Re-search notes

To understand the way in which magazine target and appeal to their audiences and the way in which different audiences respond to different magazines.

The Differences between magazines and newspapers.


- Magazine come in a wide range of sub genres e.g lifestyle, comics, etc.
- Magazines are more detailed but with less timely information compared to newspapers.
- You are also likely to find features then hard news, as newspapers cover day to day stories where as magazines will explore and profile the issues and people involved.
- Magazines are generally kept longer are re-read and handed on making them permanent unlike newspapers which are short-lived.
- Magazines have a more specific target audience, unlike newspapers which have broad audiences.
- Magazines lastly are aimed at clients needs and interests.


The front cover of a magazine!


The front cover is its "face" as it is always shown and on the display and there is a wide list of topics you should take into account when designing a front cover.

• The title- is there any hidden meaning behind it?
• Strapline/tag line- caption or phrase, maybe to grab a specific target market.
• Fonts and colours used- they can either appeal to an audience or immediately put them off. It can be very suggestive about the magazine and the genre of magazine.
• The main image- this will often be the biggest attraction to audiences and will need to relate to the sub genre of the magazine.
• The anchorage and cover lines- these will reveal a lot of what the magazine is about and tell a lot about target market. These will entice readers into reading the magazine.
• Other tactics- for example using celebrities to attract audiences, or using "freebies", just anything to attract the readers. 

Between the front and back covers!

1. The contents page- an overview of the many features within the magazine and a sense of familiarity with the brand identity and layout.
2. The editors letter- connecting with the audience, giving it a personal touch.
3. Two page spreads- what format to use, the many layouts and how layout can effect audience.
4. The advertisements- how many advertisements are on a page, what do they say about the audience?

The magazine industry:

- EMPA, a major player in the industry, but got sold to Bauer.

- IPC, American-owned and part of the biggest media conglomerate in the world. Magazines such as Now, Nuts, Marie Claire, Sugar and more.

Globalisation suggests that magazines have made a stereotypical assumption about their audience. Magazines target different audiences like Kerrang and Mixmag that are target the sub genre of music but have a completely different target audience.

Recently the magazine industry has been doing less well and circulation figures for many titles. But competition still remains fierce, and are growing in technology like having websites for their magazines and in some cases being able to download contents on their phone.

"Me-time" is associated with magazines where computers and t.v can not match like being able to enjoy and take a magazine to bed, into the bathroom or on the bus.

Three different types of magazine

Total film- future publishing, £3.80 monthly. 


Future publishing started on a kitchen table in bath in 1985 and now publishes 150 magazines worldwide. The biggest being xbox 360, total film, T3, Official Playstation2, Digital camera, Classic rock, Total Guitar and Fast Car. It also hold the license for magazines from Microsoft, Sony, Disney, Nintendo to publish titles like Official Nintendo magazines. Using high technology will tell us a lot about the target audience and synergy. 
New films informs audiences about new films and celebrates old ones also having countdowns. On the future publishing website, "Total film" is describes as a "vibrant, funny and accessible, mixing A list- glitz with indie attitude, instant hits with timeless classics". The mode of address in "Total film" is playful, youthful and masculine. The stereotypical representations of gender in "Total film" reflects the gender bias in the main Hollywood film industry.  

Grazia- EMAP (Bauer), £1.90 weekly.

Grazia was originally launched in Italy 1938, owned by Italy's market-leading publisher Mondadori, and it is the number one weekly glossy in Italy and the UK. It features advertisements for D&G, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani and many more designer brands. It amazed people as it created "news and shoes" as a generic mix. This first glossy magazine, it combines glossy fashion, A list celebrities and real life. The magazine is mainly for the female gender and although being know to be gossipy, it includes some hard news features and quite classy. The mode of address again shows that this magazine is high quality and has a high percentage of readers compared to other women magazines.




2000 AD- £1.90 weekly.


This magazine was made through a punk era but is a child's comic and it is owned and published by Rebellion, which is know for developing computer games like "Alien vs Predator". It carries very few advertisements, maybe just one per issue such as a video game or 2000AD merchandise or even a similar comic. The genre is difficult to figure out as it has a range of genres, including war, science fiction, action and adventure. The setting of the magazine is generally dull/dark and futuristic which interlinks with mainly the science fiction genre. Some people didn't agree with the magazine because they associated "2000AD" with an harmful effect on audiences.

Conclusion

Magazine have been popular for more then a hundred years ago, due to leisure time among growing literate middle-class, cheaper printing, technology, better distribution and electric light.

Textual Analysis: Double Page Spread!

Double Page spreads

Mojo Magazine

This double page spread is very well designed and will attract the audience to reading the article. On one page we have a catchy title "New Year, New Voice" placed on a big dark block.  The Stand first introduces the interview, with background information of the  musician who has just one an award for being the best new artist. You tell it is an interview due to the questions written in bold black writing and the answers written in plain black. Questions asked are such things as "Has winning the prize opened up any new doors for you" which is quite friendly and chatty without being to formal. Also placed on that page are two small pictures once mid close up and one long shot which relate to the written interview. It also has captions explaining the two small pictures like "MOJO editor-in-chief Phil Alexandra introduces the new voice finalists". The other page has a very large mid long shot picture covering most the top of the page with again a caption. A smaller picture is then placed at the bottom left of the page of the main subject singing which relates to the whole article. At the bottom right of the page another tiny picture of a house with a small  paragraph explaining what the picture is about unlike the other pictures that just have a small caption. The mode of address is quite informal and welcoming. The ratio of texts to pictures i think is quite low making it more attractive on the eye and people i think personally prefer to look at images.

NME Magazine

This double page spread is a little different as the page looks like one instead of two different pages. In the top left corner the main title is written in very big font automatically catching the audiences eye and is it written in both red and black. It pulls the attention of the reader to the start of the article. Right at the start they also use a drop cap making it obvious where the starting point is and emphasising the first word. A standfirst is first written, summarising the article which then leads into the more detailed article.  The sub headings like "Feel The Heat" are written in red to stand out from all of the other text. There is also a picture which starts on the first page and continues over to the second page which interlinks the two pages together. On the other side of the page pictures are more of a dominant feature compared to the other page where there is a lot of writing. There are three quite big pictures and the layout is a box shape which all fit in together. Again this is quite informal and friendly, also lighthearted. The pictures summarise the article very well as the article is about being in the nightclub, and the location of the pictures are in a nightclub, and are very colourful. In the corner of each picture there is a small caption describing what the pictures are showing. The colour scheme here is set up really nicely as makes both the pictures and writing stand out to the audience, making it clear to read.

Textual Analysis: Contents Page!

Magazine:Q

Straight away from looking at this contents page, it looks very simple to read, not very complicated and quite attractive. By the design, layout and colours, you can easily identify which magazine this belongs too as the front cover is quite similar. At the top of the page in the middle the title "Contents" is written in a san serif font, immediately informing the audience what this page is about. Also just before the title we have the magazine's name "Q" in its logo, showing recognisation and familairity of the magazine. This logo is also again laid out at the bottom of the page, making readers remember the the magazine. Underneath the title there is a sentence which is quite eye catching "Discover Great Music" which associates this magazine with a good knowledge on the topic of music. A graphic is then placed below that writing informing audiences on the issue number "Issue 306". On the right there is one big mid close up of florence and the machine which shows her as one of the main features, also including the page reference to that specific article. There are additionally two small mid shots images, one of a group shot also black and white and the second, a two shot both next to their page references. These images make the page eye catching and doesn't make the page looks to busy and confusing. The column on the left, first a small title explaining that the following list is the "features". There is then a small mid shot picture of Ed Sheeran with its page number and the story line written in capitals with a little summary underneath. Further below the different page numbers and story lines are set out again with a brief synopsis. Everything on the page is in a box shaped making it look quite sharp and edgy. This magazine looks quite high class due to the fact that the pages are very spread and have quite a lot of white space.I think the colour scheme allows an easy read and lets us to understand what stories are on which page.

Magazine: Uncut

This contents page was one of three but i have decided to analyse this page. It is quite like the other one (above) but it is less aesthetically pleasing on the eye. The main heading contents page is again placed at the top, across the page with quite boring, but big writing in the font style serif. This defines what this page is allowing the reader to comprehend how to use it.  On the right hand side of the page, there is one main mid shot picture OF "Dave Davies" (as it says in capitals at the top of the picture) which, dominates the page and may have a great importance to the magazine as it main feature. The image taken also fits well within the page as the colours of his outfit and the background of the image all interlink and look great with the actual contents page. It holds the cover line to the story at the top corner of the picture as well as the page number allowing easy reference for the reader to find this page.

   The column on the left just contains the different stories and page numbers. Under each storyline, there is a brief sum up of what it is about. The different articles have been put into sections for example "Reviews" or "Regulars" overall summarising what the different pages are going to inform the audience. "Reviews" show the analysis of a different topic for example here the review of films and albums, compared to "Regulars" which display the constant stories in ever issue such as letters. This will also gain a sense of familiarity with the magazine and the reader as both these sections will be put in the magazine every issue. At the top of the column it informs us on the issue number "TAKE 126" and the month the issue is out "JANUARY 2012" stating more information on the actual magazine. Under "Regulars" the writing looks quite bunched together which I think will give off a negative effect and  will put the audience off from reading the chunk of text. The colour scheme of this contents page has been designed very cleverly as red, black and white go very nicely together with no clash in colour.

First Try at Indesign

Before for my preliminary task I used publisher to create my contents page and did not use Indesign. To make my double page spread I will use Indesign due to the creativity and easiness of using this software. Here I have created a quick double page spread which allowed me to use and try out the different tools gaining a sense of familiarity with this software.

Textual Analysis: Front covers

Front Covers analysis

DJ Magazine

                                                            

Published In- January 31, 1991

Published by - "Thrust publishing"

 "DJ"magazine is dedicated to Electronic dance music, with the magazine being directed as the main target audience to DJs hence the name, as it is specific to all of the latest music that DJ's both male and females should be playing. The masthead "DJ" is written in big, bold, sans-serif, red font which stands out as the name and identification of the magazine. Also mentioned underneath the masthead "LIVING AND BREATHING DANCE MUSIC" this specifies again what kind of music this magazine relates too. The design looks quite hectic due to the many colours been splashed together having a mismatched appearance. The close up image of a man in a mask dominates the colour scheme as generally being red, blue, yellow and white. The image relates to the main headline "SBTRKT, THE MASKED MAN SPEAKS" so readers straightaway know this is the main feature.On this front cover it also gives away a free CD (freebie) to advertise the magazine and also will attract the readers eye to buying this particular magazine. This is again advertised at the top of the page where it says "*FREE SANTOS MULTIMEDIA CD! MUSIC AND DATA GALORE*".  The font on the page has a graffiti style to it,which fits in nicely with the mix of colours. On the left side of the page there is a column with different cover lines which will show the most exciting and attracting features and articles inside this magazine. The cover lines are all grouped together and quite short also the writing is placed on a different coloured background. At the top of the page in the right hand corner there is a graphic advertising this magazine. In the top right hand corner there is a small graphic telling the audience that this is the "BEST OF BRITISH LAUNCH ISSUE". Lastly right at the bottom we can see the price of the magazine £3.95, which I think is fairly priced.

Uncut Magazine

Published in- May 1997

Published by- IPC Media

Uncut magazine is published every month which is based in London. It's main focus is on music but also includes films and T.V. The targeted audience for this magazine is from the range of 25 year olds to 45 year old men. The colour scheme here is mainly red and white maybe due to the colour of the top worn by the subject in the picture. At the top of the front  cover there is a banner advertising different music albums, and just below is the main Masthead "UNCUT" which is in a serif font and quite bold. The masthead also interlinks with the colour scheme as it is mainly white but with a red lining surrounding the letter. On the cover there is a graphic advertising the free CD that is given away with the magazine which will make any person more attracted to this magazine. This front cover is based around one main mid shot of a women, with the cover lines layed out around it. Cover lines then fall around the picture both the right hand side and left hand side.  The bigger font shows stories such as "The top 50 albums" which comes across as a main article to read, compared to the smaller writing that is written towards the bottom of the page. The font of the writing is quite normal and sophisticated giving it more of a classy look compared to most music magazine that come across a bit wild. Above some of the cover lines there is a little graphic with a title in for example "Artist of the year" and "plus".

This emphasis how much the magazine has inside, and makes the reader want to buy it. At the bottom of the front cover it tells us the magazine issue "January 2012" and the price £4.80 which seems like a fair price for the quality of the magazine.

Record Collector

Published by- Diamond publishing

Published in- March 1980

This magazine is the united kingdoms longest-running monthly magazine. It is based for the music industry for mainly ages from 20 to around 40 years old.  This front cover has quite a long masthead title "RECORD COLLECTOR" and the two words are layed out on different lines. It is written in a serif font and is quite bold capturing the audiences eye. Also it has a Christmas effect as the use of snowflakes have been used, with a graphic saying "Christmas issue" and underneath a little sentence saying "Serious About Christmas". At the top there is a banner with different story lines like "How R&B became Reggae". Then a big headline "LED ZEPPELIN" is displayed which clearly interlinks with the band on the front of the magazine. The picture covers the page horizontally with cover lines Inbetween 

Comparisons: Four Magazines

Here we have:


- The name of the magazine in the first column.
- The price and number of pages within the magazine.
- The sections of magazines and number of pages per sections. (In the top part of the table there is the number of sections and at the bottom of the table is the number of pages within each section)
- Samples of advertisement.
- Typical article (give example headings etc.)

Action Plan

Weeks                           Activity


5.12.11                          Write action plan- Done
                                      Compare magazines- Done
                                      Textual analysis (3 front covers, 2 contents, 2 DPS)- Done


12.12.11                        Textual analysis (3 front covers, 2 contents, 2 DPS)- Done
                              
Christmas Holidays


2.1.12                            Audience re-search (Poll, questionnaire, theory)- Done
                                   


9.1.12                            Internet re-search (Institutions, readership figures)- Done
                                      Plan photo shoot- Done
                                      Layout designs- Done


16.1.12                         Layout designs- Done
                                     Take photos- Done
                                     Masthead designs - Done
23.1.12                         Drafting/making pages- Done


30.1.12                        Drafting/making pages- Done


6.2.12                          Drafting/making pages- Done


20.2.12                       Audience feedback- Done


27.2.12                       Evaluation- Done


DEADLINE 2.3.12

Last comment from pleminary task

After reading the comments and feedback about my student magazine i will take into consideration:

- Overchecking my work.
- Changing the font sizes.
- Take a longer time to draft my designs.
- Make my pages clear, especially the contents page.

This will make my main coursework task much better :)