Magazine evaluation

Magazine evaluation from kanetorbett

Image analysis (front/contents pages)

The reason I chose to use this image as my contents page image is because this angle on the model make him look very powerful and because I have used a female model on the front page I wanted to give the representation that the male model is more powerful or thinks a lot more of himself compared to the female model.

The reason I chose to use this image for my front page is because usually, males that are included in a target audience are attracted to having a female on the front page of a magazine. The message that this model puts across with this image is, that she looks innocent but at the same time she looks rather seductive attracting a male audience even more so. From the way the model is looking at the camera, it also gives the impression that she interested in what is going on at the time, maybe this is a shot from when she is being interviewed, or she is having a conversation with somebody, or maybe she is just really focused on her job of being a model at this specific time.

Billboard advert

The idea behind my billboard advert being so simple is because it goes with the house style of my actual magazine. The other reason for it being so simplistic is that it is a teaser for the magazine, so I think that my target audience will be more enticed to find out what the magazine is about if all they have to go off is the masthead of the magazine and a short, snappy slogan to go with it. Some people may not like this idea and may want more information about the magazine on the advert, but I think the simplistic approach will be more appealing.

This is an example of the idea that is behind my simple billboard advert. There is not a lot of information on the actual billboard which I this entices this audience and makes them want to find out more about the advert which will then lead them onto possibly read, buying, looking at the product that is being advertised. 

Final magazine evaluation NEED TO CHANGE DATE ON CONTENTS PAGE

This is my finished magazine, for the magazine I used the program Adobe InDesign CS3. For my coursework I had to create a regional magazine that was aimed at and based in London, it had to be focused on entertainment. I ensured that it was focused on London through using an up and coming music artist from London and clearly stating this on the front page. The audience for this magazine is generally people who are above the age of 13 to about 35, this obviously does not mean that other people cannot read the magazine but the general audience that the magazine is aimed at is people aged between 13 and 35. The first good thing about the final draft of the front page is that there is not a lot of content on the front page for the reader to bogged down in, the fact that the text doesn't take away the spotlight from the image is good since one of the main topics in the magazine is the music artist in the image. The reason why this suits my audience is because my audience in particular want something to catch their eye instantly, and because everybody is always rushing about in London they aren't really going to have time to read lots of things on the front page, this is why I chose to make the image the main item of the front page. Secondly I have included a range of different fonts and font colours, this is so that the front page did not look bland, I wanted to add some variety to the page, this suits my audience because as I have said above my audience want something and need something that will immediately catch their attention otherwise they will not pick the magazine up. the third thing that is good about my front cover is the masthead, it is a unique masthead and looks professional, the slogan at the bottom of the masthead also adds to the design of the masthead and gives it some more character.

This is the final draft of my contents page. The first good thing about it is, again like the front page, there is not a lot of detailed text, it is only the important information that people need to know so that they can find their favoured topics, even though there is one block of text in the middle of the page which is the editors notes. The second thing that is good about the contents page is that it keeps to the house style of the magazine, it is similar to the front page in terms of the colour of fonts that it uses, also the main heading is similar to the masthead on the front page with the bevel effect use on it

This is the final draft of my double page spread. I really like this double page spread and the fact that the image that I have used is not even a single image, they were two separate images and I merged them together on the page. The first thing that is good about the double page spread is the way the text is arranged and the way that it fits around the text. The second thing that I think is good about the double page is that again like the front page and content page it is simplistic, so it appeals to my target audience because I think that my target audience would not like the pages of the magazine to be too busy in terms of how many different things are on the page. Although even though the page is simplistic it is not boring.

Image analysis 2

I started off with this image of my model against a brick wall, I did not want the brick wall to be shown in my magazine so I chose to cut the background out, to make it easier to use the wand tool I used the rubber tool to create an outline of where and what the wand should cut out.

As you can see this was the result of using the wand, so this then made it easier to rub out the brick wall that is closer to my model. I had to make sure that I deleted all of the brick wall but I also had to be careful that I did did not make the edges of my model look too ridged.

This is the end product of using the wand and rubber tools on my model.

I had the same issue with this model in that I did not want to show the brick wall in my magazine so I had to go through the same process of making an outline on the model with the rubber tool and using the wand to delete the majority of the brick wall.

Using the rubber tool I had to again go around the edges of my model to delete the brick wall.

Rubbing the edges out around this model does not look as good as the other model because it was harder due to the fact that I had to rub out the background that was near this models hair so it does not look as natural as the male model.

This is the end product of both of my models in one shot. As I was developing both of the images and  inserting them onto the double page spread I thought that because of the positioning of both of them they might fit together. For example, it was fortunate that the female models' hand was positioned in this way so that it looks like her hand is pressing up against the male models chest.

For all of the images of both of my models, the reason I chose to remove the background on all of them is because I felt that it would add to the effect of my magazine if the locations of my images was not shown.

Front page analysis

This is one of the first drafts of my front page. I really like the masthead so that is always going to stay them same. A few things need to be added to the front page in order for it to look more full and not so plain. With the color and lighting of the image it was hard to find a font and font color that worked with it, which is why I am considering changing the image or possibly changing the gradient of it so I am not just using black text.

As you can see I have tried to use different font colors, but they are simply not working with the color of the background image so I am going to try changing the background image to grey scale and see if that looks any better.

I am very happy with changing the image to grey scale, it has given me the opportunity to change the font color of my cover-lines so even though the image uses basic colors, it is given more character by the fact that I am using vibrant colors such as bright red, and easily readable text such as white and black, I think this is going to be my final front cover draft, unless I decide to add something in the bottom left hand corner or choose to add a price (if it is not going to be a free magazine) and I will most likely add a date and issue number in the top left hand corner. So in terms of color and design of the page the front cover is finished.

The fact that I am using a white female artist on my front page goes both for and against Laura Mulveys' theory, she thinks that in the male gaze females are objects for male desire, because she is an attractive female males will be attracted to the magazine, but the fact that she is not being portrayed in an objective manner shows that I am going against her theory. Bell Hooks' theory also relates to this, she says that lighter skinned women are considered to be more desired, and because she is a white female with blonde hair goes with this theory, also the fact that I am using grey scale for the image emphasizes that she is a  lighter skinned woman.

In terms of the general registrar scale this front page will appeal to mainly everyone below C1 so: C1, C2, D and E on the scale are the people that will mainly pick up the magazine. The reason I think this is because the coverlines and the way the magazine is designed can be perceived to be aimed at a younger audience, so younger audiences will usually not have high end jobs that fit into the A and B sections. The fact that the main coverline is about a new up and coming artist could suggest that the magazine is aimed at people who critique music, which is mainly the general public who have normal, minimum wage jobs, students etc.

Contents draft 1

As you can see from these two print screens, I started with the original photo, then I cut out my model and took away the background. When that was completed and I had softened the edges of my model, I added a graffiti wall to emphasis the fact that the artist is urban. I then began to work on the title of my page. I added some effects to it like bevel  and emboss to give the title and page some more character. At first I did not know what color to use for the title because like the front page, not a lot of colors worked with he background that I was using, in the end I ended up deciding to use grey font color with a black stroke effect.

Mode of address

This article is about visiting the O2 from the magazine Evening Standard. It is informal as if it is actually talking directly to the reader. I would like my article to be similar to this article because I want my target audience to feel like they are involved in the magazine by using direct address. I do not want my articles to be too factual, I would much rather them be articles that the readers can discuss. From this article I can infer that readers may wish to use these articles as a way of escaping from their stressful lives, this is why I think that the article is rather informal rather than being factual. People do not want to be flooded with knowledge, they wish to be entertained, unless some people do want to be overloaded with knowledge which is why they will buy a magazine that will suit their needs and wants. Being able to discuss an article shows that a reader can come to their own conclusion and have a negotiated view on the article, which is what the informal language of the article allows for.

Image analysis

I like the idea behind this image, because it leaves a lot of room
to be focused on the background (if one were added), so when I am
taking the actual photos for my project I will be sure to take some
with this angle.

The reason I like this picture is because I think this angle
looks good for images. The positioning of the camera could
have been better, and a better suited background could have
been added, so I will take this into consideration when taking
the actual photos for my project. The lighting on these first two
images is very dull and doesn't really add any character to them.

On this image I went for a similar angle to the last one, but this
time I went closer to the model and didn't have as much elevation
on the camera. I think that this image looks better than the last
because the camera positioning is better, although I have to consider
how the background for a regional magazine is going to be
incorporated.

I can picture many backgrounds behind this image and this angle
looks very promising because not only does it give the effect of
an establishing shot, it doesn't take too much focus off of the model.
When using this angle I will have to make sure that the background
is easily recognizable. This second set of images are better in terms
of lighting, the lighting adds a sense of warmth to them.

Typography slideshare

http://www.slideshare.net/A2mediakane/typography-for-a2-mediatypography

Typography

Typography

This font is serif. By using this font it give the impression that a magazine would be aimed at a higher audience, both in the registrar scale and in class, I use the term ‘higher audience’ when talking about serif font style because generally in magazine articles where a serif font is used, it is about issues that mainly affect upper class people (people with more money). This font would usually be used in the magazines that are expensive and are about topics such as politics and well established fashion (vogue).

Typography

This font is san serif. This font is usually used in free magazines in the articles. This font gives the impression that the magazine would be aimed at the lower half of the registrar scale and the working class. This is a general font that is used by many magazines, maybe not this font specifically, but a font that is similar to this one would usually be used in main bulk of a magazine, for example a gossip magazine (heat).

Typography

This font in san serif. By using this font, it gives the impression that the magazine is aimed at a younger audience because of its comic book like style. I would suggest that this font is not used in a regional magazine due to the fact that the topics that are discussed in a regional magazine are not of a childish nature.

What draws me to the conclusion that serif fonts are used for the higher half of the registrar scale and san serif font are used for the lower half of the registrar scale is that, serif font are usually and generally used in articles and magazines that target issues that affect upper class people. And that articles and magazines that use san serif fonts are used in articles and magazines that target issues affect the working and lower classes (or lesser educated).

Contents page analysis 1

 This is my first analysis of a contents page. What I have learnt from this is what needs to be included in a contents page in order for the reader to be both interested and for them to be able to get quick information about what they want to read. I have also realized that it is crucial to keep the house style of the magazine throughout the magazine otherwise it can look unprofessional. This contents page is from the same magazine as my first front page analysis, which is 'Around Ealing' a regional magazine for the Ealing borough. Typography - as we can see there is one general article on this page which is the editors comments, in this article the editor tries to add a sense of community into the magazine, this is shown by his use of informal phrasing of sentences, this article uses a san serif font, because this is a free magazine/ regional magazine and is not specifically about politics or is not a fashion magazine (some of the most popular topics of interest) it is not in serif because it is aimed at the working class and lower half of the registrar scale. The black text that is under the pink text on the contents is also san serif, this is because the magazine must keep to the house style of itself otherwise it can become confusing for the reader if the magazine does not have consistency or familiarity.

Front cover test analysis 2

This is the second analysis of a front cover that I have done. From this I have gained more knowledge on how much of an effect the image and topics covered have on the target audience. This one in particular tell us that the magazine is aimed people who have an interest in politics due to the fact that the prime minister is in front of number 10 on downing street. From this I have gained the knowledge that this magazine is aimed at an older audience that is possibly interested in politics as described on the analysis itself.

Changes

When we started the course we were able to choose whether we wanted to make a podcast, radio drama, regional magazine or a short film. We did choose to do a short film as a group due to the fact that we only had a small class which consisted of three students, however there were some complications when it came to filming dates, location, due to this and many other issues arising we have had to change our brief and have now decided that we are going to be making individual regional magazines. By coming to the realization that we were not able to get work done and have now changed what we are doing completely, we have essentially started the course 4 months late. This means that we will have to get more than double the work done in n even shorter amount of time. Although due to me personally creating a magazine for my AS project I have some degree of experience of how to create a magazine.

Introduction

This is the introduction to the project G324 where I will be creating a regional magazine for my A2 course. For this project I will be creating a regional magazine focusing on target audience, content, likability, availability etc. I plan to update this blog weekly with the work that I have completed over the week.

Front cover test analysis 1

This is an analysis of a free magazine that is about the borough of Ealing. From this i have learnt what is expected from a magazine according to it's target audience. From this I gained the knowledge that this magazine is aimed at families, I interpreted this because there is an image of two children on the front of the magazine and it looks like they are on a family day out in the snow. From the way that the text is on the front cover I can tell that it is aimed at the working class rather than the upper classes, this does not mean that the upper classes cannot read it, it just means that the general population that this magazine is aimed  at is the working class families. The audience that this is aimed at would most likely be families that are main-streamers mainly but it could also be aimed at people who want to increase or maintain their sense of community. In terms of demographic profiling, the target audience would be C2 and below on the registrar scale.

Test magazine page

This is my first time using in-design and this is a layout replica of a magazine I looked at. I have learnt the basics of what I need to do for my project and as I am progressing through my own project I will be learning a lot more about the software. I like the layout of this magazine because it doesn't just make components just 'fit' on the page, it puts style into it via overlaying the images and slightly rotating them. This magazine heavily focuses on the images which is why the page is dominated by images. From this I can infer that the purpose of the magazine is to allow people to visualize what the article is about and what well known people are getting up to. The house style of the magazine is used on this page, as we can see from the placing and positioning of the images and the formal nature of the articles.