Evaluation Activity 5 Draft

Evaluation Activity 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

I have used several techniques on my magazine to try and attract my audience. The main way in which I have done this would be through my front cover. I tried to use an eye catching colour scheme and interesting layout to grab their attention and also a bold title and image in the centre of the page to add to this. My image is a medium shot of my artist meaning i could present the mise en scene of their costume clearly for the readers to see. I chose an interesting layout for my cover including lots of boarders, which was highly inspired by Smash Hits magazines from the 80s. i felt this would really stand out against other magazines on a shelf and of course links with the whole genre/theme of my magazine, so it was ideal. Firstly, my masthead is positioned in the middle of two borders. i got this idea from my research of BEAT magazine and it really stood out to me when i saw it so i wanted to try an incorporate that into my own work. I also made it big and bold, written in capitals so that it is easy to read and would become memorable to my readers. I used the font (font) as i thought it would appeal to my audience because it has a cool, older look to it which again, links in with my 80s theme. It is also very bold, easy to read and written in white therefore it was able to stand out against the grey and read borders and fit in with the pattern on my models shirt. I also took this idea from a lot of the newer indie/alternative magazines such as Clash and i-D, which i did research into. They both use a very bold and recognisable font and so they are often very noticeable.

For costume, my model wore the same costume throughout as I was inspired by an NME magazine shoot with James Bay where he wore the same outfit on the cover and double-page spread, i loved how laid-back and casual this looked and wanted to adopt that approach for my magazine. I dressed my m in an oversized, 80s shirt, that we got from a second-hand vintage shop, which is inspired by my audience profile and will suggest to the readers the 80s theme. My front cover image has the artist facing the front looking to the side slightly. This allows the audience to see the artists fun, quirky style and edges away from the usual eyes down the camera lense look, which you get on a lot of covers. Working on my magazine and doing research into it, i have realised that the image on the front cover is one of the most important features of any magazine, no matter what genre. This is the first thing the reader will probably look at and so it needs to be right. when selecting an image, you need to be careful as some photos just won't work at all. With my cover lines i decided to simply put 'Mickey Who Talks Vinyl' next to the image so that the reader could easily identify who the artist on the front cover is and what their article/interview will be about. I also added a couple of taglines on the bottom just listing several artists that would be featured in the issue. I felt as though this would again attract my audience as it is informing them on what the magazine is about and will hopefully help them figure out what genre it is.

I tried to create a cover that was a mix of the very minimalist, sleek covers newer indie magazines tend to go for these days and the much more busy, cluttered covers 80s music magazines often looked like. I wanted the page to look fairly full but still in order, I didn't want it to look too cluttered. I have used quite a limited the amount of text, allowing my image and masthead to really stand out. I tried to make my masthead really big and bold in a unique font so that readers will recognise it on shelves and it should stand out against other competing magazines. I think that the way I have addressed the audience within my magazine goes really nicely with my alternative genre too. I have tried to stay really quite friendly and chatty, using informal language. I think this also appeals to my audience as well with there being such a wide age range, so it should hopefully appeal to everyone. On my contents page I have used some artists that are very well known and others that i have created myself this allows the reader to be wonder and want to read on about these artists but also feel reassured that it will feature some they already know and love. I decided to take a very ordered approach to my contents page, allowing the reader to navigate themselves around my magazine easily and efficiently. I used three images on my contents page; one large one on the top of my main featured artist 'Mickey Who' (so the readers know this issue was based around him), a smaller one of him where it says what page his article/interview is on and another one of a different artist to give them a teaser of what else is to come inside. I used columns made up of thick, black lines and a also a bold, black font so that readers can read easily. My double page spread was in quite a unique layout where on the right page i made up a collage of photos of the artist playing with a record player, which links with the interview and also the 80s theme. Then, on the left hand page, i had and introduction on the side and then six boxes with all of my artist's favourite albums and what they had to say about them. It also has a title saying 'I Thank My Parents For The Music They Drip-fed Me.' to really grab the reader's attention and make them want to read on and also gives a little overview to what the article is going to be about.