1. Preliminary Task – Evaluation
As far as I can see, the preliminary task went well when it came to informing me
of how to attract a target audience, as well as how to find my target audience in
the first place. I enjoyed the layout of my front cover the most, as I feel red is
something slightly more controversial for a college colour than usual, making it
stand out more and seem more appealing. I have also learnt that introducing
stories on the Front Cover that affect the target audience in real life provokes
more of an interest than something that they are detached but interested in on the
FC. In addition to this, I have learnt that when it comes to the younger generation,
flashy colours, young dialect and slang, and short snappy sentences appeal more
than the usual boredom of long blocks of texts with no pictures. Therefore when I
am to do my music magazine, I will concentrate on things like this to appeal to
the younger generation, as I have already established them as my target audience.
An example of this would be the pull quote on my front cover that uses the slang
“wasteman”, which refers to an individual that is the typical reckless flunk-out. I
also enjoy how I have introduced a pun into the magazine title (Henley
‘Chill’ege) which provokes a sense of informality by the further use of adolescent
slang. This will enable me to gain ground with the reader and develop a
relationship between the reader and the magazine.
I would improve my college magazine by increasing the visual effects on the
front, like perhaps adding a bleed over the title on the front cover. However, I feel
that if I could improve anything in the contents page, it would be the original
pictures I had taken. However, I do like the shot of the boy with the thumbs-up
next to the no smoking sign, as it gives the magazine a flashy way for saying that
smoking is bad for you. I have also found that giving the reader the feeling that
they could win something further provokes interest from them, making them want
to buy the magazine. For example, I mention on my college front cover that there
is more information on free cinema viewings for students inside.
I would improve my first attempts at magazine presentation by using more well
developed and interesting stories, as well as providing more thought-provoking
and eye-catching pictures to grab the attention of readers with the shorter
attention spans. In addition to this, I would also include more reader-specific
articles that would hopefully come close to being direct with the reader
information wise. I am not worried about these flaws, as it will enable me to
introduce them when it comes to the actual music magazine I produce.