Rough Layouts

First front page and contents

First double page spread

Second double page spread

Costumes and Props

Time management

Audience Profile

My audience are passionate, engaged and open minded music fans driven to continually discover new music, yet still enjoys to listen to their 60's vinyl's. 
My audience are very affluent, with a disposable income fitting in to the ABC1 category on the jicnar scale. 
My audience also has a similar taste in films as they do music. They enjoy a decent new action/thriller, however they do enjoy watching older films like the Godfather and James Bond. 
My audience also like to keep in good health. Always eating breakfast, regular snacks of fruit and vegetables, with a healthy meal at the end of the day. 
My audience likes to keep up with the fashion scene, spending a reasonable amount of money on their look. 
My audience does not have children, but does have a partner that they like to spoil with fine wines and jewellery. 
Music does not take over their life, however it is a passion that they hold deeply and they could not go a day without listening to their classic records and recent discoveries.  

Performers and Casting - Models

Charlie would be perfect as a model for the front page or double page spread of my magazine. He has a vespa, so taking a picture of him riding it would create the needed effect for him to look like a pop-rock idol.

Jack would also be a good model because of his style and general look which conveys 60’s rock bands (Beatles) which will be featuring in my magazine. I would like to put him either on the double page spread or the contents.

Jess is another model who would be perfect to go on to my double page spread as she has the same look as a madonnaesque singer.

Dom would be a perfect front page model as I think that he has a John Lennon type look about him.

Jake and Rach also have potential to fit in to the 60’s look, I would like to feature them on my contents page or double page spread.

Researching Music Magazines

MOJO magazine is aimed at people who truly love music and enjoy reading about music's greatest icons. 
This copy of MOJO uses a picture of The Beatles as their CVI, with the name of the magazine behind the picture in white so it stands out. The photo of The Beatles gives the reader an idea of what will be inside the issue, then the 'Their 101 greatest songs' anchors the reason for them being on the front page. 
MOJO is aimed at music lovers, mainly between the ages of 30 - 50, however due to its content the target audience is debatable depending on the artist featured in individual issues. 








The masthead of MOJO is always at the top of the magazine in bold, clear lettering covering the top of the page. In this issue it is in white, contrasting against the black/scenery making it stand out and capture the readers attention. The selling line of MOJO is 'The Music Magazine' informing the audience immediately as it is written over the masthead. 




The cover lines are written in a bold font and part of the same colour scheme of white and grey making it easy to read. The cover lines out line some of the main content in the magazine capturing the target audiences attention due to the visual attraction, this then interests them in the contents. 

MOJO's double page spread on 'The Last Shadow Puppets' is both visually attractive and intriguing. The black and white photograph of the two men either side of the article connotes that the section will be about them. The 'Best Of Both Worlds' text at the top in bold lettering and the separation of the men on either side of the double page spread connotes that they are from two different parts of music as it is a music magazine. The short paragraph on the left hand page near the middle in white and highlighted orange words then anchors the meaning of the article explaining what the text that follows will be written about. The visual effect that the double page spread has on audiences is massive, the colour of the title of the article and the way the editor has used the gradient and light variant to make the colour go from orange to white gradually getting lighter across the page is really complimentary with the photograph behind it. The shot of the two men also has a positive effect behind the white writing making it stand out. 

Double page spreads in MOJO 

- Headings are in bold, capital letters covering the top of both pages. 

- Main text and quotes are larger than any other texts, sometimes including first letters of articles. 
- Simple colour schemes - keeping colours to a minimum 
- Quotes are sometimes used in the headline/title on the picture stand first or to break up the text. 
- One picture covers on page or bleeds between two, not often more than two. 
-  Includes journalists name
- Headlines draw in the reader but dont tell them what its about - interests them in the article  
- Laid out in 2 -4 columns 












Q magazine is infamous for its exclusives and interviews with the worlds biggest bands. The Lennon 70th Birthday edition is among the most famous. 
Q have used a close up of John Lennon in black and white as the CVI. He is in the centre of the page, with a light brown/gold border around the page, enhancing the visual importance of the CVI. The colour scheme used is simple, black, white, red and gold. The headlines are all in bold red lettering, excluding the main cover line 'Lennon at 70' which has been written using a serif font, which is effective because it stands out against the rest of the cover lines as it is on the left of the page. 










The mast head 'Q' in white surrounded by a red box stands out behind Lennon's head because it is such a contrast of colour. 






The cover lines 'Kings Of Leon' and 'Damon Albarn' also capture the readers interest and attention as it shows that the whole magazine is not dedicated to Lennon. This then increases the target audience for this particular issue as it would be on one hand increased due to the fact that John Lennon is one of the most famous, iconic singers in history. On the other hand, people who usually buy Q who are not interested in an issue in tribute to Lennon's music are also catered for, which is made obvious by the bold red lettering of the cover lines on the right side. 




The Q contents page is very well laid out in to two columns, with a large picture covering the whole right hand side of the page and a smaller one which is in the first column in the top left. This ensures that the page is not plastered in pictures and is informative about what is in the magazine. 

The colour scheme relates to the magazines main colours, red, black and white. The consistence of the colour scheme throughout the magazine gives it a professional look and is individual to Q. 










The text is all in sans serif, which also exudes consistency, using black for the page numbers and the majority of the text and red for the banners, underlining and to describe the main article. 





The main image of the band that will be featuring in the magazine. The page number is also written in the left hand corner in large bold font. 
The main features of the magazine are all in the left hand column, with the name of the artist/band written in bold capitals with the page number next to it. Red stripes are underneath the name and below the stripe is a brief description of what the reader should expect. This exudes professionalism. 

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I have done research in to different magazines, looked at how they are put together, who for and why they use certain things on and in their products. I have used different ideas from existing college magazines to give me inspiration when designing and making the front cover and the contents page. The front cover has the usual features of a magazine such as a masthead, running head, call outs and a CVI. I have developed my magazine by making it more sophisticated than many existing magazines catering for the same audience, as I thought that this would widen its appeal slightly. I have also used a drop shadow on the masthead which is less noticeable, I have also used a sans serif front with all of the writing, which gives it consistency. 


Who would be the target audience for your media product?
As it is a college magazine, the obvious choice of target audience would be students aged 16 - 19. My typical target audience on the jicnar scale would probably be graded around an E, this is because college would in most circumstances restrict students chances of having a well paying or full time job. The target audience would generally be aimed at aspirers, this is because college is generally full of people wanting to go on to higher education by choice. 


How did you attract/address your audience?
I have used several features in order to attract and address my audience. For example, the name of the magazine 'Varsity' can be defined as a sports team representing a school or college. I think the name is effective because it can be easily related to a wide range of males playing sport and a small group of females. Also the CVI is of a young, good looking male leaning against a tree whith his arm resting on his head looking away from the camera. This attracts the female target audience for obvious reasons, and also males as it connotes intelligence, high fashion and popularity. The colour scheme of the front cover is black, white and grey. This allows the magazine to have a higher market appeal, but including the cover lines and tag lines such as 'Halloween Scares', 'How to pass your driving test' and 'Chrimbo Clubbing Destinations' it makes the magazine way more accessible for a younger audience. The colour scheme also makes it easy to read above the CVI, but also makes sure that there are no tacky colours involved. 


What've you learnt about other technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When creating this media product I used two programmes, Indesign and Photoshop, and I also learnt how to use a digital SLR camera. When using the camera I learnt how to take close up and mid close up shots, how to turn the flash on and off, how to zoom and how to make the photo of a higher quality. For the magazine specification, I had to use a mid close up photo for my front cover photo, once I had taken the photo it was uploaded to Photoshop in which I learnt how to make the photo 'flawless'. I used a tool in which I could take away blemishes and certain imperfections, this improved the look of the magazine drastically. I found Photoshop fairly easy to use as I have had some past experience with it, and I thought that the finished product wouldn't have been half as good without its use. 

For the contents page, we changed programme. Indesign allowed me to introduce columns in to my contents, I could also layer text against coloured backgrounds. An example of this is the word 'Contents' on the right hand side of my contents page. It has been placed in the far right column and it is aligned with the actual contents below it.  I learnt how to use swatches and change the gradient of colour. An example of this is the background colour on my contents, it is grey and black but fades in to eachother, this has been done through the use of gradient. I found Indesign alot  harder to use than Photoshop and thought that the steps involved to create the piece of work were long winded and complicated.   

Flat Plan

Preliminary Project

College lifestyle is primarily targeted at college students, and aspirer's and achievers, connoted by the masthead. The picture boost is of an iconic figure that the target audience can relate and look up to. This improves the appeal of the magazine to college students, however the image of the man mixed with thecolour scheme connotes that the content is fundamentally aimed at males. 


The layout of the cover and the use of sans serif is relatively unsophisticated and unfixed, giving the magazine a more down market vibe, making it more accessible for college students. 
  










'More' is aimed at a female target audience, made up of aspirer's and , roughly aged ages 16+. This isconnoted by the CVI who is a recognisable  figure head. Also the colour themes of pink, white and yellow are generally associated with a female target audience, therefore making the magazine appeal to female college students.  
In addition to this, the posture of the picture boost is exuding confidence and glamour by direct eye contact with the camera and the 'in season' clothes being modelled. This is further complimented by theflushed left, smaller picture boost, aligned with theCVI, promoting the fashion content of the magazine.  
On the other hand the crowded layout and the minimal amount of serif font used considerably pulls the magazine down market, therefore making it more accessible to college students. 

The target audience for 'Closer' is young women, who range on the jicnar scale from D-E . This is connotedby the content, CVI's and colour theme. The layout of the magazine is unfixed and cluttered with the pictures bleeding off the page, consequently bringing the magazine down market. The mast head, which is also a wob is overlapped by the left flushed pull quote.


The CVI is a recognisable figure, but fundamentally towards women, as are the other smaller picture boosts, all containing womanly icons that are of general interest. The sans serif font brings the market of the magazine downwards towards the bottom end of the jicnar scale.

What I Have Learnt From My Research

Upmarket magazines tend to have a fixed layout, and are not crowded with infomation.
- The use of serif brings the magazine upscale also.
- Multiple colour themes bring the magazine down market.
- Majoirty of the popular magazines have a popular CVI on them.
- In order to make my magazine unisex based, i will have to get the right colour scheme that appeals to both genders.
- Another feature of a downmarket magazine is when the masthead is obscured by other objects on the cover.
- My college magazine will contain articles on music, books, fashion and the latest technology.

Fonts I Could Use

MAGAZINE

Magazine

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE

KICK

KICK

KICK

Varsity.

Coverlines

- 2012 Olympics build up
- Winter Best Buys
-  Latest Tour Snaps
- How to pass your driving test - Top Tips
- Halloween Scares!
- Christmas Clubbing Destination.

Names I Could Use

VARSITY
KICK
MEGA MAGAZINE
THE AGEING YOUTH
THE YOUTH
WSFC

Target Audience

If you're reading this magazine, you :
- you'd prefer to be outdoors rather than indoors,
- you spend your nights watching friends rather than Eastenders
- you're a morning person
- you were designer clothes, and won't be seen without a fashionable label
- you prefer twitter to Facebook, but aren't addicted
- you plan on going to University, before getting a job

magazine cover

Contents

Facts.

My names Sarah, and my blog background looks better than Dom's.