Masthead designs

Masthead designs This is the process I went through to choose the style of my indie music magazine’s masthead, including my final choice.

Masthead designs 1

Masthead designs 1 - evaluated

Each character in this font is in a cool, modern style, the point on the 'V' is sharp, and the 'O' is circular, both interesting and innovative design elements. The font is sans serif, which modernises the look in itself, and typically appeals to a more female audience- both qualities that suit the genre and demographic group of my magazine. However, it is very narrow, and each character is as such, this may not stand out enough from the cover, a bolder, thicker typeface would maybe be more fitting for a masthead.

This bold, capitalised font would really stand out on the top of the cover, and from the shelves. The 'O' has the round shape that I like for the cover, but the 'V' doesn't point, and the others characters lack any unique design too. Also the spacing is very close, and so the letters almost appear crammed together, a bigger spacing would reduce this feel, and make the masthead instantly accessible.

Futuristic and forward thinking best describe this font style, and whilst these are attributes that directly relate to the aesthetic I, and my target audience, are looking for in my music magazine, the characters are extremely narrow and elongated. A rounder, edgier, and more stylish look would be preferable in my indie magazine masthead.

Masthead designs 2

Masthead designs 2 - evaluated

The rounded edges to the characters in this typeface are an unexpected take on font 1 and font 4, they add a really youthful feeling, and the curve is pleasing on the eye. However, as with font 1, the characters are so slim that they just might not distinguish themselves from the background of the main image.

This font has the same design aspects I liked from the first typeface, they make for a really unique and visually appealing masthead. The spacing is balanced, and very readable, which are definitely priorities. The perfect thickness has been achieved, as the title is so bold that it will be highly visible, but not so wide that it looks too solid, and starts to appear more masculine. Overall, it is contemporary, and young in style, with interesting points and shapes involved, and would be very fitting on the cover of my music magazine.

As a whole, this font is fitting with the genre of the magazine, and in some respect, the aesthetic theme I am trying to achieve. Yet there are some design elements that I feel do not fit as well as others, firstly, the ‘n’ at the end of the word is very rounded in shape, I would prefer a much more angular, sharp look- this is a genre with an edge, and this font doesn’t represent this to the extent I want it to. Also, I prefer the typefaces I have looked at that are capitalized, I just feel that this makes for an instantly bolder, more statement look, accents such as the tittles do not coincide this feel.

Masthead designs – my final choice

This is the design I have chosen to utilise within my music magazine cover, a capitalised, sans serif, font. This typeface is very easily readable, and is very appropriate for an indie genre of music, with the individuality and edge that it exudes, yet the underlying feeling is still one of style. It is statement enough that it would be seen from the shelves, and wide enough that it will distinguish itself from the main image of the magazine, the colour can be changed to extend this. Finally, this font has my preferred design elements that I had pinpointed from the other fonts I have shortlisted.