And thats it...

I'm really pleased with how my magazine came out.
So my coursework is all done and this is me saying So Long, Farewell.

Fin.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The main thing I have learnt along the way is to keep your pages looking professional. This often means stop editing, in the prelim task I had lots going on and the pages were too busy. I left more white space in my final pages and tried to use less dramatic editing. I thought about everything lots more second time round, especially audience. For example when I was taking my images I thought about how they would work on the page and what was in the background that would be distracting. I tried to use the blog more aswell, as it is useful for getting quick feedback from peers in the comments. After writing my treatment I also thought alot more about my audience. So what kind of images they would like, what article info they would want and which colours to use. I also wanted to make the pages seem more connected as my prelim pages didn't look like one magazine.

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

I have used several forms of technology whilst making my magazine...

• Photoshop
• Digital Camera
• iMovie
• Blogger
• Graphics Tablet

I used blogger for the last task and so my use of that has not really developed. I have also used photoshop and my camera before quite a lot and so knew how to use them well. I had never made anything like my pages before though and so it was different taking pictures for a magazine and designing the magazine. When taking my pictures I thought more about how they would work when they were actually on a page and how titles would fit around the image.

With photoshop I thought more about making it look professional and making the pages look linked and part of a whole magazine. I used a graphics tablet when I was photoshopping images. This was something I had never done before and it meant I could be really accurate, it also allowed me to do the Haydon Jones signature on my cover, something that lots of people commented on.

Audience

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My magazine is aimed at both genders, aged about 17-20. They are students becoming more independent. They will have a distinct and eclectic taste in music, particularly alternative music. They are also educated, artistic and adventurous.

How did you attract/address your audience?

The main way I attracted my audience is through the design of my cover. The design of the magazine would be very important to the target audience. I kept it quite clean and professional looking, very much like Q magazine. I used secondary tones of blue, this makes it look more expensive and less tacky, it also ties in with cool alternative music. In my audience feedback lots of people commented on how they liked the clean design of the pages. I used a retro font for my masthead, as this would be the sort of thing readers would like.

 I used green for the main cover line as it matched the image and would stand out more and grab attention. I used conventional coverlines such as competitions, top tens and exclusives.

 These interest viewers more than just artist titles. All the people in my photographs are alternative style people of the same age as my readership, so they will connect with similar people. As the magazine is aimed at both genders I tried to keep a mix of both in my magazine.

 I used a semi-formal register when writing the magazine. This is because the readers are intelligent and so want well written articles, though not boring or over complex. I avoided using "teenage" speech as often in text it does not translate well and ends up sounding cliche. One of the things lots of people commented on is that they liked how professional the pages looked, backing up that teenagers don't want dumbed down magazines or cheap tacky magazines.

Audience Feedback

This is some of the audience feedback I got on my final pages.

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

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is aimed at old teenagers/young adults who are artistic and interested in alternative music. For this reason I used young alternative artists in my images. Because the readers are interested in design my magazine is very design led and the photographs are quite artistic. This also means there are a lot of good quality images. Although there are a lot of images there is still a lot of text, for example in the double page spread, as the readers would be very interested in everything they read. Often teenage magazines don't use much text and talk in 'teenage' speech, I didn't do this as I think for my readers it is a false stereotype. Stereo readers would want intelligent articles, though not too factual and boring, I tried to do this. As the audience is older teens they may be working and have money to spend, so the magazine is a bit more expensive than a young magazine, but has enough content and quality to be worth it.

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

Music Magazines are mostly quite similar in how they are designed and the key ingredients.

This is a typical cover from Q. All magazines have a masthead, the name of the magazine, and generally looks the same in every issue. The masthead should be large and is normally at the top of the page, in this my masthead follows convention. Often mastheads are in a very bright colour, though mine is not. I decided not to use colour for my masthead as any colour bright enough would look too cheap and suits pop and rock more, so i used white as it still stands out but looks expensive. As with Q, many music magazines use red for their colour scheme, but I decided to use blue, so that it looks different to the rest and because it suits alternative music more. The background of the cover is normally an artist image, the artist is often looking out to connect with the audience, although I did not have my model looking at the camera the image is large enough it still strikes the viewer enough. The cover should have coverlines from the content inside, they grab attention and are interesting. Often coverlines use numbers, which i used, to make it seem important and full of content. Coverlines are also often artist names as they are easily recognised, they are also listed as can be seen on Q. I used this as again it makes the magazine seem very full.

Contents pages all look very similar, with the contents split into sections for easy use. The colour scheme from the cover if often used throughout the rest of the magazine, something I did in mine, with the use of blue. Often contents have more information about the magazine and small descriptions of the contents, I didn't include any of this as I wanted all my pages to look very clear and thought it ruined the design. So that the contents page doesn't look like a slab of text a lot of pictures from inside are used, something i did, though I created a collage of images and overlaid them with the contents title as these images are not as important. In my magazine I haven't included any page numbers, the magazine readers are very design  conscious as I said in my treatment, and the numbers did not fit the design. Also as many of the bands that will be featured are quite unknown readers will look through the magazine and will be interested in nearly all the content, rather than just flicking to several pages. In my audience feedback someone liked this idea and suggested it would work well as a web magazine, with links to the relevant pages. Having it as an online magazine would work well for the tech conscious audience aswell as the environmental climate.

Double page spreads are often quite simple in design, with about a half and half ratio of picture and text. I kept with this and made the image quite large, as readers are interested in photography etc. and so would want good size images. I included the artist name as many of the artists are unknown and so need introducing, this is the reason i also had solo pictures, so readers could recognise the band members. I kept with the Question and Answer format in my interview as it works well, I also highlighted the questions as many magazines do to make it easier to read. Double page spreads often have their own colour scheme matching the image etc. and this is something I think i should have done, but forgot to do. 

Overall I have stayed with the tried and tested formula for my magazine as it looks clean and professional. Though such a professional or sophisticated design for a teenage magazine is different to some magazines. I have tried to get the right balance between good design and a fun magazine for young adults.

My Final Pages

So my pages are all done, i'm really pleased with them. Now i've just gotta do my evaluation.

Double Page Spread

So this is my DPS, its pretty much done except for the picture of Tilly that i haven't done yet.
Any alterations? :)

I'm Still Going...

So even though I haven't posted in ageeees i'm still working on my pages. Here is some of it...

I need some more music-y pictures for my contents then I should be nearly done. 

This is the band picture for my Double page spread (The name is from Wikipedia :D )

Another Cover

So I changed the colours around a bit on my cover, not sure if I prefer one of these or my previous one, Comments?

Its a Cover!

So this is my cover, i'm pretty pleased with it but any ideas or things to change please tell me :)

Cover Photos

These are the pictures for my cover, not sure which I will use yet. I might edit the backgrounds, depending on what else I need on my cover, titles etc. The third one will be cropped to portrait.
Which do you like best for the cover?

Double Page Spread Designs

SO here are my DPS designs, pretty boring, I might do some more interesting ones too.

Contents Page Layouts.....

You know the drill, whats good & whats bad  :)

Cover Layout Designs

Here are my first cover designs, please tell me what you like, dislike etc. :)

Masthead Designs

So I have decided on this font, but which colour would look best on my cover?

The Treatment

The Magazine: Stereo

Target Readership: Stereo is aimed at both genders aged 17-20, though it may be read by people older than that. The readers will be in college and university, making their own decisions and being more independent. Most will have a part-time job and so will have some money and will be buying things for themselves often. They now have a distinct style and taste in music. They are willing to spend their money but need to know it is worth it. They want to do well in their education but still spend lots of time relaxing. They will be artistic, into photography, art, reading, writing and arty films. They are quietly confident and are looking for new experiences with friends, such as road trips and festivals. They have grown up using technology and have a laptop and music tech. They are a dedicated magazine readership.

Form and Style: Stereo will be full colour and available in A4 but will mostly be bought in A5, as its readers are busy and take the magazine with them. The cover will feature band photos, mainly well-know in the genre but sometimes with less established artists. The cover will be expensive looking and well designed, the design and style of the magzine is important to readers. It won't be too cluttered and will use quite muted tones. It will cost £4 as it is good quality and the readers are older and can afford it.

Themes and Features: The features will be regulars such as reader mail, new cd lists and reviews. Articles will be on bands and artists both established and up and coming. There will be Q&A sessions with submitted reader questions. Concert and festivals reviews and listings. All music features will be on both established and unknown bands. There won't be any focus on the charts as readers aren't interested in popularity. Also a section dedicated to other stuff such as clothes and style, tech, film and book highlights and reviews.

Potential Advertisers: Advertisers will include some fashion, though not big brands, also music tech such as apple & skullcandy. Lots of related cd adverts, concert and festival adverts and listings.

Editorial Team: The team will be made up of the same sort of people who would read the magazine. They will be young, around 25, and so are relateable to the readers. They will also be quite new to the business and have fresh idea's. Some content will also come from the readers, such as band suggestions, mail and questions for bands.

Colouring Time!

These are my 3 possible colour schemes. As it is an alternative magazine I am focussing on blues and greens and I am using muted tones. I didn't want to use reds as it is associated more with rock or pop. Also I want the magazine to look quite expensive and so don't want to use tacky looking colours. The only problem is if these colours will get enough attention in magazine stands, which is why the third option is much brighter. Whichever scheme I choose I might use with one brighter colour for the main title. When I have decided on my font I will try out the colours on it. I think I will probably use the first set but please leave any idea's below.

Masthead Font Analysis

I have decided upon the magazine name Stereo, these are the fonts I have found so far...

Please comment on which you think will work best for a masthead and be easily recognisable.

More Page Analysis

This is Big Cheese magazine, the name hints that it is an important magazine but I don't think it works very well as a music magazine name as it isn't music related. Also as it is not a very well known magazine I think the masthead is too covered by the images, most of the word big is covered and as one of the E's in the name is reversed, all this makes it very confusing. The page has an obvious colour palette of pink, white and black, also the green background. I think the pink and green are quite cheap and tacky looking, and they are quite clashing. Also I don't think the colour scheme really goes with the style of music the magazine focuses on. The colours are bright to attract a young audience. The page manages to fit on quite a lot of content without looking cluttered though. It does this by using medium size font for most of the titles and by using two colours. The titles in white stand out more and are the more famous names, whereas the pink titles are more subtle and so once the magazine has got your attention you can read them. Most of the titles are in bold all caps, this means they are easy to read. All the fonts are simple and modern relating to the young readership. All of the cover lines are band names except for the Paramore description, this works well because people glancing at the magazine recognise band names quickly. The Paramore title is not capitalised and so is more informal, as this is not a formal magazine. The main background image is on a plain bright background so that the people, in dark clothes, stand out. All the people on the cover are looking directly at the camera so that they catch the eye of the viewer. This page has a classic magazine layout, with the background image as the focus and text around the edges framing the main part of the image.

This is the contents page from the same issue of Big Cheese magazine. The first thing I noticed is that is is a very different colour scheme to its cover, this pages uses the traditional black and red palette. The graphics on this page are very grunge style as well, the eroded font and text box borders. I think this is a good style for this kind of magazine but it doesn't link with the cover at all, you would think they were two different magazines. This page does have the masthead on it to make brand identity, though in a different colour as the cover. The main focus of the page is the image with a small description and the page number, this shows people flicking through where the big stories are quickly. This page has a letter from the editor about what is coming up in the issue and talking about particular features. Taking up the left side of the page is a list of magazine credits, not many readers will really be interested in this and it is a lot of small text. I don't think it really works here and is just taking up room on one of the first pages people see.

This cover is very cluttered and busy, it reflects the readers personality by looking loud and exciting. It also resembles a pin board with cutting stuck on at angles, again referencing the audience. The audience of the magazine is instantly clear, it is a female audience of around 13-15, who would like the bright pink colour and mainly female pop artists. The masthead is quite covered as top of the pops is a very well known brand. The BBC logo is on the cover as advertising and to show the magazine is authentic. The colour scheme is obviously pink, white and yellow, it is very cheap and cheerful and suits the audience. There are lots of boxes and banners, this is used to make the magazine seem full of exciting topics and to section the text so it can still all be read. There is no space left plain, again making the magazine seem full. There are lots of different fonts used, though they are all quite simple and young. Lots of the titles are exclamations, these make the titles seem important and exciting. Questions are also used, these engage the reader and make them want to look inside for answers. This cover uses numbers in the same way as the Q cover does, to make it seem full of content. The page is covered in recognisable celebrities looking directly at the viewer. 

Textual Analysis of Q

Q magazine is named after Cuing up records to play, the masthead is always in the same position and stands out as it is very large it is only partially covered by the photograph and so is instantly recognisable. Q covers mostly look quite similar with one main image and text at the sides. This happens here and the main focus of the cover is the background image. The background photo doesn't have a busy background and so the text can be read easily. The photo is of artists who would probably be recognisable, also they are looking directly at the camera, this draws in people who are looking at the magazine on a stand. The picture is a long shot so that their whole outfit can be seen and it makes them look tall & important. There is also an image at the top but it is small and so doesn't take away focus or clutter up the page. Q has an obvious colour palette of red, black white and gold. The red, black and white is always used on Q covers as it is the logo colours, Gold is also often used. The gold is dark and so doesn't look tacky. There is not too much red used and so the masthead stands out as does the secondary title, even though it is smaller. Q is a very expensive looking, high quality magazine and is well known for this. It has a clean, simple design that looks very professional. The pictures are very good quality and the clothes are toned down. The magazine doesn't use too much red and none of the colours are too bright or saturated. There is no clutter on the page and it doesn't use many boxes or banners. The font is quite simple and sans serif, again to make it look professional but still modern. The cover uses numbers in the ten most perfect songs and 164 albums titles, this makes the magazine seem like it has lots of content. This is also done by listing the artists interviewed. Pete Doherty's name is used at the top of the page as people will recognise it quickly. The song writers feature is advertised as "Exclusive new" so the audience know the magazine has something special that they can only get it they uy this magazine.

The contents page uses the same styling as the cover. The same capitals font is used for the title as for some of the cover text. It also uses the same colour palette of red, black and white. One of the section titles is also blue, this is not one of the colours Q normally uses and so makes that section stand out as a special, a one off. The contents are split into sections so that it is easier to find pages. Most of the page is pictures to make it more interesting, it also means people can see which artist is on which page quickly. The features all have a small description to tease people who have picked up the magazine in a shop and to so readers can tell which articles they are interested in quickly. The artists who are mentioned in the descriptions are written in bold, so when reading through the page the magazine seems full of famous names. The contents columns could look overly wordy but by using big main titles and smaller descriptions it makes the magazine look full of content without crowding the page. Q logo is used in "Q Review" rather than just using the letter, this strengthens brand identity. The photos on this page are as good quality as the cover image. All the pictures focus on artists who would be recognisable. The pictures use expensive looking muted colours, rather then cheap primary colours following Q's expensive look. There are only 3 fonts used on this page, the bold titles font which is also used on the cover, the description font and a font for the songwriters title. A different font is used here, again showing it is a special feature.



  This is a double page spread from the same issue of Q. The image is very large on the page so that it's clear and to stop it looking like too much text. The image is very dramatic and professional looking. It is a long shot so that the landscape can be seen , it also makes it more dramatic. There is a quote taken from the interview and put larger on the image, something often done in magazines. It is often an interesting or funny quote to make the feature seem interesting. The issues colour pallete is carried on in these pages, with the gold letters and gold tones in the photograph. The large coloured letters at the start of each section break up the feature, again to stop it looking like a wall of text. The feaure follows a classic layout, with an introduction about the artist and then the questions and answers. The questions are written in bold to differentiate them from the answers. The page design is quite simple, with no background behind the text or border on the image. The image goes across both pages to fit on, positioned so that no important detail is lost in the crease.

Do my poll please!

What is the best name for my magazine?
	Offbeat
	Shuffle
	Stereo
	Alt
pollcode.com free polls

If it won't let you vote please leave it in the comments!  :)

Magazine Figures of 2010 Analysed

These are the music magazine sales figures from 2010, including the percentage change. Figures from the Press Gazette website.

The Fly - 108,207 (0.4%)


Mojo - 91,678 (-6.2%)


Q - 89,450 (-10.7%)

RWD -78,867 (1.7%)

Uncut - 74,067 (-3.2%)

Classic Rock - 70,323 (0.0%)

Metal Hammer - 44,034 (-4.3%)

Kerrang! - 44,013 (1.8%)

New Musical Express - 33,875 (-17.3%)

These figures show the decline in magazine sales due to the financial recession. This means my magazine has to look even better to fight for sales, especially as it will be newcomer. The top selling magazines are all more professional, expensive and high quality. I will have to think about whether I make a niche magazine that wont have much competition and will have a small, dedicated audience, or make a magazine that covers a wide variety and has a bit for everyone.

Questionnaire

1. How much would you expect to pay for a music magazine? Less than £1, £2 - £3, £4 or over?

2. Do you want a magazine that is about one genre in particular or that covers all types of music?

3. Would you prefer articles about bands or Q&A's with bands?

4. Are you interested in the music charts?

5. What other features would you like in a music magazine? Gig listings? Concert & CD Reviews? Any others?

6. How often would you want a music magazine? Weekly? Fortnightly? Monthly?

7. Are you interested in technology & clothes?

8. Would you want the magazine to be age and gender specific?

9. Do you like musician profiles?

Initial Magazine Comparison

Onto the Music Magazine...

Out main task is to create a cover, contents page and double page spread for a music magazine.
This is my action plan:

Action Plan

3.1.11 – Textual Analysis of Magazines

10.1.11 – Audience Questionnaire & Analysis

                 - Internet Research into Institutions and Figures

17.1.11 – Poll

                 - Colour and Font Analysis

                 - Treatment Sheet

24.1.11 – Layout Design

                 - Photo Shoot

31.1.11 – Drafting Pages

28.2.11 – Audience Feedback & Finishing

7.3.11 – Evaluation

Deadline – Friday 11^th March