Evaluation of my music magazine

Magazine Evaluation

My magazine is a music magazine based on 60s psychedelic rock. The target audience is anyone who is interested in psychedelic rock. However I believe the target audience are most probably older adults as the music is from the 60s and not many children or teenagers will know the music. My magazine appeals to my target audience because the codes and conventions connote the genre of my magazine. The use of bright colours along with bold black text, represent psychedelic rock, as many real psychedelic magazines also used these codes and conventions.

To get an idea of what is needed on my magazine front cover and my double page spread I had to find research methods to help find what codes and conventions fit in with the genre of my magazine. With the use of a questionnaire I found out what codes and conventions are best suited. The main question that needed to be asked was what the name of the magazine was going to be. 13 out of the 20 people I gave this questionnaire to suggested that my magazine should be called kaleidoscope. This really suits the genre of my magazine as the word Kaleidoscope is very much associated with psychedelic rock. This lead to my masthead being Kaleidoscope in bold black font, which is really eye catching and appealing to anyone who wants to buy a psychedelic rock magazine. Results from my magazine also showed me that I should use the font Ravie for any text on my magazine. To draw attention to the target audience I had to use a graphical feature. The questionnaire showed me that people would like to see a star shape graphical feature which states that there is a free CD inside. The questionnaire results also shown that people would like to see the central image of John Lennon taken as a mid shot. This all helped me to inform the content and layout to produce a mock of my magazine front cover, I also did a mock-up of a double page spread.

Before doing a questionnaire I did an initial analysis classic rock and Mojo which are real life examples of rock magazines. This influenced me to create a psychedelic rock magazine because of the bright colours and also because of the stars like John Lennon. The analysis also helped me get an idea of what codes and conventions were needed to suit the genre of my magazine and make it look more legitimate. On typical psychedelic rock magazines there were a lot of bright colours and patterns. There was also bold text for headlines and the masthead. The central image was mostly of psychedelic rock artists and the camera shot would generally be a mid shot. There was always a graphical feature on the magazine which stood out as it did not go with the colour scheme of the magazine. With this information on real music magazines it influenced me to use the codes and conventions for my mock up of a magazine front cover and double page spread. Both magazines influenced me in different ways, however I believe Classic Rock was much more suited to the genre of my magazine as it did many articles on psychedelic rock. One of the issues really influenced me as the central image was John Lennon (like my magazine), and the background was very colourful and full of patterns. After my research into these two magazine publications I felt that Classic rock would be the best institution to publish my magazine because it fits with the codes and conventions of my magazine, and the portfolio that it only look into ‘Classics’ like the 60s, leaves an impression with me that Classic rock is really suited the genre of my magazine. I think my publication accurately shows that it is a rock magazine because of the colours and font. I think it also conforms with the codes and conventions of any magazine so people know what the actual media platform is. The star in the centre of my magazine is being portrayed as very famous because it the biggest image. Also the mid shot of him looking straight at the camera make the star look like he has authority and this fulfils the target audience aspirations as they aspire to be like him. The image is also a typical stereotype of psychedelic rock because of the funky suit and glasses. My magazine offer a poster inside, this could be argued as one of the selling points because it conforms to the reception theory proposed by Dallas. My magazine however, does not conform to the hypodermic needle model because my magazine is very interactive. It has a website address on the bottom and it is also linked up to Facebook and Instagram

With the help of my 2 mock ups I went on to create my final pieces. I made some adjustments to make my magazine look more legitimate. I changed the background of my magazine front cover from simply just pink to a background full of patterns and colours. I used colours that connote psychedelic rock, and this made my magazine feel more like it was fitted to the genre. Another thing that I changed was the central image. Originally on my mock of the double page spread and front cover was just an image of John Lennon; however this was not my own image, Therefore I got an image of someone dressed up as John Lennon. I then cropped the image and made it into a mid shot and put it on my magazine front cover. On my double page spread I used a similar image of the same person, but instead it was a close up. On my double page spread I added in a number on the pages as this was used in many real music magazines when I was analysing them. Overall not much changed from my draft to my final piece, but these minor adjustments really helped my magazine look at a better standard. When I completed my final front cover and double page spread I did a Q and A with a focus group. This helped me to refine and modify my final piece to make it much better.

My front cover and double page spread are linked in the way that on the front cover the headline states there is a tribute about John Lennon. In my double page I wrote a full page tribute which gives further information on the headline on my font cover. The colours of my font cover and double page spread are also linked as I used the same colours linked with psychedelic rock. Also the image in the two are of the same person, the only difference is the camera angles. Both my front cover and double page spread fulfil the codes and conventions of a typical psychedelic rock magazine.

In conclusion I feel that my magazine fulfils the codes and conventions of the psychedelic rock genre. I also feel that my magazine fulfils the target audience expectations and aspirations.

Market research focus group for my double page spread

Me: Firstly, overall do you like my double page spread?
Boj: yes, it looks very professional and grabs the audience's attention
Danny: It is very colourful and very interesting, liking the John Lennon picture


Me: Do the colours of my double page spread fit with the theme of my magazine?
Boj: Yes, the bright colours really show what theme you have chosen
Danny: Yes when I look at it, it reminds me of psychedelic years


Me: What feature do you like best?
Boj: The rainbow glow around the main image
Danny:The quotes about John Lennon


Me: Compared to my draft do you think my double page spread has improved?
Boj: Yes, it looks better now that you have used your own image
Danny: Yes by far


Me: In your opinion how can I improve my double page spread?
Boj: Just fix the white bits on the font or change the colour of it as well
Danny: More info on John Lennon's Liverpool life


What do you think of my tribute on John Lennon?
Boj: I feel like he would be happy with what you have done
Danny: Its is amazing very well done


Do you think my central image matches the them of my magazine and do you like the camera shot?
Boj: Yes, it would fulfil the target audience's expectations
Danny: Yes because it reminds me of John Lennon


What is your view on my headline, do you think is fitting to the theme and would it attract you as a reader?
Boj: The style of the font if really good however, I'm not sure on the actual colour of it
Danny: Yes because it is describing Johns life really


Could you compare my double page spread to a real magazine double page spread:
Boj: Probably, maybe enlarge the text around the main image
Danny: Yes but maybe more of editing on the background


Would you remove or change anything on my double page spread?
Boj: Add a page number in the bottom right to fulfil the codes and conventions of a real magazine
Danny: Maybe little bit better colours but that's it

What Stands out most to you on my double page spread?
Boj: The main image really gets your attention and is the first thing you look at on the page
Danny: The colours


Do you believe the font of my double page spread is fitting to the genre of my double page spread?
Boj: It is, just not sure on the font of the heading
Danny: Yes it really  does


Finally, Out of 10 what would you rate my double page spread?
Boj: 8
Danny: 7.5

Music magazine Contents Page Before and After

This was my first attempt at a contents page. Similarly to the double page spread, was not entirely happy as it did not look like a legitimate contents page. the biggest problem with this was the secondary image of my friend Dan. This was  a problem as it did not look professional as it was simply a picture of a boy in a school uniform. I also did not really like the use of yellow and pink all over the page, as it looked a bit tacky.

I decided I would start my double page from scratch. I still used the same image for John Lennon, and I used colours pinks and yellow, but I used both of these in a more subtle and professional way. I also added the competition, which made my magazine more interactive for my target audience. Finally I also added an image of the cavern club which I took myself. With these improvements my work looks a lot more successful and complete than my first attempt, and I believe that overall this is a very good contents page.

Double Page Spread Finalised Review

Double Page Spread Finalised Review

When I began creating my double page spread I used an image on the left which was an image not of my own. The image was a close up of John Lennon. Because this was not my own picture I had to get someone dressed up as John Lennon to take a close up picture. Just like the image from the internet my image is a close up with the person looking straight at the camera and the target audience to create a sense of connection. I have made just a few changes to the image by putting an outer glow on the outline of the image which fits in with the hippie and psychedelic feel of the magazine. In my new image I slightly changed the persons pose as in the new image he has his arms crossed which is not include in the first image. I believed this made it look like the star of the magazine has authority.

When I looked at lots of examples of double page spreads most magazines had page numbers to help the target audience navigate where to go in the magazine. With this information I decided to include a page number in my double page spread. This made the magazine simply look more legitimate.

Double page spread analysis

Music magazine double page spread Before and After

This is my first attempt of creating a double page spread. I personally did not like this because it looked fake and uncompleted. One of the most obvious mistakes in this first attempt was that I did not properly follow the codes and conventions of a typical magazine double page spread, as I did not use the rule of three when writing. The text in this work was also difficult to read. Another problem was that the picture was exactly the same as the central image on my front cover, but on this it was simply zoomed in and was a close up. The only thing I actually liked was the colours as they fit in with the genre.

With this in mind I knew I had to change my double page spread completely. The first thing I did was write my article and put it in the rule of 3. I then decided I would divide the pages with colour as this was what a lot of real media double page spreads did. I also realised that a typical code and convention was that a double page spread would include a little box with extra news and information, therefore I put this in the top left corner of the page. Once I did all my editing on Photoshop, I decided I wanted a new image for the double page spread. However, I wanted to use a younger image of John Lennon, and to do this I needed a younger person. I used my friend Daniel Arnold as a model and took many pictures with a green screen of him holding a guitar. Once this was done I added the picture in and edited it.

The picture below is my final design for my double page spread. I an quite proud of this as it looks slick and very official. Overall this is a successful piece as it is fitting with the genre and links in with my magazine front cover. It also used the codes and conventions of a typical real media double page spread.

Music Magazine Cover

My magazine front cover was produced on Adobe Photoshop, this site allowed me to edit images and generate text and colours. One of the first things I decided to do for my magazine front cover is the layout. with this it guided me and helped me complete my final piece. I knew my magazine was going to include a central image of John Lennon as the whole genre of the magazine is psychedelic rock. However, I could not get my own image of John Lennon, therefore I had to get an image of someone dressed up and imitating Lennon. I used my uncles friend a model and took mid shots of him and took the shot from a low angle. This represented him as having authority and power, and also it was a picture the audience would look at and inspire to be. He actually does not look like John Lennon at all, therefore I had to change his look. I did this by flattening his hair, changing his clothing, and actually drawing a mustache on him using a black felt tip. Although, it may have took a while for him to get the felt tip off his face, it was worth it as it was a laugh and the images came out successful.

 Once I did this, I uploaded my favorite picture to Photoshop and edited the picture with the poly lasso tool to make it fit in and look more professional. The only thing I did not create myself was the background, as attempted it and it simply did not like a official magazine background, therefore I added a background from the internet. However, I still edited this image, as I change the colours, brightness and size. Once I had the central image and background, it was time to add a logo and text. I created the logo myself, and I felt the font matched the genre of my magazine, as it was 'groovy'. I then added text to inform the audience what my magazine would be about. After all of this was complete, my magazine looked almost finished, however it did not look legitimate. Therefore I went and looked back at the analysis of other magazines and found they conventions like a link to a website, barcode, and a link to social media sites (such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook). With this in mind I added these conventions, and this made my magazine look a lot more legitimate. Finally, I added a graphical feature, as this made my magazine look eye catching and more appealing to the audience. This is also used as a persuasive device to get my intended audience to buy my magazine.

Overall I thing my magazine front cover is successful as it is very keeping with the genre of psychedelic rock. My magazine also target's my intended audience effectively as it uses their ideologies and aspirations within the code and conventions of the front cover. Furthermore, it looks like a official and legitimate magazine, which is therefore represented as reliable to the target audience.