MY DESIGN PHILOSOPHY.

From over viewing several magazines and images of their front covers, contents page and double page spread, I have clear thoughts on what I do and don't like when thinking about the design.

Retro vs Modern
In oder to fit in with the style and genre of my magazine, I would have to choose modern. I think making a retro magazine with pop content would look a bit silly - I would only to this if I was targeting my magazine at the older generation so that it appeals to them more. I think by using the modern style would adds more excitement to the magazine, making it look less dull and a bit more entertaining than other magazines. The modern style would probably feature bright colours - maybe pastel ones as they are more favorable than dull, boring ones. The use of these colours would make the magazine more 'fun'. As well as this I would chose sans serif font over serif as again this is aimed at more of the new, young generation with a more modern appeal. The serif font would be more suitable for the older generation as a majority of them seem to like the old original things and don't necessarily like change.


Timeless vs Now
The idea of this kind of ties in with the same ideas as above. I would chose the 'now' style other the 'timeless' seeing as fashions, trends, and opinions are all changing over time and people are less likely to choose something date than something that is new. Again this is purely based on my target audience as if I wasn't aiming it a young teenage girls then I would more likely base my magazine on a timeless style so it appeals to the correct audience. 


Consistency vs Inconsistency
I think it's important that the magazine remains consistent throughout as it makes it look neat and tidy and so that people know what to expect throughout the magazine. This could include things such as the layout and design, the colours, fonts, size of pictures etc. If it wasn't consistent then people may be less interested in it as it doesn't professional and creates ideas that the designer doesn't understand how to make something look good and all in proportion. 

Minimal vs Cluttered
I like the idea of magazine having a minimal layout however displaying a lot of content. However because I am following conventional ideas from Top of the Pops magazine they are quite cluttered and a lot of information is displayed on the covers, therefore I will have to copy this convention and make sure there are several sell lines, bursts, tag lines etc on the cover. 


Conventional vs Original
In order to make my magazine look similar to real ones I think it is a wise idea to copy conventional features. This allows readers to know what to expect and to make sure that the features I decide to use will fit in with the readers expectations and hopefully leave them wanting to purchase the magazine. 


Balance
Balance kind of fits in with the consistency of the magazine. If the size of fonts, pictures, and text was not equal or similar to other features on the magazine, it would leave the magazine with a poor design. Personally I think this is one of the most important features seeing as it is one of the main determiners on how the layout and design looks. 
When creating my magazine I have tried to make sure that everything is in proportion when comes to the text, pictures etc to make the magazine look nice and neat.