Masthead Final Decisions

Here is slideshare showing the reasoning behind my masthead decisions as well as showing the changes I have made to the font on photoshop

Final Masthead Decisions from anosha butt

Masthead Name Decissions and Changes

I have had quite a challenge with picking the name of the masthead. Initially I decided to go with the name 'Beats' as it reminded me of the upbeat pop music which related to my genre. I then decided to play with some fonts and had come to this particular font:

This is because initially I wanted to go for a more 'bubble' style text. However I quickly came to realise that this was not a common convention for a pop music magazine and so it would not suit the genre of my music magazine. I then looked at more pop music magazines to find inspirations for my masthead fonts. I realised the fonts were usually using sans serifs; they were seen as very bold and simple.

I then decided to change the masthead from 'Beats' to 'Pop Up' which seems to be more appealing to the genre of the music magazine. I am still experimenting with the font styles and colours.

Front Cover Example of Photograph Manipulation

Here is a video on an example of photo manipulation for my front cover.

Final Shot Taken/ Mise- en- Scene

This is the final shot taken for the front cover. It shows the artist 'Eva' dressed in a light pink shirt and is styled with a large black hat. I asked the model to wear natural makeup for example the use of eyeliner and a light coloured lipstick. Once I put the image on photoshop I will be able to change the colour of her lipstick and make it darker if I find it necessary to do so. I also used the white background to be able to draw the most attention to the artist and not the background. I will also be able to easily cut the artist out and use a different colour background if I needed to. 

The pose of the model shows that the artist has a fun and fashionable character. I found that this pose was more appealing for the genre of the music magazine as it is a pop magazine. 

I found that this picture was more successful than my test shots. This is due to the fact that her attire and pose is more appropriate to the genre. Her facial expressions also show the energetic side to the artist; she is smiling as well as the angle of gaze being towards the audience. This draws the attention of the audeince to the front cover and makes it more appealing. 

Overall I think this image will appeal to my target audience because it creates a fun and energetic vibe of the magazine which I am aiming for. 

Test Shots

Here is the video I made on my test shots with my model.

 Here is the model consent form:

Shot List

Here is my shot list for the different shots I aim to use for my magazine.

Flat Plan Feedback

I asked these three girls, Tugce, Fatima and Shehla about their opinions on my flat plans for my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread:

Tugce: I really like the pose of the model because it seems very appealing to me. It shows that the girl is very energetic and fun. I found that there were quite a few blank spaces that could have included pictures. The contents page looked abit plain but I really like the layout. The double page spread is nice because the model is using a guitar which looks cool and it would look like a nice image to use.
Shehla: I agree with Tugce I found the model very appealing and I also really like the idea of the use of the makeup on the front page because I am interested in that. The contents page layout is nice because there is the use of pictures and text and there is a mixture not just one thing which looks interesting. The double page spread looks abit vague but I like the idea of there being a picture surrounded by text
Fatima: I like the layout of the front cover because there is not alot on the page so it does not look messy but I think you could add a few more things like images and texts. I think the contents page looks nice and I like the idea of using a big image on the page. In the double page spread I like the use of the quote on the top of the page because it will make the reader want to read the page. I like the use of the model and the pose she has with the guitar.

Flat Plan Draft / Decontructed

Here is the flat plans for my Front cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Here I created a slideshare which shows what aspects of different magazines influenced my decissions on making the front cover, contents page and double page spread. 

Flat plan from anosha butt

Visual Moodboard

Here I created a video showing my visual moodboard. I had written some words on post- it notes which were accociated with my chosen genre, Pop.
Words include:
Teens, Fashion, Dresses, New!, Fangirl, Artists, Girls, Bright, Colour, Gossip, Popular and fun

Artist Profile

Here is my Glogster on my artist profile
If it does not work click the link http://anoshabutt568b95c19d226.edu.glogster.com/artist-profile/

Reader Profile

Reader profile from anosha butt

Audience Research- Focus Group and Analysis of Findings

I asked two sixth form students Shamoun and Tugce who are both 18 to take a look at three magazine covers that I had picked out for them and I asked them a range of questions. The magazine covers that I used were:

The first question I had asked them was 'which magazine appeals to you the most and why?' Shamoun liked the Vibe magazine as it had one of his favourite artists on the cover. This suggests that someone iconic and well known attracts the attention of the reader. Tugce thought the pop magazine appealed to her the most also due to the model. She said she liked the way she is presented with a smile and looks attractive. The colour scheme also is also attractive as it has bold colours and it captures the person's attention. From this feedback I will need to present the model as being one that comes across as friendly and attractive as well as using bright colours to attract the audience.

 I asked if they knew which genre was each music magazine to see if it was easily identifiable. They both guessed the genres correctly and so this means that the specific conventions present on these magazine front covers were connected to the genre of music magazine.

'On each magazine what feature stands out to you the most?' was the question I asked next. On the pop magazine again the idea of the colour scheme and the layout was the most appealing as the bright colours are seen as very attractive. The other images on the page also helped with making the cover more attractive and appealing. The appealing aspect in the rock magazine was the model and Shamoun mentioned his hairstyle. This shows that the appearance of the model/ artist is very important. From the vibe magazine the angle of gaze from the main artist is what engaged them. From this, I have realised the importance of the model being used in the front cover and the way they are presented is very important. Also the colour scheme is an important aspect and so I will have to use an appropriate colour scheme for my magazine. 

The next question was 'what would you price each magazine?' The response was around £4-£5 and this was due to the fact that the magazines looked sophisticated as well as being worthy of a high price. This was helpful to know as I wanted to see the expectations of the target audience and what they think each magazine would cost. The costs were quite high and so I won't be afraid to raise the prices.

 I then asked about what they thought the target audience was for the magazines. Overall the target audience was young adults as well as teenagers. The pop magazine was for 11-18 and was the same for the rock magazine however they though that the vibe magazine was for a more older audience due to the more sophisticated feel of the magazine. 

I finally asked a general question about what colour schemes would be appropriate for a pop magazine and the feedback was the fact that the colours should be playful. Tugce raised an interesting point about the fact that some colours may seem very feminine as well as Shamoun saying magazines such a vibe appeal to him more due to the darker colours as they are typically male colours. This means that I will have to decide which gender I will appeal more to or if I appeal to both genders.

Audience Research- Questionnaire and Results

I sent a survey around which I made on survey monkey. I shared the link on social media for example twitter as well as broadcasting a message on whatsapp.

The survey I made:

I asked the question 'what type of music magazine appeals to you?'. The audience group that I had sent the survey to was my target audience so it is helpful to see what trends arise from this audience and what types of music magazines they like to read. 

The second question was 'How often do you purchase music magazines?' This allowed me to see if music magazines were actually popular amongst my audience. It is important to see if there is an actual demand in music magazines otherwise they will not be very appealing to the target audience. 

I then asked the question ' How much are you willing to pay for a new music magazine?' This allows me to see how much my target audience is willing to pay for the magazine. This will help me price the magazine.

The fourth question was 'What attracts you the most to the magazine?' This allows me to see what draws the attention of the audience to the magazine cover. This will help me decide which aspects I can give most attention to and will help me design the magazine cover in accordance to my feedback. 

The last question was 'what would you be most interested in reading about within the magazine?' I asked this question to see what my target audience like to read and so use this to influence what I can put into my magazine to encourage people to read it. 

I decided to ask 5 questions to keep it short as well as using multiple choice questions; it means that more people were able to answer the question with ease as well as being able to do it quickly. 

I also decided to use survey monkey because it is a survey done online which is also compatible with mobile devices. This makes it easier for the audience to fill it is as it is more convenient and making questionnaires on paper seemed to be more of a hassle and more time consuming. 

Results 

The results show that people chose the option 'pop' more often and it had a total of 38.89% which was 7/18 people that I had asked. This reinforces my idea of creating a pop music magazine as it is shown from my research that the pop genre is more popular and so is seen as more encouraging. 

The results here show that 44.44% of people purchased music magazines every 6 months which was 8/18 people. This trend shows that music magazines are not that popular amongst my audience however people still do purchase them which is a good sign as it means people will be interested in reading the magazine.

From this question, the results show that 61.11% which was 11/18 people, would pay between £2-£3 for a magazine. This shows the amount which most people would choose and so will help me with pricing the magazine within that range.

This question showed that 61.11% which was 11/18 people found the main image being more appealing to the person when looking at a magazine. This highlights the importance of the main image and so I will focus on the main image the most to make it the most appealing for my target audience. 

From this, the results were that 38.89% which was 7/18 of the people found that reading interviews within the magazine was more interesting and so I will use this to include it within my magazine.