Planning task 7: Website Homepage and Linked page

For my header I will make sure that the masthead stays in the same font as it is on the physical version of the magazine and is centralized to create familiarity with the magazine in the audience’s eyes. The masthead will follow the reader along, whilst he will scroll down the page to find out more about the site. The pop offs such as about us, shop, live, podcasts and so forth will also follow along while scrolling down so it becomes easier for the reader to click on any banner and to be immediately transferred to the chosen page. The search bar will follow the same tactic. The typography for the banners will be slightly smaller than the masthead, more likely to be sans-serif font and might highlight some of them with the bold effect to make it stand out and give a sense of significance. The social media links will be placed on the top of the masthead and everything that comes afterwards to make it also stand out and ease the search for followers of the site. 

More likely that the typography of the whole website page will stay in sans-serif font and will change the size of the letters and will add bold effect to some of it if needed. However, the section's mastheads could differ from other text and for that I will use the same font as I have picked for the original masthead of the magazine. To make it stand out.  

In terms of images, I want to experiment with creating collages in some places to maybe promote new issues or magazine’s clothing merch. It can help me to claim the idea of hip-hop lifestyle and its vision for others, to create a flow that will be aesthetically pleasing to look at. I will make sure to include as many images as possible, to create slides for promotional terms, to promote an artist or duo of the previously published issues. I will link pictures to articles, interviews and adverts to give a ‘taste’ of what the magazine is about, so the reader could literally ‘VIBE WITH THE TRIBE’ by looking at the pictures that depict and represent certain meaning behind it. I want the online page to look useful and easy to read, not aiming to create something very busy as it will annoy rapidly and will not surround with feeling of visiting the page, which must be avoided by me as an editor.  

For my video materials I will add a maximum of 2 to 3 interviews with multiple people and a few others for the event section or new artists section for promotion. I reckon interviews create this sense of closeness between audience and artists, or magazine and target audience, because in the interview you can touch and talk the topics that are eyes-opening for many young people, you can create this barrier around the reader that can give them sense of protection and comfort. Interview will be about music in general and always will have a goal to talk about hip-hop in specific, and in each interview, by the end of it, reader will get a recommendation from a profession in they sphere (hip hop artist, music shop owner and so forth). Along with the interviews with people who work in the music field, I’m willing to create an interview with people of 16-25 years old who will talk in their mother language and will respond to my questions. Surely, the video will be followed by subtitles in English to make its useful in use for the reader. The question again will be about music, hip-hop, lifestyle linked to music and its important sides.  

The homepage will be accompanied by sections such as - recent issue pictures, recommended playlist, recent albums, features, and a link where you could potentially buy the issue. Along with that promotion of some events, merch, video materials, interviews and links to ‘in deep’ articles. I will arrange the page with the same aesthetic as the physical copy of the magazine to create familiarity and make the role of the website useful and easier to use, as the reader will be familiar with the style of the B-people already. At the very bottom of the page there will be the link to ‘subscribe’ bottom to follow the page, as well as the email address for any questions or reviews, social media links and a ‘thank you’ message from the editor to the reader as appreciation for visiting the page.  

Below is a mock up of a possible header for the website. 

 

Planning Task 6: Contents pages

 

While trying to create my contents’ pages I have flipped many magazine contents pages to create a great idea of how it supposed to look like. As I have decided for my covers, I don’t want to make the front covers look too busy and mostly concentrate on main images, I’ll go with the same flow for creation of my contents pages. I have brainstormed many words and ideas into bigger chunks of text, sentences and so forth in order to chop off unnecessary parts of it. For one of my covers, where I will present a man as a prototype of an artist I will mostly focus on the sub-genre of hip-hop and how it helps people. I want to expand my idea of music, and how it’s very helpful and does help with anxiety and works as a free therapy.  

Below as you can see, a mock of a content page for my second cover. My second cover will represent female duo and will talk a bit about their struggles in hip-hop field, that it could perhaps be competitive and male artists often rudely verbalize that they don’t desire to share rap stage with them. I think it will have a good boost for female part of my target audience,and will push them towards to find out how the duo and female artists in general handle it and how they resolve it. It can give a lot of confidence and a wave of proudness for women. I will consider fashion advice that the magazine wants to share with the audience and give little life-hacks for females that will make their girlhood easier.  

I will consider topics that involve new MC, artists, freshmen in hip-hop, what have been released in terms of music and what can be found on the further pages of the magazine to maybe add to their playlists. Next collaborations, how new artists are doing on the stage and what to expect from them. Why do your origins matter or other way around. I’m willing to mix soft topics that have to deal with fashion, new music coming up, new artists, background of the duo that will be depicted on the front cover, and with harder topics that have to deal with feminism, female role in hip-hop and music in general, how to overcome hate, why does confidence is the key to success and just simply life-hacks.  I want to give the idea that hip-hop is not aggressive sound and just rap, it can be used as a therapy and everyone can find themselves in hip-hop's lifestyle, artists in the league always will aim for different target audience who could potentially enjoy their sub-genres or so forth. Hip-hop is more than just a genre, it's a culture, and has its history which could somehow bring lightness into listener's life. This is why a want to mix and combine serious topics with just simply interesting topics about lifestyle.

The mock below is ideally how I want to  make my contents pages to look like. For the first front cover i'll have maximum of 3 pictures, and for the second front cover I'm planning to stick with one large picture and another smaller one. I will place date, issue number on the top so it is visible but is not too eye catching, is more for formality.

For my second content page, I tend to arrange pictures and text a bit differently. My second front cover will also have a mix of information that could be found in the magazine, but the number of pictures will differ as well as the size of it. Maybe, on the second content page for second cover, I’ll include more of ‘FEATURES’ section, and events, and along with it I’ll add topics that have to do with music therapy and how it is a thing. Acknowledging digital developments and its impact on artists and how they feel about that will spoil a story that links to it. I think it’s important to bring up topics that rarely are shown in any music lyrics or social media. And of course, along with serious topic will always include topics that have to do with fashion and how to keep up with trends, what hip-hopers advice in changing and why.  

For both of my content pages i want to place a phrase that was said by the artist to encourage the audience, especially the young generation who might lack confidence and need to hear it from a successful human being. Along with it, I will include the message about the editor letter for everyone on the following pages.  

Planning task 5: Mock up of covers 1 and 2

 

In the front covers of the mock-ups, I have attempted to create the best vision of what I’m willing to produce for my covers. Both covers reflect the idea of the magazine, such as hip-hop lifestyle, stereotypical view of it, and maybe debatable view of the second cover where you can see two females that are the face of hip hop industry. I tended to represent how hip-hop looks like in two different ways, by using two different genders, ethnicities, classes and subgenres. How does it differ and the impact of it. In combination with the media language on the covers, it can help to create a best image of how it should look like.  

Images differs with their locations, set out, colour and meaning so it can better present the diversity of this genre.

 

Planning Task 4:Front cover design

For both covers of my magazine I have been researching information by reading and listening to podcasts about hip hop. I thought about what can be appealing for my target audience of 16 to 25 years old. As a big fan of hip hop, I have always been interested in finding out more information about new artists and their background and why they have started their media journey as hip hop artists. So, based on what I have always wanted to know and many of other friends, I thought that coverlines and headlines should be mainly based on that.  

For my first cover, the coverline for it will be: Metro Zu: Creates therapy with rhyme  

Metro zu is a stage name for the person that will be in the main image, and his job as healing as therapy in a session with a therapist. Basically, highlighting the importance and significance of music in people’s lives.  

Main headline: Buddha known as his second name, ?Why so?  

Again, highlighting the idea of therapy that could be felt by his songs.  

Second headline; Lock in on goods with MZ therapy  

Content plugs: Yung Lean, JID, JME  

Everything is mainly based on how good MZ affects listener’s life, that through hip hop and essentially through his music people can get free therapy that could probably give them an idea of other good things that you could achieve in life.  

For my second cover I have focused on how to present female figures in rap through cover furniture and language.  My second cover will fully focus on women and their importance in rap life and music, how effectively high female artists got in the past few years, and how does it affect new generation, especially new female generation.  

My coverline will be: Get the flow with: 5ixStars  

It’s quite catchy, it’s short so the phrase will be bold to stand out on the cover, it sells the group and the meaning behind it.  

Main headline: Female MC nowadays  

Second headline: Why do we crave for female rap?  

Both headlines focus on how important female rap artists are, and that through the years there have been changes however, it’s still important to acknowledge the impact that the artists have and how positive it is.  

Content plugs: 702, Foxy Brown, TLC, Fugees  

For the content plugs I have decided to use real stage names of popular artists, so by that more readers can detect them and that could perhaps appeal for them to buy or read online the magazine.  

On the image are my main ideas about how do I want to present my covers. I have decided that I do not want a lot of copy on it, in terms of cover furniture I'm not willing in applying any other techniques besides: Cover lines, main headline, second headline, content plugs, price, barcode, and date line. I want to focus on the main image that will reflect the whole energy of the artists that I represent on the covers.