Masthead creation

As soon as I figured the name of the magazine out I started to think about the designs of the masthead. Which I have experimented for and came up with three different designs.

this was my first try to create the masthead for my magazine. as you can see I have created a few layers and effect as you se on the developments on the screenshot. However I was not happy with the overall look of, because it might in my opinion it came out too complicated and it does not have the professional looking features.

 The following masthead I created was my second try which I was really happy with because it has a really modern look, and the colour red enhances the look of it by adding power, love to the masthead.
As I shown in my previous post I really liked the font type "AGAINST" which as you can see I have used and it came out quite well but I wanted to run some further experiments with different fonts.

 Finally I have created the masthead I am going to use on my magazine cover. I found the font type "impact" and I really liked it personally and I believed with further developments and some effects would have a great look which will match my magazine cover. But as you can see on my first trial I have overcomplicated the masthead and I took a look at my analysis and all the mastheads I looked at were very simple, therefore I made the decision to stick to simple colours and fonts. As you can see the outcome is great and it will be able to appeal to my target audience. I also included the motto of the magazine I have created.

Potential fonts

The following font is called Againts, which gives the impression of being designed with a paint brush, and it misses parts in certain places where the angles are not sharp and perfect which gives a modern and urban look to the font. Its urban look would allow me to appeal to my target audience, also because of its modern structure I would be able to appeal to my young target audience. It looks presentable and does not follow perfect conventions which relates to hip-hop. This is because hip-hop does not follow any rule in terms of rhythm and rhyme, it has several sub genres that is why I have chosen this font time.

Benefits:
-urban
-modern
-graffiti like

Disadvantages:
-could be feminine
-does not give a professional impression

The following font is called Alergian, which gives a sophisticated impression to the environment we put it in. It is really easy to read which could be beneficial for the name of the magazine. Its simplicity is being boosted up with a slight twist in certain areas of each letters which is a great combination for a smart but unusual look

Benefits:
-easy to read
-smart
-visible

Disadvantages:
-might be too smart
-not modern enough

The following font is American Captain, which truly has been used as the movie Captain America, however I believed this font type would be a successful font type in a hip hop magazine, perhaps as a masthead or maybe a main headline, or a strapline, because of its simple and strong structure. By enhancing it with different colours depending on the atmosphere we are using it, it could be a really urban and modern looking font type for a magazine cover.

Benefits:
-very simple
-easy to read
-could be enhanced very easily

Disadvantages:
-Reputation from the movie could pull the image of the magazine down
-higher chance to appeal to an older target audience

The following font type is called engravers MT, and I have chosen this because I thought it would be one of the most beneficial font type to create my double page spread or my contents page, because it as that old-school newspaper font type look, which gives an original and professional look to the magazine, which could be a great contrast to the rough and modern looking hip-hop magazine, which is extreme however today's society loves to see new, creative, and extreme .

Benefits:
-professional look
-easy to read

Disadvantages:
-there is only capital letters available for this font

I have decided to consider this font type, because it is such a simple font with stylish features because of the mixture of rounded and square finishes. I considered this font type to be used anwhere in my magazine, for example on the cover, on the double page spread and also on the content page, because of its great  and appealing look, that allows to appeal to female and male target audience in this particular genre.

Benefits:
-modern, urban look
-easy apply to appeal to a large target audience
-easy to read

Disadvantages:
-maybe too simple
-too formal

The following font is IMPACT, which is a basic font that is available in most programs such as Microsoft Office, however its simplicity and style has caught my eyes that made me consider it as a font type for my masthead. It signifies power because of the bold and thick letters, which would be suitable for my hip-hop magazine that I am creating

Benefits:
-easy to read
-bold letters
-simple
-easy to work with
-easy improvements could be done with Photoshop

Disadvantages:
-might be to simple
-work is needed to make it stand out

The following font type is Master of Break, which is one of my favourites. IT gives the impression that it is handwritten, however its thickness of it and the way the letters are being organised gives it a really urban look. This would be extremely suitable for my music magazine, because of its cool look, that could appeal to my target audience, because it signifies energy.

Benefits:.
-Modern and cool look
-hip-hop look
-easy to work with

Disadvantages:
-it is harder to read
-could be feminine in different environments which would decrease the range of my target audience

Old English font type is a really popular font, and it also has been used for several film and video games such as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas which increased to reputation of this game. Because of the game is being played on the American streets with a main character (black American gangster) the font is being associated with the hip-hop culture already, and it gives it a rough look.
However its look resembles the actual old English writings from different books, which pulls down its modern look

Benefits:
-could adapt to different environments including smart or modern.

Disadvantages:
-could be too old looking therefore will not appeal to the target audience.

Again very simple font, which is smart and presentable, also easy to work with, which is always a benefit for the editor who is me in this case and the reader as well because it is easy to read, this is why I was considering this type of font to be used on the double page spread or the contents page with a combination of colours and pictures.

Benefits:
-easy to read
-easy to work with

Disadvantages:
-lack of modern loo
-too sophisticated

The following font is really similar to the font type I talked about at the first case "the against" font type, howeer it naturally has a bigger letter structure and its capital letters are really well designed when using with the non capital letters which created a reason why I wanted to use this font for my masthead of my magazine cover, or a main title for a contents page or double page spread, depending on the environment of course. It is really modern, really urban and really stylish, that could anyone like.

Benefits:
-easy to read
-very stylish
-extremely well designed
-could be improved with some further desings

Disadvantages:
-Could be feminine with certain colours
-it could be hard to read it.

Photoshoot n.o.2

The first photo shoot I have done was with my best friend, Roland, and we took some really good quality pictures and there are many that are not going to be suitable for the creation of my Hip-hop magazine cover. The second photo shoot was with Amina, and here is the contact sheet for all the pictures that we have taken. As you can see there was some major clothing changes in able to create a wider range of photographs that could increase the chance that they are going to be more useful

On the following picture you can see all the photographs I have taken of Amina. I have decided to use this pictures on my contents page therefore I have tried to position her in certain ways that will benefit the settings of my contents page.

On the following picture we can see a white background my model in a black dress, which signifies darkness, creates contrast, and represents dominance. By placing this photograph to the side it would be a great contents page.

The following photograph is also really well positioned for my contents page. The orange dress allows a playing and cheerful look, which would bring a feminine aspect to the music magazine, however it might be too feminine which would decrease the amount of views I would make with my music magazine, since my survey has shown the majority of my audience are male

The following picture gives a really dominant and powerful look, which would be suitable for the contents page, however it is not a full picture therefore it is not going to be useful for me

I have considered this photograph one of the best, this is because the model is looking to the side which would be a really powerful indication for the contents labels next to the main photo, however due to the black background I would have to use the colour black wich might not create a friendly look to it.

This photograph would be really successful,because of the microphone use. This way of holding it would appeal to the male target audience mainly, and also to the girl target audience at the same time, this is because she could be a role model to them.

Photoshoot n.o1

 

!!!!CLICK HERE FOR THE PHOTO SHOOT'S INTRO!!!!

 

The following picture shows all the pictures I have taken from my first photo shoot with Roland. I have used black and white backdrops, then we went outdoor to be looking for different locations around my area to take some photos. We decided to take photos near a brick wall, which would have given a rough look to the photos, and since hip-hop is a genre where a lot of violence and dominance takes place it would have been beneficial, however I found the "studio like" photographs more professional and official looking, therefore I have chosen some photographs to analyse and see the benefits and drawbacks to it.

The following picture would be suitable for the magazine cover, because it is a good quality medium shot, with the black backdrop which would allow me to decrease shadows increase contrast and create a full clear black background to the picture which would give it a professional and original look to it

The next picture was the following above which has the same aspects to it, however I would have to remove the socks with Photoshop which could be challenging and also it could decrease the quality of the image

The following medium shot would be suitable for the magazine cover with a little edit. I have chosen this because the model holds the microphone in his hand which creates a connection with music, which is of course beneficial for a music magazine cover.

The following photograph is one of the most suitable photograph for the music magazine cover because it could be well edited, and also it is really simple,  direct mode of address has been created. Also the body language is suitable for the role as well

The following picture is a close up of my model from a side angle, showing that he is enhaling smoke through his nose, which has been used in sever photographs for artist such as Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, ASAP Rocky. I would use this photograph on my double page spread. This is because it signifies a different lifestyle and could be related to drug use, which creates a hard image to the artist.

The following picture Is one of the most suitable for my double page spread because of its position, conventions and the mise en scene of clothing . I will be experimenting this photograph to see what different lay outs we can create.

The following photograph is the last photograph I have chosen for a successful that could be used as my double page spread. As you can see this is an outdoor location which creates a different look to the photograph because of the environment and the lighting.
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The rest of the photographs didn't look convincing or professional enough therefore I decided not to use them

Mood board

The following mood board I have created for my Hip-Hop music magazine shows the features, fonts, and potential colours that I am going to use in able to create my own one.
As shown different positions and settings and facial expressions are majorly important in this genre, however there is a big diversion depending on the artist we are talking about. Luckily the genre is really open and due to our 21st century modern society it is all about marketing a product and service through appealing to the target audience in a certain way by using different aspects such as colouring and typography.

As you can see I have chosen my inspiring pictures and photographs that informs, teaches, and entertain me from this particular genre which I used to collect enough data, or have an idea about a professional looking magazine, double page spread, or just a simple photograph in this genre.

On the mid section of my mood board we can see the name of the magazine that I have chosen to be in different fonts. I have chosen these particular font types because they are modern, easy to read, could stand out depending on the environment I will be using them and also represent a new and urban look that could appeal to my target audience.

On the right hand side of my mood board we can see some a selection of colours. I have chosen these colours because they are aesthetically pleasing to the human eye, they are simple colours and at the same time they could enhance the image and the appearance of my magazine. Colours such as black, red, white yellow and blue are modern colours that people love to wear and they are associated with dominance and a positive look, which gave me the reason why I have chosen these colours to look at and use in my own Hip-Hop magazine.

The meaning of the Colours i have chosen to work with

Readership profile

The Name for my Hip-Hop magazine

I have decided that I need to make up a name that I could use for my magazine, before I start doing my research for different fonts and colours. The reason why I made this decision, because different names and letters match in different ways with different fonts, this will affect the appearance of my magazine which will have an impact on my target audience on a big extent.
Also I have decided to create a motto as well, because through my research I came across with specialised hip-hop magazines that have them, which also increases reputation, image and the brand itself

I came up with the name MAX VOLUME. I have chosen this name because it has got a lot of signifiers to talk about. The word "MAX" signifies maximum, which is the highest or biggest level you can reach in anything. "VOLUME" signifies sound, which represents the fact that the magazine is dealing with music, and also makes the audience associate with a good reputation due the word "volume" this is because it is different for everyone else. Every one like to listen to music in a different volume. Overall the name "MAX VOLUME" is also a signifier for good quality because it signifies that the magazine is offering the loudest and the biggest, the best service in the business.
That is why I came up with a motto that supports this name.
Due to my research and my analysis for different music magazines, I have came across with different mottos such as "The bible of Hip-hop", or XXL's magazine's "Hip-Hop on a higher level, or The Sources' magazine's "the magazine of hip-hop music, culture&politics".

Therefore I came up with my own motto that supports my brand and could boost up the appearance of my magazine, which would be MAX VOLUME - Being the loudest in Hip-Hop. This phrase signifies power, dominance through the word "loudest" and categorises the magazine and shows that it deals with hip-hop which directly appeals to the target audience. Also "loudest in hip-hop" appeals to the competitors and it signifies a high status and reputation which is really important in this genre and in overall for a music magazine