Mitch Evaluation
- 2. Here you can see my use of bright blue to make it stand out from the white and the grey backing
- 3. The people represented in my magazine are a mix of mainstream popular artists – Skepta, and unsigned independent artists – Siniez. They are both UK artists and therefore represent’s the different styles from the UK. People that are interested in this style of music and these artists would be interested in this magazine as it has articles about similar artists and acts every time. My magazine also represents youths/teens. It is representing youths and teens as you can see by the photograph on the cover which is of people in their late teens, so people of that age would be interested as they can relate to the age group. I have also focused on popular music of the time period which also relates to teenagers interested in that popular style of music. Also, because the music I have focused on is a dance/drum & bass/party style genre, people interested in that sort of lifestyle can also associate themselves with this magazine as it suites their interests and personalities. The general style of the magazine is very modern and contemporary so the youth generation that are interested in a contemporary-styled lifestyle would be represented and teens could relate to things of that nature. Also, as most of the music is created electronically using computers etc, people that are interested in creating their own music independently would be interested as they could learn from the artists’ success in that area.
- 4. As my magazine INSTEREO is a popular, mainstream magazine, I feel that a high-end company such as EMAP, IPC or Bauer would be suitable publishers. In my opinion, IPC would be the best choice as it is a UK company and my magazine focuses on UK artists, although it does feature some international groups/artists. My magazine is aimed at middle class people therefore it would be distributed at middle class franchises such as WHSmith, Sainsbury’s etc. I also feel it would be distributed by local newsagents as it is popular and should not be limited to only mainstream shops. The cost of my magazine is £3.95. I feel this is a reasonable price as the design and publication of the magazine is high priority, eg glossy pages, hard spine etc. I feel this is a reasonable price as it is aimed at an audience of 16-21 and the majority of people that fit that age group are working and have full time or part time jobs, and therefore can afford this price. The magazine would be based generally as print, but due to the increasing popularity of online magazines, I would have a website for the magazine which would be updated with content that may or may not be in the magazine. It may have content that is not in the magazine as the magazine is a monthly magazine. Therefore, if there are events that occur between these times, the website can be updated to reflect this, and readers can stay up to date.
- 5. My magazine is aimed at males and females from the ages 16-21. Originally, it was aimed at ages 15-19 but the results of my questionnaire proved that the majority of the people interested are at least 16 years of age, and I feel this is the age in which youths/teens are most interested in music. The magazine is aimed at those of British Nationality, as the majority of the artists are UK based. The magazine is most likely to be read by teens that have the similar lifestyle, and enjoy drum & bass/dance style music, parties, DJ’s etc. I feel that teens of similar interest will be drawn in as that is what the majority of the magazine is about and the audience can therefore relate to that. That said, by widening my genre to that of many - DUB-STEP | ELECTRONICA | GRIME | DRUM & BASS | JUNGLE | HIP-HOP | DANCE – audiences outside of age range I am aiming at may still be attracted as they may be interested in that style of music, or similar lifestyles. The design of my magazine is simple and modern, therefore design-wise it is not specific to any musical genre, eg rock/metal music may have deeper colours, reds, blacks, etc, or rave magazines may have bright pink, yellow, green. I think by keeping my design non-specific, it broadens my audience and the readers.
- 6. An audience of an dance-style music magazine would usually expect interviews, reviews and gigs. The front cover would usually include one large, eye-catching, perhaps edited photograph. On a contents page, there is an easy to read page listing and the article should include impressive photography and journalism. I wanted a unique title so I decided on “INSTEREO,” the connotations of this ‘IN’ making the readers feel more involved, and ‘STEREO’ which is a more technical term, so musicians in the DJ area will be attracted. The main photograph is a photograph of 3 males in their late teens sat simply on a sofa. The mise en scene of this photograph are their poses, a simple sitting position, in colour on a yellowy/beige background so they themselves the focus point. They are sat with a drumstick and headphones, therefore relating them to their devices.. On my contents page I chose to use well known artists that appeal to the indie genre. The layout of the contents page was very simple, one large photograph, a large heading, three big article summaries and a small list of regular, including very formal but journalistic language. The layout of the double page spread article was simple, set on a grey background, there is a large heading in white, following by the article and a photo. The images have been rounded off at the corners so they are no so harsh when they blend against the background. The article includes information about an upcoming album, their stories and their creation of the bands.
- 7. Technology helped me to produce a successful and professional magazine through editing techniques. Adobe Photoshop CS4 allowed me to edit, crop and adapt the photographs taken on my DSLR camera, of which I used the rule of thirds mode to help create interesting photography. Adobe InDesign CS4 then allowed me to produce the front cover, contents page and double page spread in the exact same way as those already on the market, in a very professional way. As I took art last year and am taking graphics this year at AS, I know a fair bit about design and editing anyway, therefore I did not learn much to do with editing, but I was quite new to Adobe InDesign, so the layouts and arrangement of photos and text was my main area of practice.
- 8. In my preliminary task, I created it all using Adobe Photoshop CS4. In the later production of my magazine, I expanded my programs to use Adobe InDesign CS4, which is a professional publishing program used for magazines by professionals all over. As I was fairly new to InDesign, it took a bit of work getting used to it, but in the end I feel it was a great improvement from Photoshop as the images and text flow a lot more and are aligned a lot more accurately than they were before. Also, I was not as skilled in the layout of the magazine cover, contents, and double page, therefore later on, I had more experience. One person commented on how “The high resolution photographs makes it appear to be a professional magazine.” This shows the progression from preliminary to final. It included much more interesting photography and a much more eye-catching front cover, therefore conveying the skills I have learnt. Also creating this critical evaluation has made me more aware of the design availability on PowerPoint.
- 9. What catch’s you most about the front cover? “ The high resolution photographs makes it appear to be a professional magazine, and the fonts are very colourful and bold which make them very aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching.” Do you think the text is a suitable size, and it is easily legible? “ I think the white font on top the grey background, and also the white on top of the blue makes it very clear to see, and also is a change from the generic dark font on light background style. However I think the font size could be increased in some important areas of the review to make them ‘pop’ more.” If you could edit the front cover, what improvements would you make to make it more eye-catching? “ I think that the cover is eye catching as it is, however there is not a great deal of information about the contents of the magazine to entice the reader. If I were to improve it, I would perhaps add more coverlines and info about the articles inside.” Does the colour scheme and overall design attract you as a reader? “ The fonts are bold so they stand out very well, but I feel some of the grey makes it seem a bit too business like, I would have used some more ‘friendly’ colours to make it a little more colourful.”