Final Main Article

Final Contents Page

Final Front Cover

Evaluation 7: Skills Development

Evaluation 7: Skills Development

When making my final product I used many different techniques that I did not know how to use when I made my draft products.

Some of these techniques include: colour picking (which showed what colours should be used in conjunction with the existing colours), image manipulation (specifically I brightened my main image because originally it was too dark), I used layers which made the whole process of making my products easier as I could switch between different sections of my products and make edits at any time. I also used text box sizing (which helped with all three parts of my products by properly sizing and aligning my text) as well as other photoshop techniques.

When choosing my layout design concept I had to keep in mind the appeal of it to my target audience. My fonts, mode of address and type of feature article are all something that would appeal to my target audience, my mode of address is welcoming for the reader, the feature article contains an interview as well as relevant information to the article and finally my fonts have a graffiti/ informal style which would appeal to my target audience.

When coming up with idea of the content for my article I needed to research current rock, metal and punk magazines, a common trait I found among the ones that I looked at was that most of them had some form of interview, so I decided to include one as part of the content for my main article.

I had little need to share creative ideas, I did however seek feedback which lead to me making some minor adjustments and small improvements on my products. Some of these improvements/adjustments include: the cleanup of my contents page, replacement of the main image and the adjustment of size of the main cover line on the front cover.

I needed to be attentive to small detail such as dividers of text on the contents page and font cover because these are still important things that tell the reader where certain information is. There are also other examples of details such as what is going on in the images (what the person in the image is wearing, how they're standing, if they are making direct eye contact with the camera ect.).

My focus on my written skills/journalism style is the last skill that I developed. I made sure that my content was relevant throughout the entirety of my article and I made sure of this by proofreading it.

Evaluation 6: Technologies

Evaluation 6: Technologies

PC/Mac:

I used this technology to run the applications that I needed for this project, these include:

Photoshop:

I used photoshop in this project to edit images for my products, the images I edited include the main images of the front cover and main article and that shapes used to locate certain pages on the contents page.

I learn how to use photoshop and many of the techniques in photoshop used to edit images.

The advantages to using photoshop are the many tools it has to offer and the ability to edit specific parts through the use of layers. However the disadvantages to using photoshop are its complexity and its price (although it does offer a free trial online).

Indesign:

I used Indesign to assemble all of my images created in Photoshop, I also used it to aid the layout and structure of my products. By using this program throughout my project I learn how to arrange and setup a lout for things such as magazines and websites.

The advantages of using InDesign are its simplicity and some of the many layout techniques it offers. However a disadvantage of this technology is that it is not a free software.

Survey Monkey:

I used this online application to both collect and make graphs out of the results for my questionnaire. By using this technology I learnt how to make an online survey and how to turn the results into data shown by graphs.

An advantage of this technology is that is a free online software that is easy to use for its various functions but it has limitation such as only being able to post questionnaires with ten questions.

Google Drive and Google search:

I used google drive to create documents and to transfer some data between the two operating systems and I used google search for most of my research tasks. By using these two technologies I learnt the best method to work on this project between the two operating systems. If I only used one operating system I would not have needed Google drive.

The advantage of using google drive to store and transfer work is that it is simple and easy to use, it also provides its own versions of microsoft word, spreadsheet and powerpoint for free.

The only real disadvantage to this is that there is a limited amount of storage.

The advantages to using the google search engine over others is that it is quick and to the point and has less clutter and adds shown when searching. There are no disadvantages to using this technology.

Blogger:

I used this as my means of presenting my work. By using this technology I learn how to use it for some tasks such as posting text, images and other files like issu. An advantage to using this is that it is another free online application and it allows for easy uploads of files. But a disadvantage to using this is that it is easy to become messy and unorganized.

Camera:

I used this technology to take pictures for my main article, contents page and font cover. By using this technology I learn that it is important to have a good image for you front cover and therefore important how the picture is taken.

Lights:

I used lighting in my images to simply present the person in my images in an easy way. By using this I learnt that is important to have a well lit shot of whatever you are taking a picture of.

Evaluation 5: Addressing an Audience

Evaluation 5: Addressing an Audience

The main points of sale for my product would typically be in small retailers and corner shops such as newsagents or in music shops. The magazine would be sold in these places because it is where my target audience are likely to buy things.

The front cover of my magazine is likely to attract my target audience because it features an image of someone of the same age using a guitar and using direct address. It also isn't too flashy,it doesn't use too many different bright colours on on the front cover because this would deter my target audience. Another reason why the front cover would grab my target audience's attention is this inclusion of free items.

Other things on the front cover include the bold and easy to read masthead which is all in black, cover lines that direct the reader to specific pages and articles by using words like “must”. I have chosen the colour scheme of black cyan and grey because these colors work well together and are what is typically used on music magazines involving my selected genres. The font style is also what you would typically expect on a metal/punk music magazine, it is goth-like and looks sloppy but professional.

The language and content that I have used in my project is suited and appropriate for my target audience, some of the content that I have written for the main article contains slang and the content is what my target audience would consider interesting.

Throughout my magazine pieces I have used informal language and I made it as if the writer is addressing a friend. This would make the reader feel welcome and want to read on.

The main article has a relaxed feel to it and my use of photos aids this feeling because it is of a typical member of my target audience wearing casual and comfortable clothes.

The overall unique selling point for my magazine is the content and how it is delivered. I expect the images that I have chosen, the colour scheme, the style and language of the magazine and the content to attract my target audience.

All of these selling points were impacted by the survey that I game to multiple members of my target audience. The things that were impacted include the colour scheme, style of content and the image that was used on the front cover.

Evaluation 4: Target Audience

Evaluation 4: Target Audience

In terms of demographics my target audience (late teens/ young adults of both genders) is made up of both employed and unemployed people who live in middle-class areas.

In terms of psychographics my target audience often considered to be obsessed with posting things on social media, interested in the most recent fashion trends and interested in going out to parties. They will often be sociable and carefree people who are interested in punk/rock/metal/other similar genres of music and have a positive attitude towards them.

They lifestyle choices include making decision based on their immediate outcome rather than any long term effects, but will often take consideration for their friends with their main outcome being to have a good time. They would also be interested in other social activities like watching the latest movies with friends, finally they have bad shopping habits such as spending money on unnecessary things and junk food.

This is what a typical member of my target audience would look like. They are roughly 18 years of age, a college student who studies music and unemployed.

They would typically shop at small local corner shops, the music the would listen to would be things like punk rock and other similar genres of music, they probably wouldn't have a favorite TV program of film  but they would have favorite music artists and bands such as linkin park or green day.

Some of these things link into my audience research task such as the place of distribution having the most popular response as newsagents.

Audience:

Gender: Male 60% Female 40%

Median age: 19

Mostly unemployed

Mostly college/ university students

Interested in music

My target audience would buy/subscribe to my magazine because it offers the most recent information about punk, rock and metal music. It would also offer freebies such as posters and coupons.

My target audience as a whole are a viable target for a magazine as dome will have a source of income but not be home or car owners so they will have disposable money. Most people of this age are interested in music so would be interested in purchasing/subscribing to music magazines. This age group is also a good target because they are very social so information get spread easily which could provide good publicity for this magazine.

Evaluation 3: Institutions

Evaluation 3: Institutions

The kind of media institution that could potentially distribute my product would be institutions like BBC Magazines, this is because they already publish some small magazines that aren't very well known and it has a huge number of websites that can help publish my product. This company already publishes some music magazines such as BBC music and classical music as well as other different genres so my product would not be out of place.

I think that a large amount of people who would want to get this magazine so BBC magazines is a good choice but there are also disadvantages to choosing such a big company.

My product would be placed with a small independent publisher because my magazine would have a small amount of content compared to other larger magazines published by the BBC. There would also be advantages for choosing a major publisher as well such as better content capabilities but such a small magazine would not need a large publisher.

The advantages with going with a large publishing company such as Bauer would be that products get better publicity due to being advertised in other popular magazines owned by the same company and they could be mentioned on things like radio stations and websites etc.

There are also advantages for going with a self-publishing company such as Clash, these advantages include more frequent publishing times and better quality content of the magazine.

I don't think my magazine could get distributed by big UK distributors  like WHSmith or Market force because it is too similar to other magazines (e.g. Kerrang, Q, NME, etc) that are currently being distributed by these companies. The same reason applies to why I think my product would occupy retail space.

In terms of revenue there are many ways this magazine can generate a stream, It can include a subscription offer, be sold separately and in individual copies by retailers or it can be given away and rely solely on the use of advertisements.

Realistically this magazine would be sold by small retail shops and newsagents for a small price and it would include subscription offers and maybe a couple of pages in the magazine dedicated to advertisements. there are some issues here because if the magazine does not get popular enough relatively quickly then the writers and publisher etc will not get enough revenue to continue working on this magazine.

Digital distribution is also possible but it would be a poor decision to make this magazine a digital exclusive, this is because a very high percent of digital copies are failing or making low profit. Examples of this include Game informer magazine and Reader's digest which are some of the top most popular digitally distributed tablet magazines and both are suffering with low profit and this is even with them including discounts and other free things.

If my product is to succeed it will need to synergise, it can do this by being both digitally and physically distributed and include offers that connect the two like the physical copy including a free digital copy. There will probably not be any sister products such as radio stations and websites assisting this magazine because again I expect it to be a magazine small in popularity.

Some magazines get involved with sponsored events and tie-ins with things like iTunes and Spotify, both of which are applicable to my product.

Evaluation 2: Representation

Evaluation 2: Representation

I have represented different people who can be split into groups by how the are demographically and psychographically different, I have done this by including images and describing how they are in terms of stereotypes. The different groups that I have actually used in my final products are music fans (specifically fans of punk music and other similar genres of music) which is made up of young adults of both genders.

The qualities that I have implemented that these people possess have been represented by my use of images and photos, my choice of language and my choice of colour. The images I used show my target audience (young adults) wearing stereotypically dark clothing that has been used many times, the location that I chose was covered in posters of bands that these people would stereotypically be interested in. The language that I have used contains some slang which is commonly used among my chosen audience and the fonts I used are quite broken up and different compared to what is used in other magazines. The colors that I have chosen to represent these people are black, blue and other dark colours because these colors are often associated with this age group.

I have also purposely left out specific things such as images, fonts and colours because some of these would not have represented my chosen group of people very well, some of these features include bright colours like pink and yellow, fancy-looking fonts that represent old-fashioned hand-writing and irrelevant pictures.

I have represented people as stereotypes throughout my magazine with the use of images, language and colours, the poses of the people i have taken are quite aggressive and imply that the person is of a certain age-group. I have also mentioned many things that my audience would stereotypically know about and be interested in that is linked in with music.

Evaluation 1: Forms and Conventions

Evaluation 1: Forms and Conventions

Masthead and Title:

These conventions are used to attract the audiences attention, in my case this is done by using a thick bold font and having be dark colours. I have used this to make my own house style, this font is featured on every page and is memorable because of this.

Drop Cap:

I have used this to tell the audience where the content of the main article starts, this has been done using the same font as my masthead and titles, creating a sense of a unique house style.

Column Structure:

The structure of the columns of my main article are fairly simple, they are all the same size and fill almost the whole right page of my main article. The font I used for the content in the columns is unlike the other fonts used throughout my projects, it is simple and easy to read therefore not distracting my reader from the actual content.

The division of my contents page into regulars and features:

My contents page is split up into different sections, on the left it shows the entire contents, whereas on the right it shows all of the articles that would be regul articles and exclusive articles to that magazine. I have chosen to keep these on the same side of the page and with one above the other for the reader's convenience. This helps show the reader my unique brand identity.

Kicker:

Another convention that I used to help develop my brand identity is the kicker. The kicker on my main article is short but to the point, this may attract attention as my target audience as well as most other readers prefer to get the the point and content of articles.

Graphical and other layout devices:

For most of the layout in my magazine I have used the colour grey for white space and the colour blue for text. I have used this on mostly every page which creates a unique brand identity.

Use of white space:

There is not much use of white space throughout my products, there is some on the front cover between the masthead and image but I have used this to make the image stand out more.

Colour scheme and  house style:

For the colour scheme of my magazine I have chosen blue, black and grey, these colours work well together because the black makes the blue stand out and it is clear where separate things are in the products because of this colour scheme. This use of dark colour is similar to other magazines as that same genre but because I used two similar colours (black and grey) my house style is unique.

Journalist style of written content:

The way that I have chosen to present my written content makes it seem like the writer is talking to a friend, this is because I have used some slang words and terms. I have done this whilst still making my content sound professional and kept the content interesting so the reader does not lose interest.

Cover line:

I have used this convention on the front cover, I have made it easily recogniseable as the main cover line as the font size is larger than the other cover lines on the front cover, I have also  added white lines to make it unique and to make it easy to read, it is one of the first things you notice other than the main image when you first look at the front cover.

Masthead and Title:

This convention is similar to my masthead because the the use of dark colours and the partially faded font used. However my masthead is not obstructed by anything.

Drop Cap:

This magazine is of a similar genre to mine but has used drop caps very differently, there is also two drop caps for this magazine's main articles but this is due to there being more content within the main article compared to my product.

Column Structure:

The column structure of this magazine has been used very similarly to my own product, however my main article’s last two columns don't have anything between them.

The division of my contents page into regulars and features:

When comparing this professional product to my own I can see that this similar magazine's contents page has less information about the magazine than my own product but it also uses more images and uses a lot more.

Kicker:

The ways in which this professional magazines kicker is similar to mine is that it is short and gets straight to the point.

Graphical and other layout devices:

The layout for this particular contents page is similar to the side of my front cover, but the colour scheme is different. The layout of my magazine is slightly different to a typical punk rock magazine, this is because I don't make many features overlap others, nor have I tilted many images etc.

Use of white space:

There is very few blank spaces on this magazine's front cover which makes it look slightly messy but this may the intended outcome as the target audience for this magazine are stereotypically messy.

Colour scheme and  house style:

This magazine has made its own house style by using a specific colour scheme, in this case its colour scheme consists of red, white and black whereas the colour scheme of my magazine is blue, black and grey.

Journalist style of written content:

The style of this written content is similar to my product because the writer has tried to speak to the reader as if they are a friend, using slang words and terms.

Cover line:

This cover line is from a magazine of the same genre as my product but both cover lines are very different. My main cover line uses only two colour but this one uses 3 or 4 which makes it look messy.

The magazine that is have produced is a combination of metal, punk and rock music. The magazine that influenced my product the most is kerrang.

Contact Sheet and Unedited Images

The Images that I have selected and taken will attract my target audience because the person I have taken the picture of is roughly their age (teenager to young adult) they are also wearing clothes that this age group would stereotypically wear and using a guitar. This is also the reason why I like and have selected to use these images.