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.

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.

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.