Front Cover - Masthead

For the masthead I wanted something similar to Q magazine's masthead style with the white serif font against the intense coloured background. For my background of the masthead I wanted either blue or red but I wasn't sure which one would go better so I made both.

But I saw that the red seemed more intense and popped more from the white background. So my chossen masthead is....

Front Cover Draft 1

So far I have come up with the basic look for the front cover, not much detail at this moment as this is only a draft, will be updating it soon.

What do you think?

Double Page Spread (Interview done)

Below is what the interview part of the Double Page Spread will look like, the picture has yet to be added but will feature a male posing with his arms crossed and smiling at the camera.

What do you think?

Front Cover Photos

Obviously these need to be edited and they are taken so that I can completely darken the image of the girl (yes same girl used in my last magazine project) and then present her against a white background, it is risky but since she isn't holding a real guitar I felt it was better (This way it will look like she is holding a real guitar).

What do you think?

Interview: The Questions and Answers Draft

ELLIOT TURNER (Made it up randomly)
Age: 18
Family: Mum, Dad and Little Sister
Nationality: British

Religion: Christian

Q: How do you feel about the huge success you’ve got so far?

Elliot: Well, I know it sounds cliché but it’s like a dream, and I’m just worried that I’ll wake up any second and still be in my room with my guitar rocking out and getting nowhere. This year has been major for me, with the album coming out and the tour coming up it’s just blown my mind, with all that’s gone on I’m thinking of going for a nice relaxing holiday after the tour is over.

Q: With the new album, ‘Crusade’ how did you come up with the name?

Elliot: Wow, that’s ones hard. With the album it was about stating who I was personally and what I wanted to bring to the world of music. With the name it shows my religious side, coming from a religious Christian background you wouldn’t expect a pastor’s son to be rocking out on a guitar and singing. But no, my family were feeling supportive, my dad even bought me my first guitar when I was 11 and helped pay for my lessons, I owe him a lot. Going back to the name, again like I said to do mostly with my religious background but also to do with the journey I wish to take, making my kind of music.

Q: When you were younger, were you a popular kid at school?

Elliot: Most people you know believe I was because me playing the guitar but no, when I was younger I was extremely shy and always nervous around girls. I would never think of getting up on stage and performing but after I started playing the guitar and at the age of 13 when I was getting pretty good at it my confidence grew. All I can say to kids out there who are nervous and don’t think they can accomplice their dream because of how shy they are, just go for it, that’s what I did and here I am now, living my dream.

Q: So now that your 18 are you glad you have more independence and freedom?

Elliot: Yes and No, before when I started out on the album I was 17 which meant I was not an adult yet, so for the interviews and travels either my mum, dad or even both of them would have to come with me. One because I asked them too, being new to all of this I didn’t want to get lost in the craziness of the music life and also they wanted to make sure I didn’t get up to anything which was dangerous. But yeah now that I’m 18 I can go travelling on my own and to interviews and be more independent but I still sometimes take my dad or mum along for moral support.

Q: With the tour, where are you most excited to go?

Elliot: I can’t really decided, being new to all of this I can’t wait to get out there and see the world, living in the UK and not really travelling much I can’t wait, the list of locations if long and amazing, the first stop is France and then onto Germany.

Q:  Now some Questions from our readers, Do you have any tattoos?

Elliot: No, um yeah being the son of a pastor and having a religious family, they allowed me to have a guitar which was on the borderline for them so tattoos would be too much for them.

Q: When you were younger, did you ever do anything which got you into trouble?

Elliot: Yes, and I’m very ashamed of it, I was caught smoking by my dad when I was 14 years old. It was very immature and stupid of me, he was angry and I was ashamed of myself, it was my first and last cigarette.

Q: Do you have a girlfriend?

Elliot: Um no not right now, I did used to go out with someone and we had a pretend wedding, we were both 6.

Quote below which will feature on the interview (taken from interview)

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What do you think? Comment please, thanks

Updated: Front Cover, DPS and Contents Layout Designs

I've previously uploaded some layout designs for the contents page and double page spread but not the front cover. By using a similar style to Q I want my magazine to be clean and look sophisticated and professional so the front cover had to be simple, the main focus would be the photo. For the contents page then the main focus would be the contents and for the double page spread the photo and the interview.

Below are the designs I have come up with, I will soon narrow the layouts down to my chosen three.

Front Cover

One of the front cover layouts include coverlines the other doesn't, the one without I decided that the main focus was the photo and the coverlines would perhaps be distracting but I think I need to have the photo presented first before I come to a decision.

Contents Page

This is an updated contents page, the previous designs had included many images on the page but when studying Q magazine (inspiration) it only included one or two important images on the contents page, however I have come to my full decision just yet.

Double Page Spread

This was the first layout design for the Double Page spread which I previously posted, the image had a single page to itself, gainign full attention from the readers and the interview was contained to one page.

With this design it had two photos which would feature the person who was being interviewed and the interview would be broken up.

Treatment Sheet

The Treatment

The Magazine: Unplugged

Target Readership: Unplugged is aimed at mature older teenagers from the age of 16 to adults aged 30. The parents of the readers or the readers themselves will come in the C1/C2 socioeconomic grouping; however the readers of Unplugged will hardly rely on their parents for finance. With most of the readers they will be working either part time or full time. With Unplugged readers they will have a job and so with Q it is a magazine which they can pick up and take to work, read on breaks or on the way home. The busy days they have going to and from work, they may find it hard to catch up on the current music news and updates so with Q they can find it easier to keep in touch with their music side and check up on their favourite artists or bands.

Form and Style: Unplugged is a plain white A4 magazine which will focus on the chosen genre of music (Rock and Indie), it will include interviews with famous and well known artists but also upcoming artists from the younger generation such as teenagers. Also reviews on current albums, news on artists and bands and updates on latest concerts. With Unplugged, the use of less colours shows to the targeted audience that Unplugged is a confident, clean and sophisticated magazine which doesn’t need streams of colours to attract their audience. On the front cover, Unplugged with feature an already famous male or female artist or band or however they may feature an upcoming artist or band which Unplugged feels they have what it takes. The front cover will not be over crowded with unwanted information such as KERRANG; with Unplugged it has the focus image of the band or artist, the masthead, no coverlines or perhaps strapline. It needs to show that the main aspect of the front cover is the photo. The magazine will be priced at £3.50, highly priced due to the required professional paper for the magazine but also for the size of the magazine, it will feature 160 – 170 pages so the readers will be getting their money’s worth.

Themes and Typical Features: With the readers being busy working all day, Unplugged offers a way for them to relax and catch up with any music news they have missed, it will feature artist and band updates and interviews, news on current music events, concerts or festivals which are coming up, recommended music for different moods, top 50 or top 100 list, pictures and quotes from their favourite artists or bands. The magazine is about giving the readers a chance to keep up to date with the music world and not to be left behind, they may not have time to surf the internet or go flicking through the TV channels when they get back from work but with Unplugged it is only £3.50 and they will have all the current music news they need. With featured artist and band interviews as well as upcoming artist and bands the readers can read up on their favourite artist/band.

Potential Advertisers: Within Unplugged magazine a range of shops and items will be advertised, less on the clothes and make up and more on the side of HMV (CD’S and offers which can only be claimed by using the code found inside Unplugged magazine). Also online sites such as Amazon and Play.com, which will advertise music, posters and merchandise. No ringtones but there will be concert information and also a competition for the reader to win a pair of concert tickets for one of the featured artists/bands.

Editorial Team: The editorial team for Unplugged will have both male and female so the magazine is not bias towards a certain gender, but also offers both sides for the readers. The team will be made up of music lovers and experienced writers but also creative designers. The age of the team members will be from ages 20 – 30, close to the reader’s ages. The team will be asked to provide their ideas and views on certain subjects.