Magazine Proposal.

Proposal Presentation.

Distribution Of Magazines (PART B -TASK 5)

There are several different methods to distribute physical/hard copy magazines.

1. The first way of distributing physical copies of magazines are by selling them in shops. However there are situations where not all magazines are bought which means the magazines that are left are returned back to the company. This means that the shop does not pay for the left magazines but just returns them back. Problems with this is that this is very expensive for the publisher as they don't get any money for the magazines that are not sold. This is also wasteful and impacts the environment. 
2. The second way of distributing magazines is by postal subscription. Subscription allows you to get special offers and the magazine is delivered straight to the customer. Customers also get discounts and they receive the magazine early. For example MixMag allows you to subscribe and choose your offers. https://mixmag.subscribeonline.co.uk/mixmag-magazine/mixmag
3. The third way of distributing physical copies of magazines is by direct distribution. This means that you can get the magazine for free in different places such as tube stations or big supermarkets. An example of a magazine that uses direct distribution is NME.

Many magazines use e-zines or e-magazines too. This means that customers can access a magazine online or get an app where they would be able to read the magazine. Magazines such as MixMag offer  different options. http://www.mixmag.net/page/get-the-magazine/

Also a music magazine that is quite popular in using e-zines is RWD.

MixMag  makes use of other media technologies to display their magazine .They use Facebook and Twitter to allow audience to get access to their magazine. https://www.facebook.com/MixmagMagazine

https://twitter.com/Mixmag?
ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

MixMag also has a YouTube channel which is called MixMag TV. This allows the audience to listen to tracks of different DJ's and this also advertises the magazine which is useful.

https://www.youtube.com/user/mixmagtv

Masthead Practice.

Today in class we learnt how to use 'adobe illustrator'. We learnt how to use different tools and how to design a masthead. This was the first time I have used this and this is not my final design for my masthead!

Magazine newsstand and distribution task

I went to WHSmith to have a look at how music magazines have been displayed and what ones have been displayed. First of all, all the magazines are divided into sections. There is a whole section for music magazines and at the top it states 'music' which makes it easy to spot the section and find music magazines. All the music magazines have just been stacked on shelves and as you can see in the image there are only three shelves for music magazines. Stacking magazines on shelves allows people to still see the masthead because the top of the magazine does not get covered by a different magazine. This is beneficial because people can still easily identify the magazine they are looking for. On the other hand, not all cover lines can be seen only the ones that are on the magazines that are displayed at the front of all other magazines. This puts the other magazines at a disadvantage because people can't see the cover lines straight away which means they can't get an insight of what is inside the magazine straight away.The front covers of the magazines that have been display differ. Some magazines uses dark covers and some used light covers. However all magazines uses the main conventions of front covers, they all have an image, masthead, cover lines, bar code etc..The only thing that is different is the style of the front cover and this is understandable because there are different music genre magazines. Finally the images of all the magazine clearly reflect the magazines genre. All images can be seen but not the whole image is seen only some parts of it due to the way they have been displayed. There are different music magazine title available for example: DJ, MixMag, Kerrang, Rock and others. However the rock genre magazines are displayed the most. This means there is a wider range of them and the options are wider compared to other genres.

Initial Ideas For My Magazine.

In class I started to gather my ideas for my own magazines. I thought about the genre, audience and the content. I still need to think of  a good, short and catchy title and think about who would the publisher be.

Ideas From My Case Studies.

From the two case studies that I have done on music magazines, I have gathered some ideas on what elements I want to include in my own music magazine. The elements that I am considering on using are:

• Using a three colour scheme for my front cover.
• Using more colours such as: red, blue and purple on the contents page and placing the images in the middle of the page.
• Using a double page spread for the contents page.
• Use some colour for my DPS- using a colour gutter.
• Include a text box of something extra on the DPS.
• Use colourful subheadings for the contents page. 

Evaluation of Preliminary Task

EVALUATION

The aim for task three was to create a college magazine front cover and a contents page. I used Photoshop to create my cover as it allows you to manipulate images and I used InDesign to create the contents page as it allows you to achieve even layouts and a clear design. I was hoping to use as many conventions of covers and contents pages as I could because I wanted to achieve a professional look. I got knowledge and some ideas from other college magazines that I have looked at in class. This allowed me to understand the conventions of college magazines. Baring in mind this was the first creative task I have done, there is a lot of space for improvement and this evaluation will help me evaluate my work in detail and set targets for the next creative task.

What Went Well? (Font Cover)

The first thing that I have done was take some images. I have used a female student for my front cover. I wanted my image to reflect college students so I decided that she should have a bag on her shoulder, her ID card around her neck and hold some books. I also told my model to smile. This was successful because I got the image I wanted to have. The mid-shot of my model was taken on a white background which means that I did not need to crop out the image out of its background. However I did use Photoshop to make the background lighter and make the background look whiter so the image was manipulated a little. I added the masthead at the top of the page in the left hand corner. I then used the eyedropper tool to choose the colour of it because I wanted the masthead to be the same colour as the bag. This was successful and allowed me to set out the colour scheme. The last letter of the masthead was on top of the model’s head so I used the rubber tool manipulate and to rub out the bottom half of the letter. This made the masthead look like it was behind the image which looked natural and professional. I added cover lines that were relevant to college life and I added them on both sides of the cover. The main cover line was placed in the middle and was white. This allowed the main cover line stand out and the placement of it highlighted that it was the main cover line as it was separated from the rest of the cover lines. In addition I also added a bar code, issue date, price and a website. The price, website and the bar code was placed at the bottom of the cover but the issue date was placed at the top. I chose to include these things because they reflect the usual conventions of magazine front covers. Finally I used the traditional three colour scheme, the colours that I have used are: burgundy, white and black. The three colours allow my cover to loom neat and simple but also effective. Overall I believe that my front cover clearly reflects the genre of the magazine and I have been successful in producing a front cover with the right conventions.

What to Improve On? (Front Cover)

First of all I could improve my front cover by making the gutter smaller. This would provide me with a bit more space and I could make the cover look bigger. The feedback that I have received also mentioned that it is hard to read some cover lines. Therefore I could improve this by increasing the font size of the text so it becomes easier to read and I could also change the colour of the text. Instead of using black text I could use a brighter colour that would be more visible. In addition I could also consider the positioning of the cover lines, meaning that I shouldn’t place them on the main image but place them all on white background in order for them to clearly stand out and be visible. I could improve my cover by adding a skyline above the masthead. This would make my front cover look more professional. To add to that I could also add a puff which would enhance the cover. All of the listed things above would allow me to produce a better looking magazine front cover.

What Went Well? (Contents Page)

Firstly for my contents page I took some images that were relevant and reflected the genre of the magazine. I used one page for the contents page which allowed me to have enough space for all the information I wanted to include. I also used grid lines which guided me to an even layout, it helped me to position everything in an equal way. I was successful at using house style throughout task three as I have used the same font as I have used for the cover. This makes it look professional. I have used different subheadings which means I included three different columns that helped me to organise everything. In addition to that, I included page numbers that were listed in chronological order hence my contents page looks neat and organised. Furthermore, I have added numbers on the all of the images and this reflects a convention of a contents page. Finally I have added an editor’s letter on the right side of the page. Below the editors letter I added social media logos. This is advertising social media and is telling the readers that the magazine can be available on social media which is quite popular. This is a common convention that successful magazine use so I decided to use it too.

What to Improve On? (Contents Page)

The contents page needs improvement, therefore one thing that I could improve on is the use of colour. I could add more colour to the contents page so it looks more attractive and less boring to look at. The use of more colours would also make certain sections stand out more and become more eye catching. In addition, I could make the subheadings a different colour for example blue or red. This would allow the subheadings stand out more. The other thing that needs to be improved is the visibility of the numbers on the images. Some of the numbers are hard to read so instead of having the numbers black and positioned at the bottom of the image, the first thing I could do is change the colour of it for instance to white and increase the font size. I could then position them at the top of the image in the left hand corner. This would allow the numbers to easily be read and spotted. I could also make the contents page a double page and include more images which would make the contents page look visually busy and would create an idea that the magazine has a lot to offer.  Lastly I could change the background of the contents page and get rid of the white background in order to make the contents page look more exciting.

Key Points for Development.

1.    When creating the main task I should definitely consider the font size of the text and the     positioning of it. I need to make sure that all my text is clearly visible and easy to read.
2.     I  also need to make use of all the empty space when creating the main task so it does not look plain and boring.
3.   When creating the main task (contents page) I need to make sure I use more colours and images so it looks visually busy and exciting.
4.   Finally when creating the main task (front cover) I need to use all conventions of music magazines and make sure I include a puff and a skyline so it looks highly professional.

Final Preliminary Task

This is my final college front cover and my final college contents page.

Working-In Progress: college contents page 2

Today I added in the 'editors letter'. I changed the layout of the other text boxes. I moved the contact details text box under the regulars and made space for the editor's letter on the right side of the page. I think the contents page looks less empty and now I just need to add some colours.

Working-In Progress: college contents page 1

Today I started to create my college magazine contents page. I am using InDesign as it allows me to use useful tools. I have placed in all the text and all the images, however I need to consider the whole layout of the page and add more things in order to get rid of the empty space.