Audience Survey

We created a survey for our audience to fill out. Using the information and feedback we received , we were able to incorporate this into our production process.

NME Front Cover Analysis

Billboard Front Cover

Billboard is a hip-hop based magazine that recognises artists within this genre. I have chosen to analyse Billboard as our group are considering a black and white background. This has been done here for visual effect as the pop of colour in the masthead contrasts with the plain background. The black and white background also allows the readers to focus on the main image, which is of the artist. The layout of text is simple, with one side containing heavier text then the other. All the headings of the headlines have been highlighted in yellow so that they jump out at the reader. 'Drake' has been placed on the bottom left corner of the magazine in a large font so that the reader understands that Drake is the main feature of that specific issue. The masthead is a simple sans serif font, so the colour within it has been used to attract readers and to give it a unique selling point. The sans serif font also gives us an indication of whom this magazine is appealing to as it looks quite urban and bold, suggesting that it is catered for a younger market. An extreme close-up of the artist has been used and he is looking right into the eyes of the reader, making the magazine appear more personal. Also, this direct contact entices the reader into purchasing the magazine.

Front Cover Layout

The above image is the proposed layout for the front cover of the magazine. Although this is only rough, it gives us an indicator of what our front cover will potentially look like. Our group have integrated the typical conventions from music magazines into our layout. This will ensure that our final piece will look like a very professional and successful music magazine. The layout is quite simplistic in that we want our picture to be the main feature and very striking. The masthead has been placed at the top of the page, which is relevant to today's magazines, whatever genre. Also, the main image will be covering the masthead as this is a main convention and is trendy in upcoming magazines. The feature at the bottom of the page will be a banner, advertising tickets and current artists. Our group felt that this will contribute to making the magazine very visually appealing, as this is key considering our target audience which are young people.

We have pitched both our initial ideas and this layout to our peers and received positive feedback. Therefore, we will be using this layout as a guide when constructing our front cover.

Ideas For Colour Schemes

So far, I have decided to use three main colours for my magazine, which are; Red, Black and Blue. I will incorporate this colours into the main aspects of my magazine as it will help to identify it. Sticking to a colour scheme is very important within the magazine industry, as it not only makes a magazine unique, but also makes it look neat and sophisticated. In terms of my decision, I have limited my colours so that the magazine does not look too messy. Also, these three colours create a pop and give off a good vibe, which would in turn attract many readers. The main target audience are people in Britain, which these three colours represent quite well, therefore would help us t target our desired audience.

Magazine Logo

This is the magazine logo that our group have decided to use. The logo conforms to the typical notions of a music magazine based on our research. This is because the logo appears very striking due to the contrast of the red and white. The font that we have used is Futura Condensed Extra bold as it was very popular in our survey and appears the most appropriate.
The house style of the magazine will be revolved around three colours; red, blue and black. These colours have been specifically incorporated into the logo to so that people will immediately be able to associate the logo with the magazine.

The effect of the dot is to make a statement. It creates a contrast and brings a unique element to the magazine, bringing the logo together.

Overall, the logo seems very appropriate for the magazine as the bright colours connotate positive images and the size and type of font fits the typical conventions of a music magazine.

Choosing a Font

When choosing a font for the magazine, it was vital that our group considered our intended target audience and brand name. In correspondence with the name FUSE, our font style needed to match the feel of the magazine; fun, vibrant and bold.

From research of music magazines, sans serif fonts seem to be the most popular and appropriate for music magazines, as they give a sense of informality within the magazine. This market research meant that this affected our decision on what font to use. All the fonts used in the survey were therefore sans serif.

We conducted the survey on 20 people within and without the class to get a variety of opinions. A vast majority of the people surveyed said that they preferred Futura Condensed Extra Bold to any of the other fonts. As it is important to listen to market research, we have decided that we will use this font for our magazine.

InDesign Tutorials Used For My Preliminary Task

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4I809YXmZ4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmiXPoz_PlQ


The following YouTube links are InDesign tutorials which I have used in order familiarize myself with the software. They helped me to learn the basics and guided me through my production of the preliminary task. Overall, I felt that these links were very effective in helping me advance my skills and knowledge when it comes to using InDesign Software. This is very important as it will be the software that I will use to create my final piece. 

Preliminary Task

 

Preliminary task self evaluation sheet: Magazines

 

The planning and organization in the pre-production stage was very important as it gave me clear guideline of the work I needed to produce. Keeping my work organized meant I could work at a faster, efficient pace.

Overall, I felt that I met the requirements of the brief well. The brief states that a school themed magazine must be produced. I have met this requirement as my magazine is school themed. I have also included a masthead and laid- out text, which are key features stated in the brief. The brief states that a mid-shot image should be used which I have corresponded my image to. Another way in which I have met the brief is that I have drawn up a mock-up layout of a contents page to demonstrate my understanding and suggest how it would look if I were to produce that.

My strength on this task was using the software. To ensure that I was able to use InDesign effectively, I watched tutorials and researched more about the software.

The difficulties that I encountered whilst using the cameras was the adjustments needed to change the lighting in the different environments. For example, the lighting had to be changed when shooting outside and when inside.

I had difficulty in importing pictures when using the DTP software, as the pictures came out blurry and looked slightly stretched. I found a solution by watching tutorials and researching on how to transfer pictures onto the software.

I think that my magazine looks very professional as it contains key conventions that a school magazine would have. The front cover includes a masthead, issuing date and laid out text. These features all look professional, as well as the image that I have used; which is of a student in a school.

The magazine that I have chosen to briefly compare my front cover to is VOGUE. Both my magazine and VOGUE contain a clear masthead and laid out text. The layout of the front cover is similar to mine as it is very simple and professional. VOGUE sticks to a colour theme just as I have done with my front cover. A difference is that VOGUE uses close-up and extreme close-ups, whereas I have used a mid-shot for my magazine.

The image I chose for my front cover is a mid-shot of a student in a school. This is appropriate as it complies with the school theme and is appealing to the readers.

I have been consistent with my fonts to ensure a professional outcome. The main font that I have used is Minion Pro for my text, as it is visually appealing and legible. As this is a school magazine, I added some colour to the fonts to appeal to the target audience.

My weakness in this task was using the cameras, as I had never used that type of camera before. It took me some time to get used to the cameras as I learnt what the different settings were.

I plan to improve my front cover by adding more pictures to it. This will be more visually appearing and create some variety. I would also alter some of the fonts to see which one looks better.

If I could do this task again, I would add more pictures and texts to the front cover. I would consider other fonts and colours too.