Metal Magazine / Website

Enter page

Why a Website? 

As seen above, Demon Magazine would have an online platform which would serve to provide information, contact details, writing submission and subscription service. It’s no secret that many people prefer to do things online in the comfort of their own home, with some slippers on, eating scrambled eggs. 

Research concluded that existing metal publications usually have a website, for example, Kerrang! and Metal Hammer; helping their user interaction by including those who prefer things online for more convenient access to metal news and an easier way to buy their magazine. 

It was then deemed necessary for Demon to have its own website, but taking into account the aims of the project, and challenge existing websites for their function and form - how efficient they are to interact with and analyse how effective their stylistic qualities are. 

Aesthetic

Brand continuity across all platforms will create an attractive and consistent identity, recognisable as Demon Magazine. This therefore had to be taken into account when creating the website. Utilising the same guidelines as the magazine, the website uses bright fuchsia on the toolbar and certain assets, and uses the same extended typefaces throughout. Both the type and colour are dynamic and loud, representing the nature of the music, and offer an engaging and vibrant interface the user can interact with. Capitalisation increases volume further and makes all titles look uniform and consistent. Layout of the titles throughout the magazine again are similar to how titles are layed out in the magazine itself, horizontal and then vertical. All images are treated in the same way as the magazine, using black and white film grain images, or duotone fuchsia. All decisions are made with how the magazine looks in mind. Logo and logotype are on the page for readability.

Function

The website has multiple functions providing an interactive platform for fans of metal and Demon Magazine all around the globe.

Home page

Homepage

Demon Magazine is a quarterly magazine published every 3 months, therefore, lots of news would have built up by the time the next issue is in production. To solve this, the website offers daily metal updates for fans to access online on various platforms at any time. Top stories are available in 'blog' format on the homepage, however the user can access the 'news' page to see all the available topics and choose from a wider range. This keeps Demon Magazine current and active online, and avoids it becoming stagnant and unexciting. 

The homepage also features the top two newest records released that month, but again there is a larger section for those individuals who are more interested, on the news page.

News Page

News

News is available to view in a concise horizontal scrolling interface, which doesn't overface the user and keeps things neat and tidy and organised. Using the search bar will also bring up this page, showing results for what the user would type in. The main goal is to keep the user happy whilst interacting with the page and not bombard them with too much information at once. 

Navigation

Navigation

The navigation is easily accessible through the classic burger bar at the top left corner. There's a search bar at the top to find other members/news stories, and the option to login and register to demonmagazine.com 

Manifesto / About page

Manifesto

The manifesto page clarifies what it's all about, and sets the tone for the rest of the publication and website, adopting a conversational and colloquial discourse which features mild swear words and ellided structures. An informal and friendly atmosphere is created through this decision and ensures others do not feel alienated or unwelcome. It's fun and engaging and sounds approachable to the right demographic, yet is not too in your face that it puts anyone off. 

The manifesto is what the magazine stands for. Since this is a publication which aims to challenge other aesthetics and stereotypes of existing metal magazines, and become a more inclusive platform, written 'rules' of what it was all about seemed appealing and again set a tone. It is also a concise way of condensing exactly what the magazine is so users can quickly read it.

Next to the manifesto is the about section which goes into more detail, and then there is a space for the current contributors/writers of the magazine. Below this is press coverage (hypothetical) which again raises credibility.

Subscription

Subscribe

The subscription service allows the user to be able to recieve their magazine as soon as it is released, paying a discounted price for annual service. Most magazines have this feature as it means the user saves money and is more likely to keep buying the publication. It would be available for worldwide shipping however in the UK, shipping is free. Having the magazine accesible online means more sales, as online purchasing is convenient and readily available for anyone with a device.

This page also has a feature where the user can find where the nearest shop is that stocks the magazine by typing in their city or post code.

Contact info

Contact / Submission 

Here is the page where the user can submit their work. Demon Magazine aims to be inclusive, and so new talented writers should always be considered to be published. If someone's work is suitable, they will be contacted. There is also relevant information for those who need the contact details for any queries or questions, and customer service. 

The possible future...

If there was to be another issue of the publication, an idea was to change the primary colour to something else, such as green in these examples.

Limitations include running out of neon colours after a while and so they would need to be reused again. Another possibility is having 4 colours for each season. 

Mobile

The website must be responsive to mobile devices, as not everyone will be viewing it on desktop. Here are examples of how this could look. The home page would be stripped back to a promotional image. If the user wants to access the news stories they simply use the navigation. Some pages had to be split up for mobile such as the map and subscription service. Below this is the manifesto page, split into 4 sections which the user would just swipe. This could also be used on other sections of the website to condense information and make it less cluttered; ensuring the text can remain large and take up the space rather than be shrank to fit.