Christian Ragland

Genre: MusicInspiration: Rolling Stone Magazine

My Visit To The NewsstandPeople Magazine (outside my genre) caught my eye because of the vibrant colors

Guitar Aficionado Magazine (within my genre) really caught my eye because of the black and white theme, and interesting central image

Life Magazine had the best photography; it was very simple and a portrait with a plain background

Guitar Aficionado had the best cover design because it was very simple yet appealing to the eye

I thought that Rolling Stone Magazine had the most appealing articles (and the best) because of it’s focus on subjects that interest me such as music and politics

Rolling stone also had the best table of contents, it caught my eye

Reflection On Newsstand Visit

• Upon my visit to the newsstand, I learned that a magazine has to have an extremely appealing cover and masthead if it intends to stand out against all of the competition. I also learned that there is extreme variety in types of covers, even within each genre. I think what first caught my attention to each magazine was the central image. I very much prefer the style where there is a plain background portrait with cover lines on one side. I like the simpler covers more than the loud, complex ones.

Inspirational Magazine This magazine really inspired me because the articles were extremely interesting to me, being about my favorite band. Also, there were few coverlines, which really helped the viewer concentrate on the main image. That’s something that I really admire in magazines.

My Inspirational Magazine

• The specific issue of Rolling Stone that I read was concentrated entirely on the band The Grateful Dead. The articles covered every aspect including personal lives of the members, aspects of their music, and their fan base.

• The target audience is fans of The Grateful Dead; generally adults over the age of 50, lower class

• Generally, the covers are close-up portraits of musicians. Usually they only involve one person, and is concentrated on the emotion on their face.

• Generally, the photos are inside of a studio with a plain black or white background.

• The masthead is always the same font, but usually changes colors depending on the central image. Pugs are seldom used, and there is usually a very neat look to the cover.

This is the most inspirational to me because of the simplicity of the design, and the striking emotion in the central image. I also like the values shown by the lighting and the black and white. Also, it is a cover made following Johnny Cash’s death. This color scheme mirrors the mourning which the music community was experiencing at this time.

The only common element is one picture being featured within the table of contents.

The articles are all general features of an artists career, or the current state of their career. The first one is very formal and has lots of columns, although the second one is more freeform and fancy. The covers of these magazines feature the same artist within the spread and seem to be from the same photoshoot.