Ever since I did my first college magazine I think I have learned to better understand how to use text and space within a magazine, and how this can have massive effects on how eye catching and easy to comprehend it can be. I have learned that in order design a magazine for someone you must carry out research on the target audience in order to better understand what they want in a magazine. Another thing I have learned about designing magazines that sometimes less is more, sometimes you just have to stop adding stuff and leave it before it becomes overcrowded and messy, I think this is clear when you compare my two magazines. I think that the differences between the two magazines occurred due to the research I did on my target audiences. I studied similar magazines like NME and Vice and looked at the mode of address they use with their audience and how this helps to build a relationship with them. This research influenced how I laid out my magazine to make it easier to read.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Friday, 26 February 2010
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Photoshop is one thing that I had used in the past, but one thing I had never used before is a blog, it's really interesting how you can bring lots of different types of media together into one form, for instance in the blog I've used pictures, text, videos, links to other websites, and interactive pictures on Flickr. If I did this in written form it would be nowhere near as interactive and it would be much harder to explain the things I wanted to show. I have to say that using blogger and flickr for this project has utterly put me off blogging anytime in the future. It can be very fustrating when trying to upload pictures and adjusting font size and text allignment. 
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Both magazines go for a very red colour scheme, to match the girl's hair. Although the poses they are pulling are not completely identical they are both looking at the camera (making eye contact), neither of them have a distinct facial expression, Becci has a slight smile, while Florence on the NME magazine has a more serious look on her face. I think in both pictures an artifical light has been used, I think this gives the pictures a proffesional look. Both pictures have been taken with a slightly high angle, and both are medium to long shots. I think it represents females in a fair manner, as the picture is not 'dirty' (in a sexually provocative pose or clothing) but shows a confident women. I want to use the stereotypical fiery red head image to my advantage, as with most magazines, young girls on the front cover helps the issue to sell. I have explored the "fiery red head" idea through several different factors, the camera angle used on the front cover image is slightly low, this is to increase the idea that the confident women on the front cover is assertive and in control.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
How did you attract/address your audience?
As you can see, both magazines use a fairly similar colour scheme, the magazine I produced has a much simpler layout though, this was the effect that I wanted to form as I do think the NME magazine looks overcrowded and I dislike the rip effect going down the middle. Boh magazine use label/stick things (big red one on NME magazine saying about 50 years of motown and a 'FREE' label on mine). The issue date and number is located under the masthead.
When you read my magazine you'll notice that the tone of the magazine is very relaxed and cheerful, it not formal at all. I always wanted it to be a fun and happy read and not really serious. I think the audience my magazine is made for would not appreciate a very formal magazine and would only read the magazine for a laugh and to catch up on some music gossip. Through this jokey tone the magazine should attempt to setup a friendly relationship with the reader and the reader should see reading the magazine as talking to a friend. The magazine often uses enticing language such as "find out what they got up to!.." in an attempt to draw the reader in in a friendly way.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
My magazines main target audience are music loving indie kids. A majority of them would be around 16-25. For people who follow indie music, it's all about finding new bands and knowing about them before they become main stream, so trawling through Myspace and listening for upcoming bands is a must. Some well known bands that indie lovers might listen to are The Wombats, The Strokes or MGMT. You'll often find them in shops like Topshop/Topman, smaller unknown shops which mite have clothes nobody else does, or going through charity shops looking for forgotten relics of clothing that they can pick up for 50p. They often wear converse sneakers or old boots, skinny jeans are a must, and occasionally you'll see them wearing tweed.
As my magazine would rely almost entirely on the income made from advertising in the magazine, it is very important that the target audience is thoroughly examined and their shopping habbits are well known. I found through researching my target audience that 30% of them will go shopping once per week and 90% will go once per month. 60% will attend atleast one music festival per year, and 40% play atleast one musical instrument.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The idea of making it free was based on trying to suit the magazine to the target audience. My target audience would mostly consist of young (16-25) year old people, who probably are in college or university and do not have much money therefore would be more likely to pick up a free magazine rather than paying for one. One magazine's distribution style that is similar would be Vice Magazine (http://www.viceland.com/uk/). Personally I pick up these free magazines whenever possible, they always have fun articles and news about music and art, which I really enjoy, they're also quite think and have a lot of pages (given that probably about 1/3 of the pages are adverts, but you get what you pay for, or in this case don't pay for.) Obviously the main source of income from the magazine would be the adverts inside, the adverts would also be especially chosen to suit the target audience for the magazine, an example of this would be through my target audience research. As for choosing a distributor for my magazine, I have looked into similar magazines and how they choose to distribute their magazine.
A magazine which is similar to my magazine is NME. NME was started in 1952 and is published by IPC media. Like my magazine it is based on indie music. NME is distributed by MarketForce.
I think my magazine would not be suitable for the large outlets at first, and it would more suit smaller shops, where it would be available as a freebie.
A magazine which is similar to my magazine is NME. NME was started in 1952 and is published by IPC media. Like my magazine it is based on indie music. NME is distributed by MarketForce.
I think my magazine would not be suitable for the large outlets at first, and it would more suit smaller shops, where it would be available as a freebie.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I spent a large amount of time taking the main photos for my magazine, my model Becci painted her hands and used red make up to make the pictures much more eye catching and kind of copies the indie style (you'll often see indie kids wearing bright makeup or glow in the dark makeup, over-the-topness is key.) The photo I used on the front cover has Becci with her hands out in front of her, I really like the perspective of this picture, when I used it on my front cover I had her hand over the front of the masthead, I think this gives the cover a sense of distance as apposed to being a flat image.
The clothes and style used in the photos are quite typical of the indie genre, her hair is stylish, but not overly worked, and this attitude of not really caring what people think is representative of the genre. Generally I tried to keep the front cover fairly simple. I looked through other music magazines (real ones and ones made by other students) and found that a large amount looked very crowded and messy due to too many cover lines and other pieces of information on the cover, sometimes so you barely even noticed the cover image. Because of this I made sure that my front cover used a very minimalist approach, and I think I achieved this; It looks eye catching and informative without bieng over crowded. I tried to develop ideas that I thought were effective that i had saw in other magazines, for instance in Blender they often have the cover image overlapping the masthead slightly, I think this helps create a sense of space and depth to the image.
I read through a few double page spreads from magazines like NME, as these would be quite similar to what my target audience would want to read. I wrote my article about a band that I had made up, and how they were going on tour after releasing a new album. The article is quite chatty, has a lot of quotes and is quite informal, I made it like this because I guessed that a young audience wouldn't really want a super formal account of a band; they want a fun, quirky personal view of the band. I have tried to find a image with a similar aspects and found this one. The main similarities in these photos are the shot distance, being a close up (although the other magazine's one could be considered more of a extreme close up in comparison), both the images have a fair amount of light on the faces making them quite clear and easy to look at and both have striking flashes of colour on them (both have red lips for instance).Something that I really enjoyed about my image was how the background turned out. Having a completely black background makes the other colours seem much more vibrant and also allows me to carry the black colour scheme across the page and work with negatives (white writing in the article est.). The pose she is using on the photograph is sort of a cross between smiling and shouting, you can imagine her doing it while in a gig or playing in front of people, shouting out to the crowd, it reminds me of an action shot, I think all these things help to make it look more appealing and eye catching. I think a big factor which would dictate the distribution of my magazine is the fact I decided to make it free.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Qestionnaire results
The research was carried out on 43 people aged from 13-26, there were a few more girls than boys.
| Audience Age | ||||
| 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31+ |
| 10% | 45% | 35% | 10% | 0% |
| Audience Gender | |
| Male | Female |
| 48% | 52% |
| Magazines read per week. | ||||
| 1-3 | 4-7 | 8-10 | more than 10 | none. |
| 40% | 5% | 2% | 0% | 53% |
| What the audience think is an acceptable Price (in £) | ||||
| 1-2 | 3-4 | 4-5 | more than 5 | will only take free magazines |
| 35% | 20% | 15% | 5% | 25% |
| Advertisement consideration. | ||
| Yes | No | Depends on the product |
| 30% | 40% | 30% |
| Are the magazines bought or shared | |||
| Bought from retailer | Bought from subscription | Shared with family/friends | Read while you are out. |
| 30% | 10% | 35% | 25% |
Audience Research: Questionnaire
Media Studies
Audience Research
Age range -
O - 15-25 years, O - 56-65 years,
O - 26-35 years, O - 66 years or more.
O - 36-45 years,
O - 46-55 years
Gender -
O - Male
O - Female
Household income per year. (if possible)
O - Less than £10,000 O - £40,000-£49,000
O - £10,000-£19,000 O - More than £50,000
O - £20,000-£29,000 O - Student.
O - £30,000-£39,000
Magazine Habits Research.
1. How many magazines do you read per week?
O - 1-3 per week,
O - 4-7 per week,
O - 7-10 per week,
O - More than 10 per week,
O - None.
2. Have you bought these magazines or are they shared/borrowed magazines?
(can tick more than one)
O - Bought from a retailer,
O - Bought through subscription,
O - Shared with family/friends,
O - Read while you are out (e.g hairdressers, in a cafe.)
3. If you do buy magazines, how much are you prepared to pay for them?
O - Less than £1
O - £1-£2
O - £3-£4
O - £4-£5
O - More than £5
O - Will only take free magazines.
4. Do you ever consider the advertisements in magazines? For instance if you were looking to buy a new perfume, would you consider the advertisements in a magazine.
O - Yes,
O - No.
O - Depends on what you are looking to buy.
Audience Research
Age range -
O - 15-25 years, O - 56-65 years,
O - 26-35 years, O - 66 years or more.
O - 36-45 years,
O - 46-55 years
Gender -
O - Male
O - Female
Household income per year. (if possible)
O - Less than £10,000 O - £40,000-£49,000
O - £10,000-£19,000 O - More than £50,000
O - £20,000-£29,000 O - Student.
O - £30,000-£39,000
Magazine Habits Research.
1. How many magazines do you read per week?
O - 1-3 per week,
O - 4-7 per week,
O - 7-10 per week,
O - More than 10 per week,
O - None.
2. Have you bought these magazines or are they shared/borrowed magazines?
(can tick more than one)
O - Bought from a retailer,
O - Bought through subscription,
O - Shared with family/friends,
O - Read while you are out (e.g hairdressers, in a cafe.)
3. If you do buy magazines, how much are you prepared to pay for them?
O - Less than £1
O - £1-£2
O - £3-£4
O - £4-£5
O - More than £5
O - Will only take free magazines.
4. Do you ever consider the advertisements in magazines? For instance if you were looking to buy a new perfume, would you consider the advertisements in a magazine.
O - Yes,
O - No.
O - Depends on what you are looking to buy.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Music magazine initial ideas.
I decided I would make a magazine about my favourite genre of music; indie.
I'm going to call the magazine Bandwagon, which is a bit of a pun on the genre as I belive indie music is all about finding the amazing small unknown bands and not 'jumping on the bandwagon' and only following the well known commercial bands.
Obviously the magazine will be aimed at people who enjoy indie music, and the culture which coems with it such as interests in art and fashion, but mainly the music! The target audience could be quite diverse, but mainly males and females aged 16-30, class is not really an issue, as it's based on whether you like the nusic or not.
I decided not to give the magazine a price, and make it free. Personally, I find I'm much more likely to pick up a free magazine, and rarely buy magazines, I don't mind if a magazine contains a lot of adverts if it's free, you get what you pay for. It will be published monthly.
Find out and what videos about what it is to be indie.
I decided I would make a magazine about my favourite genre of music; indie.
I'm going to call the magazine Bandwagon, which is a bit of a pun on the genre as I belive indie music is all about finding the amazing small unknown bands and not 'jumping on the bandwagon' and only following the well known commercial bands.
Obviously the magazine will be aimed at people who enjoy indie music, and the culture which coems with it such as interests in art and fashion, but mainly the music! The target audience could be quite diverse, but mainly males and females aged 16-30, class is not really an issue, as it's based on whether you like the nusic or not.
I decided not to give the magazine a price, and make it free. Personally, I find I'm much more likely to pick up a free magazine, and rarely buy magazines, I don't mind if a magazine contains a lot of adverts if it's free, you get what you pay for. It will be published monthly.Find out and what videos about what it is to be indie.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Friday, 6 November 2009
Monday, 19 October 2009
college magfront cover
This is my finished college Magazine cover and contents page, it took me around three hours to create. I decided to use my own photos and felt they fitted the brief because they illustrated the strap lines on the front cover, which enables people to see automatically what current issues are inside and relate to these. I downloaded fonts which I used on the front and contents page.
My final piece involves a medium long shot of me, hanging upside-down on some monkey bars in the park opposite the college where the readers of the magazine often hang out and would recognise and feel familiar with. In the picture I am wearing a grey hooded top and black jeans, along with big black glasses; I think the main picture of me connotes a quite fun and friendly look, and the pictures relating to the cover lines look quite humorous (to me at least) and I hope will draw people in to look closer, it breaks the conventions of how a college magazine should look and shows a rebellious side of students which may attract them to pick up and read it through. Down the right hand side of the cover there are cover lines along with pictures of me doing things related to the cover lines. I can see now it is printed that I have picked two different fonts, which i had meant to use the top one. At the bottom of the page there are subject lines which use the same font as the strap line in order to continue the same theme and a barcode along with a price and date. In the top left hand corner of the page is the masthead,this is where it is conventionally placed. It uses an old style looking which looks very retro and casual, possibly because it makes a flowing and flicky text. Below that is the strap line in a cliché American college style font which I feel is appropriate because it is for a college magazine and it looks kind of old school which matches the title.
My inside cover or contents page continues the old school theme by using a 1970’s wall paper pattern as a background which I sourced from a textures website. It has quite a bland colour scheme, with lots of browns and beige creams. When I look at it now I feel that this does not really suit the magazine very well and a cleaner white background would of worked more effectively, making it look more clean and modern. I also think I could have picked out the blue from the photos which may have tied it all together more effectively. I think that the contents page also lacks dominant compositional patterns, it seems that all the items seem very randomly placed; I feel this could make it harder for a reader to quickly scan over the content and pick up easily the subjects covered. I added some extra patterns in the background (such as tattoos and old photographs) in an attempt to make it look less boring, although I now think that this has just made it look cluttered, I would now choose to have a more formal layout to make it clearer but try still to use this format in a way which makes it appeal to young people using colour and fonts which would be appropriate. It has a smaller version of the masthead in the top left hand corner with ‘SEPTEMBER’ in a larger front below it, all the contents are on blocks of crinkled up brown paper and the fonts use a white stroke to make them stand out which I quite like the effect of in theory because of the subject being about littering. The inside cover has two pictures along with cover lines and page numbers; I tried to make these also look quite funny and casual although I realise use of humour can be hard to get right depending on the readers own views. I used other random decorations in the background so didn’t look too boring, although possibly these now make it look slightly ‘busy’.I felt that my front cover was more successful than my inside cover. I think the front cover is quite clear while the contents page looks crowded and I have learnt from this to keep a design more simple and use more complimentary colours when information has to be scanned quickly. Although I did try to take inspiration from an existing magazine (as you can see with ideas such as the contents and page numbers being laid out inside a photo box and having little sneak previews of photo from pages with page numbers on them.) I think that I drifted from the conventional magazine set out and it became overworked.
I think that students would feel that the magazine looks quite fun, current and welcoming. I hope it appears to come across as quite casual, possibly if the students are looking for a good read they may think that the magazine might not deliver, due to it not looking particularly serious, although I think most students would go for a magazine that looks like an easy read and the serious points raised in it will still get conveyed to the target audience.
Friday, 2 October 2009
College magazine cover analysis.
Click the magazine to see my analysis.
We used magazines such as these to study what techniques are used on college magazines; such as their layout, colours, typography ect. It also helped a great part in discovering what audiences bought magazines.
We done a survey of questions about what people would want to see in a magazine, this would help us to decide what to put into our magazine covers and contents pages.
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