My target audience was teenagers to 20+ year olds from working-lower class backgrounds. I represented them through including lesser known indie bands from the 1980s-2000s that this demographic would be familiar with. My magazine was inspired by Q magazine and used a similar colorful layout in Photoshop. Through featuring nostalgic artists, I aimed to provide a sense of escapism for my target readers.

1. EVALUATION
O F F I N A L P R O D U C T

2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP, OR CHALLENGE, FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
My magazine uses elements of media rich platforms that real life
magazines used as they are mostly created in Photoshop. I used this
predominantly to make the initial layout of my product and it mirrors the
use of things people use in institutions to create music magazines. I was
able too mirror the construction of the magazine Q! as it was my main
source of inspiration. I wanted to make my magazine a similar style to it
as I thought the initial look of it was very formal and catered to my ideal
format that I wanted to use for the finished product. I took certain
elements from issues of the already popular magazine and took them to
make my own magazine in a similar style. For example my contents page
features the same type of columns and layout that Q uses, the red, black
and white colour scheme gives it a simplistic yet professional looking
finish. It develops the progression of media as it challenges the idea that
magazines must have a certain audience to follow. However my product,
as I began aiming it just to teenagers, evolved into a multi-age aim
through the certain artists I wanted to include. I did this by taking bands
from eras that people may have forgotten about and want to see what
they’ve been up too, and I feel that develops the idea that not all
products have to have a specific target audience and we should branch
out and let people enjoy different things as they please; challenging
stereotypes.

3. HOW WAS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE REPRESENTED?
My target audience was represented through the wide variety of
bands that appeal to different ages. I wanted to make the main
focus of the magazine one of the world's most unique and well
known music group, Gorillaz, because they appeal to a huge range
of age groups because teenagers would have possibly grown up
with the band (as they were gaining popularity around 2000-2006
when this demographic were discovering music and finding their
style) and adults are familiar with the work of the main musician
Damon Albarn as he was a huge Britpop icon in the 1980-2000s.
They are therefore also interested in the magazine as they would
like to see what projects he is working on and how he is adapting
to the new sound of 2016-17. I wanted to make them the
main focus as the art of the characters are easily recognisable and
by me re-creating and replicating the art style of the animator for
Gorillaz people are able to recognise the iconic characters they
have grown up with. The wide variety of bands could appeal to
different demographics as there are different ages of music
presented are all diverse.

4. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT
PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?
My media product was mainly designed to appeal to the C-E class of people
(Middle-Lower class). I did this by predominantly including indie bands from the
1980s-late 2000s. I specifically included them as people who are in this social group
are most likely to know about bands from this generation. This is because some
use music as a method of escapism and want to peruse the lifestyle and career of a
musician as fans of music usually do whilst working a more lower paid job and
idolising people like this. Another way I represented this social group was through
the price. Usually for magazines these individuals would possible pay 80p-£1.50 for
a magazine but considering mine is of a more higher quality (in the same/similar
style to Q, a popular music magazine) I feel they’d be willing to pay the extra bit
more for this. I think they would be drawn in by the promise of their favourite
artists from the ‘glory days of music’ being featured would be a huger factor in
tempting them to ben interested in the purchase of it as the group would want to
keep up or see an insight into someone who back in the day had a more
glamorous life than the average working class person but still somehow gave off
the vibe that they were indeed that social group. This was done through the
clothes they wore and the way they spoke to members of the public; considerably
more ‘chill’ and relaxed as opposed to nowadays now pop culture has taken over
the media and celebrity status is seen as a more idealised lifestyle and getting back
to the initial point, people of this class would be interested in this as it is a form of
escapism and allows them to question ‘What if that was me back then?’

5. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT
DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?
I decided for my product that the distributor would be H Bauer media. I chose this
company because they are an organisation that appeals to a lot of audiences by
publishing various genres such as home, lifestyle, gossip and (most importantly) music. I
chose this company as in the industry they are one of the most popular and successful
companies in publication, audience interaction through Q&As and surveys, advertising
their different magazines in existing ones and overall marketing their products. I believe
this is a good move for the future of my finished product because It will benefit the
advertising of my magazine and help it progress in sales and success. I also think this is a
good company to use because they have been active for over a century and have a very
experienced team who possess skills to create professional layouts and images that
attract a reader or a certain demographic. For example in their most popular music
magazine Kerrang! features artists appealing to early/late teenagers, making them want
to buy the magazine more. However the contrasting magazine of Q has a more formal
layout and setting; choosing to use bands that an older generation will enjoy.
To conclude, H Bauer is an ideal publisher for my magazine as I think it could gain
advertisement, a skilled team of editors and be able to market it in a way that could gain
it popularity.

6. WHAT WAS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
My target audience were teenagers-20+ year olds and possibly even older around the E-C class of people (working-lower class)
as they re most likely to be familiar with the content of the magazine. I wanted to create something that appealed to this
certain demographic because I feel they are being neglected in music magazines and not many artists they favour are being
paid attention too. I thought the wide variety of music and sell lines I included would be enough to draw in people of that
demographic. Usually magazines for people around the older aim of my target audience only have magazines such as TV
guides, tabloids and fitness (there are more included but I feel these are the main focus of what this audience reads, basing off
of stereotypes for this class) and having a magazine about absolutely anything related to music around their generation makes
them want to buy and even be interested in reading this certain product as it does not just focus on new bands, but more so
older ones people may have forgotten about. It also allows the reader to experience a nostalgia to the “golden ages” of music
or the “good old days” and become interested in the band or artist again by reading an article or a quote they have said
recently. It brings attention and light to old favourites in the music business people sooner would have completely swept under
the rug and forgotten about thanks to more mainstream music and media taking over our society.
When initially creating my magazine I focused mainly on the teenage aspect until studying over magazines and noticed there
wasn’t many older artists that I had recently seen live being included (ie: Pulp, The Prodigy and Primal Scream) and by
expanding on this my target audience became much more varied; therefore allowing me to include a wider selection of
musicians and bands in my final product.

7. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT AND ADDRESS YOUR
AUDIENCE?
I attracted my audience mostly through the artists and the similar layout of the magazine Q!
I created something based from source material, mostly trying to mirror the style of that certain magazine. I attracted my
audience by using different people’s names that have long been forgotten about or never even heard of by younger
generations (such as the bands Pulp and The Prodigy, which have been rumoured to be inactive but are still actually thriving for
popularity and fame to this very day. I felt including such names would attract a more older demographic as well as a younger
audience who have either heard of them before or will want to learn about older artists from ‘the golden age of music’. I also
addressed and attracted my audience through the simple colour scheme. I used red to amplify the white text, giving it a more
bold and predominant look. I outlined most elements of the magazine in black. This strengthened the red whilst still not
drawing attention away from the white text on the front cover and contents page. My double page spread attracted an
audience because the art takes up most of the page. Since it was created in a similar style to Jamie Hewlett (main artist and
animator behind Gorillaz, the main feature of the article) I think that readers will most likely want to read the actual page to see
what they’ve been up too after their long hiatus.

8. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES
FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THE
PRODUCT?
I have learned how to use or increased knowledge of use of Photoshop, Prezi, PowerPoint, Microsoft word
and slide share. I was able to use Photoshop by making my contents page, double page spread and front
cover. I picked up skills through YouTube videos and my own experience; testing new tools and techniques
blindly before using them properly. I was able to create my final products by using my new found skills in
Photoshop in text placement and re-sizing images to fit the style I was going for of mirroring the magazine
I wanted to replicate. I learned to use Prezi quickly, picking up the themes/templates and transitions. I
mostly used this to create moodboards and research. Since I wrote a lot for them or found a lot of images, I
decided to format them in a more presentable and interesting way other than just using basic platforms
like PowerPoint. My knowledge of PowerPoint was broadened because I used it mostly for my
deconstructions work and research & planning my magazine. I learned how too switch between outline and
thumbnail pane (Ctrl + shift + tab), how to select and delete certain slides using keyboard shortcuts and
how to duplicate a slide so the format is the same as the last. Whilst developing skills with PowerPoint I was
recommended to use slide share to post my power-points onto my blog which was helpful as I can now
post my work to my blog and use it easier than websites like PowToon and Prezi. I wanted to
predominantly use PowerPoint for most of my research as I can understand and use it easier than other
more complex media rich platforms. Plus PowerPoint offers a more simplistic and clean format as opposed
to Prezi which is more complicated and requires time to learn how to use. Word was able to help me with
my final product as I used it mostly to type up the text for my photo shoot organisation. I also used it to
type up font ideas and use it for shortcuts and text formatting. I also used Easy Paint Tool Sai to create the
initial dominant image on each of my products. I already had experience with this platform as I use it
almost everyday to draw. I furthered my art skills using this platform for my front cover and DPS as I tried
different techniques in colouring and sketching which benefitted me greatly in producing and distributing a
high quality product.

9. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE
PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?
Looking back at my preliminary task of designing a magazine for
the college I can say that now I have developed my skills in
Photoshop, learned how to remove backgrounds of fonts,
discovered how to form a colour scheme, use different filter as on
my work to give it a professional look, my skills became more
industrialized in working on layouts and overall presentation and I
took inspirations from other magazines instead of going in blind
and creating something completely unsuitable for an audience. I
managed to take off the transformation square on the contents
page and change my ideas for layouts completely.
Overall I feel my skills using Photoshop became more advanced as
I looked up tutorials and different magazines and existing
products to inspire my final drafts.

10. ORIGINAL IMAGES USED
Re-creation of one of Jamie
Hewlett’s pieces of the character
Noodle. Drawn on a medium
Wacom tablet, using easy paint tool
sai and Photoshop
Time Taken: 2.5 hours
Re-creation of one of Jamie Hewlett’s
artworks of 2D. Drawn on a medium
Wacom tablet, using easy paint tool sai
and Photoshop.
Time taken: 2-3 hours
Taken at the Primal
Scream concert in
2016 of Robert
"Bobby" Gillespie
whilst performing