Focus GroupMusic Magazine

In order to find out if I had successfully represented my target audience and reflected the genre that I wanted for my magazine correctly, I had to ask for people’s opinions on my completed media products.It also means that by gathering people’s ideas and opinions I can identify ways in which I can improve on tasks in the future. A focus group is a great way to gather these views because it qualitative, open and it gives the opportunity for detailed responses.

It is important to me that my magazine is received well and a lot of positive comments are made however it is equally important to see what people would change or edit, because at the end of the day they will be the ones who would be deciding whether to purchase or not. I made some decisions to go against conventions and therefore I would like to know whether this was a good move to make- does it work well? Does it not?

Why a focus group?...

1. What makes a front cover appealing to

you?“Big, bold letters”

“Colours that stand out”

“Something that is eye catching”

“A strong image”

“Interesting coverlines, especially if they are about subjects that I am particularly interested in”

“Catchy headings”

2. What coverlines would you like to see on a front cover?

“Things that are currently in the news”

“Main issues or topics that are popular to talk about such as trends”

“Important subjects”

“I don’t like it when coverlines are irrelevant to the magazine or newspapers, I like to see coverlines that I know I’m going to want to read about further so in this case, a particular artist”

Coverlines about contests or freebies inside the magazine, I find, are good reasons to buy a magazine

“Eye catching and exciting ones, I also really like puns as coverlines because I feel like it adds personality and for some reason that attracts me to a magazine”

3. What colours do you like seeing on front covers?

*At this point I presented them with a copy of my front cover so that they could compare what they like to my magazine*

“I like the contrast you’ve done with the colours, I think that black is always a good option because everything stands out against it”

“Bright colours, for example the pink and blue used for your text because they catch your eye”

“The use of colours in your magazine appeals to both men and female because of the blue and pink”

“I like the pastel colours you’ve used but for me personally, the colours with the image make the magazine look a little detailed, but I tend to be more attracted by brighter, almost neon colours”

Maybe less gender specific colours would be more suitable as it makes it appealing to a wider range of people

“I like pale colours because it makes the image stand out more and that’s what grabs my attention”

4. Do you like that I have put images on the contents page that

link to articles?“I like that the images link because it gives a little preview of what to find”

“I find that visuals help to make something more interesting, so here it says about makeup and then the image is makeup so it gives you a better idea on what to find in the article”

“Yes, an irrelevant image would give the wrong impression and could be deceiving”

“There would be no point in having images that had nothing to do with the content so therefore I really like how you’ve linked the images with what is written on the contents page and front cover image too”

“I think it looks really effective”

“The contents page is already quite detailed so I can see why you only put 2 images on there but I would like to see more”

“It looks professional because they link”

5. Do you prefer image or text based articles?

“Image based, pictures break up the text”

“I agree with the last comment, a lot of text can be daunting so I like having a focal point which is an image”

“I prefer text based, because that’s the whole point of an article”

“I like a mixture of both because then it fits what everyone is looking for in an article”

“Personally I either like one big image or 2/3 little ones because I think it’s important to have a bulky text”

“Text based, but that’s probably just because I really enjoy reading”

6. With that in mind, do you like the layout of my DPS page?

“I really like how you’ve made the text fit around the image, it’s really effective and professional”

“Like I said, I prefer more images so I would put more on but I think it fits with the sophisticated feel that you aimed for”

“I love it, it works so well with the text and it’s just the right size to make it a focal point”

“As someone who cuts out images and uses them as posters I particularly like this layout because the image is such a good size”

“I think that more images would have been effective, just because your contents page only had 2”

“Because it’s the main article in your magazine so it makes sense for the image to take centre stage”

7. How effective is it having the artist’s name in a bigger sized font?

“I like that you’ve done it because it makes them stand out and gives them importance”

“Very effective, it draws people in and that’s a reason that they may choose to read the article”

“It makes it easier to find the article, if you’re flicking through looking for a certain thing it stands out to you and catches you eye”

“Going back to the image again, the placement of both the title (artist’s name) and the image work really well and together they create something that really draws you in”

“I personally think that it makes the text look even smaller and minimal, I would go down a couple of font sizes”

“It works well, the colours make it look really nice and it does the job of making the artist important and making the audience want to read more, if they see you have made a big deal out of the artist then they will be more inclined to learn about that artist in greater detail”

8. Going back to the front cover, do you like how the masthead goes in front of the artist’s head?

“I think that if you are putting the focus onto a person, then they need to be the only focus so if it was me creating the magazine I would put it behind them”

“I like it, because the thing that draws me to magazines is the text so to me that is what would catch my eyes when looking at this”

“It’s a little unusual which is why I like what you’ve done here”

“In my opinion it takes the effect away from the image which is a shame because it’s a strong image”

“At first I wasn’t sure about it because again, it’s a bit unusual but now I’m looking at it again I think it ties the coverlines and the image together nicely”

“I think it’s really effective, it looks professional”

9. If you could change something about the contents page what would

it be?“I would add some colour to the background to life it up a bit more”

“I would add some colour because right now there is a difference between the black of the front cover and double page”

“It would probably be adding another image”

“I would take off the picture of Caitlin because that’s 3 pictures of her in the magazine, so maybe change it up a little so that it isn’t repetitive”

“I agree that I would change the image to another thing that links with the contents page, not the main article”

“Adding some more colour would bring it together with the rest of the magazine”

10. Overall, what are your immediate thoughts about my

finished product?“It looks professional, it looks neat and I think you’ve done a really good job matching it up to how real magazines look”

“Of course there are some areas that could be changed such as contents page images and background but all in all it looks really good and you have captured the girly feel really well”

“I think it looks really good, the way you have positioned everything is effective and it mirrors magazines that we buy”

“I’m really impressed because obviously you haven’t done anything like this before and again, there are changes that could be done but I think that the DPS page looks really good”

“I like it, the colours, fonts and images work together really well to grab people’s attention and reflect a feminine vibe”

“The target audience is very clear when looking at the magazine so you’ve done well to create that”

What I’ve learnt from this task…I found that the focus group was a lot like the hot desking and questionnaire however it just reassured me that everything worked and that I stayed close to what I wanted the outcome to be. It allowed me to identify improvements such as more colour and images for the contents page which I will take with me into future tasks so that I can keep on improving my work. I did challenge some conventions so I was curious to know if people were in favour of that and the majority of people were so I’m glad that I made those decisions to make my magazine stand out and be unique.