2. In what way does your music magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real magazines? Front Cover: My front cover is fairly unusual. It has its own unique style which is what I was going for. The font is very unusual and the image is very arty. However the layout, of having a large image, masthead at the top and various articles around the cover fit the usual magazine stereotypes. I have seen these bold but simple colours used on other magazines. Contents: My contents fits to magazine convention. It has the large image with list of contents and a masthead. I have seen this done with many other magazines. I developed on from this by ‘wrapping’ the text around the model, creating a more unique effect.
3. Double Page Spread: My double page spread is fairly conventional in the way it is set out. I have seen the image on one page and full article on another used in many other magazines, and I have developed this. The mise-on-scene of the images have been developed from magazine contentions as I have seem some similar but they are fairly arty shots. The content also fits to magazine convention by using the same kind of language.
4. How does your music magazine represent a particular social group? The target audience for my magazine is students and young adults interested in culture, fashion and alternative music. I think my magazine represents this well by the style created by the images and fonts. The magazine is presented as ‘approachable’ to people from this group.
5. What kind of media institution might distribute your music magazine and why? IPC media are the largest magazine publishing group in the UK, so I think they would be most likely to publish my magazine. They currently publish music magazines NME and Uncut. My magazine is a different genre to these so it could fit well with the company.
6. Who would be the audience for your magazine? The target audience for my magazine is students and young adults, between the ages of 18-30. The readership is not aimed at either male or female, although there would be more female readers due to some content. My audience would be interested in fashion, culture and alternative music. This is based from what I have learnt in my research.
7. How did you attract/address your audience? The layout and design of my magazine would attract this particular audience. The content was aimed at this age and used some colloquial language so it was more accessible. The images are dream-like and maybe something the audience could aspire to. The layout is up-to-date which will attract my modern audience. The colour scheme is neither male nor female which means that it is aimed at a broader spectrum of people.
8. From my audience feedback, I think I have been successful in targeting my audience. My audience liked the images as they were relatable and the modern but quirky layout. However, some disliked the font as it didn't fit the magazine. This was included in the improvements suggested by my audience. Also suggested was to have more articles included in the magazine and more displayed on the front page, to attract them.
9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product? When making my magazine, I used Microsoft Office – including Publisher, Powerpoint and Word. I used websites such as blogger.com and slideshare.com to display my work. I used Photoshop and Indesign to edit my images. I did not know how to use Photoshop or Indesign before constructing this product, and I now feel more confident in using them.