Genre – Hardcore/Metal

Name Brainstorm

Out of all these names I like ‘Breakdown Metal Magazine’ the most as it has the double meaning in the word ‘breakdown’. Breakdowns are a key part of all metal but it also means a breakdown of what’s been happening in metal each month.

Hardcore word cloud

General Brainstorm

When I get to designing my magazine I will have to make sure that: there is clear branding which fits the genre, it has a USP (unique selling point) to make it more desirable compared to other magazines in the genre, and uses the gratification theory so that it is marketed to the right target audience and those people can interact and identify with it.

Mission Statement

‘Be the first to hear about the meanest, meatiest and filthiest riffs and breakdowns on the scene right now. New music, festivals, tours, you name it! BREAKDOWN Metal Magazine is the only magazine you should ever be reading for the latest metal news.’

I have learnt that target audience is very important when creating an effective magazine cover. The audience demographic and psychographic are the two key ways of figuring out the target audience. Once I have a target audience I can use that to choose the best font, colour pallet, images, MES, camera angle, body language, framing, and language to use.

This is an analysis of a magazine cover that I did with Max which points out all of the conventional features of a magazine.

• The Mast Head – This is the name of the magazine written in a big and clear font
• The Main Cover Line – This gives a small bit of information about what’s on the cover, it’s usually a head line with a small caption
• Pugs – These are small bits of information to draw in the reader in a small bright shape
• The Cover Star – An image of the artist or subject of what the main story is about which takes up the whole cover
• Insets – Other small images on the cover
• Plug – Tells you what the magazine is about in a short statement
• Cover Lines – Any writing on the cover, usually giving info about what’s inside
• Price & Barcode – In the bottom right or left corner to make it easier to scan

These features will be something I keep in mind when creating my magazine cover. They will be important so that the cover is effective and draws people in. The positioning of all of these is important too so that it’s visually pleasing for the audience.