TOWN MAGAZINE: ALTERNATIVE LAYOUT

TOWN Magazines layouts are slightly different, some of their articles feature layouts with image spread over a whole page and half of the next, with the article written on the remaining half, this layouts is also something I have seen in chapter magazine. Unlike Frankie magazine the image fills the page immedietley grabbing the reader's attention. The headline is written above the start of the article. I like the fact that it is neat, yet still quirky. 

QUESTIONNAIRE ( ROUGH OUTLINE)

Since my magazine will be regional, it will have to appeal to local people, therefore I have decided to formulate 10 questions, that I ask public. This will help pinpoint what will sell to a regional public, and how I can make my magazine more appealing.

MEDIA LANGUAGE

Although I am hugely influenced by the photography and layouts in independent magazines, most of the articles I read are from ELLE and Vogue. I am considering doing an interview for my main article, and am inspired by the way ELLE AND Vogue conduct theirs, their interviews are conducted as more of story, instead of the standard question and answer. It usually begins with a description of their surroundings, immediately setting the scene, and is then written as if the writer is recounting a conversation, almost as report. I like this format because it is more like a traditional article, but  can be quite personal at the same time. 

IMITATION

I've been extremely inspired by the layout for Acne magazine, its simplicity, the rawness of the images. there are no headlines, the masthead is placed at the bottom of the page. Again this layout is slightly similiar to magazines I have researched such as Bullet and Monu. The images on the cover are usually portraits and midshots, giving the audience a direct introduction, it also connotes openness and intimacy.
I also noticed that with each issue, the word 'Paper' is in a different colour, maybe indicating the topics in which the magazine will cover in that issue.
I may try to imitate this design using photoshop, in order to see how it works with my image and title.  

MAIN ARTICLE / FONTS

These is the first collage of fonts I've selected, all from very different magazines, yet all centered around fashion.
Picture 1: This is spread is for oh comely magazine, I liked its easy, lazy font,  very similar handwriting. I believe this font will attract a younger audience in comparison with the other two spreads.
Picture 2: A quite basic font, but it is bold, so it stands out. I imagined using this font as the title to an article, and placing it on its own on a separate page .
Picture 3: This font i very similar to the previous one, because it is quite basic, yet the style of this one is thicker and longer, I like the fact that it stands out against the white background, and is placed at the top of the page.

The main reason why this font stood out to me, was not only because of  its coordination with the image and the background, but because of its uniqueness, its quite hard in comparison with oh comely fonts, this emphasises and encourages the fact that it is a men's magazine. In turn this has made me think about whether my magazine is mainly directed at men or women, or is it a unisex magazine, as this can help dictate the type of fonts I use.

Unlike a lot of independent magazines (which are my main focus), the writing is placed across the image. Yet here it really works, I think it is mainly because of the font, it is thin and simple, therefore it is allowed to be enlarged without over shadowing the main image. It offers a clear and crisp introduction to the rest of the article.

ARTICLE LAYOUT



I am mainly inspired by independent magazines, this is why i decided to talk about two page layouts within Frankie magazine, a image based layout and a more word based layout.

WHY AMPLE ?

I am inspired by independent magazines, which are not trend/ advertisement based and do not solely deal in fashion. Independent magazines usually have more modern, eccentric and unusual names. I wanted my magazine name to capture some of these elements, but to also be predominantly simple and easy to read. 

The process: I initially started with the idea of naming my magazine Sample,I didn't have a particular reason for chosen this name, apart from the meaning i gave it which was test, at that time I didn't want the magazine to be too serious, I wanted it to be relateable to young people. I came up with this name by playing around with different words. From this I changed the S to a 5, Just to make it more edgy, yet it's pronunciation would still remain the same.
I then realised that this may be quite difficult to pronounce, spell or even catch on, I also I had to decide whether the name of the magazine reflects what the magazine is about.
I came to the conclusion that most people's initial thought of my magazine is that it was named five ample.

From this I considered the name Ample, after searching up its meaning, which was sufficient, plenty, I realised that this was what I wanted my magazine to embody. I want my magazine to showcase content that is both entertaining as well as knowledgeable. 

DRAFT LAYOUT: CONNOTATION / DENOTATION

This a draft layout of my magazine cover, here I have picked out the main features and talked about why I chose present it this way, and if I can improve. 

PHOTO-SHOOT

This is a collection the photographs i took, here i want to see how the locations, the clothes and the model work together and if they complimented each-other. the photos especially, are the pictures I liked the most and would consider using in my magazine. 

COLOUR PALLETE

Considerations:  

For my pictures, I am inspired by light pastel colours, as seen in magazines such as Lula. These colours are mostly used for the background of images, its sets of a soft feminine tone.I may use this colour for the cover of my magazine as want still want to maintain some simplicity.

Photos:

Black and white photos are something I was initially intrigued by because I felt it added more depth and feeling to an image. Black and white pictures are extremely common in old photographs, these photographs usually tell a story of the time and setting, giving the modern day audience an idea life at that moment. Therefore I believe that black and white images tell more of a story colour images. I have been considering using these photos in my main article, but I feel it depends on the type of story I want to convey, are the images the kind that need depth. I also want my magazine to relate to young people, so I don't want my  magazine to appear to serious.

I also really liked this picture, mainly because of the grey stone background, it looks clean and structured. The model's pose was also quite interesting, the fact that she was sitting on a ledge with slouched shoulders and dangling leg, makes awkward yet somehow appealing. This image reminds me of laziness in youth. Yet its crisp and clean production may seem to high fashion for my magazine.  

CONNOTATION / DENOTATION: INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE

i have chosen to the a denotation/ connotation on Bullet magazine, because i have now realised that this  the type of magazine i am most intrigued / inspired by. The layout, is something i would like to emulate.