Target Audience: I went onto www.NRS.co.uk to find out about the target audience for Kerrang and Mojo. This is what I found for the target audience of Kerrang. Kerrang has a total of 417 readers for a general weekly periodical. This is made up of 239 ABC1 class readers and 178 C2DE readers. Out of this 378 are in the age range of 15-44 and 39 are in the age range of 45+. Also the number of male readers is 290 and the number of female readers is 127.
The target audience for kerrang seems to be mainly upper class males between the age of 15-44.
Here is the profile of a typical general reader of Kerrang:
Name: Craig
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Class: B
Race: British
Psychographics: Mainstreamer
This is what i found for the target audience of Mojo. Mojo has a total of 286 readers for a general monthly periodical. This is made up of 212 ABC1 class readers and 74 C2DE class readers. Out of this 217 are in the age range of 15-44 and 69 are in the age range of 45+. Also the number of male readers is 227 and the number of female readers is 59.
The target audience for Mojo seems to be more upper class males in the age range of 15-44.
This will also be the target audience I will try to appeal to as it seems to be the the main target audience for both of these well established rock magazines.
Here is the profile of a typical general reader of Mojo:
Name: David
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Class: C1
Race: British
Phycographics: Mainstreamer
Analysis of existing magazines: The two magazine covers I have chosen to analyse are Kerrang and Mojo. The contents page I will be analysing is from Kerrang and the double page spread I will be analysing is from is from Mojo.
Analysis of Kerrang cover: I believe that the name Kerrang was used for the magazine because it has a rock sound to it. The word sounds like the noise of a guitar when a chord is played in a rock style. The general feel of the word has quite a vibrant tone and sounds like it would have something to do with Heavy metal or rock. The font on the cover is sans serif and bold, this has been done to emphasise it is a rock magazine as the big bold font makes the words seem louder and more in your face what rock is all about. Certain words are bigger than others because they have been decided as being more important for the reader to see than other bits of text in other words to be the first thing the reader sees and wants to read. The three main colours used are white, black and red. All writing is in white apart from the master head which is always black which makes it a sort of logo for the magazine and the name of the band Paramore. Paramore's name seems to be in red to match the colour of the band member's hair that is on the cover, as is the name Biffy Clyro which is white to match the band member all in white. White also seems to be used as it stands out very well and contrasts with the black and red background this seems to make the words jump out at you. Also all the people on the front cover are wearing clothes that fit with these three colours used this seems to have been done to show they are all associated with the magazine but also so they fit in the colour scheme as well.
All of the language seems to be informal as it is associating itself with its target audience. It puts in puns like 'Hayley starts a riot' as Paramore's album is called Riot, this has been done to add some humour and make the content a but lighter and more enjoyable. They have added exclamation marks to certain lines to blend with the title and to show that the magazine thinks it's important to the reader. The magazine has been made to fit the target audience in the way it has been layed out very simply, boldly and straight to the point. It has free items and chances to win things, which always attracts readers. It also has put up well known band names larger for the reader to see before the other less important bands for this issue at the bottom. It seems to be targeted for males by making the font loud and in your face and putting not particularly good looking guys as the main flash and a good looking girl near the bottom of the front cover all seems to point towards pleasing the male reader. In the pictures the band members are all posing in different ways to interest the reader and as i previously said are wearing the same colour scheme as the magazine.
The main sells are pictures of Lost Prophets, Funeral For A Friend and Paramore who are all well known bands which will help sell the magazine as readers interested in the genre would hopefully interested in those bands. The information presented is all in the bar code which is a different way of displaying the information. This includes the date, the issue number and the price in pounds which is £2.10 and the price in dollars which is $4.50 this shows that the magazine is popular in America as well. An issue usually has 71 pages which means it has a lot of content and adverts for the reader. The main flash story seems to be about the band and most likely about a new album and things going on with the band at the moment to interest the reader and get them to go and buy their music and see their concerts.
Analysis of Mojo cover: The title Mojo could be linked with the idea of Mojo is something that cool people have and maybe if you read this you will get an insight into that. The font is bold and styled in a normal sort of font but is made to stand out by how bold it is and the different size combinations. The colour scheme is white black and pink with a main background of blue and white but as this is part of a picture it probably doesn't count. Black and white seem to be used as main colours in a lot of rock based magazines as it is very contrasting and has a rock element to it. Also the band in the main flash fit with the colours as they are all in black. The language is very informal and based towards a rock vocabulary knowing reader using a lot of more rock related terms. It seems to be aimed at a target audience who are into more retro bands such as Led Zeppelin and Radiohead as they seem to be the main selling points of that issue. The main image suggests what the article is about that Led Zeppelin have got back together as they are all standing close together looking reunited. They are all trying to look cool by looking like they don't care that they are back together and on a magazine cover.
The main sells seem to be quite vague as it gives no names of any other bands and obviously wants to make the main thing about the issue to be the reuniting band and it obviously is seen as important enough news to just have that. The date is presented with the price next to it quite small as the magazine doesn't want it to take away any focus from the main flash and the bar code is placed in an unusual space to show that the magazine is just trying to be different. The price may also be small to try to make it one of the last things seen so the reader wants to buy it then sees it is £3.80 and doesn't care so much about the very expensive magazine.
Analysis of Kerrang contents page: The contents layout is very clear and easy to use as it is split into categories such as album reviews or gigs. This makes the reader feel comfortable and happy to find what they are looking for in the magazine. It also has lots of images of different articles with small captions that relate to that article and the page number its on for easy finding of the article and to help increase interest of the reader with some interesting pictures. It fits with the cover very well as it straight away has more information about the main flash from the cover keeping interest in it. The colour scheme replaces red for yellow but keeps the initial black and white to keep with the style of the magazine but the yellow is just for a bit of variety so the reader does not get bored of the same colours over and over again. The font has not changed and is all in capitals again to show its loud and in your face because it's rock, except the contents font which has been changed most likely for a bit more variety like with the colour. To keep it fresh they have completely new pictures of additional articles in the magazine other than the main flash and sells on the cover to keep the reader interested.
Analysis of Mojo double page spread: The language used is very much like the cover as it is filled with rock music terms and phrases and has a very dark sort of tone to it as the word Gothic is made to stand out as it is bigger and in a different colour. This is to give a clue of what the article is about. One image is used for this and it dominates the entire double page apart from the bit at the side where the actual article is. This is done in such a way so that the picture looks like it has been folded and on the page before it is the article. There is a caption on the photograph that explains what is going on in it for the reader. The article starts with a drop capital in a different more Gothic font than the rest of the article to show it is all about Gothic things and music in this article. The first line is in bold to draw the reader in and make them want to continue reading it as it has interested them or shocked them or in this case tried to be humorous.
Flat Plans: My first front cover flat plan has aspects that I like about it for example the master head at an angle on the cover is a bit edgy and allows it to be different to another magazine. I chose the colour to be electric blue as it stands out and has a rock styled sort of theme. The name Sonic Riff was chosen as it has two elements to it the Sonic represents the power of the sound produced by rock music and the Riff represents that it is a rock magazine as you think of a guitar riff in a song. This is all to try and relate to the target audience and interest them and grab their attention. The back ground of the cover is taken up by a photo of the band that the magazine is basing itself about for this issue. The name of the band would be large and bold across the cover in green as that is the colour that the band associates itself with. The two main sells at the bottom are a competition and another band interview to entice the reader and reinforce the audience I am targeting. The captions for the main sells would be at an angle across them, they would be at the same angle as the master head to try to keep with the edgy feel of the magazine. The bar code is at the top right of the cover as it is to keep with the feel of being different because most magazines have the bar code in the bottom right of the magazine. Also I am putting the date and the price into the same box as the bar code like in the kerrang cover above as I think it looks good and helps it keep a unique feel to the magazine and hopefully will appeal to the target audience. The information about other bands in the magazine is on the right hand side of the page going up this is also to try and keep with a unique feel to the magazine as the target audience i am aiming at appreciate individualism as rock can be all about creating different types of people.
My second front cover flat plan is the so called rejected flat plan because looking back at it now there are things that I believe do not work well with the style of magazine I am trying to create. For example the main flash is too small for a rock magazine as rock is all abut being loud and expressing yourself and having a small main flash does not help express that. Also as i explained with the first flat plan that I am trying to make my magazine slightly different to its pre decesors and competition by having a different style layout that doesn't conform to the usual magazine layout. Also having a black background makes the magazine seem more bland than an image of a band from the main flash and I don't think this will create the right reaction with the target audience that I am looking for.
My contents flat plan keeps to the same style as the cover page with the master head on the contents page at the same angle in the same area and the same font as the master head on the cover. The structure is very simple in a main column layout and it is easy to use, as it is done in page order with a small description of what is on that page, this is so it easy for the target audience to understand and find what they are looking for fast. It fits with the cover in its colour scheme as the text is in white and the quote from the main flash band is in the same colour as the main flash to show the audience that the quote is about that band. Also I chose the background colour to be black as it will make the text colours white and green stand out much more. Looking back at the layout of the contents page it seems to be slightly bland and so I will change this by adding a photo of the main flash band with the quote from the article about them to keep the target audience interested.
My double page spread flat plan will have a lot of rock terminology as it is aimed at a target audience who will understand these terminologies and it will make them feel more comfortable and interested in reading the article. There will be one image on the double page spread and similarly to the cover page it will cover the entire double page spread. This is like the Mojo double page spread I analysed above. I aim to have a picture that has a darker side of the picture on the left side of it so I can put the article in that dark space so that I have contrasting colours e.g. black background and white text. The sonic styled wavy cut off between the article and the picture is to keep with the style of the magazine and the name of the magazine Sonic Riff. The article will start with a drop capital in a similar font style to the band's logo name. This is to keep the idea that the article is about the band and for any fans of the band in the target audience know who the article is about.
Fonts: I chose a variety of fonts that I found from different websites. I chose the first three fonts because they had the colour that I was looking for as this fits with the masterhead and the style of the magazine. I think the colour will get a good reaction from the target audience as it has a vibrant outgoing feel. The last two fonts are in a really good style that really shows off the rock style of the magazine as the fonts are quite gothic, this will definitely attract the target audience.
I will be using the last font for my masterhead but I will be changing the colour to electric blue to fit with the styled look im going for. The fourth font will be used for my contents masterhead as it fits with the style of the magazine and has a cool rock look to it. The font will be in white to be a contrasting colour to the black background of the contents page. I will be using the fifth font for the main flash band's name as it is quite cothic and horror styled which fits as the band is a metal band. This will paint an image of what the band is like for the target audience.
Photos: I chose blank backgrounds for each of my pictures so that the people in it were completely focused upon. I tried to vary the backgrounds so that each picture had a different style and feel to it. I chose certain people to take photos of because they had the right looking style of clothes and just seemed to fit the catergory of rebellion, which is a huge part of rock. The way they look also help the target audience to relate to them and the magazine as they just look like normal guys who have a band and look as if they do everything a normal person does also they look like a band which is essential as you wouldnt find a Jack Wills model on the front cover of a rock magazine. I tried to get a variety of close up and long distant shots so i had lots of pictures i could put in different places in the magazine. With the pictures of the equiptment (guitar and amp) I made sure that they were well known makes so that the target audience would know what they are and be more interested at looking at the magazine. I looked at different rock magazines like the the pictures in some of my earlier blogs and tried to get the people in my pictures to give certain poses that fit the style of the magazine for example having one person closer to the camera than the other to signify them being the leader. Unfortunately on certain shots like my last picture inacuracies did occur such as bluring or people not looking at the camera, but thankfully I took enough shots so that i had enough good shots to use.
Photo Editing: I used photo shop to help change and improve my photos. The first image i used for my cover page and i needed to change it so it fitted the colour scheme of the magazine. Black and white seemed the obvious choice as it is frequently used in most rock magazines because it has a real rock feel to it.
My second picture needed a blank background as it didn't look proffesional with a background of wall and carpet so i made the whole background white, which also made the picture seem a lot bolder and more eye catching.
The third picture I needed to crop as it had things in the background that would have taken to long to erase perfectly. I then wanted to make it slightly brighter so that the people would stand out more and i added some shadow to the people to gelp the picture fit more into the rock look i was going for. It ended up with the people having a shining light around their shape which i thought looked really different and very eye catching.
The fourth picture needed a clear back ground so i filled in the parts i didnt want so it was one soild bakcground, then i decided so edit the colours and brightness of the picture just to see what i could create. In the end I chose the purple colour as it really suited the picture and I made a subtle change to the light by moving where the light originated from, which brightened the whole picture slightly to give a clearer image.
The fifth picture like the second and fourth pictures needed a blank background so I filled in the bottom half of the picture wiv the colour of the top half of the picture so i would have a blank background. I decided to keep the colour of the background as i though it was a good enough colour to keep.
The sixth picture just needed to be slightly brighter so I increased the brightness and change the origin point of the light, so that where the image had a slight blur would be covered with light.
Planning and Evaluating of the Article: The style of article I have written is a review. Looking at other review articles in magazines such as Kerrang they use certain terminology when describing certain parts of what they are reviewing. For example they give a rating of a show by how many Ks it gets so if it gets 5 Ks it is definately a show not to miss. They also sometimes give band members nick names or shorten their names down so Sinister Gates turns into Gates. They focus on how the music is reacted to by the audience and the whole style of the music and band. They are usually informally written and can be serious and funny depending on what they are reviewing.
In my article I have tried to use some of these ideas such as shortening names and talking about my reaction to the music. I have tried to keep my writing informal and use musical terminology if possible so that I can keep relating to the target audience and keep them interested in what I have to say.
Evaluation: I am very please with the way my magazine has turned out the colours that i intended to use are still very promonant throughout the magazine.I may not have used all the different fonts I intended in the begining but that is only because I wanted to make it simpler and I found and used the most effective fonts that really emphasised the theme i was going for. I decided to keep the designs quite similar to my original flat plans, but i did add a few changes such as a strip line of other bands on the bottom of the cover page to let the target market reader know that there are other articles and bands in the magazine so if they are not interested in the main few I chose to display then there are others to suit their fancy. Also with the text arrangement on the contents page its layout had to slightly change to keep it from looking boring and bland. I also added another pictur to the contents page for the same reasons. On the double page spread I had to cut the idea of a blue wavy styled line cutting the page in half as this was hard to get perfect and looked quite tacky and un proffesional. Also i couldn't get the picture i wanted for my double page spread so the text arrangement had to change slightly from how I was mimicking the Mojo double page spread i saw but looking back at it now i think it works better and will work more for the target audience as the text is not all in one huge chunk. The images i chose were because they fitted the style I wanted and overall the people posed in the way I wanted, so I thought they would be appreciated by the target audience because they seemed like real band members.
My magazine has similarities and differences to some of the main magazines such as Kerrang for example my layout is different to the way Kerrang does it. My magazine will draw in the target audience with its interesting articles and reviews about new upcoming bands and already established ones and sometimes the combination of a new and known band working together. My pictures are fo ordinary looking guys you could see on the street unlike others that have really over made up people posing. My way the audience looks at the people feels more comfortable and can relate easier to them as they can think they are similar to them.
My magazine represents the indie, emo, and anyone who enjoys rock music social groups. I have made sure it represents them by putting in a wide variety of style of rock music and the pictures being able to relate to the social groups. I have made my language informal to help my reader fell comfortable and interested when reading my articles. I would like to think that my magazine would get published by Bauer Media Group who also publish kerrang and Q. This seems like the right publisher as these magazines are the same sort of style as mine. It would be sold in places like WHSmiths and most offlicences so that it can get to a wider variety of normal people.
The technologies I have used to create my magazine have been very helpfull and have allowed me to create a magazine im very prouf of. There are small un-important things i couldnt add but that was more of my poor choice than the technology not being able to create it in a proffesional way. For example photoshop helped create all the finished images I used and my magazine wouldnt be the same without it.
I asked fifteen people in the age range of 16-18 what they thought of the magazine. 10 out of 15 liked the colours of my magazine. One person said they were bold and eye catching. 11 out of 15 liked the fonts I used. The 4 that didn't like them said that they were too gothic and not quite the right style. 15 out of 15 like the images I used, they said that they were simple poses with quite ordinary looking guys and it worked, they said that it was visually great. 9 out of 15 liked the article, The 9 that liked it said that the article was interesting and informative and they wanted to go and listen to the album I had reviewed. The 6 that didn't like it said the article was slightly too short as they wanted to know more about the album. They also said I could have gone into slightly more detail about the band the article was about so that readers who didn't know of the band would have an idea of who they are. I recieved a good variety of pros and slight cons with my magazine if I had the time I would go back and put in these corrections as they are all valid and helpful points.
Looking back at my priliminary task I would say my designing skills have improved and the way I chose to do the layout has definately improved over all everything to do with using the technology available to create the magazine the way I imagined it has improved. I would say my language is slightly better and more appropriate for my style of magazine. In conclusion I would say I have made a definate improvement in my creative skills in this project and am very proud of the magazine that i have created.
The links to the magazine are below:
Cover Page:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BwbuCdEelzizNjQ1MDM2YmItM2RlNS00MjAxLWE4OTktYTk0N2VjMWQ3ZDYw&hl=en_GB
Contents:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BwbuCdEelzizZDU4Yzg3NWQtZDcyOC00YjgxLTk4ZTEtNGJkOWNmOGFlNmMx&hl=en_GB
Double Page Spread:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BwbuCdEelzizMTVhNDEzNzAtZmFlOS00NjAzLThkZmMtMjE3M2FiYmM5OTE5&hl=en_GB
