My Design for Logo for school magazine

For my School magazine I decided to do a magazine about Smithdon because I have been there for 5 years now so it's quite easy to do a piece on it.

For my magazine I had to create a logo and so have gone with 2 main attempts, they incorparate the colours of Smithdon, Red and Royal Blue/ Navy and the initials of both the school and my magazine's name.

I used the software, Sketch on a MacBook to design both initial logo ideas. The first idea was a simple SHS which I used a normal brush feature then thicken

ed out the top bits but left the base curved to give it a writing style effect. There are 2 main colours and the logo is built up of 5 main shapes. For a first attempt I think this was quite good but a tad boring so could be improved to give it more flare.

For the second design I built on my first but made the shapes tighter and sent the H shape to the back as to make the S shapes stand out. I kept the S shapes very much the same but brought the S on the right up a bit the make the title look slanted. The H shape I edited differently, I cut a notch into the top on both sides to add a bit off flare to the image and then dragged the line on the right of the H down leaving it with a dot at the end. This added to the idea of a sketch design or handwriting, something which is often associated with schools.

I think for the school magazine I will keep the second edit as it is because it is eye-catching and integrates the school's colours and letters. I like this as a simple logo for my magazine.

Pop music not so Popular for the dead

Music is an expression of who you are, so why has a catholic church in the Melbourne area in the Australia area banned pop music at someone's funeral? It's not just pop music that's been banned, rock music, sports, politically and others like metal. The Archbishop of Melbourne said a funeral shold be a celebration of someone, well why does that mean they shouldnt get the music that reminds people of the deceased, is this really fair?

The Archbishop of Melbourne has sent out new guidlines to over 200 catholic churches in the Melbourne area. Some of the most popular choices for Melbourne funerals have been banned, things such as; the signature anthem for Australian Rules football team Collingwood, Frank Sinatra's My Way and Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

The ban was introduced after the study had found out the football tune was Melbourne's top most requested funeral song. A church spokesman said that the ban had mixed reactions. I think that this ban is a little silly, a funeral should be a celebration of your life, and your life has been affected by music so it should be your own should what is played at your funeral. I know for sure that if Shinedown aren't played at my funeral, I'll be coming back to haunt a few people.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11256843

Picture Source: http://www.remotepatrolled.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Frank-Sinatra.jpg

Singer, songwriter and Bouncer?

A video of Lady GaGa breaking up a fight at her Washinton Concert on 7th September.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7KvJR34mVY&feature=player_embedded#!

Fame Monster or not, she's no monster to her fans!

This week Lady GaGa showed maybe a smaller glimmer into the kind of person she is when she cut her hit song, 'Just Dance' to break up a fight in the audience of her 'Monster Ball' tour whilst in Washington.

Though you may expect the crowd to be angry that GaGa cut her song short, she was greeted with cheers as she broke up the fight telling the 2 women not to fight at this concert. After apologising to her crowd she asked if the girls were ok and saying she didn't know who hit who first.

I think it takes someone big to break up a fight, and though it could have affected how the rest of the concert went she ultimately did the right thing. If more people in the world broke up fights it would be a better place.

After breaking up the fight she took a small time to indulge with some friendly banter, gyrating to the crowd she asked if they thought she was sexy and admitted that she prefers, 'a giant dose of bullshit' than the actual truth.

Source: http://www.music-news.com/shownews.asp?H=Lady-Gaga-interrupted-her-concert-to-break-up-a-fight&nItemID=36309

Picture Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/09/09/2010-09-09_lady_gaga_stops_monster_ball_show_in_washington_dc_to_break_up_crowd_fight.html

What makes my favourite magazine, just that?

I wouldn't say I have a favourite magazine, I prefer to use other forms other media such as Television, Newspapers and New Media to read up on things, but one magazine I have had constantly has been the Chelsea magazine.

Apart from being a Chelsea fan I find the magazine appealing from just looking at it's front cover. I find that the Mast Head is never covered over by the main picture, which then makes me notice the word Chelsea clearly and easily grabs my attention. There are always 4 main colours for the front cover, silvery grey, gold, white and blue. There is always a small section of white and blue, but they compliment the other colours well and make whatever the main image is, stand out well against the backdrop. Black can often be used on their front cover as it also helps to make the main image stand out. The main image is always a standing still shot of someone important to the club, usually someone who has been interviewed for it.

The Chelsea magazine has a main setup inside with there always being an interview, results, fixtures, a top 10 (such as top 10 foreign footballers) and a fan zone. The articles are never heavy reading but for a true Blues fan they offer an insight into one of their favourite footballers. The other articles help relive great moments within the club's 105 year history, these can be captured with either quirky articles which don't remain long winded or professional photography of the key moments.

The magazine is in no way perfect, it might have a glossy front and be attracting but it can get boring and having a free copy sent to me for the last year sometimes I find myself reading them a month later. I find that interviews with the players might be an insight but I might prefer a different main story once in a while. I am also sure that many people might find the constant bombardment of adverts within the magazine to take up key space, but for the simple fact there isn't too much to include in this monthly 82 page magazine it helps to bulk it out.

I would say from reading this magazine it gives me a key idea of what to do for my own one, I know what attracts me to this magazine and can use that to my advantage. Like many big magazines Chelsea's works well to the audience, even if the articles can be a bit lack luster. In no way would I say this is the best magazine in the world, but for the simple colour scheme and layout it is attractive and not too intense. If I can produce something like this I would be pleased to do so.

Picture Source: http://i35.tinypic.com/2cnca6c.jpg

First attempt at the layout for school magazine front cover

This is my first attempt at the front cover for my school magazine. I have incoraparated codes and conventions such as the Mast Head, news, information, barcode and more. I have used the main shapes I wish to use when I make my front cover, these include the shapes of the text I wish to use, the shapes of the images I wish to use and the star shape to attract attention for a school competition.

In my first layout I have thought about 3 main fonts I wish to use; Mistral, Stencil and Times New Roman. I think these could fit in with the theme of a school as we associate young children using stencils, Mistral looks like writing but in the future I may change Times New Roman as I don't feel it affilates with the theme as well as the other 2 fonts.

The colour scheme I have used for my first attempt is not what I will follow in the future, I will incorparate colours that relate to Smithdon's colour schemes. I will want to use 3 main colours, I know I will use red and blue but so far am not sure of the last colour.

Samsung start to fight back!

With Apple making a big hit with the iPad and Blackberry having their own plans for the tablet computer market Samsung has now introduced their new Galaxy Tab.

Samsung are entering a competitive market, the Galaxy Tab will weigh less than the iPad and be smaller but the key issue will be its price. If Samsing don't market it correctly and sell it at a battling price it might end up being a flop and another point to Apple.

The device will run the Google Android system, something Apple are not particularly happy with, having already fallen out with Google over the operationg system. It will have a capacity of 16 or 32GB and can be expandable by another 32GB, just like the iPad.

Being able to connect by 3G, wi-fi and bluetooth it's price will be a key issue, with many customers seeing Apple as a reliable source and an easy to use App Store do Samsung have their work cut out for them?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11163687

Picture Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/sep/02/samsung-galaxy-tab-revealed-ifa