WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE

FEEDBACK?By Emily Joslin

While creating my magazine and ancillary tasks I took audience feedback very seriously. I created a focus group of 8 females aged 17-29 as this is my target audience. I mostly contacted my focus group through a private group on Facebook where I posted research I done and asked if they agreed with my findings and I also posted all my mock up’s on there and asked for each of them to give me feedback on the things they liked and didn’t like.

I showed them four magazines and asked them to tell me what they liked most about each one and disliked about each one and then what one was their overall favourite. They said they liked the sleekness of Absolute and the black and white photo, but they liked the sell lines on Mayhem! They also liked the prop on Time Out London but didn’t like the scenery picture of Kent Life as they found it boring.

I went on to create mock ups based on Absolute Magazine, Mayhem! And Time Out London.

Absolute

Time Out

Abbie Strich – I like the front page because it’s simple but the pops of colour make it stand out.

Claire Hawkins – I like the that the colour scheme has been bought into the contents page but I think the pictures are too big.

I then went on to take my photo’s and create my magazine based on Absolute Brighton. This is my first attempt at putting my own image onto the front cover.

Maddy Kinloch – I like the black and white effect but I think the models facial expression is too plain.

Nicola Keefe – I like the position of the text but the image is too plain and doesn’t stand out enough.

Rachel Jones – I think the lighting needs to be better because the image kind of fades into the background.

As my focus group didn’t like the image I had taken I decided to re-take my photos. I used the same models but tried some different poses. I also changed the colour scheme as I felt red stood out more.

Nikisha Macbride – The lighting for this image is better but the models facial expression is still a bit plain.

Eleanor Beeston – I like the colour scheme but I think the name of the magazine being in red is too much. I agree that the model could have better facial expressions.

Gail Joslin – I think the name ‘Inspire’ covers the picture too much and it’s too bold. Also the colour red seems a bit masculine for a magazine aimed at females.

Due to my focus group thinking that my front cover image still wasn’t good enough due to the model I decided to change models. As they also thought red seemed a bit masculine I decided to change my issue to a Christmas issue so my target audience would have a preferred reading.

Gail Joslin – I think the placing of colour is much better and I like that the picture is over the magazine name.

Rachel Jones – the lighting look really professional and the image stands out now.

Maddy Kinloch - This models facial expression is much better, she looks more inviting.

Eleanor Beeston – I like that the magazine name isn’t in red anymore and that red writing has been added along the bottom.

I showed this mock up to my focus group as I had put all my own pictures in it and repositioned everything on the page.

Abbie Strich – I like the position of the text and the pictures but I think the pictures should have some writing underneath.

Nicola Keefe – I think the right hand page looks a but plain and not much like a contents page.

Maddy Kinloch – I like the new layout but I think one of the beach pictures should be swapped with the picture of the model.

Eleanor Beeston – I like the colours on the page but I think the page numbers on the photos look too big.

I took what my focus group said into consideration and changed some things that they suggested. After I showed my focus group the last mock up of my contents page I changed my front cover to a new model and a different coloured masthead so I changed my contents page accordingly.

Claire Hawkins - I like that the name Inspire is the same as on the front page and I like the red box at the bottom of the right hand page, it makes connecting to the magazine on social media very easy.

Rachel Jones – I like the writing under the images, it has made the contents page more informative and made the magazine easy to navigate.

Nikisha Macbride – I like all the pictures as it makes the contents page easy to read.

For my ancillary tasks I made a billboard and a website. I asked my focus group for feedback on both of them.

Abbie Strich – I think the colours clash too much.

Nicola Keefe – I think the gap underneath the writing is too big.

Nikisha MacBride – I think the pictures are spread out too much.

Abbie Strich – It doesn’t look like a magazine website as it doesn’t have any news stories on the home page.

Nicola Keefe – It looks too plain.

Rachel Jones – I don’t like the websites colour scheme.

Maddy Kinloch – I don’t like that the magazine is directly under where Inspire is written on the website as the two ‘Inspire(s)’ look weird.

Claire Hawkins – it’s a bit boring.

This is what I changed it too.