Researching Readership Profiles

Kerrang!
They mainly target a younger audience with their main readers being aged 15-24 (56.1% of their readers). There are older readers (21.5% aged 25-34, 13.4% aged 35-44), however this makes up a much smaller percentage of their audience.

They have a readership of 293,000 and a circulation of 33,024.

On average they have an ABC1 demographic.

Kerrang! has slightly more male readers than female (45.3% female vs 54.7% male) however generally, the target audience is not gender specific.

The average Kerrang! reader purchases over 6 albums per month, and are 8 times more likely than the national average to spend over £200 a year on music.

Products you could expect to see being advertised:

• Albums
• Concert tickets
• Band merchandise - e.g. t-shirts, hoodies, wristbands, posters
• Alternative clothing brands e.g. Blue Banana
• Rock festivals - e.g. Slam Dunk, Warped Tour, Download
• Body jewelry for more 'hard core' piercings e.g. - septum, lip, stretchers
• Wrist bands

The magazine itself appeals to their younger audience with the use of a loud colour scheme and font styles. The smashed and rough font used for the masthead reflects the edgy music genre that is associated with Kerrang! . They also offer free posters which is a product that sells really well among young people. 

Q
Readers are predominantly male (68.3%)

They have a 70% ABC1 profile and high disposable income.

Q targets an older target audience than the previous two magazines - 25-44 = 46.1%

They have a 48,353 circulation and a readership of 339,000.

69% of Q's readership only buy Q magazine and no other.

Products you could expect to see in Q:

• Album Releases
• Films
• Tour passes
• Festivals - Glastonbury
• Musical Instrument
• Vinyls

Q's simple font style makes it more appropriate for the older target audience.

Metal Hammer

Metal Hammer targets a predominantly young male target audience - 85% male readership. They are on average aged 22 and 41% are employed. 51% are studying.

Readers like to see bands live - half see live music at least once a month and 79% will be going to a festival in the next year. The average reader spends around £112 a month on music and gigs

Creating music is also a big part of a Metal Hammer reader's life- 2/3 readers play guitar and 1/3 are in a band.

Products expected to be advertised in Metal Hammer:

• Album Releases
• Musical Instruments - most likely guitars
• Concert Tickets
• Festival Tickets - Download,
• Band Merchandise
• Clothing - Hoodies, t-shirts, wristbands 

Preliminary Project - Evaluation Of Final Front Cover

 

 

Overall I think I created an okay looking front cover, however there are lots of areas I am not happy with and wish to improve on. My design idea behind the cover was a cool relaxed theme that focused on the positive energy and thinking needed for sixth form.

 

One of my main problems was actually coming up with headlines to put on the cover. To improve this I could've asked my target audience directly what they would want to see in a sixth form magazine and then based my headlines on their feedback. I also had trouble fitting the colour scheme to the background of the photo, so in future I would plan my photoshoot more carefully, rather than taking lots of different photos in the hopes of getting something good.

 

I also need to work on sticking to and actually using a plan. This would then help with my time management, as I would know exactly what I am aiming to achieve with the final project. In the future I would also plan to use more conventions, as my cover is lacking quite a bit in features that could help to promote the magazine. The conventions I used already in my magazine cover were; Main image relating to the theme, bold eye-catching logo, other article headlines, date of the issue and, the barcode and price.

 



Process Of Putting Together The Front Cover

When I started to put together my magazine cover first of all I found that the image was too small to fit an A4 page so I used the clone stamp tool on Photoshop to make the image fit. I also used this tool to edit out the tree behind the building as I didn't like how it took up only one side.

 

After I had sorted out the image I started to put together all the components based on my sketched draft. However, as it started to come together I didn't like the style of it as I felt that the font I had used for the logo made it look very childish - definitely not appropriate for a target audience of 15-19 year olds. I also didn't like how the header acted like it was cutting off the sky. This gave quite an oppressing look - the exact opposite image I was going for.

 

To rectify this I changed the logo to a more classic looking font in a light blue colour to fit with my chosen colour scheme. I also changed the header to a footer, and made it the same colour of the logo to link. I really liked how the name filled the top part of the magazine and it is also clearer and easier to read than my original logo idea. I also tried to see what it would be like with the title behind the model on the image.



 

After I had come up with this revised logo, I decided that a darker blue would be better and easier to see against the light background so therefore changed the colours appropriately. 

 

I then decided that having the logo over the models face was better than behind as it didn't obstruct the lettering. With the model in the foreground, the logo becomes slightly harder to read and therefore maybe misinterpreted. After I had chosen this final composition I started to add in the headlines and barcode ect. I found it hard to come up with a good colour to use for the words so that they would show up on the changing background. In the end I decided the best thing I could do was to only have text below the windows, as this is where there is a darker background.

 

Rough Draft of Composition for Cover

Photography For Cover Image

When doing the photography for the cover image, I decided to not have a set plan in my head, and instead just went around the school with my model, Iona Hodson, and took a variety of different shots. I used a Canon EOS 1100D to take the photography, and came up with lots of different images to choose from, however I felt that the three photos below had the most potential.

In the end I chose the second of these three images, as I felt that the gaze looking upwards gave a positive effect of looking forward. This would be very appropriate for a sixth form magazine as this is what the target audience should be aiming to become, looking forward to a bright and positive future.

Fonts and Colour Scheme Ideas

For the font of the masthead, I wanted something quite old school styled, so my first idea was to try something like the two fonts above. This suits the theme of the magazine well as it is often associated with college or school sporting teams, and it is clear and easy to read. However I felt that the full capital letters were very ___ . I also think it would be more appropriate for a younger target audience since it's quite cheesy and so obviously associated with school.

Of the other fonts I looked at, I decided I liked font number__ the best. I really like the retro theme and the curved edges of the letters give it a relaxed but upbeat feel.On the downside, the V's from the font look like U's, so it could be mistaken as 'Uerue' rather than 'Verve' . Despite this, I really liked the style of this font, so I decided to use it as inspiration for creating my own font for the logo. I drew this design out on paper then scanned it in, and used a bamboo drawing pad with Photoshop to create the final font image.

 

For the colour scheme, I plan to use blues and whites, as these colours are often ascociated with school. They also give a calm relaxing image as opposed to and agressive colour such as red. For the font used in the smaller headlines I will use a simple, readable font with a modern style so that it is appropriate for the target audience.

Sixth Form Magazine Name

Originally I had more obvious and simple ideas for the name such as 'Downs Sixth' however most magazines have more abstract names that may not be directly obvious as to what it is about (e.g. Kerrang! , Empire, NME). This therefore inspired me to find more creative ideas. I looked at synonyms of the words 'enthusiasm' and 'education' , and came up with a list of possible ideas. I also added to the list some ideas revolving round the number six, and the idea of moving up, to link with Sixth Form.

• Intellect - 'an educated person whose interests are studying'
• Pep - 'lively spirits or energy'
• Verve - 'enthusiasm or vigor'
• Flair - 'a natural talent or ability'
• Voyage - moving up and through your life
• Sixth

I decided to narrow the list down to 'Pep' 'Verve' and 'Flair' and then ask a group of 15 and 16 year olds for their opinion. In the end 'Verve' was decided on. I chose this name because the meaning of the word fits perfectly with the 'enthusiasm' I want to portray through the magazine cover. However, even with not knowing what the word means, the sound of it flows well, fitting with a relaxed theme.

Target Audience for College Magazine (Reader Profile)

Age range : 15 -19

Sixth form is only meant for students aged 16-18, however I decided to expand my target age range to 15-19 as some people stay on for an extra year after they are 18. Also, people who are going into the sixth form (i.e. 15 year olds) may be interested in reading about things they can look forward to are start getting ready for. 

Gender : Aimed at both genders

Both male and female students attend sixth form, therefore the colour schemes and articles featured in the magazine should be appropriate for both genders.

Interests and Hobbies

• Films
• Music
• Clothes (possibly more female orientated)
• Learning to drive
• Socialising
• Sports
• Food
• Social Media

Worries and things that they care about

• Their future
• Employment
• Stress management
• Exams
• Coursework
• Interviews
• Applying for University
• Time management
• Choices
• Relationships

What they want to know about

• Options for after sixth form/college
• Employment opportunities (both part time and for after sixth form)
• Current affairs that could affect them
• Apprenticeship information
• Drugs and alcohol advice

Magazine Front Cover Annotation

Common Conventions of Magazine Covers

• Bold eye-catching logo in a style appropriate for the target audience. – Easily recognisable by current readers.
• Main central image that links with the cover title. - Often a known celebrity to attract new readers who know, and want to read about, the star.
• Large cover title relating with the main image.
• Features and other article headlines from within the magazine to get customers to want to read it.
• Extra promotion to sell other copies of the magazine.
• Competitions that customers may be instrested in entering, and therefore will be persuaded to buy.
• Barcode and price of the magazine.
• Date of the issue - so it is relevant to current readers who want to read about present or future news.
• Quotes taken from the articles inside.
• Mentions of famous names featured inside the magazine.

All three of these magazine use the majority of these conventions, however each is used differently according to the target audience. Kerrang! and Rocksound both target the rock and metal audience, so therefore their colour schemes and typeface styles are more edgy and dark. They often use the colour schemes red, white and black to target a more extreme audience. Q magazine, however, features the indie music scene, so their colour schemes and cover photos are more soft, and fit with the elegant font used in the logo.