Who would be the audience for your media product?

I created a profile of my target market from the previously research I completed:

Penumbra Effect - This is when you attract people outside your target audience. Although my magazine is targeted at 20-25 years old, people who are older and have been interested in mod for longer may be attracted to the magazine. They may be interested in modern generation of mod and therefore buy the magazine.
I may also get some people who wouldn't say they were a mod but are interested in niche music magazines. They may be a huge music fan that they want to check out the new music magazine that is on the market.

Evaluation - Comparing my magazine to others

Front Cover, Contents page, Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread Developed

Double page spread

 

Double Page Spread Inspiration

I looked at other double page spread from music magazines for inspiration. What I've learnt

• The background are mainly white or plain colours, this allows the pictures and font to be visible.
• Images of the artists are very large, it what catches the attention straight away.
• Quotes from the article are enlarged. These grab the attention of the reader. This quote must be exciting and encourage the reader to read the article.
• The text of the article is small. This allows the whole article to fit without as well as having the rest of the design features such as pictures and large headers.

Development of my double page spread

Content Page

Magazine cover

Content page

I've began looking at other publications content pages so I can identify what features they use to make it look professional.

Magazine development

Decision making

Name of the magazine: Modernist.
I researched previously names for titles for my magazine I think Modernist is the best. This is because this is where the word 'mod' came from. It was the name for people who were wearing fashionable clothes and listening to modern Jazz. I think this suits my target audience as they will be able to make the link that 'Modernist' is a mod magazine straight away because of the recognisable term. Also the meaning behind the term suits my target market because they are the people who are wearing fashionable clothes and listen to 'cool' music, similar to the original 'modernists'. People will like the idea of being linked to these people as they were 'cool', there will therefore want to be seen with a 'Modernist Magazine'.


Logo

 

I decided this is my logo for my magazine. It was inspired by the target symbol which was commonly used with mods. It was placed everywhere, from their clothes to their scooters. As my target market are a younger cool group, I wanted to update the logo to modern. I used three colours, cream, mint and burgundy as they are all modern colours. However, keeping it Mod by placing the font in a diagonal position. This was inspired by the vespa logo which also does it, my target audience will target to this because Vespas were extremely common with mods. The font is a large and bold, similar to the Vespa font. Many mod band use bold font for their album art. I added a arrow as a tribute to 'The Who' and other mods band they use it. Also make the logo more recognisable to mod.




Magazine Cover

This is the chosen photo for my magazine cover. After the editing I decided this was the best one. This is because is has a sepia filter effect added to create a dark photo but also allowed their facial features to stand out. The colours used are similar to the photographs of the mod bands, such as The Who. It is not black and white because it has small amounts of colour in the image which allows it stand out. Also the direct mode of address the models are using causes the image to stand out more to the target audience, I believe this will draw them in. At the top of the image is the setting of the garage, this isn't the focus of the image but this space above them will give me room to add my masthead without blocking off the models faces. In the background of the photo there a drum set visible, this clearly indicates this is a music magazine.

Development

For this cover, I cropped down the image to cut off the top of the photos. Instead adding a white header to add the title and the logo on the magazine. The benefit of this is it allows these features to stand out without having to cover the models face. However I don't like the look of this, it makes it looks less professional which is something I do not want. I want the magazine to be tidy and modern looking.

For this magazine I layered the title of the magazine and the logo on top of the image. I think this makes the magazine cover look more professional and much prefer it like this. I used the same font as what is used in the logo and turned it burgundy to fit with the house colours of the magazines. Although the font looks good on the logo, I think it loses it's quality when it on it's own. I don't think it stands out enough.

I began developing the cover even more. I placed the logo in the right hand cover as when it's displayed on a shelf, this is what can be seen. The target market will recognisable the logo easily. I changed the front of the masthead to a bolder one, I believe it fills the header of the magazine and makes it stand out more. I used cream font with a burgundy outline so it stands out against the dark image. To separate the masthead from the image I added a underline. There are three lines, cream, mint and burgundy which relate to the logo colours. The bottom line uses a arrow to relate to the use of arrows in fonts that appeared on mod artist's artwork. Underneath this is the date 'December 2014'. This allows the target audience to be clearly notified what issue this is, this will help them work out if they have already purchased this issue or need to. Next to the date is the slogan for the magazine. ''It's a way of life'', this is a saying used by mods commonly. Therefore wanted to use it to because Mod fans will recognisable this and relate it to being a mod magazine. The main cover-line for the magazine is the name of the band photographed. When my target audience are scanning the magazine shelf and recognisable the name, this will catch their attention and may lead them to purchase the image. For this coverline, I used the same colours as the masthead so it fits together and fits in with the house style. These colours also stand out well against the image, I also used a 'reflective' effect on the font, this relates to their name 'Painted Faces' as you look at your face in a mirror and see a 'reflection'. The band are called 'Painted Faces' this is 'mod' like name as it is similar to the famous mod band 'Small Faces', so if people are not familiar with them, they should be able to make the link that this is a mod band. 

Editing my front cover

I decided I want this as my front cover after editing several to discover which one was more suitable. This is because all their faces are clearly visible. Therefore when my magazine is on display fans of this mod band will recognizable them straight away and want to buy the issue. Although it is a mid-shot of all their faces, they are not all standing in one line, I think this causes the image to stand out. I am now doing to develop the image by trying out different editing techniques on it.

Editing

The girl third person in has a much strong facial expression here. I want to place this image of her over the top on the one in the image. This way in the other image, each person which has a strong facial expression that will capture the readers audience.

Using Pixrl, i selected the face and dragged it on top of the over imaging, ensure it had a perfect image.

Now went on to try different colours and styles of editing.

I like the black and white effect, however I think their faces are too washed out in this image.

In this image, I increased the brightness, the contrast and the red colours in the image. I think in this image all models stand out really well against the background. Increasing the reds helps the front model's hair to stand out aswell as the model at the back. The third model from the back face really stands out here.

I introduced a 'old photo' filter here. I think it helps the second model's face to stand out more. All models are clearly visible here, creating a 'all together' band image. This edit also allows the background to stand out as well, you can tell it is located in a garage without taking the focus off the models.

I went back and do another black and white edit. I think their facial features stand out well here thanks to do the contrast. They look less washed out.

Editing

Now I've taken the photos I've began editing them using www.pixrl.com. I wanted to being by using different effects to discover which worked best for the images. It also allowed me to see how the photos looks and which one would be most suitable for my magazine cover. Also which photos I could use for my context and double page spread pages.

For this photo I used black and white colours. As it's mainly just their faces in this photograph, increasing the contrast allows the blacks their facial features to stand out more.

As there is so many props and items in this picture I wanted to make it bright and colorful so they stand out. I think the guitars really stand out here.

I created a really dinghy look here. I wanted to try out different colors with the photos and I think this one looks really good. 

This photo was taken further away and to make them the focus I added a black boarder. I think it does cause them to stand out more in the image.

I think this is a very iconic band image. They all look very different as the colours allow all the different outfits to stand out but look a unit together.

This is a great photo of them all. They are all positioned  in very different wyas but you can see they all fit together. I darken the image to cause the blacks in the images to standout. Also allowing all the colors in the background to stand out.

My Location

I am using the location of a garage which is owned to a band member I was photographing for the shoot. This is where they held their band practice.

 What I like about the location is it personalised to the band, it shows their personality. It is ultimately a place where they hang out and socialise. I want my target market to be groups of friends who hang out in their 'special place' like this and sit and read the magazine together. It has been set up to allow them to have band practice, this shows music has been a large influence to create this place which they can hang out and socialise, without music it might not even existed. This relates to my genre of mod because many nightclubs and common mod hangouts were created by people who wanted to come together to listen to the same type of music. I want my target market to relate this hang out to one they have of their own. This will connect them to the cover models straight away and they will believe they have common interest and hobbies.
In the garage there are many music instruments, this will show to my target market it is a music magazine.

RISK ASSESMENT

It is important I carry out a risk assessment so I identify all the risks. This way this will reduce the chance of any accidents happening.
As there is a lot of props in this location, it is important they are all in a position in a place where there wont be a obstruction when taking photographs.
There are many bottles in the garage, therefore may sure they are not placed on floor or at the edge of a table where they may fall off and smash.
Also ensure the wires for the equipment are neatly hidden away so they do not trip anyone over.

Photos

I photographed a 4-piece girl band called Painted Faces for my magazine. All the them wore different elements of the mod style, these included mini dresses and tight fitted images. The models also had dark eyeliner to reflect the make-up designs I previously studied.

The images were taken in the band's garage where they normally have band practice. Surrounding them included many props like guitars, drums, drum sticks and many music artist posters. 

I scanned through all the images and narrows it down to these images which I like the most. I will now go on and edit these images

Tips to take photographs for my magazine

Logo Planning

 Logo - a symbol or other small design adopted by an organization to identify its products, uniform, vehicles, etc.
It is very important for my magazine to have a smart logo that will be recognised by the audience. Firstly it makes it easier for my target audience to spot the magazine on a shelf in shop. Also even if they are not looking to buy my magazine but spot it initially, this could encourage them to buy it anyway.
I want my logo to express that this magazine is a mod magazine. To do this I am using the mod target symbol for inspiration. This is because it is initially recognisable to the mod genre. It was placed on scooters, sewn onto jackets and famous mod bands like The Who used it aswell.

I am creating my magazine for a audience aged 20-25 years old. Therefore I am wanting to make it as modern as I can. I think a good way to do this would doing a modern take on the logo. To do this I have used colours which are popular in 2014. Burgundy has been popular and now used for cars aswell as mint and cream. I think together they clean a smart mix.

I used the iconic target shape, with the circles getting smaller.

For the fonts I used three different types to discover which one looks more effective. I placed which font at a diagonal angle because this is how the Vespa logo is placed and Vespas were extremely popular with mods and I wanted to create this link.

 

 

 

 

My logos: 



I think the shapes and the colours work really well and I am happy to use them for my logo in my magazine. I think the strong different between the colours causes them to stand out and make the target shape to look bold and strong. All three fonts are bold and stand out well against the colours, I think black would be the only colour that would be able to do this. Having it at a diagonal makes it recognisable to the Vespa logo but I also believe it helps the font to stand out against the shape.

Feedback-

Lilly Trkulja - I like the first one the most because of the style of the font. I believe it suits the era of the mod genre the best. It looks like a font that relates old music with new and this is something mod has.

Andrew Johnson- The first one stands out the most. I think this is due to the 'bubble' writing style. Makes it look more fun than the others. To improve it I would add a arrow in the arrow as these were commonly use with mod bands and clothing brands.

 

An important part of the feedback is to listen and develop from it. I therefore added a arrow onto the first logo. This was most popular one. I think the arrow looks good. It is a great idea as a tribute to mod bands, like The Who, who used arrows in their names. It will make it even more obvious it is a mod band. 

 

 

Using logo.

I placed my logo on a photo I have edited to discover how it would look against images. I was would it wouldn't stand out against them however I think it works well. I placed it on the left hand corner and many  magazines place them there. This is because this is the part that is shown when they are displayed in a shop. When customers are scanning along the magazine aisle they will notice the logo and hopefully buy the magazine. If it is hidden they may not realise the magazine is there and so ignore it.