Target Audience Research

For my magazine, I was thinking about making my magazine £2.50 but with the feedback I got, I may average it out to £2.00 because the feedback I got was in the £2.00 mark so I think I will change that.
Also, they said that they would want a Q&A in a music magazine but they also would prefer a lot of images rather than one main image on the Double Page Spread.  So, I was thinking that I could still create a music events page and leave out the Q&A but in the descriptions about the bands/artists I may put in a little bit of speech from a band member/the artist talking about their album or the event that they are in and what people will expect from it.
They all said that they would want the image of the band/artist on the front cover because that would attract them more to buying it.  I already had this idea for my magazine because on a music magazine, you almost always have an image of the band/artist on the front cover.
Also, they said they would want a bold and short Masthead to attract them to read it because they didn't want a long Masthead because it would look boring and too big for the front cover.  They said that you need a bold and snappy Masthead to attract the reader to buy a music magazine.  I was already going to do this idea because I was thinking about making my Masthead "Festival" so the audience knew exactly what the magazine would be about before reading it and also it's short which appeals to my target audience.

Double Page Spread Flat Plan

Rationale

Colour Usage: For colour, I want it still to have the earthy colours because I want this theme shown throughout the magazine.

Image Usage: For the images, I want two main images, one on the left side and the other on the right side. I want this because it will be two artist's stories but they will both be performing in the new Autumn event called "The Harvest Moon Festival".  I want two different artists because it will get the audience to focus on them and also, if they go to the event, they will look out for these two artists.

Text Usage: For the text, I want there to be text underneath the images and I want the title to be across the top.  The text underneath will be about each artist and maybe have a little interview with them talking about how they started out and how they became to be performing at this event.

Layout and Font: For the layout and font, I want it to still be simple like the front cover and the contents page, but there will be more images and more text.  This will be the main article in the magazine so it has to have the most information on it.

Contents Page Flat Plan

Rationale

Colour Usage: For colour, I will be using Autumn colours because my magazine is going to be based around music events in Autumn so I want the Autumn theme to come through by using earthy colours.

Image Usage: I will be using one image, just like the front cover, because it will show the audience what the magazine is about but I want them to be more focused on the text next to the image because that is where the different articles will be.  I want to use one image because I want to keep the magazine simple because it is regional and I think it will be more effective that way.

Text Usage: For the text, I want there to be more text on the contents page than there is on the front cover because the contents page should have enough information on it to direct the reader to the different stories.

Layout and Font: For the layout and font, I want the text to be on the left side and the image on the right side.  I want this so the reader can clearly see the text and so it isn't confusing for them to find the articles.  For the font, I want to have the mast head the same as the front cover but for the actual text, I want to have it so the audience can clearly see it but I don't want it too big because I won't be able to fit all of the text on the contents page.

Front Cover Flatplan

Rationale

Colour Usage: For the colour, I want my model to be holding some leaves or holding one over her eye because it will clearly get across to the audience what the magazine theme is and also, with the text, what type of magazine it is.  I want earthy colours to be the main colours on the magazine.

Image Usage: For the image, I want there to be one image which will be the dominant image.  I want this because I want to keep the magazine simple and also the main image will fill the whole page and I wouldn't need any other images on there.  I think that one image will be effective enough because it will get across to the audience the theme and also the music theme to the magazine is it will be clear as well as having the text one the cover.

Text Usage: For the text, I want there to be minimal text because I want my magazine to be simple be effective enough so the audience want to read it.

Layout and Font:  For the layout and font, I want the text mainly on the left side of the page maybe even have the masthead on the left of the page.  I want this because there won't be a lot of text on the page anyway but I want the audience to clearly see the text and clearly see the main image and by setting it out like this, it will all be clearly seen.  For the font, I want the masthead to be big and bold so the reader can see what the magazine is called and I want it to be one of the main things that the reader sees as well as the main image.

Proposal Form

AS Coursework Proposal Table

Type of Magazine (fashion, music, etc)	My magazine genre is going to be music/music events magazine focusing on music that is going on in the North East.
Name of Magazine	The name of my magazine is going to be ‘Festival’ because my magazine is going to have an Autumn theme and I think it would be good to advertise events that are taking place in Autumn.
Audience (male/female)	The target audience of my magazine is both male and female because music is enjoyed by all genders.
Audience (attitudes and interests)	The interests of my audience is going out to festivals and gigs and also listening to new and upcoming music, which is perfect of my magazine.
Outlet (where it can be bought from?)	It can be purchased from any music studio and any colleges and universities. This is so my target audience are able to find it easily.
Necessary Information	The necessary information will include the issue number, the barcode, the date and the price of the magazine.  My issue number will be number 20 so it isn’t the first issue of it and it would attract the audience more.  The price of my magazine will be £1.00 because it is a regional magazine and it will mainly be students buying it so I want it to be cheap so they are more likely to buy it.
Selling Point	The selling point of my magazine will be the new event featured inside.  It will be advertising this events so people can go out and have fun in the Autumn season even when it's cold.  Festivals don't have to just be in Summer.
Theme (article)	The theme of my magazine is based around Autumn because I think the Autumn colours would look good and also the Autumn theme will add a warmness to the magazine.
Images Front Cover	The main image on the front cover will be of a girl and I will take the photo from her shoulders,up.  I want her hair to fill the page and also I want to take it outside near trees so it still has that Autumn theme on the cover. Also, I want my model to be either holding a pile of leaves in her hands or having some in her hair of having her hold a single leaf over her eye and pulling a shocked facial expression.  I want this because I think it will add a fun look to the cover, which will entice the audience to buy the magazine.
Images Inside	The images inside the magazine will be of two people, one on each page.  I want the images to be taken outside near trees and a bandstand so it expresses the music theme and also add to the Autumn theme.  There will obviously be leaves scattered around, adding a burst of colour to the double page spread.

Deconstructions of Billboards

Deconstruction of Vibe Magazine

Time Management Post (September)

How I will make my presentation Regional

These are some of the ideas of how I will make my magazine regional.

Pitch Feedback

This is the feedback I got from my class mates about my pitch.  We went around the class room looking at each others pitches and we then wrote down feedback about what we thought was good and one thing we thought they could improve or work on.  most people said that my pitch was informative and had a lot of detail. However, they also said that I needed to talk about the colour scheme more and provide images on the target audience.   

Pitch

Deconstruction of The Crack Magazine

Deconstruction of SPARK Magazine

AS Reflection

What could I have improved on the front cover?

I could have spent more time working on it to make it better and I could have used more magazines to take inspiration from. I feel that the text on the cover isn't typical of a magazine and that I should have found a font that went with the genre of magazine that I was creating. I was told that the brick wall in the image wasn't good but I tried to take it out and edit it but it didn't look right either; i should have spent more time working on the front cover to make it better and I should have experimented more with it.

What did you struggle with on the front cover?

I struggled with trying to finish the front cover on time and I also struggled with trying to make it look as professional as possible. I found using photoshop hard because I had never used it before and I feel that the lack of knowledge of photoshop let me down when creating my magazine. I should have played around with photoshop first so I could become better at using it.

What will you do better next time?

I will make sure to get work done on time and make sure that I spend more time working on it to make it look the best that I can. I will make sure I do everything right and that I should experiment more with the different softwares and programs that I have to use. I will also make sure that I research more into magazines and how they are created so I can make mine look as professional as possible.



What could I improve on the contents page?

I could have improved on the way I set out my text and I could have used different colours instead of red to make it stand out more and look more appealing to the audience. I should have wrote more underneath the articles so they audience knew what was in them. Also I should have made my text smaller so I could fit more information on the page and that would have helped me to gain more marks.

What did you struggle with on the contents page?

I struggled with trying to make it look like a current magazine and also trying to set everything out so it was easier to read.I didn't know how to set it out at first and I think that took a lot of time away from me actually creating it. I should have used my time wisely so I had enough time when it came to the contents page.

What will you do better next time?

I will make sure that I make to design of the contents page better by looking at examples of past students work and also look at current magazines that I could take inspiration from to make it look as professional as possible. I will make sure that I spend more time on it than I did and that I should plan out how I want it and always ask for feedback so I can achieve my goals.




What could I have improved on the double page spread?

I could have made to pull quote look a little better by trying out different techniques on it to see what would look the best and I also could have spent more time with the actual article itself by maybe changing the colour of the question and answers or changing the way I set out the images.I should have put more colour on the double page because it looks quite dark and it wouldn't appeal to a big audience.

What did you struggle with on the double page spread?

I struggled with trying to get all of the text on the page and make it big enough for the reader to see.  Also, I could have tested different techniques out to see what would look better for the actual article. I struggled with trying to set out the photos next to the text because they kept overlapping each other and I spent a lot of time trying to fix it.

What will you do better next time?

I will spend most of my time on my double page spread to make it look a lot better and also I will make it look more vibrant and interesting to the audience and try and make it look a lot more like a professional magazine.I will make sure that I concentrate on how to set out images and text next to each other if I do that again because it took up a lot of my time trying to get it right which probably affected my marks.