Feedback

In this blog is the feedback that i have received about my magazine from the audience that i have aimed to appeal too. I have done this by writing up a questionnaire and handed it outne.

My questionnaire consisted of two open questions asking:
-What my dance magazine has that others do not?
-Was the double-page spread providing the information that you was wanting to read about?
The most common response to the question "What my dance magazine has that others do not?" was that my magazine had allot more variety of sub-genres than other magazines and this covers every ones personal favourite style of music.
The response to my second question "Was the double-page spread providing the information that you was wanting to read about?", had a more of a variety of responses but mainly resulted in a positive response. Which was that the information provide was the write amount and had key facts about the new DJ that the audience wanted to know about.

Evaluation of the finished magazine

This blog contains my finished four pages, i have uploaded the using google docs. I created my final designs by following my flat plans and looking at magazines that are in the same genre. For my dance magazine i used a title font that is sharp and bold as it suggests loud and upbeat music.
My magazine uses similar conventions and design of real media products in the way that the master head is at the top of the page and there is a main image o my most important article takes up most of the page and is of a person making eye contact. My magazine sticks out from others in newsagents because of the bright red colour i have used for my title. No other magazines have a title this bright and therefore my magazine will stand out. The language i have used in my magazine appeals to my audience because i have used clear and moderate grammar. I know this is what my readers what because of researching the social group in my target audience by looking at already published magazine media packs. also i can easily relate to these people because this is the group that i fit in. the images and language that i have used in my magazine shows allot about the young adults who read and live this lifestyle. It shows that youths of today love to read about events that they may have attended or would have liked to have visited. Also showing the emotions and main objectives of this type of social network, which is that there main priority is to have fun and not worry to much about later life and what the consequences to their actions are. My magazine would be stocked in all main magazine distributors as it relates to allot of the public, and can stand a chance against leading magazines in this genre because there is not a huge amount of dance magazines on the market compared to other music genres.
During the course of making my magazine i have developed allot of technological techniques from using Adobe inDesign and Photoshop. These two applications helped me greatly when it came too creating my design and putting it together. InDesign allowed me too cut out backgrounds and blend my photo's in to each other and in to my background. Photoshop allowed me to sharpen up my photos and make them look clearer.
Looking back to my preliminary task i have noticed that i have learnt allot of skills from carrying out this task. I have learnt how to relate to my target audience by using language and grammar that they can easily and want to relate too. I have also learnt how to use the software i have to make my magazine look more professional, by learning how to use InDesign and photoshop. For My preliminary task i used my basic applications such as paint and word, which do not look professional and do not look attractive.











front cover




https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B7hZWTkEhQ07OTVkYjdkNGUtZWM3MC00Y2ZjLWJmNjAtMjA1NTA3MTZiMmIw&hl=en






contents page
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B7hZWTkEhQ07YWQxY2I3N2EtNDNjYS00NzZmLTgzODItYWY4Mzg5MGI3YTNh&hl=en







double-page spread

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B7hZWTkEhQ07NTAyODhmNjgtNmEzOC00YzZlLWIwNWMtNWMxYWQ5OTY0MjY3&hl=en

Flat plans

This blog contains my flat plans for my magazine which consists of a front cover, contents page and a double-page spread. I have drawn them all by hand roughly sketching out the format of the four pages. The sketches below are just a rough outline to what my final piece is going to look like, if i decide to change one of the designs slightly in between the time of processing my final piece i will do so, confirming my decision by asking audience from my target market which design they prefer.



This sketch is the flat plan for my front cover, i have also used colours that i am going to use in my final piece. The main image on my front cover is going to be an image of an artist's face, which is going to be brought behind all of the other information that my cover is going to consist of. The title of my magazine is going to be at the top of the page written in bold/striking letter, (to attract the reader also making it clear what the name of the magazine is.) I have also chosen to put my title up hear because it will be easily recognised on a stand full of other magazines because the top will show above the magazine that has been placed in front of it. Below my magazine title is going to be a slogan that only appeals to my magazine and can be easily related to by the customers who purchase my magazine .Another feature of my front cover is the picture of the poster that is included free in this month's issue, this is a good strategy for drawing in my audience, purely because of the fact that young people are highly drawn to free products. The name of my artist is going to be placed over is going to be placed of the top of the image. I have named the artist 'DJ' because i have not yet thought of an appropriate name for my main article (which is going to be about the artist on the cover). Another incentive i am going to include on my cover is the chance to win tickets to exclusive gigs and concerts that can only be won in Flash magazine . i am also going to have a short snappy sentence to explain to the reader the main article in my magazine, this is going to be written just under the artists name. Just above the artists name is going to be a list of the top tracks of the week, this will be a helpful way to attract my audience because they will be interested in the new songs and how they're doing, also without having to flick through a magazine to find such little information. My bar code and price of my magazine is going to be printed in the bottom right hand corner, because it will be out of the way of my images and magazine features.
























This is my contents page. I have put the name of the page in the same place as i have for my title on my front cover. This is to minimise confusion for my audience who are picking up my magazine in the shops and are looking to see what is inside this issue. The page number are placed underneath my page title and finish down towards the left side of the page. An image of an article is going to be printed behind my page numbers, with a sub-heading about the image below. The main colour is going to match with my front cover (red).

This is a rough sketch of my main double-page spread inside my magazine. The design of the two pages is very simple but is used by many successful dance magazines, one these is mixmag, and that is were i got the design from. The title of the article is going to be placed on the left page, on the top left hand side. I am going to have one image on this page which is going to cover the whole of the two pages. i have done this to create affect of as though the reader is looking straight the eye's of the artist. The literature of the article is going to also be on the left page, at the very bottom. I am not going to write a great deal of information in this article because having researched my audience i have found out that if they have to read a great deal of text they'll become bored, eventually loosing interest in what they're reading about. i have put the page numbers at the bottom of the two pages.

Images

This post consists of all the images i am going to use in my magazine. I took them in a range of different places so that i had a wide range of choice about what i could write about. I have took three images of my friend who i asked and agreed to get in to poses that i need. In two of the photos he was wearing headphones to look as though he is djing in a live club. The third image is of facing away from the camera point to the left. This image can be used in lots of different ways to create effect in my magazine. My fourth image of a professional female DJ, performing in a popular club in Brighton. My fifth image is of a dance floor, which i also took in a club in Brighton.

This is going to be my main image for my front cover. it is of my friend looking like he i behind the decks in a popular club. i have done this by getting him to put on a pair headphones at a house party and placing his hands in line with his waist. I cropped out the lower part of his body because there actually is no decks, so putting his arms like this creates the effect of him actually using the equipment. I edited this image to black and white because his face was not as clear if i left it with full colour. The only problem with this image is the writing on his shirt. If i were to leave this lettering on it may look like a main sales on my front magazine and confuse my reader. To overcome this i am going to have to cover the lettering by using functions on adobe photo shop.

My second image is going to be used as a image on either my contents or double page spread. i took this image of the same person using equipment that i managed to get hold of by borrowing it off another friend. i wanted an image of the DJ looking as though he had been djing all night. I created this effect by simply getting my friend to pose straight after he had attended football training. I am going to need to cut out the background in order to blend the photo into the theme colour of my page. If i were not to cut him out of the background the image would be square, looking UN-professional.

This photo is the same person that posed in my previous photos. It is of him pointing towards the ceiling looking down at his fingers. I can use this image in a variety of different ways, one of these could be cutting him out of the background and having his fingers pointing towards an important article or piece of text. I would cut him out off of the background using photo shop. The only problem I'll have with this is that the colour of the chair is the same as his top, which could cause difficulty when using the magnetic tool.

This photo is of an actual DJ. I took this photo in a venue in Brighton were the customers can get reasonably close to the set. This was perfect for me because i could get get up close to the DJ and get a clear picture. But it took me a considerably long time to get this image because i kept getting jogged by people dancing. i am going to use this image as an extra in my magazine using the image as a free pull out poster. I am going to edit the image by darkening the background and adding a range of different neon colours in each three segments of the image.

This image is also taken from a club in Brighton. It is a photo of the main dance stage full of people dancing. I took this image by standing on the raised platform that is located more towards the back of the venue. i am going to use this image as the main image on my double- page spread. I got the inspiration for the page that i looked at from 'mix mag' which also consists of a large image of a dance set. This image is not going to need to be edited, as it is already bright, therefore catching the readers eye wanting them to read the article on the left hand side.

Font Possibilities

In this blog i am going to be discussing possible fonts for my magazine. I am going to be choosing fonts for my front cover, contents page and double page spread. i am going to be taking in to consideration the font size, colour and what style my font is going to be on each page. Firstly i am going to choose the font for my title that is going to be on my front cover, then go on to discuss font possibilities for the rest of my magazine. The font styles are taken from http://www.dafont.com/

Mast head font(s).


This is my first possible font choice for my title. I have chosen this because the style contrasts well with my genre of my magazine. The font looks modern, this will catch my target audience's attention because this reflects their 'modern style' and persona. I will chose the colour of my title text depending on the colour of my picture. I will choose a suitable colour that will stand out from my picture and not clash with it, making my title to easy to read for the customer.

This font is also bold and sharp, resulting in the font looking aggressive. Making the font eye catching as it clear and stands out from other magazine front cover fonts. I also like the way the letter 'H' is presented in the font, it has the same impact as a logo in the way that it customers will recognise it and know instantly that it is the magazine they have been buying previously.

To finalise my decision i conducted a survey by asking my friends (who fit in to the same category as my target audience), which title they would prefer on my front cover . The results came back and i found that the majority of people who i asked preferred my first title font to my second style, this is because the font it bolder and strikes out grabbing my audience's attention.

main flash

I have chosen this font to be over my main image, this is because the style looks as though it has been written by the person it relates too. in this case the main headline (person) of my magazine, DJ Dawson.

Main Sales

for my main sales i am going to need to choose a font that looks exciting whilst keeping to the same genre as my magazine. i conducted research to find the most suitable font style to use. After looking through a range of different styles and sizes, i finally came across a font style that stuck out from the rest, and was also relevant to my dance genre. My font reflects the effect of a strobe light, which flashes repeatedly giving a spaced out effect. This Font is called 'Dollydots' and has also been taken from 'dafont.com'. I can use this font in a range of different colours on my front cover to differentiate from each point of sales. This font is going to be used to promote my main sales of the issue.

Body Text

My body text is going to be plain and simple. This is because it needs to be easy for the reader to read, to keep them interested, wanting to read on. If i were to choose a more complex font for my body text it may course a strain on the readers eye because the font is so tight together leaving little gaps between words. My body text is also going to be in the style of San- serif, this means that each letter does not have a 'tail or flick', just plain and easy to read. San serif text is also more formal compared to serif and will appeal more to my target audience as it's non formal.

This is the body text that is commonly used by 'mixmag' magazine. This style is similar to my style in the that its san-serif, but the major difference is that this style is much bolder than mine.

Analysis of exsisting magazines

I have chosen to analyse two front covers from magazines that are based on the same music industry as my magazine. Also analysing a contents page and a double page spread from 'Mixmag' and 'ATM'.

Mixmag front cover:

This is the front cover of mixmag from September 2008. The image is the main focus on this cover, this is because it covers up the whole of the page. This image is mainly used to draw in male readers as it is a woman in her bikini. Choosing the write image for a front cover is vital because it tells the readers what the main subject of the issue is going to be about. Also to left of the image is a headline that is written in bold lettering and tells the reader (if they have not yet noticed) what the image is about. Down the right hand side of the page is a list of sub-headings that are also featured in the magazine. The theme colour of the front cover is white and yellow, which stands out from the colours of the image, making it clear and easy to read. The title of the magazine is in the traditional place of most magazines; at the top covering the page from right to left. The choice of language used on the front cover is very simple to understand, using a low level of grammar. This is because the reader who is likely to pick up this magazine is not going to enjoy reading the front cover if it is difficult for them to understand, also the front cover demonstrates the language that is going to be used inside the issue.

ATM front cover:

The second magazine i have chosen to analyse is called 'ATM', and reviews and talks about music of a similar culture to my magazine. It is slightly different to 'Mixmag' in the way that this magazine is based on dance music that is more drum and bass genre. This front cover is also covered with a large image yet again portraying what this issue is going to consist of. The name of this magazine is printed on the top left of the page, in a mustard yellow colour. The colour scheme of the front cover is gold and white, with the image and colour of the lettering matching each other. This is because the image on the front cover is of a artist called 'Goldie', and that is why the publisher has chosen the theme to be white and gold. The magazine also comes with a free CD, this is used to promote sales in the way that readers will be drawn in to this 'free' product and will be more likely to purchase the product because the reader believes that they're getting more value for money.

Contents page:

This is a contents page taken from 'mixmag' magazine, and is clearly stated on the top right hand corner of the page. It has a general layout with the page numbers written down the right-hand side, with the sub-heading of 'features' written above . The main image covers 2/3Rd's of the page, outlining what the issue is based on, in this case the artist Sam Sparro. The reader knows that the image relates to a page because down on the bottom left of the image is the page number, (this is what page the image is based on). Also, there is a smaller image of another page printed in between the title and the magazine page numbers. At the bottom of the contents page is a brief description of what the free item provided with the magazine consists of, in this case it a a C.D of Armin Van Buuren/ an image based on the item is also displayed.

Double Page Spread:

This Is the main Double-page spread of the same issue of 'mixmag' that is based on the main image on the contents page. The title of the page is printed at the top of the left page and is written in the colours gold and white. It is written in gold because the word used in the title is also 'golden'. The main image covers the two pages, leaving only a little space for writing at the very bottom of the left page, (the right page is fully taken up of an image of the main focus; Sam Sparro.) Underneath the title is a sub-title and briefly outlines what the page is going to be about, this tells the reader what the writing below is about, therefore giving the reader an opportunity to decide whether or not they want to read on. The main colour scheme matches the contents page being white and gold. This is done so that the issue can be easially related to 'Sam Sparro' of the issue, as it is specially based on the artist 'Sam Sparro; and he is familiarised with the colour gold (due to his single called 'Black and Gold'). The font is in white because it stands out from the image, therefore making it easy to read.

Target Audience

In order to create my magazine i had to establish my Target audience. I did this by finding two magazine's that are very similar to mine and are already published. I have done this by finding the website online and looking through the media pack on the site. The two magazine's i researched were called 'mixmag' and 'Djmag'.

Mixmag

Readers of this mag are the first to recommend a new tune and the first on a new fashion trend. Also at that new cool club very early and they move on before it starts to go cold . Informed about top DJ's and upcoming tunes, and have have the latest mobile (even if their current one is less than six months old).

Readers have a high disposable income and a high propensity to spend it on:
-Nights out
-Clothes
-Tunes
-The latest mobile and MP3 player
Nearly 80% do not read another music magazine and they spend little time watching TV, especially at weekends.
The median age of a Mixmag reader is 26 - 72% male, 28% female - and they tend to be urban and single. Based on this information from 'http://www.mixmag.net/content/reader-profile' my target audience is going to be the same as 'Mixmag's' audience, as this magazine is what mine is going to be based on.

DJ Mag

This is a bar chart showing statistics about the readers of 'Dj mag'. By looking at the chart i can see that 94% of males read this magazine, although there are a considerable amount more male readers who read 'Dj mag' compared to 'Mixmag', but the magazine is still read by more male than female. based on these results it is clear that i am going to be more successful if i aim my magazine at male readers, i am therefore going to focus on drawing in male customers, not spending a great deal of time interesting my female audience. The average age for both magazines are 25.7 and 26, these to figures are basically equal, telling me my target audience is going to around 25-26. This helps me a great deal as i know what images to use, and what level of grammar is needed to keep my readers interested. A high percentage of readers for both magazines tend to be single. To attract this group magazines designers tend to have a lot of images of woman, as this is what a 26; single; straight male would be hugely interested in. Another similarity of the readers is they both have a high disposable income, this is perfect for a magazine to aim at because it is extremely likely for the reader to buy an issue every month as they would not mind spending a little amount of their income on a cheap magazine.

Researching these two magazines have given me a clear picture of who my target audience are and what my magazine needs attract readers. My target audience are going to be; urban males who are in their middle 20's, are single (straight) and enjoy going to club's and listening to the latest dance tracks.