Front Cover, Contents and Double Page Spreads Flat Plan with Rationale

Colour Usage: For my masthead I have decided to use black for the text then for counter (inside of the 'P' and 'R') I have decided to change it to red and blue as I liked the idea when I seen Billboard magazine do it for their counter. I will have a plain white/plain background as this is what they usually do in music magazines so as not to draw your eyes away from the image or text. I am using a limited colour palette; red, black, blue and white so it isn't too over the top and as it is for young adults it needs to be kept to bold, basic colours. I will mostly use red, as it appeals mostly to women, however it can still be liked by men, just like my magazines target audience. I have also used these colours as music magazines generally tend to use black, red and white for their colour palettes.
Image Usage: I wil be using a medium close up. My model will be smiling with red lipstick on as it will keep in with my colour palette and it will make her stand out against the rest of the front cover. It also has connotations as my model will seem inviting and open to the audience. It also has connotations of it being personal/intimate as it is a close up image of my model, so it will give connotations that the article of her will be personal/intimate. However she will also have a strong/tough expression which will give a linker age/anchorage to the text as it will be a pull quote on her journey to fame.
Text Usage: My text will be informal as it will be for young adults, so it would need to be simplistic for them to understand and not too elaborate or formal as they may feel intimidated. Will use artist/band names as it draws the reader into the text, as they will want to know why the artists/bands are in the magazine, and what the magazine says about them, which makes them want to buy the magazine for the articles. For the front it will have sell-lines and a masthead as this is what usually makes up a music magazine. It is also simplistic, which gives connotations of it being for a older, more sophisticated audience.
Layout and Font: My fonts will be quite simplistic and will look quite similar to my masthead as it will give it a professional look to it, because if you use too many fonts it may look amateur and like a child's magazine. My sell-lines won't be placed in elements of diagonals as it gives connotations of a more child-like magazine and I want my magazine to have a more grown-up connotation as it is an inspirational magazine that will inspire people to get more involved into music. The key focal points within the text will be the main sell-line as it will anchor the image and these are things that will be the main selling point for the magazine. To create this effect I have put the masthead at the top, the sell-lines down the left hand side and the bar code and essential information at the bottom right to frame the main image and main sell-line.

Colour Usage: I have decided to use black for the text so that it gives the magazine a house style, makes it flow and look professional. I will have a plain background as this is what they do usually in music magazines so as not to draw your eyes away from the image or text. It also means that it gives the magazine a house style so that when the audience turn the page, they know that it will be the same magazine as it has the same colour palette and layout style. I am again using red, black, white and blue so it gives the magazine consistency. I will use red as the main colour, however for the main body of the text it will mostly be black as this is what they use in music magazines, however some of the text will be red, blue and white as it will make you draw your eye to certain areas of the contents page.
Image Usage: For my contents page I will use a long shot, as this is what they usually use for a music magazine and it will have a blurred background as it allows the audience to focus on the person/people in the image. It gives the connotations of that the audience needs to look at the image as they need to get close up to distinguish the artist/band in the image. It also gives connotations of confidence as it suggests that they don't have the need to be up-close to the audience, that the audience will find them on their own. This is done to show that if the person/people in the image has confidence in themselves so can you.
Text Usage: My text will be informal, and the words will have denotations and connotations of something positive but most importantly words which will inspire the audience to become motivated and involved in music. There will be still some teasers/enigma codes alongside artist/band names as it will entice the reader to want to read on. I will also use a headline, a masthead and cover lines as these are the main conventions of what you need to include in a music magazine. The image for the coverlines will have linkage to the text.
Layout and Font: I will again use simplistic fonts and fonts that are similar to my magazine as it will give it consistency to my magazine. I won't use diagonals for my text as I want my magazine to look simple yet sophisticated. I will use lines as it will frame the main image, splits the page up and makes you focus on the main image. The contents will be simplistic as it won't have too many things happening on the page, so it make it look professional and sophisticated, however, the text and images that I do use will be positive, inspirational and will make the reader want to turn the page.

Colour Usage: For my double page spread i will use red, black, blue and white as it is my house style for my magazine, which will give it consistency and will allow my audience know that these two pages are from my magazine. The connotations for the colours I use will be that it is powerful (as I use bold colours), that it could appeal to both genders and the red gives it a passion (for music),  danger as getting into music is a risk but when it pays off, it is good and determination (to follow your dreams). The black gives the magazines the connotations of the unknown (as the bands/artists are unknown), authority, strength and elegance. I used these colours as they are usually used in music magazines and when they are put together they give a good contrast of colours.

Image Usage: I will only use one image because my magazine is all about being simple, which gives the reader the thought that things are going to be simple. I also only use one image as the text will be the main focus, where I will give inspirational, positive pull quotes that will give off a positive energy, whilst the image is just emphasising this fact. 

Text usage: My text will be informal as interviews are usually informal, when you are talking to people as it makes people in the interview feel relaxed. However it will also be serious as this is where must of the inspirational pull quotes will come from as this is will show exactly what my magazine is all about: inspiring young adults to get into music and showing the achievements and benefits to choosing this career choice. 

Layout and Font: I will use the same style fonts as my masthead and the rest of my magazine as it will give the magazine consistency as this is my house style which will show the audience that this double page spread is from my music magazine. The pull quotes, pull the reader in to make them want to know why they said what they did. I have also put the image on the right page and the text on the left page as this is what they do in music magazines, also when it is done this way, it makes the magazine look uncluttered. The image is emphasising the text, however the main focus is on the pull quotes.