Magazine evaluationKatrina Stapleford

audience feedback

This is a screen shot of my

questionnaire I posted on survey monkey. I then asked my target

audience to answer it.

1. Do you get a sense of what type of magazine this is?

2. Do you like how the magazine is laid out?

3. Do you think the magazine has a continuous style?

4. Do you think that colour is used wisely throughout the - magazine?

5. Does the photography suit the magazine?

6. Is text easy to see/read?

7. Is the magazine laid out in a way that is easy to understand?

8. Do you like the photography that's been used?

9. What do you think of the backgrounds used?

10. Do you think the magazine makes good use of space?

Full list of questions in my questionnaire:

For my audience research I, as previously, created a survey on surverymonkey and linked it to my Facebook account, this made it easy for people to access it and I could target a specific

group of people via invitations. I specifically asked a range of people in age (14-30) and gender. This is because my magazine could be bought by anyone and is not restricted by how

old someone is. This is the second survey I have created for my magazine project, the first was to help me during the construction, this survey was to help me evaluate.

audience feedback

91.7% get a sense of what the magazine is about

100% think it has a continuous style

66.7% think that colour is used wisely. The rest think that its mostly used well – some responses said the contrast should be greater

100% said the magazine (or some parts) are laid out well

100% thought the magazine made good use of space

Some people thought the contrast with background:text should be increased, others liked the understated tones100% liked the

photography that was used 91.7% think the

text is (or mostly) easy to see

100% like how the magazine is laid out

100% said the photography suited the magazine

audience feedback

I interviewed my model about the front page in which she appears.

I asked her;

Is the magazine what she expected

What does she think of the photo I chose (in comparison to all shots we did)

What does she think of the editing

Does the photography suit the magazine

Click to play

in what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine follows conventions by:

placing the masthead at the top of the page

I used cover lines along the bottom of the page

I challenged the convention of the left third by making it run across the page far more so some text wouldn’t be visible on the shelf. The text is also placed in a coloured box (a reoccurring theme in my magazine), and completely overlaps the main image.

The bar code is placed in the top right hand corner whereas it usually sits lower down below the main image.

The masthead does not appear to be the main focus of the page, because of the colour and the way the main image is presented, the logo is not what catches the eye. The large amounts of space and boxed text is far more prominent.

, however I used none across the top.

My magazine challenges conventions by;

how does your media product represent particular social groups?

The pink tones used throughout are raw and reflect unblemished views

and interests

I created the contents page listings with a lot of care, I took time to determine what my

target audience would like to see in a magazine

My target audience is real people, no fakery or

facades

Throughout, the plain natural colours and backgrounds reflect

the reader

then I developed the ideas into names and used word play in their

titles

what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Another publishing company, Bauer, would not be suitable because it publishes magazines centred on lifestyle and woman’s chat magazines.

IPC are a magazine publishing company who’s work includes music magazines NME and Uncut.

My magazine is slightly alternative and about real, serious music, NME is in the same sort or market as mine.

who would be your audience for your media product?

Someone with an unusual skill that is not represented in the media

A serious musician

Someone who enjoys serious music, gigs and getting involved in the industry

A student of music

For a more detailed reader profile see magazine pitch

what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Editing – I used Photoshop to piece together my magazine and edit all photos etc. This taught me how

to professionally edit photographs, make use of techniques to make my magazine unique, and use

tools to portray the magazine’s message.The left photo shows the image before I added the black and white layer, and the right photo is the finished image for the front cover.

The hat in both images is the same, this is because I cut it out of the second layer, exposing the first layer through.

The black and white layer has changed the whole image except the hat. Her skin is much paler and her top is seems less affected by the yellow light above her.

Layering

what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Internet Websites

Throughout construction and evaluation, I have used websites such as;

facebook

blogger

dafont

issuu

slideshare

youtube

surveymonkey

I have also used websites for magazines, publishers and newspapers

I used facebook

to post my

surveys and to

contact people to

be involved in my

photoshoots and

interviews.

I’ve been using

blogger to present my

work and show

people partaking in

my survey the final

magazine.

I used youtube to

find photoshop

tutorials and

watch other

students

presentations.

I used surveymonkeyto create and distribute my

surveys.

I have used

issuu and

slideshare to

present and

link up my

powerpoints.

I used dafont to

find fonts for my

magazine,

however I only

used a font from

this website for my

college magazine.

looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Left is my college magazine front cover, right is my music magazine front cover. One of the clearest differences to me is that the masthead; the font, size and integration are a lot more confident in the music magazine. I also put a lot more thought into the music magazines photography regarding mis en scene, appropriateness and its relationship with the text and background. In the college magazine I didn’t include a slogo, which I did in ‘Distinct’.

looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Left is my college magazine contents page, and right is my music magazine contents. There is a much more obvious difference between these two. The first magazine’s contents uses coloured boxes with effects however it looks messy and unorganised, the final magazine’s shows a more cleaner, clearer page with less distractions and mess. I used text boxes again in the second contents however the colour stayed the same and the effects were minimal to match the house style of the magazine.

This course has taught me how to use various programmes, how to integrate technology,

use different websites – ultimately it has made me more confident using media and applying

it to work. It has also helped me with photography skills and production techniques which has helped me in my other subject –

photography.

I very much would like to continue with my Media course into A2.