The Music (Melbourne)

October 12 2016 issue | Indie/Alternative/Modern genre

View online here.

Colour
Front cover The colours on the front of the magazine
seem very autumnal and of neutral tones; this perhaps
could be reflective of the season I in which this edition has
been released, but could likely be reflective of the genre
that The Music caters for and that particular aesthetic.
Contents Page The contents page is very busy and uses a variety of colour; an array of bright
shades of yellow, red, purple and blue/greens. It seems that The Music caters for a broad and
wide genre, so the use of an open colour scheme could infact be representing the magazines
eclectic content coverage. However, there are no real netural tones on the contents page, aside
from the background which is plain white, seemingly contrasting that of the front cover; this gives
an impression of arbitrariness to me personally.
DPS The DPS has the exact same colour scheme of the front cover; the autumnal browns,
creams and reds. The designer has conciously made the link between the two so they both relate
with one another and the specific designing of the front cover places significance on this article
with Lisa Mitchell. She is dressed in the similar neutral tones that the page has been designed
with, so that bares critical smilarity.

Design
Front cover The front cover has quite a minimalistic design, with only one real text cover line of
checking in with her 15-year old self which relates to the Lisa Mitchell DPS. The masthead is in
the top left hand corner, a little unorthodox for magazine design. Beneath the title is the price (free)
so, as a result, there is no barcode at the bottom of the article. Similarly, the date and issue
number are placed on the right hand side which is also unconventional.
Contents Page The contents page design looks pretty busy but, at the same time, is organised
neatly. All six pages are designed with two large images in the centre of the page(s) and their
relevant descriptions as well as other (2-4) smaller images around the side with descriptions. The
same font has been used for the cover lines and their descriptions, but the cover lines have been
underlined to show more emphasis. There are adverts for musical events on the side of the latter
two pages (along the side as rectangles); the magazine probably work with advertisers as theyre
a small publication that offer their work for free so need some source of income, generated
through this. However, these adverts are relevant for the magazines content.
DPS The DPS has been desgined in a very conventional way. Lisa Mitchell is positioned on the
left hand side of the magazine behind the articles title Me, Myself & I and beneath that is a box
that describes the contents of this article. The actual article is displayed in columns; a very

orthodox way of presenting an article. The

designer has nestled a pull quote in between two
columns; I really love this way of displaying the
article as it draws the reader in and catches their
attention. The same font has been used for the
pull quote and the magazine article, but the pull
quote is larger, bolded and put in red. Similarly,
the start of the magazine the letter M in My
has been enlarged this is known as a drop cap;
a common feature of magazine DPS design.
There is one additional image at the bottom of the
article that has been designed with a 3D red
border which is relevant for the design.

Images
Front cover The front cover displays one image a portrait of Lisa Mitchell, who is the subject
of the magazines DPS. She is photographed playing with her hair endearingly. In terms of
representation, I believe this image is intended to make the younger audience aspire to Lisa
Mitchell and to represent an ideal due to the body language in addition to her waving, luxurious
hair. She has a direct gaze with the camera which is critical.
Contents Page In the contents page, theres an abundance of images! Most of them are
portraits of artists that are featured later in the magazine; this is obviously relevant as it
corresponds with the magazines content. The designer has included photos of the artists featured
within the magazine as theyre relevant and act as a preview to what content appears in the
magazine later on. There is a mix of photograph styles; while theyre all portrait and headshot-like
in style, some of the artists (such as Laura Mvula and Just A Gent) arent in a direct gaze shot
we can speculate whether this is has been done conciously; it could perhaps be to show their style
of artistry.
DPS The DPS two images are of Lisa Mitchell, who the article is about. In the main image that is
placed along the whole left hand side, Lisa is leaning on a stool looking straight at the camera in a
relaxed posture. Her outfit adopts a bold colour scheme; reds, purples and browns. This is the
same colour scheme as the articles front cover and article, but were not able to understand which
of the two dictated this decision. The image below shows Lisa in a similar stance (with same head
placement) but she has been shot in a different outfit; this time sporting a blue number, probably
an intentional decision to show variation from the main image.

Pose, style, hair & make-up

Front cover The front cover image, which is of Lisa Mitchell, seems to be intended for quite a
suggestive purpose. The way shes positioned with her fingers in her hair, pouting almost at the
camera and her pose. I think theres been quite a large use of make-up in her complexion, but I
think its perhaps been digitally manipulated (airbrushed) rather than physical cosmetics. Her hair
looks very silky and luxurious which illudes to a perfect being that readers may illude to.
Contents page Most of the images in the contents page are headshots of artists in the
magazine. Almost all of them are directly gazing at the camera lens (the norm), but a couple of

artists (Laura Mvula and Just A Gent) are looking

donwards and not towards the camera; this could be
the photographers artistic direction that has lead to
capturing the photo this way. Taking Laura Mvula as
a subject, I can deduce that she is definitely wearing
make-up (lipstick and eyelashes for sure). However,
her whole complexion may have been digitally
manipulated with the airbrush tool as it looks
extremely smooth and spotless. However, I dont
think many of the other photos have been edited in
any way as they look natural.
DPS The DPS image elements are similar to the
front covers; the images were probably taken in the same photo shoot session. The make-up
used is with natural tones, but I still believe shes been manipulated on photoshop for a smoother,
perhaps more artificial finished product. Her hair is a striking feature in both images on the DPS; I
think a fan mayve been deployed in the studio to give a blowing effect that is seen to be a sexy
look. Her pose looks like shes portraying an innocent character almost, looking up to the camera
this could relate to the vulnerability or emotion that she portrays in her music.

How are words used?

Front cover There is one main cover line on the cover of the magazine; it reads Checking in
with her 15 year old self. The magazine has adopted a minimalistic design style so I believe that
was the reason behind having only one cover line. I think this has an impact on the reader as it
immediately leads them to wonder what is actually featured in this article this is a positive effect!
I think the size of the text is perhaps a little too small, so much so that its not immediately eyecatching. The masthead obviously reads The Music I think this is a clever name for the
magazine anyway as I think music is a buzz/puff word in its origin; audiences will immediately be
attracted to it as its short, snappy and punchy. However, it doesnt stand out from a distance and
runs the risk of being washed out almost and invisible. There is an absence of a strapline on this
magazine also which I think is a downfall
Contents page The contents page has cover lines of all the artists depicted on its page to
indicate whos who in the magazine; this is an obvious feature. The cover lines are in a rather
small font size which may be difficult for the audience to read at first glance, however this is a
digital publication that is accessed online so the reader may be able to zoom on their hardware.
Beneath each cover line is a descripition about the artist and why theyre featured (i.e. Laura
Mvula will be doing sideshows in April whern she visits Australia for Bluesfest 2017) this is
helpful as it gives the reader a preview on what information theyre going to be exposed to whilst
reading the magazine. The typeface for this, like the cover line, is pretty small which may pose
problems to potential readers. However, the cover lines and descriptions are laid out very neatly
and uniformly, giving a more professional feel to the publication. At a glance, youre unable to
recognise the contents though, so I do think there are pitfalls with this design.
DPS The title of the article is positioned on the left hand side above the picture of Lisa Mitchell
and is called Me, Myself & I its designed with the same font as the cover line on the front cover,
so were able to see some consistency between the two. I do think the design looks a little untidy
with some of it overlapping over the picture of Lisa, but I do think that its clear to the audience that

it is called what it is. Beneath that is a box that contains a description about the article (more like a
strapline, almost); this is a handy component so that the reader gets a brief synopsis on what is in
the article. The stylisations are common of all literary conventions (bold for names and italics for
an album title), showing a professional element. The names have also been changed to a pink-ish
colour which is effective in the design side. The actual articles text has used a very microscopic
size of Arial, a default font that is very trendy. Its been structured in three columns which looks
very neat, but audiences may find difficulty in actually reading it due to the nature of its size.

Overall impression
Front cover I like the magazine front covers minimalistic style; cover lines are redundant on this
design which doesnt cause overcrowding and makes it look more white-collar, in my opinion. I
think its designed to appeal to an artistic young demographic and is supposed to represent the
culture of young people as this isnt just a straight music magazine it encompasses art, lifestyle
and culture that is targeted at young people. It represents the readers interest as its artistic,
modern and creative. This magazine wouldnt really address heavy rock or a more heavy
alternative demographic it caters strongly to indie, soul, jazz, rock and light pop. Its not a cult.
Contents page I really love the contents page diversity of different colour scheme presented; an
array of reds, blues, purples, yellows, greens; it basically has an assortment of every colour in the
rainbow this would appeal to the intended reader. I do however believe a larger font size for both
the cover lines and the descriptions would be key.
DPS The DPS is presented extremely neatly and seems pretty orthodox of a general DPS
layout. I like the photo thats embellished on the left hand side and I also love the tri-columned
design of the page its very effective and gives the reader a polished and refined feel.
Additionally, I think the pull quote looks extremely professional.