OUGD401 - NME Genre Split Redesign - Planning & Initial Considerations

OUGD401 - NME Genre Split Redesign - Planning & Initial Considerations

The purpose of this project is to create 2 distinctly styled NME magazines in consideration of the increasing use of digital platforms for magazines. These magazines will not only give readers of NME the choice of which magazine to read depending on their style of music, but attempt to entice readers to pick up a physical copy of the magazine. 

When going through the latest copy of NME, it becomes evident that one cannot simply split it in half and use different pages for whichever of the 2 magazines are more relevant. There are some things which must be considered:

The Cover: The cover of each issue shows whichever band or artist has the biggest feature in the magazine. If this feature will be part of the new Rock and Roll Issue, what will be the cover of the Pop Issue?

Advertisements: Should advertisements be split depending on which magazine there’re more relevant to, or should they feature in both magazines?

Recurring Columns/Sections: Like any magazine, NME features columns/sections that recur every week, some of which may be more relevant to one of the 2 new magazines, however some are either relevant to both equally, or contain a mixture of content. For the purposes of the 2 mock up magazines that will be produced, should these sections be edited? Is it worth producing a small amount of content to make up for the content lost to the other magazine? If a section is relevant to both magazines, perhaps it can be designed and laid out differently corresponding to both magazines, however still have the same content.

OUGD401 - Study Task 7 - Writing a Brief

BA (hons) Graphic Design

Context of practice 2: Practical brief template

Name

Daniel Jackson

Brief title

NME Genre Split Redesign

Brief (outline the general aims of the project)

You have been approached my NME to split their weekly magazine into two alternate bi-monthly magazines. One will be a rock and roll/alternative magazine while the other will focus on pop/mainstream music genres as well as tv and film. You will produce example designs of each magazine based upon the content of a previous issue. Each of these magazines must successfully capture the style of their respective music genres.

Background / considerations

NME is a British music journalism magazine, founded in 1952. Commonly regarded as an alternative and rock magazine, with a fairly small focus on other music genres, the magazine now increasingly focuses on more mainstream genres such as pop and hip hop, as well as film, tv and style. With such a wide variety of content for a weekly magazine, splitting it into two alternate bi-monthly magazines could be a viable solution; one alternative/rock and roll magazine and one pop/mainstream magazine. This would allow readers to read content better tailored to their music tastes.  Both magazines must appeal to different target audiences and must utilise a specific visual aesthetic to do this, however both magazines must also retain the same NME brand continuity through design elements such as the logotype. NME has taken on many visual styles throughout the years; From its early days as the ‘New Music Express’ in black and white newspaper format, to it’s brief punk aesthetic in the 70’s. It’s heritage has always been rooted in rock and roll music. Can you take inspiration from some of these earlier designs to inform the style and design process of the new rock and roll/alternative magazine? How will these new magazines bring a focus onto physical publications rather than digital platforms? Will this be considered in production in regards to paper stock or will it be taken into account earlier on when considering the format of the magazines?

Deliverables

One example copy of each magazine

Mandatory requirements (essential requirements that must be followed)

1 cover for each magazine  A minimum of 4 spreads for each magazine

Research: references to reading (essay)

Gosling, E. (2015). “Everything has changed”: new Dazed art director Jamie Reid talks us through the mag’s redesign. Available: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/dazed-magazine-redesign-jamie-reid. Last accessed 5th December 2017. https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/5-11-march-2018/changing-faces-nme/ https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/to-diy-for-punk-fanzines-were-as-fast-and-furious-as-the-music-8092755.html#gallery