mock up of front cover

In my mock up I chose to make it very simple and make the photo stand out more than anything else. When looking at other magazines I found that they had a lot more text than pictures on the front cover. For example the picture below of the NME front cover has a lot of text and other pictures and plugs. With all this information on the page I felt it distracted the reader from the main articles. When choosing how my layout of the magazine will be I chose to use the rolling stones magazine conventions as a starting point.

 

The conventions of rolling stones magazine mean that the features to the left of the page are easy to read but don’t distract any buyers or readers from the main article about Lil Wayne.

On my mock up I’ve chosen to use almost the same conventions as the rolling stones. After looking through my lifestyle research on my target audience I found that they tend to be on the move and are always socializing or playing sports/ hobbies. With this information I know that compared to other magazines like the NME one above, the Rolling Stones magazine is a lot better to use. This is because its not so much of a daunting look to it. With little text generally on the cover it gives the look to the magazine that it is a simple read and a relatively simple magazine. Unlike the NME magazine it looks more inviting for people who live a busy life.

When designing my mock up I chose to keep the idea of the features all on the left hand side. This was because while researching I noticed that the majority of features on the cover were on the left side, this was presumably due to how we find it easier to read from the left side of pages.

Once id added all the features to my mock up I added plugs. When looking at magazine plugs I found that the most popular place for them was across the whole width of the page, either at the bottom or top of the page they always are big text and are extremely noticeable no matter where they are on the page. I chose the bottom of the page for my main plug; this was because like the Rolling Stones magazine I didn’t want to take any attention away from either the masthead or main article. Having it at the bottom of the page means it will still be just as noticeable but won’t draw any attention away from the picture and other features which will also help pull readers in to buying it. I chose to also have a “sticker “plug. This will give the idea of it being an important article. The reason for this is because it’s like a stamp.

For the choice of font I wanted a less formal font which would entice my target audience. This is because I think with the lifestyle questionnaire it would be more attractive for them to see that font than a more formal font. With the questionnaires I found that they all wanted a more casual read so with less formal font it look more welcoming and enticing for the.

Like the NME masthead I wanted it to be block font. This will make it stand out and give a more powerful look onto the magazines brand and front cover.