The four F's of magazine design

The Four Fs of magazine design are Format, Formula, Frame and Functions. magazine designers use this when creating their magazine to ensure that the magazine has a consistent house style and achieves the aims of the publisher.

Format: the format is the design choices that can be found on every edition of magazine, this is also known as the house style. The format includes aspects of the magazine such as the logo, size of the magazine and the font. magazine designers ensure that the house style is consistent throughout all editions of the magazine so that is it easily recognisable for the reader.

Formula: the formula is also known as the editorial content, this means what is actually in the magazine. the formula includes the length and type of article used in the magazine as well as the sections in the magazine from front to back.

Frame: the frame is the standard size of the magazine including the outer page margins and gutters. the rule of using magazine margins establishes the consistency from issue to issue.

Function: the function is what the magazine is trying to achieve and the message the magazine is trying to put forward.

Research methods

There are many different types of research methods that can be used when researching about the design and the construction of my music magazine.

Primary : primary research can also be known as field data. This is when you collect your own data that does not already exist. this type of research is effective as the individual is ale to make the research very specific to the information they would like to source.
there are many good primary research methods including phone calls, emails, letters and focus groups.
Phone call: a phone call is a effective and reliable primary research method that can provide personal answers to the questions. Although can be a problem if you are trying to make overseas phone calls or phone calls to a busy phone line.
Email: emails are a good form of primary research for a quick and easy reply however people can ignore emails or the email could be misunderstood.
Letter: letters are a great way to get personal and in-depth responses to the questions that need answers. the only problem with letters are that it could take a while to get a response or the letter could get lost or sent to the wrong address.
Focus groups: focus groups enable the research to easily get research from different ages, that give a quick and personal response. But the people on the focus group may be friends so may give you the answer they think you want.

Secondary: secondary data is when you take research from already existing work. This is an effective way of finding information quickly. Effective forms of secondary research include TV, magazines and newspapers and the internet.
TV: using TV is a good secondary research method that is easy to find reliable information as there may be experts being interviewed on the topic you are trying to research. But there can problems with using TV for research as some television can have a negative effect.
Magazines and newspapers: magazines and newspapers are a good form of secondary research as they are reusable and easy to access, but they can be expensive, some fonts can be unreadable and some articles may be useless.
Internet: the internet is an easily accessible research method to find the information needed. although it can occasionally by difficult to find the right information due to changes in we addresses.

Quantitative: Quantitative data is data collected about a large number of people (numerical data). decisions are made based on the trends that are found from the answers people gave. Examples of research methods that produce quantitative are surveys which you can use to ask lots of people in a short amount of time. but as most surveys only ask closed questions is it difficult to gain detailed responses.

Qualitative: Qualitative data is used to gain more detailed answers, and rather than using closed (yes/no) question, they ask questions that give more in-depth answers.  An example of qualitative research is an interview, which does take time but is a good way of gaining personal and detailed answers as part of your research.

Features of a magazine cover

Magazine covers are used to attract their target audience and persuade them to buy the magazine. When designing a magazine, designer ensure that their magazine cover has these key features:

Master head (title/logo)
The master head is displayed on every edition of the magazine in the same typeface and position on the magazine to ensure consistency throughout their magazines. The typeface is often in a specific font that is unique to the magazine, this is done for advertising purposes for make sure that the magazine is easily recognisable.

Date line
The month and price is often written on the magazine,but magazines usually come onto shelves a month before the date on the magazine.

Cover lines
Cover lines are used to give the reader an insight into the magazine. The cover lines are written around the edge of the magazine but not in front of the main image to take the focus away from it. The cover lines are written in a bold colour so that they are easily visible but are written in a smaller font so not to take away from the main focus of the magazine (the main image and main cover line)

Main cover line
The main cover line is the largest cover line on the magazine cover and is in a bold font to draw the readers eye towards it. The main cover line is usually short and gives an insight of the main story within the issue of the magazine.

Main image
The main image gives the reader an idea of what the magazine is based on. It is usually a simple images, for example the image used in the magazine above is a simple mid shot image with not too much going on around it to distract the reader.

Model credit
Model credit are sometimes written on the front cover in some fashion magazines, for example the magazine above where it says 'Model of the year Cara Delevingne'.

The history of music magazines

 

The UK has been in the forefront of the music industry and has had many music based magazines to follow the movements in the music industry. The longest running UK music magazine is BMG (Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar) which was founded in 1903 and is still running today and promotes fretted instruments. Other UK music magazines include NME (New Musical Express) which has lead music magazine sales since its first edition in 1952.NME covered the up and coming rock and roll scene. During the 50s NME had longstanding competition with Melody Maker magazine, which began its publication in 1926 and covered music from the jazz scene but due to the rise in the use of the internet have stopped publishing. There was an increase in the production of music magazines in the 1990s, with several new magazines including Sounds and Select started to get published. current UK music magazines include Kerrang! (produced in 1981), Mojo and Q, which focus on pop music. while there are other magazines such as Top of the Pops and the no longer published Smash Hits who aimed at a younger audience and focused on pop music.

Major music magazines in the Unites States include Rolling Stone which was founded in 1967. Rolling Stone magazine contained less factual information and more on the culture of music as well as documenting the social changes and political concerns about music. Other major magazines in the Unites States included Spin (founded in 1985) and Billboard which founded in 1894 only began to publish music information in 1918. In 2005 the magazine and its website were repositioned to provide coverage of all forms of digital and mobile entertainment and has a large focus on the music industry.

Music magazines are still used today although have become less popular due the increase in the use of other media such as the internet and television.