Preliminary Exercise: Choosing the colour and size for my masthead

Again I had to chose the size and colour of my font for my masthead. Using the same process of elimination I printed it out and asked my media class to tick the size and colour they liked best. They chose the bigger size of 90pt and the blue font without the black outline. This is because Southdowns has the colour blue in its logo and it would go really well.

Preliminary Exercise: Choosing the font for my masthead

Making the decision on which font to use was difficult. On Indesign I wrote out a number of different fonts which I liked with the name of my magazine. I then printed this off and asked all of my media class to vote for their favorite font for the magazine masthead, by ticking the font they liked best. Winning by 5 out of 11 votes was the Santa Fe LET font, the main reasons for this was it was simple but retro which made it look interesting and it was bold which is appealing to the eye. As they are all students and I am making a student magazine I think this was the best way in deciding the font to use. I believe that this font will work really well in attracting potential buyers and standing out. 

Preliminary Task: Brief (Proposal)

• I am specifically aiming my magazine at college students, male and female, aged 16-19.
• My magazine will mainly be about students, talking about events inside and outside college, such as concerts or student nights as well as college trips. It will also include articles giving information about college life and give an option for the students to have their say.
• I would mainly use striking cover lines such as 'amazing student discounts!' or 'A night every student wants to go to' this will really draw potential buyers in because they are articles students can relate to and want to read about. 
• I have decided on the title 'Simply Southdowns' due to its alliteration it's catchy and everyone will remember it. It also gives it an exclusive feel because students immediately know its only for Southdowns students. I rejected my initial ideas such as 'Student Magazine' and 'Southdowns Students' because they sounded really boring and didn't have that fun sound to it, which may put off potential buyers.
• For my masthead I would probably use a simple font like 'Verdana' which looks really good in bold so it goes with the title 'simply southdowns' giving off the impression of nothing to flashy but also grabs your attention. I may also follow this on with the cover lines so they look straight from the cover onto them. I may also use underlining or capital letters to again grab attention to key bits.
• I think a tagline can make something look tacky, so I don't think I will be using a tagline for my magazine. 
• I am thinking about publishing my magazine at the start of the new year, because it will have all the information about the events of the upcoming year, especially for things going on over the summer. Also after the new year people set resolutions and improving in college may be one of them, so with the information provided as well to do with revision will also attract potential buyers. 
• For my front cover I will use a really fun and casual photo of people looking happy and having fun at college. This image students will be able to relate to and will be really eye catching making people want to buy the magazine. I will most likely take the photo myself because that way I can get the image I really want.
• I would most likely publish the magazine every month because then all the information can be updated.
• I would make my magazine a4 size so its not to small but not to big and is about the size of text books which students carry round. 
• On my contents page I will use images which relate to the main stories/coverlines so people will be drawn in further to those articles. I will use bright but sophisticated colours on the contents page so the article names will stand out. Most likely the colours blue and green which also relate to the Southdowns logo.

Preliminary Task: Brief (Flat plans)

I designed my flat plans on word and then printed them off and took a picture, and uploaded it onto my computer. On the left is my front cover flatplan and on the right is my contents page flat plan. I the layouts to be simple and sophisticated and not to over crowded, which creates almost a tacky look. I've included all the key features, and these are only my first ideas which will eventually be developed.

Preliminary Task: Brief (Initial Ideas)

I did a mind map on my initial ideas for a college magazine on a word document, I then scanned it into my computer and saved it as a JPEG file so I could upload it onto blogger. Click onto the image to make it bigger and clearer to read. 

Task 5: Skills Audit

Out of all the questions I knew nearly all of them. There was only three things that I am unsure of doing, so to ensure that I am able to do them I went on the internet to research on how to do the tasks.

Firstly I didn't know how to scan images into a Mac. I found out that its only three simple steps, making sure that the scanner software is fully installed onto the Mac of course and then click on the 'applications' fold on the  Mac's hard drive and then double click on the 'image-capture' icon. Press scan on your Scanner and the 'image-capture' application will recognise the connected scanner and will display a preview of the picture. You can then select any special options you want for your scanned picture and click 'scan' in the lower right conner of the preview window. The scanned picture is then stored in the 'pictures' section of your user folder.

Secondly I didn't know how to Bluetooth files. Again I discovered this was really easy. All you do is select from the 'apple' menu 'system preferences'. Then from the 'view' menu select 'sharing', you then tick the on box next to 'Bluetooth sharing'.

Lastly, I didn't know how to burn data onto a disk. What you have to do is insert a blank disk into the disk drive. An icon for the DVD will appear on the desktop. For the dialog box that appears, enter the name for the disk and then chose the format you want to create, then drag folders and files onto the icon. Finally from the 'file' menu, select 'Burn Disk'.

Main source of information: http://www.apple.com/support/

Task 4: IPC case study

The International Publishing Corporation Ltd was formed in 1963 following the merger of the UK’s three leading magazine publishers – George Newnes, Odhams Press and Fleetway Publications – who came together with the Mirror Group to form the International Publishing Corporation (IPC).

The company produces over 60 iconic media brands using print alone. It reaches two thirds of UK’s women and42% of UK men (almost 26 million UK adults).

In 1853 the a magazine called ‘the Field’ was launched, It had 24 pages and quickly became the largest magazine in Europe.
A number of magazines that where first bought out in the 1800’s are still going today, ‘Country Life’, ‘Horse and Hound’, ‘Shooting Times’, ‘Yachting World’, ‘ Amateur Gardening’, ‘ Cycling Weekly’, ‘Amateur Photographer’ and ‘The Railway Magazine’


In the early 1900’s the first IPC’s four traditional women’s weeklies was launched. Then ‘Homes & Gardens’ was one of the first magazines to be launched after the first world war. In 1926 a magazine called ‘Women & Home’ entered the market and by 1929 it had grown to 144 pages, majoring on fiction. The 1932 launch of a magazine called ‘ Women’s Own’.

By 1952 the music scene welcomed 'New musical express' and after the arrival of ITV the 'TVTimes' published its first ever issue. This was accuquired by IPC in 1989.

In 1969 'shoot' was born a new football weekly, aswell as 'Rugby world', 'World Soccer' and ' Family cycle' 

In the 1980's IPC had new titles such as 'Country Homes', 'Chat', 'Mizz' and 'Practicle Parenting'.

In the 1990's NME became the first UK music title with its own internet site. 

In 1991 'What's on TV' enters.

'Womans weekly' is combinded with 'Here!' merging into 'Now' launched in 1996.

In the 2000's IPC magazines is newly named IPC media.

Time Inc aquires IPC media for £1.5 billion- biggest magazine deal ever made in UK history. 

The first mens weekly magazine is released 'Nuts'. 

In january of 2005 'Pick me up' is launched and then 'Look' a glossy high street fashion magazine in 2007.

In 2010 IPC media is restructured around three key audience groups: men, mass market women and up market women. 

Questions

What types of magazines and target audiences has IPC been associated with over the years? 

IPC has been associated with a wide variety of audiences over the years, even though it started off being mainly women, later on it released 'shoot' starting off its male audience, as well as later releasing 'nuts'. 

Why might IPC be an appropriate publisher for a new music magazine?

I believe that they would be appropriate for this because they publish NME which became very popular, meaning they have experience in distributing this genre of magazine. They also only publish one music magazine meaning they may want to widen there profile and publish a new music magazine. 

What sorts of genres of music/types of magazines might they be likely to publish? 

Maybe one similar too NME such as a chart music magazine because they already have experience with attracting a target audience who are into that genre of magazine, enabling them to make a new magazine also successful. 

Why might alternative publishers like Bauer be appropriate? 

Bauer would also be appropriate because it also has published music magazines such as Q and Kerrang! which are also very successful music magazines.

Task 3: Essay

To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Magazines like Bliss, Cosmo Girl, Mizz, Shout and Sugar (the ones I have analysed below) are all aimed at teenage girls from the age group 11-15. Magazines are very popular amongst teenagers and these magazines are bought and read on a regular basis by the teenage youth. They are said to have a big influence on how girls act because of the articles on celebrities it is said they aspire to be like them. There has been a lot of press around the idea that magazines are sexualising young girls and almost making them grow up to quickly.

As you can see from the magazines I analysed below, celebrities are the main focus of the magazine. With images, headlines and articles making them stand out. Celebrities are role models for young girls and when we see them with their hair done, makeup on and almost airbrushed to perfection, and then hear about them getting plastic surgery, brings up the question, do we really want teenage girls reading about people like that? Unsuitable content is the true life stories such as Sugar’s ‘I’m the worlds prettiest teen.’ Stories like that will add to teenagers insecurities. With all these pictures of done up, skinny celebrities it creates the wrong impression about what a teenager should look like. This can lead to people not being happy with their body type even though everyone’s different. This can even lead to extreme dieting, which is very dangerous. Girls shouldn’t be thinking about changing their looks and putting on tonnes of makeup they should be happy with who they are and what they look like.

Other inappropriate subjects are displayed on magazine covers for instance Cosmo Girl cover line ‘the secret to being a good kisser’ and Sugar’s quiz ‘are you snogging enough?’ this creates a great pressure upon teenage girls and when they read cover lines like that they think that every other girl is kissing boys so then they should. Girls shouldn’t have their focus on how to be a good kisser at the young age of 11 years old they should be organising their next trip to the cinema or doing their homework.

On the other hand, not all magazines can be held responsible some do not send out the wrong image, some focus on educating teenagers about the dangers of dieting and give a lot of helpful advice on support groups who offer help to teenagers. Others just simply stick to guidelines and do not include anything inappropriate by just focusing on latest films or album releases.

In my opinion I agree that magazines should in some cases be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer because they are commonly read among teenage girls and everything included inside them they look up to and makes them want to conform.  I think that, teenage girls are growing up to fast and worrying about their looks way to much because of what’s included in teenage magazines. I think they should definitely check their content more carefully so it reaches guide lines and should stop publishing articles on plastic surgery and tips on how to be a good kisser. They should focus on other subjects which also interest teenage girls such as TV programmes and music. 

Task 3: Essay (research)

The first magazine cover is Bliss. The magazines main picture of the celebrity Rihanna, who is a very popular female singer amongst teenage girls, shes smiling and looks very glamorous giving the feeling of being cheerful. The background colour is pink which again adds the appeal to the female market. The masthead is yellow which co-ordinates with the puffs and headlines, such as 'Rihanna' and 'Is your pet psychic' this straight away makes us come to the conclusion that Rihanna also features inside the magazine and draws our attention to other cover stories. They have true stories features on the front such as 'hospitalised by horrific hair dye' the use of alliteration and again the colour yellow used on a black background makes teenage girls really want to read this shocking story and find out what its about. All the cover stories are things that teenage girls can relate and what they would want to read about which boosts the  want for this magazine. 

The second cover is Cosmo Girl. The image of the female celebrity Vanessa Hudgens fills the background of the cover, shes an actress that stars in the film 'high school musical' which is aimed at teenagers and mainly girls, this reflects the target audience of this magazine and will make them want to buy it because its a celebrity on the cover who they like and who they want to know more about. The background colour is white and the text used is red and black which is also the colour of the masthead, the use of dark colours on the white background really make the text eye catching and easily noticeable from a distance, attracting potential buyers. Theres headlines such as 'how to be a good kisser' which is a typical fear of a teenage girl, so this is something they can relate to. On the masthead the word girl is in front of Cosmo which again makes it clear to us that this is a girl magazine and because of that word they think that every girl has it and will want to buy it, adding appeal to teenage girls. Theres alot of mention of school, even in the real lift story ' my mom married my high school classmate' this adds a theme to the whole front cover and the movie that the star Vanessa Hudgens stars in. 

The third magazine cover is Mizz. The main image is of the celebrity Miley Cyrus who again like the other covers is a celebrity who is a teenage girl herself so is very popular amongst teenage girls, they will again want to read this magazine because its a celebrity who is very popular. Unlike the other magazines , the picture is smaller and other pictures of celebrities are scattered around the cover, this will widen appeal which is attract other potential buyers. The image of Miley Cyrus actually overlaps the masthead which shows really makes it stand out and makes us realise she is the main focus of the magazine and gives us a clue that it may reflect on the articles inside. Theres a lot of different bright colours and a very busy theme throughout the cover, this gives the impression there's a lot inside the magazine, making it a must read for teenage girls. 

The fourth magazine cover is shout. There is a reduced palette of colours of white, black and pink. The background image is of the female celebrity Taylor Momson. Her name is in pink which matches the masthead, underneath her name is ' the coolest teen in the world' this makes teenage girls think if I read this then I will be the coolest teen in the world as well. All the cover stories are ones which will relate to teenage girls such as '8 ways to kissable lips' which similarly to Cosmo Girl is something a teenage girl would want to read about because they can relate to it. Theres a lot of symbols used on the cover such as a love heart and lips, this makes it very young, and uses almost uses text language which is very popular with teenage girls. 

The fifth magazine cover is Sugar. The image of  'girls aloud' Nicola fills the background. She looks fresh faced and pretty, making her easily relate able to teenage girls. The girly colours of purple, pink and black used for the text stand out on top of the white background. Again like the other magazines there are shocking true stories like 'she shot her parents before our sleepover' which again is makes us intrigued and want to know more about this story. The cover line 'fashion overload' is in a bold and bright pink font drawing our attention to it, fashion is what every teenage girl talks about so this really adds appeal. A white puff overlapping Nicola's black dress which the line 'are you snogging enough?' draws our attention to it, this is an example of language which teenagers use. 

These 5 magazines Bliss, Cosmo Girl, Mizz, Shout and Sugar are all targeted at teenage girls. All of these magazines have many similarities. One thing they all have in common is there's a well known female celebrity on the front cover, this makes girls want to read the magazine because its a celebrity who they know about and can maybe relate too,adding appealing to their target audience of teenage girls. They all use bright colours to stand out and most co-ordinate there colours using a reduced palette in order to link the masthead to the headline. 3/5 have the word 'kiss' or 'snog' on their cover, these are examples of the type of language that teenage girls use themselves and 2/5 have the word 'dating' on their front cover. They use cover lines which will relate to young girls such as fashion by using cover lines such as 'get the look' and all have 'real life stories' advertised on the cover. They all use puffs to make cover lines stand out , so you can see them from a a far distance.

There are only small differences between the magazines because they all seem to be pretty similar on the exterior. Only one seems to have over pictures of celebrities on the front cover so it will appeal to a wider audience. By studying these magazine cover its quite clear that they include the same subjects such as fashion, celebrities, dating or kissing tips. 

Task 2: Magazines & Audiences

Vogue Magazine is targeted at female's who are interested in fashion. Vogue does well in making their magazine appeal to their target audience. The front cover is the first thing that someone looks at when buying a magazine, so it is important that this meets the wants of the magazines target audience.

One of the first main big selling points of the magazine is that Adele is on the front cover, looking very glamorous. The whole background of the front cover is this image, which creates a big impact and then you have the word 'vogue' overlapping in large letters, the fonts used and the style of the front cover has a sophisticated feel to it, so this creates great appeal because the whole fashion industry is also very sophisticated. The masthead is large making it immediately seen by the eye. The front cover isn't overloaded with writing and cover lines are neatly placed around the side of the image giving it a simple elegance which reflects on the inside of the magazine. However the cover lines still stick out to you because of the colour white is used on top of the dark coloured background image making it easily noticeable.

 The image is of the celebrity Adele who is known as strong women through her music , which most women listen to, so this makes the target audience of women want to read the magazine because its someone who they like and who they know. The Colour of the title and the headline 'adoring Adele' are the same colour which makes you read the title and then straight away look at this line, this is eye catching and makes you immediately realise that inside there is a story about Adele. The overall colours used give the feeling of glamour which will interest girls, who are the main target audience.

The cover lines used on the front cover are all about things that will relate to girls in some way, there’s also the mention of the celebrity “Amy Child's the ultimate Essex girl” who stars on the only way is Essex, this again is a very popular TV programme and is mostly watched by women once more drawing a wider audience and easily appealing. Another cover line says “autumns essentials” the word essential shows that it’s a must have and makes women think that everyone else has it so they must read it. The price of the magazine is barely noticeable this may be because it’s expensive and could make potential buyers not want to buy it.

 In my opinion I think the whole look of the front cover would really appeal to women who are interested in fashion because everything from the image to the cover lines gives it a really classy look to a fashion magazine. The entire style of the exterior gives an up market impression, which makes this magazine unlike any over fashion magazine, giving it an exclusive feel and creating a great impact on its target audience.