Evaluation

‘Infectious Magazine’

What is the Product?

• ‘Infectious’ is a magazine aimed at young people of around 16-18 years.

• The magazine aims at bringing new music to light. If a band get on to the pages of ‘Infectious’, it’s a foot in the door of the music world.

• The magazine has a close connection with its readers, allowing them to advertise their music and get in contact with other readers who have similar tastes.

• ‘Infectious’ is not like any other magazine. It promotes individuality by not including mainstream music on its pages.

Brief

My magazine must:

• Inform the reader of new music.• Include extra features such as fashion, films and video games.• Have a bold colour and font scheme that is consistent throughout.• Appeal to both genders.• Suit the target audience.• Have a clear, tidy layout on each page. (No overuse of colours,

images etc.)• Include my own images.• Include language suitable for its audience.

Colours• My colour scheme is Black, yellow and green. I have chosen these

because they reflect the name of my magazine. • Black and yellow stripes usually symbolises that there is a danger

(use in society may have come from a natural example, such as the bee or the wasp).

• Draws attention. • I've used lime green as my secondary colour as it is refreshing on the

eye when on a black background. • Green can also be an unpleasant colour, often associated with illness,

which again goes with my theme. • Green can resemble toxic substances. This makes lime green the

perfect match for yellow as when something is toxic, it is dangerous.

Fonts

• I have used two fonts as I did not want to over complicate the overall appearance of the magazine.

• I used Copperplate Gothic Bold as my main font as it is alternative and bold.

• Small capital letters, which contrasts with my secondary font, Courier New which I have used for the body of my text.

• Courier New looks very computerised, which fits in with my theme of science and medicine.

Magazine Name

• The magazine aims to promote new music. If a new band is featured, the magazine may influence the reader to research the band and listen to their music.

• The magazine name could also mean that if a reader loves the style, they could ‘spread the disease’ (as the strapline says) to other people.

Conventions of Published Magazines

Front Cover• Bar code.• Main image of a relevant music artist.• Secondary image(s).• Coverlines.• Strapline.• Date.• Brief outline of features.• USP

Contents Page• Straight alignment.• Relevant images.• Subscription deal.• Columns.• Page numbers.• Logo.• Title.

Double Page Spread• Straight alignment.• Relevant images• Language appropriate for audience.• Suitable interview style.• Highlighted quotes.

Conventions I have Challenged

• I have based my magazine on a different and difficult audience.

• My audience’s age gap is small. • I have aimed it at both genders whom like

many styles of music. • This was a difficult brief to follow as the

audience is very general, and it was a challenge making it appeal to every reader.

Representation

• As ‘Infectious’ promotes new and unheard of talent, the stars in the magazine are written about, as though they are on the same level as the reader. The language is quite casual to emphasis that these people are laid back and real. As these people are not yet well known, they will not lead glamorous lifestyles.

• The magazine writes positively, as readers of that age will probably be tied down with work and have low self-esteem. They need some hope and inspiration, which ‘Infectious’ hopes to give. The aim of ‘Infectious’ is to get young people to believe in themselves and express their individuality.

The Media Institution

• Small institution, as the magazine will not have a large budget due to lack of well know celebrities and advertising.

• Most likely to be sold on the internet, as due to my surveys, people of my target audience spend a lot of time online, buying, researching and socialising etc.

• May be sold in large shops around Britain such as ‘W.H.Smiths’ and supermarkets such as ‘Sainsbury’s’ who sell a wide variety of magazines.

Audience

• My audience are 16-18 year olds who love discovering new music.

• They listen to a large variety of music, and do not necessarily fit into a social category.

• I have established this by using bright colours which are not often used in music magazines. They fit in with my theme of danger, and science etc and appeal to both genders.

• The images are all of young people who act as role models for the readers. I have also included sketches for those interested in the art behind quirky fashion.

• The language is informal, but everything is spelt correctly e.g. No text talk or shortened language.

Technology

• During the process of this project, I have learnt how to publish my work on to ‘Blogger’. I have blogged in the past, but have never used the website ‘Blogger’, as I found it too difficult to use. Now I am able to publish text, images and videos, and customise my blog’s appearance.

• There were some limitations of using so much technology to create and publish my work on. As the front cover, contents and double page spread took so long to construct, the photo editing programme I used froze a couple of times, so a lot of work was wasted. Also, ‘Blogger’ didn’t work properly at school, so I had to save all of my work that I did in class and publish it at home.

What I have Learnt since completing the Preliminary Task

• Everything included in the magazine e.g. People, style of music, language, colours, fonts, free gifts etc. Must appeal to the audience.

• There are many styles of front covers, contents pages and double page spreads.

• The magazine photographer positions the music artists carefully on the front cover for an eye catching effect.

• The way the music artists are styled and located is also important for the magazine. I made this easy by giving my band an extremely strong theme.

• To align the text on the contents page well, as it looks neat and professional. However, it depends what the audience prefers.

Audience Feedback – The Front Cover

• “I think on the cover their should maybe be a background, a pale grey colour with a grungy texture. The layout is eye-catching, as there is important information that attracts the readers, yet it doesn’t crowd the page. The font colours emphasise an element of danger which is reflected in the band title of 'shoot the bride'. The USP's at the top of the page make the magazine more interesting, and the pattern adds character to the page. The 20% off draws the readers attention. The mise-en-scene of the pictures are accurate, and costume, make up and facial expression are well thought out. The effect that has been put on the title also emphasises the aspect of danger as well as the pattern. Overall, very successful!”

• “I love the banner at the top! I think it needs a bit of background colour.”

Audience Feedback – The Contents Page

• “The layout of this page is also successful, as the colour scheme is successfully continued and well balanced. The ratio of writing and pictures works well as the main articles are highlighted and make for 'ease of reading'. The sections are well headed and the fact that it has all been put into sections means that the reader can dip in and out as they please. The editors note adds a personal touch, as many music magazines do, and the signature at the bottom emphasises the effort that has been put into making it successful. The idea of including fashion as well as music enables the readers to broaden their horizons. The fact that some images have been cut out and some are in their initial form demonstrates the photo skills that have been correctly used in the process. The continuation of the phrase 'spread the disease' carries on the house style. “

Audience Feedback – The Double Page Spread

• Also on the interview pages, I think the two pictures of Broken Wings should have different borders. Like one should be yellow and the other black, or one be a plain colour and the other have the same stripy border as the box at the top.”

• “The yellow text on the green box on the double page spread is difficult to read.”• “The only flaw I see in this is the yellow text within the green boxed area, its hard to

read, and the white background can be a little overpowering, might I suggest a bigger font?”

• “The layout allows a thorough interview to be carried out and featured, but the ratio of pictures means the reader will not become bored by the amount of writing. The effect on the left hand picture at the bottom yet again demonstrates successful photo editing skills. The quotes that are in green break the text up and draws the reader to that quote and makes them want to read on. The titles and names that are in bold fonts makes sure the reader can easily distinguish between the answer and the questions. The effect with the text at the top dips within the surreal (on the left) and the norm (on the right). The advert for the album on the left hand corner adds realism to the band and makes the magazine realistic for using advertising. The house colours and rule of three are continued. The green box is slightly hard to read, but it is eye catching.”

Final Evaluation• I am pleased with my final product, however I know I could

improve it a lot. I think my contents page could be much better, as it does not look professional.

• Compared with my original plan, I think the final outcome includes almost everything I wanted to include in my magazine. I wanted a strong theme running throughout, which I believe I created, both in the style of the magazine and the band’s theme.

• All pages could definitely be improved, for example, the size of text on the contents page could be reduced and the black and yellow banner could be made thinner. The text on the USP on the front cover could be positioned better. There could be less text on the double page spread to make room for more images and larger quotes.