Evaluating my Coursewrok

Now that my research, planning and production is complete, I need to begin evaluating! There are 7 questions I will need to answer!

Final Draft of my Double Page Spread

For my final draft of my double page spread, I decided to change the style model I was using for my first draft. I did this because I thought the layout wasn't very interesting and I found one that I much preferred.

This is my new style model. I was first drawn to it by the bright colours and large bold fonts. For my draft, I decided to do a similar layout - putting my article in a 'box'. I did this because I found it made my article alot clearer and more readable. I also liked the image in the corner saying 'exclusive'. On my cover I described my article as being exclusive to the magazine. Therefore, it made sense to put it on my DPS too. I put this on the top left hand corner of my page, similar to my style model. I kept the font from my first draft on the word 'exclusive'. I wanted to make my double page spread look as proffesional as possible - when looking at other magazines, when ever they make reference to the magazine title, they do it in the font the title is orignally written in. So I did this on my magazine and I kept the colour as well.
I said in my evaluation on my 1st draft of my DPS, I wanted to change my page numbers. I changed them from circles to stars, so it was consistent in the theme of the magazine. My magazine contains lots of celebrities and I thought that stars connoted fame. Also I think that stars would intrest my target reader more.
I added a splash to my article. I saw many double page spreads in various music magazines that did this. I did this to follow convensions of not only teenage pop magazines, but music magazines in general. I made the splash bright blue, this made it eye catching and it was a colour in my 3 colour scheme. I chose a red heart in the splash as it contrasted with the blue and this made it stand out. Also, simply because red is associated with love.
I put my title in a pink background on the top of my page. This was because it made it eye catching and the white stood out well against the pink. I also added 2 labels, one above and one below, to add some extra comments. Throughout my production, I wanted my magazine to come across relaxed and friendly. I used abbreviations and colloquial language, such as 'OMG!' to appeal to my target audience of 11 - 14 year old females. I also used exclaimations to emphasise certian points.
Unfortuanly, my original article was too long to all fit on the page. I tried making my font smaller, but this made it unreadable. So I decided to remove 2 of the questions. Now, my font is in a clear and readable size. It is also not too long, as readers can become disinterested or miss bits of the article out inorder to read it quickly. I used alternate coloured fonts on my questions, as this appeared to be a trend in articles similar to this. I chose these 2 colours (pink and blue) to fit with my colour scheme. I chose a handwritten font for the answers. This was to make it feel friendly and personal - like the artist is talking directly to you. In addition to this idea, I added a border around the white background, as I thought it create a diary-like look.

First Draft of my Music Magazine Double Page Spread

This is my first draft of my magazines double page spread.

I had a style model for this draft, which was a DPS from Top of the Pops Magazine. I liked its layout and used it to help me create my first draft.

I liked the layout of this article as it was broken down into seperate areas about different topics. I used a similar layout on my own double page spread. For example, I set my questions and answers around the picture of the model. I did this because it shows who the article is about and the image gives you an idea about what is included. Also, in the image I have chosen for my double page spread, the model is very central on the page and this made it difficult to choose a layout. After finding this style model, I was keen to use something similar in my draft.

I chose to stick to the same colour scheme throughtout my magazine, I thought it appealed to my target audience and fitted with the genre of music in the magazine. In the top left hand corner of the page I put a title, small image (star and black stripe) and some information on the article. For my title (the talents name), I chose a sans serif font in white because it looks modern and informal and I chose white because it stood out well against the pink. Also, I had used white in other parts of my magazine. I chose the font I used because I liked the positioning of the letters. They look a little uneven and this created a very edgy look. Under this I wrote 'revealing all', I did this to add a little bit more information and to attract the reader. This was in a hand written font, I did this because I wanted it to appear friendly, also as questions and answers in the article are fairly relaxed and informal. I chose purple to write in as it contrasted with the pink background and the white writing above as grabs the readers attention.
I added a black stripe with 'exclusive' written on it in white. I got this idea from my style model and thought that it was another eye catching feature. The font I wrote 'exclusive' in I chose because it looked bold and was in capitals. I added a star in the left hand corner to represent the idea of fame and show that it was an article about a celebrity.
I put on a very small introduction, this was to give the reader insight into what the article was about. I chose to write the stars name in a bold font to make it stand out. I wrote the rest in a handwritten font, as I wanted the reader to feel as if they were talking to a friend.
I also used different fonts for my questions and answers. For the questions, the font was sans serif and bold. I did this because it looked modern and followed convensions. I wrote the answers in a different font, again sans serif, but I wanted the font to be clear and readable. I found this font was the best, but next time I think I am going to try a hand written font, to add a more personal touch.
Finally, I put in a page number. This helps the reader identify where the article is in the magazine and I did this in a black circle in the bottom right hand corner, in a contrasting white font to make it easy to read and notice. I think I will keep my page number were it is, but add one to the left hand side aswell. I might also look at changing the way it is presented, for example change the circle and try different colours.

Final Draft of my Contents Page

I am alot more pleased with this draft in comparision to my first draft. I think that this draft looks more proffessional and I added some additional features to it, which I thought made alot of difference. For example, when writing next to my page numbers about the contents, I wrote an additional comment. I did this to add a bit more information about the article and also persuade the reader to look at the article. For example on one I wrote 'don't miss this!'. I wanted my magazine to be friendly and I did this by using less formal language, and by using a handwritten font. I also wrote in white, I thought this contasted with the black and made the additional comment stand out.
Like my 1st draft, I broke my pages down into categories. I added one more category, and this seemed to make the page look a bit busier which was what I wanted to achieve. My contents page style models have alot on the page and I wanted to do this to follow convensions.
After consideration, I decided to keep my original colour scheme. This was because I wanted to follow a pattern throught my magazine. Meaning that I want to use the same colour scheme on my cover, contents and double page spread. I made the picture of my other star (Lucie in the right hand corner), a bit bigger so its very eye catching. Also, so my readers can see some of the contents of the magazine without having to read down the lists. I added a page number next to the image of the talent, and to the images of the products, so readers can easily turn to this page quickly if they would like to. On my 1st draft, I had seperate page numbers for each of the products. I looked at my style models and saw that they only had one page number for all the products, so I decided to follow this convension. I thought it also made my page look neater, as I thought this area on my 1st draft looked cluttered.
I kept the banner on the top of my contents, but this time made it sightly smaller, as I thought last time it took up too much room on the page. After doing this, I was able to make the image of my front cover bigger. This made it more readable and it was easier to get the arrows to point to. I also added more page numbers to my contents page. After looking at my style models, I noticed that not all the page numbers were included on the contents page, but most of them are. Therefore, I did this on my page.

1st Draft of my Music Magazine Contents Page

I researched some style models and found that they all had a very similar layout, the magazine I mostly

looked at was Top of the Pops.

I tried to follow convensions and patterns of my style models. For example, I used a wide banner in a bold eye catching colour. On this I put a title (mine was 'inside this issue..'), in a handwritten font. Handwritten and sans serif fonts look modern and informal - so this will appeal to my target audience.

I mentioned earlier in my coursework that I liked the idea of using the front cover on the contents page as a guide to help my readers find articles in my magazine. I did this in my magazine.

My guide was very similar to this. I used handdrawn arrows and had bright colours for the page numbers that are labelled on it. I havent highlighted any of my page numbers. For my next draft I want to make my guide slightly bigger and stand out a bit more on the page. Also, highlight some of the page numbers to make some of the 'bigger' articles stand out. 

Like the style models, I broke my articles and pages into categories, for example; celebrities. I drew this idea from the style models. I looked at other magazines that didn't do this and found that the page looked quite unorganised and it was difficult to find an article easily. I used boxes to organise my articles rather than just putting them directly onto the page, I thought that it would make it clearer and I wanted to make sure that categories didn't overlap and the page to become busy and muddled. I would like to add a few more categories to my contents page, and prehaps a few more images with page numbers.

I also thought about trying a different colour scheme, the one I have chosen is very similar to my front cover. But, after studying my style models, I found that this isn't completly nessecary. I want to link my colour scheme to the colours in Spring - for example bright colours, like pinks, purples, greens and blues. I also want to try some different fonts, althought the one I have chosen for writing next to the page numbers is very clear and readable, I don't think that they are very interesting or creative and don't think that will appeal greatly to my target audience.

Final Draft of Front Cover

In comparison to my first and second draft I think that this cover looks alot more proffesional. I made alot of changes to my 2nd draft in order to create my final one. Firstly, I moved the title so it sat across the page, rather than in 2 lines in the left hand top corner. I also added a logo and a sell line, which was 'all the gossip!'. I thought this was appropriate because it is short and easy for the audience to remember and recognise, and because it convinces the reader the magazine has alot to offer inside. Another change I made was the banner at the top of the cover. I mentioned in my evaluation of my second draft that I wanted to change this, therefore I did. I made it thicker and added more text to tell the reader what is inside. I used a mixture of fonts (handwritten and sans serif) to fit with convensions of music magazines like these. I put stars in between each artists name, I thought these connoted fame and exclusivity. I made the publishers name slightly bigger and moved it to the top of the page as it is a well known company and again, fits with convensions. I put a splash on the cover aswell which advertised a competition. According to research, people are alot more convinced to buy a magazine when a competition or free gift is advertised, so I decided to add one. I chose this particular competition because JLS are a popular band amoungst my target audience, and I also chose a large number so there is more chance of winning. I chose a white font that would stand out on the purple splash, the font is sans serif and looks very modern and will appeal to my target audience.
All the pictures of people on my cover are photos that I have taken myself and I have used them as current pop stars on my cover. I made up names for each and a logo for 'lucie' at the bottom. I did this because people are likely to recognise both names and logos, also, music magazines of all different genres do this to attract the attention of a comsumer. I changed the banner at the bottom of the page aswell. I made it thicker and used it to show more sell lines and pictures. I have seen this done on a top of the pops magazine and thought this was a very effective way of showing whats inside a magazine, as the reader can be attracted by the bright and contrasting colours. I added a barcode to my cover on its side to the right hand side of the page. This has been done on quite a few style models I have looked at and I thought that it looked descrete and didn't cover any important sell lines, splashes or images. I added the price, release date and issue number alongside the barcode aswell.
I still used the same main image as I like the fact it is smily and friendly, also that there is a direct made of address. As this magazine would be a spring issue, the clothes my model is wearing fit well because they are flowery and bright, and go nicely with my chosen season.

2nd Draft of my Front Cover

I again used Picnik and Microsoft Publisher to create my second draft.
In comparison to my first draft, this draft is alot busier and interesting. I looked back at my questionnaire results in order to gain some insperation and ideas for my new draft.
After reviewing my questionnaire and getting some additional feedback I changed my colour scheme to pink, blue and purple. I thought these colours were fitting to the season it would be released in (spring) and they are also more readable. My first draft was in pink, yellow and blue - and the yellow wasn't very clear. I followed as many convensions as possible, for example the 3 colour scheme, splashes, banners and sell lines.
I look some additional pictures to use as part of sell lines. I thought this made my magazine look alot more professional and interesting. Also, according to my questionnaire, some people are more likely to by a magazine because of interesting sell lines and articles.
Whilst looking at some style models (mainly top of the pops magazine), I noticed that pop music magazines don't just contain articles about music, but also gossip about current stars so I decided to put sell lines like this on my magazine cover. My target audience also said that they would be persuaded to buy a magazine if there was a free gift or competition on the cover. On my second draft, I added a competition as well as a free gift. I advertised my competition in a splash on the top right hand corner of my magazine and in a bright colour so it would be easy noticed by my target audience. I didn't use any serif fonts on my magazine cover as they are too formal. Instead I used a verity of sans serif and handwritten fonts to appeal to my target audience and make it appear friendly and 'easy reading'. Like my 1st draft, I used some cartoon pictures to add to sell lines, for example the kiss under the Jonas Brothers sell lines. I did this because they are a current icon amoungst my target audience. I used colloquial language such as 'OMG' on the cover of my magazine as it would be fimiliar and appealing to my target audience.
My competition splash first said that you could win a pamper weekend. But, after some feedback whilst making my first draft, some people thought that a competition like this would be hard to arrange for 11 - 14 year olds. I agreed with this and changed it to a phonecall from Justin Bieber, who is a current and very iconic singer, fimiliar with my target audience age group, especially females.


Things to change
I was unsure about my banner at the top of the magazine. I think it would look better if the splash was placed over it. I think that where it is now it makes that area look a bit messy and unprofessional.
I think I might try some different fonts for my title, as I saw this one and decided to use it straight away, witout considering any others.
I am going to experiment with some different colour schemes. My questionnaire results showed that the most popular colour scheme is the one I have now. But, I am going to try different shades, for examples; pastels, brights etc...
When creating my 2nd draft, I looked back at a few style models and saw there was use of additional colours outside of the 3 colour scheme (mainly to highlight key words). So I think that I will look into doing something like this, as my current colour scheme doesnt seem bright enough.