Evaluation

My Magazine does resemble existing magazines of the same genre. It has one main masthead displaying the title. ‘Scandalous.’ I chose this title as I believe it resembles this particular genre well. It has a meaning of attitude, and I thought this would suit the magazine and its genre. The audience would understand it meaning and be able to relate to it.

Below this is one main image positioned left on the page, this is to allow room for the main sells on the left hand side. I have chosen to use a photograph of my model looking like she has attitude, this is due to the typical style of photos being used in this genre of magazine being similar to this. The Model is also wearing clothes typical of this type of audience. They are baggy and quite colourful. The setting for the photographs was also carefully chosen. The main focus was to display a certain amount of graffiti in the background of the photo. I was able to achieve this. The colour of the graffiti also matches the colour of clothing the model is wearing. For this reason I believe my magazine does stand out from others. Due to the fact is is a Christmas issue a lot of magazines go for festive colours. I have chosen not to focus on Christmas as a theme for my magazine, not only to make it stand out but to focus on the story instead, as after all that is why the audience will be buying the magazine.

My Font for my title on my front cover resembles graffiti, I used this as I thought it was in keeping with the gangster and hip hop style and genre of the magazine. It makes the magazine look more appealing to its audience. The font is also bold, serving its purpose of main the magazine title stand out well. I chose to use white as it was the best colour to stand out also. From my research I also discovered that white was quite a common colour for text on this genre of magazine due to its contrast to the commonly used darker backgrounds.

My magazine isn't typical in the colours used. Although from my research I did discover that hip hop magazine do normally opt for a darker colour scheme I chose to go bold and bright. This was mainly to do with the background of my photographs. As shown they have been taking to a backing of graffiti, which i wanted to tie in with the style of the font. However this meant that the text had to match, therefore making the front page very colourful. Not only this but it then meant the rest of the pages has to be in keeping with this to create some element of continual aspect and them to the magazine I had created.

I chose to situate the main sells on the left hand side of the cover to allow more focus to be placed on the image. Which I found constitutes for 40% of magazine impulse buying from my research. The colours used for the main sells also are different for each story. This is to draw attention to each of them individually. I also took not from my research on the 'busy' layout of the cover of magazines. Displaying large fonts, and sometimes different bold fonts to draw attention and highlight particular stories in their own right. I have achieved this by using a range of colours, leaving gaps in between different main sells, and different sized fonts to allow the audience to go straight to the specific page according to the contents.

The magazine also displays the essential information baring features that every magazine must. This includes a bar code to allow the retailer to identify a product number, code and price. The date to allow the buyer to identify the month of the certain issue, and finally the issue number and price All essential aspects to the success of the magazine, and primarily what the buyer expects.

One final aspect of my cover is a tag-line I have chosen to place at the bottom of the page. I have put the information onto a black background to make it stand out as the final piece of information the reader will take note of before turning the page. This displays the contact information for the magazine in the form of a website. This has been highlighted in a red font, as it is the most important piece of information in the sentence.

My media product does target particular social groups. This is due to the use of language mainly. Abbreviations ‘T-TIME’ is a stereotypical example of the type of name quintessentially associated with this type of music. This will immediately act as a ploy to engage the audience due to this particular person’s celebrity status. The clothing the person is wearing on the front cover is also typical of the genre. Brightly coloured and baggy clothing would give someone who is familiar with this something to relate to. The magazine does suggest the personality and behaviour of the target audience. The Girl on the front appears to have attitude and quite a dark personality. Due to the shadow coming across her eyes. This again will give the audience something to relate to, in addition to this, it will allow the audience who are a fan of this particular genre of music, but are not committed to the lifestyle and fashion to aspire to be like their idol on the cover. This is achieved by the vibrant colours and gold chain around the models neck, as this could be perceived as someone who is worth money and therefore someone to look up to, not only for their musical talents but their celebrity status.


My contents page once again incorporates the same colours as my front cover. This is to ensure a running theme throughout. I have opted for the same font for the title. I found this font on dafont.com i searched on this website for an appropriate font that would suit the genre of the magazine. This font is called 'whoa' and I think represents a gangster graffiti style appearance imperative to this genre. I have for this reason chosen to use it throughout my magazine pages.

The colours on the page are quite 'busy' I have used colours picked out from the images to make the contents page more aesthetically pleasing and to make the look of the page fitting with the images.

For each story grouped to a page number I have tried to use either a different colour, font or size of text. This is to make the page more interesting. It also allows a certain element of definition to each story. I wanted each story to be easily identified, by doing this it allows the reader to go straight to the page they want to. Throughout this I have still used the same colours.

The layout of the contents page is set in two columns. I have done this to break the magazine down into two parts. This adds a clear definition to each half of the magazine. It also allows the contents page to look organised, this gives the reader much more of an understanding as to each story or certain page can be found. For this page I have used two images. They are relatively understated for the purpose of the nature of the page. I have chosen this type of image because I didn't want the images to detract from the stories on the page. They are purely there to add to the continuous and main story of this particular issue. The celebrity guest. Therefore they are layed out on each half of the page, relative to the columns. I have chosen this simple layout so that the page numbers can easily be seen, and the page is correctly serving its purpose. I also wanted the page to look professional, and due to the bold colours it would have been easy for the page to look confusing and hard for the reader to tackle had the layout have been slightly more complex. I noticed this similar effect in the magazine in this genre I researched, the contents page unlike the front cover was kept relatively simple, I assume for a similar reason.

I have also made some of the stories and aspects numbered on the contents page slightly bigger than the rest. By increasing the font size it puts an element of priority onto some stories. This means that the reader will be slightly more drawn to looking at some stories more than others. Mainly the double or multiple page spread. Such as the special issue feature with celebrity, 'T-Time'. In addition to this point. I have also put page numbers next to the appropriate picture representing the special issue story, this once again draws the ye. Due to the fact that the market will buy the magazine for the celebrity on the cover they will then go to the contents page to read the story about that certain celebrity. By obviously displaying the page number this helps the reader find the page very easily.

In terms of my magazine and the psychographic groups. The audience for my magazine falls between aspirers who would buy the magazine purely to want to be like the celebrity on the cover, the audience who longs for the money and fame of the hip hop genre. Similarly there would be people in the target audience sector who would buy this magazine because they feel the style, and type of music is different and they therefore are 'individualists.'

My magazine uses language intentionally to appeal to it's tardget audience. I have used words which the audience will relate to in a casual conversational manner, such as 'rollin', 'Street' and 'Hottest.' These words are all in association with the relaxed slang used by the target audience of theis type of music.

There are several option for institutes that would supply my media product. Firstly I would aim for hip hop and RNB shops to sell the magazine at the font desk. This would be immediately targeting the target audience and would the magazine in the main stream under the audiences nose. Secondly generic magazine and newsagents such as WHSmiths. Who stock specialist magazine in music. Having said this the magazine would need to prove a certain level of selling success before a nationally recognised shop such as this would stock it. Finally specialist music shops selling music would once again be a good option to sell that magazine. Staff would be able to recognise it, and ht shoppers woulds be the right target audience to recommend the magazine and buy it themselves.

I feel the gender for my magazine is quite obvious. It is for the 16-25 age group, both male and female. The male audience would be attracted to the female RnB artist modelling the cover, as the female audience would be equally attracted to the model she aspires to be like. I have included a model posing with attitude as once again this will appeal to the audience. The colours represent youth and vibrancy. This depicts the scene of this genre of music. In addition to this using the colours on the magazine makes it stand out and appeal to the audience aesthetically. Personally I don't think the race of the audience is important. Although stereotypically hip hop listeners and performers are of the dark race. Similarly white people will listen to the music. Therefore I have chosen to use a white person to pose for my magazine as I don't feel this will have much impact on the success of the magazine. Having researched the magazine in my first blog I have aimed to keep the theme and therefore target audience the same. This is because the previous 'Vibe' magazine served my inspiration for 'Scandalous' This has meant that all previous research has been Incorporated in this magazine design.

For my double page spread I have chosen to use the typical magazine layout of columns. I have chosen to use this the of layout, as from my research I discovered that this is the most commonly used format for information to be displayed in such an article. It allows the information to be displayed in the most efficient and understandable way.

Once again I have chosen to use the same colours for all of my pages. This means that the magazine is consistant and the pages are once again bold and bright. Making it aesthetically pleasing and interesting the the reader. For the double page spread i chose to use a Black background this is to ensure that the article stood out and was easy to read and identify. The Font once again remains the same throughout for the consistency.

I have chosen to use a range of images for the double page spread, in total 4. This is to show the celebrity being talked about, and to break up the text to make the article more interesting and appealing.

I have written an interview for the double page spread. The celebrity on the cover is being asked a series of questions. I chose to do an interview as I thought it would appeal to my target audience, who would be interested in finding out about the celebrity. An interview, I found from my research, is more exclusive and is more appealing to the 'aspirers' who want to find out the latest news and information on the artist they want to be like themselves. This therefore would appeal to my audience who come under this category.

I was able to identify the interview style through the use of colour. The question appears in a yellow font and the answer in a blue. Key quotes from the interview are also highlights and placed to break up the columns. For the reader this is key in finding out the most important things being said throughout the interview.

Overall, the ideas I had for my magazine I was able to follow through. The software was easy to use once I had practised and the quantity of features it offered was good. I was able to carry out all of my ideas with the exception of moving some images. This wasn't down to the software, but due to the way some of my photos were taken, stretching them or making them fit the page meant that the image lost quality and became pixilated. The software is also relatively slow which posed problems in the development of my project.

Advancements on my preliminary task were quite a few in this project. My design is much more detailed and replicated the magazine layout more appropriately. I managed to achieve this through planning more thoroughly and asking more advice from the target audience. I used much more vibrant colours, and having taken the photos myself I was able to get into the design process more inventively.

From my flat plans my magazine is quite similar. This really helped me in planning the way I wanted the magazine to look. I did however make some unrealistic designs which in theory would not be plausible as a page in a real magazine. Such as placing an image in the center of a double page. This would mean that the break in the page would cut the image in half. This was something I hadn't properly considered, and when I came to design my final double page spread I emended. In my flat plans it was also difficult to accurately plan what colours I wanted to use without knowing what my photos would look like. I did however try to keep to my flat plans as best as I could. Having a genre to research also meant that I had a specific audience to appeal to and helped the overall focus of my designs.

Problems I did have were mainly when I printed my designs. Some of the images were not within the lines. This meant that the white border showed the overlapping of the images or text, which I was able to easily put right. This however did involve printing the designs out several times. A second problem I had was again when I printed out my design the text boxes I had written the text in were still showing. This although wasn't a major problem was not very good for the aesthetics of the magazine. Again, I highlighted the boxes and selected 'hide' to put this right.

When I was happy with my designs, I then asked some people I deemed to be apart of my target audience for there feedback and advice. Overall the comments were relatively positive. The majority said that they liked the fact the pages were bold and bright, and for this reason it would definitely be a magazine that they would notice to stand out on the shelf. They also said that the images although posed, looked very realistic and were typical of the style and genre.

Negative feedback I received was that sometimes the page was a little bit too full of information for the eye to focus. This would be a problem for the contents page. However they did think the front cover could have a little more information, as they thought at present the image dominated the page more that the text.

Overall I am very happy with my designs. They have turned out exactly as I wanted them to. This is mainly due to my photo's which considering the genre I thought looked realistic, and I am very happy with. Having created the interview myself I am also happy with the way it reads and the layout on all of the pages. If I could make any improvements it would be to include more information on the front cover, and the second page of the double page spread which does look a little bare in places. This would be on the back of the comment I received from my target audience. I would however need more time to do this. So as a finished product I am happy.

Fonts

These are the fonts i hav chosen to possibly display the title of my magazine. I have then contructed a survey to see wht people my age thought of the fonts, and whihc they thought would be most successful as the chosen font for my title.

The fonts are all fairl similar in the fact they are bold and resemble graffitti.

After asking 20 people the most poular font proved to be the second one down. Therefore this is the fonr i have chosen to use for my magazine.

Flatplans

This is my front cover flat plan. I chose the title to be 'Scandalous' as the words represents attitude and rebellion. These are all emotion associated with the genre of RnB. The font i have chosen for this is 'whoa' from the dafont.com

I chose to draw an image of a girl posing similarly to the potograph i will take. She is holding her hamds in a sterotypical manner showing attitude. She also has an appearance typical of this genre.

I have used bold fonts to attarct the reader to the main headlines of stories featured inside the magazine.

The cover includes magazine neccessities such as a bar code, issue number, price and date.






This is my contents page. It uses a bold font once again to display the title. I also used a graffitti template to create continuity with the genre.

There is an abstract ordering to the numbers displaying the stories excentuating the informal nature of the magazine.

There is a wide variety of colours used on this page. This is to make the vast imofromation more aesthetically pleasing and more interesting to the reader.

It also features the main story for the double page spread in the bottom left hand corner. This is a technique used to ensure the reader reads the magazine as the main reason they may have bought it is for the person on the cover. By using a picture of the artist once again this gives more impact to the story.





This is the flatplan for my double page spread. It features the same title font from the cover on the left hand side.

The text in positioned in columns. And the images are situtaed according to the pages and columns of the magazine layout.

Cover 2

This Magazine cover has been given the nam 'Source.' I think this is an appropriate title for this magazine because it refers to the magazine providing the reader with information on this particular genre of music.

The title also shows an image of a hand holding a microphone replacing the circle from the centre of the 'O' This represents the importance of the music and the value of performing.

The magazine also uses repetition to reinforce the genre of the music. 'Hip-hop' is repeated several times. Both in columns and in the tagline.

The Masthead and the border around the magazine are both in Gold, this is used as the colour Gold represents, winning and wealth, both words used to describe the personalities and feelings associated with this type of music, and its perfomers.

The image is central to the page, It is ane extreme close up. This exsentuates the importance of the artist. Indications are also given by the way she is pointing at the camera, to the stereotypical attitude the artists have. The image is also very posed.

Double page spread

The double page spread depicts a continuous theme with the rest of the magazine. The roman Numerals in Gold feature on the left hand side of the page on each page in the magazine, this is also accompanied by a normal page number on the bottom right hand side of every page. This also shows that the readers are likely to not be paying alot of attention to the roman numerals, and they are there for artistic effect.

The pages also display a white strip at the top and bottom of each of the two pages making the double page spread. This shows that the page are linked together.

The article featured on the double page spread also continues with the theme of aspirers. The title of "It was all a dream" bears little relevance to the short paragraph underneath. Especially as the page has little text we rely on the photograph dominating both pages to tell the story. This makes the page very visual. The title is quite small in comparison to the image, and is also situated on the right hand side of the page, this is so that is doesn't detract from the image. The article also gives the impression of its importance, as the text is short and concise, it shows that the picture does justice to the story as the people they are talking about are photographed. A great amount of detail is not needed as the bear facts speak for themselves.

The title i believe to have been chosen because it reflects the lifestyle of the class of people interviewed. The two people photographed are well dressed, and look of the higher wealthy class that is stereotypically associated with this type of music and its success. Linked with 'Living the dream.'

The title font is again bold. Similar to every title i have looked at. The colour however is shown to represent diamonds on the word 'dream' This again links with the wealthy and privileged lifestyle associated with this genre of music, and again will appeal to aspirers.

The colours featured on the page are monochrome. This is because the other small items features will stand out more on the back of this. There are a couple of small items such as a gold necklace that the man featured in the photograph is wearing, this stands out due to the background colours.

The language used on the spread is also quite formal 'legacy' and 'notorious' this is in keeping with the formal image of the models on the page, who are dressed in suits and hats. This keeps the formal feeling throughout the article.

The image on the page suggest a close relationship between the man and women, The man poses as a stereotypical man: Suit, hat, tie. He has his arm around a women who also is dressed smartly, however she is laying down showing his domineering nature. They both have very serious expressions. They look to be in an expensive car. The seating in cream leather, contrasting the black colours of their clothes and providing a good basis of contrasting colours to the page. The setting of the photo shoot looks quite luxurious and this is once again in keeping with the formal and expensive look of the magazine.

Contents

This is the contents page for the 'XVibe' magazine it displays a serif bold font for the different paragraph title. Each associated with a different story. The font has quite a modern appearance associated with the modern appearance and feel of the the magazine.

The use of colour on the page in quite diverse. There is a wide range of colour used. This shows a contrast to the cover page as there was only 3 main colours used. Blue, Black and White. Whereas here we see the use of Red, Yellow, Blue and Green, still incorporating the colours from the front page so as to keep the consistency of the appearance. The thought behind this use of colours is to tell a story and make the page aesthetically pleasing. The colours are quite earthy and reflect the genre of music and how diverse it can be to the listeners. There a still quite a large element of black and white on the contents page as well this once again is in keeping with the cool, and relaxed image of the artists.

The language on the contents page is once again informal and relaxed. 'Mix and Mingle' and 'Get the party started' are positive words which could be associated with the social element of the music and words the readers could associate with. 'who ya with? Is an abbreviation and an example of slang language, common in such social groups. There is also repetition of the letter 'V' naming the magazine e.g. 'Vfashion' this is to reinforce the name of the magazine, acting as a reminder to the reader of the magazine name and its connection the articles and artists featured in the magazine.

The images featured on the contents page are in a montage layout. They don't follow the formal grid layout that magazine pages should follow. This also continues the relaxed informal attitude followed throughout the magazine. There is a mix of images on the left hand side of the page, they all display anime drawing or painting of famous artists, This has been done to provide a portfolio of well respected artists. This boosts the profile of the magazine as they need licenses to show pictures of such artists and subconsciously makes the reader think they are closer to the artists for buying the magazine that has connections with them. This once again comes into the class of people buying the magazine. Aspirers.

There is an even divide between the shots that are posed and those that are relaxed shots. The images are all of famous artists, once again an equal divide between male and female. This has been purposely done to appeal to the different genders of the target audience. However the majority of the bands or artists on this page are not all internationally recognised. This infiltrates the magazine into its niesh American market, as not all British people would recognise the artists pictured.

Vibe Magazine Analysis - Cover

I have chosen the RnB genre of magazine to analyse. The magazine is American and features and American Rnb artist on the cover. The Magazine appeals to a niesh market of Rnb Listeners and features mainly different but similar artists inside. Therefore appealing to the market.

The title shown on the front cover of the magazine is 'X Vibe.' I believe this title has been chosen mainly because it reflects the deeper meaning of music and the 'vibe' that music brings by linking people together. It also depicts a certain thought process for this genre of music as this type of magazine will be purchased by people who's favourite genre of music in RnB and who have an appreciation for this type of music.

The font on the magazine cover is immediately noticeably Bold. It is also a Serif Font. The peripheral text surrounding the image also appears to be very important and informative for this reason. The font is quite modern due to its bold aesthetics and size. The font is intentionally large. This is because the image on the cover is also large and it would be easy for the image to detract from the surrounding sub-heading, which obviously are important for the reader to read, firstly to become interested in the magazine and therefore buy it. Due to this the font is large and bold to serve its purpose to advertise the inside stories. Its serif font, get the point across quickly and efficiently with little fuss.

The background of the cover is white, this acts as a contrasting colour to the dark imaging appearing on the cover, clearly making it stand out and catch the eye. This serves the purpose of advertising well.

The image in the middle in of a famous artist 'JayZ' He is clothed in one of the most versatile colours, black. The reason behind this is that the cover is not distracted by another other vibrant colours which would take the focus away from the selling point of the magazine, JayZ.

The main achorage point of the image on the front, is the cake. This particular issue is celebrating the nirthday of the magazine, and therefore feautures a cake in the cover. This acts as the main focus for the page and would initiate an element of curiosity in the reader as to what special contents the magazine may be including as it is a special edition.

The main features of the magazine are highlighted in a lighter shade of blue. Stereotypically associated with 'cool' It also makes the features stand out, and in this instance the numbers highlighted in blue are numbers associated to the quantity of for example songs reviewed inside.

The use of language on the cover of the magazine establishes the target audience. Use of words such as 'Cakin' is an example of polysemic language this means it has two meanings and would familiar to a regular reader to this type of magazine and therefore would only be purchased by someone who understands this use of language. In this example a picture of a cake is on the cover representing a birthday and this word could also be accepted as a term associated with a mood or action. This is also an example of an abbreviation which also shows the relaxed and informal style of the magazine. Especially as it isn't a proper formal dict ionised English word. Finally the magazine uses the words 'special' and 'juice issue' all descriptive words used to sell the magazine. In this case the magazine displays the fact it is a special edition due to its birthday. Accompanied by this the magazine poses unique selling points claiming this issue is better than normal, mainly to boost sales.
The use of alliteration is also quite apparent on the page words such as 'video vixen' and 'beyonce, builds and Barack' This is catchy and inkeeping with the street language and cool dialect.
The magazine interesting doesnt pose a strap line, this coukd be because for this particualr issue the magazine main focus is on the 15th anniversary and in this instance the advertisment of that is taking the place of the usual strap line.
The main flash of the magazine links to the artist in the cover. It is the main story in this case of the news and stories surrounding jayZ, his music carreer, being in the public eye and his home and personal life.


The target audience in my opinion is 17-30 year old, specifically interested in the Rnb scene and genre of music.

From the magazine website http://www.vibe.com/ VIBE magazine is the definitive voice of urban culture, influencing global music, life, and style for more than eight million readers around the world.

In addition to this the target audience of the magazine would be interested in the news and fashion associated with RnB. The gender would be both male and female as the magazine features appealing news and stories for both genders. The target audience would have quite a relaxed music orientated disposition and music would feature quite heavily in both there social and everyday life. The nationality of the target audience would be Black Culture.

The magazine cover is also in keeping with psychographics of magazine design, within this the magazine has been intentionally designed to appeal to different consumer personality types. Market research has been done to put people into these 'types.' In the example of 'XVibe' the main classified targeted audience is, Individualists. This means the people who would purchase this magazine are different and confirm this through buying the magazine and getting the message across that they are happy to be this way. They would be interested in an alternative way of dressing and the reading around there interest in music.

The image on the front cover suggests an angry and aggressive appearance, due to the black clothing and the artist holding a knife. However the image also is trying to get a message across, as the cake that is position below the knife represent the anniversary of the magazine which then puts a lighter and less serious contrast to the image. The facial expression of the artist also looked strained and expressionless. He is clearly making an effort to look up at the camera rather than standing square on to the camera with it in his eye line. The position of the artist is also quite relaxed and informal which is once again in keeping with the style of the magazine. Because the image is not posed it looks more 'real' and 'urban', and therefore is a live shot. Once again proving to be the kind of look the fashion and appearance conscious target audience will look for.

One of the main sells is the choice of artist in the cover. The choice of the artist they have used has been intentionally placed as the artist is one of the most well respected and recognised Rnb artists of this time. It also makes the magazine look more professional and interconnected with well respected artists. People will also want to buy this magazine as the artist featured will have been interviewed inside, and readers of this magazine will listen to his music and therefore follow his life and have an interest in what he has to say. Finally his appearance on the cover adds to his iconic style with his stereotypical slanted hat and large gold chain, this will appeal to those who admire his fashion. The class of people who want to be like the artists.

The artist is internationally recognised making the magazine more diverse and sell able in several different countries, boosting magazine sales and therefore proving most successful.

Also in this particular edition the magazine is celebrating its birthday and because of this it acts as one of the main sells, claiming to be a special edition and therefore creating curiosity amongst the readers about what the issue will contain to make it special.

Information presented on the cover include a bar code, as a standards requirement to sell within a character recognition approved shop, to retain a price, which in this case is £3.75. From this price we can see that the magazine is a slightly more sophisticated and more expensive version of the more typical music magazine currently on the market, mainly due to its niesh market. The magazine also displays the date and issue number, both vital pieces of information to both the company who make the magazine to log the issue number and the date of issue, and the readers alike. With this information regular readers are able to find out which precise date the magazine goes on sale. With the issue number they can log the amount of issues they have read and any they should miss.

Finally the cover displays the magazine website, this will provide the readers with any extra information they may require and will also give them information on other magazines the company may print, also raising the profile of the company and other magazine.

This particular issue consists of 157 pages. The stories of the main flash are mainly to do with music, fashion and the stories surrounding the artist on the cover.