Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 6

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Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Final Versions

Final Double Page Spread

Above is my third and final DPS version. In my second version I focused on the first, text based page. In this amendment, I added a QR code, gradient background, credits and article accents.

In order to maintain consistency within my house style, I have used: a monochrome image similarly to the contents page, the same gradient from the front cover, the same body font from the contents page and cover, continuation of grid widths from contents page, same page number size/placement, and the end symbol is a square version of the masthead. On this basis, I believe this DPS has a strong continuation of house style.

Bringing in elements from the preliminary College Magazine and primary research, I have included a QR code within the DPS. On the last page of the Issuu document here, I asked my target audience if they would like to see interactive content in the magazine. Whilst the response was lacking, I was keen to involve the readers in as many ways possible, and a QR code is a feature which whilst drawing attention, does not distract the reader from the main content. Using the same process as the College Magazine here, I've used the code to offer 'behind the scenes clips' which will further appear to fans of the artist.

I showed this version to the focus group, and the one amendment which was suggested was to make the text a slightly lighter teal. As I was concerned with maintaining the house style, I wanted to stay true to my colour choices, and have decided to dismiss this comment and uphold the consistency across the design.

Own Advert Design

When presenting the magazine, within my overall flatplan I have added space for an advert from Alt Magazine itself, placed on the page after the contents page. Instead of being a third party advertisement, I intended for this section to advertise a subscription service for the magazine. As the magazine is released monthly and costs £3.50, to buy a years worth would cost £42. With any subscription comes a discount, so I decided upon a 25% discount, which is large enough to interest potential subscribers whilst still maintaining a profit for the magazine itself. As an added incentive to this £31.50 offer, I have included an app for the magazine as well as an offer of exclusive online content.

My primary research showed that 80% of the target audience own a smartphone, suggesting that an app would be another platform to extend the convergence of the magazine. By making this available on the two sector-leading platforms Apple and Android, this widens the scope for possible downloads. By integrating push notifications into the app, this will help keep Alt Magazine in the readers thoughts, strengthening the readership.

In order to exploit an integral part of the magazine further, the promise of exclusive content only for subscribers conforms to a point raised in my primary research; 55% and 70% like to know about new music and technology (respectively) before anyone else. This majority figure means the addition of this content is enticing to the reader.

As this advert is from the magazine itself, I was keen to maintain the house style, especially against the contents page. For this reason, I used the same grid margins as the contents page and DPS, as well as using the same light teal colour from the regulars section of the contents page. As always, the fonts remain the same throughout the publication.

I created the app image from the masthead 'A', overlaying it with a transparent gradient. The mock device is created using two different rounded rectangles. The only elements of this page which I did not create myself are the apple and android logos, taken from here and here.

Normally, the contents page would not be on the page after the front cover, and in the overall flatplan I have allowed two full page third party advertisements on the 2nd and 3rd pages, meaning that when the magazine is finally presented, while it may appear straight after the front cover, this would not be the case in a full magazine.

Final Front Cover

Above is the final version of my front cover. The only amendment which needed to be made as a result of the focus group was to enlarge the price. I did originally have it quite large, but I then minimised it to the same size as the issue number for the second draft. As a result of the focus group, I marginally enlarged the price, making a subtle difference which will highlight this element further.

Final Contents Page

Based on the amendments made in this post, above is the second contents page draft. By sticking to the monochrome images, I believe the aesthetics of the page are heightened. Despite, changing the food image in the previous post, I have once again altered the image to feature the original two plates. As well as working well in black and white, the two plates signify dining with another, as the article would portray. As a direct result of the focus group feedback, I have changed the content headers to a dark teal, adding a variation of the existing house style in order to further strengthen the aesthetics of the page.

I informally showed this to the focus group once again, and they all recognised the changes which they suggested, and were happy with design of this page. I did place both the colour draft and this draft next to each other, and they all agreed that this version was more aesthetically pleasing. For this reason, I am confident to make this my final version.

During the process of creating this final contents page, I have adhered to all of the comments from both the peer feedback and focus group. I believe this final version has considered and adhered to the target audiences wishes, whilst retaining my original design intentions.

Contents Page Amendments from Focus Group

As noted in this post, the main point raised for the contents page was the use of full colour images rather than the monochrome versions. Below is a recording of these changes created by using the screen capture element of Quicktime Player. I shall show the amended draft to the group to ask their opinion of the change.

Below is the result of the changes made in the video above. The images and social buttons have all been changed to full colour, and the content titles have been changed from the dark grey to the dark teal. Personally, I like the title colour changes as they subtly enforce the strong house style, yet I am not fully convinced that the full colour images fit in with the aesthetics of the page. 

The main element of the page which I found the most distracting was the food section. The image appeared over saturated, and was quite distracting. I was still keen to stick to my revised flatplans as much as possible, and in order to do this, I used another one of my images which originally featured two plates. These could have connotations of the act of eating lunch, but I find this too complicated in full colour.

Despite the aforementioned cluttered aesthetics of the image, I feel that this image still has potential. In order to work around this, I used photoshop to edit out the background, leaving just the one plate in the foreground. I shall use this image to replace the previous food image in the contents page to both aid the aesthetics as well as cater to the target audience's wishes.

Below is a draft version of the contents page with the changes a direct result of the feedback from the focus group. Changes include: full colour images, replacement of food image to one plate crop, content titles changed from dark grey to dark teal, and the side bar colour changed to background colour of front cover. 

Whilst these changes are from the focus groups feedback, I personally feel that the full colour images are too distracting against the general aesthetics of the page. Whilst I think the food image is clearer than the one in the original draft, when pairing this page against the front cover, while the full colour remains the same, the tones in the images aren't consistent.

Upon showing the original contents page draft (featuring the black and white images) and this amended draft, they originally preferred aspects of the colour version. However, when pairing this against the cover page, they agreed that the house style was carried across more strongly through the first draft. Looking back to the peer assessment post here, the feedback of the original colours used in the first draft are well received. As the black and white choice has been reinforced by this, I shall edit the original draft to include elements from these amendments.

Second DPS Draft

Based on amendments made in this post.

Focus Group

In order to gain feedback on my third front cover draft and first contents page draft, I conducted a focus group consisting of my target audience. This included 5 females and one male pictured below, whom are all aged between 16-17 years old. As my target audience is aimed at mainly females aged 16-21 years old, this offers a portion of my target audience. Despite this, from my research I have considered this age group as a whole, so I do not believe that the majority opinions from this selection will be overly different than those of 20-21 year olds per say.

The main aim of this focus group was to gather honest opinions about the front cover and contents page. Because of this, I aimed to not steer the conversation too much, allowing opinions and comments to come through. Below is the voice recording of the focus group paired with annotations referencing the areas which they are referring to:

To further summarise, the main points raised were:

• Professional looking masthead - especially integration of guitar
• Aesthetically pleasing colour scheme which carries well across both pages
• Well organised content aided by columns
• Price too small
• Contents page too monochrome - images in colour
• Integration of another colour - red from lips

Overall, I am pleased with this feedback from my target audience. The fact that subtle details - including the guitar masthead and refinement of colours in the house style - are popular both prove my primary research as well as justify the change of masthead design. The conventional style of the contents page also proved popular, with the group unanimously agreeing that the columns are organised and make it easy to find content.

As mentioned in the clip, the price was originally larger in the first draft, but after my personal critical evaluation of the front cover I felt that the price was too big, distracting away from the main cover line. The group seemed unsure if a change was necessary, but such a small element like this can always be revised, and perhaps increasing the size slightly may make this content easier to obtain.

The monochrome images was a deliberate choice as to aid the house style. I felt that the full colour images were too distracting against the quite sleek design, and I did not want to overcomplicate this. However, this was a concern raised in the focus group, so I shall experiment with changing the images to full colour or perhaps changing the main image of the cover page to monochrome to further the conventions.

The addition of another colour was also noted, with the red from the cover artist's lips a specific example. Personally, I feel that the unanimous response to the current colour scheme of teal/grey does not need to be added to, so I shall refrain from integrating another colour. However, I could always exploit the darker teal used for the editorial text into the title elements of the contents page.

Critical Evaluation of First DPS Draft

Before gaining feedback from my target audience regarding the first double page spread draft, I printed a rough copy of the page in order to refine grammar and various other elements which weakened the overall composition of the page.

Above is the first revision of the page. I mainly focused on limiting the body text in order to have more room for other elements, hence not making the page look cramped. Grammatical errors have been highlighted, as well as elements which aren't as impactful as they should be. Namely, the standfirst appeared to blend into the body text, the pull quote did not add impact and was lacking quote marks, the subheading seemed incomplete, and the word credits were in the same weight. 

The image above demonstrates the revised changes to the standfirst and body text, as well as the removal of the pull quote and underlined standfirst. As the body text has been shortened by the changes, this allows space for the header to be moved down, yet this would be greatly limited by the inclusion of a pull quote. For the moment, I like how the text appears less cramped, although the large spaces left from the justified text are quite distracting. For this reason I shall experiment with having the text aligned to the left, which whilst creating a jagged margin, will remove the space errors.

This final image shows the last adjustments I needed to make in order to achieve the second draft of the DPS. Here I have added two pull quotes in a similar format to the original ones, but instead placing the lines at the side rather than top and bottom. Aligning the pull quotes proved difficult, however I thought it was vital in order to continue the clean lines of the page. Furthermore, I have added a small content section where there is information about a product endorsed by the artist, which is common for interviews to plug a product.

By focusing on the one page, I was able to notice details which may have been overlooked should I have focused on both pages. In my third draft, I shall focus on the other image-dominated page.

Double Page Spread First Final Draft

Construction of First DPS Draft

Using the same technique I used for the contents page construction, above is a time lapse showing the development of the first DPS draft.

Third Final Front Cover Draft

When creating my first final draft of the contents page, a significant portion of the house style is based upon my primary research of colours for my original masthead (post found here). The teal colour which proved popular among my target audience was key in the development of these pages. However, as my original cover draft only included the anchorage text to the main cover line in this teal colour, I wanted to make a more obvious adjustment to integrate the teal colour further.

As the textual elements to the page have already been regarded as successful from the feedback I received from my peers (this post here), I was determined not to change these elements. As the olive colour was now made redundant through my colour choices in the contents page, I decided to change the background colour. The background now possesses a subtle teal hue, which I find actually emphasises the textual elements further. I shall refer this to my target audience to gather their feedback on the change.

Contents Page Progress Time Lapse using iMovie

Peer Feedback

Feedback

In order to gain feedback on the first contents page draft and the second front cover draft, 4 of my peers looked at both these pages. In turn, they left comments to questions which I found most useful for furthering the development of these designs. My target audience is mainly females at aged 16-21 years old, but in order to gain a varied response two males and two females aged 16-17 completed this response.

Positive Comments:

• Colour use is relevant and subtle, complimenting a professional-looking design
• Cohesive use of fonts
• Easy to read cover lines, with the main cover line eye catching yet not overwhelming
• All knew either the exact genre or relative genre of magazine - strong brand identity and iconography
• Consistent use of house style
• Enjoy fact content is split by colour blocks (contents page)

From this feedback, I am very confident that my magazine suits the purpose of my original intentions. The subtle choices of colour and font have been appreciated by the target audience, as well as a clear recognition of the intended professionalism for the design. 

Despite this, I still believe that there is more which I can alter to further perfect these designs.

Final First Draft of Contents Page

Construction of Contents Page

Contents Page Photo Selection

Pre-production Planning - Advertisements

As witnessed in the document above, Wire Magazine features 35 advertisements in total; 30 of these are from third party advertisers, and 5 of these are from Wire Magazine themselves. Both full page and partial adverts are used in the publication, including multiple adverts (generally 3 or 4) featuring on one full page, gaining split revenue from each company.

As a direct result of my primary research, Alt magazine is priced at £3.50 - £1 cheaper than Wire - but still retains 100 pages, meaning that more advertisements will need to be placed into the magazine in order to gain more income.

Using the same Key as above, I have created a flatplan for Alt Magazine, which consists of 45 adverts in total, 10 more than in Wire Magazine.

DPS Photoshoot

Find all of the original, unedited photos on my flickr set via:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hayleymccarthy/sets/72157640985355843/

Revised DPS Flatplans

For the same reasons that I have revised the contents page flat plans for, I have decided to subtly alter the DPS Flatplans to be consistent with the shift in focus. I was also inspired by the techniques I learned in the InDesign workshop, and intend to integrate the majority of them into the flatplan. In the original flat plan here, a clear focus is on the angular mask of the image. I was originally concerned with white space in the top left corner as a result of this, so I shall not be including this in the revised version.

I wanted to keep as many elements of the original flatplan as I could, whilst conforming to the quite conventional linear style demonstrated especially in the contents page. I also wanted to maintain a clear focus on the article as well as the image, to further expose the cover star.

To further this, the grid is the same as the contents page:
Gutter: 5.5mm
Margin: 15mm
Bleed: 5mm

Revised Contents Page Flatplans

A combination of the changes to my original cover intentions and techniques arisen from the InDesign workshop, I have decided to change my contents page flatplan quite drastically. As mentioned in the original flat plan post here, this plan was formed directly from the emphasis of angles in the 'A'. As I eventually decided not to use the slightly-transparent 'A' on my front cover to avoid clutter, I felt that this aspect was made redundant in both the contents page and double page spread.

Drawing inspiration from both my design inspiration Pinterest board and my original sketches, I have designed a conventional grid which could be flexible should problems arise. Looking back at my original designs, I had maintained either a 3 or 4 column layout. Considering the content which features in a conventional contents page, I have decided upon a 4 column layout, with a slight irregularity in the two middle, bottom-third, columns. This is to create a visual interest, giving the design a slight edge over a regular grid. This is consistent with the slight edginess which I tried to portray through the use of pose and font within my front cover.

Maintaining a vertical layout featured in all of my original sketches, I have allowed enough room for: 20 articles, social contact details, editorial panel and flannel panel. Keen to include all of these conventional elements, I believe if I stick to my design intentions I can achieve a contents page which is informative without looking cluttered.

Furthermore, looking back at my College Magazine project, a similar vertical layout was used which was very effective.

InDesign Workshop

Before beginning to produce the contents page and double page spread of the magazine, our class participated in a fast-paced workshop to learn/familiarise ourselves with some InDesign tutorials. These tutorials were based around the manipulation of text, wether it be on a path, alignment within the columns, or the paragraph style itself. I found the linking of text boxes for overflow particularly useful, which will make it easier to edit the body of text in the double page spread. Images used are my own, for the purpose of demonstration.

Exhibition to Gain Feedback

In order to gain qualitative feedback on my first draft of the front cover, I printed a full-colour version of the magazine and attached the label above. The cover was then exhibited in the main study area of the sixth form, so students visiting the room can leave feedback on various areas of the magazine to the email above, created for this purpose.

UPDATE : Since the original exhibition date, I have received no feedback from the students. This has been a similar trend amongst my classmates, hence indicating that this has not been a successful process in obtaining data. I have decided to arrange a focus group with my target audience to gather feedback, which will be conducted once I have amended certain areas of the cover, which were highlighted in my personal evaluation.

Second Final Front Cover Draft

Critical Evaluation of Cover First Draft

As alternative rock is closely related to rock music, I was keen to include a slight edgy aspect to the design without appearing overly punk. I added these aspects through the font of the main cover line which is in a brush graffiti style. Also, the masthead in itself features a clear guitar silhouette, denoting at the very least a musical genre. Considering that guitars are heavily related to alternative rock, the main image also features a guitar, so the continuity is increased.

The cover lines are informative yet slightly vague, as a deliberate enticement for the reader. Artist names are mentioned to further grab the readers attention, and a pull-quote reiterates the inside content. If the reader recognises these band names, they will also realise the genre, if they haven't already gathered it from the obvious connection of the magazine's name. Perhaps I could include a byline with the phrase 'alternative rock' as an even more obvious statement.

In order to assess the readability, I asked a classmate who sat roughly 10ft away from me to read the cover lines and masthead. They managed to read all of the cover lines easily, which proves that my original theory of having white text on a dark background heightens the readability. My classmate did have problems reading the cover line 'Up Close' which is in a slighter darker colour than the other cover lines. I originally done this to avoid distracting from the main cover line, although in hindsight I will change it to be consistent with all of the other cover lines on the magazine.

As the masthead was an image file due to it being imported into the document, this meant that I had to manually fill the colour from a pure white to a slightly off white. I accidentally left the 'i' of magazine the original white colour. Whilst this is a very subtle colour difference, as the masthead is the main source of brand recognition, this needs to be perfect as to maintain a sense of professionalism. Upon closer inspection, this is also the case for the main cover line; evidently the colour change is so subtle it is more difficult to distinguish digitally.

One concern with the anchorage text to the main cover line is that it is a very subtle pink, and a slight increase in vibrancy of the colour will create a greater impact overall.

The price appears rather large, so I will consider reducing it's size and include it with the issue number and date stamp. Whilst this is vital information, a reduced size will allow more focus to other areas of the magazine such as the main cover line and masthead.

I feel that the buzz and puff aren't very eye-catching and perhaps rather vague. 'Exclusive Content' isn't as much of an incentive as the word 'free' or 'win', so I will most likely amend this depending on audience feedback.

When creating the front cover, I had intended to include a semi-transparent 'A' which hugged the silhouette of the model. In practise, this was too distracting for the overall aesthetics, and did not add anything to the publication. Because of this I decided to not include it, which while going against my original intentions, conformed to conventions.

Originally, I wanted to include a magazine which focused equally on design as it did content. With my relatively young target audience of 16-21 year olds, I needed to include interesting short snippets of information to maintain their interest, without including too much jargon which could alienate some readers. I believe I have achieved this, the content is readable and the design looks full without being cluttered. Short cover lines grab the readers attention, as do a moderately sized main cover line and masthead. Sticking to conventions such as; a medium shot image, masthead in the top left corner, most important cover lines in the left hand third, inclusion of puff, buzz, datestamp, issue number, price and barcode. Yet in order to give a more fresh and unique look to the magazine, I unconventionally placed the main cover line across the model, which as mentioned previously, will provide a focal point for the audience.

First Draft of Front Cover

Construction of Front Cover

In the document above, as well as documenting the construction of the magazine, the various choices I have made have been explored within. This document also highlights handmade elements which I have included, notably my own barcode and font.

Puff Badge

Barcode

Pre-production Planning - Cover Line Font

Referring back to the flatplan for the cover page, I had decided to feature six cover lines and one buzz and puff. The main cover line will be larger than the others and in a different font which will enable the reader to differentiate between the content. I aim to heighten this difference by using a unique font which is in a different style to the other cover lines. Considering the heavy san-serif presence, I have decided to experiment with using a brush-style serif font. I need this font to be feminine yet edgy, which emanates that of the cover star.

Firstly I completed some sketches of what I had in mind for the font. These will not be exactly copied as I plan for the final font to be more professional than what my current tracing skills could achieve. Nevertheless, the serifs and styles of my sketches will inspire my search.

These quite flowing sketches mimic that of brush style fonts, with the open 'Q' and flowing 'S' denoting quite feminine qualities.

First I looked online for possible fonts, starting with fontspace. I used the search tool to find fonts listed under the 'brush' tag, and limited my selection to just three fonts. These fonts are listed and explained below:

After viewing these fonts, I looked through my Font Book on my computer. This listed all of my downloaded fonts, and I discovered some which will also be suitable for the main cover line. As these have already been downloaded, I have lost the original source of these fonts. I presume that they would either come from fontpalace or lost type.



After considering all of these fonts, I have limited my selection further to just 4 possible fonts. My main criteria was: an edgy feel, feminine connotations, readability and brush style. I believe that the following fonts possess this, and when I come to construct my front cover I shall decide which is the most suitable.

When searching for the main cover line's font, I came across Bebas Neue from theultralinx.com, this is a 5 weighted font which will be perfect for keeping the cover lines consistent. I was quite certain that I wanted an all-capital letters font for the cover lines, as from my primary research, both Classic Rock and Clash feature their cover lines using just capital letters. Also, from doing some quick secondary research using google images, the majority of covers feature all capital letters as their font. From this, I believe it is safe to presume that capital letters for the cover lines are conventional. As the cover lines still need to make an impact, primarily using this font will suit this purpose.

Pre-production Planning - Cover Lines

Cover lines are placed on a magazine in order to entice the reader into buying the magazine. They are a small blurb on the front cover which gives a small amount of information about an article, or feature, inside. A magazine conventionally has one main cover line and several other cover lines. I have decided for my magazine to feature 6 cover lines overall, with 1 main cover line and 5 normal cover lines. This is all reliant on the image and space left on the page.

The main cover line will be directly related to the cover image, which will be solely featuring the same artist for the double page spread. As I plan for the artist, Aggie Champion, to have quite a diva-like personality, I need the main cover line to express this. The anchorage text beneath the cover line will directly reference the content of interview, which mainly focused on the negativity fame brings.

• Main Cover line: Queen She
• Anchorage: Aggie Champion on taking the good with the bad

I tried to be as inventive as possible, with 'Queen She' a play on 'queen bee'. The direct reference to royalty clearly connotes her diva attitude. The anchorage references 'taking the good with the bad' which is similar to what the artist said in her interview; "you've gotta take the good with the bad".

Ideally, I intend to have 5 cover lines which will provide insight about both the regular and feature articles. The first features a band which I constructed to be listed in the feature section. I intend to have an image of them in the contents page, but not feature in my double page spread. I have also decided to include a pull quote which will further entice the reader.

• The Coos: "We're living the dream"

The other 4 cover lines are directly related to the article list, each of which is explained in an earlier blog post.

• Getting brave with the 1975 (in reference to the Alt Challenge)
• Jamming with the Foo Fighters (in reference to the Lyric Lowdown)
• Have your say
• Up close with
• Foals
• Lorde

Interview Manuscript

Maintaining a clear idea of what questions I needed to ask during the interview certainly helped me gather the responses I needed. Before commencing the interview, I told Shannon (a.k.a the cover star) a bit about the personality which I had constructed, focusing on the more diva-esque aspects.

I altered some of my original questions to fit with the conversational tone as well as aspects which Shannon had previously said. On multiple occasions Shannon remarked something which could be explored further and add more depth to the article, so I thought it would be appropriate to address this. Despite the slight tangents, I remained true to the purpose of the article, including a musical aspect as well as a more conversational tone. Such tone is conventional in gossip magazines, which conventionally should appeal more to my target audience of females, despite the clear separation I want to maintain between these two genre of publications.

Cover Photo Shoot

Find all of the original, unedited photos on my flickr set via:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hayleymccarthy/sets/72157639597868065/

Photo Shoot Lighting

Pre-production Planning - Outfit

As alternative rock encompasses two genres, it is important for me to fins a compromise between these two stereotypes within the representation of my model. Further considering that alternative rock is a sub genre of rock music, so I will retain a major influence from the rock genre.

In a previous post where I analysed a quite conventional rock star Lemmy from the band Motörhead within Classic Rock. A laddish lathario with dark-coloured clothes adorned with chains portray a ruthless persona which is stereotypical of the rock genre.

In contrast to this, alternative genre conventions generally include well-dressed, fashionable young adults as seen in Clash magazine. Yet, as this is such a diverse genre, a rock influence is sometimes apparent. Distressed clothes, leather accents and chain accessories can also accompany fashionable clothing styles.

When deciding the outfit for my cover star, I wanted to try and incorporate both of these conventions into the outfit. Working with the cover star, we created multiple outfits based around the concept of 'edgy but modern'. After debating each element of the outfit - from accessories to shoes - we created the outfit below which I believe fits this requirement.

[Above: Created using Polyvore.com]

The all-black attire is both fashionable and stereotypical of the rock genre, connoting a quite unfriendly and unapproachable personality, which is what I intend to both construct and de-construct within the interview.

Looking back to my primary analyses of Classic Rock, Lemmy the cover star wore a hat, which formed a recognisable part of his image. Inspired by this, I chose for my cover star to wear a bowler hat, which has many historical connotations. Seen as a fairly masculine item, it has recently been reclaimed by females; transforming from the historical businessman attire, to a fashionable accessory used on informal occasions. This modern change lead by women made the bowler hat an essential accessory for my female-orientated magazine.

My model, Shannon, was also keen to wear a 90's style choker accessory. Seen as quite glam rock, we agreed that this added a personal flair to the outfit, and is once again becoming more popular amongst certain social circles.

From being adopted by Teddy Boys in the late 1950's to being transformed to a rockier vibe by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, these connotations make Creepers the perfect shoe for my magazine. Recently revived by grunge culture, these shoes are becoming increasingly mainstream, and the majority of my target audience will own these shoes (or know someone who does).

Whilst these accents encompass the genre of the magazine, the main focus of the outfit would be the top and bottoms of the cover star. I did not want to distract away from the features and actions which I will be directing Shannon to do, but rather retain a modern feel without being overpowering. Maintaining the all-black look, we agreed on faux leather leggings and a baggy top. These equal each other out, as the figure-hugging leggings will heighten her figure, whilst the baggy top will not be revealing, maintaining a more mature element.

Pre-production Planning - Artist

Production Schedule

To make sure that I successfully meet my deadlines, I have created a production schedule with the main tasks which I need to complete listed. I used Google Calendars to create this, as this is an interactive online tool which can be accessed anywhere, unlike a generic spreadsheet which has to be manually made available. The use of this tool generates a url which other people can view, creating cohesion for those tasks which require a group effort.

Pre-production Planning - Facebook Page

To portray the social media side of my magazine, I created a test Facebook page to demonstrate how various aspects would look to a non-facebook user. I created two dummy posts, one encouraging the readers to vote as part of the Alt Charts, and the other to entice them into discovering the new cover star. I added the masthead as the cover photo and profile picture, and even created a custom domain extension of: https://www.facebook.com/altmagtest for this purpose.

Creating a test page demonstrates the refinement of my ideas, as well as taking my research further and acting upon it. Facebook was voted the most popular social media site in my studies, so the use of this platform is very appropriate.

Should I continue this aspect further, I would utilise various apps available to create a custom home page directed to another tab rather than the wall posts, which would list polls and competitions related to the magazine.

Pre-production Planning - Paper Quality

Looking back to my primary analyses of other related music magazines, I used this information to determine the amount of pages of my publication, comparing those in a similar price bracket (£3.50).

• The Wire - £4.50 - 100 pages including front & back
• Classic Rock - £3.99 - 140 pages including front & back
• Clash - £3.99 - 148 pages including front & back

Quality of paper is also a consideration, as glossier, thicker paper is more expensive to produce than thinner, matte paper.

• The Wire - gloss cover - thin matte gloss pages
• Classic Rock - high gloss cover - medium thick gloss pages
• Clash - matte cover - thick matte pages

As a direct result from the audience surveys, my magazine is priced cheaper than these publications at £3.50. Due to this price, I intend for my publication to have 100 pages, a gloss cover and matte pages, keeping the production cost at a minimum.

Pre-production Planning - Articles

Within the contents page, 20 articles must be referenced. Split into features and regular articles, these should interest the target audience as well as be relevant to the music genre of alternative rock.

As 39% of the target audience who are aged 16-21 listen to music for more than 5 hours a day, I wanted to maintain a clear focus on bands, with 84% of those questioned wanting to see interviews the magazine. Keen to keep the publication fresh and interesting, I shall add elements regarding bands which are conducted in creative ways other than a regimented interview style.

Features:

• Cover Star Aggie Champion (own creation)

• Touring with the Coos (own creation)

• Album Success We The Kings

• Catching Up with Imagine Dragons

• Lunch with Arctic Monkeys

Regulars:

• Up Close:

  - Foals

  - Lorde

• Getting Deep with Haim

• 10 Facts about The Lumineers

• Lyric Lowdown the Foo Fighters

• Alt Challenge with The 1975

• Upcoming Artist

• Reviews

  - Album

  - Live
  - Reader

• Alt Charts

• Alt Voice

• Competition

• Merchandise

- Up Close is the section where more personal questions are put to artists that are perhaps glazed over by more mainstream publications. This is a section whereby artists can lay any rumours to rest, as well as declare any interesting information about their lifestyle and upcoming work. This more gossip-lead lifestyle section is appealing to the female target audience, who stereotypically enjoy reading magazines such as 'OK!' and 'Heat' in their leisure time. Somewhat of a guilty pleasure for most, this section is fully geared to the target audience, rendering it suitable for the regulars section in every issue.

- The most in-depth part of the magazine, more philosophical-orientated questions such as "what's the meaning of life". Purely for entertainment, this allows the artist to engage with the publication more, giving thoughtful answers, hence portraying a more heightened realism within the artist. This also allows the artist's viewpoints to be read by their fans, which are often hungry for information. As part of the 'regulars' section, I plan for this Q&A to stick to the same template of questions (around 15) which remain the same in each issue. This in turn encourages the readers to become familiar with these questions, and perhaps begin to ask their peers them. If nothing else, I plan for the readers to be intrigued about these questions, developing the more mature nature of the magazine.

- Choosing a recent song from the artist/band, Alt magazine analyses the lyrics with the help of the artist, uncovering their intended meaning and their significance with the artist. This is a more thoughtful section, which is very much focused on the music element, maintaining a clear focus within the magazine. Once again, this is a more mature stance which will be appreciated amongst the 16-21 year old target audience.

- The Alt Challenge is similar to popular food challenges which much of the target audience have participated in. From eating the fieriest chilli to how many ice cubes you can eat in a minute, these various entertaining challenges will both appeal to the audience as well as showing a lighthearted view to the artist which isn't always portrayed in the media. There is also possibility to record the event for the fans to view online on sites such as YouTube, further involving them in the publication. As this is listed in the 'regulars' section, I intend the Alt Challenge to become a unique element of the magazine which can be heavily associated with the publication.

- Album reviews were especially popular with those surveyed, with it being the second most-wanted element within the magazine. Catering to the target audience's needs once more, the inclusion of both album and live gig reviews will keep the readers interested, as well as giving a sense that their opinions matter, strengthening the relationship they have with the publication.

- As mentioned previously, the very high figure of those who listen to music for more than 5 hours a day clearly shows an interest and enjoyment in music. Therefore I believed it would be important to include a tailored chart section for the alternative music genre voted for by the target audience using social media. A monthly selection of 30+ songs will be voted on using social networking sites such as Facebook (which was also voted the most popular social media site) gaining a further involvement with the readers.

- Dubbed Alt Voice for it's connotations with speech, this section is where the readers can have their say about the alternative rock industry. Opinions are welcomed, even those which can be deemed 'unpopular'. A full-fledged rant page where people can get involved and show their passion for music. People can get involved with this through social media and the magazine's website, with the opportunity for comments to be made in a forum setting to directly respond and confer.

- To be advertised on the front cover, this is a further enticement to buy the magazine, and to some people a justification of the reasonable £3.50 price. I didn't want to include a freebie as I believe that this can cheapen the publication somewhat. A free CD often contains fairly unpopular songs which are somewhat lacklustre, and in most cases not the sole reason for purchasing the magazine. Because of this, I believe the offer of an competition is far greater, such as meeting a band or winning signed merchandise. Furthermore the winning of a competition encourages feelings of success and can be advertised on the magazine's Facebook page, giving good publicity for the publication.

- Females are quite stereotypically well-known for their shopping habits, which explains why 44% of readers voted a for a merchandise section. Adhering to stereotype, a merchandise section will feature both band and magazine related content, which would involve the magazine earning a profit from each sale. As well as a secure service for the readers to gain their genuine band merchandise, the inclusion of items such as wrist-bands and t-shirts which feature the magazine logo increase publicity for the brand. Appealing more to the younger end of the target audience, this is an avenue which could potentially gain both profit and popularity.

Pre-production Planning - Interview

The content of the interview must cover at least one full page, as well as giving an insight into the artist's life. A clear purpose should be maintained, with all questions relating to the music industry and/or significant current event.

As we are able to construct an artist for the purpose of the magazine, the focus of the article will be about the artist's recent career success and the challenges from their peers which they faced along the way. Open-ended questions which offer scope for a long answer will be used.

Main Article:
• With a grammy and two gold discs, do you feel you've succeeded?
• Do you think that being on the cusp of an increasingly popular mainstream genre helped your success?
• Do you think that fame is a burden?
• Are you really that ruthless?
• Why do you not like doing interviews?
• How do you deal with the negativity?
• Do you care what people think about you?
• Did you ever doubt yourself?
• What one piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

Pre-production Planning - Classic Rock

From looking at various print publications, it is rare to have the questions written in bold exactly as they were asked. In this article from Classic Rock, the questions are blended seamlessly into the article, or simply left out and replaced with a background to the answer.

My favourite article structure is that of Classic Rock's, which uses third person (shown in red) to offer a background of an answer, before switching to first person (shown in blue) for the answer, and occasionally the injection of a question. The juxtaposition of these two offer varied viewpoints, with the third person giving insight into the situation, and the first person giving the artist a voice, bringing the article back to the present. Should the whole article have been in first person, the focus of the article would have been shared between the interviewer and the interviewee. This conflict would have been distracting, and obscured the purpose of the article.

Despite this, I believe a more structured question and answer model would be more effective for my target audience. By keeping the information in chucks this breaks up what could be a daunting body of text.

The fluidity of this extract has inspired me to ask questions in a chronological order, with the questions eventually building to the main chunk of the interview; relating directly to the cover line and contents page text.

At the same time, this extract has shown the importance of long answers from the artist, so open-ended questions which I already have an idea of what the answer will be allow me to structure the article further.