Analysis of Exisitng Magazines

The first magazine cover that I will analysis is Mixmag.

The front of the title of Mixmag is surprisingly simple. The text is just large but is not a fancy text. The headings on the cover of what is in the magazine are really fancy and have a layering of the same word around each letter the font type is traditional. The text is still clear to read but is eye catching and effective. There is one main picture; of Sam Sparrow smiling. The picture is effective in the way that it has been layered and different things that have been put on the front cover are over lapping the picture. The picture is a medium close up it’s very clear. It portrays some sort of attitude on the magazine this could also be why it’s aimed at a young target audience. The picture is also of a young good looking male which would attract the audience of young females. Also on the magazine at the very top the say they are giving free CD's and a club guide this clearly tells us its a young audience and is aimed at people who go clubbing. The design is tailored to meet the target audience in the way that things over lap, that there are use of colours and wide range of different types of font. For example all the font that is yellow really stands out and could be known to be a young target audience colour. The reason i think the overlapping would work for a young target audience is because it makes the magazine front cover fun at "Young." The font is another way that the magazine has been made to have a young target audience. The letters are not joined and are clear to read but still have a good effect. The colour purple that has been used for the back ground works well with colour of the title and headings this is good and keeps the magazine cover not looking too complicated. Some extra information that is added is the bar code, date and the note price of the magazine. The main sort of stories on the magazine is a music interview with Sam Sparrow.

The next magazine front cover I'm analysing is DJ Mag. The front cover of this magazine is really busy. Its does use a wide range of colours and has more then one main image on it which is unusual.
The title of the magazine is in Bold red font they have done this to make that been the thing that stands out. Unlike the over magazine where that title is simple and calm. This really tells us it’s aimed at a younger target audience.
The picture on the magazine is of three young males on a beach, this is not a medium close up. Although there is more then one person on the magazine like you normally find it still works. The picture gives of a good vibe and makes the person reading; want to be where the people in the picture are.
This magazine also overlaps and layers writing over the picture. This is really good and effective. Red bold writing has been used again so its stands out. All the different subjects that are in the magazine have been highlighted in different colour to each other; this makes it clear for us and is again easy to find what we are looking for. There are many similarities between the two magazines for example they are both giving away free stuff and they both give of some sort of attitude.
Something that this magazine uses that the over one doesn't is Shapes and then adding the texts on to the shapes. As you can see there is like a star shape which draws the audience’s eye in and makes us want to read the magazine. The extra information that is on the front cover is the bar code, date and the note price of the magazine.
The way that this magazine is tailored to meet the needs of the target audience is that it’s quite busy and a lot is going on. Even though the are some varieties in both of the covers they still have both got strong points and are similar in there target audience.

Target audience

Using the website www.NRS.co.uk i tried to look up dance magazines and who there publishers were but i had no luck so decided to go to the Mix-mag website instead. I looked through the website and found a paragraph about the publisher and who the magazine is aimed at.

http://www.mixmag.net/content/reader-profile ( The website address.)

< This is a print screen of the page that i found on the website.
The page that i found is clever in the way that they have spoken about why the magazine is good, they have given us a wide background into Mix-Mag magazine. Not only do we find out about the magazine, we also find out about the target audience and what percentage or male and female read the magazine.

I also looked up the magazine DJ MAG. I went on to there website but was unable to find about the publisher and the target audience so i emailed the magazine asking about the target audience.The DJ MAG website has a really simple set out. Although its simple with a simple colour palate its still has images that represent a young target audience ranging from the age of 18-30. On the magazine there are advertising for dj's at different clubs this tells us that it is aimed at a young target audience.
Also is talks about getting free stuff for example CD's and downloading new music.What i like about this magazine and would like to take the idea from is how the layout is so simple, so when someone is looking for something it is found easily and quick.


The magazine that i would like to make is going to be aimed and the ages between 18-25. The reason i have chosen to do this age is because i think is goes back to Mix-Mag. What i mean by this is that on the page that i found it spoke about nights out, clothes etc and that gives me an image in my mind that the magazine is aimed at that target audience.My magazine will be aimed at people who are individualist, succeeders and well- adjusted people. I think that aiming my magazine at that sort of group of people will benefit the magazine in the way that the magazine allows people to be different and not to follow everyone else.Not only will the magazine all be about dance music it will be about stepping out and making your self noticed.

Main coursewok

For our Main coursework we are creating a music magazine, which will include a front cover, contents page and double page.My music magazine will be based on dance music.I will be using a developing skills that I learnt from the preliminary task. Below is the link to my preliminary task

http://sdcmediaasmelissastart.blogspot.com/

My Contents page.

This is my contents page. What I really like about my contents page is that the contents title is effective in the way that the colour fades as the words go on. I have also a picture on my contents page to make it more fun, the picture will be of the college building. The background is a light pink to make it not to hard to look at and make the background calm and simple.

Complete cover

This is my final front cover. I really liked that colours
that I choose to use because they are really simple and calm but still draw the audiences attention in. I made sure the title was really big a bold to also bring in the attention of the target audience. I also liked this picture because I thought that it represented a college student well, also though it was a good picture and not a bad quality.

Cover flat plan

This is my Cover flat plan. I have a big title which brings attention to my magazine. I have chosen to write about best dressed and about Freshers because they same to be a popular topic and will engage the attention of my target audience!Also wanted to use colours like purple so my magazine is bright and bold and will attract the audience. I'm going to have one main picture which will be a medium close up of a student, I have chosen to do this because that would be something that would relate to the students at college.

Contents flat plan

This is my contents flat plan.
I have choose to put a picture underneath the title to make the page more effective, the picture I would like to put underneath is a picture of the main college building Cliff.
I have then named all the articles that are in my magazine, and made sure that they are all representing my target audience. I also gave each topic a number just to make it clearer for the reader of my magazine.

Photographs

I have chosen to use this picture because its nice and clear, its also really happy. This will look good on my magazine and will be effective.I have realized whilst doing my magazine that this is not a medium close up but i still think it works well with my magazine. The reason it works well is because the students can relate to this picture and it's not just some point less picture of anyone.

Photographs

I am not using this picture because Lydia has her eyes closed and this wouldn't be effective on my magazine. Also the flash is on which wouldn't look good on my magazine. Another reason i don't want to use it is because the attitude of the picture was not what i wanted.

Introduction

What i'am working on is a college magazine which is aimed at 16- 18 year old students. Featuring a photograph of a student medium close up.