Formal Evaluation My project is a music magazine aimed at

females 16+I worked on my own and designed the whole magazine including writing the

double page spread

Short memorable magazine title. The large font grabs the audiences attention

Teasing information that can be found within the music magazine

Thumbnails of other important articles that can be found inside the magazine. The use of the word ‘special’ will attract the audience

The colour scheme used suggests the target audience are males, also the information given within the magazine suggests the magazine is indie genre as you would relate the topics used to indie

The use of artists names to attract attention

Image of main article band enlarged on the front cover. Both members of the group are using direct address

Artists names enlarged on the front cover to attract attention.

Large dominant writing giving off information about the main article in the magazine

Barcode and price to show that the magazine is real

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Memorable magazine title relating to music, the large font makes it stand out to the audience

Attractive slogan

Information that can be found in magazine including quizzes

Large dominant writing giving off information for the main article in the magazine

Information on what else can be found in the magazine that the audience will find interestingThis may attract an

audience as it states the magazine is new and may deliver something different

Barcode signalling it is a real magazine

Image of main article band being used. All 3 members are using direct address

The colour scheme is aimed at females but the genre is indie so the two have been joined making the colour scheme consist of purples black and white

Audience feedback – how the magazine compares to real media products. What does the title suggest:• Shows research has gone into it to find suitable name for genre, suggests experience and it is unique

What genre of music does the magazine focus on and how do you know this?• Indie music – shown through choice of artists and costume• Indie music – shown through other artists names in the charts at the moment

What makes the pages look professional and what stops them from looking professional?• Professional – colour scheme, writing style, images• Unprofessional – No price on the front cover

How genuine does the front cover seem?• Very genuine and interesting• I would buy a magazine like that• Use of barcode, images on front cover and the information given makes the front cover seem realistic and genuine

Does the contents page simply inform or does it also manage to interest you in reading the rest of the Magazine?• Interests and invites you in• Interesting things have been made to stand out and it informs• The images and information given makes you want to find out more

Does the article sound like a piece of journalism? If not what bits don’t sound right?• Yes it is interesting and delves into the band’s lifestyle, it flows like a real conversation should• It is the kind of thing you would read in a real magazine, all the members have equal input in the answers.

Does the article layout make you want to read it? If not why?• Yes it is professional, interesting to read and look at, the image at the top then the article to follow works well.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Stereotypical Images presented by other magazines:

Dark make-up, clothing and accessories

Blue lipstick suggests this person is different or individual

Only a limited amount of writing used and it is written in a different font

Facial expression is controversial to what is expected on a normal music magazine

Stereotypical images presented by my magazine cover:

Each member of the group has their own unique style. Each one is individual

Dark colours used

The title of the magazine stands out as being individual to the rest of the magazine as the font is very different.

Limited amount of writing as the picture makes a bigger statement

The lead singer and main artist is female, she wears something completely random and different to the mail artists in the group. This could be indie as it is again individual something uncommon

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

IPC Media

IPC Media produces over 85 iconic media brands, with their print brands alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men –almost 27 million UK adults – while their online brands collectively reach 20 million users every month.

Their mass market women's division (IPC Connect) comprises famous women's weeklies including Look, Now, Chat and Woman; TV entertainment brands including What's on TV, TVTimes and TV & Satellite Week and, online, the goodtoknow network.

Their upmarket women's division (IPC Southbank) comprises luxury fashion brands including Marie Claire and InStyle, lifestyle brands including woman&home and essentials and home interest brands including Ideal Home, Livingetc and housetohome.

One magazine IPC publish is the magazine NME which focus’ on the Indie genre like my music magazine http://www.nme.com

IPC Media is ideal for my magazine as it has already published an indie magazine

Although IPC Media has already published an indie magazine, the magazine was aimed at males unlike mine which is aimed at females. This will might help me distribute my media product because it is something different in the market.

The NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music. The award-winning www.nme.com, launched in 1996, has grown to be the biggest commercial music news site in Europe.

Launched in 1996, the award-winning NME.com has grown to become Europe's most successful music website, with over 4 million unique users across the globe. Famous for its industry-leading music news, world exclusives, breadth of reviews, video content and in-depth features, NME.com is the digital archive of the NME, with over 30,000 news stories, reviews and features in its database. NME.com was voted Interactive Consumer Magazine of the Year at the 2009 PPA Awards. Visit the website at: www.nme.com

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Audience Feedback

Females 16+ ‘ This suggests that the magazine is for mid-late teens’

Females who are interested in the Indie music genre ‘Indie because of the mention of Oasis’

People who are interested in gossip ‘manages to gain interest with the latest gossip’

Females who are interested in imagery ‘ The images also make you want to find out more about the magazine’

Females who are interested in reading articles in the magazine ‘It reads well. I feel the way that all the members of the band have equal input which is good’

G R A S S

Gender: Females

Race: Any race could read the magazine but it would probably appeal most to a white British audience.Age: The audience my

magazine is targeted at is 16+ but the audience would probably not find the magazine appealing over the age of 30

Socio-economic Status: C1 lower middle class. I chose this because teenagers will depend on parents for money and the information found in the magazine relates to people who live in a lower middle class lifestyle so it relates to them.

Psychographic Profiling

Mainstreamers: 40% of the market. This group seek security in conformity and thus tend to buy well known brand names

Aspirers: These people are motivated by status. They buy smart, high tech and fashion goods.

Succeeders: These people have already climbed the ladder and want to keep control of what they have. Car adverts that emphasise power and control are aimed at this group.

Reformers: This group want the world to be a better place. Educated people such as teachers and doctors who apparently are more likely to buy eco-friendly and health products.

This group is what my magazine is targeted at

Special Interests

The audience will have to be a fan of Indie Genre

The audience will have to be interested in music

The audience will have to be interested in specific groups and artists

The audience will have to have a particular interest or lifestyle involving music such as purchasing albums and attending festivals

The audience will have to be interested in reading gossip columns

The audience will have to like imagery as I will use imagery to attract my audience

How did you attract/address your audience?

Front Cover

My title helped me to attract my audience as the name was something different relating to music and the font stood out on the page

The image on the front cover is of a group with two males and one female. I have made the image big and used different colouring for each artist relating to the colour pallet used throughout my magazine

The setting used for the group is a clear background on some, then for the double page spread and contents page I used a brown settee to create a natural feel for the group

The costume the group is dressed in varies for each member as I wanted the audience to see that all the band members are individual artists also

The lighting for the group is quite bright as I aimed to attract the audience through the group on the front cover. This works well against a dark background

The female artist in the group is the main artist on the front cover, this is to attract the female audience

Information is given on the front cover to appeal to the audience and make them want to buy the magazine to read the information inside

The choice of articles featured on my contents page attract my target audience as they include gossip columns, music columns and other information related to music

The imagery displayed in my contents page is of the group being interviewed for the magazine, this will keep the audience wanting to find out more about them

The title ‘contents’ helps the audience know what page it is and will also help them to find out information on the magazine more easily

The colouring of the magazine is the same as the front page and double page spread. A black background with female related colours such as pinks and purples helps keep the indie genre going but also attracts a female audience

The image is of the group being interviewed and is quite eye-catching so appeals to my target audience

The headline is alliterate and so grabs my target audience’s attention straight away

Information given on the article is direct in its approach and so attracts my target audience and makes them want to read on

The layout of the article is set out like any other magazine or newspaper would do as it makes it easier for my audience to read and as it is common they will be able to relate to it

Each band member answers the questions equally and the article flows naturally

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This website helped me to understand what a magazine needs in order for it to be published

This website helped me choose from a wide range of different fonts for my magazine

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I have learnt how to edit my photo more precisely and also the importance of them to the sale of the magazine

I have learnt how relevant the magazine name is to the audience and how much it affects the audiences attention

I have realised how important the information is the reader that is given on the front of the magazine, and also how this affects the sale of the magazine

The layout of the front cover is crucial to how much attention & interest the reader will give to the magazine

Conclusion

• My products key strengths are the imagery, lighting and use of language throughout. I have researched many other magazines before designing my own to see what is on the market already and how they attract their target audiences. I have tried to use this when designing my magazine.

• My products weaknesses are the lack of information given on the contents page. I feel is does not look as professional as the other two pages. Also there is no price on the front cover which is a small error when designing but it should not of been missed out.

• I believe my article sounds quite professional and I had a lot of fun creating this. There would be a few changes made but reading the magazine as a whole compared to a real magazine I could not see many differences and so I am pleased with my overall product.