Evaluation of my Magazine

How effective was your research into similar magazines and relevant target audiences. What did you learn from your research into these two areas? In what ways did this shape the creation of your magazine?

To begin the research process, I looked at a combination of existing film magazines, as well as photographs, images and motifs that catch my eye.

I found a number of interesting covers, past and present. I found that as a rule, retro magazines such as such as ‘Motion Picture’ put a larger focus on bold, eye-catching colour schemes and an ample amount of anchorage text. By comparison, modern covers rely more on catchy headlines and simplistic imagery to captivate prospective readers.

 

I wanted to combine both of these ideas, because although the unconventional format of minimalist covers such as ‘Super 8’ (pictured above) by company Little White Lies is very intriguing in the hand drawn but also computer-pixelated appearing art, if you weren’t familiar with the featured film it wouldn’t necessarily be clear as a film magazine.

On the other hand, the Premiere magazine showcases a well known film star as it’s key image, as well as many other big names in the anchorage text. The colour isn’t interesting, but works to create a professional looking cover. 

  What creative decisions did you have to make at the different stages of your magazine production? How did your magazine change as your work progressed?

The first thing I thought about was the colour scheme. I’ve always had an interest in colour combinations and how they clash or blend, so this was quite an important step for me. I used the website Colour Lovers to look for inspiration, as well as my prior research. Many pages and too many lessons later, I had narrowed my selection down to three combinations:

I chose these three palettes for different reasons. I’ve always been drawn to monochrome with a pop of colour in fashion and art, so it seemed like a natural choice. Also, I went with this colour scheme I could use a black and white photograph, which I tend to favour over saturated colour. However, as the design process continued I decided I wanted a cover that appealed to a predominantly female target audience, as it naturally would be easier to adapt conventions.

Also, I spent quite a lot of time experimenting with different fonts, both on the cover and the contents page. The title was fairly easy- many of the modern music and fashion magazines had bold, simplistic font- less common in magazines from my chosen genre, but work well nonetheless. For the rest of the cover page, I chose a few different, but similar fonts to subtly highlight different pieces of anchorage texts. I saw this technique used particularly in the Empire magazines, and although it isn’t something you notice straightway, it helps to add a professional finish and is effective when you’re only using to colours for the text.

Below is part of my main planning slide, where I have gathered font styles I liked and explored how they look together and with examples of anchorage text.

 How closely does your magazine follow the forms and conventions of existing magazines? Gives examples of real magazines you reference.

My magazine cover is inspired by lots of different conventions from various film magazines. In addition to the usual title, key image, anchorage text and barcode- evident on magazines from this genre ranging from 2013 to the 1970s, I have an insert of a row of stills from (at the time) up and coming movies, made to look sort of like a roll of film. I took this idea from the Empire magazine below. 

My contents page is also based on an issue of Empire. I liked the idea of the top third of the page being occupied by another still, because it adds interest and gives basis for a colour scheme.

     How successful is your finished magazine? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

I think overall my magazine successfully follows the forms and conventions of the others from its genre. I don’t think it looks professional, necessarily; however it is identifiable as a publication about film and the film industry. For strengths, I’d say the colour schemes for both the cover page and the contents page work well, as the blend with the key images but also stand out and are clear to read. I think the layout of my contents page is simplistic, bold and not fussy.

As for weaknesses, some of the fonts used on my cover page don’t look right. This is mainly applicable to the bottom right hand side of my anchorage text- where the subheading sort of disappears into the key image, as does the following quotation. The title on the cover page could do with resizing as well, when I was constructing the magazine I didn’t want it to be too bold and overpower the rest, but on hindsight the lettering would look better if it was thicker.