Critical EvaluationAS/Media Studies

How does your magazine go against and conform to conventionsWhen compared to magazines such as

Kerrang my cover goes against the ‘tabloid-like’ theme. Instead creating a theme more recognizable with Rocksound, NME or GQ (unstudied). This classier theme sets the tone for an aesthetically pleasing cover, contents and double page spread. The masthead conforms to that of NME (a similar 3 letter title in the top left hand corner)

How does your magazine represent your audience

When I did a questionnaire I worked out that my audience was between the brackets of 14-29. so I wanted to go for a sophisticated theme; One without garish colours and too many offers of free stuff, drawing the audience away from the content. I also didn’t want to stack my magazine with lots of images. I kept it simple with a few images along the same theme, and manipulate them to fit my magazine. This matched the style that my audience and I myself preferred.

When I asked, in a questionnaire, my audience between preliminary designs (as shown below) 80% picked my final design.

preliminary one preliminary two

20% - 80%

How did you attract your audience

I attracted my audience using the designs of my magazine. I kept it all simple, and classy drawing inspiration from many magazines including NME, Rocksound and GQ. A mix of music tabloid and gossip with sophisticated broadsheet style made it an appealing mix for my audience.

I decided against putting plugs on my magazine i.e. Advertising free content and bonus features. I wanted to let the magazine sell itself.

How have your ideas changed from your preliminary task

My ideas changed during the process of analysis and construction. I learned during analysis and editing what audiences are looking for. My original ideas (shown bottom left) were to have simple primary colours across the whole page. Big title and impactful font. After review I found I needed to make the whole thing a lot more sophisticated. This was done with photo manipulation on Adobe Photoshop and design work with Microsoft Publisher. (below is in brief the process of change in my designs)

What did you learn from the process

I learnt how to manipulate images on Adobe Photoshop into images that fit magazine standards, how to design, create and edit styles and themes using Microsoft Publisher. I also came across what audiences want from music magazines. How to analyse results, existing information and existing content (NME, Kerrang etc) and apply the trends, themes and expectations into media format.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media

productDistributors such as• IPC Media• Reed Elsevier• The national magazine company ltd• Bauer Media Group

Are the institutions that could distribute my product.