Finished magazine

Evaluation

My magazine was designed with a target audience of young males between the ages of 17 and 26, that enjoyed listening to 'drum and bass', ' acid house and dub step in mind. I think overall I have achieved this well and have created a product that suits this audience and genre. I think my magazine is representative of this social group and I think I have used common traits of their stereotype to produce interesting and bold magazine. I think the imagery also reflects my audience as my model had an appropriate aura and clothing style to suit, I chose the brick wall as a background as i also thought this was symbolic of the roots of drum, bass and grime, as it is traditionally a illegal homemade genre of music which feasted many raves and riots among the record industry. I think my magazine would be distributed among many specialist stores that sell DJ'ing equipment or in some record store that feature specialist sections including, HMV and Zavvi. The predominant audience for my product would be people that are interested in Drum and Bass, however as my magazine features many other 'raver' style dance and music artists it would be targeted at a range of different people. As I have previously commented, my audience is more attracted to a visual design so I would always use this as a feature of my magazine to attract them. From doing this project I have established an understanding of many new computer features including how to use photo shop and In design and I have also learnt some basic design skill which I can transfer into many other designs. I have developed an understanding of key skills and the production of 'putting together' a magazine, looking back on preliminary task I have developed many skills and progressed with much of my design work. I tried to collaborate ideas from both magazines I researched and tried to infuse this with my own design.

Analysis of flatplans

Analysis of cover flat plans.
I like this design and I think it is suitable for my magazine. I like the image style and I also think this is appropriate. I have purposefully changed the wording on my flat plans to suit my target audience, for example; I used the word 'episode' rather then 'issue' as this is the type of terminology associated with my target audience. I also used the phrase collaborations as this is of interest to my audience, showing there is new music and emphasising the fact is a dedication to mixing and the 'DJ'ing' world. I like the overall design of this and will proceed to use it as the design for my finished magazine.

Analysis of contents flat plans.
I think the business of this design reflects the overall image of my magazine and my target audience. I intend to have a yellow and black theme running through my design and I also think this is appropriate for my design. I want to use two images on this contents page and I want them to be on a larger scale. This is because I think my audience will be more interested in the visual side of design rather then the text. Because of this I have not given any of my page headings a large amount of text to describe them. One key influence I developed from the magazines I analysed was that the reader of this particular style of magazine will have a strong knowledge of the artists and mixes featured, this is why I have highlighted the music in bold writing.

Analisis of double page spread flat plans.

Flat Plans

Analisis of Photos

These are the photos I took for my magazine. I used two different models, so I could see which one was more suitable for my style of magazine. I chose these particular models because I thought their image was relevant to my design. I think that their casual look would promote my magazine and would be similar to that of my readers. My favourite image is the fifth image down. I am going to use it on my cover as I feel is a good representation of my genre. I like the brick wall background and think it is a striking feature of my picture. Although it is not a close up image of just the models face like i intended it to be originally, i think it is eye catching and would stand out on a magazine shelf. My model has eye contact with the viewer and is in the middle of the image. The images I am going to use for my contents page are the second and seventh image down. However I will use photo shop to edit the photos, I will crop the tops of both of them and fix the red eye in the latter of the images to make them seem more professional. For my double page spread I am going to use two different images, the first and the eighth on the strip. I am using them to put the focus on one main model and use the other as a featured artist. I think this is also a good representation of my magazine and shows the variety included. I also like the contrast of light in the bottom picture as I feel this is an interesting feature.

Analysis of double page spread

In the double page spread for K magazine the picture is spread across both pages. This picture is also quite dark and is set on the streets. This is because it is relevant to the fashion and background of the scene as drum and bass was first introduced on pirate radio stations which are associated wit the ‘streets’. This also reflects the style of dress the man in the picture is wearing. The title is Evolution of MCs which may explain his crouching position as he is touching the street but looking outward and away from the shadowed area on the other page. This reflects the step up from Pirate radio stations to a wider audience and into the attention of all. On the other page is the featured article. Again the font is white maximising the contrast of the writing and increasing reading capability. The header of the page is in big bold modern style writing. This is the first thing that captures the eye which is what is meant to happen. The page is split up by different font sizes and a simple white line. Most of the content of the article is split up by gaps in the paragraphs. Other information is the page number and website.

Analysis of contents page

The contents page to K magazine is also done in a plain but modern fashion similar to the front page of the magazine. The font used on this page is plain and easy to read. It is also white as the background is a dark picture which boosts contrast and makes the writing stand out on the page. A few simple white lines break up the page into different sections following off from the border. At the base of the page however there is a big white block titled regulars. In this section they have put small prints of the pages being referred to. This breaks up the page more and makes it more interesting and easier to read. The style of writing is informal again and assumes the knowledge of the reader. This may also be due to the fact that the ‘K’ in K magazine stands for knowledge. Other information on the page is the issue number, the month and the page number.