Thursday 29 January 2015

Decision of Magazine Title


I have chosen to name my magazine Fiend. I have made my decision based on the idea of the meaning of the word because it means either an evil spirit or demon. This is because in the rap industry it isn't exactly heaven and there are always things being heard like gang fights and terrorism and I think this word sums all of that violence up. Also I think it is a unique title for a magazine because it stands out and is unusual. It is not similar in any way to another magazine title and especially a hip hop magazine. I understand that people may have to look twice when reading the title but that is that draws the reader in and making them want to read on.

Double Page Spread - Flat Plan's


These are some mock ups of the double page spread. These are all of my original ideas that I may include in the double page spread. All of the designs include a header and at least two images. All of the different layouts show a wide variety of ways that my double page spread can be laid out. I will need to pick one of these designs to take forward and produce a draft of my double page spread to see if the layout works and if I like it.

Tuesday 27 January 2015

10 Examples of Fonts


Above are examples of fonts that I have considered using for my magazine. All of these fonts are bold and will stand out. There are two very unique and original fonts such as the 'Hanging Letters' font and also the 'Bubble' font. All of these fonts stand out but each for their own reasons whether they are bold and big or if they have a uniquely shaped letter style or even if they include a texture within the font. 

Photographer / Graphic Designer / Magazine Creator

Photographer:

Alex Welsh - Alex Welsh is a documentary photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. The interest he has in photography lies in its ability to examine longstanding systemic problems in society and establish a dialogue with audiences to confron those issues. His clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Fader, Business Week, Nike, FYLP Media and The Oakland Tribune. Alex claims that he does not have a specific style or technique but that is what makes his work unique. He says he is always trying to figure out and find out what makes his work unique.




Graphic Designer:

Jack Hunter - Jack Hunter is a graphic designer and has designed covers for magazines like 'The New Yorker' and he is based in Liverpool. A company called Downtown In Business (DIB) took Jack on as an apprentice and he has now been promoted along each stage and has ended up as a graphic designer from the company that distributes his work into magazines and also other forms of social media.



Magazine Creator:

Noah Callahan-Bever - Noah Callahan-Bever began working in magazines when he was 17, serving as the senior editorial assistant at NYC's ego trip magazine. He began attending NYU, in 1997, and already spent the summer fact checking at VIBE. Through out college Noah maintained the position of contracted Writer-At-Large for VIBE's spin-off, BLAZE. In the years after leaving school Noah tried his hand at a number of related trades, A&Ring for a Sony distributed label and writing numerous programs for MTV and MTV News, however in 2002 he returned to magazines as the Editor-In-Chief of Mass Appeal. Eleven months later he was asked to be the Senior Editor of VIBE, which he did for 2 years before joining the staff of Complex as Deputy Editor in 2005.





Monday 26 January 2015

Fashion Associated with Hip Hop

The fashion associated with Hip Hop is a distinctive style of dress originating with the African-American youth living in New York City and Los Angeles. Each city contributed various elements and unique styles to its overall representation seen worldwide today. Hip Hop fashion complements the expressions and attitudes of Hip Hop culture in general. Hip Hop fashion has changed significantly during its history, and today it is a prominent part of popular fashion as it is mainly street wear which is also seen as a whole across the world and for all ethnicities.

The typical brands you would find to do with Hip Hop in the present day are:
- Nike Air Jordan
- A Bathing Ape
- Billionaire Boys Club
- Crooks and Castles
- Supreme
- Stussy
- Ralph Lauren
- Gucci
- Carharrtt
- Black Scale


Sunday 25 January 2015

Magazine Cover Construction Task









Mobb Deep play a massive part in the old school hip hop industry which is why I used them for the front cover. I went with a simple black and white colour scheme to match the image and decided to add the Crooks and Castles logo which Mobb Deep are sponsored by. For the header and 'Mobb Deep' text I used the font called Motion Control because it is big, bold, easy to read and it stands out. With 'The Infamous' text I have used another font called 'Russian' because it gives the cover uniqueness and originality. 

20 Song Playlist

Saturday 24 January 2015

Analysis of 3 Magazines - Double Page Spread


On the first page of this double page spread we see the main artist 'Lupe Fiasco' who is facing away from the source of light and is wearing the typical 'bling' around his wrist as most hip hop rappers do. We see the headline of this article 'Fiasco @ 9:30' in a bold and capital font so that it is easy to read and stands out on the page so the reader knows what the topic is. Also the two colours used are gold and white in this title which sticks to a very hip hop like colour scheme with black gold and white. This colour scheme runs throughout both pages showing in the text on the second page and on the first page it also matches Lupe's costume. Also on the second page I like the way a quote from the rapper is used in big writing so the reader can see an insight to what he might be like and also showing a second image of him but smaller and faded.



With this double page spread, again showing an image of the artist on the first page, has a different approach to the other spreads. This is because a full image is used on the first page and the article is written in full on the second page. This is a very formal way of presenting a double page spread because of the font used on the article but mainly the way it has been laid out and represented to the reader. There seems to be no deliberate colour scheme but the colour which is most out standing is definitely the red. On this double page spread there has also been a quote shown from the artist which seems to be a popular thing in hip hop magazines. This is something I can include and take note of while producing my double page spread.


This double page spread is taken from the very popular hip hop magazine 'Vibe' who is starring the rapper 'Dee'. In this article we can see from the title it is explaining Dee's road to success and how he made it to the rapping industry. Again like the other double page spreads there is an image of the artist on the first page showing his fashion sense and culture. We also again see a quote from him which has been used with a very original and unique font which makes this magazines double page spread stand out from any other. Also we can see that there is a deliberate colour scheme and theme that runs throughout these pages which is white black and blue. we see this in the headlines, the quote and in the main image. 

Audience Profile

Name - Hardev

Age - 19

Occupation - Currently working as a DJ for Cross Counties Radio Leicester and has a Hip Hop, RnB, Grime show. He also is a beat maker for big grime artists such as Skepta, Giggs and JME. He currently studies and is in the second year of his A-Levels which are coming to an end.

Interests - Hardev has many interests including listening to Hip Hop, going out shopping and in his spare time working on creating beats. Hardev is always up to date on street wear fashion and you would never fail to find hip copping a pair of new Jordan's or out and about in town searching for a new Crooks and Castles jacket. He spends a lot of time with friends and always has a new beat to show them or a new freestyle rap to listen to. 

Favourite Artists - Skepta, 2pac, Notorious BIG, Mobb Deep, Predator, Giggs, The Game

Favourite Magazines - Respect, Rap-up, Complex, Fader

Favourite Brands - Crooks and Castles, Air Jordan, Undefeated, Ralph Lauren, Bape, Apple.



Page Harmony


The layout of the page harmony is showing the three main areas of the magazine cover. The first eye catching area will be in the top left square. This is where you would either find the first letter of the header of in this case the signature 'F' from The Fader magazines. The third main part of the cover is shown in the rectangle right in the centre of the page. This is where the main image for the cover is and it is the second thing which catches the readers eye. The third and final most important area of the cover is the space inside the triangle shown at the bottom. This is where you would either see a small caption or in this case, the main persons name.

Analysis of Colour Palattes


This red, black, grey and white colour palette is the most used theme in hip hop magazines. This is because of the darkness of the colours and also the plain, simple and well fitting features that all of these colours have. Each colour is complementary to each other but the main ones would be black on red and white on black. This theme of colours is an option for my magazine because it will suit it well but there are also other options I can explore to make my magazine unique to other hip hop and rap magazines because most of them use this colour palette.



This is another colour palette I can use within my magazine. All 4 colours suit because they are dark and light shades and also I have not seen many hip hop magazines with this colour scheme so it will make my magazine unique and original to my own personal idea. Purple is a good colour to use for some rappers because in the industry they see purple as the colour of royalty so if I show this colour scheme then the majority of my target audience should find it interesting and attractive. 

Thursday 22 January 2015

Analysis of 3 Magazines - Contents Page


The header on this contents page shows the word 'Contents' and also the title of the magazine in the top right corner. The way the font is bold makes it stand out from the page and also the creator of this page has made the wording very original and unique to magazines made from 'Vibe' because of the way the word is broke up into three sections. The three sections are placed very close together to show the reader this is still only one word. This also makes it fill more of the page. The colour of the header is shown as white because it is a very contrasting colour to the background that is shown which is a dark burgundy red.

The text on this page is shown on the left hand side and takes up around 20% of the page which tells you that the main parts of the page are either the image or the title. The font of the writing explaining the contents of this magazine is in quite a fancy writing and is formal. This font is also white which is again contrasting to the background colour.

The image of this contents page shows a rapper holding chains against his face and also showing his gold teeth, tattoos, and wrist accessories. The lighting shown on the rapper is in the exact places so you can see his muscular figure and also his tattoos. The background also shows a burgundy red colour and there is also a big 'V' shown to illustrate the title of this magazine.



On this contents page the word 'Contents' is not shown anywhere which is unusual in a magazine but there are other main headers on the page such as 'the A-side' at the top of the page which has a colour scheme that runs throughout the page and also the name of the magazine 'XXL'. The space of the header takes up around 20% of the page.

The text shown on the right of this page is very thorough with explaining what is in this magazine and also there are different fonts used. The use of different fonts may be to show the reader which parts of this magazine stand out and also to make the actual ext on the contents page stand out because the reader may not realise this is the contents page. This text shown on the right of the page takes up around 40% of the page which equals the amount of space the header and the image take up. The colour of this font is white to make it contrast with the background colour but the numbering on this page is shown as black which is to keep the colour scheme in the page. 

The image shown on this contents page is a full image of the rapper Dr Dre who is standing with a laid back pose and also the way the lighting is shown makes a shadow of him in the background on the text which is an original feature to have in this magazine. The way he is dressed is also sticking to the same colour scheme as the header, the text and the background. This colour scheme is red, black and white which is very popular in most hip hop magazines.



This is a contents page from the magazine 'Hip Hop Connection'. The title/header shown above the contents explanation says 'Feature' which is another word which can be used for contents. The reason why I think this magazine has used a different word is to be unique and original with their layout, design and wording of the headers. Again there is a dark background and image used so the obvious complementary colour would be white which makes the title stand out to the reader. Also the font is quite bold and easy to read. Compared to the other magazine the headers take up only a tiny part of the page which gives more room for the image and text.

The main text is shown down the left side of the page and also has sub headings that include different sizes and colours which stick to a theme and also the numbers on the side of the heading are a different colour to the text to again stand out but mainly to show a theme throughout the page. Another thing which caught my eye on this context page is the connection between the text in the bottom right corner and the image. This text shows the page number and headline of the main story from the artist. This is a unique technique for a hip hop magazine.

The image on this page shows the rapper 'Kano' who is showing no facial expressions and is looking away from the camera. An original technique shown here is the way the image is portrayed as the actual background and is shown in a close up view.

Sunday 18 January 2015

Hip Hop Magazine Mood Board



Here is a mood board made on Photoshop of all the different Hip Hop and Rap magazines. The magazines which inspire me the most are the 'Rap-up' magazines because of the unique colour schemes and themes and also 'Respect.' because of the layout and neatness of the covers.

Analysis of 3 Magazines - Covers



Ziet Magazin (Germany), the title for this German magazine is presented in a very neat and formal way. The font used is almost like posh and expensive newspaper headline and also inside the title there is a symbol which may also represent this magazine as well as the title. Due to there being 2 covers for this magazine the editor/designer has had to find a way to keep the title the same but still look right for both the covers. 

The way this cover is laid out is in a very messy but also very precise way. Both of the images are complimentary to the title with the use of colours. Also the font could be complimentary with the way the title still stands out even though it is not a very bold font and the images are very powerful.

Both the images shown on this magazine cover are very powerful with the actual image it self and also how they are laid out and the way they represent what the text says. The wide use of colour palettes used in this cover makes it stand out to any other magazine because it is a very unique and original idea. The actual images are of different foods and drinks but made into cartoon like characters.

The text on the first cover where it shows the purple drinks cup says 'you are what you eat' in German which relates to the the images on both covers because they shows different foods and drinks but with facial features such as eyes and mouths. 





The title for this magazine 'Esquire' is in a very urban like font and seems to blend in and match the background image but also stand out and be recognisable as the title at the same time. Another way this title stands out is because it is in a slight grey shade of colour which matches both the background and also the image of the male models costume.

The layout of this cover is very neat, detailed and precise with the way each pattern and word connects to one another and also they all have spaces between them and the image of the man and dog. Also the image is shown as the main subject of the cover because it overlaps the title and the back ground patterns do not cross it, and also it is right in the centre of the page so the first thing you see is the main image.

The image showing a man in his early 30's holding a terrier in his arm is the centre of attention in this cover because of the way he is shown in the middle of the page and is covering a tiny bit of the title which is showing the image comes before the title so it is the main part of this magazine cover.

The text in the background on this cover shows the different names of celebrities at the top who will be shown in the magazine and at the sides of the image the text shows some writing about what the main parts of the magazine are about.





'The Hollywood Reporter' is the title for this entertainment magazine which is shown in a bright and colourful cherry red colour so that the title is the first thing that catches the readers eye. There are two different fonts used for this title one is a more comic approach and the other is more formal and laid back. Also if you look at other magazines made by this company, all of their titles use the same font and almost exactly the same positioning but are always a different colour to match the theme of the cover and image.

The layout on this cover is well thought out with the colour scheme including the font, the image and the plain background. The text going through the middle of the page is a tiny bit bigger than the title but it is in a less brighter font which means the title stands out more. Also the way the text at the sides of the image do not over lap it makes the picture stand out more.

The image is the main feature on this cover because it is the top story which will be shown in the magazine which is why it is central and none of the side text over laps onto the image. The text going over Kevin Harts 'hair' is in a similar colour to the hair so it does not stand out too much but you are able to easily read what it still says.

There are a number of different texts used on this cover but there are only two colours used to keep it to a theme. The text at the sides of the image are also placed at the right positions to make the image the main subject.


Wednesday 14 January 2015

Examples of Other Texts


This reasons why I like these Variety magazine covers is that the font is very appealing to my style, the contrasting colours of the background the title and the image and also its originality because I have never seen a magazine cover which has the main image upside down. Also the symbolism on the first magazine cover from the text and the image. 


The reasons why I feel these magazine covers are appealing to me is because of there uniqueness and originality and also the simple use of colours in the theme. The cover of the second magazine looks very vintage because of the suitcases, the black and white and also the font. I also like the way the umbrella at the top of the photo overlaps over and under the title making the text look as if it is part of the actual photo taken which is also a theme throughout these magazines because on the first cover it looks like the woman is holding onto the Z in the title which is a very original idea. 


These magazine covers are presented in a very precise and detailed layout with everything in the right place. That is one of the reasons why this cover is appealing to me and the other reason is the use of colours in both magazines. The black and the white are very complimentary colours which is why both the title and image stand out. The colours in the second cover are a big mixture of different colour palettes but they does not seem to stand out too much because the plain background makes it more soothing. 


One of the many reasons why I like this magazine cover is that how simple and plain it is but at the same time very powerful. Both covers are simple but also very different with the way the title is put inside a box on the first cover but on the second one it is above the image.