Fmp research updated

True Crimes book
by Robert Jackson
I think that the book is very useful it has lots of informative information and pictures in it as well as it
being very detailed. All most all of the pages are very different from one another being very easy to look
at and read. I find this book to be very interesting in terms of its style, as throughout the book all the
pages have a different style that fits in with the article written. Also its very easy to read there isn’t
heaps of text in column after column. When I design my magazine in the production stage I hope to
make my magazine similar to this book or at least some of the pages have a similar style to them. One
aspect of this book, that I Iike the most is that each page has a different design from the previous and so
on. Also the whole style of the book fits that themes throughout, I like that it is not just a plain coloured
front to the book or a single-photo on its own with the title over it.

Existing Product
Real Crime magazine
The colours that are used are
similar to colours that are
often associated with crime
such as the yellow hints on
the cover like yellow police
tape to corner of an area
such as a crime scene.
The way that the fonts are in
different sizes makes certain
words stand out, it also makes
the cover look far less
condensed with text. It makes
the page look as if it has more
space than it really does.
The layout of the serial
killers is like a hierarchy for
the most infamous of them.
The title of the magazine, ‘Real Crime’ is part covered up by Ted Bundy’s
head. However, it is still enough so that you can make out what letters
Bundy’s head is covering. Usually big magazine companies do this or ones
that have been around for sometime as people buying the magazine will
know what the magazine is called.
The cover’s colours are also
quite dim compared to other
magazines apart from the
white and yellow that is
used. I think that this is to fit
in with the crime colours
that I mentioned, but also to
make the yellow and white
to stand out more so that it
catches you’re eye, so you
then read it.
The bottom bar displays information what is inside the magazine,
it is very neat and organised making it easier to read.
The fingerprint inside of
the letter, R. Fits in with
the magazine being a
crime magazine.

Overall, I think that the cover of this magazine is very useful
and entices you into looking at the magazine. I think that
this will effect my production, as I will take ideas from this
magazine and incorporate them into my cover. One of the
interesting aspects of the cover is that it features mugshots
and pictures of notorious serial killers, and they are in a
triangular position sort of like a hierarchy triangle. This
could be coincidental or it could have been done to show
the deadliest killer, Ted Bundy at the top then other serial
killers deemed less deadly than Bundy below. Or it could
just be purely for style, and to showcase well known serial
killers so that it catches people’s eye from a distance.
Another part of the magazine’s cover that I find interesting
is the way that they have laid the text out along with the
colour choices for both the fonts and the cover itself. When
it comes to me making my magazine cover I will do
something similar – sticking with a general colour layout on
the cover. I will also try to make some words larger than the
others like the sub title is split up using different font size
and different colour with the words, ‘World’s deadliest’
part having a box around it. This also makes it stand out
against the background, and all off the features that are
going on, throughout the cover. The colour that stands out
the most is the yellow, and the yellow stands out a lot along
side the colour white.

Existing Product
Real Crime magazine
The main colour that is yellow, stands out making the cover seem bright
and attracting your eyes toward it. It also fits the crime theme again like
mentioned with the last magazine cover I looked at, and that is that
police tape is often yellow. Meaning that the colour yellow is often
associated with crime along with the colour light blue, black, and white.
Then murder is often associated with colours like red and black.
Ian Brady’s face is slightly
transparent letting you see
the background ever most
slightly. The transparency
could be referring that he is a
ghost, because he his dead
now. Or it could simply be
that it makes the image look
slightly older which links to
the crime being old. Also it
could be one to make the
background more visible.
The information is slightly tilted
fitting in with the messy font
above.
The fingerprint inside of the
letter, R. Fits in with the
magazine being a crime
magazine.
The way that the text is laid out
at the bottom is very neat it
makes the cover look very
professional and the boxes
dividing everything makes it
easier to read.

One of the aspects of this cover that I like is the strong
yellow colour that they have used throughout the
cover. It draws your eyes towards it and amongst other
magazines I can imagine it stands out. It also contrasts
with the white that they have chosen to use for the
smaller headlines and text. The lay out is very similar
to the other magazine issues that I have looked at.
However I think that I will most likely steal parts of
their lay out and use it for my magazine cover, but I will
make mine different. I find it interesting how they use
lots of old photographs on the cover that are quite dim
because of the time period they were taken during,
then they have the vivid yellow colour throughout the
cover from top to bottom.

Existing Product
The use of black and white
photographs along with the
dark red colour makes the
magazine suit its topic as well
adds an eerie look to it.
The font that has been used
also fits in with the topic of the
magazine. Also the fact that
the important words in the
magazines title are bigger
makes them stand out which
are: Crimes, Shook, and world.
The cover has lot of images
next to each other like a
collage.
The cover has a red strip that
splits up the text and colours
slightly.

Existing Product
The cover itself is laid out
very neatly and it looks very
organized, and professional.
The main image of Charles
Manson stands out, this
could be because it is the
main focus of this magazine
issue.
The images in the
middle of the cover
showing images of the
Manson case have tape
on their corners as if
they have been taped
up. This relates to police
having photos taped up
on a board of a crime
scene.
The cover uses lots of shapes
and dividers to break up the
page as well as make it neater so
that it looks more professional.
The page also uses a lot of
colours that are often associated
with crime. These colours are
black, white, yellow, and a
crimson red. Yellow usually
represents the police tape used
at crime scenes and the crimson
red colour represents blood. The
black and white colour
represents many things to do
with crime such as old prisoner
outfits being black and white
striped, etc.
The crimson red background
behind Manson is to focus the
attention on Manson himself, as
the darkness of the red takes
away from the background, so
its harder to see, therefore
attracting your attention to
Manson.
The word ‘Crime’ in the title
‘real Crime’ is larger. I have
noticed this Is in every
magazine cover. However,
this could be to make it
stand out as they want
people to realise that it’s a
crime magazine.
Real Crime magazine
The bottom box that displays information what is inside the magazine. It also has parts of
the text bold and the other parts normal text. This is most likely to split the text up, making
it not look the same, as it would be harder to read.

This cover out of all three covers that I have looked
at, and analysed is the most interesting; as it looks
the most professional in my opinion. The
difference is that this cover has that sectioned off
part at the top which splits up the magazine
companies’ title from the rest of the magazine.
From other projects when I researched magazines I
saw this a lot. This technique appears to be done
by more professional magazines. One aspect of the
cover that I like is the colour combinations that
they have chosen: Red, white, yellow, and black.
They haven’t used the bright yellow or the red too
much. I also find the picture of Manson interesting
as they have coloured the background in one
colour to make Manson stand out amongst all of
them.

I find the cover to be very full with lots of
different things with attracts your eyes
towards it. However, I also think that it is
very cluttered. I like the way they have
images with each of their sub-headings. I
find the pictures jumbled together to be
useful as well as cluttered. The images
draw you in as they are interesting as they
feature crime. However, compared to
some other magazine covers that I have
looked at this cover looks too cluttered
with images and text.
I find the page on the right to
be quite boring and plain
compared to other pages in
the magazine. However it still
has the professional element
to it. I still think that it could
have more colour to it, even if
its just a hint of colour here
and there.
I find this page to be
interesting as it shows lots of
mugshot of well known
killers that could draw
people into the magazine.
The two well known killer’s
mugshots are bigger, making
them stand out.

I think that the top page is very interesting as it is
like a collage, I also like the fact that the images
look pinned down with notes at the side. I think
that this page is well designed as its not just
blocks of text with a few images like you see in
lots of other magazines. The magnifying glass
over the page number and the little advert of
their magazines, is an interesting way to draw
your eye to it. When I begin production and start
to make the pages I am going to take inspiration
from this magazines pages as they are all different
from one another. The page also looks like a
board that police would have up to investigate a
murder or crime. Where there is lots of pictures
on the board and notes on the crime to help them
figure out the crime. I also like the fact that each
of the images have tape or a pin on them as if
they have been pinned or stuck to a board.
I think that this page is also better than most
other magazine pages, as I really like that they
have used an image as the background, with a
tiny bit of text on the right. The image shows the
crime scene uncensored also making this a good
crime magazine as you now get a good look at the
violence that was committed.

I really like the style of the pages, how they have used one single image to use across two pages. I also like the fact that
they have used CCTV footage to capture a robbery and used that as the background for the two pages. When it comes to
me making my own magazine, I will most likely use this idea for at least one of the pages. I will find a good image related
to the crime that I am looking at and use that as the background. I think that this is a good way to make pages look
different instead of having a plain background gradient or colour. I also think that having a single image as a background
makes the page more interesting to read as you want to know about the photo such as the image on the right looks like a
bank robbery.

From all of the magazines that I have looked at I think
that this has the worst looking cover possible. It doesn’t
really draw you towards it, and is quite bland. The only
positive thing that I could say about it is that it looks
professional. However, it also looks cheap like it didn’t
take them long to make it. I don’t think the colours that
they have used match the genre of crime very well
apart from the red, even though the colour of it is
faded. I don’t think that this magazine would stand out
that much, compared to the “Real Crime” magazines
that I have looked at.

Butcher Billy
Butcher Billy is an artist and graphic designer that specializes in illustration and is best known for his pop art styled
work. His work has a strong vintage comic book and street art influence. His work references pop culture like music,
art, cinema, literature, games, history, and politics. His work often crosses reality and fiction, his projects promote
creative concepts that reference fictional characters with real life personalities such as musicians, artists, etc. From
looking at his work, it seems that it even though his work is mashed together using lots of pop culture references such
as a music artist and a comic book hero. It seems to make sense. His work looks very inspired by the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s,
with a comic book aesthetic and a strong colour palette.

Looking at a wide range of his work, all of his work is very colourful and stands out amongst other graphic designers
work. His work has a vintage comic book style to it with a twist of some pop culture icon or political person in the work
mixed with a super hero or villain. Almost all of his work looks as if it should be on the cover of a comic book. One of
my reasons for looking at Butcher Billy’s work is because, I like the style of it, I find it to be unique compared to other
artists. Also the topic I have chosen for my magazine will make it hard to gather primary research images therefore I
will first have to get secondary images and edit them so much that they look like primary images. Butcher Billy’s style is
something that has inspired me to create something like this with either Ed Gein or David Koresh who the main
magazine topic is about.

Research summary
Throughout the products that I have researched I have found that the main colours of the cover are very similar from
one another. They all seem to use different shades of red, yellow, black and white. This is most likely to fit in with the
crime genre, as all of them colours are often associated with crime and murder. Another recurring factor is having the
main focus of the magazine as the main image on the cover usually a notorious killer as the main image. It is almost
always of the ‘killer’ facing you the reader, and they are always from about chest height up. However, the magazines
are of the same brand, ‘Real Crime Magazines’. When researching I couldn’t find a lot of crime magazines. When I
looked at graphic designers ‘Butcher Billy’ stood out for me as his work is very vivid and all of his work is to do with
pop culture.

Survey Results
The results that I gathered through my survey are useful as they give me an insight into what people
expect a magazine of this topic to have in it. The answers that I got were not that different from one
another there were only few that varied. One of the questions that got the all most the same
responses was the “Which of the colours below would you expect to see in a magazine on serial
killers and crime in general?”. All most all of the answers were red, blue, and black and white used
together. As this was a multiple choice question some answers did vary slightly however, most of
them picked the three answers that I stated above. Two responses mentioned the colour yellow as
well. I think the reason why people have chosen red is its often linked to crime as blood is red and
with blue, blue is often depicted as a police colour. Yellow could also link in with this, as it’s the colour
of police tape for crime scenes. The black and white option was most likely picked as most magazines
have these two colour in them. Also the colour black linking in with crime being dark and also its
when the most crime is committed, at night.

Survey Results
One of the questions that had a lot of varied responses was the question below. The answer that was
picked the most was ‘The Family’, I think the main reason for this being that it was led by Charles
Manson and most people have heard of him and ’The Family’, therefore wanting to read more about
it. However, from the results of this question I think it would be best to write about a cult that not
many people have heard of, as they would most likely read more.

Survey Summary
Overall, I think that answers that I gathered from doing this survey are very useful for my project as I
now know what people want to see generally in a magazine and what sort of colours to use. I think
that the survey is useful for when I first start my project however, later into production I think that it
won’t be as useful, as I will no longer need the results, as I will have already chosen a colour scheme
and all the style options. I am very happy with the results that I got though as, they are useful right
now. If I were to do it again or add more questions I would add a few more to help me with
production mainly the magazine pages. I would have liked to added ’What do you expect to see on
each of the pages in a magazine’, with an answer box, the obvious answers being images, and text.
But, I would have liked to read more answers to see if there is anything different to what I think and
then I could potentially add it in.

Target Audience
My main target audience is for Teenagers and adults in between the ages 16 to 35 years old. The reason for
picking this age range, as my target audience is because then there is a good gap between teenagers to
young adult. Also looking at secondary research, I have found out that the young generation and adults
in their twenties and early thirties are more likely to watch, read, and research about murderers,
criminals and content that is related to crime, such as gangs, etc. One reason for choosing a young
audience as my target audience is because young groups are more likely to find out about infamous
murderers and crimes, as young people in our day and age are the highest of all of the generations to
spend most of their time on the internet or social media. This makes it easier for my target audience to
discover famous crimes and killers. The gender of my target audience is both male and female because
I want to attract both audiences to my magazine for more popularity and success. However, when
looking at secondary research on the topic of crime magazines target audiences, I found out that
women are more interested in serial killers. However, when looking at what gender is more interested
in crime I couldn't find much information, but I would think that males would be more interested in
crime such as gangs and groups. When it comes to ethnicity, there won’t be any specific ethnicity as my
target audience, as I want my magazine to be diverse and want it to attract all people no matter what
ethnicity. Looking at research on the topic of crime and ethnicity. I only found out what ethnicity
commits the most crime and not what ethnicity is more interested in the subject of crime and killers.
Another reason for picking 16-35 year olds as my target audience is because it also links in with
students. The reason for this is because I found that students are more likely to research in to the
subject of crime and killers, meaning they are more likely to go out and read about it in magazines,
books, etc. When it comes to social status the working class/ lower class are actually more interested in
this subject even though the majority of killers, and criminals are from this class. I think that my
magazine will appeal to my target audience because it focuses on a cult, and in terms of magazines and
documentaries that focus on killers and crime, cults are not really looked at as much as infamous
killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer. I also think that the reason my magazine would appeal to my audience's
social class is because it is seen as something that is against the norm, crimes such as this don't usually
happen. Therefore, this interests people into reading, as people think how could someone do
something like that, and why.

Bibliography
1. Interviewees, Name. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on DATE)
2. Interviewees, Name. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on DATE)
3. Publisher. (Year of Release) Magazine Name
4. https://youtu.be/4GJhsnxcsrY
5. Anon (07/07/2015) Real Crime magazine
6. Anon (Anon) Real Crime magazine
7. Daily Mirror (Anon) Crimes that shook the world
10. BBC (Anon) Focus Magazine collection VOL.10
13. .. (.). Popular. Available: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk. Last accessed 7
February 2019.
11. David Barnett. (Sunday 26 March 2017). True crime pays: the history of real-life crime
magazines. Available: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/true-crime-pays-the-
history-of-real-life-crime-magazines-a7647976.html. Last accessed 7 February 2019.
12. .. (23rd Jul 2015). Imagine Publishing launches new Real Crime magazine in the UK.
Available: https://www.fipp.com/news/launches/imagine-publishing-launches-new-real-crime-
ma. Last accessed 7 February 2019.
14. Ben Harris. (02/07/2019). .. Available: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/survey-
taken/?sm=RBvuVIWYFf51djH8HEtoYsV9ys1gBPF1UWXfgLGeqynWoeJI17d1YS7lDty_2FLLWzljvN1f_2FCcFJ
RKl6xBzbHot1aeX7D1bKkHid_2BqqFrm4g_3D. Last accessed 11/02/2019.

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