Kerrang! Front cover analysis

NME double page analysis

Target audience

My target audience are Teenagers aged 15-19, located in the UK. The readership of my magazine is 75% female and 25% males. 

Seeing as my magazine is aimed at teens, the majority of my audience will be students in full time education. This would therefore mean that they are on a low income, meaning that my magazine will need to be a low affordable price. 

As teenagers are frequently associated with the Internet, I shall include links to websites/ social media in my product. This will appeal to the audience as teenagers have a familiar interest in the online world. 

My genre of music I'm targeting is current popular music; this range from bits of rock all the way to pop. My audience will therefore be the type of people who have an interest and a passion for current artists such as: Kanye west, Beyoncé, Kassbian etc. 

FINAL ANALYSIS

FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

FINAL CONTENTS PAGE

FINAL FRONT COVER

Interview

Below is my interview with Ying. I chose to ask conventional questions such as "How did you first get into music?"; the audience are familiar with these types of questions, whilst they also allow the reader to get a good insight into the musicians life. 

I set my interview out in a Q&A style, putting the questions in bold. This type of layout is easy to read and will ensure that my audience do not get confused. This style is appropriate seeing as my teenage audience will not be interested in reading huge paragraphs however, can easily read it if its broken down: 


Ying Sung is set to be the next big artist of 2015 as she drops her first single in just 2 weeks. We sent 2 of our researchers to meet Ying, for her first exclusive interview, and to find out more about her journey so far!


How did you first get into music?

I've always been a musical person, my dad was a great musician, he used to play the piano all the time and I suppose I just picked it up from him. I remember he used to teach me little tunes on the piano, but it wasn't until I started to write my own songs at the age of 8, that I realised I could actually sing; once I started it was impossible to stop, I loved it so much.


How much of an influence has your father had over your music?

I would say a great deal. He is the type of person that wants to be involved in everything I do, and although a little annoying at times, I am thankful that he’s always there to support me. He has always backed my every move since day 1 and always tells me to go out there and chase my dream.


Did you have any inspirational music figures when you were younger?

I had a few. I grew up listening to Whitney Houston because my mum was a massive fan of hers; I suppose she was my main inspiration. I was so in love with her voice, every time I heard it, it gave my shivers. I used to sit in my room with her album on repeat, just admiring the strength and beauty of her voice. I knew that when I wanted to grow up, I wanted to be just like her; I wanted to use my voice to reach out to people in the same way that hers reached out to me.
The first album I bought was Michael Jacksons and to this very day it is still one of my favourites. I enjoy the upbeat tunes and would definitely say that him as an artist, has had a great deal of influence over the music I write today.


What were your family and friends attitudes towards you wanting to become a singer?

My family 100% backed me all the way, they understood that this was the ultimate dream for me and had faith that one day I would achieve it. My friends on the other hand, weren't so supportive. I mean, I was only about 12 at the time that I became very serious about my future, but I guess they just weren't very interested. I used to give up my lunchtimes at school to practise over and over again, whilst they were all hanging out together. Over time, it eventually resulted in me losing my friends because I was so devoted to my music. We gradually drifted away and yeah, school became kind of tough for me because I didn't really have anybody.



Did school get any easier for you?

Yes, Thankfully. I found a completely new group of friends in my third year of secondary school and the best thing was: they had a passion for music too. They all believed that I had the ability to achieve my goal, and I suppose they are what gave me the confidence and courage to take my first real step into the music world.


So what was your first step?

Well I started off by entering a number of local talent competitions, all of which I lost, but I didn't get that knock me down; if anything, it gave me even more determination to carry on . I then performed at a few small gigs, nothing big, only pubs and halls near to my hometown. On the fourth gig, I was spotted by a company that scout for small unknown musicians to play at festivals. I was so shocked that someone even had the slightest bit of interest in me, but mostly over the moon that I had been recognised for my talent.

I performed at a music festival in Hyde Park, London, I was an absolute bucket of nerves because I was just this young girl that no one knew about, however, it was such a success and the crowd seemed to love it. I wish I could go back to that day because I had the most incredible feeling inside of me when I was on that stage; I felt like I was just born for it.
The next day my twitter completely exploded, I had people telling me that I was the next big thing. I suppose it just kind of led from there, People were booking me out for more festivals and concerts, and now I'm here, 18 years old and about to release my first ever single! I am so thankful for everyone that has got me where I am today, I feel truly blessed.


That was an incredible story, so, your single, tells us more about it.

Yes, my single is due to be released on April 10th and I'm so excited! It is called “Just a little” and I can't wait for you to all hear it. I've been working so hard on it and yeah, make sure you grab yourself a copy!


I most definitely will be! Thank you for your time and we wish you all the best for the future.
Thank you!

 I am excited for what the future has in store for me.

Double page spread analysis

Final front cover

Front cover production

 

1) This is the basic image I chose to be on my front cover. I chose this because I liked the composition; Ying is also making direct address to the audience by creating eye contact which builds a relationship between the reader and magazine. 

2) Once I had chosen my image, I started editing it. My first step was adjusting the brightness and contrast in order to make the picture clearer. Next, I changed the colour balance which simply eased the reds and yellows in the picture, giving it a brighter and more professional look.

The spot healing brush tool helped me to touch up some areas of the skin; I decided to do this as magazines conventionally Photoshop impurities out of the picture, in order to appeal to a wider audience as possible. 

Once the main image was edited, I cut it out using the lasso tool and feathered the edges which made the corners appear not as rigid and harsh. As some of the cutting out wasn't perfect, i simply took the rubber tool and neatened up around the body to make it look as professional as possible. I then added  a slight drop shadow and glow which just made the image stand out.

3)  I initially decided on a pink background, however, changed it to a light purple as it was brighter and would therefore stand out to the audience on a magazine shelf.

4) The next step was to place the mast head in. At this point I changed the text to white instead of black as I felt it stood out more and gave it a refreshing feel. I placed the title behind the main image; this is a convention and doesn't hide any of the image, suggesting that it has a high amount of significance to the magazine.

 5) I started to position the main cover line along the bottom/centre of the page. I initially went with a plain Century Gothic font , however, this was too plain and so I proceeded to add a stroke and drop shadow to the outside. This gave it an extra bit of prominence and allowed it to be clearly seen against the background.

6) I then added in the rest of the cover line in the same white bold font and added another drop shadow:

7) I chose the celebrity names in my cover lines to be in bright bold yellow font and inside a black rectangle box (Rita Ora example seen below).

The yellow text stands out from the rest of the magazine. it is brighter than any other colour features on the page and therefore would attract the audiences eye straight away; this is ideal because celebrities are the main attraction to my audience.

 8) I then carried on each cover line using the black box and yellow font. I put the rest of the text in black which allows only the yellow pieces of important info to stand out.






 












9) Here, I created a circle in which I placed a cover line in. I decided to do this as another way of making one of  the cover lines clearly visible. I thought it gave it a modern look and takes away the straight boxy element from the magazine.

To create this, I drew a circle using the shape tool, filled it in red and lowered the opacity and added a stroke to the shape.

10) Here I added a bar code by importing an image from Google.

11) The last thing I added to my front cover was a banner running across the bottom right corner which advertised a free Itunes download. I created the white banner by drawing a rectangle, rotating it and lowering the opacity. I then placed white font on top of it, making the main words stand out by changing their colour to purple.

This advertisement fits my target audience well as it involves online media which is current with the younger generation. Most teenagers are familiar with Itunes, making it a suitable freebie that will attract lots of people.

Mast head progression

This is my font progression. Once I decided on my name 'Unplugged' the next step was to design a mast head that will appeal to my audience.

The top image shows a few fonts that I tried out, however, in the end I chose the top font which is 'Myriad Pro'. I selected this font as I preferred it to all the rest; I think it it has a somewhat sophisticated look to it which is appropriate to my teenage target audience as it doesn't appear too childish. 

I chose to change the font to white as it stands out from the background, whereas the black title blended in slightly. I also think that white fits my colour scheme better and is more aesthetically pleasing. 

Once I placed my title onto the front cover, I still felt that it needed something extra to make it unique and so I decided to fill in the P and D (shown in image 2 and 3). This added a bit of quirkiness to the mast head and made it stand out a little bit more. I feel that it makes my magazine look more modern which is completely appropriate for my target audience because teenagers are seen as the most modern generation.

After I was happy with the overall look of the mast head, I added a drop shadow and a slight outer glow in order to make it stand out even more.