1. By Namibia McLean My Magazine Front Cover Flat Plan: Analysis

2. Final Front Cover Flat Plan:

3. Name/Masthead The name for my magazine is called ‘Word-Up’ and is placed at the top of my magazine and is underneath my selling line. I decided to put my masthead here because due to my research for Hip Hop and R&B magazines they place their masthead at the top so that when the magazine is stacked on the shelf next to other competitor magazines, the audience would be able to recognise or see their magazine clearly. The word 'Word Up' can means two thing it could either mean 1. Okay, I agree or 2. It's the same as 'Waddup' which both phrases mean 'What's up'. Either definition can apply to my magazine as it could be the audience agreeing with the content within the magazine such as the stories lines etc. The second definition could apply as it can be the audience also saying what's up today as in what's the news that the magazine will bring this issue. The phrase is actually slang which this 'ghetto' slang I tried to combine with the pictures and language of the magazine.

4. Colour Scheme The colour scheme for my entire magazine is white, black, purple with a hint of yellow. I chose these colours because I believe they signify sophistication which I would want my magazine to include as it is aimed towards an audience of 18-35 year olds. I also chose these colours because during my research I saw that black and white was used mostly as it is clear and readable. As for the purple I assume that this colour is a unisex colour and my magazine is a unisex magazine so hopefully having the colour purple in the magazine will symbolise that the magazine is aimed for both genders. Additionally I decided to only have a hint of yellow to compliment the purple and also if I had used too much yellow then it would have made the magazine seem too bright and could ultimately conclude in the magazine being targeted towards the wrong audience as it’s stereotypically known as a child like colour. Nevertheless I used yellow as I needed a fourth colour to make the magazine seem more interesting and have more contrast and I believe the colour yellow did just that.

5. Graphic I decided to only have on main graphic on my magazine and I based this decision while looking at the magazine ‘VIBE’ as I did want to give the magazine and R&B look to it as well as a Hip Hop look. I noticed how ‘VIBE’ usually has a central image and I liked the way it looked hence why my magazine has a central image. I believe this is the most effective way to let the audience know who the focus of the magazine is about as they will be able to see the clear centralised image. Within the image I have a woman who is wearing a low cut top which is black and wearing jewellery that consists of the colours purple and yellow which has matched the colour scheme. Again I based this decision while looking at the conventions of ‘VIBE’ as they usually made the celebrity wear the same colours as the colour scheme. I believe doing this is effective because it makes the magazine seem more classy. The low cut top I decided to do because it increases sex appeal which most R&B magazines have nowadays but I believe I have done this tastefully so that it doesn’t cause distress or uproar. The graphic is layered over the masthead only by a little because this obviously is the first issue of my magazine so therefore I need the audience to familiarise themselves with the title of the magazine hence why the graphic is only layered slightly over the masthead. The angle of gaze that I shall make the woman in the magazine do will be her eyes facing towards the audience so that the audience can build a connection with her and this intensifies her look. Her expression is a straight face because I want her to look dominating as the celebrity she’s posing as has a dominating and confident personality so I would want this to reflect in the way she’s look but not too the level where this puts the audience off buying the magazine.

6. FONT The font for my magazine will vary and unfortunately I don’t have the exact fonts that I will use but I have a clear image of what I want them to look like. For example the masthead ‘Word-Up’, the ‘U’ has got an arrow going upwards that will just about touch the selling line. I did this because it brings a sense of humour for my magazine but also I think having an arrow is quite clever and creative which hopefully would reflect the rest of my magazine content. So for the font for my masthead I would like it to be bold and clear as this is going to be one of the first things the audience sees so I need it to look interesting. Consequently this would result to my audience wanting to know more about the content and in the end pick it up and buy it. For things like the selling line which says ‘FREE CODES TO UNLOCK BEYONCE’S MEMORABLE HITS’ I want that to be in the same font as the ‘EXCLUSIVE’ and ‘WORLDWIDE FIRST’ because I want that element of consistency and when reflecting on other magazines like ‘Hip Hop Connection’ I saw that they had done this too and overall it looked professional which is what I need to achieve for my magazine. This font will be white with a black banner behind it as this makes the font stand out better, almost a 3D look which would grab the attention of my audience better.