Title Block Analysis and Design:

The title block on the magazine primarily is big, bold and bright in colour with the use of red. The colour of the font is always contrasting with the background, so it stands out and makes it as visual as possible for the viewer. The use of juxtaposing colours further establishes the text on the page, highlighting its significance to the viewer and making it a central figure. The font used is very simple but effective because it is seen and recognised as it establishes itself effectively on the black background, although this background is not conventionally common in the “VIBE” logo. Furthermore, the font used is clean and simple, which carries connotations of class and potential elegance in a genre that has proven to be the opposite; rap. The title block itself does not give away the genre of the magazine, but it tells us as the audience that the music content in the magazine is about the “VIBE” that is around in the music scene at the time and what you will get when reading the publication; a musical vibe. Finally, the font used is typical of rap magazines; large, central, essentric but simple, and block capitals. As my selected genre for my musical magazine is rap/hip-hop, the "VIBE" masthead will act as a major influence as to how my font will look itself.

The Q magazine logo is a single letter, the letter "Q". It is white on a bold red background, which establishes this iconic letter on the page due to the contrasting colours. The "Q" is somewhat ambiguous, as it does not give anything away about the genre of the music in the magazine, acting as a potential hook for the reader to pick up the magazine and read on. It does stick in the readers mind because it is a bold and prominent image on the magazine and in to in your head. The type of democratic audience I would say this magazine is aimed at from the title is an older one, preferbly from the ages 20 plus. I think this is because of the font; the letter is written in a classy, somewhat simple text. The font is or similar to "Times New Roman", even the name of the font carries connotations of old and quite boring writing, which will not draw in the younger audiences to read the magazine. If it was written in a bolder block letter font (similiar to that of "VIBE"), it would look more current and modern, furthermore engaging with the younger demographic. My targeted demographic audience is primarily from the ages 15-21, so the use of the more simpler font like "Q" would not be affective in promoting and earning circulation amongst the target audience.

Moreover, NME magazine's logo is in bold capitals, again with the persistant use of the sharp red on a black backround. The bold capitals of "NME" are used effectively as they stand out and signify the font on the page, which is conventionally quite crowded. The black backround amongst the red again enables the text to establish itself on the page, as these juxtaposing colours work well with one another. Additionally, a white border is placed around the text itself, with a shadow effect on each of the three letters. This again builds on the effect of establishing the text on the page and making it seem as if it is coming off the page ahead of the other text and images present. Due to the bold and clean font, i would target the magazine audience to be fairly young, between the ages of 16-25. Due to these three logos, it has given me a greater understanding as to how i shall make my magazine logo to create mass attention. With my own creation of my magazine logo, I will think about these certain things:

1.) What name should I use? How it relates to both the genre and the target audience.

2.) What colours should be used? Red and black with a shadow are good examples of contrasting colours which may make the text stand out on the page further.

3.) What font should I use? Should it be plain and simple, or bold and neat to target the specific audience.

4.) How big should the masthead be? Should it be fairly small and located in the corner (NME and Q) or should it be large and located central on the page (Vibe). Should the central figure be situated in front of the text to highlight his/her significance?

Designing Title Blocks - An Example:

For my music magazine, I wanted to ensure that I gave my magazine the best possible logo; seeing as the title of a magazine is one of the first things the audience look at (or look at for). I figured this would be a good place to start off my music magazine and the masthead "KING" would work best as it can be illustrated to great effect. I then had to decide which illustration to use, and then I had to decide which illustration was best suited for my magazine if it illustrated the word "KING" perfectly. From all the different fonts tried, I felt that font 2 best suited my magazine; as font 1 was too basic for my liking, font 3 was too structured and neat and font 4 was too amateurish. I also admired the crown on top of the "I" which reinforced the word "KING". The word "KING" itself carries connotations of wealth, hierarchy and status which is something that I would like my rap magazine to be based on; being the best music magazine on the current market. Title 2 was also most suited, as the text was simple, bold and the colors (Red and Black) used juxtapose one another so it therefore stands out in the viewers mind. The font used is also similar to the one used with "VIBE" magazine, therefore it will fit into the rap magazine genre a lot more:

I decided that "BASE" would be my chosen title (masthead). Once I had chosen my final name title, I then started to experiment on Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop enabled me to identify the different style fonts which meant I was able to choose from variety of choices. It also enabled me to select a wide range of colours, sizes, border shadows and outer glow. I had come up with six different font font styles which appealed to me most, but in the end I chose only one font style which is shown in logo 2. All of my fonts are in bold, block capitals which I intend on using in my final design. The fonts vary from Feast of Flesh BB, SF Automation, Docteur Atomic and Coalition. I personally believe that the SF automation font is most suitable, as it is similiar to the one used with "VIBE" and furthermore stands out on the page:

Once I decided on my final name title and style, I then decided to experiment on the colours and use of shadowing available. While I was experimenting, I came across some dull and boring colours, which lacked excitement and possible attention. I wanted a colour that I could keep consistent, a colour that would grab my readers attention, a colour that would stand out from the backround. The black and red gradient overlay I preferred more, as the colours are again contrasting and help the logo "BASE" to stand out on the page. I then went even further and created a black shadow outline on the text. This will again make the logo appear more significant, as it has the effect of making it seem 3D and as if it is coming off the page infront of the other text present:

By choosing the right font colour, I was then able to keep this colour scheme consistent throughout my music magazine. I am pleased with the colour and font I have chosen and I believe that it will attract the target demographic effectively.