Eda's Media Blog: December 2013

Front Cover - Strengths

I’ve received many comments/ feedbacks stating that my front cover was a success, as it looked very professional. They’ve specifically mentioned how the use of my colour scheme has really given the sense of it being a pop music magazine. I was also told that the red and the purple went really well together because they contrasted really well, which also proves that I followed the conventions of making a successful magazine cover. Furthermore, my target audience really liked my house style choice because it fit well with the colour scheme. They liked the consistency of the same font being used with just different effects of each cover line because it was an original idea, and not many magazines use only one font throughout the whole magazine, whereas mine did. My masthead was bold, interesting and eye catching for teenagers, which also appealed to them because it was a brand that really related to them (as they enjoy listening to pop music and because they are teenagers). Seeing as though my target audiences were teenagers, I thought why not use ‘Teen’ as part of my brands name. The ‘Beat’ would also remind you of the beat of pop music, which again is a catchy phrase to use. Moreover, my image is very strong and very powerful because my cover stars facial expression clearly illustrates how serious he is about his career, even though he’s just a teenager. My target audience really liked how my main cover line is the largest thing on the page, because they were aware that this is what the newest issue of this magazine will mainly be focused on. My front cover on my first draft/ plans wasn’t going to have a really big cover line, which was something that I had changed. I thought it would look more interesting with the massive cover line on the front page because it would get a lot of attention. I was also going to have more cover lines but then I though it would’ve been too much therefore I didn’t include them. Also, the use of splashes made my front cover look more realistic and looked similar to Teen Vogues front cover, as I was inspired by that magazine. They particularly enjoyed seeing how I used my cover lines to highlight specific things differently, like the ‘NEW’ and the ‘Top 10 tunes’ because it made my cover look more interesting. Lastly, I thought that making the cover star look straight at the camera would be very useful because it could be seen as if the model is inviting the teenage audience to take a look at the magazine. I don’t think there is anything I would consider as a weakness for my front cover, neither does my target audience.

Contents Page - Strengths

For my contents page, I received comments saying how my colour scheme was consistent, the red and purple contrasted really well. I used a variety of images on the contents page to prove that I can make my page look as professional and real like existing magazine contents pages. For my first draft/ plans, my contents page was going to be a single page because I didn’t have the subscription box, the regulars or the editors letter, but then I thought the more information I put on these pages the better and more professional it would look. Furthermore, my target audience really liked the fact that I included an Editors Letter because it gave them like a little summary of the new things this issue had inside. Also, the subscription box informs them about the sales Teen Beat offers once they have subscribed, which is another element they liked. The fact that my Regulars and Features were laid out separately also illustrates how organized it looked because there wouldn’t be any confusion between the two. Moreover, the reason why I made my masthead big and bold was because it really catches the attention of the audience, as it’s nearly taking up half of the page. I’m also promoting my brands name by doing this. Other comments I received also mentioned that the target audience really liked how my page numbers were really big and attractive because of the style of the font and because of the colours red and purple I used, they also gave the whole pop genre hint on the contents page. As for the captions I used underneath some of the images, they really helped to clear up some of the reasons why I put some of those images on the contents page, which was very useful.

Weaknesses

I believe that there are a lot of weaknesses on my contents page, as I didn’t like the layout of it at all. I thought everything was just placed randomly on the page, which didn’t really look professional. If I was to recreate my contents page, I would defiantly make sure that I include a background colour/ effect because I think that it will make that page look a lot more interesting than what it looks like now. For example, I was thinking that I could make a background effect that fades/ vanishes away because it could signify that the music teenagers listen to could make them feel as if they want to fade away into their own worlds, as if their trying to escape from reality into their own dreams. I could perhaps make the Features and the Regulars fit into a box, which could make it look more organized. I was also thinking that I could make some of the images have a black and white effect, so that it could be a contrast to the other images. In addition, if it was really necessary/ important I could add a cover story, possibly to talk more about the cover star.

DPS – Strengths

My double page spread was another interesting and successful page in my opinion. Teenagers loved the way that my model looked very comfortable but serious at the same time, they mentioned how it was a powerful image that really stood out. They loved the language I used as it portrayed them in a way. The colour scheme again was consistent which looked professional. One comment really stood out for me “All the features you have used show that your genre is Pop, as your use of language and the stars you have used reflects this.” I really liked this feedback as it proved that my double page spread was good and that it clearly stated the genre using the colour scheme. Some also liked the way I used a drop cap in the beginning of the interview, which was another important element for a successful page of journalism I included. I particularly liked the way I illustrated the title ‘Vicky’s new career’ because it looked very feminine as the star itself was a female and the fact that I used purple for it also adds to this. I also thought the colour scheme went well with what my model was wearing because again, this gives the hint of the pop music genre and that my magazine is aimed at a young teenage audience. Clearly, my double page spread was a success because everyone liked the way I laid out my work and how I presented it to my target audience. If I were to recreate this page I’d just maybe add a little bit more about the idol or add more to the interview because it did seem a little too short for me but other than that, it looked very professional and unique.