HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

• When designing my magazine I needed to really focus and make sure that it really met my target audiences’ needs and interests. To

make sure I did this I kept checking and referring back to my research, to see which things they wanted in there the most.

Although not only did I need to interest they through content, but the presentation of my magazine needed to bring them in and

excite them. • The indie/rock genre is a new, cool, vintagey look and sound, so I

had to think carefully about content and layout, because I needed it to be simplistic, but eye-catching-that’s why I stuck to using the

color scheme and the block texts, accompanied by the photos that I used.

• Due to my target audience being mixed gender, I needed to make sure it applied to both genders. For this reason, I was influenced

by NME and Q! magazine. It helped me a lot on layout and content as I got reassured that using a quite outgoing colour scheme wasn’t bad, and the main story I produced was appropriate

DESIGNING MY MAGAZINE

MY FRONT COVER

The title of my front cover is large and bold and in capital letters, as I thought the name

of the magazine was the most important thing, it needed to be noticeable, easily

recognized and not too long, or it could be shortened down into a smaller version,

that’s why in a white stroke underneath I put the full version. The font looks like an

‘old’ ish font, so I thought this was appropriate for the indie genre, but it also

looks fresh and like no one else’s.

The tagline across the bottom and top really help bring my audience in because of the block colours, contrasting with the white. Simply by using band names, they instantly know which artists it focuses on and includes, which makes them know it’s an indie genre magazine. As well as this, keeping on with the colour scheme I did the same down the side, to add some information and colour to it, and also adapted this into the “TALENT 2013” as if I used different colours I feel it would give it an unprofessional look. Again with it being at the top and bottom, it brings your eyes down to scan the whole of the magazine, ensuring that the readers take in all the the information. By putting them in, it really gives the magazine a source of symmetry and although it’s very simple, it adds just that extra bit of detail that could convince/push a reader to buy it.

I included a FESTIVAL headline, because after my target audience research, this was the thing that cropped up the most that people wanted me to feature, so putting this on the front of my magazine will again entice the reader in, especially as I’ve used the official photo/sign of 2013 and a picture from the actual festival to make them trust me that I do have hot news and knowledge on it, especially for those first time festivalers

The name Noel is in a larger, white font, to be eye-catching and noticeable. The name of the celebrity and the magazine name are in bold and the biggest things on there as I felt these were the most important things. At first I did use red for Noel, but then it took away the attention from the IM title, so changed it white so they were equally as eye-catching, but the white also kept up the consistency of the colour scheme. As well under the Noel, I included an insight into what the interview will be about, such as his former band possibly making a new hit, which will entice the reader in because they’re such a well known and loved band in the indie genre, it will immediately bring people in. Another thing I did which I thought was clever, was highlight the word YOUR in red, as it really makes the reader feel involved in the magazine, but then will also know that the content won’t be the same old boring questions as magazines usually provide.

The model in the photograph is wearing a typical ‘indie’ outfit. With the rayban geek

glasses which are highly in fashion, the trench coat and the Fred Perry polo shirt. When taking the photograph, I did really think about outfit choice, as readers are

often influenced by what the models have on. Fashion is a major part of the music industry, so in terms of target audience I

feel it’s very appropriate and will bring lots of readers in.

MY FRONT COVER

I feel the way the texts fits in and has been arranged around the model is a winning factor of my magazine, because I was afraid that it would be too cluttered, making it look unprofessional, as often this happens when using a headshot but I feel I have worked with it and pulled it off, as I personally felt, that the best way to attract my audience in was through using a headshot, as it really makes them feel more connected and it’s much more eyecatching.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

In my double page spread I used big block colours as backing on my texts. I did this to brighten up the pages, and

also highlight the main bits of the article. I used the same colour scheme again as it worked really well and kept it consistent throughout the magazine. I made sure that the colours fit in with both gender and I feel that they do, by making my magazine not gender bias, it really maximizes the appeal and gets

more readers in. As well as this, because the artist is a boy I didn’t

want just the girls to be attracted to this page just because he’s a ‘heart

throb’, so again I took this into consideration and made it applicable

for both genders.The font throughout the magazine was kept the same, as I thought consistency was the key to making it not looking unprofessional and jumbled. I picked Cambria as I thought it was not too girly and not too boyish and also fit in with the indie genre of my magazine.

The images that I used are consistent with my magazine and contents page. I thought it was important to have the main, big photo of the artist on the left, with only a little bit of text, and the smaller image of the album cover in the center of the interview, which is a common convention of a music magazine. I wanted a picture with an instrument here, because I’ve already used a headshot here, and I thought by using this image here it gives a much more personal look to it.

On this page I kept the block text consistent throughout, again making sure that the colour scheme was the same throughout and as headline things using block background colours. I felt although this was the least important page to get my genre across, I still had

to make it a bit more obvious, because then I had something to focus on as well.

CONTENTS AND OVERALL MAGAZINE

One of the main things that was important to me, was the separation of the stories/how things were labelled. I really focused on this because I really

wanted to keep it simplistic, but get as much information in without overcrowding it. The block

colour backgrounds really helped me do this, because it made it eyecatching and then allowed me

to keep the rest of the text underneath black e.g. the PLUS section.

The images I used showed my photography and editing skills, the different poses to portay the type of music they played. Such as the bottom left corner

with the guitar portrays a very emotional, intense acousitic sound, but the big fisheye photo suggests that their type of music is much more upbeat and

fun. Which because the indie genre has such a wide field, I wanted to show that I was covering all types

of it.

In my magazine I included a wide range of different topics that I felt would appeal to my target audience. In my article I felt that I needed to cover a lot of topics, so the reader felt like they’d got their moneys worth, but also make it funny, as to get the

personality across to the readers.

Because there was such as strong reaction for festival, I featured in the article questions on festivals and his opinions on them, such as where he’s played, where was his favorite place to play, if he’s doing any festivals this year etc. By including personal factors, it makes the audience feel much more connected to him, making

them feel more involved.

For the music lovers who are also into fashion, I made sure to add a lot of current fashion and stylings, portrayed through my photographs. I didn’t think it was

necessary to add in a fashion clothes article, as this is a music magazine. Although, one thing I could have done was each week do an artists latest fashion loves, which I

think would have been a good factor to include for next time.

The titles on my contents page, although are slightly bizarre, are there to draw the reader in and wonder what the stories are about. The titles do include some

information on the topic, such as ‘I’ve never heard of One Direction in my life’ which I thought was a particularly clever title to include as this famous boy band are so

‘pop’ and mainstream, the readers will find it funny and want to read more.

Finally, I feel that my magazine meets my target audience requirements and is something they can read with ease and it doesn’t need their full attention like for example a book would. I feel that I’ve included all the main artists, upcoming ones and featured old ones that will all bring them in. I feel that with the language and stories that I’ve included it makes them feel as part of the team and that they’re

getting special information that often other magazines wouldn’t provide them with.

LANGUAGE AND CONTENT USED