The document analyzes several existing magazine products, focusing on their layout, design, and visual elements. It discusses how different products use fonts, colors, lighting, and photos in distinct ways tailored to their content and audiences. Key lessons highlighted include varying design across pages to maintain interest, using color schemes that make text legible, and positioning text to avoid covering important photo details. The analysis aims to understand common magazine conventions as well as unique design choices to apply to the author's own student magazine project.

1. Research
Your Name

2. Existing Product
Fonts- This product has used a range of different fonts on the cover for a range of different uses. There is the classic font
that is used for the brand name which everyone recognizes and associate with the National Geographic magazine. There is a
different font for the name of the editor, different font for the cover line and a different font for the less important
information on the cover. This has been done to make certain text stand out more then others and to make the magazine
more visually appealing to the audience. I have chosen to specifically look at this feature of the magazine because the font
is a very important aspect of a magazine because it helps to drive the audience in, increases the chances of the magazine
getting spotted and make the magazine more appealing and interesting to the public who see it. This makes the audience
want to buy the product because if the magazine is more visually appealing they will like the product more and be more
tempted to buy it, the fact that the magazine looks more professional also makes the audience want to buy the product
more because it looks more reliable giving this idea to the audience that what is said in this magazine must be true.
Lighting/Colors- This product has used a range of different colors. There is the signature
yellow border that is on every National Geographic magazine, the red which shows the issue of
the magazine and points out key information to the audience, black for the masthead because
the classic white color of the masthead would be hard to read because of the background and
then there are the colors of the edited picture in the background which match the tone the
creator is trying to give off as well as suiting the environment which the picture is supposed to be
set. For example the main colors of this background are gloomy, using colors such as black, dark
blue and grey to get across the idea that this magazine is talking about more of a serious topic
that is quite negative as well as using colors which suit what the artic would look like by sticking
to blue for the water and black to show the depths of the water. This products visual appearance
also requires a lot on the types of lighting that the editor has done to make the picture as the
background more appealing and look more professional. For example the shadows make the
picture stand out more and makes the edited picture look more realistic. Specifically in this
picture the shadows help to make the transition from the iceberg at the top to the plastic bag at
the bottom smoother and natural instead of looking like its out of place. The shadows on the right
hand side of the picture makes the text “planet or plastic” stand out more because it is a white
text on a black/dark blue sort of background. This makes the audience want to buy the product
more because they can see how much effort has gone into making the magazine making them
feel as if the magazine will be more accurate and truthful with what they’re saying.

3. Existing Product
How it helped my project- From this magazine I have learned that the masthead doesn't need
to be the biggest font if I’ve got an interesting masthead and another feature for my target
audience to recognize so that they know this product is made by my brand E.G. the yellow border
round National geographic. This will help me better layout my magazine and decide what
information is more important and that might entice my audience in wanting to buy my product
more. I have also learnt how the color scheme can effect my text and how the background that I
use for my magazine will decide what type of color scheme I use and will alter the layout for my
cover, for example if I have I picture of one specific person on my magazine I will most likely put
the text around their face so that the audience recognize them. I have also learnt that I should try
to aim for a more professional look for my magazine so that it is better appealing to my target
audience instead of doing ideas that don’t look like they have been done right, however this wont
stop me from trying new ideas in the production of my product.
Effects- This product is talking about a serious topic to do with the environment of the planet so they have chosen to
have a picture of an iceberg as the background on the cover. This could be because most people think of the ice caps
melting when they first see this or to resemble that there is a huge problem which seems very minor or even just to do this
effect of having the iceberg turning into a plastic bag half way down so that they have a background to suit their catchy
cover line as well as to match the main topic that this magazine will be talking about. This makes the public want to buy the
product more because the background possibly makes the magazine look a lot more interesting then any of the other
competitor magazines that are around. This also makes the target audience more likely to buy the product because the
National Geographic audience is a quite mature audience that expects a high quality magazine and the effects that have
been used on this magazine shows that this magazine is of high quality and that the creators of National Geographic put a
large amount of effort into their products to make sure that their product is different from competitors and high quality.
Why I have chose to look at this product- I have chosen to look at this product because It has the same idea of
making interesting and fun magazines as well as serious ones discussing topics that many people don’t think about or
realize, allowing me to see what these types of magazines look like, how they’re laid out, the color scheme they have used
as well as how they make their magazine look in general.

4. Existing Product
Layout- The National Geographic isn’t really a travel magazine however its layout highly resembles the layout of a travel
magazine. For example on some pages of the magazine there is a large amount of information with normally one or two
pictures to give the audience at least some visual representation to compare what Is said with something they can see (such
as the double page spread in the bottom right). However there are also other pages where the whole two pages are just one
image and there is a very small amount of text. This makes the magazine appeal to both the audience that prefers a larger
text ratio to picture ratio and the other way around increasing the overall size of their target audience, causing more copy's
of their product to be sold. This also allows the magazine to be different throughout each article instead of all the pages just
being full of information, which could possibly put the audience off or make my product less appealing to the target
audience.
Lighting/Effects- The lighting that has been used on each page is very different. The lighting on the double page spread that
is just made up of a picture mainly consists of a dark sort of lighting which makes the picture more powerful, stand out
more, more visually appealing and work better with the font, making the font easier to see and possibly stand out more to
people who wear glasses and find it hard to read certain text. The editor has also added a small gradient to the bottom of
the text which is not so large that it stops the text from standing out and causing it to blend in with the background but
instead used just the right amount to help make the font look like its meant to be there and not out of place. Whereas on
the other double page spread where the main focus is information the editor hasn’t used any lighting or effects and has
simply used a white background with black text because the main purpose for these pages is to inform the reader about a
certain topic instead of trying to advertise a product like the other double page spread. However this double page spread
has made the very first letter take up a large amount of the page to possibly grab the attention of people who are flicking
through the magazine quickly possibly making them start to read the article and hooking them into reading the rest.

5. Existing Product
Colors/Style- The colors on these double page spreads are very different as well as the style that they are going for. For
example on the double spread that is one whole image the color scheme is mainly just three colors Blue, White and Black
but with a range of different shades of those three colors to make the image more appealing and bolder to the audience.
For example on this double page spread the range of different shades make the picture more visually interesting and
appealing to the audience because of the 3D aspect it helps to create in the photo. These colors that are used in this double
page spread are also quite relaxing and positive making the magazine more appealing to the reader, enticing them to read
the magazine more. However the creation of this picture for the double page spread will have needed much higher quality
equipment then I can use. For example for this photograph the photographer has probably used a camera that is specifically
made to take photographs under water so that the picture is the best quality it can be. Whereas the other double page
spread has used a very basic and bland color scheme however this is okay because it suits the modern theme and modern
font better and suits National Geographic's target audience much better then if they used other colors. The editor might
have also done this because unlike the other double page spread this double page spread has been made to specifically talk
about a certain topic, not advertise other products and has been made for a certain type of audience to read it.

6. Existing Product
Why I chose to look at this product/What I have learnt that helps me in my project- I chose to look at this product because
in this product they have used two very different double page spreads but have made them both suit their target audience
and I wanted to see how they have done that as well as how they have laid out different parts of their double page spreads
so that when I make mine I will have a better understanding of how I should best lay out my information. I also chose this
product because their idea of having one double page spread that is one complete photo with little information and
another double page spread that has a very large amount of information and one small picture is very similar to what I want
to do because I would like to write a large amount of information to get my point across to my audience and to talk about a
range of different topics however I want to try have a even picture to text ratio so that my magazine is appealing to a much
larger audience. I think that looking at this product has made me learn how to best lay out my articles as well as showing
me that using more than one font on my double page spreads can help to make my product more visually appealing and
helping my idea of having a modern theme for my magazine which will overall help my magazine to look more professional
and more appealing to my target audience. I have also learnt while looking at this product how my color scheme can greatly
change how much my text stands out and how clear it is for the reader to read because of this I will be more carful when
deciding what color scheme I want to use and I because I will be writing such a large amount of information on my work I
will make sure that it is clear to read by not only getting my own opinion if I can read it or not but I will ask a range of
different people who are color blind, who wear glasses and just other members of my target audience to see if they can
easily read the text.

7. Existing Product
Layout- From the layout and chosen background on this product It is clear that this product is different to the National
Geographic because it is talking about locations in the UK rather then in exotic and unusual environments that National
Geographic talks about. This will partially attract a different audience compared to the National Geographic however I think
the audience will be mostly similar and I think the audience for this magazine is better suited to my product since I will
mainly be talking about the UK in my magazine and will be discussing locations in the UK. The editor has also tried to make
the layout of this magazine have an equal text to picture ratio so that their product appeals to both sides of their audience
but has made sure that none of their information covers up important/appealing parts of the picture E.G. the editor has put
text round the lighthouse in the picture instead of covering it so that the audience can’t see it, which could possibly make
the picture less appealing if they did. This magazine has also used a technique when taking the photograph on the
background called an “entry shot” which is the type of photography I want to use in my magazine because I think it involves
the audience a lot more and makes the audience a lot more interested in the photograph.
Audience appeal/Lighting/Effects- I think that the editor of this magazine has made this product appeal to their audience
more because the picture in the background is of an environment which is easy for their UK audience to get to making the
magazine more relatable to the audience and making them have a larger interest in the topic/location because they are
able to get to the location much easier because its in the same country and they don’t have to fly aboard and spend a large
amount of money. The picture in the background has also been edited so that it looks like the sun is coming from the left
side of the page across the page to the right hand side which helps to make a more positive feeling while also making the
page much brighter and appealing to the audience, the person taking the photograph has also took the picture on an angle
allowing the reader to see the cliff side, sea, tower and path. The editor might have also purposely took a picture of more of
the sky so that the editor is able to write more information without covering important parts of the photo
Why I chose to look at this product/What I have learnt that helps me in my
project- I chose to look at this product because I think that this product is very
similar to what I am trying to make and the audience of this product is very similar
to my product. Meaning I will be able to get a wide range of ideas from looking at
this product and I will be able to see what my target audience likes to see in the
products that they buy. I have learned that I should avoid covering key parts of my
images that my audience might me interested in, this will help my product
because it will help make my product more appealing to my target audience.

8. Existing Product
INSIDE OF THE MAGAZINE WITH MY OWN PERSONAL PICTURES

9. Research Analysis
What common features do the researched products have?
• All the products that I have looked at have made sure that none of their information covers up any of the important
features on their photographs. In the first product I researched the text has been put on the sides so that you can easily
see the transition from an iceberg to a plastic bag, on the second product I researched on the double page spread that
is one whole image the editor has put a very small amount of text and spread it out much more so that the reader is
able to see the whole of the image and finally on the third product I researched the editor has put the text in the sky
on the image so that it is not covering any features like the lighthouse or path which are the two main features in the
photograph.
• The products that I researched have also focused on using a colour scheme that is bold, stands out and looks appealing
while also making sure that they use a colour scheme that helps the text to stand out. For example on the second
product that I researched the white text stands out more because of the dark blue background, this is also helped by
the gradient on the bottom of the text which isn't used on many products but on this product it helps to make the text
look in place and attractive to the audience and because it isn't used by many other products it makes the product
different to other competitors on the market.
• All the products that I have looked at have also used a range of different features related to the same theme to make
their magazine more interesting and to help make each page different to the last which will hopefully make the
audience want to keep reading because they want to see what’s new on the next page. For example on the second
double page spread that I looked at there are three different types of text/fonts. There is the large letters at the start of
the sentences to get the attention of the audience and make them think ”why have they made this text so large”
causing them to read into the article and increasing the chances that they get hooked on the magazine. For the first
paragraph they have used a certain font which I think is used to show the audience that this is just an intro paragraph
to the article to see if the audience would like to read the rest or not and then for the rest of the article the text is just
in a basic font that matches the theme of the magazine but which is easy for the audience to read which I also think is
satisfying to read.
• All the products that I have looked at have also had a specific 3 types of pages. There are the pages that are made up of
mostly writing but has at least one maybe two pictures to help give the audience something visual to compare to what
is being said in the article. Then there is the double page spreads that are just one whole picture of possibly an animal
or location that has a very small amount of text which is normally used to just describe what is going on in the photo
and where it has been taken. Finally there is the type of page which has a small article about less important topics
which share the pages with advertisements.

10. Research Analysis
What aspects of the research will you include within your own production work?
• I will include the idea of sticking to three different types of pages throughout my magazine so that each specific part of
my audience can find the pages that they are looking for easily. I will try to focus on having one double page which
consists on just one or maybe two photos that has information describing where the photo has been taken. I will then
have my main article double page spread, maybe two or three depending on how much information I have collected
that will also have one small photo imprinted on it so that the audience have something visual to look at and so that
the audience is not overwhelmed by the amount of information. I will then have my page which talks about a topic in a
small amount of detail while also sharing the pages with advertisements.
• I will also include the aspect of using my colour scheme to make my text bolder, more appealing and stand out more to
the audience. However I will need to make sure that this doesn’t contradict my idea of using colours that match the
modern theme and suits the types of patterns and types of fonts I will be using for my magazine and that if I have a
picture as the background like on my cover for example, I will need to make sure that my colour scheme suits the
background image and doesn't effect the visual appeal of my cover. In these products the editor has also used two
different colour schemes for his double page spread and cover meaning that when making my product I will most likely
have to separate colour schemes for both my cover and my double page spreads depending on what the articles are
about on each one and if the double page spread has a large amount of information or is just made up of one whole
picture.
• In my magazine I will also include the aspect of using a range of different features to make my magazine more
interesting and different of each page. This might be done by simply having a different font or having a photograph that
doesn’t involve the entry way technique to give something new for my audience to look at and so that they don’t get
bored when looking through my magazine. I could also help to make certain articles more appealing to the audience by
using fonts that match the topic I’m talking about to give the audience some more visual appeal as well as making my
product stand out on the market. In my product I will also make the starting letter of some of my writing much larger
then then others, which has been done on the second product that I researched because I think that it is a very good
technique to get the readers attention when they’re flicking through the book and is a very useful way to make my
audience start reading my article without them even realising while also matching the modern theme that my
magazine is trying to portray.

11. Research Analysis
What aspects of the research will you include within your own production work?
• In the production of my product I will try to talk about a range of different topics rather then focusing on just one so
that my magazine can appeal to a much larger audience and so that if my audience gets un-interested in one topic
there is a range of different topics they can look at instead which will keep them interested in the topic. This will be
done by using a range of different shots and techniques in the shots to focus on the parts of the photos that focus on
the topic that I’m talking about. I will do this by trying to focus on 3 different types of areas in the UK such as the coast,
the countryside and urban areas such as York.

12. Audience Research

13. Secondary Audience research
• Observation: The audience for this product is very high end and the majority of this audience is upper middle class and
middle class. From this I can also see that their audience consists of more females than males.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience has a much higher income in their household then the
average household. This also says that my audience expects very high quality products and expects a product that is
much different to the average product.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will make my product appeal to my audience by making sure that my
shots are high quality as well as making sure that my information is to by making sure that my grammar, punctuation
and spelling is correct so that my product is more professional and appealing to my audience because a magazine with
spelling mistakes etc will make my product a lot less appealing to my audience.

14. Secondary Audience research
• Observation: I looked at an interview on the magazine sidetracked by The //stack. The //stack is a website that sells magazines as well as a
company that interviews magazines. On this interview a member from The //Stack interviewed the Creative Director / Producer of this
magazines above. From this interview I observed that sidetracked wants to have a connection with their audience to allow to target their
audience better. They have the same goal to what I want to do with my production which is to “inspire through honest, quality
communication and incredible photography”
• What this says about my audience: This says that their target audience is a range of different social classes and audiences because their
main aim is to have an adventure/location for everyone in the higher class, middle class and lower middle class. This shows that their
audience could be anyone because they also have short story's about people who have gone on some of these trips as well as their own for
people to read who might not be able to go on these trips or who are trying to decide if they want to or not.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will appeal to this audience by having a range of different locations that are both high class
and expensive while also having locations that are completely free to go but still have a range of activity's you can do there such as certain
coasts in the UK. I will also make my product appeal to this audience by focusing on the pleasure of my audience rather then promoting
other products that aren’t relevant to my topics.

15. Secondary Audience research
• Observation: From this I can see that this company advertises their product on a range of different social media’s such as twitter, Facebook
and Instagram. They have also tried to keep the same type of style and colour scheme throughout the magazine to add consistency.
• What this says about my audience: This says that their audience is between the ages of 22 and 45 and that their audience is mostly in the
middle class and lower middle class rather than anything else. This also says that their target audience is scattered on a range of different
media's meaning on each different type of media they need to focus on different aspects of their product for different types of their
audience. For example their Instagram presence will be used to mainly show photography of their product or the locations that they are
talking about in their product because on Instagram you can’t talk in depth whereas on things like Facebook they are able to talk in more
detail to their audience explaining where they can find their product etc. from this design I can also see that their target audience likes
products that are high quality and look professional rather then having constant advertisements about products or topics that aren’t
relevant.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will make my product appeal to such a wide range audience by having a range of different
articles and making sure that the advertisements I do have don’t ruin the professional idea of my work. For example I if I have an article
talking about a serious topic or a topic that has a lot of information I will not have ads in the corner of the page in bold writing and a bright
red background ruin the connection that the reader might have with the article.

16. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:

17. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:

18. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:

19. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:

20. Primary Audience research
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
• How will your product appeal to this audience:

21. Subject Research- Article on Ibiza
• Food and restaurants (majority of this information is my own knowledge)- will be talking
about the Ses Roques Restaurant which I visited when I was in Ibiza and while I was there I
managed to get a couple photos of the location allowing me to not only give my personal
opinion on how I felt about the environment and food but I will also have photos for the
reader to look at judge what they personally think of the location. I will be talking about the
staff that work there, the view and how you are able to see the sunset from where you’re
sitting. I will also discuss one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant called the “Boiled
Fish Stew and “A banda” Rice”. I will compare this restaurant with others on the island to help
prove my point of why Its my favourite one.
• Culture and the people (majority of this information is my own knowledge)- will talk about
my personal events with the people I met. I will also be talking about the Old Town in Ibiza
where fort “Castell de Eivissa” was built, the activity's that are there and why it was built to
give my readers some history on where they’re visiting.

22. Subject Research

23. Subject Research

24. Practical Research

25. Practical Research

26. Practical Research

27. Practical Research

28. Practical Research

29. Bibliography

30. Bibliography
1. Your, Name. (2018) Target Audience Research Survey (conducted on
DATE)
2. Interviewees, Name. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on
DATE)
3. Secondary audience research 1st slide- N/A. (2019). Media Kit 2019 . Available:
https://cnda.condenast.co.uk/static/mediapack/tr_media_pack_latest.pdf. Last accessed
5th of April.
4. Secondary audience research 2nd slide- Steve Watson. (January 2015). sidetracked
interview . Available: https://www.stackmagazines.com/magazine/sidetracked/. Last
accessed 5th of April.
5. Secondary audience research 3rd slide- Nick Hornby. (N/A). London . Available:
http://www.boat-mag.com/issues/london/. Last accessed 5th of April. Another source-
N/A. (2015). Boatmediapack 2015. Available: http://www.boat-mag.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/04/BoatMediaPack_2015.pdf. Last accessed 5th of April.
6. Subject research slide 1st slide (Food and restaurants bullet point)- N/A. (N/A). The
Menu. Available: http://www.restaurantesesroques.com/en/menu/. Last accessed 5th of
April.