Front Cover

I decided before I started creating my front cover that I wanted it to be more unconventional than conventional. My front cover uses an unusual colour scheme of blue, green and black. Although at first this sounds absurd, I believe it works and from the feedback I have been given other people believe so to. The reason why I chose to use an unconventional colour scheme is because I wanted to the front cover to be representative of the indie rock scene. One of the reasons I have chosen blue is because it connotes sea and sky; lyrics written by indie artists are quite often focused on the natural elements of the world around them. Green is also a natural colour. It is also symbolic of growth and freshness; I feel that those two words sum up the indie rock scene in recent years.

The logo itself took some time to develop. I have used The Great Thunder typeface as the basis. However, I have used a drop shadow to make it jump out at the consumer. Furthermore, I have taken on the idea that the word ‘radar’ is a palindrome. I used this to my advantage and made both R’s in ‘radar’ capital letters to create a logo. I then experimented with several different colours. I felt that blue suited the logo best. To finish the logo off I placed an image of electronic radar inside the D of ‘radar’. Not only does this look effective, it also denotes the idea that the magazine is always looking for new talent.

The main image is of a male indie artist sitting in the snow, looking deep in thought. I wanted to make the image on the front cover relate directly to the article on the double page spread. I have chosen to place the subject in the snow because snow connotes freshness and a new start. The article is all about the artist in discussion making a new start and moving on from his troubled past. Furthermore, the name of the artist’s new album is ‘Footsteps in the Snow’, by using the snow I have also related it to the album. The photograph could even be used as album art. I have used a high angle shot supposed to the conventional mid-shot. The fact that you can see all of his body suggests that the article is going to be completely open and reveal everything. The fact that it is a high angle shot also connotes that the subject of the article is under scrutiny, under pressure and has something to prove. This is actually very accurate to the article itself.
The fonts used on the front cover are simplistic, yet professional. I have chosen to use Myriad Pro. The reason why I chose to use this font is because it is kind on the eye, professional and compliments the text.

The layout is very simplistic, this was intentional. The reason why I chose to use a very simple layout with one image and minimal text is because I wanted to reflect the article on the double page spread. The layout is very straightforward and blunt. This is mirrored on the double page spread where ‘Cameron Ebbs’ reflects on his past in a very serious, straight and blunt way.