SPOILED NATION CRITICAL STUDY and FINAL MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL Carrie-Beth Blackburn C3541325 Critical Study wordcount: 1163 Final Major Project Proposal wordcount: 951 SPOILED NATION CRITICAL JOURNAL 1
CONTENTS
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4..............................................................Introduction 5..............................................................Reflective Learning
6-7...........................................................Writing For Print 8-9..........................................................Writing For Online 10-11.........................................................Editor Week 12-14.........................................Final Major Project Proposal 15..............................................................Bibliography 16.............................................................Image References 17-19..........................................................Appendix
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SPOILED NATION 2020 2021
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INTRODUCTION & REFLECTIVE LEARNING The Fashion Writing module has offered students an insight into what it is like to work on a professional publication by introducing us to weekly deadlines for both print and online media. The module has allowed us to collaborate with one another and edit each other’s work for the publication, Spoiled Nation. Spoiled Nation is targeted towards both male and females aged between 1835 years and have an interest in fashion, culture and current affairs. This critical study will provide a reflective report on my experience over the course of the production process of Spoiled Nation. I will be identifying how I have developed throughout the module, ways in which I can improve going forward and also the key issues that I and my peers faced as editors throughout the process. Additionally, the final section of this report will include a proposal to my final major project concept.
Reflective learning has been defined in numerous ways as the process is completely unique to each individual. ‘Reflective practice is about looking back and reflecting upon an experience that has occurred during practice. It encourages reflection and thoughts about what happened, decisions that were made, actions that were taken and the consequences of those decisions and actions.’ (Professional practice as a health and social care worker Principles of reflective practice and why they are important, 2019) Reflective learning is extremely advantageous when trying to improve a particular skill as it allows the individual to pinpoint and acknowledge growth and improvement from direct work that they have put in. Ramsey explains reflective learning as continuous cycle, ‘The term cycle is used to capture the
way a reflective learner moves between action and reflection… There is a sense in which taking action will result in our doing things differently and we can then reflect on what happened next.’ (Ramsey,2006)
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WRITING FOR PRINT
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Given the current lockdown restrictions I found it hard to come up with a print article topic, typically I gather inspiration from my surroundings whether that be a particular trend I’ve seen someone wear whilst out in the city centre or an illustration that’s evoked emotion in an art gallery. I wanted to write a piece that would have relevance but would also be fashion focused. I came up with the idea of writing an article on ‘The UK Independent Designers You Need to Know About This S/S21’. All of the designers I featured in the article had either started their brand during the first lockdown in 2020 or their brand had flourished as a result of having more time on their hands. The bright imagery allowed me to be more creative with the
visual layout and as there were no guidelines to follow in terms of the visual representation of the magazine, I kept it simple by adding coloured boxes. When I submitted this article, I decided to take a look at my peer’s submissions and noticed that our visual styles were not consistent, some students changed heading fonts, and some were extremely bold and colourful. On reflection I think the print writers could have had a meeting to communicate the visual style we should stick to for that week. Furthermore, I think that in the future there could be consideration for an art editor that would be able to ensure that all writers had a visual style guide to follow and ensure that the visual presentations of articles marry well with each other.
‘Art editors are responsible for the way a magazine looks. They present the words and images in a way that is easy for the reader to digest, with high visual impact.’ (Job Description: Art Director, 2012)
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WRITING FOR ONLINE PRINT DAY ONE ONLINE ARTICLE
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‘While blogging indicates the ways in which magazines can experiment with tone of voice and approaches to readers in editorial, what was at first the biggest challenge and is now the biggest opportunity is multimedia.’ (Whittaker, 2016) Before writing for online, I decided to do some research into SEO and online article layouts to ensure that I could give the editors a smooth transition when publishing my articles and to ensure I stayed within the recommended 500-800 words length. At the beginning of the module, I intended on writing just one article for online as I prefer the creative freedom of print media, however, I ended up writing three articles for online as I enjoyed it that much. It was important to me that my articles had relatability and so much of my inspiration came from the current lockdown restrictions. I wanted to write articles about ways in which the fashion industry has adapted to change given the restrictions in place and wrote about digital fashion week, fashion podcasts and the pressure of glowing up during lockdown. On reflection of writing for online, I think I should have tried to communicate with the editors more as the first two articles I submitted were accompanied by videos and resources to embed that would have enhanced the user experience and SEO however, the editor for those articles did not include them.
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EDITOR WEEK I decided to take the role as an online editor for the second print day. Beforehand, I expected to proof-read articles and to simply upload contents onto the Spoiled Nation website. However, on reflection I’ve learned that there is a lot more work that goes into editing. ‘Journalistic skills and management are key to the role of the editor…it’s important for the editor to be able to write copy, subedit and draft headlines or captions; with this comes confidence but also an understanding of how these different elements work.’ (Whittaker, 2009) I had three articles to sub-edit, one of which I set a day aside to edit, this was due to a large amount of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, missing hyperlinks and the article seemed to be extremely rushed. As an editor, I knew I had responsibility for the content to be accurate, consistent and communicate the message to the audience clearly. ‘A sub is more concerned with clarity and consistency, and very often that content fits with other parts of the magazine and deadlines’ (Whittaker, 2009) Moreover, the additional articles I was in-charge of editing were not accompanied with images, 10
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so I had to source this myself. In hindsight I should have reached out to the writers to source images for their articles as it’s typically not the responsibility of the editor. ‘We define reflective learning as an intentional process, where social context and experience are acknowledged, in which learners are active individuals, wholly present, engaging with others, and open to challenge, and the outcome involves transformation as well as improvement…’ (Ramsey, 2006). In order to understand fully what was done well and what could have been done better I had a discussion with my peers about the role of the editors. It could be beneficial to the publication if in the future there were an assigned group of students that edit Spoiled Nation throughout the entire module as this would ensure consistency week on week as every student’s style of writing and layout preferences differ so much. There could also be a meeting set up between editors and writers to communicate if any further information and references are needed.
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FINAL MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL This section of the report will introduce my concept for the final major project and will cover the rationale behind my idea and why I have decided to produce this product, a competitor analysis, visual inspiration and finally an overview of how the publication will be marketed.
FMP IDEA SYNOPSIS I am proposing to rebrand my online publication, that was created as a result of the Professional Practice module in order to improve my writing skills, and to expand it to a bi-annual print publication. Druzymag is a platform I created targeted towards females aged between 18-35 that have strong interests in fashion, beauty, art and culture. Throughout the pre-production of the online concept, I established that Druzymag is a publication that explores taboo topics within the fashion industry in order to try and influence a positive change and to be more than just an eye for the next seasons trend. Additionally, I want Druzymag to be a platform for creatives across the globe to be able to showcase their work whether that be photography, illustration or fashion design in the ‘Artist of The Week’ section, this is something that I am keen to elaborate on in the print copy and use it to an advantage when creating a visual layout. 12
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COMPETITION It’s fundamental for the success of the print launch of Druzymag to acknowledge its key competitors in the industry and to be able to diversify where there may be a gap in the market. With more people choosing to adopt digital over print publications as it’s quick, free and easily accessible there has been a surge in new online magazines. Druzymag’s top competitor is Fizzymag, an online publication targeted towards women aged between 20-35 and have interests in fashion, sneakers, beauty and ulture. Fizzymag market themselves as ‘a lightning rod for cultural provocation, pushing boundaries and building an alternative community for strong women at every turn.’ (Fizzymag, n.d)The main similarities between Druzymag and Fizzymag is both the target demographic and content that reflects on controversial topics whilst also being a fashion focused publication.
There is an abundance of fashion and culture print publications on the market and one of the leading names and top competitors for Druzymag is AnOther Magazine; AnOther Magazine was founded in 2001 and is a part of the independent publishing company ‘Dazed Media’. The magazine is a biannual publication, meaning it’s only published twice a year, making the magazine a highly anticipated and exclusive publication. AnOther is targeted towards affluent and creative consumers, most likely with a degree. The magazine allows readers to immerse themselves into discovering new talents in industries such as art, music, photography, fashion and beauty whilst also being informed on taboo topics and politics.
As mentioned in the idea synopsis I want to include a section within my project to feature creative individuals work and I will present this as a photo story spread across numerous pages; Photo stories are a central aspect of AnOther Magazine and the publication are constantly seeking out new talents to feature via social medial. In order to stand out from competitors it’s crucial that Druzymag creates a gripping photo story with inspiring images that consumers can relate to.
VISUAL INSPIRATION Print publications in recent years have become more of a luxury and consumers put aesthetic and quality at the forefront when seeking the next name to display on their coffee table. ‘One way that dramatically improves the look of any page is the colours used. The colours can help reflect on the mood of the readers, bands on the page, or just make the page look generally a lot nicer than a plain white page. The colours used all depend on the desired affect they want achieve.’ (Rowland, 2013) One of the core values of my publication is to influence positive change within the fashion industry and with the right use of colour I can promote that through the logo and visual style of the magazine by using contrasting colours. I have used social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram to find visual inspiration of publications that have used contrasting colour in a successful way and the examples featured typically have a pallet of two or three colours, this is to ensure readers aren’t overwhelmed. SPOILED NATION CRITICAL JOURNAL 13
MARKETING Marketing will play an essential role into the success of Druzymag and fortunately as Druzymag has been published online for five months along with the running of an Instagram page to help market it thus far, there is a small group of pre-existing readers and is slowly gaining momentum. To ensure that this readership is kept engaged and up-to-date with the upcoming release of Druzymag print, there will be a campaign that is ran across the Instagram page and website. Furthermore, from research i’ve found that utilising all social media platforms will enhance engagement and promote Druzymag to potential readers; I will be creating a Twitter account to upload relevent updates and news and also a Tiktok to showcase behind the scenes of creating a publication.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Chapman, C., 2010. Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color — Smashing Magazine. [online] Smashing Magazine. Available at: <https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theoryfor-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. CreativePool, 2012. Job Description: Art Director. Available at: <https://creativepool.com/articles/jobdescriptions/art-editor-job-description#:~:text=salaries%20and%20benefits-,Art%20editors%20are%20responsible%20for%20the%20way%20a%20magazine%20looks,and%20photography%20and%20may%20 include%3A&text=discussing%20design%20and%20layout%20ideas%20with%20the%20editor%20 and%20other%20colleagues> [Accessed 18 February 2021]. Dazedmedia.com. 2020. ANOTHER MEDIA PACK 2020. [online] Available at: <https://dazedmedia. com/media/o1yp0k5p/another-media-pack-may-2020-web.pdf> [Accessed 6 March 2021]. Fizzymag, n.d. Fizzy Mag About. [online] LinkedIn. Available at: <https://www.linkedin.com/company/ fizzymag/about/> [Accessed 6 March 2021]. Holden, R., Rae, J., Griggs, V. and Lawless, A., 2013. The transfer of reflective learning: an impact study, [online] Available at: <https://www.ufhrd.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Holden-et-alworking-paper.pdf> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. Ramsey, C., 2006. Introducing Reflective Learning. 1st ed. [ebook] The Open University. Available at:<https://my.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_ id=_2861471_1&course_id=_141212_1> [Accessed 6 November 2020]. resource.download.wjec. 2019. Professional practice as a health and social care worker Principles of reflective practice and why they are important. [online] Available at: <http://resource.download.wjec.co.uk. s3.amazonaws.com/vtc/2018-19/HSC18-19_2-5/_multi-lang/unit06/9-reflective-practice.html> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. Rowland, M., 2013. Colour in magazine. [online] Slideshare.net. Available at: <https://www.slideshare. net/rowlandmarc/colour-in-magazine> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. Whittaker, J., 2009. Magazine production. Routledge, pp.65-66. Whittaker, J., 2016. Magazine production. 2nd ed. Routledge.
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IMAGE REFERENCES. oliviandalice, 2020. Molbythelabel website is open for orders. [image] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/p/CFFYyFfBoh2/> [Accessed 9 February 2021]. Fizzymag, n.d. Fizzymag logo. [image] Available at: <https://fizzymag.com/> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. AnOther Magazine, n.d. AnOther Magazine Logo. [image] Available at: <https://www.anothermag.com/> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. AnOther Magazine, 2020. AnOther Issue 39. [image] Available at: <https:// www.anothermag.com/covers> [Accessed 8 March 2021].
Gluck Magazine, n,d. Gluck. [image] Available at: <https://www.behance.net/ gallery/33772034/Revista-Gluck> [Accessed 7 March 2021].
Paper Stone Scissors, 2018. 2018 MELBOURNE FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL. [image] Available at: <http://awards2018.agda.com.au/finalist/5/11001/192> [Accessed 7 March 2021].
Ninety Nine U, 2016. Editorial Design - Ninety Nine U Magazine. [image] Available at: <https://abduzeedo.com/editorial-design-ninety-nine-u-magazine> [Accessed 7 March 2021]. 16
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APPENDIX Screenshot of the print cover for Spoiled Nation.
Screenshot of the print article I wrote for Spoiled Nation, created using Adobe InDesign.
Screenshot of the ‘LFW goes online and Balenciaga have shown us digitla runway fashion is here to stay’ article written for Spoiled Nation’s website.
Screenshot of the ‘How to overcome the pressure to glow up in lockdown’ article written for Spoiled Nation’s website.
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Screenshot of the ‘The fashion podcasts to keep you inspired’ article written for Spoiled Nation’s website.
Screenshot of one of the article’s I edited for Spoiled Nation’s website.
Screenshot of the editing process using miscrosoft word for Spoiled Nation’s website.
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Created on Adobe Illustrator.
Created on Adobe Illustrator.
Screenshot of Druzymag’s Instagram page I set up.
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