Double page spread frankenstein - 1

Pop music magazine analysis

Starting with the masthead it is ‘TOP OF THE POPS’ which is not clear as it is somewhat of a circular shape which is what allows it to look like more of a flash. Although the bright colour and it being positioned at the top of the page makes it seem the name. Additionally this magazine is a monthly magazine which explains why it is so cluttered with many regulars and secondary images, further emphasizing the fact that due to this magazine being well known it can be easily recognized and therefore the fact their audience will already know means it is easy to identify the masthead. The font used for this is quite bold as well as it being sans serif. This allows the consumer to focus on the masthead first, additionally I noticed that within the name is ‘top’ which could signify why it is right at the top of the front page and not even slightly down or in the centre. Readers may like this as they will be more interested in seeing what  is new from the main image rather than seeing the masthead as the main focus every week. The colour being bright pink with a thick black outline emphasizes this, despite it being positioned in the corner that contrast between the two colours means it can still stand out. The colour black connotes formality, death, evil, and mystery, which in my opinion not what they want to convey. I think they have chosen this colour to contrast significantly and create somewhat of a sense of sophistication despite it being bold and cartoonish. ‘Top of the pops’ magazine has a high production value which is evident from its glossy, weekly format. They have clearly represented this magazine supporting the pop genre by focusing on well known main stream artists like ‘Taylor swift’ which allows these music artists to be well associated.  This magazine is well known for it looking chaotic and almost cluttered as there is a lot of information/content. The cover lines and flash (lettering) are all in bold font, sans serif block with its own signification of femininity as you are able to clearly see there is a lot of pink used through-out this front cover therefore implying that their target audience is mainly girls/fans despite there being a mixture of both male and female artists and some other youtubers as secondary images to entice consumers further. Taylor Swift is in the foreground towards the centre as a dominant, successful music artist in that industry. There is limited consideration of allowing this magazine to look sophisticated and minimalistic, this is due to them wanting it to look packed full of interesting content. The features are aiming towards younger ages which can be inferred from the ‘mega puzzle sesh’. Additionally you can see in one of the secondary images they are wearing a little Christmas hat which is cute and suggests this was to be sold around Christmas time however the entire them of the magazine is not surrounding the festive season and still remains to be on the pop genre. The bottom strapline is fairly small but is a warning for the contents of the magazine which are shown on the front of the magazine to intrigue the target audience to purchase as you further get small products which are quite girly. Therefore emphasizing the main audience being a majority of girls. The small details like the small stars scattered around the magazine of a cartoon feel and the variety of typography used such as the decorative font ‘merry Christmas’ on the left side and sans serif font as the flash.

Weekly Update - 05.12.16

So I started my double page spread Frankenstein which helped me to understand why certain aspects were place in certain ways. I completed 2, but need to finish briefly analysing them. Look forward to next week to see them. I analysed a music magazine (Top of the pops) in great detail aswell. Using a example to help me with the great detail of all of the small aspects of the magazine I needed to look into. Most of the tasks from last week all helped me gain knowledge on magazines and the full process that needs to be considered when creating one. That's all check for more updates next week. Byeee!

Weekly Update - 28. 11.16

Last week was full of writing! I finished comparing my different magazine genre's which allowed me to understand the small details needed to ensure a magazine is successful. Additionally I finished my feedback summary where I concluded all of the feedback which I then need to take on the improvements and follow through onto the next magazine. Lastly I created what we call a 'Frankenstein' front cover which is where I used a few different magazine parts (masthead, flash) and created somewhat of a collage/mixture to form a new magazine. I done this for both the contents page and front cover and then also analysed each aspect which allowed me to think about the effects certain features on a magazine can have on the consumer. That was all, lots of typing and analysing. Check next week for more updates. Byeee!

Comparison of two contrasting magazines

This is significantly different from the magazine below as you can visually see both of them have completely different target audiences. This is due to the colour schemes and main images being different despite the layout of them being somewhat similar. Both are good magazine front covers as they both best fit their audience well. Although within the rock magazine the colours are quite dark and harsh where as the classical magazine is darker colours but the brown is more of a warm colour. Additionally the rock magazine is not as organised as the classical magazine which is also simpler but still effective, you can see the classical magazine contains a lot more content and information on the front cover.

Rock Magazine:

This magazine consists of quite dark colors which is stereotypically associated with rock music. The main image has layers with what looks to be a band and then another rock singer in the foreground. You can see that it looks somewhat chaotic due to there being a lot of different images scattered around, yet the layout still looks somewhat organised as the flash and the features/regulars are all on the left hand side. Also the bottom strapline is quite informative and tells the target audience what the magazine includes inside. This intrigues the reader and allows them to be more interested to buy it as it is a 'souvenir special'. The is at the bottom but due to it being a bright color ensures it stands out similarly to the masthead as it is quite a large bold font. The color scheme makes the entire magazine stand out because the colors contrast significantly, making the magazine look intense. The barcode does not look realistic however still links with the theme of looking messy. The magazine looks like the magazine only cover a particular genre of rock and therefore limits the consumer.

Classical Magazine Front Cover:

 This magazine is based on classical music which you can easily gather from the masthead clearly displaying what genre of music it is aswell as the main image using a violin as a prop which is associated well with classical music. The main image is also placed somewhat in the centre to ensure it is simple and the main focus of the front cover. There are not as many features and regulars which you would expect to be informative on this front cover, although there are a couple of secondary images to intrigue the reader interested in the potential content of the magazine. There is not a bottom strip however there is a top which is brief but also tells the audience a little about what is inside. The flash however is not as bold and big therefore they do not want it to be the main focus to attract readers.  The colour scheme is mainly neutral colours, consisting of brown, creams and whites other than the brand logo 'BBC' which ensures that people are able to easily recognise the magazine.

Feedback Summary

My audience feedback was videoed on my phone where i asked them to tell me what is good and what is bad about both my front cover and contents page. From my audience feedback, it has allowed me to understand clear improvements that most people have mentioned. A vital improvement was for the colours of the information and content to be darker to further enhance and make it clearer and easier to read, therefore when completing my next magazine i need to make the writing colour clearer to read/ darker however still remaining vibrant. For this magazine in particular the colour grey is too light and needs to be darker but still remaining within the colour scheme. I also found that another criticism was to include the price of the magazine itself which is significant to apply to onto a front cover to ensure that my target audience are aware of it if needed. Referring back to the content and text one person gave feedback that i needed to enlarge the text as they found it slightly difficult to read, this was on the contents page. For the next magazine i need to make sure i am aware of the size rather than reducing it to make it all fit onto the page as it was difficult for them to read. Although from the feedback my target audience also gave positive feedback and said the layout of both the front cover and contents page as it looked well organised. Therefore for my next magazine i will also try to implement this layout however adjust it to ensure that that it relates to the topic which will be music. I also may adjust the size of the main image to allow it to not be the main focus. From the feedback people also said the pictures/images were also good.
Overall i need to make sure for the next magazine i need to consider the details to enhance the design of the magazine, for example the the colour, including the price, effectively adjusting the content to make it appealing to the target audience and social media/links for people who are interested.

Audience Feedback

For my audience feedback I have filmed 5 people who have given me critical improvements to better the magazine for next time.

Feedback 1:

Feedback 2:

Feedback 3:

Feedback 4:

Feedback 5: