BLACK MATH

NATIONALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

MY CLIENT

“You have been commissioned by the Northern Echo to produce a new magazine or newspaper product. Your product should be in any style or genre but it must be self financed through sales or advertising. You must also produce your magazine for a specified audience segment within the 16 – 25 age group.”

MEETING THE NORTHERN ECHO’S GUIDELINES

• ‘Black Math Nation’ is an Alternative Lifestyle magazine which is aimed at creative 16-24 year olds in, or going into, further education.

• It will be distributed in the North East of England and therefore champions the North East in it’s articles by using local people and stories.

• The education status of my target audience means that their socioeconomic groups will mainly consist of ABC1s.

• Black Math Nation will be self funded through advertisements.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT BMN?• Black Math Nation will focus on celebrating individual

uniqueness and teaching readers to use their interests and skills within a community.

• Black Math Nation will encourage open mindedness and place all of the readers on the same level as the article subjects and interviewees.

• Window to the future self which also gives the reader real advice and ambition to become successful, encouraging each individual to be completely themselves.

PROBLEMS

• The Northern Echo places certain restrictions on my publication, including.

1.No extreme nakedness

2.No extreme language

3.Nothing inappropriate or offensive

4.Range of readership ages

•Some magazines in the alternative lifestyle genre use taboo language and imagery in order to add a sense of controversiality, appealing to the alternative audience. •With the Northern Echo’s restrictions, this means that I will have to come up with different ways of making it’s trademark style stand out from other magazines.

OVERCOMING PROBLEMS

• no taboo, discriminative or inappropriate language. • No nudity• A contemporary language style to replace the effect

of taboo language (formal but colloquial and fast paced)

• A varied content which will appeal to a secondary audience.

My magazine will include:

THE PCC

• PCC stands for ‘Press Complaints Commission’ and is an “independent self-regulatory body which deals with complaints about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines”

• The PCC’s code of practice for journalists covers issues including defamation, libel, accuracy, privacy, harassment, children and discrimination.

• In my magazine, I will have to be very careful in publishing accurate information and will have to ensure that none of the language or imagery I use is discriminatory in any way, as my magazine is aiming to steer away from discrimination anyway.

• I will take precautions by collection permission slips to publish photographs which may or may not be mine, respecting the privacy of my interviewees and ensuring that every piece of information I post is accurate and sourced.

PRIMARY AUDIENCE

• PRIMARY AUDIENCE: • Young Alts. Open minded individuals who experiment

with all tribes and a variety of styles.

WHO IS MY SECONDARY AUDIENCE?

• SECONDARY AUDIENCE:

Because young alts are influenced

by such a wide range of tribes, its

likely that the stories which will

appeal to them will also appeal

to other tribes in similar scenes.

For example, hardcore, creatives,

hipsters, nerds, skaters and DIYers

will all act as a secondary audience

for Black Math Nation.

My secondary audience also includes anybody who reads the Northern

Echo This means that, like the NE, my magazine must have a strong sense of community. I will do this by placing my readers on the same level as the features and using a mixture of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narratives.

e.g.•“I”, “we”

•“you”, “your” •“they”, “him”, “he”

FOCUS GROUP IDEA FEEDBACK

•“Love the idea of the graffiti (art vs vandalism) article being based in the local area, as it adds a sense of familiarity to the magazine if it is being distributed to a local audience”

• “more people would be likely to buy the magazine if they are familiar with the themes and places mentioned”

• “Liked how the arguments are very balanced and open to interpretation from the reader.”

I organised a focus group of 4 young creative individuals and pitched my content ideas to them. This is some of their feedback.

Audience research

• 16 – 24 year olds• Students (college

or/and university)• Creative individuals

• Interested in the world around

them• Open minded

• Young Alts

I used a socrative survey to interview members of my target audience as this was the quickest and most convenient way to carry out my research.

MY COMPETITORS

Dazed & Confused: One of the UK’s few Alternative Lifestyle magazines. “The topics that are covered include music, fashion, film, art, and literature.” Circulation: 69,000

Interview: U.S alternative Lifestyle magazine founded by Andy Warhol. “Interviews from the worlds of fashion, film, music, and art. Videos and late-breaking cultural news.”Circulation: “Interview has a direct dialog with 1.7 million young, affluent influentials”

THE ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE GENRE• I chose the Alternative Lifestyle genre because I felt that it was the broadest genre and would allow me to

explore different article styles and subjects.

• Dictionary.com describes ‘alternative lifestyle’ as “a way of life considered unconventional or nontraditional according to a social or cultural "norm“”.

• Alternative Lifestyle magazines often include articles on arts based subjects, such as art, literature, fashion, music, and film. They also often have debates and very opinionated articles.

• The genre is focused around celebrating uniqueness and people’s quirks. The imagery used can often be strange and sometimes controversial, but the aim is to be thought provoking.

GENRE RESEARCHHandwritten style, red font with an unconventional slant

Lace mask adds a sense of intimacy and secrecy, emphasising femininity?

Serious, narrowed eyes and slanted eyebrows give the impression of intensity and deep emotion

Pose gives a classic look, hand on face has very feminine, glamorous connotations. Bare shoulders suggest intimacy

Black, white and red colour scheme has classy, defined effect. Masthead stands out more

Diamante skull mask has sinister connotations and looks almost fetishistic. The fact that you can’t see the model’s face brings a sense of anonymity

Retro style wallpaper places the reader in society

Cigarette smoke adds a theme of rebellion and bad habits. Appeals to the reader and their own bad habits. Emphasises smoking/drugs as a fashion statement

Masthead is large and bold. Unconventional vertical positioning

Main question sell line and powerful imagery makes up for the lack of other sell lines.

DESIGN OF PRODUCT FOR TARGET AUDIENCE

• Interesting, professional looking colour scheme (black, white, red, pink, green, blue). I want the colour scheme to be unisex.

• Will include very culture themed articles e.g. (art, music, literature, fashion, film)

• The design of my pages will be very arty, often in a collage style which will appeal to my target audience

• Magazine is very local to the North East• Low price for students

AUDIENCE VIABLITY• I created two very different mock up layouts for my ‘The Graffiti Debate: ‘Art’ VS

‘Vandalism’ article and got different responses from a focus group.

“too ‘newsy’. Might not catch the reader’s attention straight away”

“Interesting fonts, shows straight away what the article is about”

“Secondary imagery of the artist’s work isn’t very interesting to look at” Uneven

columns may intimidate the reader

“Nice use of metaphorical imagery. I like that the model is anonymous”

“Bright graffiti style brush makes the whole page very eye catching, would definitely stop to read”

“Imagery is more attractive too look at, brighter and the big main image helps to stop the text look intimidating”

“Subheadings succeed in breaking up the text. Makes it easy to look at and read”

“Quote into is interesting and intriguing, grips the reader and encourages to read on”

“Overlapping columns look modern and reflect the alternative nature”

MY UNIQUE SELLING POINTS

• REGIONAL

• READER – INTERVIEWEE EQUALITY

• OPEN MINDEDNESS

What is the gap in the market, and how is Black Math Nation filling it?

COMMUNITY SPIRIT• Articles will also be mostly locally based and will

feature local people and places. • Word ‘Nation’ in the title gives the impression that

this is a very community led magazine.• Articles will demonstrate this by encouraging my

readers to use their skills and talents to help others and network.

• Black Math Nation is all about being unique and an individual within a larger body of people who celebrate and teach each other.

Being a local magazine

What does ‘local’ mean?• Advertisements are made up of local businesses

• Feature local stories, interviewees and models

• Make references to North East based companies and organisations in my articles (e.g New Writing North and Tyneside Cinema in my careers article.)

THE NAME

‘BLACK MATH NATION’• ‘Black Math’ works as an oxymoron- adds a sense of mystery and darkness. Appeals to young alts as it suggests the content will be out of the ordinary and

unique/twisted• Also alludes to a song by The White Stripes, a band my target audience may be

familiar with and/or appeal to, as my socrative results show that my target audience are interested in rock music

• ‘Nation’ adds a community feel to the magazine, addressing the whole alternative culture

BLACK MATH NATION CONTENT OVERVIEW

• Number of pages: 16• Front Cover• Contents

• DPS 1 – The Graffiti Debate: ‘Art’ VS ‘Vandalism’• DPS 2 – Tattoo Artist, Zombie Enthusiast

• DPS 3 – What Do You Wanna Do?

FRONT COVER & CONTENTS FLAT PLANS

• Large red LCD masthead font, eyes are instantly drawn to the bright colour and the font appeals to young people as they’re familiar with technology

• Model on front cover is covering their face to emphasise the theme of anonymity which will be alluded to in the graffiti article. Adds an air of mystery and intrigues open minded, young alt audience to read on

• Question and quote sell lines in a variety of fonts which literally suggest what the article is going to be about. Alliteration and rhyme is used to make the sell lines catchy

• 4 colour palette: black, white, green, red. Bright and unisex

• Note from the editor makes the magazine feel personal to the reader and emphasises sense of community

• Familiar, colourful adverts will attract the reader as by presenting brands that they know and love, it will suggest that they will like the articles in the magazine

• Imagery from the main features is used to give an insight into the articles they are going to be reading

• Literal fonts which represent the article’s themes

• Colourful photoshop graffiti brushes to grab attention

• Large main image and smaller images to break up text

• Sub headings to stop text looking intimidating

• Even columns• Colour palette: white, red,

green, blue

1. The Graffiti Debate: ‘Art’ VS ‘Vandalism’• Balanced debate/opinion piece on whether graffiti is a form of artistic expression or vandalism of property and society.• Will include integrated quotes from local graffiti artist , ‘Mr. H’. • Will include references to recent and relevant news, encouraging readers to do further research on related topics• Leaves the conclusion down to personal interpretation and presents the article from a different light

• Literal fonts again to represent the article’s themes

• Collage effect layout with a variety of imagery which will instantly catch the reader’s eye. Gives the page an arty, spontaneous yet professional look

• Quote intro

• Even columns

• Subheadings and quote inserts to break up large sections of text

• Secondary imagery of Justin’s work so the reader can visualise what they are being told

• Colour palette: white, red, green, black

2. Tattoo Artist, Zombie Enthusiast• Integrated interview with an Essex based tattoo artist who also works as a special effects makeup artist for horror films,

tv shows and other events• Very down to earth, laid back interview which presents Justin as a valuable individual in a community• Creates an ‘inverted’ window to the future self which presents Justin as someone who is successful but also celebrates

the reader and gives them realistic, genuine advice on being successful in their creative field.

• Layout spread across both pages. Reader is instantly attracted to the image in the centre of the page

• Separate ‘mini’ article aimed towards different types of creative groups

• LCD font, same as the front cover masthead, to brand the magazine

• Colourful question mark pattern (photoshop brush) in the corners of both pages

• Breakout box with profiles and advice from successful creative people

3. What Do YOU Wanna Do?• Careers article with a twist. Explores alternative routes into creative jobs instead of focusing solely on college and

university as a social ‘norm’• Includes real advice from people in creative careers such as Laura Barton, features writer for the guardian

ARTICLES (LANGUAGE, TONE ETC)• In my articles I will have a contemporary language style which

means it will be formal enough for my educated target audience not to be patronising

• will also use some colloquial language as my target audience are young

• Some regional language as my audience are based in the North East.

• I will use humour and sarcasm in order to appeal to my young audience

• I’ll help the reader to relate to the articles by asking plenty of questions

• A mixture of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narrative in order to relate to my audience in different ways

• Use subheadings in all articles to break up large sections of text

COMMERCIAL VIABLITYMost income will be creating through advertising rates and the rest will be made through sales as I am charging £2 for my magazine. I think this is a reasonable price as my target audience are educated and from higher socioeconomic groups but are still students.

Overall budget = £11,400

NET PROFIT: £6749.20

DISTRIBUTION

• I will be distributing my magazine through COMAG distribution who will take 25% of the cover price of my magazine.

• My magazine will then go to a wholesaler which will deliver it to a retailer, who will also take 25% of my income.

• My magazine will be sold in places such as wh smith, college and university newsagents, music/entertainment shops and art gallery shops such as The Baltic shop in Gateshead

CONCLUSION

USP• Lack of British, and especially regional alt life magazines• Big emphasis on community and being an individual within a society• Doesn’t force ideas or opinions on it’s readers. Encourages the target

audience to think for themselves and be open mindedI think Black Math Nation is a very down to Earth yet educational magazine in unconventional ways.

My overall aim is to create a magazine than not only entertains, but informs and inspires my target audience to keep learning about new things.