Hot Desking

     Within our class we showed each other pieces of our own work to gain feedback and potentially some ideas I can improve my work on. I asked them four simple questions based on my work and I asked them to answer them (the different colour fonts are the different people that have answered them).

   

    1.  Is the text readable? Would you prefer another colour etc.?

I would make the text bigger but the colour is fine as it stands out against the pink background.

I would make the text bigger and also change the font of the headline but the colour is fine. You could see how white text looks but black is fine.

It is readable but rather small and 'blocky', should be separated more and possibly increased in size as it does not grab my attention as much as it could.

The text is readable. However a little too simple, I don’t know if that’s the look youre going for though. Think of how the layout of the text should be, at the moment it looks a little random, think of paragraphs, hyphenations etc.

I would keep the colour and size but reconsider the layout. Maybe introduce more pictures to break up the text.

I think that the colour is fine and it stands out well on the pink background, however the text needs to be a little bigger

The Text is too small but the colour does work

2.       Is this colour a good representation of the genre: Indie Pop?

Yes the colour is very representative of indie pop

Yes, the same as above ^^

It seems a little over the top, yet suits the overall genre.

It seems a little childish, maybe think of your audience? Maybe a deeper pink for a more professional look on the genre of pop which would be more suited to your audience.

I agree, go with a darker colour or shade is this does seem childish.

^^ I agree with above, should be darker colour.

It does seem too bight

3.    Is the positioning of the image a good place for a DPS? Is there any better positioning for it?

Yes it is as my eye is drawn to it as it is in the centre of the page.

Yes it is a good place but depending on the type of image goes there.

It is immediately noticeable yet the size of the image could be increased to make it stand out more and feel more like a conventional DPS

Yeah the positioning is good. However it’s a little small. The sizing of It makes the pages a little empty.

It is a good place, however maybe make it bigger or add more to break up the text.

The position of the image is fine however it could be made bigger just to break up the text.

The positioning is fine

4.  Is there a good amount of space for wording? Should there be more/ less/ in different places?

I would break the text up a bit as it is a bit overwhelming.

I would break up the text using pulled quotes or other, smaller images.

The text seems to be quite 'blocky' and the format is quite uninteresting making me not want to read it as much, therefore the text should be broken up a little bit. Although I do like the way it is built around the image, forcing it to be the centre of the audience’s attention.

There is far too much in one block, add some space and break it up a little.

Maybe think of your paragraphs, looks a little too much writing; is your target audience going to want to read that much? Break it up a little, add some quotes in bigger quotes to make the whole layout more interesting.

It is good enough

The test needs to be broken up a bit as at the moment it is just one big paragraph, add some drop caps to break it up. Or put a pull quote in to make it more appealing.  Or if you have any other images it would be good to add them in here. 

Testing

Using stock images to gather an idea of what I would like my front cover and DPS to look like:

I have don't this because I have not yet gathered a photo-shoot for my magazine however I wanted to have some idea of what I wanted it to look like. Using Google I gathered stock images and went over to Photoshop to retouch them and cut them out in order to place on my DPS and front covers. 

Pre Production Work - Colours

I want to use pastel colours for my colour scheme because I feel that this can link well with the Indie Pop music Culture. Using Photoshop I selected a blank canvas and started putting colours together to see which ones look well together. These were the colours I have selected:

The pastel pink and pastel blue shades really tie in well together and I believe that these colours will suit the character of the model I would like her to be. The models character will be happy and energetic and these colours have bright tones which will share a happy reaction with the audience.

Pre Production Work - Design Ideas

Cover Page design ideas

Contents Page design ideas

Double Page Spread design ideas

Pre-Production Work - Flatplans

Cover page- Drawn Flatplan

Contents Page- Drawn Flatplan

Double Page Spread- Drawn Flatplan

Magazine Analysis

Audience Profile

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9^Th November 2015

BRAND NEW MUSIC MAGAZINE ‘BEATNIKS’ TO BE RELEASED ON 8^TH JANUARY 2016. CONTINUING TO BE A MONTHLY ISSUE ONWARDS FROM FIRST RELEASE

Norwich, 9^th November- we are proud to release a brand new music magazine: BEATNIKS reaching out to a young audience within the ‘Indie Pop’ genre.

Plan for release on 8^th January 2016 to be first sold across the Norfolk region and further planning on future release expanding over the United Kingdom. Each issue will value at £1.99.  

The first release will feature a singer who is known with the specific audience and will feature a double page spread interview along with articles such as what music to listen to this month and upcoming acts which will become regular features as well as seasonal features and different themes will occur in each issue to keep up with current events surrounding the Indie Pop culture. Will also include different artists every month for the main issue however will also feature artists in smaller articles throughout each issue.

“We are all about the music” says publisher Jorgie Giddings “it’s giving the recognition the Indie Pop music culture deserves all while connecting the audience that listens to it”. Jorgie and the team are all large admirers of the genre and also have extensive knowledge of it therefore knowing exactly what the audience want to read as well as potentially giving something new to different audiences to show what goes on within the particular music genre.

Plans to secure a release date of the first Friday of every month commencing 8^th January 2016 is still under way however we still have a magazine packed full of entertainment for young audiences of the Indie Pop genre

For more information, contact:

Jorgie Giddings

100 Swiftway Lane

Norwich, Norfolk, NR5 8ZQ

01603 246 810

jorgiegiddings@googlemail.com

Design Inspiration

Looking through Pinterest for inspiration, I found these:

I have sectioned my findings into: styles of shots, front covers, double page spread (dps), logos, colour pallets and personal choices. 

CLOSEUP- I’d like to have a close up shot for my front cover as it would pull focus on the main direction for the magazine issue. The images I like the most are mouse Rita Ora, screaming woman, lone wolf and Jessica Lange. I like the style that Rita ora has presented in her image as it almost presents comedic character and the eye contact given can pull in readers. Screaming woman image is different as it is a side image and showcases movement (through the screaming)- a good idea for a rock themed magazine if I were to choose it. The lone wolf image gives eye contact and is a basic straightforward pose which doesn't distract the reader however contrasting the nude jumper to her black hair gives the reader something to attract to. The image of Jessica Lange is a Polaroid which I really like however not enough to be a front cover, I can use it as part of an image for a double page spread perhaps for a prop feature to go along with the shoot. 

MIDSHOT- for mid shot I was mainly looking for images of people sitting down. These can also be good for front page as well as double page spread as the body copy can flow around the image. The images I like most out of these are Kate moss, Van McCann and Marina. The Kate Moss image is in black and white which I like Andre outfit choice attracts me as it create a "casual diva" approach. Van McCann's image I like as it shows an instrument which can be presented for my model for my magazine to enhance the reader. The shot of Marina is one I like too as the outfit choices to the background gives clashing patterns however it all ties in well-a good image for a dps.

LONGSHOT- long shots can be good for both front cover and dps as you can be extremely versatile with poses in order to capture a models personality. The images of Cindy Lauper are images I really like as the pose and a facial expression really show her character well and influence her position as a music icon and presents to the reader that she is having fun. Same goes for the image of Audrey Hepburn

CONTENTS- I only found two images of contents page styles that I liked on Pinterest and the first one is professional with the black and white as well as using stand-firsts to pull attention from the reader. I also like the other image even though it's not officially a contents page however I like the idea of the sectioned off images which can be a good way to organise a contents page. 

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD- the ones that I have selected all feature the same thing where the image flows through to the next page, this is an element that o would like to have on my own magazine as I feel it ties the two pages together as well as breaking up the text making it more aesthetically pleasing for the reader. I especially like the image with Liam Gallagher as the prop he is holding appears over the margin which gives a pop out effect. 

FRONT COVERS- these three covers took my eye as they all feature different elements that I would like to have in my magazine. The music star magazine has a retro style which I really like however I wouldn't use colours and fonts as bold as this. The INDIE cover I like with the unconventional image of not being able to see their face, it gives a mysterious atmosphere for the reader. I also like the Kate Moss cover with the doodles over the image as its creative and also unconventional creating an extra layer for the magazine.  

GROUPS-I have created a separate section for groups as I am not sure whether i want to capture a band for my magazine however I made this section in case I did want to use one and as a result would have some inspiration if I needed some.

I like the positioning in these images for the groups as they all present character and collaboration between the members of them. They all look good together and can be creative with them such as the jumping Bowie image as the facial expression doesn't match the action it's giving therefore makes an interesting image to use (probably more for a dps than a front cover) for the front covers for groups I really like the style of CLASH magazines front cover as you can present each band member within each "rip" of the image. I also like the cover for RAYGUN magazine as if it was a duo you can place them on each side of the photograph to create a similar image.  

PERSONAL CHOICES- as a result of looking through all my picks, I have decided I want my magazine to have a retro feel, aiming to a more alternative/pop audience. Looking at the colour pallets I have selected the "1950-1959" and pastel pallets appeal to me most because it gives the retro vibe I am after; these colours are also soft and not so harsh so it doesn't get mistaken or a rock/punk genre. Pastel pink and pastel blue would be my main colour choices for backgrounds and fonts. I also admire the front cover for my personal choice as it focuses purely on the model and is unconventional with the lack of cover-lines and head-lines. This is a style I would like to recreate with my front cover maybe adding something different to put my own style on it.

I have also decided that my want to call my magazine BEATNIKS to further the retro theme and it is short and snappy; useful for the audience to grasp a hold of. Looking at different logos and fonts on dafont.com I really like the sans serif styles as it looks cleaner and fresher. Going with the dps I am continuing with the idea of making the images flow across both pages, with this particular dps the colours theme links well with my idea of a magazine piece.  

Audience Research

From this information, I now have a refined idea of what features I would like in my magazine in order to appeal to an audience.

I plan to reach to a young audience aged between 16 to 19 years old. It will be a new style of magazine. This is because most of the people I spoke to in my survey do not read any specific music magazine. They have told me that this is because most major magazines do not appeal to them and they don’t know what specific genre they are and sometimes the magazines just appear too intimidating and as a result feel it appeals for an older audience.

In order to attract a younger audience will include specific branding that they appeal to the most (from which I have found were mainly clothes, food and technology) and use that in order to get them to read the magazine more. I can do this by including offers and deals such as money off food and technology accessories for example.

Most of the people I questioned were all active users of social media therefore interpreting this into my magazine can appeal greatly to them. Possibly mentioning that there can be digital copies of this magazine as well as linking to social media sites can create a positive attraction to the young audience.

Just over half of the people I questioned were willing to spend a small amount for the magazine (between £1 to £3) therefore keeping to this price range can be affordable and appealing.

These people also tend to not go to festivals- I asked them why and they said they just have not had the opportunity or it is just too expensive. This encourages me to include sections in the magazine that give the festival experience as much as it can so others who cannot go can have some experience of it. The same goes for the people not spending a lot of money on music because they feel it is too expensive, I can include sections where you can buy or download good music at good prices.

The people I have used for survey also seek to look for elements in the magazine where it will feature interviews upcoming acts and charts. I will do what I can to include all of these and more along this style in order to attract the audience the best that I can and create a good entertainment format for the young audience.

Self Evaluation

Cover Page

Contents Page

FlatPlan

FlatPlan

Audience Profile

Research

Test Post

Test Post