Focus Group + Questions

These are the main questions I asked:
1) Would you prefer tp download a magazine app or purchase one from a shop?
2) What do you look for when you purchase a magazine?
3) How much are you willing to pay for a magazine?
4) What would encourage you to buy a music magazine if you don't already?
5) How could existing magazines be improved?
6) What do you like existing magazines to offer?
7) Do you regularly purchase magazines?
8) What type of magazine do you usually buy, and why?
9) Would free gifts encourage you to buy a magazine?
10) Would you prefer to have interactions with the magazine, for example competitions and games?
11) What existing magazines are you interested in?
12) Would you prefare a one genre or a mixed genre music magazine?

Demographics and social status

This is some of my research into 'demographics.' From this I learnt that its used to classify audiences into target groups, this is how many companies achieve larger sales and income by targeting their products to a specific groups of people. When designing a front cover of a music magazine for example they need to consider colour, photographs and layout etc to recognise which group of people they are advertising too. Blue colours could for instance be aimed towards a male audience, where as pink colours would be associated with females more. Other things such as the price of the magazine can be effective when looking it in terms of demographics. The average price of a magazine is around £2-£5, this seems fairly affordable to the majority of people, however the price if a magazine ever came above this price then they would need to take into consideration that maybe they have cancelled out the social grade E,D and possibly C2,C1 from buying the magazine as they might not be able to afford it, in effect reducing their amount of customers which will also reduce income and profit. Overall every aspect in a magazine and all the conventions on the front cover such as the images and stories all help the magazine appeal to a certain target audience through the use of demographics.
The social status and pay part of the demographics plays a big part when pricing the magazine and also take effect in terms of where the magazine is sold. People in the social grades E and D have the lowest income so may not be able to afford to buy a weekly magazine that is over or highly priced as the cost of it will be too much. However if the price was at the lowest end of the scale (around only a couple of pound) people of this social status might be able to afford to buy it, making it affordable for people of every social status. If the price is made this low the problem is people in the social bands of A and B may feel they want a more sophisticated, upper class and expencive magazine as they have the spare money to be able to spend on the magazines. All these points need to be considered when pricing a magazine, and this is why I believe that a price which affordble but not too low is perfect as this means it will appeal to every social status, whilst also allowing the company to make a profit on their product. When pricing my own magazine I will also take these things into consideration, as I want to have the largest target market I can achieve.

Double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread from the MOJO magazine I have been analysing. The conventional features the pages include are: a main image (more than one, however the others may be seen as feature images) a quote, a standard first, text, house style/colour scheme and finally a title. The title is in a clear font which makes it easily readable, it’s also made considerably larger than the other text on the page and this makes it noticeable as the title of the double page, these two features along with the conventional black coloured font all make the title prominent from all other text on the page.  There are many images which flood across the top of both of these pages and I believe this would make the readers eyes look across the page which in effect would allow them to see the photos before reading the text. I believe the first and largest photo at the top left of these pages would be seen as the main image, I think this because the image is of the band of which the story is based around so this would link well with the text, also this image in the largest and it takes up half of one page, this makes it look dominant on the page. Another feature of the image which makes it look dominant is the low angle which this photo is taken, it makes the band look larger than they really are, and this could show their status and popularity to the audience. This photo is also framed so that the entire frame is filled by the band, this makes the photo look exciting and busy, I think it also shows the personality of the band and this could make the reader relate to the band, making them want to read about them on the double page spread. The other photos are slightly smaller than the main image, they include photos of the bands fans, the band themselves both behind the scenes and on stage etc. I think these allow the viewer to see what the bands gigs are like and almost show both what it’s like to be in the band and also what it’s like for the fans when going to a gig. The extra images make the page look more exciting and complex to look at; I believe this makes the page look professional. The quote included is one of the band members, this makes it link with the text. The quote is highlighted by a red box, this not only draws the reader’s eyes to it, it also continues the house style from the front cover and contents page as the colour red is used to highlight and main text as this will stand out and in effect make the viewer read it. The standard first gives us an introduction into the band; this is effective as some readers may not recognise the band from the photos, so this introduction to the band allows the reader to find out a little information about the band. This text is also in red, and in theme with the house style this would show important text in which the viewer needs to read. The main text for the double page spread is arranged in coulombs, over all there are four coulombs on each page and this makes the text look even and balanced, which makes it easy on the eye. The majority of the text on a double page spread is most commonly around 11pt. and usually an aerial font, however some magazines may make their text connote with the genre of the magazine, in this instance I believe aerial is used as is this is the most commonly used and most recognised font which will make it easy to read for every reader. The main text is shaped around some of the images included at the bottom of the pages and I think this gives the magazine a modern and funky look as it leaves less white space around the photo making it look more included to the rest of the magazine. The house style as a whole is continued throughout the whole magazine making each page link; I think this creates a professional looking magazine as it creates a colour scheme throughout all of the pages.

Contents Page analysis

 

This is a contents page for a MOJO magazine which I will be analysing, this contents page links with the front cover also analysed as it is from the same issue. The conventional items that the contents includes is: a title, main image, date line, issue number, sub heading, pull quote, and finally a contents box, this page also has a consistent house style of two/three font types and three main colours. This house style is the same as which is used on the front cover, this makes the magazine pages link making a professional looking magazine overall. The conventional item that this cover has chosen not to include is feature images. The disadvantage of not including any feature images is that the reader gets no insight into any other of the stories included in the contents page, but in this instance I think the main image is strong enough to be the only image as it takes up the full page, whilst also linking with the front cover and contents title as we can see a black and white theme beginning to occur. The contents title itself is composed in the centre of the page at the top; this makes it the first thing our eyes see when we look at the page. The title is also the same font and colour as the main title on the front cover which also links the two pages together. The main image itself acts as the background of the page; I think this is effective as it makes the full page look busy. The photo is taken again from a low angle, the same as the main image on the front cover, this makes the man on the photo look like he is dominating the page as it gives him power and a presence, this could suggest to the viewer that he is the main focus of the of the stories in the magazine. Underneath the title the reader’s eyes are drawn to the red lines which create the space where the date line and issue number have been placed. The date being in the first third of the page and the issue number being in the last third, I think it has been laid out like this to make the top of the page balanced as the title above is in the centre, this would make the page appear even and easy to look at. Again, further down the page I believe the  page has been made to look balanced as the main feature of the main image is at the left hand side, and the ‘features’ box has been placed in the left, over all I think the composition of the page is very affective as it appears very neat and easy to understand. The sub heading of ‘features’ is highlighted in a red box, this continues the house style from the front cover, as the cover titles were also highlighted in this way so that they can all stand out and be easily spotted by the reader. The red colour contrasts with the darker colours in the background making it stand out from all of the distractions around it. The subheading is followed by the contents box below it. The box itself is a light grey colour making it fit in with the house style of the magazine, also the page numbers for the stories have been made the colour red, the readers should easily recognise that these are important to be remembered as everything else highlighted in red has been done so because it is important and need to be looked at. The connotations surrounding the colour red are hot and fire, this could suggest that the stories included are hot off the press, and in effect this could make the customers want to buy the magazine to read the stories. Again I think the things included on this page, along with the layout, targets it well to 35+. I think this because the main image is made to look vintage and antique like the front cover and also the layout is fairly plain and easy to understand which I think will appeal to this audience.

When creating my own content page I am going to refer back to this one for layout ideas, this is because I think this contents page is very successful and I think it’s interesting to look at, I would like to create a contents page similar to this, however through my designing process I may need to change some aspects to make it appeal to a younger audience as I want my magazine to appeal to a younger audience, and I believe more colour and a more recent style will appeal more.



Front cover analysis

 

 

This is a front cover for a MOJO magazine which I will be analysing. The conventional items this cover includes: a title, main image, mast head, cover lines, bar code and price, a splash and it also has a consistent house style of two/three font types and three main colours. The conventional item that this cover has chosen not to include is a date line. The title is in a clear and bold font, I think this is so that it’s easily read and recognised by the public, it can also be easily seen because of the big size of the font which is the largest on the page so it stands out from the rest of the text. It’s also the colour white which contrasts with the darker background behind the title, however the title is covered by the people’s heads in the main image and also by some of the splashes which would usually restrict its view, however because these features are what the public are drawn to it also makes their eyes become drawn to the title. The main image on the cover is related to the main cover line which stretches across the middle of the page and also across the image itself. The link between the two helps the different parts of the magazine link. The main image has been edited into black and white and I think this is so that the cover lines and splashes stand out on the dark background. The main image is taken from a low angle which makes ‘Led-Zeppelin’ look as if they are dominating the page and this makes them stand out of the magazine at they look the largest and only image on the page, they are framed in the center of the screen in a long shot, this is so we can see their whole bodies and I think they have been framed in the center to make the cover look balanced and also so that they are the center piece of the cover. The cover lines are all highlighted by the colour red. This makes them look prominent from the main image and it also allows them to be easily seen which also makes them easier to read. The colour of the text is white and grey this links with the colours in the main image and makes it easy on the eye, this also creates a constant colour theme making a constant house style which makes the cover look professional. The bar code and price are placed in the recognisable bottom right hand corner of the page; this is where we usually expect to see the bar code. I believe by placing it here that it is easily found by the viewer as this is where their hand will reach for to turn the page, this could increase sales and the public will be able to easily see the price of the magazine which is £4.60. The price is also wrote in dollars for the US being $9.99 and also in Canadian dollars being $13.50, this suggests that the magazine is sold around the world which shows its success as a magazine and it also shows that they have a huge market. There is many splashes spread across this cover, one I believe is used to get the attention of the public so that it stands out from all of the other magazines is the ‘FREE CD!’ splash in the top lets corner. Usually when reading we start at the top left hand side of the page so this splash is the first thing the viewer will see, this could be used to persuade them to buy the magazine as they are informed there is a free CD which could mean there is more chance of them buying it. The other splashes give the reader a fun insight into some of the information and stories in the magazine, which again could make them want to buy the magazine so they can read about it. I believe the sophisticated layout and plain colours used in the front cover aim towards MOJO’s target audience of 35+ of both genders. This is also easily recognised by the older band as the main image, and the older generations would most like to read about this band.

I believe that this magazine would be printed by an external company as many of the magazines would need to be printed so that they can be shipped to different parts of the world where the magazine is sold. I can tell by the price tag that this magazine in particular is sold in the UK, America and also Canada, so this shows me that this magazine would need to be shipped to all of these places in order to be sold there. Having such a wide audience would mean that the magazine would make more profit as they would have a larger audience of people able to buy the magazine, meaning more sales and more money made, this would result in profits which is what makes a company succsessful.

I think this magazine cover as a whole conveys a relaxed approach towards the band because of the neutral photograph and also the sophisticated yet interesting cover. Overall I think this is a successful front cover however to improve this magazine I think the date line should be added so that the customers can see which issue they are purchasing, I think this would be the final touch to the front cover.



Double page spreads

Contents