Final DPS (Original Images)

Final Contents (Original Images)

This is my final design for the contents page of 'Crunk'. Although it was not compulsory to have the contents as a DPS (double page spread) I decided it fitted in with my style of magazine. 'Crunk' includes a lot of elements that feature in life-style magazines, such as 'Cosmopolitan' and 'Instyle'. The layout is similar to music magazines such as 'Q' so my design has taken an indiviudal interpretation of both styles, hence the DPS contents. 

The house style cater's much more to the target audience (girls/women ages 16 - 24) due to the bold and bright fuschia pink used as the backing for each section; this alone emphasises the feminine aspects of the magazine.

The images used ae all original and have been developed using Adobe Photoshop. I have included captions on both images on page 1, both speech coming from the 'celebrity' in the image. This immediately creates a relationship with the audience, and also adds humour to the seriousness of the photos.

The mode of address suits the target audience well. The editor's section shows a friendly face talking in a friendly way and addressing the audience in a way that makes them feel as if even celebrities go through the same every day occurances that 'ordinary' people go through.

Final Front Cover (Original Images)

20.5cm W x 29cm H (size of regular music/lifestyle magazine)

This my final front cover. The pink wash behind the masthead completes the design and links all the features together.

The final masthead has altered slightly. The reason for this is that the previous design had the right amount of edge to symbolise the style of music but it did not suit is target audience as well as it could, hence the change to fuschia pink.

I have include a variety of codes and conventions within the text by using different styles of font and colour.

The features are all appropriate for the target audience because they are typically feminine.

Pre-lim - St Andrews Magazine Cover

Positive Features: 

The language and terminology used is perfect for the target audience of Year 11 Girls.
The name of the magazine works and the central image has positive structure due to the posture of the model and the fact that she has eye contact with the audience.
There is good use of codes and conventions alike to real media products.


Negative Features:
The masthead needs to be larger so that it appeals more to the audience and makes it more eye-catching.
The background needs to be stronger - the light blue is sickly and swallows the image (due to the blue shirt) preventing it from being bold; thus preventing reader engagement.
The image needs to bigger so that it covers the entire page.
Yellow is hard to read, make it stand out (with an outline, different colour, or make it bigger).
Lastly, vary the style of font more so that the cover is over all more eye-catching.

EXTENSION - Crunk Website

I created this website for Crunk magazine using Adobe Dreamweaver with CSS and HTML code. I entered a SPRY MENU BAR which includes a drop-down menu for particular tabs which would then lead to other pages. I have included links to a TWITTER page, FACEBOOK page and FLICKR page which have also been created for Crunk Music Magazine.

This would be to digitalise the brand of Crunk and use different platforms like a website, apps and social networking to cater to the information age that is my target audience.

Draft DPS

Image Development

Contents Page: 

The image on the left is the original photo taken and the image on the right is after editing. I have zoomed in on the image and cropped unnecessary sections of the backdrop. The image has also had brightened exposure and increased contrast. I have highlighted particular areas of the outfit to accent the figure (Adobe Photoshop).

Image Development

Contents Page:

On the left is the image as I took it, on the right is the image after editing. The image went through a lot of developing (using Adobe Photoshop). The end result has the appearance of an album cover, rather than just an image and the added effects to the exposure and contrast create tension within the style of music that my magazine features.

Images taken - Possible for use (Unedited)

Images Taken - Possible For Use (Unedited)

Draft Contents

This is the mock up of my contents page. The colour scheme has followed on from the front cover (the bold red) however, the colour scheme does not cater to the target audience in the best possible way. The layout of the text does not flow as the first page is cluttered and the second page has a large amount of empty space. The editors section does not fit in with the rest of the contents due to the colour scheme, and looks like it could be part of a completely different magazine. The house style needs to be increasingly feminine but still keeping that edge that the name 'Crunk' gives.

Draft Front Cover

The strongest feature of my draft front cover is the CDI (central dominant image). It suits the target audience as it is playful (i.e. the bubble gum and wide-eyed facial expression) which symbolises the female teenager.

The headline of Katy Perry perhaps should only have one quote rather than two as it reveals to much of the inside story and also means the first quote will stand out more.


It needs:

Website Address
Issue Number

Possible Masthead 3

This is the third design for the masthead of my magazine. The colour scheme has taken place and the layout fits together. The change of font made a different and emphasises the onomatopoeic word 'Crunk'.

Possible Masthead 2

This is  my second design for my masthead. The colour scheme is now taking place and making a statement about the magazine itself. However, I do not feel it looks particularly professional. It is very basic and there is still no flow within the design. The strapline is also difficult to read and if the text is going to be small, it needs to be clear.

Possible Masthead 1

This was my first idea for 'Crunk' magazine. After further development, this masthead is very poor. The seperation of the image and the text makes them appear as seperate features when they are supposed to be one. It gives the magazine an 'indie' vibe which does not work for the style of my magazine because it is based on chart music.

Mood Board for Music Magazine

This mood board is to depict what content my magazine will have, where I got my inspiration from and what type of target audience I will be catering for. Here it shows I will be featuring top hit type artists like Katy Perry and Jessie J (my magazine will contain original names).

It shows my target audience are females (16-24 as said before) who love fashion, beauty, gossip, and of course music.

Contents List for "Crunk" Music Magazine

My contents will be split into sections. These sections will be:

- "On The Cover"
- "Crunk's Regulars"
- "Speed Dial"
- "What's Crunking?"
- "Reviews"

On the cover will list the stories that have been displayed on the front cover of the magazine with a synopsis to give the audience a little more information, thus enticing them to visit those key pages.

Crunk's Regulars will not have any synposis because the audience will know they are always  featured so they do not need an explanation. These will be things like columns (i.e. "How to .. etc.), Top 100 charts in UK, download lists, playlist option etc.

Speed Dial will have the months updates from popular celebrites, including Twitter statuses, newly released albums, gigs and interviews.

What's Crunking? Will include all the latest gossip of popular artists that the audience may not know (such as an artist giving up singing, an artist going on tour etc.).

Reviews will again have no synposis because they will have their own section in every issue, and they will be reviews of different artists new songs that they have released.