Time management update

I have now completed all of my magazine pages and have uploaded them onto my blog. Next I will need to begin to draft my evaluation and also gain some more audience feedback.

Finished magazine pages

In response to my audience feedback on my magazine pages I have made a number of changes. For the front cover they suggested the masthead could be moved further to the left rather than being positioned centrally, in order to make the main image and masthead not overlap. They also thought it would be a good idea to move the web address from underneah the masthead because it is too bold and draws attention away from the masthead. So I took this advice on board and after playing around with the addresses position decided to move it vertically so it sits inside the "B" of the masthead. This I think is effective because while the address is still there is is more subtle and doesn't take away any attention from the masthead which is the most important thing.
           Overall the comments I received in regards to the contents page were very positive saying it looks "neat and organised". What they did suggest was because the page numbers only went up to 34 the magazine doesn't appear to have much content which would be a real problem for a monthly magazine. So I simply changed the page numbers of the contents page so it goes up to 61, which is around a similar number to other magazines I researched. Some of my focus group also thought there could be more colour on the page, however I thin my page looks understated and the few hints of colour are effective so i have kept this the same.
                Again they really liked my DPS. What I did find out is that they preferred the version in which the model is facing the article rather than away therefore this is the image I have actually used in my final design. They said that adding a number of pull quotes, ideally in the blank space of the image, would not only help to fill the page but add to the authenticity, I thought this was a great idea and so added two quotes: one large one in the blank space to capture people's attention and another smaller one embedded in the article as this is something I have seen done in almost all the magazine's I have researched, and using text wrapping to ensure the quote looks professionally embedded within the article.

Time management update

I have now finished my first draft of all my magazine pages and will hopefully be getting some audience feedback on Friday. I can then use this to make any final small adjustments to the different pages in coherence to what my focus group suggest. I do need to blog some design work in progress posts for my dps but then I should be and audience feedback and then I'll be on track. Next week I can then focus on my evaluation. 

Dps work in progress 2

I have now added a banner for the main headline so that it stands out more and also I think it makes the page more colourful. The fact is on a slant makes the age seem less formal and more youthful which is appropriate for my target audience. A photo has now been put onto the right page. I think this photo is good because the "singer" is the main focus of the photo and she is smiling which connotes to the idea of fun and having a good time.

Audience feedback questions and responses

Front cover

1. What sub-genre of music do you think my music magazine connotes to? What makes you think this- is there anything specific that relates to the sub-genre? Thankfully, they all recognised the pages as being from a pop magazine, which is good because it shows I have incorporated generic conventions of my chosen sub-genre into my pages.
2. Is the masthead located in the right place? Should it be somewhere else? Is it big enough? 
3. They suggested the masthead could look better if it were positioned more to the left of the page, rather than in the middle, as the model is sort of in the way otherwise.
4. Do you think the colour scheme works well? Or do you think the colours should be brighter because it is a pop magazine and so should be fun? 
5. They liked the colours I used, however they suggested that I could use more colours as this is what you'd expect from a pop magazine. 
6. What do you think of the fonts? Do you think the fonts look informal or formal? Do you think the font sizes are too big in any places? They liked all the fonts as they thought they were bold and were easily readable. Also they believed I used a good variety of fonts that all look like they belong together wand work well in creating a house style for my product.

Contents Page

1. What mode of address do you think my article descriptions are in? Do you think this is appropriate for the pop sub genre (baring in mind it should be more sophisticated than most pop magazines)? Should it be more/less formal? They correctly identified that the mode of address was colloquial showing my writing comes across as I wanted it too. And they thought this style of writing was perfect for a more mature pop listener audience.
2. Are there enough article descriptions or would you like to see more? They suggested I could increase the page numbers to about 60 because they didn't think 40 pages would be enough content for a monthly magazine as it looks too empty. 
3. What do you think about the layout of the page? Does it look organised or cluttered? 
4.  My focus-group liked the layout of the page saying it looked organised and would be easy to navigate. This is good because I wanted  my target audience to be able to find the articles they wanted too easily and quickly.
5. Do the pictures tie in with typical pop star photos? Should they be positioned differently?They said the photos would appeal to them because they are of younger people and so they feel the magazine is directly relatable to them. They particularly liked the front cover image because it looks professional with the white background but also it makes the magazine stand out due to the unconventional layout and non-direct address of the model 

Double page spread

1. Which version of my dps do you think is most appropriate? Why do you think that one is the best? The version of the photo they liked most was where the image faced the article as they thought it made it more obvious that they are linked and she actually looks like she's involved in it rather than the photo being potentially a different feature.
2. Does the page need more colour (e.g. a coloured background) ? They thought there should be more colour to the age so it is in keeping with the pop genre. 
3. Can you think of a better headline after reading my article? Or is Amy White enough to grab the readers attention? The headline seems appropriate as it makes it obvious what the article is about even at a glance. Also it may encourage people to buy the magazine if they saw interviews with celebrities in it. 
4. What do you think of the questions asked in the article? Are they focused enough on music for a music magazine? They liked my article, saying the questions were a good blend of more personal questions to the artist and more serious ones about their music.
5. Is there anything else I have't included you would expect to find in a DPS? Some pull quotes around the page would improve the dps and add to the authenticity. 

Front cover photo

 This is the original image I took for my front cover. I decided to set this photo like this becasue my model looks happy which is in keeping with the pop sub-genre, becasue it's about fun and having a good time. The clothes she is wearing I think show a good combination of more glamorous (with the jacket) but also fairly casual (with the t-shirt). I think this is approproiate becasue pop stars are generally quite glamrous but I still want my target audience to feel they can relate with her which the more casula feel does.
I then decided to edit my photo using photoshop. Firstly I took away the background detail using the magic wand function.

I did this becasue in my research I found that generally pop magazines have a plain background for the mian image and so I wanted to stay with convention. I then also brightened the image and cropped, this makes the image look for bright and fun and also ensures the main focus is of the model. This is important becasue I want my target audience to be drwan to the magazine becasue of the "celebrity" and so the image has to catch the eye.

Dps design work in progress

This is the start of my double page spread pages. First of all I had to decide on the layout of the pages. I have chosen to go with a picture to text ratio of 50/50 as this is what came up most frequently in my research and so is in keeping with convention. I also decided to create a thin red bar going along the pages in order to have page numbers and the website address. This bar is also something I have done on my other pages and so it creates continuation and links the pages together. I then added my article onto the left page in a font I have used on my other pages. I used two different colours for the interview which I noticed was done in other magazines, as it makes it immediately obvious which voice in the interviewer's and which is the singer's. I added my masthead to the top left and right hand corners to create a sense of brand identity.

Contents page- design work in progress

This is currently my finished contents page. I have now added three pictures to the left hand side of the page which I think adds a sense of balance to the overall structure of the page and also makes it more interesting. Each of the three photos I had to brighten using photoshop and n the second one I also took off the background as I felt it was inappropriate and a plain background fits in with my sub- genre better. I then added the page numbers to the photos for easy navigation of my magazine and placed them in bright coloured bubbles which I noticed "Shout" magazine did in my research. I also think the bubbles connote to a sense of fun and makes the numbers stand out more in the page. Finally I added a bar across the bottom of the page in order to add contact information to, which I noticed was a convention of pop magazines; in particular they gave social network links so the magazines seem youthful and modern.

Contents page- design in progress

I have now added sub sections into my contents which I have noticed is a convention in all the magazines I have researched. I have four different sections as I think these are the main parts of a music magazine and yet it is still kept rather simple highlighting my magazine is all about the music not the stardom. The alternating colours of each section I think distinguishes between the different sections making them more obvious. I have also added the masthead into the left hand corner which again helps to establish a brand identity and is done in many magazines. The large poiting of the word "contents" makes it obvious what page this is.

Contents page- work in progress

The first thing I did  for my contents page was to write the article descriptions. I decided to keep the synopses rather short only being a few lines, I did this because I thought my target audience would aren't going to want to read a long description of each article, they just want a quick way to navigate the magazine. I have decided to use two colours for the writing; red and blue as these are my main colours and so it creates a brand identity as well as a sense of continuation. For the fonts I have used "ebrima" and "candara" which are fonts I also used on the front cover, which creates a sense of continuation.

Photoshoot

These are all the different photos I took during my photo shoot. Also there are some I have quickly edited to make them brighter which fits with the pop genre, cropped so the person is the main focus and also made some black and white to add variation. I have used a variety of different camera angles in my shots including close up, mid close up and long shot. Also I have taken some below eye level and some at eye level which I noticed was also done in pop photography. I won't use all of these photos as some are too dark or just not appropriate for my magazine- I will decide which to use at a later date.I also may decide to use photoshop in order to take off the backgrounds as this was also common within my sub-genre.