Personal Learning and Reflection

Reflection on what I have learnt from my front cover analysis and how I can use this knowledge for my own front cover

From my research on music magazine front covers I have learnt that the masthead needs to clearly stand out, I can apply this knowledge to my product by using a large font in bold to grab the attention of my audience. I have also learnt that i main image to cover the whole of the page is essential as it brings a continuous flow of the theme to the magazine, so for my product I will use one large image as a base to my front cover. As well as that I have learnt that a constant theme of the same colours works well, colours used for font etc that are also seen in the image creates a more appealing product to the audience therefore for my product I will use a consistent flow of same colours. It is also clear from my research that it is important to be able to establish the theme through the images and text on the cover, so for example, if it is a pop magazine there will be a pop artist on the cover. So I will use an image that coincides with my theme to make it clear to my audience what they are buying.
 

Reflection on what I have learnt from my contents page analysis and how I can use this knowledge for my own contents page

From my contents page research I have learnt that it needs to be set up well to be used effectively, the page numbers and their contents need to be seen properly by the audience as some consumers may buy the magazine for a certain article and they will want to go straight to that article which means they will use the contents page. For my magazine I will set my contents page up tidily in ensure that it is easily accessible by consumers. I have also learnt that it is important to have bright colours to grab the audience’s attention; therefore for my magazine I will use bright colours and colourful images to attract the attention of my consumers. Also I have learnt that as well as the front cover, the contents page needs a main image too, this image needs to represent the magazine for what it is and what it involves meaning that it needs to show the theme etc. So for my product I will use another main image to show the theme.

Reflection on what I have learnt from my double page spread analysis and how I can use this knowledge for my own double page spread

From my research of double page spreads I have learnt that the use of a large main image of the artist that covers both pages is hugely popular, it shows an image of what the article is about and the title in a large font, so I will apply this to my product by using a large image to cover both pages with a large font title to make it stand out to my consumers. I have also learnt that the beginning of the text of the article usually starts on the bottom right of the right page, the writing is small and is a contrasting colour to the image which makes it clear to read. For my product I will do the same by showing the beginning of the article in small columns along across the bottom right hand corner of my page/image. Also I have learnt that sometimes a series of images of the artist are used as well as the main image, I may use this with my double page spread mainly depending on the quality of the images I will produce.

Reflection on what I have learnt from my audience research (Questionnaire and Find Your Tribe)

Through my audience research questionnaire I learnt what my target audience are interested in and what they would like to see in a music magazine. This gave me the knowledge to apply to my product by understanding the needs and wants of my target market. I learnt that they want iTunes downloads, information about festivals, what music channels they listen to and what social networking sites I can advertise. Knowing this information allows me to provide my consumers with what they want. As well as that I found through my Find Your Tribe test that you can easily stereotype people into segregated groups this isn't necessarily a good thing but it isn't a bad thing either as it makes it easy for me to target my product onto a certain group of people based around their interests and music tastes.

Audience Research

Audience research questionnaire

1.      What music magazines do you listen to?

           Vibe?

           Rolling stones?

           Q?

           Kerrang?

           NME?

           Other?

2.      How much do you spend on music magazines a month?

         £0

         £1-£5

         £6-£10

         £11-£15

         £16-£25

         £26+

3.      How do you access music?

               Illegal downloading?

               Legal downloading?

               Live stream tracks?

               Other?

4.      What music channels do you watch?

               MTV?

               VIVA?

               Channel aka?

               Classic fm?

               Other?             

5.      Where do you watch music videos?

        TV?

        Online?

6.      What would encourage you to buy a music magazine?

            Free CD on cover?

            Free posters?

            Competitions?

            Original photography?

            Detailed articles?

            Features on up and coming artists?

            Features on established artists?

            Tips on song writing?

            Discount on clothing websites?

            Discount in music shops?

7.      Where would you prefer to go?

             Concerts?

             Small gigs?

             Festivals?

             Other?

8.      What genre of music do you like?

            Rock?

            Pop?

            Rap?

            Hip-Hop?

            RnB?

            Classical?

9.      Do you use any of the following websites for music?

                   Facebook?

                   Twitter?

                   Myspace?

Results

Audience Research Mood Board

Summary

Doing my audience research questionnaire helped me to look into what people of my targeted age group are looking for in a music magazine. Therefore, this helps me to make my magazine to the specifications of the consumers. I now have to knowledge to put forward into my work. This knowledge can help me to create a successful piece of work. By understanding that my targeted age group watch music channels such as MTV and Viva i can then focus a section in my magazine on a thing that the consumers will enjoy. Now knowing that a lot of my audience download music off of iTunes I can create a section dedicated to music downloads, like a download chart.

Find Your Tribe

My ‘Find Your Tribe’ results analysed and reflected on

Find your tribe is a website that asks a series of questions to find out about your personality. It takes all your answers and then stereotypes you into a specific group. My result came out as ‘Blinger’. I think that this may be because i enjoy listening to RnB and hip-hop music. In ways i would not class me as a ‘Blinger’ because that's not really my personality at all, but as far as the music i listen to and some lifestyle choices i make, i could be seen as one. 

Music Magazines Double Page Spread Analysis

Vibe magazine – this is an RnB/hip-hop genre magazine that has articles about today’s relevant artists. The layout of this magazine stands out to the audience targeted by vibe magazine; it does this by having a funky layout that will appeal to younger generations. The consistency of the black and white dancing girls draws attention across the page, these girls bring even more attention to the main image on the double pages being the artist, Solange Knowles. The use of limited colours makes the layout of the pages stand out and brings the audiences focal point to the dress.                          

  

Q magazine – this magazine has the genre of rock and this is shown with many different conventions in this double page spread. The chains she has wrapped around her give that feel of a sexual rock concept combined with her seductive pose and facial expression, this is an attraction to convince men into wanting to buy this magazine. The vibrant reds and blacks of the font against the brightness of the complete white background add to the rock feel of the magazine.

                

Kerrang magazine – this double page spread fits the magazine genre of rock perfectly. The black and white images against the big white and red font add to the perfect contrast and this fits the magazine. The titling is big and stands out. The variety of images makes it appeal to a wider audience as some people are mostly interested in the images in a magazine not the text. On the other hand the text is set out on this page to look appealing, the white writing on the black background stands out and captures the consumer’s eye.

Rolling Stones magazine – the genre of this magazine is rock. It appeals to an old style rock and roll feel. The main image covers both of the pages and this captures the consumers eye instantly. The little writing on the left hand corner makes this magazine different, the image is the main article, there’s no need to much writing. The font is small but perfectly seen as it is white against the much darker background behind it.

NME magazine – this is a mixed genre magazine and Florence and the machines is an pop/indie artist. The powerful pose of the artist immediately captures the consumer’s eye and the bright red and white cover she is sitting on is the complete contrast to her black biker chick look. The main title of ‘USA’ is slightly faded out almost into the background colour shade and set behind her but as the font is so large it stands out, the rest of the titling being in a swirly black font. The font layout is neat and tidy and attractive to their audiences.

Music Magazines Contents Page Analysis

Vibe magazine – this RnB genre magazine brings in a lot of its customers/audiences by using sex appeal. The main image they have used for their contents page is very seductive yet classy. The colours they have used, black, grey and white and some other neutral colours, make the contents page flow. The font used is simple and classic which adds to the classy seduction that they have created for this contents page. The way her body frames the font brings constant attention to her as she is the main focal point, however without her being there the writing would not stand out so much therefore her being there has a use to the attraction of the layout.

Q magazine – the genre of this magazine is rock and it shows from the images used, each image shows an element of a rock and roll feel. The bright red titling stands out as it is a block colour with the reversed out writing. The clutter of images gives this contents page a unique feel as it isn’t what you would usually expect. Another thing that makes this layout stand out is that it is a two page spread just for the contents, contents pages are only usually one single page.

Kerrang magazine – the set up of this magazine is neat and tidy and again maybe not what you would expect in quiet a heavy metal rock magazine. The main image is soft and bright which i

s also a complete contrast to the genre. The title is made to stand out on the block black rectangle and the bright yellow bold font. The black and yellows used are colours associated with the kerrang brand. The articles are set up in a neat line on the right hand side of the page; this makes it easy to read and keeps the page looking tidy. The other images used act as a frame to the main image making them stand out as well.

Rolling stones magazine – the rock and roll genre of this magazine comes through in an old fashioned way in the main image. The black and white images showing a music artist from the past shows the article may be dedicated to him. The text is neat and tidy and the black font stands out against the white background. The other image on the page is an image of Beyonce a relative modern artist, this is appealing to the younger generation of their audience that would be familiar to her music. The simple use of two colours, black and purple make the page simple and easy for a variety of audiences to understand.

NME magazine – the bright white background with the bright red and black writing makes this page stand out. The main images shows simply what the magazine is all about, music. The contents list has been broken down into segments maybe for their consumers to find what they want quickly and efficiently. There is also bright, bold, yellow font at the bottom of the page which is eye-catching making the offer they are promoting stand out to their audiences. Also the use of the reds for this page stand out as they are the brightest titles of the page.

Music Magazines Front Cover Analysis

Vibe Magazine - The genre of this magazine is a kind of hybrid of hip-hop, RnB and pop. The bright colours of the magazine draw your attention immediately. With Nicki Minaj being in such a powerful stance with the camera angle being slightly tilted up makes her look superior and dominant of the cover of that magazine, she also is in front of the masthead this is making her stand out further. The colours used have a consistent flow of similar bright, loud colours, making it stand out, the cartoon like features such as the flowers and flying frogs give it a unique feel and a different side of what you may usually see on this type of magazine as this is what you would expect of the artist on the cover, in a way they’ve brought her personality onto the cover.

Q magazine -  - The genre of this magazine is more rock even though the artist on the cover, Lady Gaga, is a pop artist. The way she is dressed appeals to the audience of the magazine with black spiky leather trousers and a leather glove with a kind of ‘Edward scissors hands’ feel, creates a rock chick feel. She is also posed in a seductive way making it appeal slightly more to a male audience than to females. The masthead is a reversed out ‘Q’ against a red panel, this makes it stand out more than a standard positive print. The colours of the masthead then follow on into over texts on the cover to create a consistent flow of blacks, reds, whites and greys. The way the subtitle of ‘Lady Gaga’ goes behind her back and over her stomach makes it look like the text it holding her, which also adds the seductive feel as it draws more attention to her body.

The genre of this magazine is a hardcore, gothic, punk rock. It is dark and scary and the artists on the front cover ‘slipknot’ are a hardcore rock band that wears scary masks to complete their gothic look. This relates to the genre of the magazine therefore Slipknot are the perfect fit for this magazine. The masthead of this magazine is black and looks like it been smashed this seems like it has been smashed in a typical rock and roll style, for example when rock bands smash musical instruments etc during or after a performance, this adds the type of mania of the genre. The band are slightly in front of the masthead, but as they are a large band they cannot be completely over it as they name of the magazine would be unrecognisable to potential targeted audiences. The font colours and the overall appearance of this magazine are dark and dull but with the contrast of a blood red and bright white.

The genre of this magazine is a mix of all genres as they have many different artists starring on their covers.  This particular issue of this magazine would be a pop genre as it is a dedicated issue to the late Michael Jackson ‘King of Pop’. The colours of this magazine make it stand out as there is only black and white, his clothes are black and white and so is the text. There is little text on this issue making stand out further as there is only his name, the masthead and an extremely brief description of what is inside this issue. The pose of Michael Jackson is powerful and is one that you can relate to him anywhere all over the world, the way he is over the masthead makes it clear that this is his issue dedicated him making it powerful and unique.

The genre of this magazine is also a mix as it covers a wide range of types of genres of music. But for this issue I would say this is a indie/pop issue as its featured artist and main article is about Florence and the machine. The colours are kept simple in the text of just mainly white and the artists name in capital, bold, black letters. This contrasted with the bright red of the artists hair helps for this cover to stand out on the shelf. The masthead goes over the top left corner of her head but still takes no attention away from her as the close up shot of her face makes it stand out as well as her red hair.

Preliminary Task

Evaluation of the development of the magazine through to the final product.

Trial Front Cover

I decided to create my magazine cover and contents to appeal to a variety of college students. Making my articles appeal to college students I done this by making the articles relate to what effects students. This is a draft of my main preliminary task, i used a stock image from google to help me plan out what mine would look like. I made my main article about the recent rises in fees for universities and how university can still be a choice for students. Other articles such as safe sex and gossip and parties appeal to the more social side of a students’ life to make the magazine more appealing rather than just being based around academic features. I chose the name ‘istudent’ to give it a young feel in this new era of the younger generation using such things as iPods and iPhones etc. This gives the magazine a younger appeal matching my target audience.

I then chose a modern picture of a student that young people can relate to as she has her work in one hand and her phone in the other, this is something that relates to all students, balancing their social life with their academics. The colours of the image are bright and make the front cover stand out. I then chose to use a bright blue colour for my font on my front cover to make them stand out against the bright colours of the background.                                                                                     Trial Contents Page

For my contents page I made it young and new with the big star acting as a border for the image that I slightly faded out.  The font I used for the contents page and the front cover is appealing to the audience I am targeting, the text is also a baby blue which can be seen as a neutral colour that male and females like, by using that colour, I am appealing to a further audience as I am not limiting to a single sex audience.

My magazine product shows real conventions of real media products as it involves a masthead, articles and an appropriate text layout. The context page shows usual conventions shown in a real magazine product as it clearly states articles within the magazine.

My media product shows a generalisation of every student social groups, as I made it to appeal to every kind of young adult, male or female, everyone. This can appeal to the more ‘popular’ students who are all about the parties and the social side of college as well as the academic part and also the more clever work motivated students who are head forward and interested in work more than anything.

I’d think that my product would be distributed by any media institution but only sold through the college as it is made for one particular college so it does not appeal to a worldwide audience.

Through the research I done on other student magazines, I noticed topics and other conventions that put together create a good magazine to appeal to a student’s age group. Such topics as teen sex and university fees and college parties appeal to the young, modern student life and this is what students minds are currently occupied by. By combining the social side with the academic side this makes it appealing to a wide range of students.

I would make it better next time by using my own images and maybe downloading some new brushes to use in Photoshop to make my production look better. also by doing more research into student magazines to develop more skills and discover more conventions to involve in my work, this would improve my work by making it more realistic therefore making it a much improved piece of work.

My Original Images For My Preliminary Task

Manipulated Images

Final Product

Front Cover

Contents Page

College magazine front cover research

This magazine is aimed at college students from the ages of 16-19. The front cover is bright and vibrant and the colour match of the models top is the same as the masthead. The model herself is portraying the image that the magazine wants to put across of a perfect model student but also with a fun side which stands out because of her outfit. The background of the image is blurred out to bring in more attention to the model and the titles of articles along the front of the magazine. The articles themselves are appealing to the target audience for example, ‘SHE’S 15 & PREGNANT’ standing out in bold capital letters is appealing to young people as it is real life and can maybe relate to them.

This magazine is completely different from the first magazine. The model can be seen as a role model to people of the same ethnicity to work hard and do well. The model is holding books of highly intelligent subjects whilst wearing fashionable clothing a ‘bling’ necklace; this is a contrast that could help to inspire some people to work harder. The colour scheme of this magazine consisting on a lime green, white and black with one spot of hot pink stands out and looks unique. The articles posted all over the front cover are exactly what most students want to read, for example, ‘WHY WE LOVE BLACKBERRY’ being in bold capitals stands out and relates to the audience as most young people these days own a blackberry. Also, ‘THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY’S’ advertising places for students to go out and have a good time, this is showing a fun side of a student’s lifestyle which can be seen as more appealing to a student that just academics.

College magazine contents page research

This is a contents page of a college magazine that is clearly aimed at more academically driven students. The clear layout and the order of everything show a more mature and straight forward type of college. The pictures of the posh college grounds and the girls smiling in sports wear shows that they are proud of what they achieve. The layout is set out neatly which would appeal to the perfectly organised students. The colours of the contents page are plain and don’t stand out much but I think that this may be more of a academic read for students rather than an insight into their lifestyle.

 This college magazine contents page looks completely different to the previous one. It’s more colourful and vibrantand I think more appealing to students. The layout is clear with the pictures standing out with correlating numbers to articles. The picture of the students looks more real, I think this shows more of a relation between the magazine and the actual students that will read it, making it more appealing to its audience. The font is varied which is more exciting that just one plain font which is more appealing to an audience. The colours stand out against the white background drawing in attention therefore making the students intrigued to read it.