Questionnaire Results

Location/Props/Costumes (Label D)

Locations/Props/Costumes:

For the visual photography aspect of this coursework unit I have decided I want to take my images in the college studio, this will create a contemporary, yet stylish and sophisticated appeal with a concept of uniqueness with my model and her style. I think this will work well as it will give me a clear background allowing the page to look calm and not too over the top. – Yet with the background being a light tonal colour I can then use more intense colours of fonts and design ideas/layouts, to make the magazine pop instead.

In terms of props I haven’t planned on using any as I want the images to be quite minimal, at most I intend on using a chair or a small prop, just to increase detail. I want the imagery in my magazine to look clean, unique yet sophisticated with an edge that makes it somewhat aesthetically pleasing. My model will be wearing unique stylised attire, creating an appearance of diversity, yet with some aspects in which could be considered as mainstream. Clothing items will probably just consist of skinny jeans, a classic top complimented with an over-sized baggy shirt, shoes ranging from either pumps or boots such as Doc Martins; and accessories will probably be minimal.

I want to design my magazine aesthetic this way as it is something I could imagine my target audience relating to and wanting to read. The simple and minimal design will look clean and diverse, compared to magazines that give the appearance of being too in depth and cluttered. 

Drafts (Label D)

Drafts (Label D)

Front Cover:

Contents page:

Feature Article:

Mood Boards for Planning (Label D)

Mood Boards for Planning (Label D)
Colours:

For my second mood board focusing on colour's I have tried to keep it simple, allowing the colour's to be the only focus on the design. I used secondary sources to create this board, by searching for a tester paint strip with this I recreated the colours I was going to use on the first initial strip. I used photoshop's colour palette tool to retouch the original image, letting me add the colours I wanted to use - I repeated this process eight times with different tones of: Blues, Purples, Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens and Greys, I chose these certain colours as they were the responses from the audience research in response to a question linking to the colours on a magazine front cover.  

I also added a colour wheel in the top left corner, showing complimentary colours and what they are usually associated with in connection to emotions. I finished the mood board off by adding a title of 'Colours' to the image, the font is rather spontaneous and creative mixing the typography with bold colours and tones; the type used was by Tim Fishlock. I think overall this mood board conveys colours and tonal values well as it isn't too overpowering to look at, it also gives you an indication of colours that match in the correct spectrum. 

Mood Boards for Planning (Label D)

Mood Boards for Planning (Label D)

Fonts:

For this mood board I have specifically targeted existing magazine companies for the fonts they have used, the branding in which those companies have used create a house style known via fonts and styles. – That being the reason I decided to show current designs for music magazines and well-known companies within the music industry on this mood board, the main brands I have shown are: NME, Rock Sound, Q Magazine, Kerrang, RollingStone and the Radio 1 house banner. When analysing these designs I have noticed they all seem to have a regular correlation of classic fonts, which are bold and contemporary. On this mood board I have also included fonts in which I have found on DaFont.com which would be styles I would l like to possibly experiment with in the design process of this magazine. I used words such as ‘Magazine’, ’Music’, ’Edgy’, ’Unique’ and ‘Alternative’ as I don’t currently have an idea for what my magazine will be named and branded as. The Styles that I have picked mostly seem to be of similar taste although there are a few various sections which have a more feminine appeal; I probably won’t use these fonts as I want to use something which appeals to both men and women.

Original Ideas Statement (Label D)

Original Ideas Statement (Label D)

The music magazine I am planning on making will cover a mixture genres ranging from Alternative, Indie and Acoustic. The target audience for my magazine will be for both males and females, but predominantly females with the age range aimed at 17-25 year olds. This will give me the opportunity to use my own input as I am within the target market, the specified age also allows me to create a mature and sophisticated magazine with a proportion of younger influence; creating an edgy yet diverse and unique magazine. My target audience would enjoy attending gigs and festivals, and would have interests in the music industry, trying to understand the songs in depth and listening to the music in passion; I imagine my audience to be the type of people to be want to stand out and be diverse compared to mainstream commonalities - ect. shopping in charity and retro shops.  

I will be covering upcoming gigs and music events, advertising ticket vendors and will be designing competitions for relative concerts or band merch. I hope to cover articles on albums, singles and new releases, this should create an appealing and informative yet entertaining magazine.  

Audience Research (Label C)

Audience research (Label C) 

For my audience research I designed a survey consisting of seven questions, these were all questions which would allow me to create a magazine with audience input and direction, yet develop it in a subtle way. My questionnaire got ten individual responses, when I shared this I asked a group of people in which I thought would fit the magazine category and would be ideal audiences. 

The first question was 'How old are you?' I asked this as I wanted to develop an understanding of the audience in which I would be modeling my magazine around, the design I make will be in accordance to the question answers, so this question will help me evaluate the main target market. I used a tick box method on survey monkey for this question with four choices them being: '16-19','20-23','24-27' and an option choice of other. The results show that 77% of the audience were in the '16-19' category whilst the other two choices tallied in at 11% each, the other option showed that one person was 35 years old. The second question was 'Would you enjoy reading an alternative/Indie magazine?' I asked this as this is the music genre I hope to represent in the magazine, the results showed that 8/10 agreed saying they would read the subscription.  

'What content would you like to see in a music magazine?' was the third question with a selection of five answers. Those were 'a Gig Guide', 'Band/Artist news','Contest Information', 'Upcoming artists/musicians' and 'Fashion' the tick selection only allowed the audience to choose an option, however there was an even draw between a band/artist news and upcoming artists/musicians with 30% each, followed by another even split of a gig guide and fashion articles at 20%. Question 4 was 'What three colours would attract you to the front cover?' - the main colours stated were red, black and green; with other colours mentioned being: grey, white, orange, blue, purple, silver and yellow.  Question 5 was about money 'How much would you be willing to pay for a music magazine?' this was with a tick box response of '£1.50, £2.50 and £3.50' the results show both the cheaper options had 40% of interest with £3.50 only two people willing to pay that much. The 6th question was relevant to publishing dates asking 'How often would you like the magazine to be published?' this also had three boxes to choose from: 'Weekly, Every Fortnight and Monthly' 60% said monthly, whilst 30% replied with every fortnight and 1 person saying weekly; the price would definitely be linked to how often the magazine is published. Finally the last question mentioned about giveaway products with 'would you like freebies included in the magazine?' this response states that 7/10 people would enjoy receiving a free gift with the product. 

Mood Boards for Research (Label C)

Mood Boards for Research (Label C)

Advertisers:

This mood board enables me to focus on the advertising that would be central around the magazine as key revenue, the companies chosen are all specific to which my target audience would be linked with. I started off with musical influenced brands, including record shops, technology items, ticket providers and aps the main ones were: Soundclash, Spotify, Apple Music, HMV, Bowers & Wilkins, Ticketmaster, Seetickets and Bands in Town. I thought all of these companies were relevant to my target research, as the audience would be wanting to attend gigs and primarily listening to music. I then focused on technology companies, such as different phone manufacturers and providers like Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC, O2, T-Mobile and Orange - my thought behind these brands was connected to what would appeal for my target audience, as young adults are connected through phones and technology devices; more opportunities would also be available as online subscriptions can be viewed through technology. Brand usage of clothing was also shown as a directional push once again reinforcing my target audience and market, a few of these companies were: Toms, Topshop/Topman, Asos, Hunter, Levi's and Doc Martens. Overall I think the branding corporations I have chosen foreshadow the magazine I intend to make as it will be a mixture of unique and sophisticated ideas, mixed with the edginess from the genres included. 

Mood Boards for Research (Label C)

Mood Boards for Research (Label C)

Target Audience:

I have created a moodboard which will allow my target audience to develop with the magazine, the specific demographic that I am appealing for is a group of young adults, devoted to music, unique styles and enjoy retro and vintage sounds/lifestyle. The mood board itself shows a variation of alternative and indie music records them being: Blondie, The Smiths, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Coasts, Odesza and Jamie T. I have selected these individual artists and bands as I will be designing a magazine that is quite unique and upcoming, with sounds and styles from different decades and approaches to music; for example: Jamie T is classed as alternative and constitutes his music through rap and grunge guitar aesthetics, whilst Odesza are also an alternative group performing sleek rhythms and melodies on soundboards. I have tried to include a sense of appropriate attire in the mood board showcasing clothing, jewelry and items they would possibly have, this included record players, guitars, small aesthetics (candles, illustration designs and travel accessories. I have incorporated festival and coffee chain logos as these are both things I would represent and imagine my target audience doing; the reason I chose to use three alternative festivals was because they all offer something a little different yet fit together, and this is the prospect and philosophy I would like to use when designing and branding my magazine. 

Information on Magazine Publishers

Information on Magazine Publishers (Label C) 

ICP Media: 

IPC Media (International Publishing Corporation) was founded in 1963 as a consumer magazine and publisher in the UK, with a large portfolio of clients and sells over 350 million copies a year. ICP media was initially founded in order to group together to help the influx of similar newspapers battling to share the marketplace, The Sun and The Daily Mirror were two of the main companies involved in the significant change in management. A various amount of book publishing agencies were also involved in the company, which is why the business was classed as a publishing house; it has since then been rebranded with the name 'Time inc. UK' in 2014. According to online sources sales have been down on the magazine as the total annual circulation fell by 6%, with a total of 150 job losses this year alone. The company are responsible for a range of mediums like: magazines, comics, books and specialist company magazines. Aside from their own magazine the company advertise a diverse selection of brand, such as: Now, Anglers MaIl, NME and L'Oreal. This meaning they are linked to many other magazines, the difference between company's target audiences is also visible. As some of the main female brands and magazines associated with Time inc.UK are, 'Woman and Home','Whats on TV?' and 'Chat' meanwhile 'NME','Nuts' and 'Uncut' are all franchise specifically designed with men as target audience.  

Bauer: 

Bauer Media Group is a German based company that houses a portfolio for over 600 magazines, 400 digital productions and 70 radio and TV stations. The brands client list communicates with print shops, distribution and marketing services, in achievement of this Bauer have a workforce of around 11,000 employees in 17 different countries. The origin of the company was started in a small printing house in Germany which then became an iconic company there, they originally started relations with the UK when they signed Bella Magazine to the client list in 1987, since then the company has been managed by five generations of the Bauer family; going on to become Britain's third largest publishing house. The annual representative figures and statistics show that the publishing company tend to focus more on the readers than the advertising space within that take around 40% of the market up, this is through the three woman's weekly magazines that are the most popular (Bella, Take a Break and That's Life'.  

Bauer claims to be the largest privately owned media publications group in Europe, taking the third largest consumer rate with numbers of 25% in customer percentages. They have also overtaken IPC Media with their sales, and claim their strategies are to connect with as many readers and listeners available through multi-touch platforms. A few more of their most well known brands are: 4 Music, FHM, Grazia, Kerrang, Q, Angling Times and Bike. 

Future PLC: 

Future PLC is an English Media company, it was founded as Future Publishing in Somerset, 1985 by creative head Chris Anderson in connection with the soul magazine Amstrad Action. Future PLC offered something original as it was the innovative company pitching free software on covers, this making them the first franchise to do so. It was ranked as the sixth largest company in the media corporation industry, it has a portfolio publishing more than 30 magazines within subcategories of video-games, technology, films, photography and sport. It is also the main house for two of three major games console manufacturers, including the Nintendo Magazine. In the late months of 2009 the business reported a major loss in profits, with a downfall from £9.5 million to £3.7 million (a loss of 61%). In 2012 sold its share in music magazine brands to New Bay Media LCC for $3 million, this included well known branded magazines such as: Revolver and Guitar World. 2014 was also recorded as a sale downfall, Future sold all connections to-do with US print support functions to other various brands in the UK. 

The company's multiplatform portfolio varies across print, tablet, online, video, mobile, apps and events. For example: The future Women's magazine helps drive that communication aspect between creative ladies all over the world, through online access - visible through social media and print brands. Future PLC was founded 30 years ago and has its headquarters office in Bath, however they still actively operate in America and Australia.