Focus Group

In my focus group, I asked 4 people to tell me their opinions on my contents page and two draft front covers. On the contents page, they liked the paint splattered on top of the main image, but they thought that the image could be slightly smaller, as the page looked slightly squished and crammed. At the top of the page in-between the words "Neon" and "Contents" I put the words "Jan 2016". Someone said that it felt in the wrong place and squished, so I could move it somewhere else, such as on the right hand side where the editor's note is, and instead of the word "Hey" in the top green box, I could get rid of that and put the "Jan 2016" there. They said I could write the "Hey" in line with the first sentence.

2 people said that the green stripes over the editor's note made it look as if the stripes were sectioning off different paragraphs, but that wasn't the case- it was one paragraph. One person suggested that I tried the stripes in a different colour, or make the font of the editor's note bigger so that the words would fit better, as well as trying the font in different colours to see which colour showed up the best.

On the left hand-side someone said that I didn't need to write "Pg" after every feature. They suggested that I just write for example "How to get fit for summer...12-13" Instead of "How to get fit for summer pg. 12-13". This person also agreed that making the main image smaller would work better, although they didn't feel the image said very much, and a photo of a clubbing scene might be more appropriate in their opinion.

I made two front covers so that people could let me know which one they preferred. The first one had a lot more writing. Everyone said that the picture needed to be lifted higher up nearer the mast head, as there was a lot of space around the mast head. They also said that I used all of the different neon colours written in the mast head in other cover lines around the magazine cover apart from green, so I should change some cover lines to the same green as the colour in the mast head, just so that the cover looked more balanced. Some cover lines were written in white which were near the shirt in the main image, which made the writing difficult to see, so I'd have to move them around, change the colour or change the font size. One person said that they didn't think that the secondary images were needed. Another person said that they think only one photo should be left on the page, but with a obvious link as to what the photos are for, eg. linking text about that celebrity.

In the secound front cover, there is a big blue stripe going across near the bottom of the cover. I also didn't crop the main image as much as I did in the first draft. I also lifted the main image higher, which everyone said worked better, apart from one person who said that it looked a bit crammed, so I could lower the image down slightly more. Two people said that they didn't like the pink border around the other secondary images on the right, whereas one said they liked it, as it made it stand out due to the mast head- "Neon". The quote "Laugh Dance Party" should be lowered slightly, so that it doesn't looked so squished next to the mast head. Everyone preferred this cover apart from one person, as they thought that the first had too many words.

Flat Plan

Here is a flat plan of what I would have inside a complete magazine. Obviously the whole magazine won't be completed, but flat plans are a great base to make sure that you know exactly what type of magazine it is going to be so that you can understand your magazine as much as possible, including things to write about in the contents page, how long your article will be and can even help with the design/style of the magazine. From doing this plan, I now know what I would like and not like inside my magazine, and has given me a idea of who this magazine is aimed at.

Contents page Draft

I wanted a similar theme to the front cover to show that they are the same magazine. I think the colour scheme makes the reading easy to read. I also used lots of photos as I didn't want too much writing.

Vertigo Films Research

Vertigo films from Rosie1802

Draft Of Magazine Front Cover

Here is a final draft idea of my Dance music magazine front cover:

I decided to use bold fonts and lots of writing to make it look as if the magazine is jam-packed. I used these colours because I wanted them to match the magazine name "Neon". I've included some secondary images as the main image is very simple. I also inserted a bar code at the bottom corner to make the magazine look more realistic.

New Magazine Photos

When I took my first photo shoot for my magazine images a few weeks ago, I was really happy with them. They looked very professional and posed, as I used a white background and the DJ was wearing smart attire. However, when I actually went to make the magazine front cover, the image didn't quite match the style of magazine I was going for. My magazine genre is dance and the title name is "Neon" and the image I picked would have been perfect in an Indie or a fashion magazine. Automatically I realised that I needed to have a more fun, relaxed or colourful photo on the front cover, so I decided to take some more and that I could use the previous photos in the double page spread. In this shoot I decided to dress the model in a funky tropical shirt with headphones around his neck or on his head, as well as having sunglasses on his head, around his neck or on his eyes. I stood him in front of different backgrounds, such as a cupboard and a bookshelf. I also took some images of him holding some vinyl's to give the images a sense of style.

This is my favourite image and I think I'll use this for the front cover.

In the double page spread the interviewer asks the DJ what his other hobbies are, and he says he enjoys flying, so here is an image I can use that will link with that text.

Final Mast Head Ideas

Universal Pictures research

Universal pictures from Rosie1802