Question 7- Looking Back At Your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In The Progression From It To The Full Product?

Question 6- What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

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Question 5- Annotations Of Design Work (Contents Page)

Feedback From Target Audience:
"I think that this contents page is very effective in the way that the aged editing on the background photograph contrasts well with the black and burgundy text- giving it a sophisticated and elegant look. Also, the small picture/preview of the double page spread at the bottom is very useful and intrigues the reader. One criticism would be that the writing is not quite big enough and, due to the fact that it is in an elaborate font, is not easy to read at a first glance."- Lucy Crees.


"This contents page offers consistency throughout the magazine in terms of the editing on the photo and the colour of the text on the page. Also, i like that 'Contents' is written down the side as it is different to most music magazine contents pages. One thing that i would criticise would be that the text could be made bigger and bolder so that it becomes easier to read."- Saskia Winch. 

Question 5- Annotations Of Design Work (Double Page Spread)

Feedback From Target Audience:
"Something i think that is successful about this double page spread is the fact that it is conventional. The structure of the article and the features within it are accurate and appealing. I like the way that the photograph overlaps onto both pages and acts as a background to the double page spread, dominating the magazine and immediately signalling to readers who the article involves. Something that i think could perhaps be improved on this double page spread is the structure of the article. Although its quality and content is of a good standard, so as to make the article less overwhelming to readers it could be broken down into a question and answer format so that readers are more willing to thoroughly consume the text."- Lucy Crees.


"I think this double page spread is very effective and eye-catching as it matches the front cover and contents page in terms of colour scheme and overall 'feel'. One thing that i would alter would be the colour and size of the pull quote- i would make it stand out more to grab the readers attention by making it a brighter colour and enlarging it."- Saskia Winch

Question 5- Annotations Of Design Work (Front Cover)

Feedback From Target Audience:
"I love how the vintage theme runs throughout and is reflected well through the colour scheme and font as well as the photo and coverlines. An improvement i would suggest would perhaps be to emphasise the puff/plug more by using bolder colours. Other than that i think that overall this is a very successful front cover." - Lucy Crees.

"The vintage look is really unique and makes the front cover attractive and stand out on the shelf if sold in a shop. I also like the choice of font for the masthead as it looks elegant and quite sophisticated. If i were to suggest one criticism, it would be to make the coverlines bigger so they are easier for the audience to read."- Saskia Winch.

Evaluation Question 7- SWOT Analysis

Strengths: my progression in understanding the Macs and programmes (In Design and Photoshop) used for constructing the magazine itself, along with online sites such as Blogger and Prezi have allowed me to create something that resembles a genuine music magazine, unlike the magazine created on the preliminary task.

Weaknesses: although my skills have improved since the preliminary task, i feel that i could have used some skills attempted on my college magazine to make my music magazine more effective. For instance, i could have used the tools on Photoshop to cut around photographs to use on my contents page. This would have added a certain dynamic to the page, and made it appear of a proffesional standard.

Opportunities: the development in my skills and understanding surrounding the technology used within this task will allow me to maintain comprehension of a diverse range of programmes (In Design, Photoshop, Prezi) and devices (Macs, scanners, digital cameras, video cameras) throughout future media projects and other subjects.

Threats: threats when using any programmes on the Macs include the Mac crashing or freezing. This could potentially lead to an entire loss of work, which would waste both time and effort. Furthermore, if the internet is not working, this  would effect the use of online programmes such as Blogger and Prezi which could slow down work production and limit inspiration (in terms of existing magazine covers found on Google) and the ability to present work.

Question 4- What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product And Why?

Media institutions:
- Bauer: Kerrang, Heat, Closer, MOJO
- BBC Worldwide: Radio Times, easy Cook
- Conde Nast: Vanity Fair, GQ
- Dennis Publishing
- Future Publishing: MAC Format, PC Format
- H Baller: Bella, Take A Break
- Hachette Filipacchi: Elle, Red, Inside Soap
- Haymarket Consumer Media: What Car?
- IPC Media: Soaplife, Uncut, Woman and Home, NME
- National Magazine company: Cosmopolitan, Zest, Good Housekeeping, Reveal

IPC- IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with their magazines reaching almost 2/3 of UK women and 42% of UK men (almost 26 million UK adults) – while their websites reach over 20 million users each month.
IPC's focuses on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women.


In terms of media institutions, I feel that IPC would be well suited to publish my magazine. This is due to the fact that it is successful and has experience with music magazines such as Uncut and NME which have been largely successful in their field; especially NME due to its growing popularity amongst young music fans. Furthermore, IPC does not yet publish a magazine that focuses upon classic/retro music, and so my music magazine would bring something new to the company as my magazine is quite unique in the sense that there are very few existing magazines that cover the same genre of music.

BAUER - Bauer Media owns more than eighty influential media brands including Heat, GRAZIA, Closer, MCN, FHM, Parkers, MATCH, Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, Kerrang and Q. Bauer Media reaches over nineteen million UK adults across multiple media channels.

However, it could be said that Bauer would be more suitable to publish my magazine as it currently publishes MOJO magazine, which has been my style model throughout the project. Therefore it has had experience in publishing a music magazine similar to my own, which could give benefits to sales of my product. Also, it has published other music magazines such as Kerrang, Smash Hits and Q which shows that they are a versatile company when it comes to music magazines- they are able to be successful publishers with magazines that cover a wide variety of genres. Despite these advantages, it could also be said that there are weaknesses to media institutions that are already covering a very similar magazine. Although ‘Retro Spirit’ is different to MOJO in many ways, it does still introduce the same genre of music, and so competition could be caused between the two. Also, it would not be appropriate for the publishing house to approach my magazine in the same way as MOJO due to the fact that they are, ultimately, separate publications and so approaching publishing in an identical manner would mean sales may not be successful (if the public are already buying MOJO, they will not want to also buy/switch to another magazine that has been published in a very similar way- they are more likely to continue to purchase MOJO).

Music Magazine Evaluation (Questions 1, 2, and 3)

1. In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I feel that my product makes use of many forms and conventions of music magazines in the sense that I have focused my attention upon small details (such as barcodes, price and date) as well as the more crucial conventions such as the masthead pull quote and coverlines.
I did not model my product solely on one inspiration magazine- I instead chose to extract conventions and different features from several music magazines e.g. MOJO, Q and NME. I have focused my photography, editing and font style upon MOJO covers, as my intentions were to create a classic music magazine that focused mainly on music from the past. It was therefore helpful to have issues of MOJO to refer to when constructing my front cover, contents page and double page spread. In my opinion, my front cover does not directly reflect the graphology of my inspiration MOJO cover, but I instead used it as inspiration for the music genre I wanted to focus on. For instance, MOJO magazine is centred around classic artists, and celebrating vintage sound. Due to this, I chose MOJO as my inspiration as it gave me a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve in terms of the ‘feel’ of the magazine. In retrospect, I would have made my masthead and all other text on my front cover far bigger in order for it to stand out to potential readers and to fill the page more effectively.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In terms of my front cover representing particular social groups, I feel that it targets both vintage fashion and music enthusiasts. For instance, the cover model reflects a ‘retro’ style in the clothes and make-up she is wearing. These aspects of the mise-en-scene, in some ways, present a stereotype of the audience that my magazine is aimed at. Due to this, it cannot be said that my magazine front cover is representative of a range of social groups- it is , ultimately, aimed at a niche audience. The fact that my cover model is a strong representation of the social group my magazine is aimed at shows that it supports dominant ideas surrounding this classic/retro social group. Furthermore, it is evident that I have somewhat conformed to some other representations within my genre (I have featured a retro music artist on my cover, which is a common feature of classic music magazines such as MOJO).
In terms of appealing to different racial, religious and age groups, I believe that my front cover could appeal to almost any specific groups within these social categories. This is because my cover model is not dressed inappropriately (so would not cause offense to the vast majority of religious/racial/age groups). However, my main coverline is focused upon LUCEE’s “life-long battle with alcohol” which could be interpreted as a ‘taboo’ subject by some of these social groups- e.g. certain religions do not condone alcoholic consumption. Therefore, in order to appeal to all social groups, I would have to adjust my coverlines and stories to suit the values of certain religions, for instance.

3. Who would be the audience for your media product?
When considering the audience for my music magazine, I originally felt that it should be aimed at young males and females that took an interest in classic music. However, now that I have created my product, I feel that the audience could be far wider than just the young people interested in retro artists. For instance, my magazine could be enjoyed by a wide range of ages (as long as they are interested in this particular music genre). Also, any racial group would be able to appreciate my magazine as classic music can be enjoyed by anyone- unlike genres such as ‘R&B’ and ‘gangster rap’ that maybe appeals more to specific racial groups more than others. However, in terms of fashion social groups, my magazine would be more likely to appeal to ‘indie’, ‘hipster’ or ‘retro-throwbacks’. In this way, my magazine does limit the audience to certain social groups. My magazine is ultimately aimed at a niche audience, although this does not necessarily mean that people outside of this niche audience cannot appreciate the artists featured within it. The reason as to why I chose such a specific target audience is that I felt there was a significant gap in the market for magazines aimed at classic music fans. Apart from MOJO magazine, there are virtually no other magazines that celebrate the music of past artists, and I feel that it was an innovative idea to add to this genre of music magazines.

Portfolio for a typical member of my target audience...
Name: Rose Edison
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Nationality: British
Background: Rose lives in a suburban appartment along with two housemates, and attends Chichester University studying Fine Art. At weekends, she works as a fragrances sales assistant in John Lewis, and volunteers in a local charity shop when she can. She also gives occasional performances of acoustic guitar at a nearby cocktail bar.
Likes: Shopping, ballet, Etta James, hand embroidery, interior design, herbal tea, playing acoustic guitar and painting.
Dislikes: Sport, rain, night clubs, spiders, R&B, and neon tights.

Contents Page

Double Page Spread