FOCUS GROUP ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !I have conducted a focus group consisting of 6 females aged ! between 16 and 18. This incorporates the majority of ages in my target ! audience of 16-19 year olds, and as the participants were all female it accurately represents my target audience. Each of the ! volunteers are interested in indie-rock music and agreed to leave a ! non-biased comment on my front cover, double page spread and contents page. These are the main points that were brought up.
FRONT COVER
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Jess: I really like the colour scheme used. It’s eye-catching but not overly bold and therefore appeals to the eye. I think the tagline under the main headline, ‘Born to be Wilde’, isn’t visible enough as I wouldn’t be able to read it from a distance.
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Abby: The main image is striking as the model is looking directly into the camera. This is the first thing my eye is drawn to. I like the composition of the photo and the page, and can immediately tell that this is some variety of indie magazine.
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Flick: I agree with the point Jess made earlier about the visibility of the tagline, but other than that I would definitely pick this up off a shelf! I hope a colour scheme of some sort is maintained throughout the magazine, perhaps the burgundy colour used for the drop shadow of the text? That’s definitely one of the stronger elements for me.
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Anna: I love the overall aesthetic of this magazine. I especially like the way the circle with the words ‘Exclusive Gig Guide’ inside appears to go behind the model’s head. It gives the front cover another dimension which is attractive to the eye.
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Didi: I think the cover lines are slightly unbalanced as there are three on the right but only two on the left. This works, but I think would look better if they were moved down or separated slightly to take up a bit more room. Other than that, I think it’s great!
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Siobhan: I find the articles on the front cover really intriguing as they’re all about some of my favourite bands. I also think the addition of a gig guide is a brilliant idea as I’m always missing gigs when I’ve forgotten to check.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! This is! the amended version of my front cover. After considering the ! comments from my focus group, I ! to change the style of the decided main! article tagline by altering the font and placing a white box ! it to make it really easy to behind read.!The second point that was raised concerned the coverlines ! and how they were uneven. I ! to change the content chose rather ! than the amount or placement as I was generally happy! with each of these aspects. The accompanying line to ‘CDs or ! Vinyl’ now says ‘The Battle Goes On’ rather than ‘You Decide’ which suits the page much better.
This is the original version of my front cover. Overall I am pleased with the comments collected from my focus group and will make a couple of minor changes in order to improve it to the standard my target audience expect.
CONTENTS PAGE
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Jess: This image is really nice as it contains calming colours and the shadow over the model’s body makes it look artistic. I also like how she’s looking into the page – onto the text.
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Abby: Generally I like the positioning of everything, but I don’t think that some parts are visible enough. For example, the ‘Top 10 Albums of 2014’ article is barely legible as it’s a dark text on a dark background. Perhaps the colour or background could be changed?
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Flick: I agree with Abby in that the text could be clearer, however I don’t think changing the colour of the font itself would be effective because it’s clear that the main article has purposely been made a different colour to stand out. I do, however, really like the images along the bottom as they’re bright and bold but don’t distract from the main image.
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Anna: I like the fonts used on this page, but I don’t think the pink drop shadow on ‘features’ and ‘regulars’ is necessary. It just makes the text more difficult to read and I think there are enough colours on the page as it is.
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Didi: I really like the simplicity of the title font as there’s quite a lot happening on the page. The articles are all interesting and relate to the pictures at the bottom; that’s all I’d ask for!
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Siobhan: I think this layout is so original! It’s all really nicely composed and I love the way the text wraps around the model. It’s a different and intriguing idea. I do think the ‘regulars’ section should be a little more prominent however; maybe have a white background behind it?
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! my contents page after This is adaptations I made based on ! the focus group results. I have ! placed boxes behind some of the !text in order to make it clearer! and more legible. I have also! gotten rid of the drop shadow on the headings ! ‘Features’ and ‘Regulars’ in ! to make them clearer order and more ! consistent with the page. ! Finally, I generally shuffled things around slightly ! in order to obtain and more professional and organised finish.
This is the original version of my contents page. I showed my focus group participants this image and will make changes to it whilst considering the results and comments I collected.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
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Jess: The main thing that jumps out at me is that it’s not as bright as the other pages. I think there needs to be more colour used.
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Abby: I love the picture; the model looks so fierce and sassy! I think the thing that catches your eye most on the page is the excessive amount of white space, so if I were you I’d find a way to fill that or spread text across it all.
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Flick: Going back to a point I made earlier, I think there should definitely be more colour, and if it was my magazine I’d probably choose the burgundy type one you used on the front cover. That’s not too overwhelming and it fits in nicely with the rest of the magazine.
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Anna: My favourite part of this page is the font used for the words ‘Polly Wilde’ so I think they should be a bit bolder. You could either fill the space around it with text or just make the words huge - that would make it look more finalised.
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Didi: Having that quote in the middle of the column is a really good idea as it breaks up the text. It’s also really eye-catching and the text makes me want to read the rest of the article.
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Siobhan: All the main points I would pick out from this magazine have been covered, but I just want to reiterate how important I think it is to add some colour. I love the concept of monochrome and the way the background of the picture has been edited as such is really cool, but it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of your magazine. I think you should definitely find a way to incorporate the purple from the front into the text or the background. Besides that I love it; it’s a really nice magazine!
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This is the image I showed my focus group as a work-inprogress DPS.
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I obtained some really helpful comments from my focus group that greatly aided the design process of my DPS. I used all the comments I was given in order to create this updated version of my DPS. There are still some elements that I’m not overly happy with, however it’s much closer to the style I wanted for the genre, and I can now adapt things individually to further suit the expectations of my target audience.