AS Construction: Final Contents Page on Photoshop.

AS Construction: Photoshopped Image.

I have lightened the picture on Photoshop and made the contrasting higher.

AS Construction: Double Page Spread Final

AS Construction: Front cover Final Analysis

AS Construction: Contents Page Draft

This is my final contents page for my music magazine. I have used a similar layout to the contents page in Look magazine. However, I have developed on it and made significant changes.

I have used a collage of images for the top half of the contents page. I have done this because from the results of my questionnaire I found that people preferred to have an even amount of text and images. The collage consists of four images I took on my digital camera while at a music event. The reason I have used images of artists performing/standing on stage is because the music magazine looks more authentic and relevant as it is images of a music event.

The reason I chose the image on the left hand side, under the other two images is because it is of a pretty female, which girls, who are the niche market, would enjoy reading about as she can be seen as a role model for them. She and the band behind her are all wearing white, which denotes purity and cleanliness. However, her dress is made of latex which symbolizes promiscuity. This contradicts the symbolism of the colour of the dress and creates juxtaposition. The effect of this emphasizes her role as a role model to the consumers, who are likely to be teenage girls who strive to be pure and ‘perfect’ but ‘sexy.’ Her black wavy hair denotes power, authority and mystery, while the waves in her hair symbolises femininity.

On the right hand side I have used an image of a pretty female singing into a microphone stand. The microphone stand signifies music, which is relevant to the genre of the magazine. Her hair is blonde and curly, which symbolizes youth and femininity. This is precisely who I have catered our niche market to be. She is wearing a cream lace dress which has connotations with femininity and fashion. Again, this is what I believe the niche market for the magazine would want to read about. I have used a strap line containing the signifier special!; I have done this as the word signifies exclusiveness and to emphasize this I have highlighted the word in pink which denotes femininity, passion and sensuality. Pink can stimulate energy and increase blood pressure and increase action and confidence- pushing the consumer to read it. I have also used the font Bradley Hand ITC as it doesn’t look too harsh or sophisticated; it resembles handwriting which has connotations with girls’ handwriting. I used the font size 38.

The two images I have used in the bottom left side of the collage I have used to create a slideshow and storyboard effect. I rotated both images slightly to the left. I have also bordered the image with a vibrant pink colour. Vibrant pink denotes high energy similar to red; they are sensual and passionate and appeals to females. It is also part of the colour scheme of my magazine. The left side image is of a rap star with a skull T shirt and khaki coat. The skull T shirt signifies death and decay, his khaki coat signifies war and is a synonymous of the colour brown which has connotations with earth. Therefore it is juxtaposition. He is also wearing a red poppy, which connotes war, death and remembrance. I chose to include him as he depicts a genre of music different to the other images and is a more controversial figure but also appeals to girls. He is also looking straight into the camera, instantly making the consumer feel like they’re on a personal level with the artist. The image on the right side depicts four good looking boys- a key marketing strategy for attracting teenage girls. They are all wearing dark colours- primarily black which denotes mystery. Mystery links directly to a person’s sex appeal; this is what teenage girls enjoy looking at.
For my masthead I have used the font Adobe Caslon Pro- similar to the main font layout of the page of Times New Roman- it is sophisticated yet simple- relating back to the results of my questionnaire that my consumers prefer an understated layout. I have also used a font size of 28. I have highlighted Welcome and Wanted in orange. Orange has connotations with energy and warm, similar to red and yellow. Orange is a stimulant which stimulates emotions- which is why I chose to use it for my colour scheme. I want the colour scheme to bring out an emotional reaction to the consumer, urging them to pick up the magazine and read it.

I have separated my contents in three columns which are situated in the bottom half of the page, below the collage of images. Above two of the segments of text I have used a black box and used a white font over the black. This creates effective contrasting so the text inside the box is easy to read and stands out. I have also used italics, for variety of the main font of Times New Roman. The text as I’ve mentioned before are set in Times New Roman and is written in a font size of 11. I have also created the first column a segment of four features that were featured on the cover- this creates ease for the consumer to find something on the cover they were interested in reading. I have also bolded the numbers so that they are clear.

I have used signifiers such as hot gossip and exclusive, reveals, shock and juicywhich signifies exclusiveness, secrets and up to date information. Gorgeous, swoon and sexy and fierce which signifies attractive people- good looking boys that girls enjoy looking at and pretty girls who they want to be like. It also signifies female empowerment; good for my niche market of girls.

I have used one more image situated in the middle of the second column. The image is of the cover star and is a different image to the one on the front cover. This tells the consumers that it contains a photo shoot which means the images are exclusive. The image is a head shot and depicts the person facing away from the camera, but drawing looking to the side slightly to draw her eyes to the camera symbolises mystery as she is not revealing her entire face to the camera. However, she evokes warmth to the reader by her smile. This urges the reader to read about her. Her hair is a deep, brown- burgundy colour which has connotations with passion to conflicting emotions of warfare and violence. It also denotes power and has the ability to make consumers stop to look at it. It can also raise blood pressure, provoking an emotional reaction. Her eyes are light blue, which denotes calmness, the sky and the sea. The sea is often used to symbolise women; therefore her eyes convey calmness, warmth and femininity.

I have placed an editor’s note’s box in the third column, which I have sectioned off with a box. The font inside here is Adobe Caslon Pro and has font size of 11.

AS Construction: Music Magazine Front Cover Attempt 1

This is my first attempt at the front cover of my music magazine (minus the masthead). I plan to edit the colour scheme, blending options and the layout slightly.

AS Construction: Photoshopping Images

The first image is unedited and I have taken it for my music magazine. I plan to use this as it is a head shot and I plan to include at least one in my double page spread.



The second image is the same image after editing it on Photoshop. I have improved the brightness to 39 and the contrast to 30. I have also used the spot healing brush to get rid of the snow in her hair.

AS Construction: Music Magazine Contents Page 2

This is my content page of my music magazine almost completed. I need to add a few more images and edit the colour scheme slightly. I have almost kept to the initial mock up but have edited things slightly; these changes include three columns of content features, a smaller image corresponding to the double page spread and a smaller font of 11.

AS Research and Planning: Music Magazine Contents Page Mock Up

I have decided to use the top half of my contents page dedicated to a photo exclusive to a feature inside the magazine. The photo collage will attract attention to the main feature of the magazine. The strapline to the left of the images will be tilted slightly and will explain what the feature is and should use signifier's like exclusive and special. It will also be written in the font Bradley Hand ITC as this tones down the sophistication of the other fonts and brings a playful side to the magazine. Below the image is the masthead, welcoming the reader to the magazine. This will be written in Adobe Caslon Pro, providing sophistication yet simplicity.

The actual contents will be written in Times New Roman, this is the main font of the magazine and lends sophistication and simplicity. A photo from the photoshoot of the double page spread will be used to illustrate this feature. The editors note will be writen in Adobe Caslon Pro and the signature will be written in elizajane, a font downloaded from Dafont.com.

AS Research and Planning: Music Magazine Double Page Spread Mock Up

This is my initial mock up of my double page spread in my music magazine. I have used a similiar layout to that of the Rihanna interview I analysed from OK! magazine. For the text of the interview I have used Times New Roman- relevant to the front cover and contents text. It is simple, easy to read but has a sophistication to it. The strplaine is also written in Times New Roman. The quote strapline is up for deliberation fontwise, but for this I have used the font 'elizajane' downloaded from dafont.com. It is girly and sweet, like how I want my magazine to be like. The strapline above the masthead is written in a white font called Adobe Caslon Pro and is situated in a black box. The black helps the white stand out and the font is similiar to Times New Roman, it is simple yet sophisticated. The image will be situaed on the right hand side, taking up half the page. Again, this is disputable but this is just my initial mock up so it is subject to change.

The second page is mostly taken up by an image box, this is to emphasise the fact my magazine managed to get a photoshoot along with an interview with this person. Again, the quote part is written in 'elizajane.' It is a direct continuation of the first page, so the interview it still in Times New Roman. The line at the bottom breaks the interview off by the credits, so the magazine looks organised.

AS Research and Planning: Music Magazine Front Cover Mock Ups

This is my initial mock up of the front cover of my music magazine. For the masthead I have used the font Times New Roman- this is sophisticated and is more interesting than Arial. The content features is written in Adobe Caslon Pro- it is similair to Times New Roman and is sophisticated and feminine. The main content features that is relating to the front cover image is written in Times New Roman- like the masthead- and is tilted to the side slightly. This will be written in larger text than the other content features so that it stands out on the cover.




This is my second attempt at a music magazine front cover. I prefer this to my initial cover as there is a bigger variety of fonts but doesn't look as busy as the other one, due to a content feature strapline not obstructing the image. I have used Times New Roman as the masthead, as this looks sophisticated yet simple to read. I have used the font Bradley Hand ITC for the main content feature (which will be in relation to the image). I have used this and the font here is feminine and 'pretty', attracting the niche market of women. I have bolded it for emphasis on the fact it iwll be the main content feature. I have used Adobe Caslon Pro for the three other content features- this looks both sophisticated, feminine yet simple to read. Overall, this layout isn't too busy which I believe works in it's favour.

AS Research and Planning: Q Magazine Cover Semiotic Analysis

Q Magazine is a well known music magazine in the UK. It covers a wide range of genres; including pop, rock, indie, grime and dance. The magazine is versatile and appeals to a wide range of music fans, but their main audience are men from the ages of eighteen to thirty, as the music isn’t biased with the mantra of ‘good looking half naked men’ gracing their pages, as does some other female orientated music magazines like Top of the Pops. Also, studying through the magazine there are mainly photos of men, with a definite lack of femininity; men do not wish to read (and look at) women in Q, as this is a music magazine not a top shelf magazine. The men inside aren’t photo shopped, half naked and don’t have rippling and tanned torsos, which is an element why it is mainly a man’s magazine.

The main image used is of musical icon and legend John Lennon, as the magazine is celebrating his 70th birthday. The image is in black and white, which has many interesting connotations. It denotes John Lennon is dead and that black and white symbolises the passing of time and reflects upon death, the image is taken in 1965 (which is indicated by a piece of text in the corner) which effectively points out the time when he was at the peak of his career. The photograph is a close up to mid shot and he is staring contentedly at the camera, the effect being that the reader feels that he is looking at them and addressing the reader directly. The background is white, which simplifies yet cleverly maximises the effect of the cover as it is not too busy and leaves a good background for the content features, strap line and masthead. The background also amplifies Lennon, as he is black, so there is effective contrasting.

The masthead is situated in the left hand corner and is in a very large font, this is because the magazine name is only one letter, so the scale of the name is enlarged to make up for the lack of a long name. The font is in white, but contrasts with a red background. Psychologically, red is an extremely strong colour. It conjures up a variety of contracting and conflicting emotions and denotes love and passion to violence and warfare. Metaphorically, red both symbolises cupid and the devil. Red is also a stimulant, which studies have shown can have a physical effect of respiration and increased blood pressure. Red also denotes power and authority, like for business people and red carpet events. Q used red as a part of their colour scheme to grab attention via the ‘traffic light’ advertising theory that red stands for ‘stop! And read me.’ Red urges consumers to take action (to buy the magazine) and doesn’t allow the magazine to sink into the background. The white font used contrasts exceptionally well against the red background. The white appears brighter when contrasted against such a vibrant red which makes the masthead clearer and easier to read.

The strap line is also red and is situated just below the masthead. Q has used the same colour contrasting technique here, using a red font against the white of the main image (which also acts as the background of the cover). The text just below the strap line acts to add weight and depth to both the strap line and main image. It is written in a gold font and uses signifiers such as ‘unseen’, ‘last’ and ‘whole’. These words signify exclusiveness (which for such a musical icon, who is long dead, is unusual which urges the reader to read), up to date (as far as possible), and a promise to the reader to tell them everything about the man, which due to his status musically, will interest many music lovers.

There is more text below this, which is written in a smaller and white font, as it overlaps the darkness of the image. This is for effective contrasting and again works for the black and white scheme of the cover and allows the reader to read it more clearly. Below this, are three images of alternate covers readers can purchase. The signifier ‘4’ is exerted, with the effect being that the triangle that the number is written in is pointed toward the images and the text above it.. This adds emphasise and entices the reader to look at the images.

To the right of the cover the focus isn’t on John Lennon, but the content features of the magazine. The headings of these features are red, like the mast head and the strap line. Signifiers like exclusive! Signify that readers will be getting inside gossip and vicarious knowledge, which urges people to purchase the magazine. There is a stamp of red, a red circle with white text inside which tells us that there are thirty seven pages of reviews inside the magazine. The border is gold, with the text at the top enforcing the main focus of the magazine, John Lennon, The font of ‘70th’ has a classical edge to it, adding weight to the significance of the issue being a collector’s edition to musical fans.

Most notably, Q rarely uses black and white images on their covers, with this cover being an exception. This is for reason stated before, emphasising the fact he is dead. The colour scheme of red, black, white and gold is extremely interesting and is relevant to Lennon. As we know, red denotes violence and warfare, and the cover uses a significant amount of red. This has connotations with the way Lennon died; he was murdered by a fan with a gun. Also, the gold border and the text below the strap line which is written in gold is relevant to Lennon. Psychologically, gold is the colour of riches and extravagance. The darker tone of gold the magazine uses lends richness, warmth and compassion. We can make connotations toward Lennon here, as he is such a famous figure, who had a lot of wealth. The expression he is pulling suggests contentedness and peace. He looks neither happy nor sad, which can symbolise that in death he is at peace with the world. The image is a verisimilitude image, as the image, with the connotations toward death and time, is true to life.

AS Research and Planning: Q Magazine Contents Page Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the contents page of monthly music magazine Q, issue number 292. This magazine attracts a niche market of predominantly males between the ages of eighteen to forty. It can also appeal to women, but not in the same magnitude as men.

The first page of the contents contains a fairly simple layout. It has a masthead, main image, contents and another small image. The main image is of cover star and magazine dedicated John Lennon. The image, like the cover image, is taken in black and white. This denotes grieving and time passing. It also has further connotations with the age of the photograph. It is a mid-shot to long-shot of him and he is sitting on a rocking chair. This is interesting as we typically associate rocking chairs with elderly people, which in this photo seems ironic as he would be elderly if he was still alive. He has a disturbing look on his face, solemn and mysterious. This adds weight to the black and white theme, the image looks almost spooky. Further juxtaposition includes the connotations associated with the rocking chair and the youth of Lennon when the photo was taken.

The masthead is situated near the top of the page on a red strip. The red psychologically symbolises passion, love, violence and war. The logo Q is written in white, like it is on the front cover. The masthead contains the word Contents. The letters are spaced out, creating a sophisticated effect. The font here is black. Both the white and the black work well against the red to create effective contrasting. It is easy to read and the white and red appear brighter against each other.

The actual contents appear to be set in an Angsana New style font and are black against the white background. To stay with the theme of this issue's magazine, a small box of text is situated first in the contents list. This box is a deep red colour, again having connotations with passion and violence, with the reiterating the fact the magazine is focusing on John Lennon. The text is white, so it contrasts effectively with the deep red. The o in Lennon and the 0 in 70th are jioned together with a small bendy line and are both in a black font. This is a signifier for a symbol of Lennon's famous round glasses. The magazine has cleverly incorporated semiotics into this small logo for clever relevance’s. The contents are listed downward to the left hand side of the first page. The text here is all written in a black font, apart from a small piece of text below John Lennon's piece on the contents. The effect is adding emphasis onto this part of the content features and also relates well to the colour conventions of the magazine. The content features are also underlined with a red line, adding colour to an otherwise plain page.

The smaller image is situated in the bottom left hand corner of the page and depicts an interview layout with a large bolded number (the content number). This is basically an advertisement on the contents page for something inside the magazine. They decided to use images to show some of the contents, which appeals to those who prefer to look at images rather than read text.

The second page of the content page contains six small images, a masthead and contents. The contents have alternated sides, this time situated on the right hand side of the page. They are of the same colour convention, font and size of the previous page. The masthead is the same as the previous page as well, but this time provides the issue number and is written in a white font. The white looks brighter contrasted against the vibrancy of the red, so it is easy to read and bold.

The six images depict (clockwise from top right hand corner): four different variations of the magazine cover which are available to collect, an image of a man from a band called Foals holding bloody pigs head to his face whilst against a dark background, a photo of a woman playing a guitar representing the review section, an image of an interview with The Ting Tings inside the magazine, a double page spread about a band called Sleigh Bells and finally an image of band Gorillaz standing on a ship.

AS Research and Planning: Questionnaire Music Magazine Results.

Here are the results of the questionnaire I designed in correspondance to my music magazine. I asked twelve girls and eight boys, as I have already sustained my magazine will target females:

The results of this question sustains that consumers are willing to spend £3-4 on a good quality music magazine. I therefore need to ensure great quality when making my magazine.


These results infer that the majority of the consumers asked said they prefered simple and understated magazine covers. I need to ensure that my front cover isn't too vibrant.


These results sustain that consumers wich to have an equal amount of images and text on the content page.


We can infer that the majority of consumers asked are frequent purchasers of music magazines.


The most popular colour scheme is pink, yellow and orange. This is feminine and female orientated- my target audience.


The majority of those asked prefer to see women on their front cover, but men are a popular choice too. The main image should be of a women but inside should contain photos of men.


The most popular layout convention is having the masthead behind the image. I aim to do this for my music magazine.


From these results we can infer that consumers prefer to see image beside interviews to help illustrate. I aim to do this in my double page spread interview.

With relevance to the first question, consumers prefer the magazine to be simple and understated.

From these results I can infer that the majority of those asked wanted a glossy magazine cover. I aim for my front cover to be glossy.

AS Research and Planning: Questionnaire for Music Magazine.

Before I begin the mock up on my music magazine I have designed and created a questionnaire to use on the public. The purpose of this is to gather data of what the audience, my readers, want to see in my magazine. Here are the questions I have set:

1. What price would you pay for a good quality music magazine?
a) <£1 b) £1-£2
c) £2-£3 d) £3-£4
e) £4+

2. Do you prefer bright, vibrant colours or simple, understated magazine covers?
a) Bright and vibrant b) Simple and understated
c) Both d) Neither

3. Do you prefer covers to be predominantly images or text?
a) Images b) Text
c) The same amount d) None

4. How often do you buy music magazines?
a) A lot b) Often
c) Rarely c) Never

5. What colour combinations do you prefer out of these examples:
a) Pink, yellow, orange b) Black, red, white
c) Red, blue, green d) Green, blue, black
e) None of these e) I don't mind

6. Do you prefer men or women as the main image on a front cover?
a) Men b) Women
c) None d) Both

7. Do you prefer the main image on a cover to be behind the masthead or to cover a part of it?
a) Main image behind b) Masthead covered.
c) None

8. When reading an interview, should there by many images beside the text?
a) Yes b) No
c) Don't mind

9. Do you prefer contents pages to be understated and easier to read?
a) Yes b)No
c) Don't mind

10) Do you prefer glossy front cover or plain paper covers?
a) Glossy b) Plain
c) Don't mind c) Neither

AS Research and Planning: Look Magazine Contents Page Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the contents page of Look magazine issue from 1st November 2010.

As mentioned before, Look attracts a niche market of women from a large range of ages. The pages are set in A4, leaving sufficient space for the layout. The layout of this contents page is fairly understated, which works well in their favour. The layout consists of a main image, strap lines, a masthead, an editor's note, contents, images and a subscription information box. The contents are split into three segments, containing the main image, editor's note and contents/subscription box. This help to break up the page so it is easier to distinguish between the parts of the page. It also looks neater and less busy by using a simple line to break up the sections.

The main image is situated horizontally across the top of the page. The image depicts six runway models cut onto a black background. The image denotes fashion, clothes and women. Readers aspire to look like the models, to be as pretty and skinny as them and they admire the clothes. This is why the magazine appeals to the niche market of women. Readers buy the magazine, read about and look at trends and fashion, in order to copy this and be labelled 'fashionable'. It's a competitive part of society's labels on women, which makes the magazine appeal to them more as it aids this. All of the images that have been cut onto the black background and are all mid-shot to long-shot, and the models are all looking toward the camera. The photos have obviously been taken at some kind of catwalk show- proving that Look is indeed a fashion magazine.

The strap line above the masthead is written on a white strip across the main image, with a pink font in the style of Bradley Hand ICT Font on the top line. Pink is a feminine colour, with this particular shade denoting passion and action. The line below this includes the signifier shopping- signifying that yes, the magazine is a fashion magazine and aids women with what they like to do best, shopping. The font here is Times New Roman and black, contrasting against the white strip so that it is readable and the white appears brighter.

The masthead is written in a Times New Roman style, adding sophistication to the mix. LOOK is bolded for emphasis of the magazines name. The masthead is situated just below the main image. The strapline below this is written on a black strip. Again, the font here is Times New Roman but is written in white to contrast with the black strip. I particularly like that this strap line lists, with bullet points but horizontally, a brief overview of what readers will expect from the magazine. Due to it's clearness, it stands out and saves people from reading the whole contents page.

The editorial section is very understated, yet works well. They have used the technique of a 'dropped capital', but used this for the speech marks at the start and end of the text. This is very effective as it is unusual, looks good and stops the page from looking too simple. The image of the editor herself is an effective touch, as this means there is more verisimilitude. Those who actually manufacture the magazine are people themselves, which readers usually forget, and the reader can put someone's work to a face. This is a personal touch, adding weight to their note on what readers should expect from the issue. The vertical piece of text on the left hand side of the editorial note makes the page look more professional.

The actual contents on the page are listed on the right hand side of the page. The font is written in Times New Roman- the main font used in Look along with Bradley Hand ITC. The font is black and contrasts against the white of the page for accessible reading. They have listed the contents in ascending order of what they believe will appeal more to their audience, so that this is where they will first read to. They have bolded the cover stories from the cover, making it more accessible to find the stories on the cover inside the magazine.

The only image used beside the contents page is of singer/songwriter Taylor Swift promoting their interview with her inside. She is a very relevant artist in the music world and fashion world at the moment, so this is why her image was used above other celebrities due to her superior fame. The image is a close up of Taylor, her head turning toward the camera. She is smiling slightly, which lends an air of mystery to the photograph. There isn't much lighting in the image either, lending toward the mystery. This will urge the reader to read the interview. The photo does not contain any vibrant colours, just simple pastels and light tones. This keeps the contents simple and understated, which goes with the layout.

AS Research and Planning: Look magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

I have chosen to analyse popular fashion magazine LOOK issue 1st November 2010 on page 28. This is a double page spread interview of American singer/songwriter Taylor Swift.

The magazine is set in an A4 format, providing adequate space for the contents of the pages. Interestingly, there is not a large image on the first page of the interview, just a small paparazzi shot of Taylor and her ex-boyfriend, movie star Taylor Lautner. The masthead of the page is very large, and takes up almost half of the page. Most of the page is filled with the actual interview.

The masthead is very large, taking up almost half of the page. The page is predominantly white, but the masthead is set in front of a 'paint like' black smear across the page. The font used on the masthead is white, but the signifier dangerous is highlighted red. This word signifies being likely and able to do harm and can suggest a perilous scenario. The word brings readers out of their comfort zone, as it has so many connotations with serious and threatening scenarios. The red used on this signifier psychologically symbolises love to violence and warfare. Studies show that red can raise respiration and blood pressure, relating to the connotations of the word, putting readers out of their comfort zone. The contrast between the white font and the black background creates effective contrasting. The white appears brighter and easier to read against the black. The black smear effect also makes the page look more interesting, as the page has a simple layout, minimal photos and uses only black and white, except for the signifier in the masthead. The paint effect appears quite harsh against the white page, as black symbolises mystery and seriousness. The effect pf the smudges outline looks interesting, modern and harsh to have relevance with the masthead. The font is also written in a Times New Roman style, bar the signifier which is written in the Bradley Hand ITC font.

The two strap lines, like the Rihanna interview, are placed above and below the masthead. Above the masthead, the font is written in a Times New Roman style font and is in block capitals. It is a black font, contrasting with the white background. The block capitals emphasises the person they are interviewing and their fame. The strap line below the masthead is of typical interview style, informing the reader of her personal life, her career and a brief overview of what she reveals in the interview. The font is like the other strap line and masthead, written in a Times New Roman style.

The only image used on the first page is situated in the bottom left corner and depicts Taylor Swift and her now ex-boyfriend, movie star Taylor Lautner in a car, holding hands and smiling. This is a paparazzi shot and has connotations with the obsession of magazines reading about and seeing celebrities during their personal lives, away from their career. It also has relevance with the information in the interview.

The interview itself starts with a very common interview technique, the first letter of the interview is enlarged five times the size of the font in the layout, and is bolded and underlined. This is called a dropped capital. Phrases used in interview include "Taylor- one of the 10 richest female singers in the world," the journalist here is further emphasising the hierachy of the music world and Taylor's success. "Taylor is stunning (just ask her ex, Twilight's Taylor Lautner" here, the journalist is dropped other celebrities names into the interview, so that it seems the interview is relevant to other celebrities, not just the one they're interviewing. "Here, the girl who made country music cool talks about closing the Kanye chapter, her gorgeous ex and why she'll only settle of true love." Here, there are more mentions of the singer's personal life than her actual music, due to the fact that the magazine in question is a fashion/celebrity magazine. If this was a music magazine, there would be more questions on music than their personal life.

The second page of the spread has a main image, unlike the first page. This main image is situated on the right hand side of the page. As the image is portrait, the image takes up a vertical half of the magazine, leaving the other side for the interview and another small image. The main image depicts a mid-shot to long-shot of Taylor. The camera angle must have been taken fairly near the ground, as the image is of her whole body. She is wearing a strapless, purple above the knee style dress, Purple psychologically symbolises royalty, mystery, nobility and spirituality and has connotations toward nature, as it's the colour of lavender, orchid, lilac and violet flowers, which are often delicate and precious. Her body language suggests she is dancing, as her hair and dress are swaying, her arm is bent toward her head and her eyes are closed and her mouth is open. This denotes what we have have just read about Taylor in the interview, suggesting she is carefree and feminine. She is wearing a bright yellow bib necklace. Yellow on one hand denotes happiness and joy, but on the other symbolises cowardice and deceit. This is juxtaposition. This colour works well with the pose she is pulling as she looks cheerful, yet feminine and delicate due to her body frame. Her hair is famously curly and blonde, which denotes youth and children. It is also feminine and cheerful, tying in with her dress and necklace. The photo is taken with a plain white background, so the page doesn't look too busy.

The other image on the second page is situated in the bottom left hand corner of the page. The image is slightly slanted and depicts Taylor and another one of her exes, singer Joe Jonas. The image was taken at an event and appears to be another paparazzi shot. This interview has a high level of verisimilitude, due to the two pictures representing her personal life. However, I believe that the magazine can be heading down desensitisation, as seeing so many photos of her with ex boyfriends can leave readers getting less interested in the singer's love life.

AS Research and Planning: OK! Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

I have decided to analyse page 61 of OK! magazine issue 748. It is an interview with pop star Rihanna.

I have decided to analyse page 61 of OK! Magazine, issue 748. It is an interview with pop star Rihanna.

The magazine is set in the standard A4 paper size, which provides significant space for the contents of each page. The main image on the first page takes up most of the page, with a small box of text in the bottom left hand corner. The masthead is situated in the top left hand corner, with two strap line above and below it.

The main image used on this side of the spread depicts a mid-shot to long-shot picture of Rihanna. The camera angle is on the ground, while looking up at her while she is slightly looking down to face the camera. She is wearing a long, flowing in the wind, gold/yellow dress. The connotations with this are that because she is looking down on the camera, she has a higher status and has more power over readers. The colour of her dress, gold/yellow psychologically symbolises wealth, power and cheerfulness. This relates to the conception of the camera angle. Her hair cut into a sharp, black bob, seemingly a contrast to the dress as the dress is elegant and sophisticated, while the hair is sharp and loud. This is juxtaposition. The scenery in this image is of a light blue sky, sea and rocks in Barbados. The scenery denotes peace and harmony, which is what the clear sky, clear sea against the contrast of black rocks symbolises. The sea can also symbolise women, so the position of Rihanna in the shot can symbolise female empowerment. The scenery appears untainted by humans. The scene is naturalistic, relating to her dress, which flows in the wind and creates a 'goddess' effect. Therefore, the image essentially doesn't carry much verisimilitude, as the image looks like it belongs in an ancient Greek artist's portfolio. The lighting is clear and obviously taken during the day, adding weight to the scenery. Overall, the image is calming, beautiful and naturalistic. There is also a white caption contrasting against the black rocks in the bottom right hand corner, which tells the reader the information that Rihanna is from Barbados, relating to the picturesque scenery.

The masthead in the top left hand corner is written in a black font, contrasting against the light blue and white cloud background so that it stands out and is readable. The signifier marry signifies that the interview will involve the singer's love life, leading to the nature of OK! magazine; as it is a celebrity gossip magazine the reader is looking for information on celebrities personal life. The font used is soft, and goes nicely with the main image.

The strapline above the masthead is written inside a black 'strip'. Inside this it includes the signifier HOLLYWOOD, the term used to describe the interview. Unlike the white font the rest of the text is written in, this signifier is written in an orange/brown font. The colour works well against the black so it creates nice contrasting, while the colour is similar to the dress in the main image, keeping to a colour scheme. The word signifies that the interview is definitely celebrity orientated, as Hollywood is the place you associate with famous stars. The strap line below the masthead is also written in a black font, like the masthead. It provides the reader with what the interview discusses, therefore addressing that the magazine is offering them vicarious knowledge on the person being interviewed. The signifier RIHANNA is written in bold to add emphasise to the status of fame the interviewee is. The strap line is also written in capital letters, so that it stands out.

The interview begins on the first page and follows onto the next page. On the first page, the interview is in a small white box of text in the bottom left hand corner. The font used is black and in the style of Arial, or a font similar. The effect is the black makes the white background appear brighter and clearer, while having good contrasting which allows the text to be readable. The simple font also aids this technique. Like many magazines do, they lay bold emphasis on the first letter of the text. It is written in a much bigger font and bolded. Choice of words used by the journalist in the interview include 'it's getting serious between Rihanna and her new boyfriend...', which also sets of the interview. This emphasises that the journalist is more interested in the singer’s personal life than her music, as the journalist only mentions her music secondarily to her love life. The opening question is asking Rihanna about her drug addicted dad and domestic abuse in her parents' relationship. The journalist is immediately treading into very personal territory, which gives the reader the gossip. The journalist only asks her three questions relating to her music, with the majority of the questions interrogating her about her personal life. This relates to the nature of OK! magazine.

The layout of the second page contains two main images and roughly a third of the vertical page is given to the interview on the left hand side. Again, like the first page of the spread, this page is dominated by images. The top image, which takes up half the page, depicts Rihanna lying face up on a sofa. This image denotes things such as the fact she is wearing a vibrant pink, strapless nightdress style dress. Psychologically, vibrant pink symbolises high energy and passion. The effect of this dress expresses her sexuality, which she is known for, while also emphasising her femininity. Her pose relates to this, as she is using her hand to indicate the area around her neck/chest, which is an extremely sexual gesture. She is also looking toward the camera in a half turn, while pouting slightly, which maximises this. The zebra print sofa mixes her provocative persona with a 'retro' feel.

The image below this is a paparazzi image taken at an event with fellow celebrity Katy Perry. The image is a close up to mid shot of them, and they are leaning into each other, showing their closeness as friends, which is mentioned a few times in the interview. This image also contains a caption explaining the two images and is written in a white font, which contrasts with the black and red background. Another image is placed over the top of the bottom half image and depicts Rihanna and her boyfriend. The image is another paparazzi shot, but their body language suggests they don't feel comfortable with the paparazzi taking photos. This shows the reader the singer's personal time the interview talks about a lot.

AS Construction: Preliminary School Magazine Mock Up Final

I am really pleased with my final contents page for my school magazine. I like the lack of colour I have used as I believe when it comes to contents less is more, as contents are merely for guiding the reader toward pages, not revelling at colours and thousands of photogrpahs. I also like the font I have used, which is Adobe Caslon Pro. The reason I used the font is that it doesn't look trashy, but sophisticated and easy to read. It also goes with my 'less is more' mantra, it goes nicely with my plain background. There is nothing I'd wish to improve as I am very happy with the result and I don't think I could add much more.

The reason I used images is to spice up the contents page so it doesn't look too plain, as it appeals to people who prefer to learn and read through pictures. The photos are all taken in school, so they are relevant to the magazine. The reason I put them at the top of the page is that they do not interrupt the contents and don't look too spaced out, as this will look messy.

I used capital letters for the heading as due to the smooth font, it doesn't appear harsh and 'shouty' when using capital letters, I spaced out the heading of contents as I like the effect it shows and I have seen commonly used in magazines.

AS Construction: Preliminary School Magazine Mock Up Contents

This is the mock up of the contents page of my preliminary task of a school magazine. I have included coloured blocks to distinguish my mock up from different parts of the page, which I obviously won't include on my final piece. This will be my basic layout for my my final piece. It is quite a simple layout which isn't too busy but gives the impression that there is a lot of information inside while having a good number of photographs, appeals to people who prefer to look at photos instead of reading, and vice versa.

AS Reseach and Planning: Heat Magazine Cover Analysis

Heat Magazine

HEAT is an extremely popular celebrity gossip magazine. The masthead on this cover is written in lower case letters and is a bright red colour. Psychologically, red brings out conflicting emotions from passion and love to violence and warfare. Metaphorically, red both symbolise cupid and the devil. However, I believe that Heat decided to use it to grab attention; via the 'traffic light' advertising theory (red stands for stop and read me). Interestingly, the strap line is near toward the bottom of the page and has a 'tearing across' effect; the main image has an effect of the image being ripped in half like paper, with the signifier MELTDOWN! in capital letters and a black font. The black font contrasts with the white of the tearing mark. The word signifies that we usually have connotations with 'falling apart' and great downfall- it is a powerful word that grabs attention and urges the reader to read about it.

The cover uses four main colour schemes; red, black, yellow and pink. This is fairly unusual as covers rarely exceed a rule of three colours maximum on a cover, as it looks messy and too busy. The yellow has connotations with sunshine, and like red, has conflicting symbolism. Yellow denotes happiness and joy while it also has associations with cowardice and deceit. The black font used contrasts nicely with the white background it is presented in as black against white makes the white seem brighter, therefore good contrasting and boldness. The vibrant pink has connotations with femininity and is closely related to the colour red, have the same high energy and are sensual and passionate. The yellow and pink are commonly used in women's magazines, while the red is for grabbing attention and the black merely to create good bold contrasting.

The main image is of three people, Cher Lloyd, Cheryl Cole and Katie Waissel. They are all related to The X Factor, a show which at the moment dominates the media. The effect of having them on the cover tells the reader that the magazine is relevant to celebrity culture at the moment and appeals to fans of the show. The images are notably photoshopped onto one another, i.e. the images used are actually three different images. None of the women are looking at the camera, and seem to not be aware of their photo being taken. I can infer from this that they are paparazzi shots and not from a photoshoot or from the show. The effect of this is that as the magazine is a celebrity gossip magazine, there are photos inside that have not likely to have been touched up and catches celebrities at private times- the reader feels like they're seeing a personal side to the celebrities.

Aside from the main image and strap line, there are two more segments of content features. In the right hand corner is a picture of popular showbiz couple Katy Perry and Russell Brand. The heading is in a vibrant pink font written in capital letters on a bright yellow background. 7-Day is in a black font instead of pink, which gives the impression it is highlighted. The part below this has the signifier FULL DETAILS! which signifies that the magazine has all the knowledge and exclusives of the couples wedding day, which will urge fans of the couple or even cynics to purchase and relates back to the celebrity gossip aspect. The text also has denotations of flowers beside it. The flowers have connotations with romanticism, love and new life, linking with the content features of a wedding day. It also adds weight to the femininity side of the magazine, appealing to th target audience of females. At the top of the cover to the left has the signifier EXCLUSIVE! which has the same connotations mentioned before. Notably, the exclusive is written in bigger words than the actual content feature text. It is written in a white font on a red background, which has effective contrasting and creates boldness and the whole 'stop! and read me' technique.

AS Reseach and Planning: Q Magazine Cover Analysis

Q Magazine

Q magazine is a music magazine and covers every genre of music. It is therefore versatile and appeals to any music fan. The masthead has a large font and is situated in the left hand corner of the front cover. Interestingly, the masthead is red. Psychologically, red is an extremely strong colour. It conjures up a range of conflicting emotions like passion to violence and warfare. It also has connotations with traffic lights- red for stop (and read me!).

The strap line to is also red, which nicely contrasts with the white background of the main image. The text adding weight to the strap line is a gold colour, and uses signifiers such as 'unseen', 'last' and 'whole'. These words signify exclusiveness, up to date (as far as possible) and everything involved on the cover. All of these things appeal to the audience, especially those who are fans of the musical icon. There is more text in a smaller font below this, which is in white as it overlaps the image of the person. Again, the contrast against the black of the image to the white allows the reader to read it clearly. Below this, it also has a small part of three other variations of this issue's cover.

The main image used is of musical legend John Lennon, as the magazine is celebrating his 70th birthday. The image is in black and white, the effect of this adding weight to the fact he is dead, and the image is from the 60s or 70s and the tragedy of his early death. It is a close up to mid-shot and he is looking straight into the camera, so that he is staring at the reader. The effect of this is that the reader feels that the image is personal to them as it is addressing them directly. The background is white, which is subtle, yet effective.

To the right of the cover on the sides are content features inside the magazine. The headings of these features are red, like the masthead and strap line. Signifiers like exclusive! signify that readers will be getting inside gossip about the issue, which will urge them to buy it. There is also a 'stamp' of red with the number of pages of reviews inside, appealing to people looking for music reviews. The border is gold, with text at the top enforcing the main focus on the magazine, John Lennon. The font of 70th has a classical edge to it, adding weight to the significance of the issue being a collector’s edition to musical fans.

AS Reseach and Planning: Look Magazine Cover Analysis

LOOK Magazine

'Britains best-selling fashion weekly magazine- audience is women of a range of ages. The masthead (title of the magazine) is in a shocking pink colour. Psychologically, pink is seen as the colour of happiness and is soothing. The effect of the vibrant pink is youthful, fun and exciting and is sensual and passionate with no aggression. The colour is therefoere feminime, relevant to the audience.

The white strapline contrasts with the darkness of the backround so that the words spring out to the reader. The signifier wild is notably in a shocking pink colour, like the masthead. It signifies scandal, as the word wild has connotations to animalistic behaviour. This, therefore, urges the reader to read about this scandal. The signifier OMG! enforces both the strapline and the relevance to the audience of the magazine.

The bit below the strapline is highlighted in pink with a white font. The effect of this is further contrasting for boldness and adding onto the strapline. The signifier secret details attracts attention as readers will believe it's an 'exclusive'.

Along with the shocking pink, there are two other colours the magazine uses. Orange is used as a backround part to a piece of black text. Again, the contrast is effective and stands out. The orange is, like the pink, bright and vibrant and almost neon. Psychologically orange is a controversial colour, which provokes either a 'love it or hate it' association. It also radiates warmth and energy. The other colour used is yellow and is another vibrant and bright colour. Yellow is often assoicated with optimism, enlightenment and happiness. However, both the yellow and orange are less used than the pink.

The main image used on the front cover is of popular music icon Lady Gaga. She is largely relevant to celebrity and fashion culture at the moment, which means people will want to read about her. There is a lack of backround to the actual image, just some blurred lights and darkness. The darkness helps create contrast with the white strapline and to help the person in the image stand out more, as she has platinum blonde hair and a white dress on. The blurry lights may have connotations with the importantance of the person in the image as the lights are above her.

There are three other segments apart from the main image, masthead and strapline which just adds weight to the content. About a quarter of the page at the bottom relates to fashion and has images of run-way models and coats. This maginfies the feminism in the magazine and is contrasted against a white backround for boldness. About a tenth of the page at the top is similair, but has images of shoes and their prices, with mroe information being inside the magazine. The other segmentation is on the right of the main image and contains the heading with the yellow image, with a white strapline. It then has a photo of Cheryl Cole for relevance to the story inside. Notably, the cover only features famous women or models who are all good looking and attractive. This is relevant to the magazine as it is a women's magazine.

AS Construction: School Magazine Preliminary Task Final

This is my completed work from our preliminary task- designing a front cover for a school magazine. I have used a portrait of a mid shot of the view of the school from the field. I have positioned the camera in the grass so that it points up toward the building. The effect of this is that the school is the biggest picture so it is relevent to the school magazine. The picture that overlaps this is a cut out picture I did of a friend. I cut out the picture in Photoshop and placed it over the main image of the school. I did this because I wanted to add more depth to the cover and wanted to show off techniques I am capable of doing on Photoshop.

In hindsight I wish I made the content features slightly bigger, so that it is easier to read. However, I like the contrast of the white to the backround image as it makes it clearer. I also wish I added more detail to the masthead as it's a little too simple and not very eye catching. I would have made it a bigger font and a bright colour.

AS Reseach and Planning: Music Magazine Front Cover Research

My favourite front cover I came across during my research was this recent cover of popular music magazine Q. The picture is extremely clever in the fact that it includes the three biggest, or prominent, figures of a music genre; pop (Lady Gaga), rap/hip hop (Jay-Z) and rock (Dave Grohl). The effect of this is that it is representative of music at the moment so it appeals to a broader musical range. Again, the white backround leaves a blank canvas for the content features which shows off the quantity inside the magazine. The large wording of the names of the artists on the front cover further emphasises their prominence in the music industry. The cover only features three main colours; red, pink and black. A broad combination which can appeal to men and women.

AS Reseach and Planning: Music Magazine Front Cover Research

I like this front cover of woman's monthly magazine Company as the picture is simple, yet effective. The simple white backround leaves a blank canvas for the content features at the sides. The effect of this is that they are easier to read and stand out more, instead of being overshadowed by a busy backround. It shows behind the photoshoot inside, there is a lot of content so they get value for their money. The picture itself appeals to women as it includes fashion- the magazine main purpose. It's a good example of a magazine appealing to their audience. The same principle goes for the Blender magazine cover. I aim for my magazine to be in the same style.

AS Reseach and Planning: Conception of Photoshoot for Music Magazine.

My initial and main idea of the conception of the front cover of my music magazine is to have a photo of a girl with long, dark and curly hair. She will either be standing or sitting, with a guitar for relevance to the magazine. I will take various shots, including close ups, mid shots and long shots. The front cover will have a plain background; either plain white or a light purple/grey/pink colour. This will depend on the colour clothes she will be wearing. The double page spread photoshoot will include more photos from the cover shoot, but this time with scenery. I am looking for surburbia meets country girl, meaning her clothes will have a mix of these. I plan to take a picture of her walking down a busy pavement and casually carrying a guitar in one hand. This will have relevance to my theme. Next, I plan to take a photograph of her sitting on a brick wall, with busy industrialisation behind her. She will be playing her guitar, contrasting with the background.

AS Reseach and Planning: Preliminary Task Conception, Framing & Shot Distance

For my preliminary task (designing and creating a front cover of a school magazine), I have planned how my photos for the cover are going to be taken. I have decided that the backround and main image is going to be a long range shot of Smithdon High School. The masthead, content features and another image is going to overlap this main image. I must show that I can take a mid shot image of a student which I can then crop and cut out using Photoshop. I will either show that I can do this but not actually use it for my final cover or I can use this for my final cover, which I have not decided yet. I plan to test what both covers will look like with both techniques and then use the most effective looking one. I will take close ups, mid-shots and long range shots of the same image so that I have a variety of images to choose from and further show what I am capable of doing.

AS Reseach and Planning: Preliminary Mock Magazine Cover

This is a part of my research and planning (pre-production). This is my first attempt at designing and constructing the layout of my first AS preliminary task; this is to design and produce a front cover for a school magazine.

The programme used to contruct the layout is Microsoft Publisher. As you can see (from the rather badly done colour layout) the main picture is going to take the most space on the cover. However, the picture is merely a backround for 'main content info' and the three 'content features'. The effect of having a simple photo instead of a busy one will compliment the content features nicely. The photo must also have some kind of relevence to the 'main content info' for continuity purposes.

The masthead on my mock up is simple and standard of a typical magazine. The effect of this is that the magazine is simple, tasteful and lets the picture below do the talking. The masthead will be the title of the magazine.

Finishing touches such as the logo- which should incorporate the school's own logo and colour scheme to make it look offical and not a tatty and a cheap knock-off, while still being obvously linked to the school. The barcode is purely used here just to make the magazine look more authentic and official.

I should also mention that I do not intend to use this terrible colour scheme for my cover!

When I improve on this mock up I will use professional programs such as Photoshop and Microsoft Publisher to ensure the authenticity of the cover.