Evaluation

Evaluation

To develop my piece I used Photoshop to create the layout of my design. I looked at magazines which helped me know how a magazine is laid out. I mainly looked at in particular magazines like Mixmag and Q. Q is a mainstream genre so I wanted to know if the page looked different for particular artists like Greenday which is rock or Rihanna which is R&B. But unfortunately it is the same throughout so I had to look at Mixmag to help me with the layout of the genre which is pop/dance.

My magazine represents a particular social group by the use of tone within the magazine. Which is chatty, this is a connatation that this magazine is for people who go out and like to have a party, this is emphasised with the front cover as the girl is standing out side infront of a colourful wall, also the wall can represent a way of showing the artists personality, and im glad I used the graffitied wall as it gives a different feel towards the magazine and gives and instant unique style to it as most magazine have a plain background, so I feel in away I broke a wall and I wanted to see if it worked and I feel it did.

The kind of institution which would distribute my magazine would be Development Hell, as both of their magazines are completely different compared to each other, and also their audiences are different. So I believe they will distribute mine because it has a unique look which breaks part of how magazine look. Also I looked at their magazines and they have a significant housestyle where as independent institutions don’t.

The audience im aiming at for my magazine is females who are the age bwteen 16-21, I feel this age is suited because I feel as you get older you don’t bother with magazines, also most magazines that are only for females are mainly for 5+ and are very girly, where as my magazine is more sophisticated and so it’s different because it’s a magazine for an audience that rarely has a magazine for them.

I feel my audience is attracted by the simple layout with the front cover but the use of multi-coloured makes up for it which makes it more interesting. Also the eroding type like Font for the heading, I feel this worked with the background as it links to the fact that walls erode eventually. Also the image is very welcoming because the artist is smiling, where as if she wasn’t you would instantly know that the magazine’s connatation is to speak/look down to the audience and that is not what I want to achieve in this magazine. Also by the use of bright colours it gives a nice warming, fun feel to the magazine but not making it a childish simple toned look, which I feel I have achieved well in this magazine. Also the emphasis of attracting/addressing the audience is with the article I didn’t make the artist sound big headed about her success, but make her accept her fame but in a sensible manner but making it still interesting and not boring to hear what she had to say on her point of view.

Constructing my magazine I have learnt a lot about how to use photoshop very well. I was slightly familiar to the structure of the programme but by making a magazine through it, it has given me another perspective on what I can also do with photoshop. I feel I have achieved a lot from this because what I have learnt from just making a magazine, I can develop from my skills to much greater standards of work plus things I didn’t know before hand maybe useful in the future.

Looking back at my preliminary task of the school magazine and comparing the both products, I feel I can aim a target audience better and know what to achieve to make it appealing to what ever audience im aiming for. I have also learnt how a magazine should look like and the rules you must obligue to, and once knowing this rules they can be broken only when known how to, which I feel I have broken one rule yet it makes the magazine more appealing which is the background. Music magazines tend to be on tonal, colour background. If the background is too colourful and bright it can be seen as aimed at a younger audience, so I feel I have achieved very well with breaking this rule. Yet I feel I have followed the other rules well.
Looking back at the first magazine I feel I have also learnt how to use photoshop successfully, to feather certain sections, or to cut out areas using the magnetic lasso tool.

Contents page

Im pleased with the result of my content's page, it was hard to work with all the colours as some didn't stand out very well, but i feel the white it very eligable. I feel everything flows very well through out the page and it's very eye catching and simple at the same time which i feel makes this very successful. I used this photo for the main image because i felt it was easier to line the writing down the side and also because the facial expression is very welcoming which emphasises the bright colours behind her.

Audience Research

For part of my evaluation, i had shown a range of ages and gender to see whether my magazine is achieving the genre/look that i want it to.

The questions i asked were:
1. Does this look like a magazine?
100% of the audience said yes.

2. Would you buy it?
100% said yes, but 25% said if it were there type.

3. What genre do you think it is? e.g Rock, Pop, Indie
100% of the audience said it was Pop.

4. Do you think it has a housestyle?
100% said yes

5. Who do you think the audience is? e.g Female/Male. Age
100% said female teenagers - 20

6. What do you think of the article
100% said it was interesting
These are some quotes i got from them about the article
'Good questions and gets a clear view of why she left her band and what she is doing now.'
' It's a very good article, it gives the reader an idea with what's happening with the band and she remembers who left it, also the article is very detailed.'

7. Is the layout like a magazine?
100% said yes. And some also said:
'Easy to read and informative front cover, good layout'
'The layout is veyr good, it looks professional and appealing.'

8. What tone is the article? e.g Chatty, in your face.
The audience said:
'Friendly article - comes over well'
'Upbeat, focused on audience'
'It's wrote in the right way for the audience that it's aiming for. It's not too formal'.

This questionnaire has helped me to see whether i went wrong, and what were my best feautures of the magazine, and what parts didn't work so well.

Double page spread

I'm really please with the result of my double page spread, i feel i have successfully made this page follow the housestyle mainly with the font of 'Ameera', also the effect of the wall following through the page. I like the positioning of the model as it reflects the chill-out vibe of the magazine but also the wall behind her shows the liveliness aswell. I'm pleased with the camera angle of this shot, it isn't a straight forward face on shot which makes it more interesting and aids how the walls goes into the next page. I used purple font because it echoes the title colour and also from the wall as well as the scarf, which is effective as it creates a flow to one side of the page from the other. The only thing about this page that i could have done better is blending the wall in a bit more, other than that i'm very please.