Evaluation

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

My product, the music magazine, generally conforms to the codes and conventions of music magazines, though some aspects are challenged. I chose to use an image of an average-looking teenage girl, without altering the original picture too drastically to challenge the idea that celebrities on the front of magazines have to be thin and perfect - I wanted to connote that anyone can be a star, not just the glamorous - and I also wanted to show that 'average' is beautiful. The use of only one main image on my front page conforms to the codes and conventions, as does the positioning of the barcode and mast head; I felt that by sticking to these conventions it gave my magazine a more professional look, as I had intended my magazine to be for older girls who are interested and serious about my magazine, and I felt it made the front page more accessible to the reader. The layout of my magazine on the general whole conforms to the codes and conventions of a music magazine, as I stuck to the idea of using only a limited colour scheme - red, pink, white and black - along with a simplistic font to create a recognisable, yet fairly plain, house style; if I had challenged these conventions by not creating a house style, the magazine would have a messy, unappealing appearance.
With the contents page of my magazine, I did not conform to the idea of having an 'editors note' in the top right-hand corner; instead, I developed this idea by giving the editor their own page in the magazine, as I still felt that having this aspect was important. The font, colour and style of the contents page follows the same design as the front cover of my magazine, which is conforming to the codes and conventions, however, minor aspects (such as the background colour of the page) are different, which slightly challenges the idea of the use of the same design throughout. I conformed to the use of several images on my contents page, as visual information, I feel, is more important: people will generally be attracted to the images, and turn to those pages - I for one, as a member of my own target audience, tend not to read the text on a contents page, but instead flick to the pages with the most interesting pictures.
With the double page spread, the use of colour, font and background colour is all the same as has been used before in other parts of my magazine, which conforms to magazine codes and conventions, and creates a professional vibe. I conformed to the used of a blown-up direct quotation and a large image on this page, as I felt this would be most likely to attract my audience, as opposed to a large amount of text and a small picture. I conformed, again, by placing the page numbers and magazine title in the corners of the pages, as I believe this gives my magazine the professional look I was going for.


2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My  media product is representative of women, mainly, who enjoy Indie music. Indie music is all about being an individual - being who you want to be, basically - and I feel that my music magazine shows this through the way the women in the photographs are portrayed; none of them are overly glamorous, they do not stick to a particular dress code and they all appear to be relatively average. My magazine shows the audience something they can relate to: typical teenage girls and young women, being themselves. They do not conform to certain stereotypes, and each of them is different in their own sense: this is what makes them, I believe, 'Indie' artists. They are individual.
One other thing which relates to the Indie music genre is the names of the bands I used throughout the magazine; they were all a bit 'crazy' and 'out there' which is something which people stereotype with Indie music however, through my use of images I challenged this stereotype by making my artists look 'normal'.

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

The institution I believe would distribute my magazine would be the BBC as they have a wide range of magazines available, but do not offer a magazine aimed at older teenage girls or young women. The BBC are a popular institution, and offer a wide range of services from television & film, the music and radio industry and the print media industry: BBC already own The Top of the Pops magazine, which is aimed at younger girls, but the 'teen' section in their magazine range is dismally bare and limited in choice. I feel that by distributing my magazine they could converge and widen their audiences further, and it would fill in a gap in they have in their market.


4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would, essentially, be older teenage girls who have an interest in Indie music. The magazine is aimed at a "typical" teenage girl who wants a realistic magazine, which offers 'real' role models as opposed to glamorous superstar-types. A typical girl who reads my magazine will be around the age of 17, and I chose this audience because I believe that, whilst there are a number of magazines available out there for young girls, there is little in the market for older teenage girls who want to read about women in the music industry that aren't 'pop' musicians.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience by using bold, noticeable colours and images which I felt were eyecatching and attractive to my target audience. I kept the text, particularly in my double page spread, casual and relaxed (like a normal conversation) but still professional, because I felt that this allowed my audience to connect with the magazine, but still showed that the magazine was serious about music: I didn't want to give off a childish vibe, as I wanted my audience to be mature. I used pictures of normal-looking girls to attract my audience, as I felt this would appeal to them more than images of glamorous superstars - people like this make ordinary girls feel unattractive, and my magazine aims to show that individuality is beautiful: this would certainly appeal to teenage girls - none of us want to feel ugly. I also used bigger images than text to attract my audience, because visual is very important with a magazine: we judge a magazine by its cover, certainly.


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

In the process of creating my music magazine and school magazine, I have learned how to use programs such as Photoshop and InDesign in order to give my products a professional look. I learned how to use tools in Photoshop such as the Dodge Tool (to brighten) and the Clone Stamp Tool (to copy one part of an image elsewhere on the page) which I had not previously used before on the computer. I learned how to take a professional photograph in order to make my magazines look more desirable, and how to edit these photographs and manipulate images to make them more appealing to an audience. I also found out how to make text stand out on a page, giving it a less flat look by adding drop shadows and block-colour backgrounds; this is important because I feel that 'flat' looking text is generally overlooked.


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

From designing the preliminary task, the school magazine, I have learnt a vast amount about the time and effort it takes to create something as substantial and widely distributed as a music magazine. With the school magazine, I only had to consider what students in my school would want to see on a front cover or what would take their interest; with the music magazine, there was a large deal more I had to think about. The school magazine was simple to create, as the target audience was pretty much already decided - students of around my own age who were still in education. However, with the music magazine, I had to do a considerable amount of research into the music industry, and find out what available gaps in the market were out there, and also had to consider whether anybody would actually be interested in what my magazine had to offer: perhaps there was a gap in this area of the market because nobody wanted an Indie music magazine aimed at females. I also learned that a lot of time has to be taken when choosing a colour scheme, font type and image - particular things appeal to particular people, and I had to choose things which would be neutural and attractive to everyone who reads my magazine; with the school magazine this process was much easier, as my school already has a colour scheme so I used that, and the image was without a doubt bound to be of a student - because that was who the magazine is aimed at. With the school magazine, I felt that I put much less effort into the planning, as a school themed magazine is usually generic, and they all seem to have the same style; with the music magazine, I had to consider audience, genre and content far more, because everything varies from magazine to magazine.

Front Page

This is my final product - the magazine front cover.



Initially I had decided that, because I wanted my product to be an Indie magazine, and thus a little daring and outlandish, for my colour scheme I wanted to go against the codes and conventions of music magazines by using purple, pink and red, but was told that this seemed to connote childishness or seemed "too girly": I then changed the colours to green, purple and white on the front cover - but I quickly discovered that the combination did not work well, and I received some negative comments regarding my choice. Instead, I opted to go with black, red and pink. I liked this combination used on NME magazine, but decided that, because I wanted my magazine to be aimed at women, I would use pink more frequently, instead of white,  as it gave the magazine a bit of a girly feel. I chose to use the font 'Eras Light ICT' because I felt that it looked soft and feminine, but still seemed professional - this was ideal because although I wanted female readers, I did not want to go over-the-top or too childish, like Top of the Pops magazine.

When choosing the image for my magazine it was ideal that I use a picture of an independent female - I want to show that, though the Indie genre is very male dominated, females can also have a very central role in this area of the industry: though there are a lot of female musicians, many of them are considered to be 'Pop' musicians, and I wanted to avoid this stereotype. I chose to have my artist looking upward, toward where I placed the title of the magazine - I felt that this connoted that the artist was interested in my magazine, and gave it a little bit of a "wow" factor. I also decided that I wouldn't use much text on the front cover - unlike NME or Kerrang - as I felt it made the page seem too cluttered, and I wanted the magazine to have a simplistic feel to it, as the majority of my target audience said they prefered this approach: "less is more".

I gave the mast head of my magazine a bold, black outline to make it stand out against the page, and chose to use the colour red from my scheme as it was the most noticable of the colours - it's aggressive, and grabs the attention of readers, yet also connotes sensuality and sexuality of females; I also used red for the name of the featured band in the magazine 'Giants' but some respondents felt that this wasn't as effective as the title, unless I used a different font to make it stand out more. I gave the band it's own font which "dedicated fans" would be able to recognise, as my magazine is aimed at people who are already interested in this type of music. With the direct quotation I placed in the bottom-left corner of the page, I thought it would be interesting to use the colour white so that we know it is a quotation, and so that it stands out entirely from the rest of the text - so that we notice it - and I recieved positive feedback about this decision.

I also decided that I would use the colour pink (to give the girly effect) for the other bands mentioned on my front page, so that the words would stand out and so that people would recognise these band names - again, to attract the "dedicated fans" but also to perhaps encourage people who had never heard of them to take interest.

With the layout of the page, I decided to keep it simple and conventional with the mast head in the top left-hand corner, leading down to the barcode in the bottom right-hand corner (the last place we look). The main feature is central to the page, as with most magazine layouts, and I also chose to place a direct quotation from this particular article in the corner - the positioning of this quotation is so that, hopefully, people who look at the page will remember it and become interested, as it is one of the last things our eyes are drawn to on the page.

For the image itself, I made a few small but noticeable modifications to the original image. To begin with, my subject had brown eyes, but I decided that I wanted to make her stand out and seem different by changing the colour to a bright blue - I felt that this gave the female a more desireable, 'special' look, yet also made her stand out a little bit, as I wanted girls who read my magazine to feel like they can stand out if they read this. Also, the positioning of the image allows the eyes of the subject to be in one of the most ideal positions - according to the rule of thirds. I also chose to remove any imperfections on the image, again, to make her seem glamorous, even though she looks like an average teenage girl - the way I want my readers to feel. The contrast on the image has also been adjusted to give the girl a slightly tanned look, which makes her stand out from the typical 'emo' or 'indie' stereotypical girl, giving the impression that anyone can be like this.

Double Page Spread

This is the finished version of my double page spread.

I kept the colours on the background of this page fairly similar to the colour used on the contents page, though I did choose to use two colours which weren't connected with a straight line to give the page a bit of a quirky atmosphere, and once again the main colours are black, red and pink. The font is the same as used previously, to keep up with the house style I am using for my entire project: the only difference on this page is the choice of font for the 'Giants' band name, but this is consistent with the front cover, other than the golden outer and inner glow I decided to give the word. Like the article about Lily Allen in NME which I analysed, I chose to make my image dominant and on the left side of the double page. I also chose to use a direct quotation in the same font as the band name, to make it stand out from the rest of the text; the desired effect of this was to capture the attention of a reader if they were browsing through the magazine. A simple, but crucial, key point with this page is the positioning in the magazine itself; I decided I wanted my double page spread to be in the center pages of the magazine, because they are quickly accessed and often are the first thing people skip to when deciding whether or not to buy.

A conventional feature of this page is the use of the page numbers in the bottom corners (which would correspond to pages mentioned in the contents) and the use of my magazine name, 'mystic', at the top - this would remind readers of the magazine, subtly. Also, when my magazine name is mentioned, I chose to continue to use the exact same design as is used on the front cover, so that readers will associate this with my magazine subconciously.

With the image of the girl on this page, I chose to have her looking downward towards her hands - this connotes the power she holds as a songwriter and vocalist, and is symbolic that (because she looks like an ordinary girl) anyone has the power in their own hands to change their lives - like she did. The adjustments I made to this picture were minor and not very noticable, so as to keep up the 'ordinary girl' appearence; I used the dodge tool to make her hands appear brighter - the symbolic 'power' - and removed any blemishes from her face and arms. I also used the burn tool very slightly, to give her a little bit more of a natural-looking tan (this also helped to make her hands stand out).

The text I used in this piece was rather informal, but asked direct questions relating to the band and music - this gives the interview a bit of a personal note, almost like we are having a regular conversation with the artist, but also shows the professional side of this magazine by not going entirely off-topic.

Lastly, at the top of the left hand side there is a brief summary of what and who the article is about, to allow the reader to judge whether they are interested or not.

Contents Page

This is my final, finished contents page.

When creating the page, I decided that I would go against conventions and not have the word "contents" written on the page - I felt that, although it is a straightforward addition to the page, it could perhaps connote that the audience may not be intellectual enough to figure out what they are looking at. I decided, instead, to place the name of the magazine at the top where, in the majority of magazines, an editorial note would go; though I did want to have an editorial, I felt that more time could be given to it if it was an actual column of the magazine, so I gave it it's own page. I kept up with the standard colour scheme of my magazine, using pink, black and red over the page: I felt that this connoted consistency with my magazine, and gave a positive impression of the time taken in creating it.

To attract my readers to certain pages (the ones which would, perhaps, be the most popular if this was a real magazine) I used images with corresponding number boxes, to allow for easy access to the sections I want them to read. By using bright pink boxes, this made the numbers stand out, but I felt that it made the page look very flat, so I gave each box an outer glow to give the impression that they are jumping out at the reader.

Each of the images, as you can see, is of a female; this is because my magazine is aimed at ambitious young women, and by showing the girls in the pictures as successful musicians - or in the case of the 'editor' - as just women who are successful in general. The top right-hand image is of the artist featured on the front page - this allows my readers to gain quick access to this page, as it is likely to be the one they wish to read as it has been advertised on the front cover.

All of the women in my pictures are, however, fairly average and I chose to use this approach to show that it isn't just the glamorous size-zero models who make it into magazines - very little editing was used on each of the pictures (other than that of my 'star artist') to give them a "girl-next-door" look. One other thing I believed would be interesting is the use of an image other than a person's face, etc. so I picked to use the picture of two hands, connected in a heart shape: this corresponds to one of the bands I came up with, but I thought it could also subtly connote friendship or relationships - things which are, stereotypically, the most important to women.

The layout for the contents was fairly straightforward -  I was inspired by the headings and captions in the Kerrang magazine, as I felt they created clear sections for each different area of interest. I kept the band names in red to make them stand out against the 'normal' words, as some of the names were a bit outlandish, but this is to be expected of an Indie magazine. The purple/grey colour used in the background seems much more neutural than the orange used on the front cover, and I felt that this gave a more professional, laidback approach: this also helped to make my front cover stand out more, because of it's difference.

Magazine Front Cover (first draft)

Initially, this was the design I would use for my magazine front cover, though after receiving negative comments and constructive criticism I decided to change the design to something my audience prefered.

I had chosen, to begin with, to use purple for the mast head, but respondents I asked though that this looked "too plain" and "unappealing" as it is the same colour as the band title. Respondents did like the image used, but disliked the grey background colour - they found it boring and "sexless" and believed a girlier colour would be more appropriate.

The colour scheme was unpopular with my target audience as they felt that it was too feminine, and could connote childishness through excessive use of baby pink and purple. Some respondents also suggested that the text was hard to read.

After hearing these comments I chose to rethink my design, and thus I started the project again.



Analysis of Front Cover (NME)

NME is an indie music magazine aimed at both males and females who are interested in this genre of music, from around the ages of 16-19. As the magazine seems to only feature pieces of information about bands and artists on the front – as opposed to the quizzes, competitions and prizes which are generally offered on the front of Top of the Pops magazine – we can assume that the audience of the magazine is intended to be more mature.

We can see that the main article in this magazine (the double page spread) will be about the band ‘Paramore’ as they are the featured image and the band name is in a large, bold font across the front of the page. The image of the band is placed behind the text, so that we associate this band name with this image (basically, so that we know who they are) and the lead vocalist is placed in the centre of the image. The positioning of the band members shows us that the female, Hayley Williams, is the leader of the group. Hayley stands out against the rest of the group as they are all wearing dark clothing and have dark hair, but her image is colourful (i.e. her orange hair, red lipstick and green eyes). Because Hayley is placed in the middle of the image, it gives the impression that all eyes are always on her, and that we are supposed to be looking at her, not the rest of the band: her pose is seductive and feminine, and she is looking down at the camera slightly which shows her power in the band and over the audience. Interesting anchorage text has been used alongside the band name, and it questions the reader, almost tempting you to pick up the magazine and read: it seems to compel you to join the crowd.

The colour scheme of the page is standard for NME - black, red, white and pink - and the positioning of the mast head is conventional to almost all music magazines; it is in the top left-hand corner, where our eyes go first. The mast head is in red which makes it appear bold, and the font is large and block-like - this shows that this piece of text is imporant, and regular readers of the magazine would associate this design with NME, as this style is consistent for every issue: this design could suggest that the magazine has an agressive, blunt approach to music, but the plain style of the font gives it a less 'angry' feel than the font used by Kerrang. The page also has little puffs of information to catch the attention of the reader, which are mainly on the left side of the cover, and the barcode is placed in the bottom right-hand corner - again, this is conventional to most music magazines. At the top of the page, right above the mast head, is also info for the reader on an article, but the positioning of this piece seems to go against the codes and conventions of a magazine, as it almost seems to overshadow the name of the magazine. Like Kerrang, there is a lot of text on the page, giving it an almost cluttered look, but this page seems more reserved and organised, almost plain in fashion.

Images Taken For Magazine

Below is a screenshot which shows some of the vast number of pictures taken for my magazine project.

Though I took a lot of images, I have decided to narrow down the pictures I would possibly chose to use for my magazine. They are as follows:

I liked these images the best out of all the photos taken, as I believe they depict average teenage girls - which is exactly who I am aiming my magazine at.

 

Double Page Spread Analysis

This article is taken from NME magazine and focuses entirely on the artist Lily Allen: when first looking at this page the eyes of the audience would be drawn toward the title of the article first, then to the image of the artist, and lastly to the text.

The positioning of the text, title and image allows the reader to see what and who the article is about, and this would draw the audience in as they would perhaps feel compelled to find out why people say Lily Allen is an “attention seeker” – we would expect this audience to be fans of Lily Allen already, considering her image was used on the front cover of this magazine also, but through the presentation of the article it would be likely that a wider audience would be drawn in. The style of this article matches that which is used on the front cover of this issue of the magazine, which shows us that the magazine is consistent.



The title of the article is the dominant piece of the double page spread, and takes up the most space on the page. The font is the same as the one used on the front cover of this issue of the magazine, and by using it again on this page it shows that the magazine is consistent and organised in its presentation. The style of the font looks like magazine clippings, giving a disjointed, quirky image which could be linked to the personality of the featured artist. Overall, the text used on these two pages is almost entirely on the left-hand side, and the title takes up the majority of the space so that we know this is what we are supposed to be looking at. The main block of text is at the bottom of the page, so this is where our attention is drawn to last; the size of the font itself is fairly small and takes up a very little amount of the page.

(Image used to show consistency between colour schemes and style of magazine)

Colour is used quite sparingly in the article which allows more attention to be given to the text, so that your eyes are not distracted by vast amounts of it, and only the three main colours (red, white and black) are used – this follows the codes and conventions of a music magazine. The image of Lily Allen almost entirely takes up the right-hand side of the page, and she is wearing the colour red which makes her stand out to the reader and draws our attention to her. The shirt the artist is wearing is more masculine than feminine, which could suggest that she is more boyish than girly and that the article could appeal to both males and females: Lily Allen’s dress code also follows the red, white and black colour scheme of the magazine, perhaps to make her seem “normal” or plain, like an everyday-girl to the reader, and her shirt could support this idea in that it is fairly ordinary in style. In the photograph Lily Allen is also looking straight at the camera which connotes that she is strong and demands the attention of the reader. Her body language in the image (i.e. her hands on her hips) gives the impression that she is somewhat bossy and may be someone who has to have her own way. Lily Allen, overall, is presented as a strong and independent female artist through the use of this singular picture, and the plain fashion in which she is dressed suggests that she is not primarily focussed upon her ‘image’.