Evaluation Question 7

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

I have developed my skills on the Apple Mac Computers as I was very unsure of the software in the preliminary task. I have improved in using InDesign, as I was very slow in finding the tool I wanted when creating my preliminary tasks. But as I have spent more time using InDesign I have grown more confident in trying new tools and remembering the layout.

I have also improved in using a blog as before the preliminary task I hadn’t ever had one. I found I liked uploading my work instead of printing it and after a few tries found it easy to use. At first I had trouble trying to upload photos but when I learnt how to do it I soon found it natural.

My use of Photoshop since completing my full product has improved. I became more adventurous especially creating my cover shot where I brightened the whole shot and also made the lips of my model a darker red.

I also feel I have improved my knowledge of what works for a music magazine and can identify the codes and conventions of one. For example what colours are attractive and what photos are the best for covers shots. What fronts are easy to read and what information the audience wants to read or know about. I have also improved my knowledge of targeting and attracting target audiences.

Evaluation Question 6

For question 6 I have created a powerpoint presentation.

Evaluation Question 6

View more presentations from victoriabatesmedia

Evaluation Question 4 and 5

I have combined these two questions and have created a 'Prezi'.
http://prezi.com/rb6hvtuhmvza/edit/#5_3222190

Evaluation Question 3

Question3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC Media

*      IPC Media would be perfect for distributing my product because they have a very wide range of popular magazines and are very experienced having been formed in 1963 and now having over 85 media brands in print. I think this would be good for my product as they have a lot of experience with new magazines and how to market them best.

*      They also have a range of other very popular music magazine in their print such as NME and Kerrang! IPC would be good at marketing and distributing my product as IPC reach almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of men so there would be good chance of my product being popular and read across the country.

*      Currently they don’t have any pop magazines in print so my magazine could potentially bring in a new market and reach a different target audience to the ones they are currently reaching, which would increase the profit of the company and broaden their overall audience.

*      Having so many magazines and so many years experience their reputation is built and their company is known, so having my product published by a IPC Media would be reassuring and a good start at attracting my target audience and making my product popular.

*      I could use their already existing audience to gain a following for my magazine.

Evaluation Question 2

Question2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My Product represents young adults and older teenagers as a social group. It also represents the C2 and D social groups because of their line of work (of skilled and semi skilled manual workers, supervisory or clerical workers and junior managers) and the amount of money they earn, which could affect their interests and tastes. C2 is also the largest social group so my product will reach a wide audience.

Young people enjoy listening to music finding out the latest gossip and latest bands. My magazine represents these social groups through the clothes my female model is wearing as she is dressed in a high street dress which young people can relate to. My model is also in natural position not totally styled and airbrushed and in a natural environment. She is also not super thin and drop dead gorgeous which is good because it doesn’t relay the idea that people have to be size 4 and stunningly pretty to feel good about themselves. The cover is colourful and eye-catching to attract my target social group, they are neutral colour’s of black, red and white, as I didn’t want to make it too child looking and deter my target group.

The Articles featured in my product are also representative of my social group as they aren’t too serious or boring which isn’t what young people would want to read and not what they are interested in. Also the artists featured in my product such as Katy Perry are very popular with these social groups so my product is representative of what they like.

The whole look and vibe of my product is quite relaxed so I think it will appeal to the younger audience and the bright colours and simple layout represents them well.

Evaluation Question 1

To answer question 1 I have created a 'Prezi'.

http://prezi.com/16erct85rf69/edit/#5_4292447

Double Page Spread Final

Here I have put an image across the background to make it more interesting, and have used a stroke on the title so it is simular to the rest of my design work. I made some adjustments to my texts to make it less dull and more appealing to the reader.

Final Contents Page

Here I used a series of effects including drop shadows and feathers to soften the images. I also used a stroke on the title to make it stand out, but overall i was going for a simple look.

Final Front Cover

This is my final front cover design, I have used a variety of fonts and effects such as shadows and strokes. I have also added in a star to draw attention to the price and used simple effective cover lines to encourage people to purchase the magazine.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Draft 2

For my double page spread i have changed the background colour to white as i think its more classy and have also altered the text slightly to make it more interesting.

Music Magazine Contents Draft 2

Here i have put another photo down the left hand side of the page and changed the back ground colour so it matches the font cover and looks more stylish. I have also put boxes around the photos to make them stand out more.

Music Magazine Front Cover Draft 2

This is an updated version of my front cover. I have changed the colour theme of my magazine and moved around some of the taglines. I think overall it looks more appealing to an audience and more sophisticated than it did.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Draft

This is a draft for my double page spread. I like the overall layout but i might change some small things around to make it look that bit better.

Music Magazine Contents Draft

This is a draft for my music magazine contents, its not finished but i think its progressing well. I am going to fill the gap down the right hand side with photos relating to the content of the magazine.

Music Magazine Front Cover Draft

This is a draft of my front cover, I am trying out different colours and fronts and layouts. I might change the colour theme as i think it maybe be a bit to bright.

Music Magazine Front Cover Flat Plans

Music Magazine Proposal

Music Magazine Proposal

My magazine will be a monthly music magazine called TUNES. It will contain recent news and gossip about what’s happening in the music world as well as interviews with popular and up coming artists. It will be mainly a pop magazine aimed at 16-24 year old males and females. It will appeal to C1 and D social classes.

I am going to complete all my design work on InDesign, using Photoshop when needed.

My front cover will have a head shot of a female pop artists as its main focus with tag lines down the left hand side explaining the content of my magazine this month, such as interviews with artists and the best gigs coming up. The colour theme will be a bright red with black and white text in a simple yet appealing font. For my mast head front I am thinking of using Tunes. As it think its simple but to the point.

The contents page will list page numbers and their content such as interviews, most waited for gigs and the top 40 chart for this month. It will also have a background colour of red so it links to the front cover. It will contain pictures of people going to be featured in my magazine and a sneak peak at what’s in next months issue.

In this issue there will be a double page spread on the latest new singer/song writer to hit the charts, Sammy Jones! The interview will include how he started out, how he’s finding his new life and what he enjoys about being famous. As well as news about when his new album is out. The background colour of the double page spread will be a white to attract males and females and will have photos of ‘Sammy’ playing his guitar and hanging out. The title will be in red to link to the contents and front cover.

I am going to put black frames around all my photos to make them stand out and make my magazine different from others.

Initial Ideas for Music Magazine

Initial Ideas

*      I am going to make my music magazine a chart magazine with all the latest news and artists from the charts featured in my magazine.

*      It will be a monthly magazine.

*      My target audience for my music magazine will be male and female teenagers or young adults who are interested in music.

*      It will contain interviews with popular chart artists about their latest albums and what they have been up to. It will be chatty and friendly to attract my target audience.

*      I am going to call it either POPular or TUNES as I think these names or simple but effective and eye catching.

*      I am going to use a colour theme of RED to attract my target audience and allow it to standout among the other magazines on the shelf.

*      My double page spread will be an interview with a new male artist. It will contain news about his new album and generally about him. I will have synergy running through my front cover, contents page and double page spread with the use of color and fonts to give the magazine a theme.

*      I will have page listings and photos on my contents page to tell the audience what is being featured in this months issue. 

Music Magazine Sector and Audience Research

Music Magazine Sector

There has been a significant drop in the circulation numbers of music magazines from February 2010. The overall circulation for the UK consumer magazines industry the first half of 2010 was 62,048,488 - a full 13.31m fewer than in the last half of 2009. The market has shrunk by 12.2 per cent from the second half of 2008.

These drops include well-liked magazines Kerrang!, New Music Express and Metal Hammer. IPC Media's Uncut, held onto third place among the paid-for rock music titles, despite a 13.3% fall although it was ahead of Classic Rock, which was up 1.5% year on year. The rock Sector also experiences drops from Future Publishing's Metal Hammer, which was down 16.9% year on year. Bauer's rock title Kerrang! tumbled 21.3% year on year and 4.9% on the first half of 2009 to 41,125.


In a statement IPC said that despite the drop NME “continues to be an exemplar of a modern multiplatform media brand”, serving its audience “via social media, on TV, radio, mobile, through live events and in print and reaches over one million consumers each week”.

Sales of IPC Media’s music title NME fell 14.3 per cent to 29,020 in the first half of 2011.

Overall circulation figures for music magazines were up 22.6 per cent on the previous year, but this down to the ABC debut of free magazines The Stool Pigeon, Properganda and DIY Magazine.

The most popular music magazines include Rolling Stones, a sophisticated magazines aimed at 17 - 30 year olds and NME and Kerrang! which are both aimed 15-25 year olds. Electronic music accounts for 13% of singles sales and 7.5% of total album sales in the UK, showing the influence technology has had on the music sector.

Audience Research

I am attracting my audience by using neutral colours of red, black and white which appeal to all genders and also using male and female artists throughout the magazine so there is something for everyone. I have also got a range of articles so it can appeal to different groups of people for example 'the must have music gadgets' section can appeal to a males audience and then an interview and photo shoot with a new male artist, for the female audience. I will use a range of fonts and effects such as shadows and strokes to make to it eye-catching. I will appeal to the age range of my audience by using things that interest that age group, for example the must see gigs section. I will also use the Top 40 Charts as well as new upcoming artists to appeal to a wider range of music genres and attract a wider audience.

IPC Media

IPC Media

IPC was formed in 1963 following the merger of the UK's three leading magazine publishers – George Newnes, Odhams Press and Fleetway Publications.

They currently have 85 media brands and their print brands reach almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of men. They have a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.

Have three core audiences

·      Men – which includes magazines such as; Nuts, Guitar and Horse and Hound. Any magazine aimed at the male audience.

·      Mass market women – which includes magazines such as; Look and TV Times.

·      UP market women – which includes magazines such as; Ideal Home, Marie Claire. The more sophisticate Magazines.

Other magazines include NME, Uncut, Guitar and Bass and Country life.

Each year, five million music magazines are sold in the UK. The Music sector generates over £15.5m of annual RSV on the UK newsstands with almost half generated by the two weeklies (NME and Kerrang!)

NME delivers an ABC of 33,875 in print. Showing that Music magazines are popular with a wide range of audiences.

Evaluation for College Magazine

So far I have created a cover for a student magazine in InDesign. I found it quite confusing and difficult to use the program at first but enjoyed playing with the colours and designs of the cover once I figured out the correct buttons. I think my cover is quite eye-catching and colourful although I changed the colours and text around a lot before I chose the final layout. I chose a light and dark blue theme to appeal to both genders and a wider range of students. I decided on the photo of two students for my cover photo because I thought it represented students well and it was a good shot to use. I think that i could have made my left hand side a bit more exciting and clear as it was quite busy. 

I also created a contence page for my student magazine also in InDesign. I thought it was easier to make the contence because I already vaguely new how to work the program and I used a similar colour theme of dark blue, to my front cover. Although I changed the style of my boxes and numbering around a lot, I chose edgy boxes and numbers to make it more stylish. I think i could have put on some different photos to reflect the content of the magazine.

College Magazine Initial Ideas

College Magazine Flat Plans

College Magazine Proposal

My Proposal

My magazine is aimed at first and second year college students of any style and clique. It will be about general college life and the goings on of the college. It will have interviews with different people in each copy e.g. in this copy we are interviewing college bands. It will also include the latest fashions around college and the coolest places to hang out. It will also have a calendar of events and the latest things to do around college.

I decided on the title of Aim High because I thought it was catchy and bold. I was going to use SDC but decided against it because I thought it wasn’t very interesting. I was thinking of a simple but bold font to grab the reader’s attention but not to over complicate it.

I am going to have some cover lines down the left side of the page explaining the main articles of the magazine. The text can be in the same colour with odd shaped boxes around the text. Some may be things like; the greatest gift ideas by other students or Check out the latest winter trends around college.

It will be published every half term. This copy will reflect Christmas and the incoming winter with the latest winter trends and the best Christmas gift ideas submitted by other students as this is the winter term issue.

I am going to put an image of two students on the cover, which I have already taken. It is a mid-shot and will spread over the right side of the cover with the student’s eyes a third of the way up the page.

The contents page will have all the page numbers and page descriptions on it. It will have bright colours on it to make it look exciting.

College Magazine Contents Page

This is my college contents page that i created for the preliminary tasks.

College magazine Front Cover

This is my college magazine front cover that i created for my preliminary tasks.

Analysis of Magazine Covers

This magazine is aimed at males and females of 17 to 30. The main colour scheme is Gold, white and black, which are quite sophisticated and more mature colours. The serif font is quite archaic and the gold colour adds a more grown up feel to the cover. The headings are also more serious and the celebrities named are of an older generation. The magazine itself is quite old so the layout and design are much more aged and sophisticated.

The cover photo is very mature and simple but still is a poignant eye-catching shot. The fact he is wearing a shirt and the rough age of the model (Johnny Depp) also suggests a slightly older audience as they can relate to ages. The title of the magazine ‘rolling stones’ shows how it’s aimed at an older audience because of the generation of a band with the same name and the font its written in, which is quite classic.

Altogether i think this cover has a very sophisticated and classy feel to it.

This is a pop magazine aimed younger female readers aged from 11 to 16 because of the use of pink on the cover and the use of very bright colours. The main colour scheme is pink yellow, green and blue. This also makes the magazine very eye-catching and fun. I think the use of big bold lettering and the colourful font is aimed at a younger audience and the free posters and other free things also say its for a younger audience. The magazine is also quite a new publication so the layout and design is quite original and fresh.

The cover photo is very playful and not really serious aiming it at a younger audience .The clothes are quite funky and modern and all the people on the cover are quite young so the audience can relate more to them. The name of the magazine ‘smash hits’ also refers to a younger audience, as does the tag line ‘hogging the hits’ with the use of alliteration and slang.  The use of the word 'cringe' also aims it towards a younger audience as its quite modern, young language.