Photographers

Berta Pfirsich 

Berta studied photography in IDEP, Barcelona and Fashion Stylism in Instituto Europeo di Design. Her work is often published in magazines, some of which include Blaze Diaries, Vice, Vogue China, and Material Girl, magazines that reflect the style I wish to recreate in my magazine. 

Berta's website: http://www.bertapfirsich.com/

Jake Walters

Jake Walters' London based photography usually consists of portraits depicting leading figures, including many famous faces, from various forms of entertainment e.g. literature and art.
He has created work for many clients, including The Wire, Dazed and Confused, ID, and Independent Magazine, which are all produced in a style that is relevant to my magazine genre, making him an appropriate choice for photographer. 
His style is bold and dramatic, yet humorous, narrative, and emotional at the same time.

Ben's website: http://www.jakewalters.com/#

Graphic Designers

Ben Weaver 

Ben has done a lot of work for The Wire Magazine, a magazine that has inspired me with its minimalist presentation and intriguing images that make it very 'indie'.  
His typography is very distinctive, with bold letters that have been oddly spaced, making it more interesting and almost sophisticated due to the mild confusion the spacing causes. 
The images and colours used are striking, so will draw attention to themselves, attracting more potential customers. 
The unconventional layout of his work appeals me as it adds another level of activity to the page.

Ben's website: http://benweaver.eu/

Rikako Nagashima

Rikako Nagashima (born in 1980) is an art director and designer. In 2003, she received her B.A. in Visual Communication Design from Musashino Art University, and started working for Hakuhudo- a Japanese advertising company. 

Rikako has designed adverts, a musician's artworks and music video, branding, building signage, spatial design, product design, graphic design, and film direction/art direction. 

I think this style would be good for my magazine as it is very creative like most indie-related work. The minimalist layout of some of the designs conforms to the way text and images are presented in indie magazines and each piece contains that essential element of curiosity, or something new that people will be interested in because they haven't seen it before. 

Rikako's website: http://rikako-nagashima.com/

Moodboard

Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis- Wire

Title

The title to the article is uncommon. The amount of spacing between the letters is large, which makes the page look more interesting. The text-typography cohesion also makes it more fascinating- the title is 'A world apart', and all of the letters are far apart. This causes negative space.

Other text

In both bottom corners in a small font, the magazine name, page number, and current section are shown. This will be helpful for navigation, as well as reminding the reader what magazine they are reading. Again, the language register is formal. 

Images

The images shown have muted colours  and are displayed in halves of each page- one on the top of the first page, two on the bottom of the second page. They show "memories of the South African jazz scene". The captions of each picture provide context, such as time, location, name of person shown.

Colours

The washed colour scheme gives an idea of how long ago the photos were taken, while creating a historical mood. Just like most of the pages in the book, the background is white with black text, the 5th most legible colour combination.

Magazine Contents Analysis- Wire

Title

The title of the contents page is "Inside" and is positioned in the top-left corner with the issue number and date. This simple title is in keeping with the minimalist design on the cover, however it contrasts with the Masthead of the magazine on the cover as it sounds as though the contents page is being played down, while the masthead sounds of higher rank, keeping the focus on the name of the magazine. 

Other text

The other text on the page is numbered according to page number. The title of each page is in bold, with the sell providing extra information underneath, not in emboldened because it is not as important. The blue text indicates artists that are featured in the issue. The language register is formal throughout; it does not address the reader, it is not private, and it is not casual.

Image

The image off the cover of the magazine is shown in the top-right corner of the page, surrounded by negative space. The caption gives extra information about the splash and is positioned here because it is the main topic of the issue and so readers can clearly see what page the cover story is on.

Colours

As on the cover of the magazine, the colours are dull black and white, but blue has been added to the contents page, a colour that was subtly shown on the cover. These cool colours complement each other well. The colour scheme is also very minimalist. 

Magazine Cover Analysis- Wire

The masthead

The masthead is very large and has been capitalized in a clean font which eliminates ascenders and descedners; no space is wasted and the impact is greater.

It has been placed in the top third which allows it to be visible if it is on a top shelf or has another magazine in front of it.

It is white on black which is quite legible.

The way the masthead is on its own and is not being touched by anything else or overlapped gives the impression that it is superior and above everything else. This can be interpreted as 'Wire is the best magazine, all other magazines are inferior'.

The word 'wire'- monosyllabic making it memorable, yet short and sweet. It connotes electric, which could be interpreted as being along the lines of being 'plugged in', or in the know of, in this instance, music.

Other text

All of the text on the page is white, with the exception of the subhead which is yellow, standing out from the rest of the text and creating a legal register so that the reader is aware of what they can expect to find inside the magazine. Yellow on black is the second most legible colour combination. 
The text is in chronological order, with priorities the text on the page using its height to show its importance. "The year in underground music" is in capitals, making it clearer what "2013 rewind", the 'splash', is about. Other features are shown in lower case at the bottom of the page because they are less important. The language register is formal. 

Important information

The important information such as the issue number, price, bar-code, and masthead have been placed in the top two thirds so that they are always visible.

Image

The image is unusual, which conforms to the idea of being different, being indie. The design is very minimalist and although few covers are used, this cover is bold and eye-catching. The picture does not work as a boost, but it intrigues people.

Colours

The colour scheme of the magazine is not colourful or exciting, but the black of the background connotes mystery, which will make the audience curious of what is inside. The lack of bright colours suggests that the readers of this magazine would be a more mature audience, not elderly people and not children, possibly 16-35. They give the magazine a serious feel.

The colours are not gender-specific. 

The colour palette: 

The monotone scheme is made more interesting by the yellow, injecting colour to an otherwise dull cover.