EVALUATION Alice Bates

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

• My music magazine, STAGE&SPEAKER, has developed throughout the designing and making of its contents from designing the front cover to the double page spread there were many similarities and differences between what my original plan was and what I changed to get the finished outcome I have now. From analysing three magazines at the start of the project such as Loud & Quiet, I soon found the style of magazine I wanted to design. This initial style was simplistic, minimalist with lots of high quality images and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I knew that after looking at all different styles of magazine I didn’t want to have a typical ‘top of the pops’ style magazine with lots of block, bright colour, lots of text and poorer quality images, I much preferred the minimalist, sophisticated approach with lots of white space and a concise layout.

• After more analysing of magazine cover, contents and double page spreads I gathered a clear idea of what style of images and editing techniques I wanted to use to get the outcome I wanted for my magazine which was clear, well composed images and edited in a way so that the tone between light and shadow had a large enough contrast to make the image look high quality as many of the magazines I looked at did. I gathered a selection of imaged that I wanted to use in my magazine and thought about basing them from the article I was writing about an upcoming band named ‘Amelia and the wolf’. I therefore took photographs of my friend Amelia in an outside environment using natural lighting as well as used some past images of a concert I attended and formed a contact sheet of all the images I wanted to use.

FRONT COVER

• When I began designing my front cover, I found it difficult to make masthead of my magazine able to fit on the page in one line where the font was as large enough so that it stood out as most magazines have very large mastheads that are the main focus of the page. I experimented with white banners on the top of the page laying over the photograph but with the photo I wanted to use it would mean that a large part of the image would be covered up and didn’t look as nice as it did without a banner.

• I then experimented with different font colours and, using my colour style sheets, thought a dark maroon colour for the mast head title with the headline and most of the other cover lines on the page in a different coloured font, it would make the masthead stand out without a huge font or banner. I did all my experimentation of designs on Photoshop and finally found one which I really liked the appearance of. However after looking at magazines that had used a mixture of coloured fonts, especially for their mastheads, they linked the same colour with something else on the page. It was either linked with a tone of an image laid on top of the feature article photo, or with sections of text. I didn’t want to lay a secondary lead on top of the existing feature image however and therefore changed some of the text on the page to a dark maroon colour, same as the masthead. I really liked this design and chose to use it for my final front cover design.

CONTENTS PAGE• I then started designing my contents on in design; I

took inspiration from Loud &Quiets contents page I had earlier analysed, however after using their layout with my appropriate contents. I didn’t like it at all. This was because it didn’t look like a conventional magazine contents page that is usually full with information and images. It was too minimalist and therefore I decided to change it completely to a more commonly used contents page layout that most magazines use within the music industry. I wrote up my contents titles and what key information I wanted to include on the contents with their selected images. I really liked the magazine ‘music & riots’ contents page design that used a linked colour scheme from their front cover throughout to their double page spread. I thought that I could us the monochrome and dark maroon colour scheme I had previously used on the front cover and began to insert my contents and experimented with different font size, colour and layout. The layout I chose followed the strict concise layout that a lot of magazines use however I put my own twist on it by enlarging the page numbers and changing someone the text to a dark maroon and used images that also followed the colour scheme and this was the actual final one I decided to go for.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD• My original design for my double page spread that I

made sample dummies of was very different to the actual outcome I decided to go with. My original design was to have a white background and my images placed on top with columns for my contextual information instead I wanted to use one image for the whole background so that the main subject of the photograph is on the right side of the double page spread and the text on the left. I got this idea from ‘Clash’ magazines double page spread I analysed previously and is something that quite a lot of magazines do within their layout and design.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• My media magazine product represents particular social groups in a number of different ways, the photograph featured on the front cover of my friend Amelia of her staring directly at the camera infers that she is confident and direct to her audience. The way in which I have cropped the photograph means that her eyes are at the audience’s eye level and therefore appears like she’s staring at them. Looking into someone’s eyes is seen as an emotional gateway and suggests that within the magazine there will be an insight into her story and the reason for her confidence. In relation to social groups, women, especially young women, are usually portrayed in the media as been weaker than men with low confidence however by having the front cover inferring confidence her, this goes against stereotypical views on young women.

• I did this because from my audience research I found that a larger percentage of girls would read a acoustic genre magazine and therefore aimed this at the target audience and to hopefully inspire them to not be a stereotype. Makeup and appearance is thought about within the composition of the shoot too, I wanted to portray Amelia in a way that way original and fashionable which is a common interest of women within age ranges of 16-19 years and shows the modernism of Amelia who is shown to be strong yet beautiful, a common desire of young women and tried to show this on the image used on the contents page on the top left hand corner. This shot was taken from the side to show a different side to her, her body language and composition of shot show that she’s more closed and gives a more mysterious outlook on her personality. The quote at the top right of the page from Amelia is related to the strong pose and is stating her view on sexist traits within the music industry which is from a different page to the article I wrote. I did this so that her views on the music industry as well as her story link the whole magazine and she is features throughout small parts of the magazine.

• The statement shown on the contents page to young women who are interested I music and possible are musicians themselves will be interested in her character which again empowers young people to not let stereotypical views limit them.

• On the double page spread, the background image is again a different view to Amelia and her facial expression that’s less serious and more informal is more relatable to her quotes and story within the article. Most people when seeing the images of her might assume that she and the band have a large amount of money due to the way they dress and there performance displays shown on the contents right page, however reading the article is about how they started as young individuals busking in Leeds to get some money for themselves and how through their music managed to work their way up and are now successful within the music industry. In my design I wanted to make the magazine picture order be a story of the band and I think that this will draw the viewers in but also every image contradicts a stereotypical view on youth, class and gender.

• Another way that my magazine represents social groups is that it shows that In some areas and communities in modern society they aren’t as multicultural as others. My photographs I have used in my magazine do not feature any people of a different ethnicity, this is because the area in which I live isn’t a very multicultural community and therefore has a minority of ethnic groups. However my magazine is within the genre of Acoustic music which in the media, acoustic artists are predominately white unlike many other music genres within the media where artists aren’t from an predominate ethnic group. My magazine is a representation of what which artists have been shown to be successful within the acoustic genre in the media which was a common representation in many of the magazines I earlier analysed. Although I disagree with how success in this area of the music industry is shown in the media and I think that there should be more musicians from different ethnicities, this style of music is a very common style of music within western societies, which may be a possible reason as to why the media representing this genre are accommodating for the majority of the target audiences ethnicity.

MULTICULTURE

• Youth is also a social group that has been represented within my magazine; this is because when I did my audience research I found that the main target audience is 16-18 year olds. I therefore addressed my contents to be within common interests of that age range which is why my contents page content had be well thought out and was something I had to change multiple times. I tried to focus on events coming up around the summer time when this magazine issue would be published such as music festivals, upcoming artists and their tour dates, interviews and tips on how to survive festivals. I tried to include interviews and other contextual information within the magazine other than ideal interest of that age Range group because I do think the layout I have chosen isn’t a stereotypical style of magazine aimed 16-18 year olds and may attract people in their early twenties whose interests would be slightly different to the younger audience.

YOUTH

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

• During my magazine research I found that a UK company called Anthem publishing that published a range of music magazines that were within the acoustic genre. They all used the typical ‘music mag’ layout to them that other magazines use such as NME or Ker rang that use bold, large writing and tend to use a red, white and black colour schemes. This aspect I really liked, however I preferred the more simplistic layout from individual publishing companies. This is one of the disadvantages of large publishing companies because they can lack individuality in their variation in design compared to other magazines or even their own magazines. Due to this, some of the public that read magazines published by larger companies may want a magazine with similar themes of content but with a different way of writing and design as I myself would prefer.

• I therefore think that there is a gap in the publishing market for this style and want of the public which is the area in which I wanted to fill. I did this through using similarities such as the common colour scheme of red, white and black that’s used in lots of magazines but with a more simplistic design and layout.

Advantages and Disadvantages • Advantages of large publishing companies such

as Anthem publishing is that because so many other music magazine publishing companies with a similar design and style of writing it means that when members of the public are looking to subscribe to a magazine and invest their money within the company they may find it difficult to want to commit if there are lots of other magazines similar.

• However there are also disadvantages to large publishing companies, this is that, just like Anthem Publishing, they also publish different magazines within the company. This could either be magazines of different genres or magazines about topics that aim their contents at a different target audience. This includes magazines like cooking, gardening, guitar that aim for the older audience where as the acoustic magazines are aimed for a 16-18 year old age range. This could be seen as an advantage because it means more people invest in the company it’s a more versatile publishing company. However this is also a disadvantage because it means that the company aren’t specifically linked to music magazines and therefore the offers and information about music may be limited because they are a company of many branches.

Who would be the audience for your media product?• My magazine I tried to aim at 16-18 year olds, this was because when I was doing my

audience research I found that the majority of people that did my survey were within that age group. I knew that I didn’t want to do a typical young persons magazine like top of the pops because I think that the bright, colourful large printed text and topics aren’t very sophisticated and more addressed to younger girls, below the age of sixteen. Through more research I really liked the more simplistic layout where the colour scheme uses minimalist, neutral colouring and its content is well structured with high quality images. I think that this style of magazine is one that is more aimed at 16-18 year olds that have an eye for the arts and enjoy reading and taking inspiration from the design on board but also the people that are interested in new upcoming band within the booming music industry. From my questionnaire I discovered that the majority of people that took did the questionnaire where girls and I gathered that they weren't very confident within themselves. This is why I addressed the main article and main feature article on Amelia who is a strong willed, young, talented artist that worked her way up and is now confident enough to be able to preform to hundreds, I thought that this would perhaps inspire some of the young readers and give them more confidence.

• Another way in which I aimed my magazine at the target audience is by dressing Amelia in a way that follows current trends but with her own individual twist. The majority of the readers of my magazine from my research would be girls who like shops such as urban outfitters or Top shop and therefore thought that I would style Amelia in a way that would be available to them to buy but style it a way that suits them. On the front cover it features a picture of Amelia with winged eyeliner and a short fringe which is quite a unique look , the contents picture of her shows her looking very elegant and well dressed which would suggest that she is stylish but has her own style. I tried to do this purposefully so that Amelia inspires them to be individual but also from reading the article and her story it may also gibe them inspiration to work hard at what they enjoy because it does work out. I used a monochrome colour scheme with flecks of red running throughout the magazine which are usually associated with higher quality magazines such as vogue but also a large majority of music genre magazines on the market today such as NME. I thought that this colour scheme therefore is better addressed to 16-18 year olds because it gives them that sophisticated style of writing and layout they cant find in magazines such as top of the pops who use a very different approach to attract their target audience.

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

• Throughout designing and organising my magazine I have used a range of technology that I had never used before this project such as Adobe In design, Photoshop and Bridge. I started the designing of my magazine experimenting on Photoshop editing images of the internet and using the different editing techniques available on Photoshop such as adjusting the tone, colour, brightness, contrast and levels of an image. I then started experimenting with fonts and layout of text over an image which is when I started to develop what I really likes the look of for my front cover of my magazine in which I actually designing my final front cover on.

• For my contents page, I first started designing it on Photoshop because after the experimentation on Photoshop I felt comfortable on this designing platform. However I soon found that I didn’t like the way it looked and in comparison with published magazine contents page mine didn’t look as professional as I wanted it to look. I therefore started experimenting on Adobe In design with what layouts I thought looked the best for my trail contents page. I then began to get the hang of the programme and learnt that it was easier to create a sophisticated magazine layout rather than Photoshop because it abled me to use page margins which gave my trails a more finished and professional look. After looking at other magazines contents pages I soon discovered the style I liked and designed my final contents page in Adobe In design. I continued to use this programme for my double page spread because I could change the shape of the text easily so that it sculptured around the image which would be difficult on other designing programmes like Photoshop.

• Throughout the designing of my magazine the photographs in which id taken for them I uploaded and made contact sheets on Adobe Bridge which organises the images in order and lays them out in a way that make it easier to observe what images and the quality of them I have taken. This is a also a new programme I haven’t used before but was a quick and easy ways to display my images.

• Therefore overall by making my magazine it has taught me and allowed me to use lots of new programmes I had never used before but enjoyed the process of creating my magazine on them and I think that using them gave me an insight on how real publishing companies make there products look sophisticated and attract their audience in the correct way.

• I also think that learning the basic skills on these programmes will help me in the future to have the confidence to expand my knowledge and skills on the programmes.

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

• Looking back at my preliminary task I feel like I have gained a lot more skill within different design programmes but also I think that my style had developed too and what I like within the publishing industry in relation to design and contents. When I completed my preliminary task I used the same photograph I used on my contents page for the front cover this was because I really like the image that I used and think its in good enough quality to use. However through later experimenting I don’t think it’s a good choice for a front cover. This is because of the composition of the photograph in that because it’s a medium shot a large part of the photo is her shoulders and clothing and therefore its difficult to have a mast head at the top of the image because her face is right at the top instead on central. In relation to other magazines this is a design floor and even though it’s a nice image it isn’t the right composition for an ideal magazine front cover and therefore for my final magazine design I used it for the contents page instead.

• Another thing I think I have learnt is what font and text size looks best for the style of magazine I wanted to create, in my preliminary task I used a font that isn’t used very much within published magazines because it doesn’t look very sophisticated. I also think that the font size and the different coloured writing the way in which I have done it doesn’t look very professional and now from magazine research and experimenting myself I know what does and doesn’t look right for the style of magazine I like. I think that the image I used didn’t suit the font I chose and therefore they didn’t go very together and just looked as if it had been thrown together rather than been thought out. This shows that I have found the sort of style I really like and was able to show it in my final outcome and improve from my preliminary tasks quality in design.

• I also think I have learnt and progressed in my skills using design software as I can see from my previous posts on my blog to now. The ways in which I present my work, the font, the colours and the style have all changed since I began my magazine course work. At the beginning I loved the idea of a retro style magazine in the genre of old, jazz, classic music. However after market research I discovered that it would be difficult to sell my magazine to a range of different people and therefore would have to have a very specific target audience. I therefore decided to do a genre of music more people would be interested in and chose acoustic which Is another area I’m interested in, this is why my preliminary task front covers font and mast head were in a retro style of type.

• My first experiments at designing a front cover I used Photo shop and experimented with using banners to lay the mast head over the top so that it stand out and without it, borders, different compositions of photography and how it looked on the page. These were all things I wasn’t aware would make such a difference on the page and I soon found the style of layout I like which was a full page image with the mast head laid over the top.

• Overall my style and skill from the beginning of this project has developed which has helped me to further my understanding of how professional publishing companies design and write their magazines.