Todays Magazine Progress

I have made a lot of changes to the front page of my magazine, I have moved the cover lines to the bottom of the page in their own banner, looking fro inspiration in 'The Crack' which has a very minimalist front cover, I have removed a lot of the information cluttering the cover and I think that it looks more professional.

I have changed a lot about my contents page, firstly I have added a professional looking header to the page which gives the magazine a more creative look. I then added smaller tag lines under each individual title on the page and added more information to each story which makes the reader want to read more of the magazine than they may have originally. I added a subscription advert at the bottom of the page in the magazines 3rd colour. 

To make the contents look more professional I added boxes behind the text and lowered the opacity, I feel like this has made the page easier to navigate and more reader friendly.

I need to add an image next to the list of posters at the bottom of the page .

Comparison with a regional magazine

My front cover is similar to 247 as it is a simplistic design that is not cluttered by a lot of cover lines, however 247's main image has a lot of effects applied to it whereas my image does not, my main image also uses 3 members of the band not just the guitarist, I challenged a lot of 247's conventions such as the colour scheme, 247 uses black and a blue/green, I opted to use a similar blue/green for part of my cover as I felt like it made the magazine seem more regional. But I used a lot of red and some white on my front cover so that the colours stood out against competitors whilst also sticking to genre conventions. 

This particular issue of 247 was free however its usual price is £3.85, my magazines price will be £3.99, which I feel is a fair price and will attract some people to the magazine. 

My main image is straight on and directly addresses the audience however 247's main image is a low angle shot that does not address the reader at all, I feel mine will be more effective as direct address may make the audience feel like they want to buy it more because of the.

Contents update

Today I made a lot of progress designing my contents page, I added boxes behind the text as it broke up the different sections and made it easier to navigate for the reader. 

Targets for today

Today I will continue to finish the design to my contents page, I will make some final adjustments on my front cover and then work on my website.

Regional Inspiration

One of my more recent inspirations has been 'The Crack' magazine which is regional to newcastle and the north east, I am using this as inspiration while recreating my magazines contents page. The Crack has a very basic contents page which has a lot of blank space so instead of filling every space on the page I will leave some blank space to make the page more reader friendly.

Website Progress

Today I have changed the overall layout of the website, I found that the new style I used was more professional and looked more like my inspirational website 'Thecrack'.

Progress

This is the progress I made with my new contents page today, I feel the design is better than the last one and will be more effective.

Masthead Changes

After receiving feedback on my front cover of my magazine it was suggested that it was not clear it was a regional magazine. To make the magazine more regional I renamed it 'Northern Rock'. This makes it more regional as it limits the magazine to the north of the country and then the tag line below narrows it down to the North East of the UK so the audience is aware of the location of the news.

17th March

Today I am going to redesign my magazine contents page after receiving feedback on my original.

Radio Advert Plan

*low volume music playing in the background*

Northern rock magazine,

The north easts number 1 rock music magazine,

Featuring all of the latest news, local gigs and exclusive interviews,

Including your favorite bands and the local bands you haven't heard of yet,

For a limited time only, get a 12 month subscription for only £25,

Thats a saving of £11!

Subscribe now using the code 'RADIO' and save an extra 10%,

So go online to www.northernrockmagazine.co.uk and sign up today.

*Music volume increases and plays Out*

Magazine Progress

Following feedback on my front cover I have added cover lines and a barcode which I had previously not included, I added the puff in the bottom left corner to attract readers as giving them a chance to win VIP passes will be intriguing. I added the box behind the cover lines so that they did not blend into the background as much as they did without it, I lowered the opacity of the box so that it had a faded effect and blended in more. 

I have also lowered and centered the main story for my front cover, this related it to the main image more and made it easier to pick out, I also feel that it makes the magazine look more professional. 

Todays Target - 5th March

My target for today is to use the peer feedback I received to improve on my coursework. I will upload my progress later. 

Time Management