Research and planning:Magazines and Institutions

Initial ideas

I am going to create a magazine which appeals to a mainstream register. My sub-genre of my magazine is going to be pop music as it contains a wide range of artists creating a larger audience register and .I am going to do about mainstream bands such as One Direction and Union J as well as girl bands such as The Saturdays. I am also going to include upcoming artists such as Recall and MAD.I will also include artists such as Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj. I chose this genre because it is the one I feel most comfortable with and since I like it I will know what to include in the magazine to appeal to the audience.

One DirectionMAD

Katy Perry

House Style:

I am going to include both dark and bright colours such as:

• Purple
• Blue
• White
• Red 
• Black
• Green
• Yellow
• Pink

What to Include:

• Articles on bands and artists (pre existing and upcoming)
• Interviews with with bands and artists
• Charts
• Festivals/Gigs
• Posters 
• Concert reviews

Central Image

I would like my central image to be of a band or upcoming artist. My image may possibly be of a music student to show the audience I am targeting. 

Mode of address

Due to the age of my target audience for my pop music magazine which will be around the age of 16 the most appropriate language would be informal to connect which the reader.

Introduction to main task and action plan

Now that I have finished my preliminary task I will have to complete the main task which is to design the front page, contents and a double page spread of a new music magazine.

Week 1

• Introduce main task
• Initial ideas
• Institution
• Analyse two front covers from chosen sub-genre

Week 2

• Analyse two contents pages from chosen sub-genre
• Analyse two double page spreads from chose sub-genre
• Develop pitch

Week 3

• Develop and complete pitch
• Complete further research of chosen sub-genre

Week 4

• Present pitch and audience research
• Mock-ups of magazine
• Style sheet reflecting brand identity/house style of the magazine
• Organise models, locations,props photoshoot

Week 5

• Develop front cover: experimentation with layout, colour, font, language and photos.

Week 6

• Develop front cover: experimentation with layout, colour, font, language and photos
• Make adjustments to magazine design in response to feedback

Week 7

• Develop contents cover: experimentation with layout, colour, font, language, photos
• Make adjustments to magazine design in response to feedback

Weeks 8 and 9

• Develop double page spread
• Make adjustments to magazine in response to feedback

Week 10

• Finalise design of all pages
• Draft evaluation

Week 11

• Evaluation

Week 12

• Develop evaluation

Weeks 13 and 14

• Complete evaluation
• Final blog check

Evaluation

• Question One

 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

Before creating my own student magazine I researched the key elements of student magazines. From my research I found out that for most magazines the central image is of a student, a similar age to the target audience or a band/singer. I found that a lot of the features were similar.I also found out that three or four colours were used in the colour palette and they appeared to be bold and mainly bright as these connote energy and youth. The mode of address used in student magazines was informal and chatty to relate to the target audience. The layouts and mastheads of the magazines appeared to be simple which connotes grown ups. 

After doing my research I then went on to use this in my own magazine. I chose four main colours which were black, white, blue and pink to create the house style because I thought they were eye catching and appealed to both boys and girl's while connoting youth and energy. I found that these colours were appropriate for my target audience because they weren't childish. For the puff I used black and white so that it would stand out and catch the readers attention against the other colours used for splash and the cover lines. I photographed a student for my central image which again relates to my target audience as it shows that my magazine is aimed at students.By photographing a student it used the generic conventions associated with with student magazines. The image was a medium close up which was stated in the brief. I chose the name 'Unique' for my magazine because it connotes originality and it suggests that it's different to any other student magazine that is already available.  The font I used for my masthead connoted youth and energy and was informal to connect with the audience.

• Question Two

       How does your media product represent particular social groups?

       My student magazine represents student social groups between the ages of 16-24 both male and female which I am also part of. I asked students in the age range my magazine appealed to what they would like to see on the magazine and what colours they think should be used as they would be the ones buying the magazine. I have shown this through my central image by photographing a student and keeping the colours aimed at the age range of 16-24 using simple colours such as white which is a fresh colour while using pink and blue to target both genders. Even though my central image is only of a girl, my magazine is still aimed at boys and this is shown through my colour scheme. From my target research I found that students weren't willing to pay alot of money for the magazine especially if they were going to buy frequently and they said they would pay about £1 maybe more if there was loads of content and it was good quality. I eventually chose to price my magazine at £1.00 as this is affordable for students especially if they will be buying every issue which is a good price for the amount of content.

• Question Three 

       What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

 My student magazine would be best distributed in a college or university as the content within my magazine is targeted at students and contains useful information on student life with vouchers and prizes which would benefit students. The magazine is only £1.00 and so isn't expensive meaning it appeals to most students with an interest in fashion, music, gaming and student life. 

• Question Four

        Who would be the audience for your media product?

      The audience for my magazine would be male and female students aged 16-24 because the content includes tips for students and articles about things relating to students. The vouchers and competitions are included in the magazine are aimed at students. They would need to be interested in music, films, fashion, books, student life and achievements.

• Question Five

     How did you attract/address your audience?
     I attracted my audience by using a fresh, simple and unique central image on the front cover which was easy to understand and wasn't cluttered. The image was also of a student from Ludlow college and this allows other students to relate to the image as they are the same age.  I used a fun, informal and bold text for the masthead to attract the audiences attention as it stands out. I used white text as it's fresh and simple to stand out against the blue and black. For my cover lines I used white text on a blue background so that it would catch the readers eye. I used white on a black background to draw the reader to the freebies and competitions so that when the reader picks up the magazine it will attract them too it. I used clear and easy yet informal fonts on my contents page so that there was continuity. I addressed my audience with an informal chatty style so that it relates to students. The splash is larger font to automatically attract the readers attention to it.  

•  Question Six

      What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
   To bring my ideas to life and create my magazine I used Indesign. I was not familiar with this and so I had to learn how to use them so that I could create my front cover and contents page. I found indesign effective and fairly simple to use. Everytime I wanted to add something to my magazine I had to use layers, deleting and adding things as my magazine developed. The one thing I found most difficult was placing my images as I struggled to get them how I wanted but I eventually learned. I now know that I will effectively be able to use indesign when creating my music magazine for my main coursework task and it will be very helpful.

Student Magazine and Contents Page

Mock front cover and contents page

Front cover:

Contents page:

Experiment with mode of address and name ideas

Mode of address:
Due to my target audience which is 16-18 years old I think that informal language is most appropriate as it connects with them. In my research I found that the students would prefer the magazine to be informal as it is easier to read but should be slightly formal. Being a student myself I also would prefer to read a magazine that was informal because it is far easier and connects more with me. Overall my magazine will be informal but will include a small amount of formal language.





Name ideas:

• Student Vibe
• Gossip 
• Fresh
• Unique 

I have decided that my magazine is going to be called Unique as it will be different to other student magazines and also this connotes that the magazine is focused on the students and suggests they are all unique individuals. As it isn't a long name it will be easy for students to remember.

Experimentation with Fonts

I experimented with a few different fonts which I thought would be suitable for the writing on my magazine and I added colour to each of them so I could see if they would still appeal to me. Out of these fonts at this stage I think that 'Ravie' is the main font I will use as it's bold and looks unusual so I think it would catch the audiences attention. However I may also use Monotype Corsiva as I feel this to is most appropriate for my target audience.

Experiment with colour schemes

Colour schemes:

Dark blue, purple, white and pink: these colours are bright and connote

energy however the blue adds darkness and allows the other colours to

stand out against it . I feel that these colours may be aimed more at girls

 due to the purple and pink and my magazine is aimed at boys and girls.

 Black, white, blue and pink: while the black adds sophistication the white blue and pink adds brightness and connotes energy. These colours can be aimed at both male and female due to the pink and blue. They balance each other out as there are two dull and two bright colours and they are also eye catching.

Grey, red, white and blue: while the grey and white are dull colours the blue and red add brightness. Red connotes passion while grey connotes sophistication. White is a pure colour and blue is peaceful. However these colours may be to dull for my magazine.

Green, purple, black and blue:  these colours appeal to both boys and girls and are eye catching. The purple and green seem to go well together and would definitely stand out against the black background. The blue adds looks electrifying and I think this would stand out well against the black however

I don’t think it goes with the purple and green. These colours balance each other

out well. The black adds boldness to the rest of the colours and connotes sophistication while the others are more energizing.

Black, white and grey:  these colours appear as dull and unappealing however they

the black adds boldness and the white stands out against the darker colours of the

grey and black adding brightness.  These colours are sophisticated. White stands

out against most colours and is neutral. White connotes purity, grey connotes

sophistication and black connotes mystery and sophistication.

Green, pink and blue: these colours are fresh and bright however they appear to be to in your face and while the blue appeals to boys and the pink to girls I feel these colours are aimed more towards girls and I think it would be best to have one dark colour and two bright colours so that they would stand out more.

Research and planning: research target audience

Questions:
1. What colour scheme would you like to see on the magazine?
Dark colours? Bright colours? A mixture of both? 
2.What sort of articles would you be most interested in reading about?
3. What images would you like to see in the magazine? 
4. What would be your preferred mode of address?
Formal? informal? mixture of both?
5.How much would be willing to pay for the magazine?
6. What would you like the layout/style to be like?

From asking questions to my target audience I found that they would like a mixture of bright and dark colours and so somewhere in between.  They would be most interested in articles that are relevant to them such as films, gaming, music as well as articles about students and college.  The images featured on the magazine should be of things that are interesting to students such as music and also pictures of students.  The preferred mode of address is somewhere between   formal and informal however leaning more towards informal. The people asked said they wouldn't want to pay much for the magazine especially if they will be buying it frequently.  They would prefer the layout to be slightly organised however more scrapbook style.