Language
Font
On my front cover I decided to stick to fairly colloquial pieces of language so my audience wouldn’t be alienated and put off from purchasing my magazine at the newsstand. Through the use of colloquial language I also created the tone that my demographic could rely on, although I did avoid using slang to prevent creating a too relaxed ambience. I used language so it would be relatively informal but I still wanted to keep an element of formality which would imply to my audience that the magazine is a luxury and that they will enjoy reading it as well as get their money’s worth due to the language conveying a professional tone. Through the use of language I have attracted my audience to the magazine front cover to perceive it as a luxury without alienating the target audience. I have kept the cover lines short to heighten the impact and drum the article into the viewer’s mind so they would understand the content quickly and easily before their attention span drifts away from the cover. I have used the buzz word “win” which carries positive connotations to reflect upon the reader or viewer and their attitude at the time, by using the buzz word the viewer will feel good and like they are in with the chance of winning, thus getting more from the magazine than the information and entertainment, overall this buzz word introduces possibilities of new experiences and products that my demographic, as seen in my surveys, wouldn’t be able to afford.
I have used a variety of fonts that I have used to appeal to my audience. There was the main house style font from the masthead of Amplify which I used to avoid any distraction away from my main image whilst conveying the content. I used a 3D black and white font for Poppy Scarlet to imply a sense of an upcoming trend which was seen as important during the early surveys. The contrast is very high therefore making it bold and standing out thus reflecting my audience and drawing them in to purchase the magazine. I also used a worn eroded typography for unplugged to emphasise the ‘nitty gritty’ and truth of the article which is what my demographic is interested in. By emphasising the worn down parts of Poppy Scarlet through typography my audience are interested in the truth so by implicating this it attracts them to purchase my magazine.
Images Overall I have used three images on the front cover but have merged them into one. The two opacity images convey and represent the artist’s split personalities and therefore make the audience want to find out these different sides to her, thus attracting them to purchase my magazine. The use of a mid-shot for the main image brings the artist close up adding a personal feel to the cover that is honest which is also portrayed through the use of direct contact between the artist and the lens which is felt as a connection between the artist and the viewer, this connection implies a total open and honest interview which attracts the audience as this is what they desire, an interview that hasn’t been changed or is lies as my readers want to know the truth as this is the core purpose of my magazine and the one thing the audience wanted within my surveys; a magazine that would keep them up to trend like their desire to remain within style in fashion.
Contents During my research and planning I looked at possible articles that would be perfect for my music magazine. My cover lines include an article about what’s trending in music which is Return of the Vinyl this trend is current and reflects the attitudes of being ‘stylish’ that were conveyed within my surveys. I also included current affairs that were happening within alternative music at that current time, as seen on the cover line tis’ the season for festivals which was current to January 2014, by involving current events the viewer will be attracted due to the implication that they will be informed of everything they need to know that is current and that will keep them up to date on the latest. Another cover line that I used to attract the audience was Places to be; venues which I used on the cover as I found that within people there is an adventurous streak who like to travel so by having this cover line it implicates that this magazine will give my demographic a sense of adventure. As I said before I included Win which would infer positive connotations of possible opportunities inferring that the viewer would get more than what they paid for. Layout By using a layout that isn’t simplistic but busy I have represented my genre. By reflecting the alternative genre within the design I will therefore attract the fans of this genre, which are my demographic. I avoided a simplistic design as it didn’t reflect my genre so when placed on the newsstand it could be misinterpreted for another genre which could lead to a loss in sale and anger from not just my own demographic but others too therefore giving Amplify a bad reputation.
Language
Font
As on my front cover I have kept my language fairly colloquial to keep the tone informal and have used Standard English to keep a sense of formality to keep the luxury feel without alienating my audience and therefore addressing them appropriately. Like the front cover I kept the titles and captions short to convey the content of the article quick and fluently so the audience would be addressed professionally but swiftly therefore heightening their satisfaction with the magazine. I have used one abbreviation of merch which would be understood by my demographic and reader so thus making the magazine equal to that of the reader therefore preventing them from feeling alienated from the magazine. I used alliteration in Behind Bastille and the Bad Blood tour and in Talent Show Stars; from uniforms to Universal I used alliteration to add a sense of fluency and feel like it rolls off the tongue therefore attracting the audience to this article. I also repeated the word win from the front cover to emphasise the feel of possible opportunities and this magazine giving more than anything else. Through the use of the rhetorical question did you miss something I keep my audience in suspense wanting them to keep reading to complete the speech pair and find out the answer. The repetition of Amplify yourself is inclusive so therefore includes the audience and makes them feel a part of the magazine which therefore attracts them and encourages them to be an active audience rather than passive, this interaction makes the reader feel more than being just a reader and actually a key part of the magazine
I have used the same font as the front cover to stick to the house style but to attract the audience I have changed the colour and size to draw attention to certain parts, so for example I enlarged the featured articles font as well as making the colour white. This created a high contrast between the picture and the image therefore drawing the attention to this article which is most likely to appeal to my audience. I emphasised the word Win due to the positive energy that it reflects upon my audience. The only other font I have used was the 3D Poppy Scarlet typography to give a sense of variety but also to attract my audience to this article, by repeating this font it gives the sense that this is her logo and typography which will be noticed by her fans who will fit within my demographic and be attracted to purchasing my magazine.
Contents The use of content on this page is vital due to its purpose. I looked at possible articles during research and planning to ensure that they would be current enough that my audience would be attracted to them. I emphasised the same articles as the cover lines to implicate that these were the featured articles. I split the features and regulars into two columns so this would be clear to my audience that there are a lot of features which would reflect their individuality therefore persuading them to read them as they would be able to relate to these articles.
Images I have used three images on my contents page to attract my audience to the high content and the sense that they will be getting more than what they would expect for the price. The first image is of Poppy Scarlet who is turning away from the camera laughing. I used this shot to imply a relaxed and open attitude which would reflect upon an honest article therefore implicating to my audience that the article will include everything they need to know without being edited by the editor or by the artist’s publicist. The use of her laughing also brings up the question of what is she laughing at, this would mean the audience feeling intrigued and wanting to find out more, thus drawing them in to the article. The second image is a girl playing a live gig which directly relates to the article so by using an image here it attracts them due to it being eye catching; this is also the same for the final image. In two of the images there is a motif of guitars which relates directly to the alternative genre, therefore encouraging the audience to read these articles due to this strong relation to their favourite genre. Layout I have continued to use a busy and chaotic layout that implies a compact magazine whilst reflecting the alternative genre. I also kept a sense of organised chaos through the use of certain colours at certain places which would assist my reader in navigating around the magazine ensuring that they would be attracted again to the magazine which is vital as I would need to keep my audience attracted repeatedly to this magazine, so I need to keep the continuation of elements whilst assisting the reader so their experience is enjoyable.
Language
Font
For my double page spread language is extremely important as it contains what my audience is wanting. I kept both sides of the interview very informal to prevent any alienation. I even included replies from the interview to implicate this informality, for example my interviewer says Amen to that in response to what my artist has said, this creates a verisimilitude effect that assists the flow of the article as if the audience were there during this conversation, thus removing the barrier that magazines have between the artist and the reader and attracting them to read Amplify’s articles in the future. I have used short and bold declaratives within my pull quotes and title to reflect the personality of the artist which would emphasise and attract my audience to the honesty of the article. The content of the pull quotes also bring up a personal side to the artist such as love in I have a crush which is usually an area that is questioned by fans so this pull quote instantly attracts the audience to the article as there is an implication that all their questions will be answered if they read the article. In the title the audience expect an expletive but is replaced with the word fuss which imprints upon their mind and could cause my reader to use it and then attract their friends to read the magazine.
Like on the front cover and contents page I have kept the font fairly simple and sans serif to attract my audience to the contemporary and modern side to the magazine but I have used a serif font for the main body text to assist the reader as serif font is much easier to read than sans serif, therefore making their experience more fluent and making them attracted to purchasing Amplify in the future. I also repeated the 3D Poppy Scarlet font to implicate the audience that this is the featured article and to attract my audience to this article. Images I used one image on my double page spread to remove the chaotic tone and reduce it down to reflect the nature of the article as open and honest, this tone is also present in the content of the image as my artist is on the floor leaving her quite vulnerable but the direct eye contact implies that her personality remains. This vulnerability and honesty attracts the audience as the article appears to contain all the information they need which hasn’t been altered. Content Aside from the interview I have included ways for my audience to get actively involved such as #wedontgiveafuss, this interaction with the magazine allows my audience to be active and feel a part of my magazine so therefore is attracted due to the involvement that they don’t often get with magazines.
Overall my drafts have changed dramatically from the start of the project to the end. This change has been to attract audiences and in response to feedback from hot seating and focus groups.
The first hot seating exercise, involving just my front cover, informed me that my cover lines didn’t stand out enough and that I needed to address this, the hot seating didn’t understand the implication of the private and top secret stamp. I learnt that my audience were attracted to the two opacity images so I kept them. In my focus group I found that the price and month detracted from the masthead, the cover lines fight with the motif on the t-shirt, also didn’t understand the implication of the top secret stamp and commented that they would be more drawn to the front cover if there was an opportunity to win. On the contents page my focus group said that they found that it was very busy but then understood that this reflects the genre so works, liked how all the features were attached to an image and couldn’t recognise the CD image behind. Finally for the double page spread my focus group disliked the huge change in style due to pink hair, liked the expectation of an expletive and liked the shade of pink as it appeals to the males as well as the females. From this focus group I learnt that my demographic are attracted to continuity and fluency so I changed the colour scheme and layout of the front cover and contents page to fit with this, I also altered other parts that my focus group and hot seating commented on in order to attract them to my magazine. My final focus group was held online, with final drafts, on Facebook where the following comments were made; Front Cover
“everything looks a bit squished but that’s your style of magazine so that’s fine”
“looks full but not overly busy”
“I really like it and wouldn’t change anything”
Contents Page
“make the picture on Venues to be bigger so the content is more obvious”
“one side of the page looks more busy than the other”
“the Poppy Scarlet image is too goofy”
“I like the continuation of fonts/colours”
Double Page Spread
“the colours look drastically different to the contents page”
“the simpler double page spread balances out the busy front cover and contents page”
“the page numbers are too big”
“I like how the image goes across both pages”
I then altered these points in order to create new drafts that would appeal to my target audience Another way I have attracted my audience is by looking at the psychographics and to what kind of content that my audience would be attracted to, as well as remembering the ‘four needs’ theory by Blumler and Katz and the different ways my audience will interpret and use my magazine that wouldn’t just be for entertainment. Overall I feel that I have successfully appealed and attracted my audience from following their advice and guidance throughout the construction stage as what I thought they would want is different from their demand so I have had to make numerous changes and drafts to ensure that my magazine would attract and suit my audience.