I decided to do some more research into the type of magazine I want to create and came across 4 excellent, existing examples. They all have advanced graphic designs to them and although are not fully classed as music magazines, have very strong themes and sections of them that are built on the music industry.
The magazines are called; Cool-B, COMPLEX, STATUS and FRONT.
STATUS is highly revolved around music and is based around very specific genres and styles. The other 3 are more adult or fashion themed magazines that are however strongly built with music being a prominent factor of it's articles and pages. All of these magazines have a 'cartoon' design to them, whether it be combining the 2 different styles of photography and graphics, or just being full cartoon artwork or linear designs.
STATUS is highly revolved around music and is based around very specific genres and styles. The other 3 are more adult or fashion themed magazines that are however strongly built with music being a prominent factor of it's articles and pages. All of these magazines have a 'cartoon' design to them, whether it be combining the 2 different styles of photography and graphics, or just being full cartoon artwork or linear designs.
For any images below, click on them to open up a clearer, bigger version.
The design is extremely colourful. Using a contrasting palette of fuchsia pink, yellow, blue and white is an almost 'primary' colour based set, and it also similar to the CMYK colour system magazines print by. Although these colours are all extremely contrasting, they all work extremely well for the magazine, giving off a modern, techno/pop feel to it. It all works really nicely together and creates a fun, loud look to it.
There is also a lot of writing on the cover. In Asia, their magazines do tend to have quite a lot of writing on their covers; it's seen as the norm to have it crowded for them. It does work quite well, however I feel for an English magazine less crowding would be better.
COMPLEX is a magazine based around fashion/style and modern music, the majority looking to be hip/hop, R&B and dance. It was founded by Marc Ecko, is published under the name of Complex Media since 2002 and is aimed at young, possibly mainly male, music loving, urban living adults.
I couldn't help but analyse this magazine, it was so bright and interesting. From what I see, it's been quite cleverly done. They used a photo of a young, sexy, black lady (Keri Hilson) to attract the instant attention of their target audience; people interested in R&B music. They then add a graphic media to their magazine, with brightly coloured clouds, bubble writing and various different fonts thick in weight.
They stick to a palette of yellow, red, black/white and blue, again a lot like the CMYK colour model. These colours seem to appear quite frequently in magazines... this may possibly be due to printing costs/colour, however the colours do contrast and colour it very nicely.
The layout of the cover is quite cramped, however it's still comfortable to look it. It somehow makes the eyes want to wander around the page and follow the colours, it's an excellent layout.
STATUS is a magazine that is based in Asia, claiming to be a 'youth culture magazine, focusing on the future of fashion, music, art, and urban lifestyles–from Manila to Singapore, Seoul to Paris, LA to New York, and everywhere in between. We are always on the watch for rising trends as they gain ground in the streets. We excite, inspire, and affect the influencers of tomorrow.' They appear to be extremely enthusiastic of having a fun, modern appearance.
The front cover for an issue they created really appealed to me, I really love the linear style they drew Travis Barker (probably the most famous drummer in music, especially Hip-Hop and Punk). The pure black against the plain white background stands out boldly and looks very clean and modern, also looking very similar to a tattoo.
This then has writing/titles placed on top of it, all written in black, blue or red (sometimes two of these colours). The colours, like the past 2 covers I've analysed, are primary and simple, thus proving effective by standing out and be simple, yet cool. It also show confidence as they used a literal minimum of 4 colours.
I myself borrow and read this magazine, it is rated 16+ and is highly emphasised that it is not a pornography magazine, it's more artistic and alternative. It's extremely interesting and 'naughty', it's really fun to read. It's a magazine aimed at alternative styled, young adults and published by The Kane Corporation Ltd. It's released on a monthly basis and describes itself as 'NOT a lad's mag'. You have to have a strong sense of maturity if reading (or even analyzing, like I am) for this magazine as it shouldn't be seen/viewed in an extremely negative, degrading manner like most 'sexually' looking or themed media is nowadays.
This magazine mixes photography with graphic design, creating an illusion of real life mixing with a strange cartoon world. It's main colour is a palette of red, a warm colour. It's a very simple colour scheme, even the girls on the front of wearing it/have the same hair colour. It's extremely bold and , when mixed with black and white, can create an alternative styled look. This also gives off the idea of sexy and loud.
All the writing on the cover looks like it has been handwritten, as each letter looks different from the others. This shows a lot of effort has been put into it's design, with all the different paths and angles the words are coming from.
Although it is very crowded with words, which could cause uncomfortable feelings, when looked at from a distant, it looks a little like a background and blends well with the picture. This allows some form of comfort and then exploration when looked into at greater detail.
All of these magazines have great covers, and I'd definitely like to reference them and create a similar product in my piece.
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