Stockley Magazine Evaluation.

Georgia Wheeler

 

Stockley Magazine Evaluation

1)      In which ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In my magazine I have tried to fit conventions while also trying to create a unique product. I have stuck to a conventional magazine as I thought it would appeal to more people. I have used conventions in each of my final products (front page, contents and double page spread). For example the title for the front cover is on the left hand side and the barcode, price and issue number are positioned on the bottom right hand side. My double page also follows conventions as it has an editor’s note so readers can connect with the editor’s views about the magazine. My analysis of existing products has helped me when creating a conventional product as I have looked at existing products for inspiration.

2)      How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents the social group of teenagers who attend school who are passionate about looking good. I think I have achieved this through the images, layout and language I have used. I think I have met all of the aspects of a teenage fashion magazine and have represented the particular social group well. My media product also divides social groups through gender and age. For example the images I have used throughout the product are of the same age as my target audience and the same gender. If I had used an older person on the front cover I may not have attracted the audience I was aiming for or represented their social group. I have aimed my product at females as I wanted to attract a specific target audience. As I have used a young female on the front rather than a male to attract the gender. In order to represent the target audience I looked at existing products and did research on the internet of recent fashion trends. I noticed that there was a very stereotypical view on student fashion so I have represented fashion in society today in my magazine through what the people were wearing in my images rather than meeting stereotypes.

3)      What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think that the following institutions are most likely to distribute my product:
-Social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram, digital publishers so students can open the magazine on their phones and fashion stores such as New Look.
I believe that fashion stores are the most likely to distribute my product as it would target my particular target market better as the genre of magazine is fashion and my target audience would visit them stores. Digital publishers are also a good way of targeting my social group of female students as their mobile phone is where the social group is more likely to socialise. Digital publishing is now becoming more popular with 17% of magazines now available online; therefore this would enable my product to be distributed on a larger scale if this method was used.

4)      Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my media product is teenagers and young female adults both aged from 16-18. I have chosen this age group as my target audience as they are more likely to pick up school fashion magazines and be interested in recent trends. To choose my target audience, I did research to find out if there was a gap in the market of fashion magazines. I found that there weren’t many magazines aimed particularly at the social group of students so I decided to focus my magazine on this genre. I am also a student myself so I felt this would be give me more ideas for my product and allow me to relate with my target audience.

5)      How did you attract/address your audience?

I feel I have attracted my audience in a variety of ways. For example on my front page I have used an image which fills the majority of the page to grab my audiences’ attention. I have used the image of Shannon as she’s 16 so it fits in the age group I have targeted my magazine at. In each of the images I have used I took into consideration what the people were wearing as I wanted the audience to relate to the magazine for example people with the same style in clothes. I have used conventions in order to attract my target audience. For example a conventional layout which I felt would attract my audience. The fonts I have used are also conventional and are bold to attract the audience’s attention. I feel the colour scheme I have used also addresses’ my target audience as I have used a bright stereotypical colour such as pink.

6)      What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout the project I have extended my knowledge on software such as InDesign. I have learnt about lots of new editing skills such as overlapping text, bringing text in front and brightening images. Learning how to edit images has proved very useful in this project and it will also help me in the future as well as learning to edit images or constructing a magazine. Looking at existing products helped with this and I feel confident that in the future I would be able to create another magazine from the knowledge I have gained.

7)      Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt?

Looking back on my progress from my preliminary product, I feel that my preliminary product will help me in many ways when creating my final product. One major factor that my preliminary product helped me with was planning my time, for example when organising when to take my images to allow enough time to edit them. However I had difficulty with some of the images I had taken as they were hard to edit due to the background and hard to find a font colour that was noticeable. When taking images for my final product I will look at background of the images in able to create more unique shots throughout my final product. Although my preliminary product helped with the planning of my time I have also had to learn new things which weren’t covered in the preliminary products. For example as the magazine was a school magazine I was only able to use 3 main colours to create a conventional magazine whereas my final music magazine I will able to be a lot more creative and pacifically target my audience. Overall I think my final product would be significantly better since my preliminary product helped me gain more knowledge in the software used.

Stockley Magazine Front Cover and Contents Page.

Georgia Wheeler

Stockley 'Trend' Magazine- Front Cover

Stockley 'Trend' Magazine- Contents Page

GRANITE - Women's Lifestyle Magazines.

GRANITE- Women's Lifestyle

Codes and Conventions.

- Image and name fits content and target audience.

- Colour scheme and clear typography creates clear brand and genre identity.

- Celebrity featured on the cover to increase attention and sales.

-Cover lines are used on the cover in order to inform what is included in the magazine and persuade potential consumers to purchase.

- Date, Price and Barcode on the cover.

-Mode of address and genre are both clear from the cover.

-Colour palette using bright feminine colours.

Genre

The genre of Women’s Lifestyle magazines are usually broken down into two sections- Fashion and Beauty and then housewife themed such as healthy eating etc.

Representations

The representations of Women Lifestyle magazines are confident woman themed around the sub-genre of the magazine. These models could be actors or models that the target audience would know about.

Audience

The target audience for Women's Lifestyle magazines are females ranging from 16-50 year olds as they will be able to relate to the content of the magazine such as make-up tips, recipes and stories about celebrities that are popular around the time.

Narrative

The narrative of Women’s Lifestyle magazines is generally about a female singer/actor/model going through a tough time and then coming out as a confident individual. This inspires women to be confident with themselves.

Institutions

The institutions of this genre of magazines is the company of the magazine as they will be getting money from the sales but also the main image model would receive money as she is earning publicity and having themselves promoted.

Technologies

The technologies used when making these magazines would be professional cameras, computers, lighting and a variety of software's such as Photoshop to edit the magazine.

Evidence

There are different things within this genre of magazine that makes them successful such as direct address, colour palettes, barcodes, issue dates and pull quotes. These show the magazine is effectively organised resulting in its success.

Magazine Contents Page Analysis- 2 Examples.

Magazine Contents Page Analysis- Glamour

A contents page of a magazine is usually the second page of the magazine which shows you what is involved within the magazine on what page.

Within this essay I will be analysing the contents page of a well-known magazine Glamour.

The first thing I noticed when looking at this magazine is the masthead. The word ‘Glamour’ is shown in bold, simple font on the top of the contents page. The bold lettering is effective as it shows readers the company of magazine they are reading. The masthead is also patterned in three different colours (green, yellow and light blue). These colours all connote positive attitudes, for example yellow connotes happiness and blue is a calm and peaceful colour.

The issue date is just below the masthead in big lettering. This is effective as then readers know what issue they are reading and if the information (fashion advice) is up to date.

The strap line reads the words ‘The Style Issue’. The strap line is just a short description of what the whole magazine is about. In Glamour’s case, the magazine is clearly based around fashion and beauty as the strapline says the issue is about style. The word ‘Style’ is in a bold pink font which stands out to readers as it’s a bright colour meaning its eye catching. The colour pink also connotes femininity which is what the magazines target audience is. The numbers are also in pink and in the bottom section the numbers are the same colour as the title which is effective as it continuous the colour scheme attracting audiences.
 

The main image takes up the majority of the page this means she is most likely to appear within the magazine in one of the main articles as it’s obvious to audiences what page she will be located on. The image is also in black and white, monochrome filter which symbolises class. The style the model is trying to represent may possibly be from a classy range due to what she’s wearing on the image and the filter used.
 

The website is also included just below the masthead so if audiences are interested in what they’ve seen within the magazine they know where to visit for more information. The website may also be included so the magazine company can promote themselves to wider audiences as websites are free and easier to access rather than going to buy a print copy of the magazine.

 

 

Magazine Contents Page Analysis- Vogue

The primary target audience is females who are interested in fashion. Not only is the magazine targeted towards females, but homosexual males, as their secondary target audience due to them being stereotypically camp and also obsess over fashion. As the magazine is considered to be the most well known fashion magazine being sold, it has not aimed itself towards teens, as they have another magazine called 'teen vogue' that covers that; though a lot of teenagers purchase the magazine regardless.

The overall layout of the magazine is simple and easy to read. The columns are present to ensure the contents page does not look confusing to potential readers. This is effective as people who perhaps are not particularly good at reading will be willing to read on due to the simple design. There is a clear gap between each paragraph, this breaks the text up. The masthead, the magazines name: Vogue, is clear against the background. It overlaps the image, as though the name is more important than the content of the magazine, which can be compared to designer clothing. The masthead is larger than any of the other writing, and stands out against the white and grey background. This draws the readers attention immediately. Subheadings have been used above each section of writing, to ensure the reader finds it quick and easy to find each specific section. The image, located to the left, is the centre of attention (other than the headline) but has words layered over it, almost making it look as though it is vaguely part of the background.

The colour palette of this contents page is red, black, and grey. Though grey is not as bold as the other colours, it occupies both of the images. The red font has been colour coordinated with the dress. With the magazine using minimal shades of colours it keeps the professional feel to the magazine. The white background is common in contents pages, as to not take away attention from the text and keep the audience focused. The subheadings are in red, which works well as its the boldest and brightest colour on the contents page attracting audiences attention. The white background means that the text shows up well. The black and white is complete contrast, which means that the text is so easy to read.

 

The imagery is always an insight to what the magazine contains, relating to the genre. It is clear to see that the main image is fashion-related, as the denotation is a model wearing a garment, which is not a usual piece of clothing you'd see individuals wear in public places. There are two images on the contents page. One relates to fashion, the other is a beauty product. This connotes that the magazine is not only based around fashion, but also alternative ways of improving yourself which helps widen the audience to people who are looking for a magazine that shows you how to look good in various different ways. The model is posing which connotes maturity and, somewhat, sophistication. She is also wearing a garment which is quite revealing in places, suggesting to the audience that fashion is looking good, not covering yourself up. The image is of a female, which can relate to the female target audience, and so the readers carry on reading as they are drawn in by the imagery more than anything else. It is also a reflection of the upcoming seasons' trend.

The typography is effective in a simple format. All fonts are similar, except the masthead of the magazine, which is typically going to be the one part of the magazine that is unique against other magazines. The fonts are not varied, as the magazine would look untidy and unprofessional. Fashion is considered to be elegant, which could relate to the font selection of the masthead. A common convention of magazine contents pages is to have subheadings of which have been typed in capitals, this creates emphasis, allowing the reader to find what they want to read quickly.

Magazine Front Cover Analysis- 2 Covers.

Men's Fashion Magazine Analysis.

• The puff is very faint, again white text gets lost in the background which doesn’t draw the viewers in.
• The masthead doesn’t stand out like other magazines but it’s still in bold lettering to try and stand out to audiences. The word fashion gets lost within the grey background from a distance which isn’t appealing for the general audience. I believe this magazine is for a male audience of a higher class.
• The main image of Justin Timberlake uses direct address so it draws audiences in as it seems as he is looking directly at them.
• The colour purple connotes royalty, fitting in with the classy audience. The colour grey connotes strength of character and maturity which again fits in with the main image of the smart attire and the target audience.  The colour black connotes sophistication which again represents the main image.
• Instead of bold font, words are underlined so they stand out to audiences and so the classy layout of the magazine continues.
• The colour palette uses a darker range of colour showing grey, black and purple. This is to appeal to a more neutral audience. The cover displays smart attire so the audience may be businessmen that work in the city. 

Women's Fashion Magazine.

• Denotation: The word 'Elle' is the name of the magazine but the connotation of this is that it's feminine and aimed at women. Relating to the target audience.
• The colour palette pink, orange and black are the main colours used. Pink connotes femininity and beauty. Orange connotes happiness and brightness which stands out to audiences.
• The font used is very bold and is in block capitals. This could connote confidence and inspire readers to want to 'stand out' and be bold. The font is clear to read and stands out on the cover symbolising how the readers should be.
• Amanda Seyfried is the model for this cover. Her blonde hair and blue eyes is the stereotype of the 'perfect' woman and how they should be. Her body language is very confident, showing how women want to be. The main image is using direct address (directly looking at the audience) to draw them in and purchase the magazine.
• Many, if not all the words on the front cover are related to women and the genre of the magazine. Which then attracts women as they know they can find advice on beauty, fashion and men within the magazine.
• Due to there being no selling line, the words 'Beauty' 'Fashion' 'Shoes' 'Bags' etc. are in bold font and used on the cover to appeal to the target audience. As it is a women's magazine the front cover is the main attraction and the words that are in bold attract readers.

Researching the Magazine Industry.

Georgia Wheeler

Print Industry- Magazines

     - Facts about the magazine publishing industry:

·         Twenty-six percent of consumers prefer the tablet version of a magazine over the print version.

·         3000 UK magazine titles.

·         1.5 billion Copies sold per year.

·         87% of the UK’s population reads magazines.

·         The UK Magazine industry is worth £1.4bn.

·         2 wholesalers of UK Magazines: John Menzies and Smiths Distribution.

·         50,000 retail outlets.

·         Magazines are sold more and more through the grocery industry channel, but there is still a large amount of sale in independent stores and the magazine supply chain remains quite separate.

   - 5 reasons why magazine sales might be falling in the UK at this time:

·         Magazines have websites now which are easily accessible.

·         Apps for magazines are now available such as ‘Brides’ free of charge.

·         TV channels are now created which tell audiences about things magazines would say for example MTV.

·         The price of magazines have increased due to the rising paper costs and some people may not be willing to pay.

·         Market is swamped with different brands.

   - Six categories or types of magazines:

·         Women’s (Bridal&Wedding, Fashion&Beauty, Pregnancy&Family)

·         Teen (Gamers, Comics, Skating&BMX)

·         Lifestyle (Adventure, Travel, International Living)

·         Art & Photography (Skin Art, Graphic Art, Photography)

·         Animals & Pets (Birds, Dogs, Cats)

·         Entertainment & TV (Celebrity, Gaming, TV and Movie)

   - Conventions of a Teenage magazine:

·         Masthead- A text written in a large font across the front cover, usually seen on the additional page of the newspaper or advertisements.

·         Pull quote- A phrase which is cut out of an article and placed in a larger font to attract readers.

·         Cutline- One line text describing the illustration, drawing or photograph next to where it appears.

·         Images- A illustration which is used to pass a clear view of article.

·         Strapline- A text or phrase that is short and memorable. it is good for marketing. It catches a lot of customer attention.

·         Buzz words- Words are used in order to attract attention. They usually add an extra element of excitement to this magazine, making it seem more interesting, for example ‘plus’ and ‘free’.

·         Colour Palette- The range of colours used.

·         Bar code

·         Price- If the magazine is more expensive then the visual price tends to be in smaller font so that it isn’t the first thing the audience see and get put off by. On the other hand if the magazine is cheap then the price is usually bigger and bolder in order to quickly draw in the audience’s attention.

·         Issue date