Front cover story ideas

• BASTILLE - the next big thing
• DAUGHTER - life on tour
• Behind the scenes with Newton Faulkner
• V FESTIVAL Who's there?
• "I saw Maximo Park at 12 and thought... I wanna do that!"

Double page spread plan

The following picture is my original drawn plan for the double page spread of my magazine.

The plan for my double page spread is one which I have had in mind since the start of my project. Strongly based on Q, but slightly unconventional in how I've placed it, the photo takes up the left hand side, and the article on the right. The picture I have drawn on this plan is a long shot of my artist, facing the camera. However, I think in my final draft I will experiment and consider using the photo which I planned to use on my contents page because the background on that one will be busier and will fit better on the page. Down the right hand side of the double page I have copied a column from Q magazine which offers the readers three new artists which make similar music to the artist whose article they have just read. I have done this because it fits in with my theme of introducing new music to the reader. As with the other two pages, I plan on this page to use a mix of serif and sans serif font to create a balance: usually serif for the longer pieces of writing and sans serif for the main titles, quotes and drop caps.

Contents page plan

The following picture is my original drawn plan for the contents page of my magazine.

I'm aware that my contents page is very similar to that of Q magazine judging by the layout and the features, but I have tried to make it less regulated by putting the smaller photo on a canted angle spanning over the three different sections. Also, I put the website name 'www.intromusic.com' in the top corner of the main photo because I didn't want the top banner to become overcrowded. Furthermore, depending on the results of my survey, I will change and adapt because I can see now that there's a large bit of space in the bottom left hand corner. The picture I first planned to put on the contents page is from the same set of photos which I will use for the front page and the double page spread - just like the Take That and Lady Gaga issues of Q - because I think that reinforces continuity and reflects the magazine's constant delivery of new music. The photo will be of my friend Reece sitting in an old brown chair in a Victorian-style room, as it contrasts with the modern, edgy clothing which he will be wearing. However, now I've looked at my plans, I think this photo will look better on the double page spread, and I think one of my model standing against an exterior wall avoiding eye contact with the audience will fit a lot better, looking at some issues of Q magazine which have similar styles of photos. As for the front page, the colour scheme will be the same: simple, yet eye catching.

Front page plan

The following picture is my original drawn plan for the front page of my magazine.

Taking inspiration from Liam Gallagher's issue of Q magazine, my initial ideas consist of a deep-focus close-up with stories around the main photograph, along with a quote from the artist which is larger in order for it to stand out. I tried to use a balance of serif and sans serif font, which is a feature of Q magazine, and I labelled them to plan where I will use them and for what text. The main headline, which I have placed along the bottom of the front cover, will be witty and include the name of the artist in a clever play on words to entice the reader into buying the magazine to read what the main article is about. Similar to NME magazine, I placed the barcode portrait along the right hand side of the page so it would be out of the way of the stories on the cover - I also like this because it looks slightly different to many other magazines, without looking unconventional. I haven't decided on a colour scheme yet as this will depend on the results of my survey (which I have began to analyse) but I know that the background will be white, accompanied by some black text and another colour such as red - though I will try to stray from red because I don't want my magazine to be a copy of Q. The name 'INTRO' came to me a few days ago and I thought this was a perfect name because it can represent a number of things: first, the intro to a song so that is how it relates to music, and secondly, the aim of my magazine is going to be to bring new, un-charted music to people, so there is an introduction there.