Peer Assessment Of Flat Plan and Idea

Peer Feedback:

• I should use close up images for all my images, as this will work well with my genre of music, but also connect more to the audience of the magazine
• I should move the columns on the double page spread, so that they are on the right hand page and not down the middle of the two pages as the font will then go into the middle of the page and the readers won't be able to read it very well
• I should have four images in the whole of the magazine, or more this is a minimum requirement
• I need to redo my layout on the contents page and double page spread as it doesn't go very well with my front cover, as that stands out the most.

Improvements I'm Going To Make:

• I'm going to change my images, some to close ups and others to medium shots as this will make the audience of magazine feel more connected and more friendlier towards them
• I'm definitely going to  change the layout of my magazine so it all connects together, and goes well with each other
• I am going to move the columns on my double page spread so there on the right hand side of the page, so the readers can read it clearly, but I'm also going to change the image on this page so it's larger and goes across the two pages, but is in the background of the writing, this shot won't be  close up as the others but it will be a wide shot.

Improved Flat Plans

These are my improved flat plan designs for my magazine, I have designed a front page, a contents page and a double page spread, these pages are how I want my magazine to look, I'm having four images for my pages, some are close ups and others are medium shots.I have chosen to just use simple colours and stick to just three, these colours are red, black and white, I find that these really work well together and they stand out a lot as they are bold. The things that I have changed from my original flat plans are the image styles, I am now having close up images and wide/ close up shots, as this will show more detail to the models, but also the audience will feel more connected to them as they are closer to them, instead of them being further away and not close up. I have also changed the page layout on the contents page and the double page spread. I have changed the double page spread by moving the article paragraphs to the right hand side of the page so the writing doesn't fall into  the middle of the page and the audience can't read it. So then i have put the image large on the left hand side of the page. I have also changed the fonts on the front page. This is now what I am going to work off for my magazine, these flat plans are how i want my magazine to look. 

Flat Plans

 These three images are my first flat plans for my magazine, I have a front cover, a contents page and a double page spread, which I am going to make.


Front Cover:

• For the Mast Head I have chosen just one number, I think this makes it look different and it stands out a lot since it is going to be bold. It's going to be a white number three in a red background, this makes it stand out and very visible to the eye
• The skyline is going to be white font on a black background, I am only using the colours black, white and red, this is because i find that these stand out the most and are very eye catching. it is going to be in a bold font so it stand out
• For my main image I plan to just have one main image, and it is going to be a close up of a model, this is so the audience and readers will feel more connected to them as they'll be closer and there will be more detail in them, instead of having an image of them further away. I will then have the main sell lines and other sell lines over the top of the image, so the readers can read the sell lines
• In order for my magazine to look professional I am going to include a price of the magazine, issue number, publishing information and the date of when the magazine is published and valid till. From my research on magazines these are the common features that appear on a front cover, to make them look professional

Contents Page:

• On my contents page I have divided into six different sections. These are the skyline, the features section, the every month section, a review section, a small image at the bottom of the page and finally the main image
• The main image is going to have two models stood there looking at the camera and it's a close up image, this will make the audience feel more connected to the artists featured in the image
• The features section is going to be what is featuring in the magazine this month, this is so the readers can find pages quickly which they're interested in

Double Page Spread:

• For my double page spread, I have decided to split my page in half, I'll have the main image on the left hand side of the page and then the article will be on the right hand side of the page. The main title is going to be big on the right hand side of the page, so it stands out to the readers
• To make my magazine more professional I am going to include page numbers, the name of the photographer, model names and the name of the magazine, this will make it look more like a professional magazine which you would buy from a shelf

Primary Audience Research

I conducted some primary audience research in order to find out what appeals to my target audience, to discover any flaws or potential improvements that could be made to my magazines genre, but to also identify any gaps in the market and place a refreshing new twist on the genre.

 These are the chosen products that I conducted my research on.


These are the questions i asked my sample?


1. What do you like about the fonts?
2. What are your three favourite things you like about this          magazine?
3. What do you think of the style/ colours, how would you change it?
4. Does the magazine catch your eye, or does it all seem to blend into one?
5. What do you like about the images?
6. Do you find this contents page easy to navigate around?
7. Do you like the layout of the front cover and contents page?
8. What improvements would you make to the front cover and contents page?
9. Is the main image appealing?
10. Do you find this magazine interesting and does it stand out?


From the research I did with a selective sample from my target audience I found out that:

From my samples of different audiences i have found out that people find the fonts really stand out as the colours go well together, so I am going to take that into consideration and maybes on my magazine I may use black, white and red for my colour scheme, as i believe and other people have said also that they work and look well together. They all seem to say that the images look good and that they work well with the magazine and they stand out on the magazine. One thing that could be changed is the brightness of the colours, some people said they looked a bit bland and dull, so I may brighten my colours up. 

Below is a list of stylistic decisions I'll make for my project following my audiences feedback.

• Use red, black and white as my main colours
• brighten up the colours a bit as these ones are a bit dull
• use a female model on the front cover as it appeals to women and men, as women aspire to be like them and men see them as a sex appeal
• use italic fonts
• close up medium image
• put the main sell line in the middle of the front cover
• make sure that contents page is easy to navigate to get to other pages

Secondary Audience Research

The genre of music that I am going to base my magazine on is R&B and Indie, as these are my two favourite genres of music, this means magazines such as Rolling Stone and Q.


Rolling Stone Magazine: 

MRI Fall 2011 Base: Adults 18+ Audience (000) % Comp Adults 11,899 100% Men 7,114 60% Women 4,785 40% Age 18 to 24 3,206 27% Age 25 to 34 3,240 27% Age 35 to 44 2,322 20% Age 45 to 54 1,617 14% Age 55+ 1,514 13% Age 18 to 24 6,446 54% Age 18 to 49 9,800 82% Age 25 to 49 6,595 55% Age 25 to 54 7,180 60% Median Age 33.5 HHI $150,000+ 1,693 14% HHI $100,000+ 3,512 30% HHI $75,000+ 5,084 43% HHI $60,000+ 6,363 54% HHI $50,000+ 7,218 61% Median HHI $64,842 IEI $75,000+ 1,207 10% IEI $60,000+ 1,846 16% IEI $50,000+ 2,506 21% Median IEI 33,720 Employed 8,538 72% Professional/Managerial 2,700 23% Any College 7,583 64% Grad College+ 3,298 28% Attending College 1,687 14% Single 5,918 50% Married 4,178 35% Any Kids in Household 4,903 41% Own Home 6,820 57% Median Value of Home $212,678 White 8,893 75% Black 1,456 12% Asian 265 * 2% Other 1,313 11% Spanish/Hispanic Origin 2,040 17% Metropolitan CBSA 10,679 90% A/B County 9,137 77% C/D County 2,762 23% Readers-Per-Copy 8.12 Circulation (000) 1,465

From this profile I have found the median age of Rolling Stone target audience to be 33, with a 20% higher proportion of the audience being male. Therefore, it would be apporpiate to use mainly young male models for my photography and front page image, as many male readers of this age would aspire to be like them. Although there is a less proportionate of a female audience, it will be important to still feature at least one female artist, as a representation of a sexual image towards male readers, along with satisfying female readers by featuring role models and artists they aspire to be like. This will also ensure my magazine includes a range of different models, rather than focusing on just the one artists/band.

Q Magazine:

Unlinke Rolling Stone Magazine, Q magazine tends to have a much younger audience on average, which is between 16-24. Just like Rolling Stone Magazine, Q magazine also has a high interest of male readers being about 65%.


My Target Audience:

Age: between 16-25
Gender: It seems to be a 60:40 ratio to male, but I think for my models I am  going to use female's on my cover, as this can be seen as a sex appeal to men, and make them want to buy the magazine more.
Hobbies and Interests: Music is a big part of these, maybes also playing an instrument, stereotypically for indie kids that could be guitar, bass guitar and drums. Also attending concerts of their favourite bands and buying te tickets for the gigs. The internet such as social networking sites (Such as facebook, Myspace, Tumblr, Youtube and Twitter) They may use YouTube to post there bands music and them playing.

Research Into Institutions That Distribute Similar Products

http://www.mediauk.com/owners/88/baeur-media



I researched this on 20/1/12


http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/



I found this link on 20/1/12


Bauer Media publish these magazines:


FHM
Heat 
Grazia
Kerrang
Q
Take A Break




All of the music Magazines are:


Kerrang Magazine
MOJO Magazine
Q Magazine
POP Magazine


One publisher would publish different kinds of music magazines, because not everyone likes the same type of music, so they need magazines out there to cater for everyones music genre, when it could be all the way from rock to pop music. If they have magazines out there which interest people and their music choice, then more people will go out and buy it. 


This company would be interested in adding my magazine to their list of titles because I believe that my magazine would be different to any of the ones they publish, I would use a different style of genre then there usual rock/ indie magazines they have, I'd bring in R&B, pop and a bit of Rap, actually I think I would involve all sort of different genres of music, s i myself don't just like one genre I could listen to many genres, which means so many more people will to, which then comes to them also liking to read about different genres of media all in the same magazine. I think that my magazine would be good for Beaur Media, as they don't publish a magazine like that. 

Magazine Prezi

Brief

PRINT

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, minimum of FOUR images per candidate.