How I have progressed from my preliminary task to my full product?

The two designs are obviously very different, they are aimed at a completely separate audience and for a very different purpose. Whilst they are very varied in their purpose and audience, you can see by just looking at the two pages from a distance that my main task is much more striking and eye catching than they preliminary task. So it is clear to say I am much happier with my main task when comparing it to my preliminary. It seemed so long ago that we started working on our preliminary task and I have learnt a great deal about a number of different things and now am a lot more confident and knowledgeable about magazine design.


Reflecting on my preliminary task I can see that I didn't use the space around the image as well as I could. There are 4 sell lines and they are balanced on either side of the page, which is something I established also when creating my music magazine. However it is clear the colour scheme was not chosen extremely well in my preliminary task. The red, green and grey colours may have linked with the school logo, but they didn't contrast each other enough to grab the attention of an audience and therefore this does not immediately draw you in as an audience. When then comparing this with the main task I can easily say that I have learnt such a great amount about conventions and layouts of magazines to create the best impression.


My main task is immediately eye catching due to the contrasts of the colours; I established this colour scheme as it isn't gender specific and conventionally existing music magazines used a 4 part colour scheme with two colour that contrasted. This is something I have definitely reflected in my final product. There is a clear main headline that could also be considered as a burst, this is something that my preliminary task failed to achieve. I can see that the quality of the photo in a lot better in my main task, the lighting is a lot more natural.

With my contents page for my preliminary task I was and still am quite happy with the quality of the page. I am happy with it mainly because considering all the factors that I have now improved upon, the contents page is still quite good and has a clear structure. Obviously I am much happier again with my main task, but I
believe that for the conventions I had established and knew at that time compared to now, I am proud of it.


The title of the school magazine is much less eyecatching, it is in a dull red and the font is quite simple and uninteresting. The preliminary task is similar to the main task contents page as the  colour scheme from the front cover is used again in the contents page and as I have already said the colours of the preliminary task are very dull and not as bold as the main task. Looking at the prelim task contents page I believe that there may be too much text on the page, although it is structured well, there need not be that much writing. I have learnt since my preliminary task that imagery is important and can tell a lot more about the contents. As you can see the main task has much more imagery and less text, this is something I noticed was conventional to contents pages as the images draw the attention of the audience more successfully than text. In addition on the main task I varied the size of the images to represent stories that would interest the target audience the most.




I have learnt a great deal about conventions and the importance of particular features throughout the magazine since the preliminary task. I was able to learn this and put this in practice because of the extensive research I completed into existing music magazines for example textual analysis. I didn't undergo as much research for my school magazine as I did with my main task, this shows that using research and analysis you can create a better and more professional magazine. This lack of research may have been down to the shorter length of time I had for the preliminary task.
The improvements between the two tasks are also due to my improved knowledge about the technology and editing software I used. I used the same sofware (Adobe Photoshop Elements 7) for both tasks, however for the music magazine I had learnt a lot about the software and was much more comfortable using it than in my preliminary task, as this was one of the first times I had used it.
Not only is the importance of research a reson for the difference in tasks. For my main task I was constantly comparing my drafts of the front cover, contents page and double page spread with those of existing magazines, Doing this allowed me to develop and change features on my pages. This is something I felt I couldn't really do in my preliminary task as there were less school magazine available for me to compare it with.
Reflecting on the preliminary task, as there was less time to complete this I was unable to complete several drafts of the pages, which is something I could do in my music magazine. This enabled me to compare with existing magazine as previously said, but it also allowed me to recieve target audience feedback on the pages and I could therefore develop the different pages. This market research was another important factor to the improvement of the magazine.


Overall I have more detailed in depth knowledge about different factors. For example I know much more about media institutes and how eachy magazine represent ideologies of that genre, implicitly or explicitly. We did not complete a double page spread for the preliminary task therefore I do not have an exact comparison between the main task and the prelim task for this. Although I can tell you that all the same things would apply for the reasoning for improvements. I have learnt that in the magazine industry there is a great deal of work that goes into each edition. It has taken me months to research into conventions and to create a final product that is as professional as possible, however I do realise that existing music magazine companies already recognise the conventions therefore not needing to research these. Also I had to complete and produce the magazine all by myself whilst there are a great deal of people working with and for these companies. 

What have I learnt about technology during my construction process?

What I Have Learnt About Technology

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How does my magazine attract or address my audience?

How did I attract and address my audience? on Prezi

Who would my audience be?

Social Group 

As my target audience are most likely going to be students, therefore they are in a fairly low social group. Due to the fact that some of them won't be earning money, and others will be at university. Obviously some of them will be in the middle or higher class, but it is likely that this will be small in comparison to the majority of the target audience. However the audience will most likely be from a family that is in a middle class, this is because the content and language of the magazine will attracts this audience.

Age

The age of the audience for my music magazine would be 16-25 years old. This magazine is for a young adult audience and as I previously said they will most likely be in education, I believe this because generally the acoustic and independent genre typically interest a older teenager/young adult. Looking at research and asking people between this age group; those that are interested in this style of music are in university, I think it's because they are able to go to see gigs. this  age group is therefore one that I believe works well with my magazine as they are attending sixth form or college and then going on to university.

Gender

Although when I first began and looked at my target audience I wanted it to not be gender specific. However I don't think that now, looking at my final product, it is unbiased toward either gender. In my opinion it leans towards more of a female audience. This is something I could therefore improve upon because looking at the National Readership Survey it show that more men buy music magazine like 'Q', 'NME' and 'Kerrang!' However it could therefore work in my favour as my product could be a music magazine that attracts more females than males, making it more successful.

Ethnicity

The ethnicity of audience for my music magazine is not specific, as any ethnicity could read it and not feel excluded. However looking at the typical person that listens to the genre, I would say generally they are of British origin, as are the artists of this genre (and my magazine). This is because it is a very British sound, like RnB is linked with USA, my genre seems to be British. So although the ethnicity of my audience does not seem important, it appears it was when knowing what images to include in the magazine.

Lifestyle

As I previously said, my audience are most likely to be in higher education. This highly effects their lifestyle, because of attending an university, they will probably be quite used to the night life and going to parties. Also they may have the time at weekends and evenings to attend music gigs in the student union or in clubs/bars around. This means they will be very interested in their music and not so much about celebrity gossip and they will like music from quite unknown artists that they would have seen at a gig.

Also, in addition to this a music impresarios could also be within the audience of a magazine. These are people who organise and maybe even fund music events. An example of this type of person would be Simon Cowell and Andrew Lloyd Webber. These may be looking at my magazine in order to find new artists for them to sign, and as I have already said acoustic may be increasing in popularity but there are not a great deal of artists that are signed to particular labels. Due to this the music companies may therefore be looking for these artists to fill the gap in their markets.

Overall this is the typical audience of my music magazine, however clearly there are going to be other people outside the general readership looking at the magazine, these people can be referred to as penumbra. These people will be reading the magazine because like in ideologies from 'Blumler and Brown' and 'McQuail' they could be reading it to fill time or as a diversion. Also the music impresarios are example of these penumbra.

What media institute would distribute my magazine?

Looking at my magazine to other magazine on the market, it is quite unique whilst still holding most of the conventions of a magazine like NME because of the Indie genre.


I would say a media institute like IPC Media who distribute NME might distribute my magazine. I think this because historically NME was quite edgy and unique and it has developed into a quite mainstream magazine. This shows that they are willing to take a risk with their products therefore I would like to think because my magazine is quite unique it might work well if IPC media were to distribute it. However it is slightly different to there usually publications, this is something that needs considering as the only other acoustic magazine is about acoustic guitars mainly. Although IPC media do seem to have the edge of the independent and unusual artists featured in it.

Another institute who may distribute my magazine might be Bauer Media Group because they are distributors of both Q and Kerrang which are both very different styles of music. Also it seems to be behind a number of music channels like 4music and The Box. Therefore it appears they are very interested in music and as acoustic and indie artists are becoming quite popular with my target audience then they might be willing to distribute the magazine, it provides another kind of genre in their collection. Also they are successful in most or even all the magazines they distribute, and obviously you should strive to make it as effective and popular as possible.





Both IPC Media and Bauer Media are media conglomerates, this could mean that the magazine is greatly successful however it would also have the negative views, such as the magazine could possibly be adapted over a period of time to create a more mainstream magazine. I think that this magazine would work well with either of these distributors because of the rising success of the genre; this will then make it a magazine that would hopefully grow in popularity. I believe that looking at the history of the two different magazines that Bauer Media Group may be more successful is distributing my magazine.  I believe that they would be better as they have a music magazine for a maturer audience featuring a wide variety of artists, a rock metal magazine and it will then allow them to try a different direction with a music genre that is becoming more popular.



When looking past which distributor would work best with my magazine, my magazine would need to be sold in a number of different retailer in order for it to gain success. I believe supermarkets are an important place for my magazine to be sold as they have a large number of customers everyday and would therefore allow them to be a great success. Also a large variety of music magazines are sold in places like Tesco from 'Top of the Pops' to 'Kerrang!', this suggests that a wide group of people, with a variety of musical interests visit these supermarkets.
Another retailer that may also be suitable to distribute my magazine is WHSmith, they also have a very wide variety of very different magazines. Similar to the supermarkets.

How does my magazine represent particular social groups?

How my Media Product Represents Social Groups? on Prezi

How do media products use, develop or challenge conventions of existing magazines?

Used, Develop and Challenged Conventions of my Media Product

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Final Pages for my Magazine

Change to the Final Draft

Initially I was planning on using my fourth draft as my final front cover with the image added onto the front cover. However when I decided to try this out, the image I was going to use of another model I had taken did not look as good as I had hoped. Therefore I changed from a image to an eye-catching burst to hopefully grab the attention of the audience. Also the black font of the sell lines were something people said they struggled to read when I asked my target audience.

Fourth Draft of Front Cover

Third Draft of Double Page Spread

Third Draft of Contents Page

This contents page I am quite happy with therefore there are slight adjustments I am going to make (for example the positioning of the boxes and the border around the page) these will hopefully make it look more professional.

Third Draft of Front Cover

This has a 3 part colour schemes with orange, black and white. I would prefer to include one other colour on the front cover to contrast the orange, a colour like blue will probably work because it contrasts but does still work.  Also some of the sell lines are hard to read as the black writing blends into the background, therefore I may need to either change the positioning of these or changing the colour of the font. Another thing I would change is that the bottom of the page has nothing there and it is all positioned towards the top of the page. I do like the font of the title because whilst it is quite simple, it still has an edge that works with the genre of indie acoustic artists. However this does not have a tag line which is again something that is conventional therefore I will look to include in the final front cover.

Different Font Styles for My Title

 1.

 2.

 3.

 4.

 5.

 6.

Out of these fonts, I asked people which font they believed was the most suitable to the genre of the magazine. Font 2, 4 and 6 came back with the most results with people saying they fitted with the acoustic whilst also having a connotation of indie/ different. Out of these three I choose to use 6 as I personally believe it did this the best.

Second Draft of Double Page Spread

Second Draft of Contents Page

Second Draft of Front Cover

My second draft of my front cover is how I first imagined my music magazine to look like, however comparing this to a real music magazine I have now decided on a few things I would change. For example I would keep the original image without cutting out the background and although the model is holding a guitar it is covered by a main headline therefore not making it clear to the audience immediately that it is a music magazine. I like the menu bar along the bottom of the page as it keeps the whole page even and the sell lines are quite equally spread out. The title of the magazine links with the music theme however it is quite hard to read from a distance, and will struggle to attract a clear audience.

First Draft of Contents Page

David Carson

In today's lesson we looked at the David Carson and how he influenced the cover designs of music magazines. He is an American Graphic Designer and is most commonly known for his innovative magazine designs. He became art director of Ray Gun.

I believe although his designs are extremely creative and unusual, they are too different that of conventional magazines to work successfully. The designs are aesthetically pleasing however do not convey a particular house style therefore making it difficult to establish and maintain an audience.

Questionnaire

Music magazine questionnaire

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Focus Group of target audience

Ask questions to different age groups in the area of my target audience

First Draft of Double Page Spread

This is the first draft of my double page spread for my music magazine.

In this there is a very clear and basic colour scheme throughout the text.

First Draft of Front Cover

This is the first draft of my music magazine front cover.

There are many things I could improve on for my final front cover. Firstly the main image needs to represent the genre and theme of the magazine, this image does not fully encapsulate the genre of my magazine. To do this I could ask the model to change her clothing and appearance to look like a typical acoustic artist., also I would like to take more photos of a different model holding a guitar. Also the model needs to be looking at the camera, in order to look like they are directly addressing the audience, I have noticed this is very conventional to most magazines therefore in my next draft I am hoping to do this.
Also with this first draft there is not a clear and eye catching colour scheme; this is something that is conventional to the front cover of a music magazine and generally links to the house style of the magazine. For example the title would be the same colour and font for every issue. Another thing I would like to change about this front cover is that the image should be central. I thought I would try and place the image to the side of the magazine instead of central, but looking at my first draft I would prefer this to be central for my next draft.
The title and the font are both still being developed as I ask and explore what my target audience would want from this magazine. So before I finish my next draft I would hope to have established a clear title that works with the genre and hints at it.

Editing Photos

The photos I have taken are quite simple and conventional. However I believe to make this more conventional I would look into editing my images, I am planning on using Adobe Photoshop which I have on my laptop to alter the tones and contrast of the images. I have used Adobe Photoshop now several times and am therefore comfortable using this software.

Photos For My Magazine

These are all the photos I took for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. Some of them are more suitable than others.

Uses and Gratifications

This theory assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting media into their own lives it also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications.

After looking at Blumler and Brown theories I believe that all four of their factors are relevant to a music magazine. These four are:

• Diversion, which is something to do to escape from reality/problems. This is the case for  most people reading a music magazine as they are able to relax and read about other peoples life to either make them feel better or take their mind off their problems. 
• Personal Relationships; this is using media to discuss with your friends therefore acting as a substitute for 'real contact'. The music magazine we have either read and used to gather information is then used to base a conversation with friends. Also if you were to be reading a music magazine you directly talk about the magazine and the content with friends.
• Personal Identity is a way of defining yourself by the media texts you read and you build the sense of self. 
• Surveillance is when you find out about the world through media texts.

Another theory we looked at was the McQuail theory. 

• Find out about events and conditions in society this is generally why some people will read a music magazine as it informs them about gigs and other events.
• Satisfying curiosity which is one very similar to finding out about event. This is very obviously the case for lots of people who read a music magazine, in today's society a lot of people are nosy and want to find out about how other people are living etc. So they will read a magazine or a particular article to satisfy their curiosity. 
• Self education, occasionally this is why some people will read a magazine, however this is not always the case as most music magazines are read so people can find out gossip. Some music magazines focus on finding out about getting into the music industry however these are minimal. 
• Reinforcement for personal values
• Finding models of behaviour is largely apparent for some people when buying a music magazines. If they look up to the model on the front cover then they are going to buy the magazine to read the article about them. It makes them feel as though they are finding out more and more about this person making them more aspirational to them. 
• Identify and find a sense of belonging, I believe this is quite important to why people will by a music magazine. They are reading a magazine that interests them and the journalists and article authors are interested in the same sort of things, therefore making them feel as though they fit into a group of people.
• Conversational and social interaction is the case for a lot of magazines, and is for music magazines if their friends are interested in the same music as their friends. If you see an article or learn something about your favourite artist or your role model then you will probably share this information with your friends making it a basis to a conversation.  
• Escaping from problems is sometimes why people will read music magazines. They are reading about other people and maybe these articles will make them feel better about themselves or make them stop thinking about their personal issues.
• Relaxing is definitely a reason many people will read a magazine, they are using the magazine in a similar way to those trying to escape from problems. 
• Filling time would be a reason many people may pick up the magazine to read as even if they haven't brought it, it may be sitting around and they may pick it up to read when bored.
• Physical attraction is what most magazines will use to get people to buy a certain magazine. In this way it is similar to when people find models of behavior. People will read a magazine because they are attracted to the people in the magazine.

Looking at all these theories and ideas I have decided a few things about how my magazine should interest people and what the content should be like. For example if people are using the magazine as a release from stress and their own problems I should make the content quite light hearted. Also if people are only reading my magazine to fill time I must therefore make the articles quite interesting and inviting to try and attract them to read them as oppose to just flicking through the magazine. Although my magazine is for a genre that is quite low key and unheard of, I still need to include existing artists as those are the people that the audience will want to read about and look up to. 

Layouts for my Front Cover

In order to keep my target audience in mind, I have asked them about their opinions of different layouts for my front cover. This powerpoint shows some of the feedback I got and I have therefore created some drafts for my front cover using the different layout to see which looks more professional. Different Layout for Front Cover

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Risk Assessment & Shooting Schedule

I considered a number of things before I took my photos for my magazine. I established risks of the locations I had to shoot at for both me and the model and I organised a schedule to stick to closely to take the photos. Although I was only taking a few photos and was not on location all day I still had to consider and look into these things.
The risk assessment and shooting schedule may not have been as important for the photos I took, they would be important to create in the future if I were to continue onto study media at a higher level.
So for this particular task I did not write down a risk assessment; but as I have already mentioned I considered things like, carrying props between different backgrounds, if it were to be raining the surface may be slippery so I ensured the model and myself were wearing suitable footwear and was careful when walking.
Also I established things I wanted to achieve on the photoshoot, with ideas about what to capture. This meant I had written something similar to a shooting schedule.

Recce Photos

As my chosen genre is acoustic/indie, I have looked at artists of this genre typical photo shoots and also looked at some of their music videos to see how the background of the images or video helps to convey a certain ideology. Looking into these I have realised that typically they involve either a warn down or aged background, or the countryside. This then allowed me to visit some possible locations for my magazine photographs.

Possible backgrounds for photos

Although this is a plain and simple background it could work to represent the ideology of the genre of music. This background would be more conventional for an article about an indie band or artist as oppose to an acoustic artist. Therefore if my article was focusing on indie then this is a more suitable backgrounds than others photos I have taken. This would work because it is slightly damaged and scratched which fits into the ideology that indie artists are quite laid back and don't want to have a slick, perfect appearance. The second image has a very similar background to the first image, conveying all they same/similar representations but in this image the wood could be used as a seat. This would then make it suitable for an acoustic artist because they could sit on the wood with their guitar.















This would not work as just a background to the image in my opinion the model would need to be either sitting on the front of the caravan or the step of the caravan. This could work for the acoustic genre as camping links with the countryside and  the country is what is typically thought of when people think of acoustic artists. The two different caravans could both be incorporated into the picture in a similar way, but when the photo is completed they will convey separate things. The first caravan is a lot cleaner and more liveable than the second so would convey more ideologies of an acoustic artist. However the second caravan is more damaged which would give an unusual backdrop to a photo but could work in a way that indie artists are different and bring something different to the music world.

These 3 images would be what you would typically expect in a folk or country music magazine as oppose to an indie magazine. However most folk singers fall into the acoustic genre, meaning that if the article was about an acoustic folk singer these backgrounds could be successful. The horses add to the countryside stereotype, but would be difficult to photograph as they would constantly be moving around. However the stable could work as a background to the images. With the image of the fence, the model could be sat on the fence looking into the camera or into the distance.

All of these images, like many of the others create the countryside theme and ideology of the acoustic genre. The stream in the background helps to create this and the model could sit on the bench, in the tree or stand near the bank. This is not as suitable for the indie genre though as there is nothing individual about this place and it would create ideologies of acoustic rather than indie music.
The third one of these images could be too busy to have as a main image on an article as the model would appear very small in the shot in comparison to the tree.

This background would be much more suitable to a more indie band as they would fit into the dirty and imperfect nature of the steps. This would be very easy to model someone one, however it would look better if it was a band being photographed as they would fill the height of the steps.

My Design Philosophy

I need to decide what I would like to include in my magazine and what layout I would like from my magazine.
The four F's:

• Formula-the articles and features that go in magazines, they should remain the same format every month. This is not something I will be able to explicitly apply to my magazine as I will only be creating one edition of it, but this will be something I will consider depending on what type of the articles I would like to include.
• Format -the design and layout of the magazine and the general appearance. This is something I will definitely need to look at and think about when designing the magazine, and is something I will begin to explore in this post. 
• Frame- the margins and gutters, although this doesn't seem important, it does help with the general layout of the magazine and make it look professional.
• Function- what is the magazine for? this must me made clear.

Not only do I need to look at the Four F's I also need to look at:

• Retro vs. Modern-modern is my preferred design, however retro design creates quite a different and interesting appearance
• Minimal vs. Cluttered design-I would definitely say I prefer a minimal design, and this would work best with my style of magazine. Cluttered designs appear to work for pop artists.
• Balance- It it important in my opinion for the balance to be even so that sell lines are positioned around a main image. However I am willing to look at different layouts and see how they work with my genre,
• Conventional vs. original- Although some designs like Shindig! look quite eye catching and original, for my coursework I think it is important to be conventional. But I will look into developing some conventions. 
• Use of Colour- All the colours used in the magazine need to go with one another, however also need to contrast so that sell lines and other features stand out and are eye catching.  
• Consistency vs. inconsistency-It is extremely important to be consistent throughout my magazine, if they style or overall representations change the reader will be confused and the magazine wouldn't ne as successful. 
• Effect of genre/ideology on design

Decisions about my music magazine

After looking at different music magazines and researching topics and ideologies related to different genres of music, I have decided to create a magazine that would feature acoustic or indie artists. This magazine will be based on designs and structures of NME and Q. My target audience will be people of a similar age 16-24 this is because they will relate to some of the people in the magazine. The target market will be smaller than these larger magazines like NME and Q because it focuses on two particular genres whilst they have a broader range.

I would like my front cover to be quite simple and sophisticated whilst still attracting the attention of the audience. Due to wanting a basic and not too overcrowded cover I will be using one person as my model as oppose to a group/band and it must be a plain background to draw attention to the sell lines. Or the background must be quite simple as to not distract the audience. The title of my magazine needs to be related to the genre and themes of the magazine, as it will be one of the firsts things that attract an audience. This title must be displayed in a way that can be used every issue of the magazine in order to establish a house style that the potential audience could relate to.

Examples of Double Page Spreads I Like

These two double page spreads are amongst the designs that seem to grab my attention and make me want to read them. I think that the title of the magazine looks good when it fills a large amount of the page, this may be even more than half of the page. Also these show that the image/images should fill a whole page of the double page spread.

Wide Audiences vs. Niche Audiences

When deciding on a target audience of a magazine, TV show or any other form of media, there are two different outcomes; a mass audience or a small audience. Mass audiences are for media forms that appeal to a large group of people and maybe have a broad subject/genre, whilst niche audiences are aimed at a small specific group of people which is significantly lower than the mass audiences.

Wide Audience: Case Study - Q

Q magazine is aimed at more mature music lovers and cover recent artists without forgetting the older ones. They cover a diverse range of music genres to interest all. This allows them to build up a larger audience as they are covering more of a variety meaning more people are likely to be interested in different parts of the magazine so buy it to read that part. The National Readership Survey website shows that 476,000 adults read Q magazine which in comparioson to other music magazines on the site, is the highest value. They must base their ideologies on all the music genres so the magazine is not so specific to a certain genre, but holds a sophisticated house style.

Their cover model ranges from celebrities from the pop world like Cheryl Cole and those from the indie scene like the Artic Monkeys.



Niche Audience- SHINDIG!

Shindig is a magazine aimed at people who love music from the 60's like mod, garage rock, psych and freakbeat. This is a clearly much smaller than the market of Q magazine and the audience have to source the magazine from a particular music shop or even the internetm, whereas magazines aimed at a mass audience can be found in supermarkets and most newsagents.Technology has allowed music magaines to be aimed at niche audiences because of desktop publishing software things can be created that look quite professional at a reasonably low cost. Also this allows a small group of people to be employed by a magazine as there is the use of technology that has developed. Due to SHINDIG! being aimed at a very small audience it allows the ideologies and representations of the few genres to be shown, so it will only ever attract those interested in that type of music.

The readership of every edition of this magazine is approximately 26,000 which in comparion to the 476,000 people that read Q, this is a very small market.