Fonts for my Front Cover

Before deciding on my font, I am going to look at fonts already used on music magazine so I can get an idea of what is used and this will aid me to think of a unique and original font that also reaches out to the reader.

The red colour of the font is striking, whereas the title font is classic and effortless. It flows very easily from one letter to another, portraying the flow of music. The classic style conveys how music can be listened to by all ages, and is timeless. This is especially applicable to the magazine's genre as it focuses on popular chart songs.

The KERRANG header is black, which bears a stark contrast to the white background. It is a basic font, conveying how music can be simple, and has a "shattered" effect. This illustrates how the music could have "shattered" the title, symbolising the power of music. The genre of music exoplored in Kerrang is rock, indie and alternative, which are the types of music which are said to "shatter windows" and hence, the text could be shattered easily.

Q magazine is shortened from "Q the music". The title is short and hence, needs to use colours which stands out. This is achieved through the white text and red background. It would look silly and over the top if the only letter of the title had fancy effects, so I think that they have done a good job with keeping the font classic and tidy.

NME stands for "New Musical Express". It is outlined by white and black, emphasizing how the title needs to stand out. The converse range of colours used contrast with one another, slightly clashing but in a good way, as if it is conveying the power and clash of music. The 3D font reaches out to the reader, as if it can be touched. This symbolizes the proximity of music to the reader.

Here are some fonts that I have tested on Indesign and Photoshop.

Out of these eight fonts, I have decided that I like the last one the best as it is a little bit different to the other ones. It reminds me of a stamp, which will look like it has been through a process of construction. This will engage the reader more, as it will look like someone has physically stamped the title on each magazine, conveying the hard work which has gone into the magazine. I am also going to add an effect to the font, as it will show good use of Photoshop and will add more emphasis to the title "STRUCK", which will add to the music connotations.

The personal effect which I am using with the stamp format has been used with Kerrang;

A picture of Billie Joe Armstrong from Greenday has been "saftey-pinned" to the magazine front cover. This looks personal to the reader, as if it has been made just for them.

Results of Survey

I have asked 10 friends my survey asking which music and music magazines they prefer. This has helped me to determine the genre I want to use.

I can conclude that the most popular genre was R&B with 8 votes, closely followed by indie with 7 votes. My magazine will hence spread over these two genres, featuring both R&B and indie artists. Rolling Stone and NME were the most popular magazines which people would buy, so I am going to closely follow and analyze these two magazine to obtain inspiration for my magazine. I am going to make my magazine a monthly magazine, as the majority of people said that they would not buy every issue weekly magazine and are more likely to buy a monthly magazine. This will cause my price to rise as there will be more content in the magazine. However, it also means that people would be more inclined to buy every issue so it could attract fans of the magazine. The majority of voters said that they are impartial to the gender of the magazine photo, however more opted for a girl on the front cover than a boy. I will use a girl for my front cover of my music magazine.

Rolling Stone Music Magazine Analysis

After looking at various magazine covers, I have decided to use Rolling Stone as the main inspiration for my music magazine. I am researching this magazine because it has featured artists with the same type of genre as I am using and the results of my survey stated that Rolling Stone was the most popular magazine which my proposed target audience would buy. Shakira is an inspiration for my genre and the look which I want my artist to have, and she has been featured on the Rolling Stone front cover. I want to have a wide target audience of people who listen to all types of music so will have to feature articles about alot of different music. This is a front cover featuring Shakira, who is my main inspiration for my artist.

It features a mid-shot of Shakira, confidently walking towards the camera. She has a thumb in her belt, a body action suggesting confidence. This compliments the title "Can Shakira Conquer the World?". She shows confidence by her body actions and she engages with the audience by making eye contact. Her black outfit connotates a superhero, as the colour suggests ability to blend into the background, or the shadows which is a superhero quality. This agrees with the cover line "Can Shakira Conquer the World?".

Shakira is pictured as a confident and talented woman, the same way which I want my artist to be conveyed.

Research and analysis of Q front cover

My model's test pictures

I have taken a few pictures of my model to test her image on the camera and see her camera compatibility.

My Inspiration

Latino artists have inspired my music magazine; the most famous being Ricky Martin, Enrique Inglesias and Shakira. As Shakira is female and so is my model, she is my main inspiration for my model.








Shakira's wavy, carefree hair and dark eye make up have inspired me. I particuarly like the photo of her with the ring of fire. This represents heat and danger, two exciting factors which are likely to interest and engage a reader of a music magazine. Her gold and black clothing accenulate and complement her colouring. She looks exotic and interesting as she is different from alot of artists.





I have researched her music to make sure that it is definatley the kind of music I want portrayed in my music magazine.

Although she broke through to the music market with "whenever, wherever", her first really famous song was "hips don't lie", which topped charts in 55 countries. By hearing this song, I can hear the latino influence, and it is known as a "Latin Pop" song which is what I want in my artist.

It is summery and happy, both traits that I want my artist to follow.



Here is the song :

I have also looked into Shakira's less famous, all Spanish songs. Her most recent album "She Wolf" came out in conjunction with a spanish album, titled "Loba". I have researched this album and found the title track, "Loba", in Spanish. I want my artist to have previously sung songs like these, in Spanish, and now be ready to break into the UK music market.

My artist will therefore be following the same lines that Shakira did, and this will make intresting points of discussion in the interview.

Research into my target audience

I am going to ask 10 friends who are ages 14-18 a survey about which music magazine they prefer. This will enable me to create a magazine bases on a theme and genre that my target audience is likely to enjoy.

This is my survey:













This is a sample of how my survey was answered:










This is the results of my survey (print screened from an excel document)

According to the results, I can see that the most popular genres of music were R&B and Indie. Rolling stone is the most popular music magazine, whilst music magazines are most frequently purchased in the 1-4 week bracket. Most people have opted for either a boy or a girl on the front cover, but a girl featuring is proved to be more popular than a boy. Therefore, I will have a girl featured on my front cover. My magazine will be indie/ R&B themed and will be a monthly edition. I am also going to closely analyze Rolling Stone, so I can produce a magazine which will draw in many readers.