As I mentioned earlier in my blog I have decided to do another magazine and the reason for this is because I didn't feel that the previous years work was good enough as a year later I can see improvements where I can make my grade a little higher. I have decided to look at different texts that would still appeal to my audience range however they are fashion magazines however I liked different elements of the magazine that would work well in my magazine.
I have taken most of my inspiration from YOU.com magazine as I particular liked 12th January 2014 edition of the magazine which featured Cameron Diaz. The reason I have chosen this magazine in particular is because the magazine used the same colour palette as I had the year previous, there were sell-lines which used a variety of sizes and colours just like the professional magazine and the front cover also had a model with blond hair in a medium close up. As I didn't want my product to be the same as the previous years I still wanted to have the same theme running through just this time I wanted a better functionality and I felt by finding a product similar to mine as template would be the best way to go about it.
I really like the layout for the front cover of the YOU.com magazine as they have the masthead in the top, left-hand corner, the conventional place to place it. They have made the most of the 3 colours in the colour palette as they have used the red to highlight the different elements of the front cover for example where the magazine has ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE Dazzle Like DIAZ!’. They have made the most attractive parts of the text more stand out as well as the colour they have also capitalised the text so it pops out in the text more.
I really like the front cover image as the Cameron Diaz isn't wearing anything too stand out and as my magazine isn't a fashion magazine I feel that this would also be a good approach when coming to decided what my model should wear.
Another element I really like about this magazine, its probably the smallest feature that they have used and yet I feel the most effective at placing something that needs to be on the front cover and yet not have it staring you in the face as they have placed the date in the vertical line of the ‘U’ and they have used the combination of white on red which is again something I would like to use.
They have stuck to a plain background, not to confuse and not to clutter the front cover as if you have a colour behind it makes it harder to place coloured text over the top and it makes it harder for different features to stand out and so plan on not using coloured backgrounds.
The pose the model is sporting is another subtle thing about this magazine as nothing looks too forced and yet it looks professional.
The double page spread which follows the front page is very similar in style to the front page especially the style in which the model is sitting however this is another convention as you need to have an image similar to the front page on your double page spread so that your audience can associate the person on the front as being the same story and so you get the model to wear the same clothes. The model as cleverly been positioned so that the she is looking over to the article and so if the image is what you see first you are then guided towards the article alongside which is clever constructed.
The differences from the front page to the double page spread would be the background as the producer has decided to go for a gradient grey to white background which I feel is really effective especially when there is minimal colour on the page except from the model. This gradient change works really well and I like that they have went for subtle, non-intrusive colours which also match the colour palette of the magazine.
I like the font they have used for the huge ‘C’ they have used on the left page of the double page spread for the beginning of the celebrities name and this clever lettering is really eye catching and a feature I would like to use in my work.
The context itself is also something I enjoy reading rather than the standard question and answer I am so used to seeing as it feels like the interviewer is trying to help you picture you actually there and you have to read into the facts a little more rather than it been put down in front of you.
They have also included the date, website address and the fact that it is the cover story in the corners of the double page spread they aren't too big so that it isn't the first thing you notice when you open the page however they are there if you are wanting the information.
Another thing that I have noticed is that the font in this double page spread, it isn't different however the size, boldness and italics is different the actual font isn't different which is a clever trick not to overwhelm the reader as all the text looks to be different however if you look closely you can see that its slightly bigger, in italic or just of different font size which is the more conventional thing to do because reader’s are known to switch off and loose interest in the feature if there is too many fonts all piled in together.
The contents page which follows after the front cover featuring Cameron Diaz doesn't look as professional as the front cover of the double page spread however I do like the layout and some of the image used on there as they have used a bright yellow coloured background image on the contents page as the contents is quite a little dull and so I feel that they have done this to brighten it up and have used softer colours around so not to make it too overwhelming on the eyes. I really like the styling of the main image as again the image is very simple, the model is not wearing anything too in your face and yet it is powerful enough for you to keep drawing your eyes into the contents page.Another thing about this image is that they have placed a number 16 in the top right hand side of the image in black which helps stand out and also tells the reader where to find the feature in the magazine, they have done the dame in the other images on the page.
The layout as I said I really like as it is conventional to most magazines you have a contents list along the left, big image to the right of this and then below there is more text and then an image beside this to emphasize the main points in the text. I like the styling of the text beside the image as they have gone for a red number, bold, capitalised titles and then normal text beside that.
At the top left hand corner of the page they have placed a big piece of text with a reasonable amount of space around it which states ‘In this issue 12.02.2014’, this not only tells you what date the issue but it also titles the contents page rather than having the masthead in this place and it is a refreshing change. They have also used a combination of black and red, bold, big italic font for this part of the page which is another way of guiding your attention.
Another element which I like is that they have a strip of information at the bottom of the page to tell their audience how to get in touch with the magazine, who created it and how to join the social network sites however I don’t like the layout of this as I feel the boxes are too weirdly displayed for the amount of information that is being given.
Another feature that I like the look of was a feature of Maimie McCoy and the reason for this is the image as she looks so calm and there is nothing too clever about the image except the way she is lying and some shallow depth of focus used, it is pretty much polar opposite of the Cameron Diaz feature even though they are in the same magazine as the colours for started don’t reflect the magazines colour palette, they have used the image across the full of the double page spread and they have a box around the article to show people where the article starts rather than a massive C.
However I do like this feature as there is nothing too stand out as the image again gets your focus in the beginning but because of the chair she is sitting in your gain slowly follows down the chair and into the article.
I really like the use of clippings of quotes in the bottom right hand corner of the double page spread.
In the top left hand corner there is a word which describes the nature of the double page spread and in this instance it is an interview.
Again they have been clever not to put the models face too close to the middle of the two pages.
NME magazine is another magazine where I got some ideas from as I really like the idea of having a artist index and I like that they have put the artist names in red and then put the number where you will find the information of the artist beside in black. Another feature that I really liked about this magazine is that they have clear sub-titles showing you what is inside the magazine and I really liked the idea of having a news, new artist, reviews, live and features section.
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