Image analysis: Front page spreads, double page spreads (DPS) and contents page spreads

Mock ups for my magazine

Focus group response

Focus group response:

Why was it useful? – My focus group research has proven useful as I know how to tailor certain parts of my magazine to fulfil requirements of the reader. Such as publishing an online version of the magazine to those who want easy access to the magazine. Another example which came up was to include features that other magazines don’t include such as: live chats with celebrities featured within the magazine. This will help engage the magazine reader not only to the magazine material but the artists featured within my magazine. This isn’t offered by other magazines which is why my magazine is going to be more appealing to a reader.

How has it helped you in the decisions you will make when creating your magazine? - I’ve been given feedback which is going to help me with the design of my magazine as I know what style of artists to feature within my magazine. I know the expectations of the reader which means I understand on what colouring to use within my magazine and how to display features making them appeal to the reader.

Did I find out something I didn’t expect? – I found out that music lovers of the pop genre play this style of music on a daily basis. This explains the impact the genre has upon the readers and their love of ‘pop’ genre music. As I was oblivious to the fact this style of music could appeal to individuals this much.

What were my general findings? – I found that the readers of ‘pop’ genre magazines tend to buy a pop magazine once a month, this is due to costings and their finances. I now know to only publish a monthly annual. However if my magazine becomes on demand, I know I can make a 2 weekly annual. Or I could publish a purchasable online version for mobile phones as many students are on the go and the magazine would be more easily accessible through a cellular device as opposed to a paper copy.

Has it made me change any initial ideas? – It has made me consider doing a purchasable online magazine. This means I can make more money and it’s more easily accessible to my target market.

To conclude, I have came to understand some key  information that's going to help me inboth decision making and the production of my final product. I am keeping the genre of my music magazine as pop as it is very popular as discovered from my focus group, that my target audience knows quite a lot about the particular genre. I also found out that the ideal price range for my magazine would be around £3.99. This is because the people in my focus group were all students, and they only have the ability to purchase magazines when they have extra money available. It is manageable to pay out this once every month which is why I've decided to publish my magazine on a monthly basis. Most of the people in my focus group told me that they liked to read 'Top Of The Pops' magazine, which has more pictures of artists and fashionwear then articles. This shows me that my target audience, young females, are highly into fashion and they would rather look at images and redeem vouchers and the things on offer from the magazine then reading loads of articles. One main point that I have learned from my focus group is that they would really like to have a live chat with celebrities included. This lets me know that I should really include a plug with a web adress and image of the artist available to chat with. This would undoubtably improve the sales for my magazine within the target audience that it is aimed at.

 

Audience research focus group

For my audience research I’ve carried out research via a focus group. The aim was to ask questions about my audience, magazine content and the pop genre. This has helped me gain knowledge on the type of artists and what material I should include within my magazine; live chat online, competitions, free giveaways etc. I have also created questions to ask which will help me tailor the magazine to my target audience. This is important as it will help improve on sales for my magazine.
 

1: Do you frequently buy music magazines?  (Once a month – monthly)

2: What magazines do you buy and why? (Billboard, we love pop and top of the pops – because it shows chart music and music of the pop genre)

3: What do you think to an online version of the magazine? (much more easy to access and it’s much more suitable to students who already carry a lot of paperwork. Being able to access the magazine online would mean the magazine would be much more tailored to student life).

4: What is the most popular genre of music that you listen to? (Pop as it is mostly in the charts and it is catchy. The music is played most on the radio – Capital FM and I’m able to put on the music I love by turning on the radio)

5: How often do you listen to the ‘pop’ genre? (Daily basis)

6: What artists would you associate the genre 'pop' with? (Katy perry, Cheryl Cole, Taylor Swift, One Direction, Rita Ora, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Rihanna etc)

7: What do you expect from ‘pop’ magazines? (Pop artists, Celebrities, gossip, fashion – clothing, bright colours)

My Prezi

Colour scheme, outfits and costume ideas!

Different font types

Here I've explored multiple font types to see which best suits my pop title 'fanza'. The typical 'pop' style font is tall and bold. It appeals to the audience. It's typically bold and stands out. Theres a few displayed here which would work well for my magazine as they're clear to read, tall and bold.