Development/Construction of Front Cover

In this blog post, I will talk about my contents pages developments,the good the bad points and what I improved through each draft

First draft

This is my first completed draft for the front cover. I decided to call the magazine "Urban Beats" because the word hip hop is often associated with the term urban and I also used the word "beats" to represent the music concept theme. I used that particular font because it looks attractive and if it is observed more closely at the base of the text. the outlines look like skyscrapers and a city. This emphasises the "urban" aspect of the magazine title and the hip hop genre
however, I may change the front cover photo simply because on of the main conventions of hip hop music magazines is that the photos are usually close ups, not full body scale like the on that I used here.






Second draft

After outlining the negatives on the first draft, I decided to change my front covers main image and mostly revamp the whole front cover. I did this because the heading appeared a bit tacky and cheesy, also many people were not able to see the titles main feature (the outline that looked like a city)so this defeated the purpose of it being there. I chose to go with a more simplistic yet attractive and cool approach and change many of the fonts. I made the bar code smaller so that it wouldn't take up any unnecessary space that could be used by other more important features. I added a lot more content than before for example i added more subheadings, an edition date and a celebrities features list. these all made the magazine front cover more conventional and attractive. I decided to go with the black and white approach because it fitted in well with my grey scale photo. For the centre piece of text "the revival of Ken Rebel" i placed the white font on a black background and the black font on a white background , making the font more easier to read and because it stood out, it added a sense of importance to the title. Furthermore, I added a small subheading at the very top to add a more conventional look and to fill up the dead space.


Third draft

This is my fourth draft. after much consideration, I chose to revamp the layout because i had to change the photo. the reason I changed the photo was because the previous one was pixelated, blurry and lost some of its colour. I changed where some of the subheadings were because they were blocking the photos models, which would make the magazine less attractive. In addition I added a price tag in a bright blue font. This adds a more conventional look and the bright blue adds more colour to the page making it more attractive. Furthermore, i added a blackberry barcode for a more reinforced conventional look and to make it look more professional.








Fourth draft

This is my fourth draft and possibly my best yet. I fixed some of the small problems with the second draft. for example I made the centre text "The revival of Ken Rebel" much bigger and move its position further upwards. This action makes the text more readable and it makes it more captivating, since I want that piece of text to be the first thing a reader sees apart from the main title and photo. I moved some of the subheadings that were previously covering the photo`s models bodies making the photo more presentable. I chose instead of my third draft because the photo seemed to be a better choice as it looked more conventional and Hip-Hop appropiate

Research on the Hip-Hop audience

In this blog post, I am going to look at the musical genre commonly known as hip hop and its audience, in detail. I am going to explore the types of people who listen and enjoy the Hip-Hop musical culture. I will use the "uses and gratification" theory in order to promote a better understanding of why people enjoy the hip hop culture. In other words, I will be using an audience centred approach as a basis upon which to analyse exactly why so many millions of people are captivated by this genre. Some of the information below is taken from the internet for example wikipedia. I felt taht this information was important for my research.

Hip hop music, sometimes also called rap music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylised rhythmic beat that commonly accompanies rap, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is sung or chanted. It`s influence as part of hip hop culture dates back to the 1970s and it originated from an African American community in New York City during this era. Since its origins are Afro-American, people are often surprised by the fact that its audience is not only restricted to young Afro-Americans, but consists of a global and diverse ethnic range. 

This contrasts with the sterotypical portrayal that has often been perpetuated by the media, more and more artists of different origins  continue to create new styles and innovations of the music, For example Eminem and Devlin, (the former being American and the latter being English). And, it was this influx of multicultural/multiracial artists, that has encouraged audiences from different origins. The typical age range of s hip hop audience is from 13 to late 20s, although this is not to say that the audience are restricted to this age group.


One of the major reasons why Hip-Hop is so popular with young people, is because of its  association with dance and parties. The popular innovation of dance, break dancing, is commonly related to this musical genre. Break dancing  is a style of street dance that originated among African American and Latino American youths in New York City during the early 1970s. It is no mere coincidence that break dancing and hip hop both became popular during the same time period, the same country and amongst the same audience age range-

Hip Hop magazines appeal to their audience through their contents because  hip hop artists  tend to be young, charismatic, fashionable and cool, characteristics which a juvenile audience can relate to. Some of the reasons that people like hip hop include:

• Diversion/escapism-sometimes, people just want to take their minds off stressful things such as school and the often overwhelming responsibility of school work. People see music as a therapeutic way to relieve their stress, while others find that they can relate to hip hop artists who talk about their past life struggles
• Personal relationships- this is another reason why people enjoy hip hop music since a lot the songs generally refers to the artist`s relationships, thus giving the audience a sense that the artist is confiding in them and really reaching out to them. 
• personal identity- Fashion plays a big part in the hip-hop scene just as fashion plays a big part in a lot of peoples daily lives, typically teenagers. Some fashion trends even originated from Hip Hop. 

All of these factors are used in music magazines as a way to express personal identity.  There are fashion sections in most music magazines and this is another example of how magazines appeal to their audience through their contents

Fonts and styles for magazine

In this blog post, I will talk about the font styles that I used and how choice the right style that would fit in my magazine. I will display pictures of the several fonts that I used.

This was the  first title I used in my magazine drafts. I liked the appearance of it and also if closely observed, the outlines from the base of the text look like city buildings ans skyscrapers. However, I didn't approve of it because it looked tacky and cheesy to some degree. Also, when I place the image on my magazine, the "city outline" at the base isn't very clear.Furthermore, the fill/colour effect of the font being "scratched" makes the font harder to read

This is the font I chose after considering the weaknesses of the previous font style. I really like this font because it looks simplistic and attractive. Its easy to read and stands out on the page.

This was my first choice of font style for my front cover`s main subheading . I liked this style of font it gave a "western" look and it relates to the name  jay "west". However, just like my first choice of title, it looks quite tacky, also it does not seem appropriate to the genre

 

 





After some time, I chose to choose the same font style as the title`s, so that I was producing a consistent font type and  housestyle. I prefer this font more because it stands out better, also I plan on placing this font on a white background, so that it stands out more on the page and magnifies the readers attention straight ways.

 

 

 I liked and approved this font because it had a fancy look to it and looked quite attractive. However, the small and slick font make it stand out less when compared with other bold fonts.

I chose this font instead of the previous one because it seemed more genre appropiate and conventional. the previous font style was fancy and well the genre of hip-hop is not usually related to or referred to as being "fancy". So I decided to chage it to this which I believe looks much better and also creates a consistent housestye for the magazine.

inital ideas/drafts for front cover contents page and double page articles

These screen shots are my initial plans for my front cover, contents page and double page spread article. They are quite brief but they provide the primary base template and layout for my project

 

This is my plan for the front cover,I think that its layout has some conventional features for example, the main image that serves as centre on a magazines front cover. I intend to use a photo that applies gaze theory so that it makes the magazine cover attractive and magnifying




This is the initial plan for my double page spread article. I tried to produce a typical but simultaneously distinctive house style/template which proved to difficult in some cases. However, for this plan, i did not include page numbers which is a huge conventional aspect of magazines, so I will will have include that in the actual product.









I drew some inspiration from this magazine article because I found it interesting how the magazine is constructed so well and I liked how the simplistic set of colours coordinated so well.

This image is the initial plan for my contents page. I think its a good layout, has conventions applied , however it follows a simplistic and generic layout, I will have to innovate it and make it better.

The Hip Hop institution/genre research

 In this blog post I am going to look at the hip hop institution and its conventions in detail. I am going to explore the origin of hip hop and its influences.Some of the information below is taken from the internet for example wikipedia. I felt taht this information was important for my research.


Hip hop music, sometimes also called  rap music,  is a music genre consisting of a stylised rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is sung or chanted. It has developed as part of hip hop culture throughout long periods of time. Hip Hop originated from an African American community during the 1970s in New York City,

The inception of hip hop began in the 1970s,soon after it it became popular and is still very popular today. here is a diversity of hip hop tracks and artists  such as Eminem, Kanye West and Tinie Tempah.

The hip hop genre of music has a large variety of sounds that the music generates and uses. the tempo of hip hop is usually quite fast, and the dynamics are usually loud as well, however there are some exceptions.  Hip hop music can be  slow calm songs, to loud, aggressive, upbeat ones, it varies with the artist.

For example most hip hop soundtracks or lyrics haves concept and themes that talk about relationships, struggles in daily life, prejudice, women.

Throughout the hip hop industry , there is a collection of fashion iconography, a typical costume would be trainers usually Nike, a white t-shirt or black overalls that were sometimes accompanied with sunglasses. A popular convention in the 1970s to 1980s were big gold chains that hung from the artists neck, but that fashion accessory isn't as popular as it was. Hats are seen as a hip hop trait, to be specific snapback hats. follow and carry out the conventions of hip hop artist costume every day, and are seen doing this through out there music videos, interviews, concerts and media texts. Costume is a big part of hip hop culture as it is a big part of reputation which artists must maintain. A significant aspect of hip hop artists that applies to a lot of them- tattoos.

Hip hop music`s iconography conveyed power and money as its theme.

The conventional themes of costume within the world of hip hop artists are expensive designer clothes which reflect the artist’s success and power; other themes are symbols of signature looks and symbols of wealth such as, fast expensive cars, luxurious houses and other luxury vehicles like a yacht. You will find that all successful hip hop artists have these luxuries and show them off throughout the media and their music videos.

Selecting photos

These are some of photos Ive taken and are up for consideration on whether to put them in my magazine. I'm also deciding where exactly I should It my photos and images in my magazine. for example the contents page. I think in all the pictures below, the fashion is appropriate to the genre and can be attractive for the viewers. In most of the pictures, a boy in the picture is wearing a snap-back hat. These hats are fashion trends amongst the teenage/young adult age
group and is popular within hip hop and music. This fashion accessory conveys and represents the audience and genre quite well.

Photo 1:                                                         

This is an average picture, it could be used as an celebrity profile photo that are used in interviews and articles. The negatives about this photo is that the curtain in the background acts as an eyesore, it just shouldnt belong. Furthermore the sunlight radiating through the window damages the photos appeal. the quality of the photo is a bit hazy but that could be overlooked. 

  

Photo 2:
 This photo is a two shot. I believe the photo would work best as a front cover image or the primary one and also as a article page image for a special interview. It does use the gaze theory. Overall I think it is a good photo that I could use.

Photo 3:
This is another photo that I could use as the front covers main image. however I do think that I`ll need to crop certain things out, such as surroundings. If possible, I should edit it to make it more appealing.

Photo 4:
This is an edited version of photo 3, but I believe it could be made much better.

 

 

 


Photo 5:
This is an interesting picture that appeals to me. I wouldn't use it as the front covers main image, but I would use it as a contents page or article page image.

Photo 6:

This is another two shot picture that I find appealing. the underground surroundings add to the effect of underground music. the fashion used makes the photo more "cool" which is a huge aspect in hip hop music. Also, the skateboard represents skateboarding which is  growing trend within music especially hip hop. the only negatives are the eyes that seem to be glinting unusually, it could be red eye but I would try to edit it out. I would use this picture as either a front cover main image or an photo for the article.

 



 

 

 

Extra

 

I find this photo very interesting and creative, simply because of the single paint stripes across the body. The overalls are grey scale but the paint stripes stand out and are gleaming with colour. This makes it attractive. The photo also promotes that "cool" factor in Jay-Z. if possible I would like to take and use a creative and non-generic photo and use this photo as influence.

Article research

This my research and analysis on music based magazine articles. I have added annotations to each picture to identify the conventions each article uses.This is a brief analysis

Magazine contents page analysis

This my research and analysis on music based magazine front covers. I have added annotations to each picture to identify the conventions each front cover uses. Two of the magzines are based on the hip hop genre since that is my chosen magazine genre. There is also a teenage pop magazine that I analysed so that I can compare any similarities between the two genres. the first picture is the pop magazine`s contents page and the other two are hip hop magazine`s content page

Front cover analysis

This my research and analysis on music based magazine front covers. I have added annotations to each picture to identify the conventions each front cover uses. Two of the magazines are based on the hip hop genre since that is my chosen magazine genre. There is also a pop magazine that I analysed to spot similarities between the two genres.

G321 Music Magazine project

Hi, this is the brief of my project, in which I am going to show my research,initial drafting and photography on this blog. I will be doing all of this for my upcoming music magazine. The final production is due on the 19th of April and the final evaluation is due on the 26th of April.

 I am going to analyse a variety of  previous magazines that will be relevant for my research. I will research target audience and magazine genre, this will include magazine templates and also I will use the inspirations from these to help me for my upcoming magazine. I am researching my chosen target audience and my chosen magazine genre so that I can use conventions and aspects from typical music magazines that attract their audience and add them to my magazine.

For my magazine`s genre I have chosen the hip hop genre. It is a music genre that I find interesting as well as pop and RnB. I chose it because it is a genre I am familiar with and it is quite popular these days.