My magazine layout

Cover:
After comparing magazine covers of a similar genre to my own, I concluded that often the cover star is in a medium close up/ close up shot. This could possibly be because the genre of 'indie' is often associated with having very meaningful lyrics and stereotypically the singers are willing to share their experiences and inspirations. For this reason, a closer shot of their face on the cover may reveal emotion and draw people who want an insight into their lives.
Another thing I noticed about the covers was that they were less crowded than those for other genres for example; pop music magazines like top of the pops. With there being less clutter on the cover, focus is able to remain on the cover star.

 The close up of Florence used here highlights her vulnerability which is suggested in the quote 'I feel so alone' therefore it allows a reader to immediately sympathise with her and are more likely to relate or wish to read.

Although 'Indie' magazine is not specifically a music magazine, it aims at a very similar target audience of that I'm attempting to cater for. It also perfectly demonstrates the points I picked up in my research, such as the artistic portrayal of the cover stars as well as the focus remaining on them through the lack of distractions on the cover.

Double page spread:

Deciding how I might set out my double page spread was probably the hardest part of the layout to decide as I found so many different styles create an impact. In the remake of an existing magazine I created on page plus, the left hand side of the double page spread was an image of her whilst the other contained the article. I felt this was an effective style as it immediately drew attention to the singer while not distracting too much from the article. However, I did feel it created a separation between the two pages rather than assisting the article. Upon looking at similar magazines, I found some alternative layouts that I feel would make for interesting article that readers would be enthused to read.

The first image shows an example similar to the one I described, however the correlation between her and the article comes from the consistency. The colours she's wearing, including her blonde hair, are evident throughout. 

In the next two double page spread, their style involves the artist being centre of attention on the page by looking like they are 'in front' of the article. Lily Allen does this through her body language as her elbows reach over the headline whilst Nicki Minaj has the writing moulding around her to suggest she is the centre piece. Also both of the artists are wearing outfits that contrast the general colour scheme.

 On the double page spread the layout takes a different form altogether; instead of either the left or right being the options for the main image of the aritst, the top half of the magazine accommodates for it. In my opinion, this style unites the images with the article more effectively and is probably the layout I am most likely to use. I do like that there is still a large image where her outfit, like in previous double page spreads, is different an attention grabbing.