FINAL VERSIONS

Website -  https://musezine.wixsite.com/muse

WEBSITE: HOME AND ARTISTS

PAGE ONE - HOME

Subscribe pop-up

Easter egg - press the guitar to open the pop-up which shows information about a collaboration between Muse and a shop that sells guitars:

Home page continued:

Easter egg: hover over the beige box for a sneak peek of the poster. Find the secret code in the print edition and enter it into the website for a chance to win a free Eternal Sunshine poster. Eternal Sunshine is intertextual of one of Ariana Grande's recent albums, so avid fans of Grande may recognise this and be more inclined to listen to their music. Less avid fans may still be aware of Grande's album and so may also feel gratified for recognising this intertextual reference.  

30 seconds of AV + Easter Egg - pop up of what's in Adam's jacket?:

Footer of Home page - same for all pages:

PAGE TWO - ARTISTS

Easter eggs: 

- "Artist of the Month" sticker twirls around when hovered over

 - Open Spotify button links to the Spotify website and is the same colour as the logo, so audiences who use Spotify will be able to easily recognise the colour as being part of the Spotify brand and will also find it easy and practical to quickly open the app/website to pre-save  Hunter Scott's album.

- "Which albums inspired Hunter?" button opens a pop up which displays a rotating carousel of country album covers that inspired Hunter Scott. The albums range from more well known artists, like Bruce Springsteen, to lesser-known, more indie artists. This intertextuality will both gratify and intrigue audiences. 

- the vinyl sticking out of the album cover spins whilst the page is being scrolled down to make it look like a spinning vinyl going at the same speed at which the audience is scrolling

Easter egg: The shop now button opens the same pop up as the guitar easter egg on the home page. The location of the shop, as seen in the top right corner of the image, shows the shop is based in Paris, France, which implies that despite being a small, independent magazine, Muse has global connections. 

Moving feature: the vinyl spins as user scrolls down.

Top left image is actually a looped video of two people walking together - specifically Hunter Scott and the writer of the article.

Again, the pop up for "What albums inspired Hunter?" can be opened here by pressing the button.

Video - shows Tall Child, a real artist, performing a snippet of a song. Tall Child is a fairly small artist, with just over 1000 monthly listeners per month. Muse's purpose is to uplift small and up-and-coming artists, so by adding the video and the review, they will hopefully draw the attention of interested audiences.

Footer - includes a button to order the latest issue.

Statement of intent 1082

 1082 Statement of intent

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)

Product 1

Codes and conventions will be used to communicate meaning. I have used the same fonts, colour schemes, layout style and branding elements across both print editions in order to create a sense of coherent branding and clear house style. A different colour scheme will be used on each magazine cover and its corresponding contents page in to match the genre conventions of the artist(s) in focus for that edition. 

The brief states that the target audience is a "16- to 25-year-old middle market that likes to be entertained". In order to adhere to this target audience, I will create a more expensive, higher quality magazine aimed at those seeking musical inspiration and entertainment. I will also entertain the target audience by running regular competitions and promoting these across the website and the print version of my magazine. For example, secret codes could be hidden in the print and must be entered into the website, which could encourage the audience to buy the magazine and interact with the website. 

The models across my magazine covers will be represented positively as the aim of the magazine is to promote small, up-and-coming artists with potential in the music industry, so any negative representations will not be useful in fulfilling this aim. 

As an independent magazine, I will have more flexibility to be more original and therefore I do not have to adhere to all conventions of magazines. In order to stand out amongst more well-known magazines, I could use some unconventional elements across the print and website.

Product 2

Since the target demographic of the magazine are a digitally native audience who are more likely to visit websites than buy print media, it is especially important that the online version of my magazine is as appealing as the print. 

Codes and conventions will be used to communicate meaning. I have used the same fonts, colour schemes, layout style and branding elements across all pages of the website in order to create a sense of coherent branding and clear house style. By incorporating intertextuality within my website, audiences will not only feel gratified but will also feel a deeper sense of connection with the brand, which is especially important as an independent magazine. 

Websites offer multiple advantages over print products – such as the ability to include videos, interactive features, moving elements etc. – so these features will be used across both website pages. 

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)

The print and online products will both use the same house style, and the website will be included on both the covers and the content pages. Multiple articles in the print product will encourage the audience to go to the website for bonus content (where the benefits of websites may be utilised, such as for a video interview) and Easter Eggs hidden within the website may encourage audiences to purchase a print copy of the magazine in exchange for the chance to win something related to music (such as merchandise). Print products will be explicitly referenced on the website too.

Finished contents page

 I decided to finish my Hunter Scott contents page as I needed this for a portfolio. As seen below, I added more content to link between the website and the print edition of my magazine. Following feedback, I used every space wisely and avoided leaving any space without information. 

FIRST DRAFTS

Muse website first draft

https://musezine.wixsite.com/muse

Colour scheme

 I have found the following colour schemes: 

1 - too dark, no lighter colour for the background but colours work well together

2 - muted - too grey? perhaps muted colours are not the best option

3 - slightly too dark, but the colours work well. 

4 - similar to 7, but slightly warmer. I think I prefer this over 7

5 - good, but 2nd and 4th colours are quite similar

6 - good colour palette

7 - many of the "luxury themed" colour palettes had black as a background colour. I am concerned that having too much black and grey will make the website look dull.

8 - looks like a better version of 3

After considering these colour schemes, I think it would be best for the website to have a colour scheme that isn't too muted - or else the website will look dull.

---

(07/10/24)

I am currently deciding between the two colour schemes above. Following my previous intentions of choosing a colour scheme that isn't muted, I think I will use the bottom colour scheme as it is more colourful and warmer than the top colour scheme, and is therefore more eye catching. 

Current progress

 

• Changes to masthead - Dark green of cover 1 is too dark - colour needs to be changed
• I have added a rounded square on my covers. I think this ties the cover together and gives the magazine a more distinctive house style. 
• I have created my first contents page and added the box in. 
• Cover 2 needs cover lines and a main cover line - I am struggling to find a font that will both suit the genre of the duo and still be legible. I may choose to use a simple, bold font.
• Contents page 2 needs to be created. Once I am finished with Contents 1, I will duplicate it and use it as a template for Contents 2.

So far, I have continued to add to my home page. After including the bold round rectangle on my cover, I added it to the website in order to create a clear sense of cohesion across print and web.

• I have added a background to the "welcome" section - a photo of multiple magazines layered on top of each other. The magazines are Vogue copies, but this cannot be seen in the image and is therefore not an issue. 
• I have added the first easter egg on the website - the guitar seen in the Hunter Scott article section leads to a pop-up about a collaboration between Muse and "Delphine Guitars". Whilst on a trip to Paris, I went to a market which had a music shop inside, so I took photos and used some in this pop-up.

0

• The rest of the home page is fairly similar - only changes made are the bottom two sections. I have added in that Muse is an independent magazine, as this is part of the brief and could be important to the audience. 

Photoshoot - Ema and Greta

 

I had another photoshoot with two other friends at a crazy golf course. There were lots of props (disco balls, giant records, tv screens with static) and the lighting in some areas was bright red. I took lots of photos, but in a few my friends' eyes were closed, so above shows potential photos from the photoshoot.

I will use these photos on my website.