My presentation evaluating the front page, the contents page and the double page spread.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0DnGj06WOfoMzcyMmVjOWQtZTFhMi00YTQzLTg4NzgtNWJiMzU0ODY0YzVl&hl=en
My front page for my magazine is similar to other existing publications because, it has a title at the top which was similar for every magazine that I looked at. It is also in a different font from the rest of the text and so it distinguished as a title.
It also has a picture, that acts as a background for the front page. The picture is a low angle, long distance shot that shows the boys as having some power. They are also making eye contact with the camera, and this lets the prospective buyer feel like they are being connected with. The pictures on the contents page of the boys laughing were chosen as I believe they represented the boys own attitudes well. This would then be easily picked up from the reader and again the reader would feel like they were connecting with the band and already learning something new about them. This was a common feature with many magazines that I looked at before. The front cover also has a date and price like all other magazines, so that the reader can easily see how much it is, and if it is the newest issue.
It also has text flashes on the front cover, that explains what else is included in this issue along the sides and down the bottom. This means that the reader will know what to expect in the issue and whether or not they would like to buy it.
The magazine is targeted at the genre of indie teenage boys, probably around age 16+. I captured this male genre with the colours used, and with the language and images used as well. The colours are mainly blue and dark red, as these were popular colours when studying magazines in the indie/rock genre such as NME and Mojo.
The language used on my double page spread interview is conversational and colloquial lexis, as I wanted to capture representations of speech that you would hear in the interview before it is published in the magazine. It means that the magazine is less formal, and therefore will attract itself to the genre that I am aiming at for my magazine. The chatty yet informative style of speech, also gives an idea about the attitudes and opinions of the band. The reader therefore learns more about the band this way as well. The language is also quite casual on the front page as well, for example with the "Hey! Want to start a band?"
I think that if my magazine was to be successful, it would be sold in most newsagents, and in shops such as WHSmiths. This because it is a monthly magazine, and WHSmith sells most of these magazines in it's music section. Being sold in most newsagents would also mean that it would reach many people who just go down there for other things and happen to see it.
See Blog 2 for more information about my target audience. My target audience is aimed at teenage boys aged around 16+ who have an interest in indie music and fashion. The national readership survey showed that music magazines of the same genre, for example NME were targeted at an age range of 15-44, and so I tried to reach this age group as well.
Demographically, I think that my audience would be aimed at around the C2 and C1 category, as this was again highlighted as the average readership for this genre of magazines on the National Readership Survey. The 'type' that my reader would fit into when looking at Psycho graphics would probably be 'Individualists', as the idea of people who want to show the world they are different from everyone else is fitting for an 'Indie' magazine.
My magazine would attract my chosen audience because it fits the style of an Indie magazine. It isn't dark and Gothic like a magazine trying to fit into that genre and it's not bright and colourful like pop magazines would be perhaps targeted at the female audience would be.
The audience would be attracted to the bands on the front as they would be bands from the music scene that they listen to, I also tried to dress them in a style that stereotypically fits that of the Indie scene, for example low-hung jeans and checked shirts.
At first I found 'In Design' as a programme extremely hard to use, as I had never heard of it or used it before. This made it hard at first because it meant that I could not try new things as it was taking a lot of time for me to work out how to do some of the simple things. However as I used it more and more it began to become more straightforward and I could change things that I didn't like from the beginning as I went along. Photoshop I had never used before either, so this was quite challenging at the start although I did eventually work out how to edit my pictures and change them for example from coloured to black and white and how to crop them in size.
Looking back at my preliminary magazine task, I think that my design skills have improved because my front cover looks a lot like a magazine and my contents page is not as bare as the one in my preliminary magazine. I also planned this one a lot more thoroughly which meant that the end result is a little bit better.
If I could, I would improve some things about my finished result. For example, from looking at my pictures I have realised that the members of my band are all White British. This was unintentional, but if I had thought about this more I would have perhaps included someone from another race, so as to make my magazine more ethnically inclusive.
Another thing I would change about my final piece, would be that I would make the bar code a little smaller on the front page as it looks a little too big. Also, where it says, "Want to start a band?" I would possibly like to make this text a little lighter, as it does not stand out as well as the rest of the text.
On the contents page, I would like to tilt the text in the white boxes on the pictures as they look a little too neat for the more edgy look that I was going for with my magazine.
On my double page spread, I would like to change the main title of "The Underdogs" from the blue background that it currently is, to a blue of a lighter shade or maybe even a red. At the moment, I don't think it stays in the colour scheme well enough and I wanted my magazine to show full continuity.
