The document provides an evaluation of the student's final magazine project titled "MASWAGGER". It summarizes the key elements and design choices for the front cover, contents page, and a featured double page article spread. Feedback from surveys indicated that visual elements like main images and layouts were particularly appealing to the target audience of younger urban music fans. The represented artist and style helped brand the magazine as focused on hip hop, R&B, and rap music genres.

1. Evaluation Analysing My Final Magazine “MASWAGGER” By Gemma Wishart

2. My Magazine – Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread .

3. Masthead Skyline Left third - where the magazines are stacked to show the left third in news agents. Main image Lead article Pull quote - a direct quote from the artists in the lead article. Cover lines Barcode The Magazine’s Key Features. The Z Format – where your eye naturally falls as you read from left to right, then the image draws you eye down the page and then across the bottom. Front Cover

4. Featured articles Main image – poster style The Picture is supplemented with a caption and a page number which correlates to the double page spread to help capture visual readers and help them navigate through the magazine Caption Pull quotes Contents Page

5. Headline – Both colours and bold text have been used to highlight the important information in the headline. Direct quotations – quotes from interviewed people Main image – poster style Page divide – one half is text-led the other is picture-led Double Page Spread

6. Direct quotation Tone & register – I have used slang/colloquial expressions in my article to relate to the values, aspirations and lifestyles of my target audience. Use of graphics in background to create dept and colour, also helps tie this to the previous page creating a consistent double page spread. Text-led – the third page holds the majority of the article, the previous pages acts as an into to the article. Double Page Spread

7. Front Cover. The style of my front cover is very straight forward. I used a basic layout to keep the image looking professional and easy to read. My magazine is conventional in terms of the key features it uses i.e. the masthead, lead article and cover lines, but has a more US style. I chose the font for the lead and cover articles because it was clear, easy to read and to the point, I didn’t feel the need to add any fancy text, it would have detracted for the overall look and feel and confused the house style For my masthead however I did use a different font, I chose an old English script, I chose this because of the connotations it has, this style of font is commonly used in script tattoos by Rappers. The language used is bold and straight to the point, correlating with the R&B style and the feel of my magazine. I’ve addressed the audience in a very direct manner, I’ve also used sarcasm mocking Glee which is something my target audience would identify with and find interesting. The artist’s body language in the main image was very important to get right I wanted to convey confidence and empowerment to correspond with the themes and issues addressed in the article on the double page spread.

8. Contents Page. I carried on my magazines house style by using the same font and colour scheme throughout, my contents page also features my masthead to bring continuity to my magazine and increase brand recognition. I decided to have my features on the left as audiences will read left to right, bring attention to my feature articles which includes the article heading of my double page spread. I used headings and lines to divide up my contents page so it is clear and simple to read and this layout works well this the minimalist style I wanted to create in my magazine. My contents page is conventional in the sense that I have chosen to feature both featured and regular article and I have placed the page number next to the article title to make it easier for the readers to navigate through the magazine. I noticed that some magazines have an image of their front cover and sometimes double page spread to number the issues. I also decided to include an issues shot on my contents page, showing the issues front cover and give a preview to the double page spread. This gives the magazine an authentic look and makes the magazine seem established.

9. Double Page Spread. Even thought I changed the colour scheme in my double page spread this is only in correlation to the article and the artists. I kept the font the same as well as including a heading that is consistent to the content page heading. For the main image I selected one with the artist showing her back and looking over her shoulder to resemble the contents of the article as it talks about the artists’ past and how she got started in the music industry, the image also has connotations with showing a new and different side to herself. The snap-shot Polaroid pictures where another way to indicate that the article is taking an inside look at the artist, showing her personality and giving the reader a small access to her personal life. Direct quotations are taken from both the artist and others surrounding her career. The quotes from the artist use slang, this use of colloquial expression was very important in regards to the tone and register of my magazine as this magazine is targeted towards urban people and these are expressions that they would be familiar with and would expect. The use of slang and colloquial language also links with the values, aspirations and lifestyles of the target audience and identifies the artist and the magazine as having an urban, street style. The slang speech creates an authentic feel and allows the audience to read the article from the artists point of view.

10. The Representation of My Artist. My artist is representing a Hip-Hop R&B style of music which will be the specific genre of music my magazine is addressing. R&B like other genres of music has its own style and attitude, my artist conveys the look and manner of both R&B singers and R&B listeners. The stance and body language of my artist shows and strong and confident woman which is in keeping with the attitude I wanted to portray and the attitude of urban artists in the music business. R&B music is very street and urban, its confident, bold and in your face, it was important that my featured artist embodied these things and carried herself with the presence and essence of other R&B and rap artists today. I used eye contact in both the front cover and the contents page, to attract the audience and draw them in, the feminine allure is a technique well used by many photographers and magazine producers to help sell issues. My artist is representing the younger R&B audience, it was important to feature someone relatively new to the music industry, identifying with young people who may have aspirations to achieve the same goals and to connect to people who value that lifestyle.

11. My Target Audience. My magazine’s target audience will be both man and women aged 15 – 26, who are exclusive fans of Hip Hop, R&B and Rap music. I have noticed that they are no R&B music magazines for the younger age groups and as a genre of music, R&B and Rap are hardly represented in the UK. My magazines Unique Selling Point (USP) will be that it is targeted towards the younger R&B listeners while still maintaining the American style layout of magazines like Vibe. My magazine look and layout is very similar to magazines like Vibe which was important to my target audience as most R&B music and music videos are produced and manufactured in the US, my target audience would be looking for a resemblance to the US style in my music magazine as it gives a level of validation to my magazine. My target audience will be people who live in urban environments and who like the urban, street style music. R&B music has social demographics that are commonly linked to it, R&B as a whole is represented for the most part in the United States of America, by African Americans in social groups C1 and C2 although R&B and rap are becoming increasingly more popular and is starting to include people of many ethnicities and groups B and D, are small minority of listeners are classed in group A.

12. Distribution. My magazine could be distributed in news agents along side other magazines. There are few UK magazines that cater exclusively or otherwise to R&B listeners, as there is no direct competition for a R&B magazine targeted towards a younger audience, my magazine should have no problem selling with regards to finding another similar magazines. However my magazine is very genre specific and some areas which are more rural like Norwich which holds a more indie fan base might be hard to generate sales. Selling my magazine online through subscribers on my magazines website would appeal to my audience who are interested in an exclusively R&B magazine, this would also allow for a wide distribution without the costs of supplying to individual stores. Distributing my magazine on a subscribers basis would allow for a more select audience, a level of exclusivity which would complement the R&B momentum and would follow site with other magazines like URB and Vibe. The Brewer Media Group would be a good distributor for my magazine as it is already a station which features other urban contemporary artists like Usher and Janet Jackson. As the Brewer Media Group is already established and is known to feature urban music their target audience would have links and similarities with mine. Another way to distribute my magazine could be through IPC Media as it is already set up and has the added advantage of already reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men. This site as of yet does not showcase and Hip-Hop/R&B magazines, ICP Media might consider branching out the other demographics and music genres and my magazine would have no direct competition on this site.

13. Analysis of My Magazine. 60% of people asked were between the ages of 18 – 20. 33.3% were between the ages 15 – 17 and 6.7% were 21 – 24 years old. 66.7% of people who answered my survey were female and 33.3% were male. The people that answered my survey where in the age group I wanted and have targeted for my magazine, however I did find that more women answered the survey then men which might indicate that the audience may see the magazine more targeted towards women then men.

14. “ Would you buy my magazine and why?”

15. “Would you buy my magazine?” Out of all the people asked only three people said they wouldn’t buy my magazine. One person said they wouldn’t buy my magazine because they don’t listen to the genre of music it features, my magazine is very specifically targeted to R&B lovers and would not be something I would expect other music listeners the buy. Another stated that they would pick up the magazine as she liked the front cover but not buy it which could indicate that she is not a fan of R&B music but choices magazines based on the front covers and images.

16. “ Which page of my magazine do you prefer?”

17. “ Which page do you prefer, my front cover, contents page or double page spread and why?”

18. “ Which features of my front cover do you like?” 73.3% of people asked said that they liked my main image on my front cover. 33.3% liked the cover lines, 46.7% said the masthead, 26.7% said the font chosen for my front cover and 66.7% like my front covers’ layout. Out of all the features on my front cover the one that most people liked was the main image and secondly the layout of the cover page. This tells me that my target audience is very visually dependent so the main image is very important as it the overall layout of the page.

19. “ Which features of my contents page do you like?” 60% of people asked liked my main image on my contents page, 53.3% said they like the contents and 33.3% like the choice of font. 53.3% said they liked the colour scheme, 66.7% said they prefer the layout of the contents page and 13.3% liked the title. The feature that was most liked on my contents page was the layout and then the main image close behind it. This confirms my previous statement that my audience is very visually aware.

20. “ Which features of my double page spread do you like?” 60% said that the main image was what they liked the most, 53.3% said it was the title and 93.3% liked the snap-shot images. 60% said they like the colour scheme, 33.3% liked the layout and 33.3% of people like the font choice. Overall the people surveyed liked the snap-shot images the most, with the main image and the colour scheme running joint second.

21. My Survey Responses. 100% of people asked agreed that the contents page was informative and easy to navigate. 100% found the article appropriate for the magazine and the genre of music. 100% also agreed that my magazine has a consistent house style. Overall the responses to my survey are what I hoped for, the layout and main images have seemed to come out as the most important features of my magazine which is what I anticipated. When I asked “would you buy my magazine and why?” one response said he wouldn’t because it “looks a bit more aimed at the female market”. One way to rectify this could be to feature more men on the front cover or to change the colour scheme to a more gender neutral colour like red or blue. Although my double page spread is primarily pink this is only in relation to the artist featured and would not be present in other issues. Another response stated that it was important that my magazine not only featured music industry news but to also have information about celebrity gossip and fashions that relate to my music genre.

22. Looking back at my Preliminary Tasks. First Preliminary Task – CD Cover: Front and Back. Second Preliminary Task – College Magazine: Front Cover and Contents Page.

23. First Task – CD Covers. I used PS Brushes to create a smoky effect and used the same brush on both the front and back cover to create continuity. I used original images, copying them on to different layers and using curves to manipulate the colours and contrast.

24. Second Task – College Magazine. I used some conventional key features on the front cover: sky line, masthead, cover lines, main image etc. I used brushes to create an interesting background. I linked the articles with the page numbers and had them in order of appearance.

25. In the Progression form the Preliminary Tasks to My Magazine I have never used Paintshop before so in our first project when we made CD covers I learnt how to manipulate images, cut and crop pictures and merge two pictures together on separate layers. I discovered PS Brushes and dafont where I could download brushes and different fonts to use on my CD cover. For the second preliminary task I produced a college magazine where I designed and produced a front cover page and a contents page, which acted as a great trial for my music magazine as I learnt how to work on multiple layers to build up a consistent piece. With the second task I was able to polish up the skills I had gained from the first task, and concentrate on refining and maintaining a consistent style throughout the front cover and contents page. I have be able to use what I have learnt and apply it to my magazine for this final project, I worked a lot with curves in my CD covers and found this helpful when I used curves again to slightly adjust and enhance my main images to make them stand out more against the background.