Design Time...
After deciding on a possible layout for my local magazine, I decided to research the features of it separately as it mean that I am only focused on one task at a time.
Here are some examples of the mastheads that are in circulation, I researched both Local and National as I felt that there would be a common theme through them both.
I can see that the font that is used is highly important as it illustrates the type of newspaper it is. Some use bold colours where as others use images to add diversity and a brand to their newspaper.
Below are some examples of different fonts. There is a mixture of serif (Generally, Serif typefaces are more 'traditional' and authoritative) and Sans-serif (They have more of a modern or technological feel).
The black boxes are ideas for placing an illustration of some sort and I used the red background as it is to show how the text would look with a coloured background.
Next is the idea for names of the newspaper and then I can select which one of the fonts above suits the title best...
Its my time...
After looking back at my research, I have decided that it was time to draw up a rough draft of a possible layout that I could follow for my own newspaper, taking inspiration from each newspaper that I liked.
I have taken the influence of the Leigh Journal for the positioning of the adverts relative to the positioning of the lead story.
The side columns on the right is stemmed from the Manchester Evening News.
From the conventions research I have done -I used the Scottish Sun newspaper -I am keen to use info graphics on my newspaper.
All in all, I am happy with the layout at this stage, however, I know that I can always adjust and experiment with it when the time comes.
I feel that my next stage is to research the mastheads in more detail as they are something that always catches my eye and has high importance towards the front cover and the end product.
I think that the order that I am going to do the process of creating the magazine is:
Layout
Research for Masthead
Masthead Design
Research for Adverts
Planning/Photoshoot/Edits of Adverts (enough for second page if needed)
Research Story
Plan/Type/Present/Adjust Story ( enough for second page if needed)
Present all work into front cover
Research Page 2 of Newspapers
Plan second page/layout
Present all work into second page
Research Posters for Newspapers
Plan Poster/photoshoot/Edits of Poster
Research Radio Adverts
Research Radio Adverts for Newspapers?
Script Radio Advert
Record Radio Advert/Edit
Finish Off any work or blog.
So far, i have researched reasonably respected and professional newspapers...
I think that they have all come across well and given me some sources of inspiration, however, I don't want to delve too deep into the research as I fear that my ideas will just revolve around them and end up copying alot of their work.
But, I decided just to look at local newspapers a couple more times and I came across this newspaper 'The Wigan Courier'.
This has given me a guideline of what not to aim towards and I'm glad that i took the time to research it...
Its time to take a step back...
I think that I need to start looking at the norms and conventions of a local newspaper, perhaps i should have looked even before I actually started to research existing newspapers.
These images are the general conventions from a newspaper and I feel that the focus of a tabloid newspaper, such as the one above, shows the use of colour, size, typeface, shape to draw the reader in. It's like it depends on typography. An example of the opposite of this is a Broadsheet such as the New York Times.
Information sourced from Wikipedia.com:
Broadsheets: 600 mm × 380 mm (23½ × 15 inches), generally associated with more intellectual newspapers, although a trend towards "compact" newspapers is changing this.
Tabloids: half the size of broadsheets at 380 mm × 300 mm (15 × 11¾ inches), and often perceived as sensationalist in contrast to broadsheets.Examples include The Sun etc.
Berliner or Midi: 470 mm × 315 mm (18½ × 12¼ inches) used by European papers such as Le Monde in France and, since 2005, The Guardian in the United Kingdom.
I have put the information of the types of newspapers onto my blog, just so it is a reminder to me that there are certain conventions that I need to avoid because they aren't related to a local newspaper.
I have continued looking at local newspaper, at this stage, it is 'Manchester Evening News'...
I think that I like aspects of this to take through to my own newspaper lay-out as it seems more established and professional than the previous research.
However, in my newspaper, I would want to include some adverts as I feel that it shows the local industry e.g local cafes. I think that it is important to represent the community especially if it is a local newspaper.
The colour scheme for this paper does not appear to follow 3-colour rule even though they do. I think that this is a clever way to bring in the colours (where as the Leigh Journals colours were obvious). The subtly used colours are Black (White Background) red and yellow and these are unisex colours so appeal to a wider audience...
First Looks...
This is my initial research into how a local newspaper is designed and how it gets the readers attention instantly.
The first newspaper that I have looked is 'The Leigh Journal' as it is my own local newspaper so I am familiar with the way it runs.
I have placed black markers on just the obvious partitions on the cover as I then can easily see the percentage of space used. I think that the simplicity of the masthead means that it is instantly recognisable and not to hard to re-adjust depending on circumstances.
I have to say that i was confused over the sign of 'Your Leigh Journal Is Inside' so I looked into this edition of the Leigh Journal in more detail...
I prefer the second front cover as I feel that it delivers more of an impact towards the reader, aswell as illustrating additional news stories and information...
And so it begins....
I have just began my research for the type of newspaper that I would want to do for my coursework and there's actually alot to think about -more than I realised!
I think that if I take into consideration that nothing is set in concrete, I will be more calm about my approach into the coursework,as it means that I have the ability to get feedback for ideas, or experiment and be creative with different stories.
The attractive diagram above just illustrates different starting points for the newspaper that I will eventually create. It helps me clearly see what options that I have and it helps me in a sense that I don't panic if one idea doesn't work out as there are other routes and paths that I could take. I'm looking forward to this project and I hope I can do it justice.
Only a fresh, new blog can mean the start of a brand new piece of coursework. I guess that its that time again. Its decision time...
Actually, the decision isn't actually that difficult - I'm choosing to do the Newspaper option as I enjoy doing print. I'm an Art student and although I may have not done fantastic last time I did print, I am happy with my grade that I achieved in Media last year.
Another factor of choosing print is that for any other option (Music Promo, etc.) I would need to work in a group, however, my bus journey is 1 and a half hours just to college, so it would be difficult for me to go to out-of-college locations and the option of working by myself would me that I cant let anyone else down...
So, with all that in mind, I shall begin to research my brief. Lets just hope its a wise choice to do...
