give off more of a warmer and intimate feel.
She has a large smile on her face and is looking at the audience.	This shows that she is happy with her children and wants to share that happiness with the audience.
She is holding her children close with her head tilted towards them.	The pose shows that she is close to her twins and cares for them a lot.
We can't see much of Jennifer's cream dress, but we can see her children's blue and white outfits.	There is much less emphasis put on the clothes compared to the other covers, showing that they don't matter as much. The babies have on modest clothing with light colours, showing their innocence.
“TWIN BLISS!”	She is happy with her children.

Focus Group

This is a video of my focus group. After I finished my Intial Plan, I printed out several copies of it and gave them to a number of people within my target audience. I gave them a chance to read it and then listened to their feedback and questions they had.

 

Survey Results

I decided to carry out a survey to help with my research. I designed a number of questions that related with the design of my magazine and sent it out to a number of teenagers within my age group. The survey was open for a week before I collected the results, as seen below. I can use these results to determine how best to design my magazine and what my target audience should be.

From my survey I can see that my magazine will probably have more female readers than male once it is published. In order to appeal to them, the magazine should be designed in such a way that it draws in as many girls as possible. Feminine colours like pink could be more apparent in the cover and house style, and the magazine itself could feature female artists closer to the target age group or attractive male artists. There needn't be too many of them, as the female-to-male ratio isn't very large, and using too many tactics to attract the female audience would alienate the males.

It is clear that the readers of the magazine would prefer for the magazine to be released once a month. This is better for me as it allows for more time to gather content to be put into it, and to work on editing it. Publishing it too often could end up making the magazine look rushed, and some readers might not have the money to buy every issue, so once a month should be fine.

The clear preferred price of a magazine is between £2-£2.99. I have to make sure that the price range is one that readers agree with. If I make the magazine too expensive, they will decide that they can't afford it or it isn't worth the price and won't buy it. Therefore, the price has to be kept at a suitable level.

The most popular genre amongst those that took the survey is pop music, with rock and R&B following close behind. The results in general give me a good idea of what kind of music would be best for my magazine to focus on. Making a pop magazine would most likely gather the most readers for my magazine, but because it is such a popular genre, there is a good chance that there are several other magazines on the market that already focus on it. The same can go for rock and R&B. I could make my magazine based on one of those anyway, or go for one of the genres that wasn't selected as much and target a niche audience that isn't given as much attention.

Those that answered the survey generally agree that the cover model has a large influence in whether or not they buy a magazine, to the point that a lot of them won't even look at the puffs or overlook the genre of it. This means that I have to be very careful in choosing who should be featured on the front page of the magazine. The right person could give it huge boost in sales, whilst the wrong one could do the opposite. The results also tell me that there isn't much need for me to add a cover mount to the magazine and that not much attention will be given to the puffs as long as I do this.

Using the results from this question and question five, I know that the best way to attract potential readers is to use a famous artist as the cover model. Over three quarters of people would prefer that to an up and coming artist that isn't as known.

The results of this question tell me what kind of article would be best to feature on the front cover. People wanting interviews also tells me that readers would want to learn more about an artist. I could make the feature article one about the artist featured on the front page in order to attract more readers.

The articles in my magazine should focus on a mix of both an artist or group's music and life. Nobody is interested in hearing only about their life. I know from this that the focus should probably be more on the music than the personal life of those that created them.

Though people want to see celebrities on the front cover of the magazine, they also want to learn about up and coming artists too. There could be smaller articles in the magazine covering tracks or albums by artists that are lesser known, or new to the music industry. This way, there will be a balance between well-known artists and newer ones. Having an article for never artists also gives readers a reason to keep buying new editions of the magazine, as it will continue to introduce them to new music.

Initial Magazine Plan

I used the survey results to help me put together an initial plan for my magazine. Using the results, I was able to decide on a target audience in terms of age and gender. I was also able to decide on a price for the magazine, the class it would target, what genre of music it would focus on and get some idea of what it would look like. I intend to stick to this plan when creating the magazine.

Institutional Research

I also did research on several magazine institutions. This will help me to decide which institution I want to produce my magazine once it is complete.