Sniffin' Glue Magazine

 

 

I also really like the look of Sniffin' Glue magazine, and although I had not planned on making my magazine in black and white, I think that maybe this is something I should consider. I like the typography used which looks like it has been scribbled on really quickly, and also the cut & paste style layouts. The images look very rough and uncut, which would fit in with the genre of my magazine, and the general untidiness of each cover, especially the 'punk special', works well and is still clearly readable despite this. Each issue has the same general layout - masthead etc. at the top, image in the middle, subheadings etc. at the bottom - although the 'punk special' changes this slightly by crowding the middle section, which I think looks amazing and could potentially be a design that I base my next draft on. I like the random placing of the text and the different fonts, and because the image is simple, this does not make the page seem too busy, either. I think with the right use of colour and image, this could look fantastic.

Ray Gun Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

I like the style of Ray Gun magazine and hope to base my final product on their designs, simply because they are so unique and striking. Ray Gun (when it was around) broke the generic conventions of a typical magazine cover more often than conforming to what was most common, but their covers did not look poorly put together despite this, which is one of the main things I love about them. For example, the first of the two Elvis covers has an extremely strange layout in that the title of the magazine is not the biggest piece of text on the page, the image is not centered and cannot be identified easily, and the positioning of the typography and also the barcode do not resemble a classic cover, although this still works somehow and appealed to a certain audience; one similiar to mine, I presume, due to the styles and feature stars used. The other Elvis cover creates a mirrored effect and incorporates bold colours with a neutral background to ensure that the space is not cluttered, as well as positioning text and barcodes in strange places, once again, but making it look enticing and quirky rather than wrong. I like the Iggy + Perry cover because of the grunge look it portrays, which is created by the green tint used to enhance the simple image, as well as the masthead, and the dirty looking, contrasting dark/light colour palette in general. I also like the layout of the white cover, which completely throws traditional magazine layouts out of the window and places an image at the top of the page and fills the entirety of the bottom with cut & paste style text. Most stick to white and black text and then use a colourful background, which is what I wanted to do with my magazine, although I couldn't do this for my draft due to time and the clothes my model was wearing, which I think works well and stands out. The choice of fonts used throughout are all amazing, in my opinion, and because the images are not busy, this allows for bold colour choices and typography. I will refer back to this post when I create another draft.

Magazine Playlist

I have composed a playlist of songs which I feel best represent the influences, ideas, style, genre, mood, aesthetics, vision etc. of my magazine, as I felt that I had not expressed fully what I intend to achieve. Some of the songs I have chosen specifically fall under the category of 'punk' music, which was the vibe I was originally going for, although I think that this would limit my audience slightly, and so I have included some heavier songs and also some more alternative/pop songs, so as to attract a wider audience.

1) My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark / Fall Out Boy 2) Now / Paramore 3) Fascination Street / The Cure 4) The Wind Blows / The All-American Rejects 5) Kill The DJ / Green Day 6) Little Death / You Me At Six 7) Settle Down / No Doubt 8) Too Many Devils / The Bronx 9) Dead Man's Shoes / The Virginmarys 10) Shadow Moses / Bring Me The Horizon 11) Boom Shake The Room / The Blackout (cover) 12) Feeling This / blink-182 13) Kill Me / The Pretty Reckless 14) Breed / Nirvana 15) White Riot / The Clash 16) Blitzkrieg Bop / The Ramones 17) Liar / The Sex Pistols 18) In Too Deep / Sum 41 19) What You Want / Evanescence 20) Alpha Omega / Architects 21) Radiosurgery / New Found Glory 22) Like It's Her Birthday / Good Charlotte 23) Hey Supertstar / Madina Lake

Band Images

Here are some images of the bands I have previously mentioned which will influence the creation of my own magazine (some images have already featured in other posts):

Chosen Style Magazine Covers

After contemplating what kind of look and genre of music I wanted to focus on, I have decided to go for an edgy, punk rock, alternative style. Despite the use of the word 'punk', I am not limiting my magazine to just this, but all kinds of rock in general, e.g. post-hardcore bands like The Blackout, alternative rock/pop punk bands such as You Me At Six and Paramore, ska punk/reggae fusion bands like No Doubt, metalcore/deathcore bands such as Bring Me The Horizon and Architects, as well as punk rock/pop punk bands like Green Day.

                        

      

 

         

 

      

  

I like these covers because they are quirky and incorporate bright and contrasting colours, some of which seem almost psychedelic, fitting in with the 'punk' theme, and use striking images or backgrounds which attract the reader's attention. A range of different fonts have been used which I think fit in with my chosen genre, and the amount of text on the pages differ, which will allow me to play around when creating my own magazine, as I can base my cover on any of these designs. I particularly like the David Bowie cover of Raygun magazine and will possibly choose a font along these lines and maybe a plain yet striking background of a similar style. I like the unique layout and placement of text used on both of the other Raygun covers, and the familiar black, white and red colour scheme used on Metal Hammer's cover, as well as the almost drawn on text, whilst also incorporating a striking yellow colour, popular amongst rock magazines, which is also found on the NME cover, which contrasts nicely with the purple/pink background and white text. The background image of the Q cover is very artistic and colourful and gives the magazine a 'fun' look about it, as well as its bubbly choice of fonts. The Select magazine cover is similar to the Ray Gun issues because of the date it was published, but I think that these colour choices could still work nowadays when targeted at punk rock lovers; and the Jimi Hendrix Classic Rock cover stood out for me because of its limited yet bold colour scheme but dominant image and the use of a 'hippy' style font.