FRONT COVER RESEARCH
As the photo that I am planning on using for the front cover of my magazine is a close - up, and the model is quite similar to the singer Lana Del Rey, I decided to look at magazines that feature her on their covers to see how they are presented. I noticed that a lot of the magazines that she is featured in use close - ups and medium close - ups of Lana, this may be because many people find her a very interesting character due to her unique retro/dreamy/indie/rock style which is reflected through her image. The fact that the images are close - ups may also help to draw readers in and helps to reflect her significance in the magazine ( and music industry) as her face dominates most of the page which makes her seem important and emphasises how she is the main feature of the magazine. A lot of the magazine covers featuring Lana on their covers that I looked at have their mast heads edited behind the image of her, particularly 'Q', 'Rolling Stone' and 'Billboard'. Doing this empahsies her importance and displays her image even further. Another reason this is done is because the magazines are well known meaning that their mast heads are already easily recognisable so do not need to be the main focus of the front cover, instead they put the singers that draw readers attention in this place. This is something that I think I am going to do on my own front cover to create a more interesting effect and make my magazine look as if it well known. Apart from Q, the magazine covers all have their cover lines around the image of Lana and do not cover her face with them to make her stand out more.
Lana Del Reys famous image is very captivating due to its unique complexity as it is a combination of elegant, retro and rebel. She often displays the American flag in her image, particularly in her music videos to 'Born To Die' 'Ride' and 'National Anthem'. As well as representing her background and nationality, it may also be a sign of her independence and strength as a woman ; as America is very proud of its independence and shows it off by decorating places with their flag on independence day. She also uses the American flag to create a new type of 'American Dream',which represents her up bringing as she was a young American Girl who fulfilled her dream of becoming a singer.The flag is also used to appreciate and refer to famous American icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.
Del Rey uses her music and music videos to acknowledge the fact that she is a flawed woman, which makes her a more realistic and down to earth person than celebrities who make themselves appear perfect and glamorous to the public. At the age of 14, she was sent to a rehabilitation centre due to an alcohol addiction, in an interview she revealed that a lot of her song 'Born To Die' was about the times when she had this problem. Del Rey also mentions a lot about drugs in her music, especially on her album 'Ultra Violence' and her song 'High by the beach'. This again shows that she is not perfect and allows audience members to relate to her. She often appears smoking or drinking in her music videos which creates a rebellious 'bad girl' image. It also reveals how she is reflecting her own personality through her music and is not scared of public criticism. Del Rey also sings about sensitive topics such as abuse and unjust treatment of women, for example in the song 'UltraViolence' she sings 'He hit me and it felt like a kiss'. This suggests that she is a woman who has been through a lot of trauma in her life but has come back stronger and made herself a success; which is empowering to other women. The fact that she is displayed with guns in some of her videos could represent her strength.
Lana Del Reys image is also constructed from a combination of a retro and 1950s glamour style. This helps to show her femininity as well as fierce, rebellious side. Her body is often visible in magazine covers that she is featured in ( like the 'Rolling Stone' one ) and in her music videos to reveal that she is not a stick thin unrealistic female celebrity, but is a real, strong and independent woman. This also makes her comparable to Marilyn Monroe, who was also a very intriguing icon who was curvy not skinny. There are also elements of 1920s glamour in her song 'Young and Beautiful' which is used in the film 'The Great Gatsby'. The fact that Del Rey can simultaneously be elegant, retro and rebellious makes her very interesting and intriguing to people.
Cover Lines
Price& Barcode
Components of a music magazine front cover
Main image
Main Cover Line
Barcode
Mast Head
Puffs
Slogan
Smaller images
Website
Issue No.
After looking at a range of front covers from different music magazines, I decided that I like how Q Magazine lay out their covers best and found a cover to base the layout of my own one on; as the images a similar sizes. I like how the fonts that are used are quite simple and not over dramatic, and how the same one has been used for most of the cover lines as this makes it look very professional and neat. It also prevents readers from being overwhelmed with an overly decorative page and can focus on the information that it provides. I really like the use of the red stars underneath one of the mast heads as it adds a simple decorative touch that fits in with the colour scheme of the magazine and is relevant to the text it is under. As I have used stars on my contents page to fit in with the Lana Del Rey inspired American flag image, this is something that I am considering adding onto my own front cover as I think that it will link well. I would also like to include circular shapes containing text to draw readers attention to important information in the magazine whilst also making the page look more interesting. Looking at this front cover has given me a clear idea of the best place to position my main cover line as although it is at the bottom of the page, the part of the image it is covering is quite page which allows it to stand out more- along with its size. Both my model and David Bowie are looking directly into the camera lenses in the photographs which will help ton engage readers more and make them feel as if the magazine is being directed at them as this creates the illusion that they are staring them in the eye.
HEADLINE FONTS:
COVER LINE FONTS:
I decided to look for fonts that are quite simplistic in design in order to not make the front cover too over decorative. I also ensured that the fonts that I chose had some sort of link to the subtle theme of the American Flag on my contents page that is inspired by Lana Del Rey's image, as I figured that as the same model that I used for the main image of the contents page is also going to be on the cover, it will link together well. Some of the fonts above have a noticeably Art Deco design which can be associated with 'The Great Gatsby', which Del Rey's music features, in which again keeps the theme and inspiration from her image consistent throughout the magazine. One of the fonts that I selected to use for the magazines cover lines in the black banner box will help to make the cover look more interesting and will draw readers attention to important or exciting information as well as making the graphic desgin of it more complex.The other fonts that I found to use for the cover lines are quite simplistic but also look very American and some have an Art Deco style, therefore I think that they will be suitable to use as reasonably decorative, but not over-powering, and link to the rest of the cover and magazine.
PHOTOS:
I had to change the original photo that I planned on using for my front cover because the shadow on the models face couldn't be corrected. I chose these ones because the background reflects part of the Alternative/ Rock colour scheme and are able to be edited better.
I used Light Room to adjust the lighting, contrast and saturation on these photos to make the shadows on the models face a lot less harsh. I also added a filter to the images that gives them a grunge, retro look which is inspired by Lana Del Rey's image.
After trying all of the different fonts for the main headline, I concluded that none of them created the image that I am trying to achieve. I decided to look at the fonts that are used on Lana Del Rey's albums and managed to find the exact font that was used on her album called 'Ultra Violence'. I think that this font looks more effective than the other ones that I originally chose as it is a good thickness and is not over decorative so will not be over powering.
I also decided to take inspiration from the Parental Advisory logo on the Lana Del Rey album cover as this makes people aware that there will be things like swearing and topics includinf drugs in the magazine. Therefore it helps to reach out to my target audience as it contains adult content but is still revolved around youthful artists which makes it more engaging and relatable.
This is the font that I used for the text on the logo as it was the most similar to the one actually used that I could find. Instead of writing the classic 'Parental Advisory Explicit Content', I used the opportunity to draw attention to the fact that this is a new magazine so instead wrote, 'Parental Advisory Issue No.1'.
I later came across the actual font used on the Parental Advisory logo so decided to change the text to this instead to make it look more authentic.
PROGRESS:
This is the original photo that I planned on using for the front cover, however after editing it on Adobe Light Box, the highlight on the face could not be corrected therefore I had to use another image.
I made adjustments and added a filter onto another image on Light Box to create a retro sort of effect as this fits in with the Lana Del Rey theme.
I adjusted the text in the yellow puff to make it more readable.
This is the original photo that I planned on using for the front cover, however after editing it on Adobe Light Box, the highlight on the face could not be corrected therefore I had to use another image.
FINAL PRODUCT:
