By Josh Robinson

Front Cover I created a header and footer with the dotted

rectangle icon and coloured it a dark red by using the paint bucket icon. I did this with the intention to put the title of the magazine and details such as the price in the header, and things such as a barcode and website address in the footer.

I placed a picture I took of all 3 members of a band. I placed it so it filled everything between the header and footer

I created a text box and wrote what I wanted in the box and then rotated the text box so the writing rotated into a diagonal position. I did this as it created a bit of a messy style, which is what alternative rock music portrays to an extent. It’s ‘messy’ and ‘different’ from society’s views.

Comparison of finished front cover NME FRONT COVER MY FRONT COVER

Block colour behind cover lines

Title of Magazine (similar colours)

Main image

Comparison of finished Contents Page NME CONTENTS

PAGE MY CONTENTS

PAGEHeader

One standard background colour

Description of what content there is in each feature

Comparison of finished Double Page SpreadNME DOUBLE PAGE

SPREADMY DOUBLE PAGE

SPREAD

Sub-Headings

Blocks of text

NME has several small pictures, I just have one big one

Front Cover I placed a black coloured block behind the text box

containing the words ‘WIN 2 FREE TICKETS TO A TALKING TONE CONCERT! FIND OUT HOW INSIDE!’ in white capitals in order to give an extra incentive for people looking at the magazine to buy it. My results from my questionnaire showed that most of my target audience would ‘sometimes’ be influenced to buy a magazine if free tickets were up for grabs. This result from the questionnaire influenced my decision to put this offer for free tickets on the front cover.

I used light green font for the band answers to the questions in the interview. I used green background colours behind cover lines to continue this pattern of green throughout the magazine. This colour block of green also helps make the cover lines, in black font, to stand out more and so is more effective as a result.

Front Cover I inserted two smaller pictures in two separate cover

lines to follow suit of the magazines I looked at for part of my research and planning section. On the ‘NME’ front cover it used several smaller pictures that are bled into the cover lines, which also makes the magazine cover layout more ‘messy’ which represents the alternative rock style of music.

I put the supposed website link at the bottom of the front cover in the footer. I did this to show this is a modernised magazine.

I created a header and footer with the dotted rectangle icon and coloured it a dark red by using the paint bucket icon.

I used ‘Arial Rounded MT Bold’ as my title font for ‘The MiDDle-Mag’. I did this as it’s quite a normal font and that’s what my magazine is- normal, and middle-road.

Comparison of in-progress front cover to the finished front cover

In-Progress Finished

Contents Page

I inserted a header and coloured it black and coloured the rest of the page in the red colour I had used for my header and footer on the front cover. This continued use of a certain colour means there is a balanced continuity throughout the magazine in colour patterns.

I put the writing ‘Contents Page’ in white over the top of the black header to make the title stand out. This white-over-black colour scheme is usually useful as the presentation is clear and stands out to catch the reader’s eye straight away.

Contents Page

I placed several pictures on my contents page in order to show the readers visually what sort of content this issue of magazine has got inside. I used suitable pictures that linked in well with the cover line and the explanation I gave about each cover line.

I put the page numbers and the description of the content in each cover line in white font as it is a normal, clear colour which suits the purpose of the contents page; to give the reader information.

I did a short description of each cover line but didn’t go into too much detail as you want a reader to read on.

Comparison of in-progress contents page to the finished contents page

In-Progress Finished

Double Page Spread

I inserted a header and footer on both pages and coloured them all the same red I had used on the front cover and contents page to continue the consistent colour pattern. I then used black as my background colour for the rest of the free space.

I put a big picture of the guitarist of ‘Talking Tone’ at the bottom of the second page at the end of the interview on the double page spread. The picture is of the guitarist laying on the floor with his eyes closed; this signifies that the readers can now shut their eyes as it is the end of the interview. This picture is informal which again is aimed deliberately at my target audience because alternative rock music is quite informal and carefree

Double Page Spread I put the Interviewer’s questions in a white font

and put the band’s answers to the questions in light green font. The Interviewer is quite formal and so white is a suitable colour. The band members are famous and their answers are what the readers want to know and this tinge of green makes their answers stand out.

I put ‘this is an exclusive interview’ in the footer for both pages. I coloured the word ‘EXCLUSIVE’ in yellow to show that the interview is infact exclusive and gives the double page spread a bit more variety rather than being too structured in its layout and colours. This other words of ‘this is an’ prior to the word ‘exclusive’, and ‘interview’ after it, is in a normal white font which helps the word ‘exclusive’ stand out in the bright yellow.

Comparison of in-progress double-page spread to the finished double-page spread In-Progress Finished

Header and footer to make the layout look more structured. Also a style which makes this magazine different to other magazines.

Arial Rounded MT Bold is a useful font;

especially for a title or a headline.

Evaluation Questions

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES

FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

I use the block colours behind cover story lines, which is similar to conventional media magazines.

I use a header and footer that are the same colour, which is reasonably conventional but I put the nickname abbreviation of my magazine in the footer and that is unique.

HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

My Demographic for my target audience is DE. This demographic is usually younger people who are not employed or are in part-time jobs. My target audience for this magazine was 16-25 year olds and my magazine is structured yet has many layers and is quite messy, which represents the younger age group.

WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

A media institution which is aimed at the younger age group market could distribute my media product, as my magazine has the correct target audience that they are aiming at (younger age: 16-25).

WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

16-25 year olds. DE demographic- unemployed or part time workers who are discovering who they are. Slightly towards female market but not too much as it’s a middle-road magazine which aims at the mass. Females are statistically more interested in the private lives of celebrities and males, so slightly to the female market is suitable for my magazine – as it contains an exclusive interview with an alternative rock band.

HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

I attracted my audience with conventional techniques that relate and are specific to my target audience. My magazine is called ‘The Middle-Mag’ as it is in the middle of most magazines and is aimed towards a wider market and so I used unique techniques to create this magazine, aswell as standard and structured layout to show it doesn’t lean to a particular audience. I used mostly neutral colours.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

I have learnt a lot of how to use Adobe Photoshop and I think I am more comfortable using different forms of technology now than when I was at the start. I now how to get the information I need as quick as possible whilst searching the internet now, too.

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

I have learnt to use Adobe Photoshop and now I am competent at using this program. I have also learnt how important every small detail is in order to create the effect that you want to make sure it suits your target audience and therefore entices your target audience to buy the magazine.

By these four pictures, of each the pages I made, there is a never noticeable colour scheme. The only colours I have used throughout this production of my magazine are: dark red, light red, black, yellow, light green, white and black.

The dark red is the header and footer of my front cover and the two pages of my double page spread aswell as being the background colour for my contents page. I only used the light red for my tagline ‘Pleasing ALL of our readers ALL of the time’ on the front cover. The yellow is also used in that tagline as the font for both of the first ‘ALL’ and the second ‘ALL’. The yellow is also used as the font for the word ‘EXCLUSIVE’ in both footers of my pages for the double page spread and is also the ‘Page 11’ and ‘Page 12’ font for my double page spread and also the font of ‘Page 2’ for the contents page. The light green is used throughout my magazine aswell. It is the circular block behind the ‘Page 2’ font on the contents page in the footer. The musical note on my contents page is also using that light green. The light green is used as the block colour for all of the cover lines on my front cover and is the font to the ‘win free tickets’ incentive on the front cover to continue this colour scheme. I used this colour as the colour font for the answers from ‘Talking Tone’ in the double page spread interview. White is the colour font for the title of my magazine on the front cover and ‘T.M.M’ in the footer, too. I also use white as the colour font for the title of ‘Contents page’ in the header of the contents page and in the title in my header for both pages of my double page spread. I also use white as the general writing colour throughout this magazine, including the explanation of the cover lines on the contents page and as the colour font for the questions asked by the interviewer in the double page spread. I also use white for the sub-headings in my double page spread – white is a purely neutral colour and so it is the best option in terms of colour for titles and general writing, especially in paragraphs. I use black as the colour font for three pieces of my header on my front cover: ‘issue 1’, ‘£1.99’ and ‘7th March 2012’. These are all in the header and in three of the four corners of the header and so it looks very structured. Black is my header background colour for my contents page. Black is the colour font for all of my cover lines over the green blocks (these colours compliment each other well for good effect) and black is also the background colour for both of my double page spread pages. I used all of these colours in order to create a consistent colour scheme which gave my magazine an identity aswell as a professional appearance. I used the light green blocks and the yellow stripe down the right side of the contents page at 63% opacity in order for it to not be too bright.

1st piece of Audience Feedback. James, 18 years old. “I do like this magazine. It stands out over

other magazines due to the header and footer being very neat and structured. The light green colour block behind the cover lines also make the cover lines themselves stand out, aswell as make the overall front cover stand out. The double page spread continues the colour scheme well with the greens but the layout is very good and makes the interview look thoroughly professional.”

2nd piece of Audience Feedback. Adam, 17 years old. “I really like the magazine that josh has

created. I think the main image is good, and represents the style of the magazine. The price is very reasonable and I would definitely pay it. I like the title, ‘ The Middle Mag’ (TMM) and I think it is different and unique. The strap-lines would entice the reader to buy the magazine, which is vital.”