Final magazine Evaluation

Adina Breden – Thorpe

When I was planning and crating rough designs for my magazine I had to consider how I would successfully design a magazine cover, content and double page spread according

to my target audience. My intended audience were young adults interested in indie, rock music between the ages of 18 – 23. From this I knew I should look at existing music magazines targeted at a similar audience to mine, for example magazines such as NME, Q and Kerrang. When I did my research on these magazines I found that NME was the best fitting to my criteria. Here I have an example of my magazine front cover “Frets”

and one created by NME. I focused a lot on the design presented by NME, such as there use of composition and layout. When you compare the two covers you can see I have considered how I have used my layout similar to that of NME, I have made the image

large and bright to deliver impact and to also be the main focus of the cover. I have also considered the space around the image and how I could place the information on the cover, for example the mast head I have made sure to be large and bold and placed to

the top left side of my magazine, this is so the reader can navigate around the page and consume all the information. I have made sure to make the main subject of my

magazine stand forward by using a large sub-heading based on the story (the artists name) directly underneath the image, this is to identify the artist in the image in relation to the NME magazine identifying Florence from Florence and he machine. For my cover I

had to be considerate with what type of image I should use, for example the image on my cover has a particular pose popular with my target audience (a very indie/rock pose), the makeup I have put on my subject and the amount I have used is also very popular to my target audience, but this is more aimed to the female side of my audience. The use

of bold chunky font is more aimed towards the male side of my target audience because I aim my magazine towards both genders, this means I have to offer something for both

genders.

When I went on to designing my contents page I had to consider layout and composition above all aspects, this is because with out a structured layout the

reader will not be able to navigate the page properly there for not consuming the correct information. I made sure to make the title Contents large and to the top left hand side of the page , similar to my front cover, this is because by doing this will lead the reader to that point this will then lead them to the content subjects

of the magazine, by using the direction of reading to lead them round the page. To highlight the main subject (main story line) of my magazine I have used an image

of my artist, I have made sure the image was bright and clear to attract my audience. I have made the page number to m y main subject bold and red so the reader won’t mistake the page and will know to look there first . For my content

page I have used a similar layout to NME’s contents page, I have also used a similar colour scheme of black ,red and yellow , I have used the colours red and

black because these are colours my target audience find most attractive in a magazine, they are also very rock colours following the theme of my magazine, the colours I have used are also in relation to the image I have used red for the lipstick and black fro the top my subject is wearing. I have used yellow on my

advertisements because it conflicts the other colours I have used making it stand forward. I have used simple but very direct language suitable for my audience. My use of language and description as I said is very direct allowing my audience

to relate to my magazine, something only their stereotype will understand. I have used advertisement on my contents page advertising a contract to the magazine,

this will be appealing to my audience because I have added free give away and cheaper prices to gain their attention. My target audience are between the ages of 18- 23 so are most likely going to be students this means they will only earn a particular amount of money so by advertising cheaper deals should attract their attention and want them to continue buying my magazine. I have added a band

index to my contents page to allow my reader to brose through the different artists featured in my magazine.

In relation to my contents page and my front cover I made sure to use a bright, clear image, this is to present good quality which is attractive to my

target audience. I have used an image similar to the one I used in the contents page, this is to create a sense of continuation thought my

magazine, to create a flow for my reader to follow , it will make reading my magazine a lot more enjoyable. I place the image to the left of my

page so my readers will see that first this will then direct them to the right hand side of the page where they will then read through the article based

on the image. I incorporated a large ”L” crossing the image and the article, I did this to navigate the reader between both the image and the article, I coloured it red to match the lipstick my subject is wearing in the

image. The sub – heading beneath the title of the page is coloured the same as the image background for the same purpose I coloured the “L” in

red, to join the two pages together and to navigate the reader . I have overlapped the title with the image so people will follow from the image

to the title over to the article. I have used educated language for my article this is because my target audience are educated and will

understand the more complicated structure of reading, although my article isn’t that complicated it’s self it just holds educated elements. The

image shows my subject wearing makeup and headphones, these are very popular products my audience are interested in.

Representation of social group

My target social group is of young adults between the ages of 18- 23. Here I have an example image

of my intended audience and how they would look. I have used a similar pose and use of makeup on my front over image of my subject , this is so my target audience can relate to the image, to make

them want to buy my magazine because it can share a relation with my reader. The lighting of my image is also appropriate for my target audience, almost like being in the spot light like you are the

main focus of attention.

The language I have used in my double page spread article and thought the rest of my magazine is educated but very simple to understand and follow. Most of it is very direct to my audience and addresses them as they see themselves, in this case to be

rock/indie in stereotype. In my images I have dresses my subject in simple baggy clothing and used headphones, this fashion sense is used widely by my target audience so this is

how I made my decision on my use of MISE-EN-SCENE.

Magazine Publishers

When I researched different magazine publishers I came across two possibilities that would be suitable for the production and selling of my magazine. These two publishers are Bauer media and IPC media, both

publishers are very established and control some of the worlds best known media brands. When I researched Bauer I found that they are a worldwide

media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations, in similarity to my magazine “Frets” they publish the magazines “Q” and Kerrang , both these magazines are music magazines to

do with rock/indie music, because of this I considered Bauer to be a possible publisher for my magazine, because this shows Bauer has experience in my

genre of magazine and will understand my target audience and how to target them as a buyer for my magazine. On the other hand I also there is IPC

media to consider, IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK adults, with a website that brings in 20 million users a

month. IPC makes NME which is very similar to my magazine but don’t seem to make any others this similar to mine, this may be good in terms if I did

choose IPC I would be making a niche in the market, but when I really consider the two I feel my magazine will do best with Bauer, this is because although Bauer already produces two other products similar to mine, my

product is slightly different so it may create a niche in the market, also Bauer have more experience in this genre of magazine compared to IPC.

My target Audience

My target audience for my magazine is young adults between the ages of 18- 23, they are interested in rock/indie music and follow the same stereotype . I decided to make my

target audience like this because of my research for my magazine, for example I sent out a questionnaire asking people of he public what they wanted in a magazine. The results

came in that most people where interested in the theme I had chosen between the ages I decided to use, these decisions were made because of this data I had collected , but this also influenced how I designed my magazine, for example from the knowledge that my

audience is interested in rock and indie themed subject I knew to do just that to my magazine with my use of bright posing images, and use of props and clothing ( mise-en-sense) that are popular to my genre . It also gave me an understanding on what types of

graphics I should use, for example bold ,large font similar to that on NME , use of language and how it was presented and most impotently the layout of my magazine. I decided on

these decisions purely from the information I had collected from my questionnaire and my reader profile . I would say also from the information I have collected I can say that my

target audience fit in as C1 when looking at Psychographic segmentation, this means they are Lower Middle Class Supervisor, junior managerial, admin or professional. From this I

can understand the typical life and background of my target audience, for example they will be earning an healthy wage so I know to make the price reasonable because my target

audience are 18-23 they are most likely going to still be in education so I chose to price my magazine £2.50 a month, this is a reasonable price to pay. This understanding of my

audience also tells me where they like to buy their products, for example being students and knowing where similar magazines are sold I know my target market would most likely

buy from WHSmiths or any form of supermarket .

Use of technology

To produce and present my work I has to use a range of different websites. I will begin with Blogger, Blogger is a blogging website that allows you to blog a

subject or subjects of your choice, in my case I was blogging Media studies. The point for using blogger is to allow all my work to be presented professionally

and then viewable for free to the public , it is very easy to use and allows you to branch out your ideas and our understandings to the public. This is good to

advertise your work and to show every step of your understanding and development of this subject. Blogger is similar to another website called

Slideshare, this is also a type of blogging, but it allows you to blog slides, this is good for presentations, you can use this and upload it to your blogger meaning

you will have a more professional finish to your blog, it will make it easier to navigate. To advertise my work or get public opinion I used Zoomerang , this is a

questioning website that allows you to create questionnaires , I used this to make my intended audience questionnaire , all I had to do was type in my

questions upload it to my blogger and allow people to freely answer and give their personal opinion for my magazine. I could use zoomerang and upload the

questionnaire to facebook, I did this to allow more people to give me their personal opinion on my magazine, this gave me a better understanding of what the public wanted from my magazine and how they wanted me to present my

magazine.I used technologies such as SLR cameras to take my photographs because they

could almost guarantee a professional photograph, but to make my photographs suitable for my magazine I had to use programs such as Photoshop and Serif,

both of these programs allow you to manipulate your images to get the professional look you are aiming for.

Here I have simply used photoshop to manipulate my photograph so it was suitable for my magazine front cover. I began with my original image taken of my subject using an SLR camera , I then uploaded this image

onto photoshop where I cut round the image taking the background away, by first of all using a cropping devise and the and cutting device allowing me to neatly cut round my image. Once I had done this I placed my image to an A4 page, I then used free transform to enlarge my image to the size most suitable for my

cover . As you can see I decided to turn a mid – shot into a close up shot to make my image stand out more and to fit the composition of my cover.

Photoshop

During this course I have learnt a lot about technology and codes and conventions that should be used to create the important aspects of a

magazine. At the beginning of the course I had to design and create a school magazine cover with, for this I made a simple layout pinpointing the areas such

as the headline, sub-headings etc. I used simple colours, images and use of font, I also used simple language in order for it to be appealing to students, and suitable for a secondary school. As I have developed on to making a magazine I have learnt the basics from my premium task, thing such as how to layout my

cover with the headline to the top right leading the reader towards the content of the magazine. Although for my magazine I have used more intelligent

language I learnt the structure of writing from my premium task. I have used more complicated language for my magazine because it is aimed to an older

audience and speaks more on specific subjects (music). The presentation of my magazine is a lot more professional compared to my premium task, for

example the use images , unlike my premium task I have edited and sharpened the images to present them with a professional and clear look . For my images

I have had to use lighting and photoshop to get the finish I wanted, I have developed my understanding of the use of technology and how it can improve the influence and attractiveness of my magazine. For my premium task I used

programs such as publisher to cerate my magazine, this meant I had very limited simple editing equipment, because my magazine “Frets” had to be

professional I had to use more complex programming such as photoshop and photo serif, this are photo editing programs. I had to consider layout a lot more

for my magazine, but to do so I had to use the basic idea of layout from my premium task, placing the head line to the top of the page followed by sub-

headings to highlight the story line.

My development