Final Contents Page

Before & After



 

Making of Contents Page

Creating the background: using the gradient tool and cutting around the image to perfectly fit in the corner




Getting the main title by cutting it in half to fit into the corner
Creating a transparent "R" sign to replicate the VIBE "V" sign

Contents Page Final

Before & After

                 

Making of the Contents Page

Making the background: Used by the smudging tool

Photoshopping the Face

Removing the highlight ^

This was done by using the blur and paint brush tool with a small percentage of opacity (30%) to ensure it looks realistic

Photography Timetable

Timetable:

Masthead Ideas

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire Results

From my questionnaire, I have conducted the results and I now know what to include in my magazine in order for it to sell successfully.

My first question was “what gender are you?”  5/10 or 50% said they were boys, the rest was girls. This shows I’m targeting both males and females therefore I must not make it too girly or muscular.

My second question was “how old are you? 10/10 or 100% said they are in the age group of 15-19. This gives me an idea on how I will lay out my magazine and make it attract a young age group. This is done by researching latest trends within that generation.

My third question was “what is your preferred music genre?” 6/10 or 60% said Hip-hop and the other 40% preferred Rap. Knowing this, I must include the hip-hop celebrities and base my magazine on that genre. I must also include aspects of Rap as 40% of my customers like Rap; therefore I must meet their needs as well.

My fifth question asked “what would you like to see in a music magazine?” 6/10 or 60% said Latest Fashion, 2/10 or 20% said Celebrity Rumours and 2/10 20% said Concerts and Gigs. There is a variety of features I must include in my music magazine but majority was latest fashion, this may be due to 50% of my audience being female.

My sixth question was “what price range do you think is suitable to spend on a magazine? 10/10 or 100% said £1-4. This is because my audience are 15-19 therefore they are young and may be unemployed. Therefore I must make my magazine cheap by having a budget and having an online alternative to save money on printed copies.

Questionaire: Market Research

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Research Introduction

target audience

Case Study

Vibe & Bauer Media Case Study

Vibe is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in Summer 2009, Vibe was purchased by the private equity investment fund Intermedia Partners and is now issued semi-monthly with double covers, with a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture. In 2014, the magazine moved online-only.

The magazine owed its success to featuring a broader range of interests than its closest competitors The Source and XXL which focus more narrowly on rap music, or the rock and pop-centric

Is a European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines such as “Men’s Fitness”, “heat”, “NME” and much more. They also have over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. The portfolio includes print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services- this means that they are a cross media platform. Bauer Media Group has a workforce of approximately 11,000 employees in 17 countries including Hamburg, USA and the UK.

Bauer Media Group entered the US market in 1981 with the launch of Woman's World magazine. Today, Bauer Media Group USA has a portfolio of 13 magazines, 5 special interest publications and 16 websites across several distinct consumer segments: celebrity/entertainment, women’s, teen and science/technology.

Bauer Media is a multi-platform media group, with locations across the UK. Following their purchase of Emap in 2007. The Bauer Media Group acquired a collection of media brands. This includes heat and Grazia as well as a radio portfolio of national radio brands such as KISS FM UK and Magic, and regional radio brands across major UK cities. In 2013, Bauer Media also acquired the Absolute Radio Group from Times of India

In 1989, the company introduced its second publication, First for Women, a women's magazine. Alliance for Audited Media reports that Woman's World and First for Women are the #1 and #2 selling magazines at retail, respectively.

The company's popular teen brands include Twist, launched in 1997; J-14, launched in 1999; M, launched in 2000; Girls' World; launched in 2013, and Animal Tales, launched in 2014. J-14 ranks in the top five media brands for social media presence among all publishers according to Shareable, a social media research company

This is changed as the group acquired Australian magazine publisher, ACP Magazines from a London-based private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners, in 2012. That increased the company’s turnover to more than €2 billion.

In comparison to Bauer Media, Quincy Jones launched Vibe in 1993, in partnership with Time Inc. Originally, the publication had been called Volume before co-founding editor, Scott Poulson-Bryant gave it the name Vibe. Though hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was rumored to be an initial partner, publisher Len Burnett revealed in a March 2007 interview that Simmons clashed with Editor-in-chief Jonathan Van Meter. Miller Publishing bought Vibe in 1996, and shortly afterward bought Spin. Private equity firm, The Wicks Group, bought the magazine in 2006.

On June 30, 2009, it was announced that Vibe was shutting its doors and ceasing publication immediately. This might be due to the loss the company must have gone through as sales were not successful. This is due to the lack of distribution and the difficulty for customers to purchase a magazine as they were sold as hard copies leading to low circulation.

On April 25, 2013 it was announced that Vibe Magazine along with Vibe.com and VibeVixen.com had been sold to Spin Media for an undisclosed sum. Spin Media was thought likely to shut down Vibe's print magazine by the end of 2013, which a representative stating: "We’re still trying to find a print model that makes economic sense in the digital age. Instead, they cut the magazine's frequency to quarterly.

The reason for this is because the company must have used market research in order to realize how fast technology is becoming bigger within the societies. Using the internet to distribute the magazine will benefit the company as well as the customers as it is easy access for everyone. This resulted in improved purchases, leading the magazine to have a total circulation of 301,408.

Bauer media is an example of a conglomerate. A conglomerate is one company that owns and runs a lot of companies in various media sectors such as distribution, production & marketing. This shows the effect ownership can have on a range of products available to the audience as if the company wasn’t a conglomerate, it wouldn’t have the money needed to create other brands e.g Sky.

Bauer Media has an impact upon the range of products available to audiences in the media, is because they use the technique Vertical integration. This is when an institution owns shares or each part of the production, marketing, distribution and exhibition processes. An example is seen is when they collaborated with “Coldplay”

One of Britain’s biggest bands, Coldplay, are set to collaborate with Bauer Media Group to stage an intimate gig at the London Palladium next month.  The collaboration marks a first for Bauer with live music feeds and more exclusive content set to be leveraged right the way across the group’s multiplatform brands spanning radio, magazine media, digital and TV.

Similarly, Vibe magazine are always collaborating with famous artists such as Trey Songz in order to help them spread the news that their new single has been released, as well as using them on front covers in order for customers and fans to buy the magazine.

Bauer Media Group has a 50% stake in the British television company Box Television, the other half owned by Channel 4. Box Television acts as the content subsidiary that produces several popular music television channels, which include:

·         4Music

·         The Box

·         Heat

·         Kerrang!

·         Kiss

·         Magic

·         Smash Hits

These channels are only available in the UK which is a downside as it is not accessable to other countries therefore they are making less money. However, by just having it in the UK makes competition less therefore other companies cannot copy. Audiences access these channels through the radio in their cars, online, on their phones, apps etc. This means it is easy to access for people.  

The roles and responsibilities when putting magazines together:

Ø  Administration

Ø  finance

Ø  advertising

Ø  broadcasting

Ø  charity

Ø  commercial

Ø  digital

Ø  editing

Ø  IT

Ø  Journalist

Ø  Logistics

Ø  Management

Ø  Marketing

Ø  Planning

Ø  Production

Ø  Programing

Ø  Retail

Ø  Sales

These roles are very important and they require a good knowledge about business as well as being able to do market research in order to see what is trending. Being able to think outside the box and figure out ways to get customers to buy their products, this is done by meeting the needs. Most of these roles comes from the internal environment of the business industry therefore they are important for the company, this means they would need to be trained as well as having real life experience and knowledge.

Conclusion

Summarise

Mood Board

Type face analysis

Analysing Feature Pages

This is an unusual feature page of hip hop as it is dedicated to a female (Nicki Minaj) and she is taking up most of the space on the page. This is seen as unusual due to the fact of the representation of women to be at a low standard as women are not seen to be on the same level as men. By promoting this, this can change how society views men and women in general as although she is a hip hop artist, she does not fit in with the stereotypes used in society. For example, the clothes she is wearing are very out there and colourful. The shade of pink is not a standard pink used for all girls and it fades into a lighter gradient from the bottom of the page this makes the text stand out as the top half of the magazine is very light and the bottom is darker, this is also attractive as it’s not one block colour which looks boring.

Minaj’s posture is in a weird position, one arm is on her hip and the other is arched to show off her ring which says “icon” which is placed next to her face, hence; portraying to the audience that she is an icon to hip hop. This posture is very wild which shows she has confidence and the way she is looking directly at the camera with an annoyed facial expression illustrates attitude and control over the audience.  

The primary target audience is teenagers and young male adults, this is because Nicki Minaj is a fairly new singer and is known to be famous in the new generation, and therefore many older adults would not recognise her.

The colours used on this feature page are very calming and subtle. The light colours of pink represent peace and appear to be angelic, which links to the title “The Gospel According To Nicki Minaj”. This refers Nicki to be god as the word “according” means Nicki Minaj dictated this and therefore we should all believe her as she is a well-known artist.

The main colour used for the title is dark pink; which is used to match with her bright lipstick. This brings emphasis to the text hence why some subheadings are dark pink to make them stand out and attract the reader’s eyes to that area.

The layout of the text is wrapping around her, this technique is used to show all the focus is on Nicki Minaj and the whole article is based on her. This is also done so that the reader can always have their eyes on her even when reading the text and it is very close to her picture.

The article is about Nicki Minaj’s tips in life and what she believes. The text is broken up into sections where the subheadings are like “The 10 Commandments” in the Bible. This is a clear representation that Nicki promotes herself as God, us as the audience; we take all her tips into account as she is a well-known artist.

On this double-page spread, illustrated on the left side is of the headline of 'the game', which is shown in black block-capital font at the top of the left page of both pages on the double-page spread. Below is the main masthead - 'It's a sweltering June Sunday,’

From the quote on the left page of this double page-spread, it allows the reader to have more of an understanding of The Game's feelings towards 50 Cent. This attracts the audience as they are mainly looking for gossip in magazines. By a part of his quoted statement on the left page stating "My album doesn't sound like him. My style is nothing similar to his. 50 Cent is a rapper. I am a Mc". By this quote, it makes the audience aware of The Game's opinion on the media comparing himself to 50 Cent. By it being shown as the text is serif- black bold block-capital, it emphasise the importance of the quote from The Game as it is the only piece of text in the DPS that is written in black bold block-capital font.

The costumes used in the magazine is very “hood”, we can see this as The Game is shown with the costume of the clothing of how a 'typical black male' from California United States would dress in the neighbourhood. As he is shown wearing a black & red hat, along with him wearing a black t-shirt, baggy dark-blue jeans, and black Nike trainers. This attire is known to be in fashion as it is very popular within our society. As well as the use of props, shown in the photographed image it could create a sense to the reader, that the person being photographed is a 'hustler' or a 'gangsta'. As the use of props connotes that the person in the image is 'ghetto'.

The lighting of the double-page spread is generally dark, around most edges of both pages. However, as the double-page spread faces more towards the image of The Game, the lighting becomes brighter. This is used to create a special effect and makes the page look more interesting as one block colour would look boring.

The body language shown of the Hip-Hop artist is shown sat down with his feet positioned on the chair of a bench in a park. This portrays a stereotype that all teenagers are out in gangs sitting on walls which can be intimidating. His facial expression indicates to the reader that he is aggressive and angered. The facial expressions of the model are shown to be; straight and firm which may indicate to the reader that he is an unfriendly character.

The main masthead - 'It's a sweltering June Sunday,' finishing with a comma rather than a full-stop, makes the reader aware that it is the opening sentence of the text from the article. By this it makes the reader want to read more into the magazine, as it already gets them engaged into the text.

Both pages on the double-page spread feature one long-shot image of famous British singer-songwriter and actress, Rita Ora. Also, it is clearly laid out as both pages have on them text boxes which shows the interview of Rita Ora and the interviewer. The text on both pages of this double-page spread is in the colours of red &white. The text on both pages; with the interviewer being written in red and Rita Ora's responses in white.  The layout of the masthead is effect because as the audience is reading the masthead, Rita Ora’s picture is laid behind the text halfway therefore we assume that the model is Rita Ora.

The strap-line written in a large red-font, this informs the reader about what the double-page spread aims to focus on and for readers who are new in familiarizing themselves with Rita Ora, it would also give them more of an understanding about the artist. The colour red connotes death and danger which is unusual as girls are stereotypically portrayed as weak and girly. This shows the independence woman have now compared to the past.

Rita Ora is shown in her urban style of clothing, by her being shown wearing a black hoodie, shorts along with black & purple Nike trainers. Her legs are still exposed despite the casual clothing, this is done so it attracts the male audience as well as the hip hop fans to purchase the magazine as women are represented as sex objects, however her legs are crossed which shows she is not trying to act sexual and the non-verbal communication such as looking; relaxed, confident & calm shows Rita Ora being arrogant.

The lighting on the right-side of the double-page spread is generally much darker than the other side of the page. The left-side of the page looks to be brighter, due to the fact it shows her head to toe, it is a long-shot and has most of the features of the image, and therefore that side of the page is more important. Hence why that side is lighter to emphasise the model.

Contents Page

Contents Page Analysis

This vibe content page features Ciara, she is a famous hip hop singer in the Hollywood industry. The most attractive thing at the first glance is the picture of Ciara lying on the floor with her feet held high. The semi-nudity of famous artists could be found as a very attractive thing for most of their target audiences who are males as well as the Ciara fans. This is a clear representation of the stereotype that women are seen as sex objects.

The background as always is plain and simple, however this one creates the image of a photo shoot as Ciara is looking into the camera therefore it is not natural because she knows the photo is being taken. The background goes from white to black on the edges- creating a vignette effect, this is used to draw attention to the main focus, which in this case is the model.

The page is labelled contents but is done in a unique way as the letters are not arranged formally. The typeface is bold and white which is serif. This is effective as the colour white contrasts the black background which makes it stand out more.

The contents title is arranged in a unique way to attract the audience as they are curious to know what it says; this makes the magazine more interesting. It is also effective as the white bold writing (serif) contrasts with the dark red background which connotes danger.

The mask hanging from the models neck suggests he wants to be represented in a different way compared to other people. This may suggest that he is insecure about his face or reputation and therefore wants to hide it.

The colour red connotes danger which links to the model being topless, this may portray that he wants to fight as he is seen to be strong which is a stereotype of all men that they are known to be muscular.

The large V pasted behind the image and title is technique used to represent Vibe Magazine as its important for the audience to know what they are reading. Also because this is a form of iconography for the music magazine.