Double page spread screen shots.

The creation of my double page spread was fairly easy, and due to lack of resources at home I resulted in creating it on Microsoft Publisher (which actually proved to have precisely the same effect as Serif Page Plus). My favourite piece of the double page spread is the layout and style of it, as I feel it produces an edge, to would could appear a boring article. One thing I'd change would probably be the amount of text - as there was so much, it prevented me from place as many, or the right size, pictures as I would have preferred.

Screenshots creating magazine front cover.

These screen shots show me creating my magazine front cover. I am happy with the way the magazine slotted well with each other, it suits the style and genre of the magazine. One thing I would have change about my front cover, however, is the style of the background - as it held me from placing pictures that also had this background on the magazine front cover and therefore resulting me in having to find replacement pictures.

Screen shots of the making of the magazine masthead.

These screen shots show me creating my final masthead, after some tricky issues I finally produced it to a standard I was happy with. The main thing I like about the masthead is the contrast between the font type of 'Vinyl' and 'Index'. The one thing I would change is the appeance of the label on the record, as this seemed to be the piece I found the most difficult to adjust.

A copy of the article featured in Vinyl Index's double page spread

Johnny Ardvard: Your new hero?

The recent entrance of Johnny Arvard into the country music industry has swept the genre’s audience off their feet like a hurricane! This fresh faced young man has certainly produced quite a stir, his extremely obvious talent and ‘prince-charming’ looks means that he is the perfect catch! Apparently, a subtle country, rough and ready style and a vintage ford tractor is all you need to be exactly that.

Johnny’s attitude towards his music is inspirational, and this is apparent as soon as he picks up his mic. Johnny’s Irish routes are what first attracted him to this genre of music but he tells us: ‘My real inspiration is my beautiful fiancé Kimberly.’ An everyday, down-to-earth, farm boy whose muse is his lover.

Now living on a ranch in North Carolina, if Kimberly and Johnny aren’t milking cows or sewing crop, they are playing music in what they call their ‘Lyric Cabin’. Johnny’s new album: Losing my way to Texas, provides a tune to his country ways, as well as allowing to show off Kimberly’s talent in several duos they have recorded together, including: ‘Road trippin’ and ‘My heart lies with you’.

Johnny admits his road to success had definitely not been easy but he gives his fans or just ‘yet-to-be-discovered artists’ some advice: “It’s a long journey to overcome, but however steep that hill is to climb and while the pot holes in the road may be deep, the hill is a lot higher at the top, where you can feel like you’re on top of the world!”

After a wonderful tour of his ranch, Johnny was happy to tell me about the journey he took to his success, over a glass of Kimberley’s homemade strawberry whisky (which quite frankly was delicious!). After struggling to find an agent he pursued with his music by performing at bars and pubs, of which sometimes he’d travel for 6 hours to get to. After spending the colder parts of the year doing this, he spent a few days at some folk festivals, where he told us he was lucky enough to meet some bands who had been featured in this magazine. It was, eventually, here that someone from Bolthouse© approached him and agreed to represent him and produce his album. With truly inspirational lyrics and songs that will certainly make you move your feet, I can definitely say that ‘Losing my way to Texas’ is an absolute must have for this year’s playlist!

For more information on Johnny’s up and coming shows or to buy a ticket visit: www.vinylindex.com/johnnyardvard/tour12.

Vinyl Index double page spread

Vinyl Index contents page

Vinyl Index front cover!

Questionnaire

This is a copy of the questionnaire I created to help me understand what group/bracket of audience I was aiming for:

Who listens to country music? 1.    Are you male or female? ___________ 2.    How old are you?  ___________ 3.    What would you say is your hobby? __________________________________ 4.    Do you like country music?  ___________ 5.    If yes, why?  ___________________________________________________ Thank you for completing the questionnaire!

 

 And here are my results...

My questionnaire results revealed that mostly all interest in country music was related to a person’s hobby or family/background, and if that was not the reason for them liking country music it was because they thought it was a “popular” and “fun” genre. They also revealed...

photos

This is a link to Flickr, here I have placed my original photos that I took, when thinking about what type of magazine I would like to create. All the photos (except one) are un-edited versions. These images help to show what direction I was aiming for my magazine to head in. Hope you enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75953647@N05/6823734549/in/set-72157629204058503