AS Foundation Portfolio for Amy Rudman

Evaluation notes:

1. Title page
2. Masthead- I have created a unique name for my magazine and displayed it in a suitable, recognisable typeface using a black, bold colour to make the title stand out. Also, the style of the font suits my genre to which I have targeted my magazine at.
Selling line- this selling line immediately connotes what this magazine is targeting.
Numbers- I included these (56 best albums and 1st edition) to draw the reader and show them that there is a lot in the magazine, which sometimes catches the readers attention and persuades them to buy it.
The Left third- the left third of the magazine is usually the first thing people see when buying a magazine, so I have purposely provided all of my cover lines in this half of the magazine. However, the main cover line “Stacey Taylor” is placed in the centre of the magazine in big bold lettering to stand out and be noticed by the readers.
Main image- this image is used to make an impact when being advertised and draws the reader in. I used this image as the model is making full eye contact which again engages the reader. The image also gives the readers what music it targets due to the clothes and the overall style of the model. I used the strip of text at the bottom to give extra insight into the magazine and draw the reader into the terminal area. This gives the viewers of the magazine
the type of artists in which the magazine talks about and persuades the reader to buy it.
3. Introductory paragraph- I used an introductory paragraph to introduce my artist at the start of the article so readers could get some information on who it is.
Headline- I included a headline so people would recognise the page and what it was about before they started reading it.
Columns- I ensured my columns of my article were all equal length and width to make the magazine layout look more professional.
Colour scheme- Again I stuck to 3 main colours during my double page spread. I included purple, pink and a grey/beige colour which I think worked well together.
Pull out quotes- pull quotes are used to attract the reader into reading the magazine and editors try to use a exciting part of the article which makes the reader wonder what there talking about. I also tried to do this.
Other images- these were added to add colour to the magazine and further grab the readers attention.
Main image- I decided to include a main image on one side of the article to immediately grab the readers attention to the page.
4. My contents page was kept simple, yet professional throughout. I included two parts to my contents page in order to keep it simple and easy to read. The colours used were black, white and purple and I stuck to this colour scheme as I didn’t want to over do it. The black and white compliment each other well, and the purple adds colour so the contents didn’t look totally different from the other pages. The columns in my contents pages were put down the left third as this is what the audience would see first. I numbered each section of the contents page in order to keep it simple for the reader to get from page to page. I just used one column in the contents to keep it simple. My image is less-conventional than other magazine contents pages as usually magazines tend to include a variety of different images. I stuck to one image as I wanted it to look sophisticated and simple.
5. My music magazine represents a younger generation of both males and females. The type of music in my magazine is indie, and this is represented in my magazine through my images and text used. The first indication of the style of magazine is immediately shown through my front cover. The reader’s attention is drawn towards the image which shows a young girl, dressed appropriately for this particular audience and the age she looks represents my particular social group. The style of writing I used also indicates the genre and audience I aimed to go for. Its big, bold lettering help with grabbing the attention of readers, but also the cracks which are included in the font add impact to the magazine and create that rock/indie look that this audience would like. The language used throughout the magazine again indicates the social group I was aiming at. I used simple language and included relevant well known artists that I knew this social group are interested in. This look is continuously referenced throughout each page as each page shows similar colours and the images used also fit well together. The contents page is set up simple, yet using this image made the page easy to read and be looked at by this age group. On the double page spread the text was kept limited and I ensured that there were plenty of pictures used throughout.
6. The company that would distribute my media product would be bauer media group. This is a German company and distributes a wide range of magazines and other forms of media all over the world. My magazine would benefit from this company as it is a large, popular distributer. This would distribute my magazine as it fits in to the genre that this company looks at and Q magazine that I aimed to base my product on.
7. The target audience I aimed my magazine at were both males and females and aged between 16-19 years and had an interest in the indie genre. In my questionnaire I asked a variety of question in which I gave to college students and asked them questions which would help me in designing a suitable magazine for that age range. All the people who took part in my questionnaire said they preferred looking at pictures than to reading a lot of writing. I took into consideration and made sure I didn’t fill the pages up with too much text and included images. Also, when asked about the font they found a simple, easy to read font which I also considered when choosing which to use. Price was another important issue as my target audience was 16-19 year olds, which usually have to start buying things themselves.
8. My audience was targeted through the layout, typeface, images and the colours that I used throughout the magazine. The layout of the magazine is easy to read which I decided would be appropriate due to the audience of my magazine being younger. It is easily organised and isn’t filled with too much information so it can be easily read when wondering whether to buy it. The typefaces that run through the magazine are standardised and straightforward and again enable the audience I have targeted to be able to follow the magazine easily. The layout, typeface and colours of my magazine also attract the audience due to the different fonts used and the colours contrasting with the image of the magazine. The main colours used are blue, purple and black which attract both males and females, whilst making the magazine look impressive and professional. The image I used also attracts the attention of the viewers, as both models are young people and can relate to my target audience. The overall house style of my magazine creates a young, mature and professional look and enables my target audience to connect with the magazine.
9. I have learnt a wide range of techniques from the process of designing my media product. By using photoshop it has enabled me to easily edit and organise my product. I’ve used editing with my images and have learnt ways to make them look more professional. Also I have used techniques during editing which has enabled me to edit my photos how I wanted them. Photoshop is easy to organise as each image or piece of text has to be separately selected which enables you to position them exactly how you want them to go. Blogging was also something I had to learn to do as I had never done it before and I found it really helped with the organisation of my product as I could load each piece of work onto my blog as soon as I had done it which kept me organised. Powerpoint has also enabled me to organise my finished products and be able to display them in a suitable, yet professional manner. Using the internet during research to look at what my target audience are really interested in has helped me when designing and editing my product. The audience research I did using word enabled me to set it out neatly and professionally.
10. The preliminary task was used as a practice run in getting used to the idea of photoshop and its uses. When progressing further with my real product I learnt a lot about the ways in which photoshop is used. Firstly, my image used in the preliminary project was poor quality and the editing I used for the image was bad. However, when getting images for my real product I focused on getting good quality, professional pictures and ensured I used photoshop to edit my photos better. I increased the brightness of the images I got, which made them look more professional and also changed the contrast of the image which created a good quality effect. The detail in text I used during my ancillary, especially on the front cover wasn’t enough, and I ensured my final product would easily engage the reader with lots of text so they can see what's in the magazine and be encouraged to buy it. When doing this, I used a few contrasting fonts which worked well together and included a variety of different sizes of font to make the magazine look more effective and interesting. The background of my ancillary project looks unusual as it doesn’t blend in with the image. I ensured my final product blended in with the images and text in all three of my pages to add to the quality of my magazine, making it look more professional.