Evaluation of double page spread

Media Evaluation

My magazine was highly focused on a rock magazine with a focus that would attract more guitar players, but also rock lovers alike. For the cover I decided it needed a picture that was eye catching and strong. I believe this was achieved using 2 guitars crossing each other signifying a focus on the double page spread of the 2 bands competing, as each guitar would have been from each band member. However the contents page was more mellowed out and relaxed as the front cover has done its job in attracting the reader. The Double page spread is the main focus of this project as it was imperative that I had to find something very creative. I used 2 pictures of the band members and highly edited their faces so it would be black and white to give it a dark effect with slight sense of war with the facial expressions. In the middle of the double page spread was an guitar amp with 2 guitar heads crossing to form an X, this signifies each member as if he is holding is guitar and aiming it at the other band member but also signifies friendship which can be seen in the interview.

The biggest problem I faced was with the technology within the project. I used a mix of XARA and PHOTOSHOP to edit and put my photos together. Also I used programs such as PAINT.NET to edit photos to which it looks now for example the 2 faces in the double page spread. With XARA it was difficult to put pictures together and layered to give the magazine effect cause it would just disappear. After a while I found ways to counter this problem and get on effectively with my work.

My ideas had changed over the course of the project. The only idea that did not change was the contents page, what is seen in the contents page was what exactly I conjured up in my head while designing ideas in my head. The front page had a few slight changes to what I had planned. My original idea was to have the 2 band members standing with some conflict with their guitars, but I had felt that this would take away the effectiveness of the double page spread. As it was a very powerful image the double page.

I was away on a school trip when I had to take some pictures for the project. Also a classmate who was doing the same project but his own had to use me for pictures as I had to use him for pictures likewise. So due to this fact we were a little behind schedule but the pictures turned out to be perfect. When I showed my ideas to my friends they liked how I had planned it out and couldn't think how it would turn out.

After I finished the project I showed them my final product and the feedback I got was in the general good direction some did not like it because it wasn't their style of music but thats what I tried to do, to appeal it only to people who love rock which is what I seemed to achieve due to the fact that the people that approved had a rock knowledge or a love of rock like me.

I believe that through these images and wordings I have used on the magazine pages I have conveyed the strong message of Rock music to the masses if this was published. I think the cover page is strong enough to attract readers of all sorts not to for only reading but to interest them in what rock has to offer.

The reason I chose Rock music as a base for this magazine is because simply my love for music all started with Rock music, it is the foundation for my musical knowledge I have today and that allowed me to branch into other types of genres I enjoy such as blues, house, electro,hip-hop, jazz and many more which shows a diversity.

I was stretched multiple times on this project due to XARA, on numerous occasions it would not let me do what I wanted which became very frustrating and hazardous to the project as if I could not get what I wanted, the satisfaction of getting it done to my style would not be there and I would have felt it be incomplete.

The name of the magazine 'Rock-aholic'. Although it has a controversial side, it has a strong meaning behind it. The 'aholic' part of the name refers to alcoholic who has a drinking addiction. So I thought this would be for all the Rock addicts out there, which I believe had a very strong meaning and should catch the reader.

The other stories on the magazine cover and contents page were had to think of had it was a rock magazine so it had to have other band names on it to sound legitimate. This was a hard task and frustrating as well, it turned out to be more frustrating then when XARA did not work, but now reviewing the band names and stories I feel I achieved a great job and sense of satisfaction in reading the band names such as 'Stencil Rage' and 'Berlin Impact' which are very catchy and sound very rock like.

The demographics for this magazine would be teenagers from 14+ up to any age who love rock. The reason I chose 14 and up was because it was around 14 years old when i started to really focus on music and rock music in general, and started looking at rock instruments to start learning such as the electric guitar. It is not only limited to those ages, anyone who wants to read this magazine can, I only targeted that demographics as a baseline standard, but had in mind that anyone and everyone can read this magazine.

Josh Pereira

double page music magazine spread

this is my final music magazine double page spread enjoy

*UPDATED* Final Contents page

With this new contents page I have added a new story which is entitled "Berlin Impact..." I added this story as I thought it was too plain without this story and this added some extra effect to the contents page.

Music magazine front cover and contents page and questionnaire

College magazine

Questions

What type of magazine is it?
The magazine is focused solely on music and the entertainment business



From the front cover what kinds of issues/articles are going to be inside?
Judging from the 'puffs' which are seen on both magazines we are able to understand what is within the magazines. There is alot of emphasis on new and upcoming bands or artists, extisting famous bands and interviews with them and more.


Who is the target audience for the magazine?
The target audience for the magazines are late teens to adults, as in the late teenage years is when people start to take a firm interest.



What particular age group?
Ages 16 and over.



What are their interests?
There interests would be current music, 'gossip', celebrity news. Celebrities are the main focus in their interest as they are the central theme of the magazines.



Look at the central image. What mode of address is the mag using?
They are using the central image and highlighting it giving it a high status image. In the sense that it is trying to idolize the persons in the images.



What does this tell you about the type of relationship it wants with its reader?
The relationship wanted is sort of saying that the celebrities are very much alike everyday people, they try to achieve this through interviews and 'gossip' in the magazines.



Who is on the front cover and why?
On the front covers the people are Madonna and Jay-Z. They are on the cover because they are what people are into, a trend so to speak. They are the hottest artists around and the magazine use this to help them capitalize on the money they could receive.



What does the anchorage text say?




What does this imply about the artist?
This implies that they are very famous and successful in the current time, but the magazine is trying to show whilst they are the hottest artists around they still have things in life which are the same as everyday normal people.



What overall message is the artist giving?
The message being given by the artist is that themselves are successful and it is also a form of advertising in a sense that in these magazines they usually promote up and coming projects such as new albums or movies



Are any groups being represented?
The groups being represented are in the music industry such as bands, pop artists both famous and up-and-coming artists.



How does the magazine represent them?




Are there any ‘buzz’ words?




What effect does it have on the reader?




What does design of the title block tell you about the magazine
The design of 'Rolling Stone' gives the reader a sense of exclusiveness and quality and appeals to both sex's. Where as the magazine 'Q' seems to be more casual and appeals more to women then men.



What does the title of the magazine tell you about:


1. the readership




2. its image




3. its style




What do the ‘puffs’ suggest will be inside the magazine?




What does this tell you about the type of audience the magazine expects to get?




Is there a slogan?
Yes, in “Rolling Stone” it is 'Jay-Z: Addicted To The Game'
In “Q” there does not seem to be a visible slogan



What does it tell you about the magazine?
They have many marketing schemes to attract readers from 16 and above.



How does it help to attract readers?
The slogan is catchy and memorable and it entices people to read the magazine and see what context does the slogan fall into with the focused theme.



What colours are used?
In “Rolling Stone” the colours are simple, with just white and black fonts and background with some red coloured font as well, the simplicity is easy to read and is still stylish and eye-catching.
In “Q” is slightly more colourful and busy then Rolling Stone which is has a different style, in the sense that it seems to appeal more to the younger generation of people then the older.


Do you find them attractive?
Personally the Rolling Stone magazine is more attractive to me as the colours I find are more appealing then the magazine 'Q'. Also 'Q' is more for the female population then the male where as Rolling Stone is unisex.



What fonts are used and why?
The fonts used are big clear font, not with cursive text. This shows the simplicity and ease of read of the magazine.


What strategies does the magazine use to attract the audience?
They use the artists on the cover to attract the audience, also the names of the artists are enlarged which also attracts the reader due to the Name of the artist which should be well known

College Post

Some appropriate ideas for a college magazine would be articles and pictures about college life. For instance in America there is a big emphasis on college sports such as American Football and Basketball. The cover should portray colourful images and something of relevance to the college, such as sports or subjects. It should be eye catching, new in the college, fashion, maybe current events and news around the school. Some good mastheads would be something that applies to the students and would make it appealing to them. Some good font ideas would be something that is loud and clear, possibly with some modern font such as some graffiti styles.