Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?


Follow this link to the video: 
 http://youtu.be/fEyfD4K8v3s

Evaluation Question 7

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Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
This was originally carried out as a voice recording of a peer, however I was unable to transfer this from the recording device onto the Mac I was using, so I have had to write it out instead.


Front Page


"The front cover is really bright so it catches your eye and draws you in. The title is big so you know exactly what it is, and this is one of the first things you see. The smaller pictures down the side make you intrigued as to what is inside. The font you used looks fun and quirky which makes me think it would be an interesting magazine to read. The subheadings at the bottom of the front page allows you to make a decision as to whether you would be interested in what is inside."


Contents Page 


"The big picture of a guitar instantly reminds you that it is a music magazine. It looks professional because of the subheadings, the main title and the editors letter. The signature from the editor makes it feel personal."


Double Page Spread 


"The colours you used on the double page link in with those on the front page and double page spread so it all flows together nicely. The structure of it guides you through the interview with the questions and answers. The pictures are really interesting and personal as well"




After conducting this voice recording it became clear that the changes I made in order to appeal to this audience were successful as these were the point which my peer commented on. 

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3

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I believe the most success in sales would come from a national news agents such as WHsmith as this would mean the magazine would reach the entire country. 
Reading the magazine online would come as a result of online subscription, rather than a one-time read. This would generate more profit because the audience would be signing up to a set time period for which they would pay. 

Evaluation Question 2

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?


What is a Social Group?

A Social Group is 'people sharing some social relation'. This could mean friends, collegues, peers or aquaintances. In the context of music, people will be grouped in relation to their musical preferences, for example Pop fans, Rock fans, Indie fans etc.

What Social Group is my Magazine appealing to?

 As my music magazine is focused upon the Indie genre, it would make sense that my target audience are fans of this. Stereotypes of this social group are that they are fashion consious and like to shop at vintage shops, enjoy festivals and gigs, are laid back and fun loving, are environmentally friendly and their style is edgy (often sporting the messy hair look and mis-matched clothing). As part of my research I conducted questionnaire which helped a lot in the creation of a magazine which is suitable for the target audience




How is it representing this social group?

My front page features a model who fits the Indie stereotypes; she has long relaxed hair, fashionable glasses and jewellery, and the use of the guitar as a prop reinforces the fact that she is a music fan. She has a fairly serious facial expression, which matches that of the previous image of the two indie stereotypes, however this is not a harsh expression. Her brightly coloured clothing suggests the fun-loving side of her personality, while also helping her to 'stand out from the crowd' as an individual. The smaller images of other bands featured in the magazine also fit these demographic stereotypes. The use of the phrase 'festival survival' adheres to the idea that indi fans enjoy festivals. 

 My contents page features a range of band names which are highly regarded within the Indie genre, for example The Maccabees and Laura Marling. I have also included the artist which I created for my interview, Lipstick & Lighters. The heading 'Gigs and Tours' fits in with the stereotype that Indie fans enjoy seeing artists at intimate performances, rather than large hyped up concerts, and the use of Pitchfork Festival not only  provides continuity from the first page ('festival survival'), but also backs up the ideology that festivals are very popular amongst Indie fans.

I believe my double page is the most effective in portraying and representing Indie fans as a social group. The use of the scrapbook theme relates to the underlying theme in the majority of Indie songs (anecdotes and recounting stories), as well as the personal reflection upon memories. All of the images are of models which perfectly fit the stereotype of an Indie fan. I was careful to adapt the text in order to create an artist who is stereotypically Indie through the use of phrases such as 'I'm just having fun' and 'I love to read'. This would create a positive role model for the younger, more impressionable readers, and an inspiring figure to those at a decision making stage in their life.

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

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Laura Mulvey was a female media psychologist who developed the   theory of 'the Male Gaze'. This idea suggests that all media products are created to convey the world through a male's eyes. For this reason, she believed that magazines were designed primarily to be appealing to men. In relation to this, my magazine front cover features many images of females which would appeal to men's desires. The fact that my magazine is a 'girls special' would also make the magazine appealing as they would be intrigued to read about these women. In contrast, the magazine would appeal to women due to the idea that there is a 'girls society' in which all girls stick together - they will be interested to read about other girls in order to find out more about their life, not because they are appealing. 

Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 1

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FINAL PRODUCTION

32. Working Progress...

This is my working progress of my front cover and contents page. Any comments on alterations and improvements would be hugely appreciated!

31. Photos

As I am sticking with the scrapbook theme for my magazine, I decided that the images I choose must have sentimental value, rather than just being from a 'posey photoshoot'. For this reason, I have selected a number of personal images from the past which I feel would work well within the magazine:

These images are ones which I believe would be suitable for the front cover. The third picture is my personal favourite, as the colouring is effective and the spacing around it would allow for a lot of creativity regarding the layout. The only problem is that my main feature is supposed to be about a girl band with two members, therefore the first picture is more appropriate. I will, however, try both these images in order to see which works best before making a final decision.

The following are images which I plan to include in my double page spread. Because of the scrapbook theme, I would like to have one side of the page completely dedicated to the images in order to create a collage of 'band memories', with the interview on the opposite page.

30. Font Styles

After looking again at my draft front cover I have come to the conclusion that a thin, handwritten font does not work particularly well. The majority of music magazines use a bold font. This has become a typical convention, so I aim to follow this in my own work. The following fonts are possibilities to use for my front cover: 



                                        - "BadaBoom BB"


- "Indie BB"


- "Jr!hand"


- "Marker Felt"


- "dearJoe 5 CASUAL"


- "Janda Manatee Solid"


- "Brushed"


- "Crimewave BB"






I think the font "Brushed" has the potential to work very well, as it is bold therefore it will work well as a masthead, and also the laid-back style of it fits in with my idea of a scrapbook theme.  

29. Risk Assessment

Now that I have completed my draft magazine front cover, contents and double page spread I can begin creating my final piece. 
Before I do this I need to consider specific details such as taking photos and the risks this can bring about:


Risk Assessment 

28. Decisions for my magazine

Magazine name : Indie Star

Genre : Indie

Angle :  Reminiscing memories - scrapbook style

Front cover 

Main image : female band - two artists (Lipstick & Lighters) --> faded colours, portrait orientation

Colour scheme : Masthead - red, boosts - white/black/red

Tagline : feel to follow or learn to fly... 


Boosts : " 'It was a man's world. We've changed all that.'  Lipstick & Lighters in their first even interview" , "Latitude Festival - we bet you didn't know", "Foster the People - their descent into Britain", "Q&A with the Maccabees", "Hipster - is this the new fashion?"

Contents page 


Scrapbook background,
blocked to one side,
part of the page dedicated to latitude festival,
small polaroid image of band with caption, 
barcode/QR code,
letter from the editor (?)

Double page spread


Q&A with main band (Lipstick & Lighters), 
scrapbook background, 
three images - whole band + two individual shots (polaroid style), 
small icon of lips as the band logo

27. Design Philosophy

After creating my drafts of the front cover, contents and double page spread of my music magazine I have come to various conclusions about the design of my final piece:


- I would like to create an original design, while still following a number of conventions, as this will allow me to be creative while still clearly representing a music magazine 
- Fairly minimalistic, sticking with the 'scrapbook' theme
- Main image on the front cover will be two females (needs to be portrait orientated), and another photo of them both for DPS as well as individual shots to be used
- Handwritten fonts used throughout, with the exception of boosts on front page and masthead of DPS
- Fairly pale colours used, with dark red as the main font colour 

26. Draft Double Page Spread

25. Draft Contents Page

24. Draft Front Cover

Before creating my magazine I needed to do a draft to finalise design features and ideas - these are my three attempts:

23. Development of Ideas

After having a look through a book called 'Magazine Covers' by David Crowley, it has provided some inspiration for my magazine. 


I have decided I definitely do not want my magazine design to be too mainstream; I would like to adapt the conventions to create an individual style, which would be emulated in future publications of the magazine. 


Because the music and lyrics within the genre of Indie is often about recalling memories, I would like the inside pages of my magazine to represent a scrapbook, in which polaroid images have been taped in, in a scruffy, relaxed manner. This will provide the reader with a sense of familiarity, nostalgia and emotional release. 

22. Uses and Gratification

Theorists suggest that every magazine follows the following reasons for media uses so as to appeal to their target audience:


Information
- finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world
- seeking advice on practical matters or opinions and decision choices
- satisfying curiosity and general interest
learning/self-education
- gaining a sense of security through knowledge


Personal Identity
- finding reinforcement for personal values
- finding models of behavior 
- identifying with valued others in the media
- gaining insight into oneself


Integration and Social Interaction 
- gaining insight into the circumstances of others; social empathy
- identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging
- finding a basis for conversation and social interaction
- having a substitute for real-life companionship
- helping to carry out social roles
-enabling one to connect with family, friends and society 


Entertainment
- escaping, or being diverted, from problems
- relaxing
- getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment
- filling time
- emotional release
- erotic/sexual arousal


A lot of these apply specifically to music magazines, for example finding out about relevant events (gigs, release dates), finding models of behavior (role models, favourite artists), filling time and gaining cultural enjoyment. 


Some can even be found on the front cover, the first point of contact with the target audience. The front cover will be the main reason for sale, as it details content which should be of interest, therefore it must demonstrate persuasive reasons. The highlighted features are the ones which I believe can be found on the front cover of 'NME'. 

21. Target Audience

20. Ideas for my magazine

After considering different styles for my magazine, and realising that I need a design style that appeals to a wide market, I have decided upon a vintage style. This will include design features such as polaroid images in either black and white or sepia colours, with a vintage feel to it. This will widen my target audience, as people may feel a sense of nostalgia and familiarity when looking at the 'old-fashioned' images, and if the content is less narrowcast this should also help to reduce the 'niche' stereotype.

With this idea in mind, I searched for images within my genre which would follow this - 

All of these images present very similar ideas; a relaxed, contented style which suggests that past times were better than modern times. 

After considering this angle for my music magazine, I decided to analyse various album covers within the genre of Indie, which would allow me to gain an insight into what to include within the magazine, as well as potentially gather ideas for my own photos which will be featured on the cover as well as in the articles inside. 

 Each of these album covers conform to the general stereotypes of what would be expected of Indie music and artists; they include cool, calm colours (mostly brown, yellow and black) which also have a natural feel, obscure images which relate to the 'individuality' of the artists and fans, and a relaxed art style which presents the idea of 'doodling', as people do when they are relaxed.

Personally, my favourite of these album covers is 'The Shins' as the image suggests another world - this may connote that their music can be an escape form the stresses of this world, into a more uplifting a cheery place.