"Scene" flatplan front cover

This is the flat plan of my front cover for my magazine that I will eventually be making. I have got ideas and related several features to my research magazine as this will follow the same indie music magazine conventions.

The title is "SCENE" which derived from the popular fashion and music style named which is also named scene among young adults. It has a double meaning and also signifies the scene that the magazine promotes. It is a polysemic sign and it’s also as if the title is saying "this is the scene to be in". The typography of the title is black and bold and makes it stand out to the audience most on the page. I want it to look modern and conventional to anchor the meaning of the title and relate to the young audience. It is bold to be eye catching to the audience and in a significant type face so that people will recognise the brand and this will establish it. I may have some of the title behind the photo, this will show how the audience is expected to already know what it is and make the picture more important. I got this idea from the KERRANG magazine I researched as they also put the title behind the photo.

The band used on the cover shot will follow the specific style so that the audience can relate to them. There will be eye contact with him and the purchaser, this draws the reader in. I chose one man from the band to be on the front cover as he is the lead singer and the person the audience will know most. His style will be similar to the audience’s a mainly male audience will want to be like the person on the front cover and the female audience will want to be with him. He will also be smiling and happy to make the consumer feel happy and then buy the magazine. I wanted the bands' name to sound quite British, modern and like they're a real indie band. The name "The Carnabys" is also a popular street in London, this shows where they are from, but is also quite a fun, conventional to indie music, name. I chose to write “the Carnabys take over London” as they come from London and so it relates to the bands’ name. This is the main flash and so will draw the readers in, so i put it right on the middle and will be in a different colour to the rest of the writing.

There will be a colour theme throughout the whole magazine; red and black. This will relate, appeal to the audience and help establish its brand.

There is a strap line at the top of the magazine which I would like to be a different colour to the rest of the page. This will draw in the readers’ attention. It says “exclusive Cage the Elephant tour dates!” the band will be popular among the audience and so they would want to find out when they are touring. The word exclusive will make the reader want to buy the magazine as they can only find out this information inside SCENE. There will also be a picture of the band so that they see it first as it catches their eye and then read it. This will be repeated with each issue near the brand logo, people will recognise the cover instantly. The “Christmas special” I will put in another bright colour so that it stands out. Probably green as this will relate to the Christmas theme. Also the word special draws in the audience as it sounds as if this issue will be different. The fact that you get a free CD and poster when you get the magazine encourages the audience to buy it. The magazine looks more entertaining than informative and this is anchored by the "chatty", colloquial language used. Also with exclamation marks it looks as if the journalist is excited about the magazine too.

There is a Main sell followed by a picture: "Pete and the Pirates Live" wich will relate to the writing. It indicates content in the magazine and relate to the other bands featured on the cover.

I placed the bar code away from the cover shot and centre of the cover, so it does not distract the audience's attention. The price is quite average/cheap for a monthly magazine but also shows that enough work has gone into the magazine so that it is good.