Magazine Feature Article Draft

This is what I would like my feature article to look like in my magazine. This layout however may change slightly when I get into the production process.

Magazine Contents Page Draft

This is a basic outline of how I would like the contents page for my magazine to look. However, like my front cover and feature article drafts, the layout may shift and change around when I am in the production process.

Magazine Front Cover Draft

This is roughly the layout that I would like my front cover to look like. However, as I construct it, it may turn out to look a little bit different as things will fit in differently depending on things such as the main image size.

Original Ideas Statement

In my magazine, I will be including both music and fashion. These are topic areas that appeal to my target audience of 16-19 year old females. My audience would be interested in the new trends and fashions, but also the new releases of music. However, there is a vintage aspect to their personalities, so there will be a ‘roll back’ area of the magazine, which has old bands and artists that my target audience would be interested in- for example, The Beatles. Likewise, the fashion that is included will be high-street fashion that is affordable. This is because, my audience will most likely be in further education, so would not be able to afford expensive designer branded clothing. Also, due to the fact that the audience will be in further education, my magazine will be used as an escape from their hectic lives, and college work. The type of music that I will cover in my magazine will be slightly alternative, main stream music, which people of this age group would enjoy listening to. There will be the music charts included in my magazine, as 16-19 year olds are interested in knowing what is popular and they like being in the know. 

Overview of Magazine Industry

There are more than 8000 magazine titles that are published in Britain. They can be categorised into 7 different divisions:

1.    Consumer General and Specialist- sold in newsagents and available online

2.    Business/ Trade/ Professional/ B2B- for people at work

3.    Customer magazines- organisations give to their customers as a form of marketing

4.    Staff magazines- inform staff about the company

5.    Newspaper supplements- come free as part of a daily/Sunday paper

6.    Part works- a set number of issues builds up into an ‘encyclopaedia’ on a specific topic

7.    Academic journals- for university: level discussion of topics

Out of all of these categories, consumer magazines sell the most in newsagents around the UK. Consumer General magazines are wide-ranging titles that aim to entertain and inform the reader. Examples of these magazines are ELLE, RADIO TIMES and HEAT. Consumer Specialist titles are focussed a specific interest of hobby. Therefore the reader would buy the magazine, to find out more about one particular interest of theirs. Such as CAR, TOTAL FILM and GARDENERS’ WORLD.

There are four big consumer magazine publishers: Bauer Publishing, IPC Media, BBC and National Magazine Company. The leading publisher is Bauer Publishers with 25% sales. Close behind is IPC Media with 20%. The least sales publisher is National Magazine Company with 7.3%.

In the UK today, there are 3,300 different consumer titles, compared with 1,383 in 1980. There are 1.4 billion magazines sold each year, compared with 2.1 billion sold in 1970, and 1.2 billion in 1992. This shows that that the sales of magazines decreased between years 1970 and 1992, but is slowly increasing to the present time. 85% of the population read a magazine, and advertisers spent 745 million, on advertising in magazines in 2008. On average, consumers annually spend 2 billion on magazines, and an average of 500 new magazines have been launched every year in the past decade. However, only three in ten titles last for longer than four years.

Out of all the magazine brands, there are five most popular women’s monthly magazines. They are Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Yours, Women & Home and Good Housekeeping. These are all stereotypical female magazines, which feature aspects of gossip, fashion and the home. All of which are dominant representation of what women want to read about. Likewise, there are the top five children’s and teen magazines. They are Moshi monsters magazine, Fun to learn- Peppa Pig, Fun to learn-Friends, CBeebies Art and Top of the Pops. These all appeal to the younger audience, as some help with learning and cartoon pictures, however the magazine that appeals to the teenage market, features celebrity gossip, ‘boyfriend troubles’ and fashion tips. These are all things that teenage girls would want to find out more about. Along with this, there are four top men’s lifestyle magazines: Men’s health, Nuts, FHM and GQ. The magazines such as Men’s health don’t include gossip and fashion (which women are more interested in), however, they are more informative and suit the male target audience. 

Magazine Colours Mood Board

The first colour scheme is commonly found on female magazines such as 'Q' and 'Now'. It adds sophistication in the minimal colours used, as the black and white are smart and professional, and the red adds a feminine touch to it. This is the same with the 3rd colour scheme. The pinky/purple one is appealing to my female target audience. The dominant representation of it is a female colour, opposed to a masculine one. The last colour scheme portrays a very girly and feminine touch to the magazine, which would appeal to a younger female audience, age range 12-15. This is not my target audience age group; therefore, I don't think I will be using this colour scheme.
The colour scheme which I chose will depend on the colour I choose to incorporate in my magazine front cover main image. I may choose to use the second one down, if my main image has the light blue shade combined in it. This would make my front cover seem more slick and stylish. Also, by only using three (or four) colours, the front cover will look a lot more elegant and tasteful, rather than piling loads of different colours on, and making it look cluttered and tacky. My favorite ones are the first, second and third ones.

Magazine Text Fonts Mood Board

I have included these six fonts, as I believe they all look professional and stylish. Likewise, I think they all have a feminine aspect to them, which suits my magazine target audience. The first one, 'verve', I particularly like, as it is quite slick, but also stands out from a simple, basic font. Also, it has a vintage look to it. This also appeals to my target audience, as they will be into style and the more artistic look. Moreover, I like the font 'motown motel'. The boldness to it allows it to stand out, and it would be a good font for my mast head. The fact that it's in italics makes it seem more feminine, once again appealing to my target audience. I also like the font 'femoralis'. Like 'verve', it has an arty look to it, and is very feminine. It may work well as the font of the titles on the cover lines. 'georgia' is also a feminine and girly font. However it is quite plain and basic, so doesn't fit in with the arty theme of my magazine. 'Agency FB' is quite a basic font that is easy to read and be understood by the audience. This is why I believe that it would be a good font for my front cover, to use on the cover lines. It looks like quite a modern font, which also appeals to my target audience's expectations of the magazine.
The font which I least like is 'forte'. This is because it doesn't flow very well, and I believe it would better suit a male music magazine due to the abstract nature of it. It looks like the font that would be found in a Kerrang magazine.