Evaluation

Evaluation Front cover The masthead on my front cover is slightly slanted to the right, this is so that it gives a “stair” effect, and is more appealing to the reader’s eye. The font I used was taken from a website www.dafonts.com and is a decorative font. The use of the dotted letters makes it look slightly childish and fun, and the stars and swirls used also create an effect that achieves a dainty girly look, which my target audience would appeal to as it is quite cartoony and pretty.

The slogo which I have placed underneath the masthead is in a bold font in bright yellow. I have used effects including a drop shadow and an inner and outer glow. This is because the size is small and I felt that it needed to stand out. Comparing it to the size of the masthead the boldness of it makes it visible.

I have placed the main sells on the left hand side to make it appear more conventional.

The left third is the most important section of the front cover as it is visible on the newsagent’s shelves. The front cover is very simple and not busy; it needed something to make the magazine follow some conventions. Even though I have not used many main sells, putting them on the left hand side allows them to blend in and be more noticeable. I have laid them out one under the other in a clean format so that it is easy to read and easy to understand what they are there for. The main sells all include an outer glow which allows them to stand out and not look like a piece of writing put on the page.

The lead is in the same font as the main sells, but is in a bigger size and includes a drop shadow and an inner and outer glow. This assures that the lead stands out more so than the main sells. The letters on the lead look more enhanced and appear to come of the page more so than the main sells. This means that the audience will first see it and be attracted to want to read the article.

I have used a lure to entice my audience to want to buy the magazine. I have used an unusual shape to make it more visible to the audience. The colour I have used integrates with the picture as it is the same colour as the scarf in the picture. The lure is very simple and clean, I have used the same font yet again and same colour for the text, (being black) so that it all integrates together.

For my main image I stylised my artist to look like a fun, bubbly character. The positioning is one which shows her personality and relates to the article. To make the picture look as though it wasn’t just plonked on to the page, I made it look like she had a glow around her. I used effects including and outer and inner glow and bevel and emboss. This allowed me to create a glowing tinge that made my artist look as though she hadn’t been cut out as such. I ensured that the bottom of the picture lined up with the bottom of the magazine so that she looked as though she wasn’t pasted on, and I made the picture larger so it filled up the page, so it wasn’t to unconventional.

The banner at the top is also in white like the lure as they are both extra bits that I have added to the magazine that perhaps were not needed in a sense. The banner includes extra information that can be found in the magazine but aren’t so much

important. The writing is in pink which integrates well with the background and the picture I have used, and creates yet again a girly effect. I have also used yellow stars to define the different points of the magazine which makes the banner look pretty and interesting.

My background colour to the whole front cover is pink. The pink is bright and stands out. This means that when sitting in a shop it would be quite noticeable for people to find and attractive. The bright pink clearly says to the audience that it is a girly magazine and is based on a pop genre.

Contents page I have used the same font for the “contents� title as I have the front cover. This is to give it a sense of house style. I have edited my contents page, and have changed the layout. I have three pictures on my contents page, which are all lined up on the left hand side, one underneath the other. They all included a page number inside them, relating to which page the article the photo is about is on. The page number is situated in a pink square, which integrates with the main theme of the magazine being pink and girly. I have created a box which my main features and other contents are in. The writing for the contents is in yellow, and is the same font as the double page spread. I have made the main features bolder, as they are the main points to why my audience are buying the magazine. I have added the publishing details at the bottom of my contents page, which shows my understanding of what goes into the magazine and how it is produced.

Double page spread I have yet again used the same font for the double page spread as I did for the masthead of the front cover and the contents title. This is so that all three main parts share the same house style. I have used two colours for the background of my double page spread. I have used the same pink as the contents and front cover for the top half of the double page spread where the pictures are placed, and the same yellow used in small parts of my contents and front cover for where the text is placed. This gives variation to my double paged spread and makes it appear more interesting.

I have used a pull quote in the text which I have put in the same pink as the background to integrate it into the text. I have set out the text in an unconventional way, in two blocks. This is because I wanted the pictures to be in a row and the text to look as though it was more of a story than an article. This meant the article could flow and look less like an average interview, which sometimes bores readers as it looks so bland. It also makes the page look less cluttered and more stylish and chic. I have used a drop cap so that it is clear it is the start of the article and so it conforms to the conventions. I have put this in the same pink again to integrate and so that it looks as if it links in.

The font size is 12pt which conforms to the magazine conventions. The article itself has been written for a teenage audience, probably more likely an older teenage audience from around 13-15. I have used a style where it is not a written interview but includes what the artist looks like and feels. This gives a more personal approach, and you feel as though you know the artist more. Within the article I ask questions which

the artist responds to, however I wrote it on the page like I was writing exactly what happened in the interview, this way you get to see the reactions of the artist and of the myself, the writer. You also go to hear short snappy facts which are not being questioned about, like “How many albums have you sold worldwide?” which bore the reader, as they don’t really want to know too much of these facts, and it wastes the space on the page which would be filled with interesting facts that you wouldn’t know about otherwise. The article feels very relaxed and this enables the reader to find it easy to read and understand.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Representation is when a media text is intentionally composed, lit, written, cropped etc by their producers, which makes them artificial versions of reality. Magazines are a representation of somebody’s notion of existence, codified into a number of signs and symbols which we interpret. These signs and symbols can be in the form of visual and verbal meanings, helping to decipher the meaning. This is a complex and dynamic process which includes lots of thought and work to make the right perception clear to the audience. Without these fake perceptions of reality, reality would be limited; therefore we need the artificial texts to mediate our own views.

Representation is a two-way process, meaning, producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality.

In my own magazine I have represented my artist as a girly, chatty, bubbly person. In my photos I have dressed her in bright pink clothing, which shows love, self-worth and femininity. Therefore my artist appears to be a loving person, who is happy with whom she is and is a ‘girly girl’. As she is wearing a boob-tube, it is clear that she is a confident girl and enjoys dressing up. She is also wearing a green scarf, and this emphasises her self-respect and well-being, and how she is still learning in life, which is emphasized in the contrast between the pink and the green. The scarf however covers more of her up, which also shows that even she has insecurities.

My artist is wearing bright pink make-up, which shows love and beauty. The pink also indicates her love for being bright and daring. I have also made her teeth whiter, making her appear more health conscious and airbrushed. My artist is wearing her hair up, with a head band. This shows her relaxed attitude and that she is not afraid to show of her face. Having her hair up means that all of her features can be seen and the headband which is in her hair shows a touch of immaturity and a child like appearance. This bodes well for her as this allows her to look more “pop” and young, like the traditional pop star used to look like, instead of sexy and stylish like modern artists are doing.

The pose she is doing on the front cover shows her pulling a funny face. Her eyebrows depict anger, but this is contrasted by her smile. Because her lips are parted it shows she is relaxed and this contrast between anger and happiness makes the picture appear funny which is emphasised by what we see through the article. Also

her nose is wrinkled which shows she is confused, which further backs up the contrast in her pose and how it is a pose which can not be depicted as either anger of happiness. The lead I have used for the main article on the front cover is, “Courtney reveals all!” This shows how the artist is a very open person and is willing to answer whatever comes her way. You also get a picture in your head that she is a loud person who is not afraid of telling the truth. The exclamation mark emphasises this as you know that there is some juicy gossip in this article and it says what it means.

On the contents page the artist is kneeling and looking upwards. Because her arms are crossed and her face is quite serious it shows she is confident and relates to her being able to tell us everything in her interview. Also as she is looking up it depicts that she is thinking and that she has a lot to say. However the cat ears she is wearing shows a funny side, as she looks quite serious but then is wearing a fancy dress item. It also shows that she is sly and mysterious and may have things to say we wouldn’t find out from anybody else. On the double page spread, the artist is holding a toy gun. This again emphasizes her humorous side. Again the serious side contrasted with the funny side make a great representation of her character and personality. The three different poses she is doing shows creativeness and the ability to work with whatever comes her way. It also shows how she can change from one thing to another still being herself.

The headline I have given for the article which is “Popping all over the world” shows how the artist is known throughout the world, and also that she is doing her pop music everywhere and is not afraid to do it. It shows confidence and commitment and that she is having fun. The pull quote I have used which is “I’m the biggest lazy fart you will ever meet” shows how she is relaxed and easy going, quite care free in some sense. Including parts of the article such as: being in the mood to dance, her opinions on other musician’s underwear and her lack of nutritional awareness, you can see all round that my artist is a typical teenager, who is bubbly loves to have fun, and doesn’t care too much about anything else but having a laugh. It also shows how stereotypically I have represented her as a pop star. Her busy lifestyle and mood swings also shows how much of a teenager she appears to be, and how immature and child like she is.

I have given her this image because I think it works well with the fact that I have created a pure pop magazine, which is cheesy and something we would have brought in the 90’s. It also gives the impression that she is a real person in the sense, and although she is a pop star, she still lives a real life which is presented in the article.

The way I have showed her emotion for example when she goes bright red from a question I ask her, also shows the reality of her as a person and a teenage expression about love. When asking her is she has a “special someone” she reacts in an embarrassed manner which expresses a teenagers view to the question and how they would not want to make a big ordeal about it. Also her answer to the question is quite unrealistic and shows a childlike fantasy of a perfect man. The fact she compares herself to a princess in the way her treats her shows how she is in somewhat living in a fantasy world, which most pop stars do live in.

What kind of media institution might distribute your magazine and why?

One of the magazines that inspired me is “MixMag”. This was not due to the genre, but the way the present their articles. I also liked how they wrote the articles in the

magazine, especially one on Kylie. Mixmag’s publisher is “development hell LTD and their ABC primary figure is 34,073. The basic cover price of the magazine is £4.20, and their basic annual UK subscription rate is £46.20. Their ‘Total average net circulation per issue’ is 34,073. Development Hell LTD only publishes two magazines, Mixmag and The Word. They have provided consultancy for some of Britain’s biggest publishers such as Dennis, Future and IPC, and were hired by Paul McCartney to produce the souvenir magazine for his 2002 world tour. They have some of the most experienced and respected operators in British Magazines including former editorial director of Q. This publisher may want to publish my magazine as they are interested in magazines that are not mainstream. Their other magazine “the Word” is a rock magazine for more mature adults, and “Mixmag” is for teenagers and young adults in the range of 16-21. With my magazine, it is aimed at younger teenagers. They would also be interested in my magazine because it is colourful and includes lots of gossip that my target audience would be interested in.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience by using a Unique Selling Point. This is that my magazine includes lots of gossip about current musical artists. This attracts my readers because it tells them all about the lives and loves of celebrities, specifically related to their interest in music. The gossip included in the magazine, my example being the main sell, is that the gossip comes first hand from the celebrities themselves.

I have included lots of gossip into the magazine to ensure that the audience feels that the magazine is worth purchasing and will not bore them when reading. This magazine is targeted at young teenagers and teenagers in general. I have also included a lure which will entice readers to buy the magazine, as they have the chance to win something expensive. I have also included a test, which will make the audience want to look at it and see which comes out on top. This is good as it makes the audience want to find out what the answer to it is. My audience would like my magazine as it is colourful and includes lots on facts and information about the singers and bands they like. It is also good as it includes things which relate to teenage girls. Furthermore the articles include a sense of humour and laid back attitude which makes the reading easier and more fun.

My survey for my target audience, on whether they like my magazine or not.

1. Do you like the colour scheme of Lollipop?

Yes No 82% thought that the colour scheme of lollipop was good.

2. Do you like the idea of the main sells presented on the front cover?

Yes No 85% thought that the idea of the main sells presented on the front cover was good.

3. What do you think could be improved on the front cover of the magazine?

The colour scheme The photography The layout nothing 8% thought the colour scheme could be improved 27% though the photography could be improved 43% thought the layout could be improved 22% thought that nothing could be improved

4. Do you like the photos used in Lollipop?

Yes No 74% thought that the photos used were good.

5. Do you think the layout of the contents page is good?

Yes No 93% thought the layout of the contents page was good

6. Do you think the contents themselves are good ideas?

Yes No 89% thought that the contents were good ideas

7. What could be improved on the contents page?

The layout the colour scheme the photography the space used nothing 7% thought the layout could be improved 14% thought that the colour scheme could have been improved 26% thought the photography could be improved 26% thought the space used could be improved 28% thought that nothing could be improved

8. Do you like the layout of the double page spread?

Yes

No 91% thought the layout of the double page spread was good

9. What could be improved on the double page spread?

The layout The colour Scheme The photography The article itself Nothing 3% thought the layout could be improved 16% thought the colour scheme could be improved 22% though the photography could be improved 7% thought the article could be improved 62% thought nothing could be improved

10. Would you buy this magazine?

Yes No 91% would by the magazine What have you learnt about using Photoshop CS3 and digital cameras during this project?

When using Photoshop CS3 I have learnt you can achieve many effects. When creating my magazine I learnt that you can make eyes and lips more enhanced by using the magnetic lasso tool and highlighting for instance an eye. Once doing this you can change the colour balance to make the eyes a different colour or more enhanced. This works well as it brings out the eyes on the photo and can achieve a more interesting image. I have also found when using the blending options on a layer you can make a picture have a glow or a shadow to make the image have a sharp effect. I have also found useful the filters. The lighting effects help give a better view of the image and make it look professional. It is good as you can change where the lighting is going and how much light you want projected onto the page. I have also found that when changing the lighting, changing the contrast and brightness can make a big difference as well. The contrast can make the picture look more detailed, and along with the brightness makes the image look more professional, as if it were done in a studio.

Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt how to manage my time. I was able to figure out how to order my work and what was needed to be done each lesson. I also knew how much time I needed on each part of my magazine. The preliminary task was very helpful for learning time management as I knew that I could get everything done in good time. I also found that I was able to keep to my deadlines when doing my music magazine as my knowledge on time management allowed me to be able to work at a steady pace and finish everything off.

I found when doing my preliminary task that I learnt about what questions were needed for questionnaires and different types of audience research. When doing my music magazine I found more types of audience research which I used to help me figure out what my audience wanted in my magazine. I used a blog and a questionnaire to make sure I kept to my target audiences needs. Audience research is helpful as it allows you to find out what interests your audience have so you can integrate this into the magazine. Finding out about audience research allows you to produce a magazine which can sell In the preliminary task I learnt that a clear iconic masthead is important as the mast head is the first thing a reader sees on the magazine. In my preliminary task my masthead was simple,

and wasn’t big enough, however when doing my music magazine I found a website “dafonts.com” which allowed me to create a masthead that appealed to the eye of my audience. I made my masthead colourful so that it integrated in with the colour scheme of the magazine.

When producing my preliminary task I didn’t really think much about the “left-third” however with instinct I followed along with this. In my music magazine I used this convention to make the magazine not too mainstream and so that it was more noticeable to look at.

From my preliminary task I realised that representation is key to the magazine. I used the concept of a “chav” for my preliminary task and stylized and integrated the image in with the background and the contents of the magazine. This makes the magazine appeal to the audience I want it to. I thought hard about this when doing my music magazine and I stylised my music artist and integrated this. I used colours that were associated with the theme of “pop” and girls so that it was clear what my magazine was based on.

When creating my college magazine I found that editing a picture is a good way to foreground it. I edited my pictures on my music magazine so that they showed parts of my artist that were “in the celebrity world” meant to be bright and colour such as the eyes which I made a piercing blue. The emphasis on this was good as it allowed me to make my artist more pinpointed on the page.

Reader profiles of other magazines already on the market.

Marie Claire Reader Profile The readership of Marie Claire is 1,019,000. They have a circulation of 316,765. They have 69% of ABC1 people reading their magazine. The median age is 34, 83% of them treat themselves to things they do not need. 75% agree it is worth paying extra for quality goods and spend £19 million every month on skincare/cosmetics and spend £35 million per visit at the hairdressers. 73% agree is it important to me to look well dressed and 79% look after their appearance/image. Active readers spend nearly an hour reading Marie Claire and each page in the magazine is looked at 2.1 times.

Look reader profile Look has a circulation of 307,274 and a readership of 521,000. Their media age is 25 and they have an ABC1 of 48%. 41% of their readers are in full time employment.

The readers are generally career focused and works hard, but plays hard too, regularly socialising with her friends. She loves fashion and shopping. 83% of women feel that looking good is really important to them and 87% agree shopping is one of their favourite past times. Each month they spend £251 on fashion and 57% agree they have a daily beauty regime that they follow religiously. Each month they spend £85 on makeup and skin care.

Why a reader profile is important.

A reader profile is important as it allows the magazine editors and publishers etc to know who their audience is and what content should be put into the magazine. Also it allows advertises to know whether they should put their advertisements in the magazine or not. It is also good to get a good idea of who your audience is so that you can allow yourself to research and target what the audience exactly wants, including design and content.

The person who will buy my magazine is a young teenage girl in the age range of 13-15. She is still at school and is focussed on make-up and beauty and she is becoming a woman in the world. She enjoys shopping for clothes and makeup and thinks that looking good is important. She enjoys listening to gossip and primping and styling herself on a regular basis. She listens to music everyday, most probably when she is travelling to school, or bored in a lesson. She uses the internet everyday and spends quite a lot of time on there. She probably uses the internet to socialise with her friends. She also has digital T.V and watches a lot of T.V, most probably to catch up on gossip.

Furthermore she enjoys socialising with her friends and goes out to the cinema and shopping regularly with her friends.