evaluation.

The concept of the task was to create a magazine that was aimed at female sixth formers aged 16-18. I found that many of my demographic read a magazine weekly, and sometimes monthly. My aim was to create a magazine that would involve the student demographic in both school life and socialising, as I wanted the magazine to interest them. To do this I needed to research into both my demographic, magazines aimed at my target audience and school magazines.

After researching magazines targeted or read by my demographic and looking into existing school magazines, I found that neither were found interesting by my demographic. Whilst looking at my research in depth it became clear to me that most of the school magazines on the market today were being aimed at parents rather than the students. It was also present in magazines aimed at my target audience as many felt that such magazines did not cater to their interests. This made it harder to create a medium for a school magazine that would be received well by my demographic. I decided that it was more important to produce a magazine that did not necessarily include ideas from magazine aimed at my target audience as they were not interesting to sixth form students, and was targeted entirely for the students. I found that most students  were keen on the idea of receiving useful information alongside topics of interest, such as fashion, politics and real life interviews and/or articles. 

To enable the production of the magazine I needed to plan different aspects of it. I felt it was important to ask my audience what they felt as important to them in a school magazine, so it was vital that i created a questionnaire. It was also of importance to research and analyse  existing magazines both for school and for general interest. I found that many sixth form students read magazines targeted for an older age range and this was useful to me, as it meant that i should analyse these magazines rather than those targeted for the 16-18 age range. 

final design.

initial conclusions.

From my research including the magazine analysis, questionnaire and focus group I was able to come to a conclusion on my final product. The research that I have collated has enabled me to have a vast knowledge on both what the target audience will want to read in terms of content and how they would like to read it in terms of layout.
By using the results of my questionnaire, as well as the views of my focus group, I will be able to involve a content that will be appreciated by my target audience. My target audience tend to read weekly gossip/celebrity based magazines so I came to the conclusion that my magazine could not solely be about school as this would lose the interest of the reader.
I have decided to call the magazine The Forum as I feel the magazine is for students so should therefore include their views and have room for their discussion, thus interesting the demographic more as they will feel they have more involvement in what they read about.
I feel the research and response that I have gained throughout this process has helped me to understand what areas of school need to be included and those of which can be avoided to involve other aspects of life instead such as;interviews, fashion, socialising, events, politics and global news.
To make sure that the demographic find the magazine aesthetically pleasing and that the magazine itself challenges general school magazine stereotypes I will divert from using any school related colours as I feel this will lose the interest of the students. I also feel that the magazine should be personal to the target audience so for the front cover I shall use an image of a student instead of the school building which is commonly seen among school magazines.

questionnaire.

I have chosen to construct a questionnaire for my target audience so that i can gain insight into what they would be interested in reading about. it is important that i have their views on the magazine as they are the sole consumer. i have asked ten questions as i feel there are not to many to bore the students but enough to give me enough information on what students are interested in.

1. what do you feel is a suitable price for the magazine?

free - £0.50 - £1.00

i have asked this question as i feel that the consumer should have a choice on what price they feel is reasonable, as they will be the person buying it. i have given them three options of varied amounts so this gives them a few choices. if the magazine was free it is less likely to interest them as it will not be as professional, however, if they are willing to spend more money on it then they are more likely to find it aesthetically pleasing.

2. how often do you think you would purchase the magazine?

weekly - monthly - quarterly

this is an important question to ask as this will determine how often the magazine needs to be published. many students purchase magazines regularly so they would probably purchase this magazine regularly. however, some students do not read magazines often and may prefer a magazine that is distributed monthly or quarterly.

3. what topics would interest you most?

school/work life - university information - socialising - world events

as the magazine is being distributed in school, it needs to have basic school topics, not just topics that students would prefer. i have included aspects that will benefit them, but also interest them so that they are more likely to enjoy reading the magazine. i have included topics such as university information and world events as they are both very beneficial to their lives.

4. would you purchase the magazine if it was solely about school life?

yes - no

this is important to ask as many students may feel that they would not prefer a magazine solely on school life. however, some students may disagree and feel that as a school magazine it is more important to be based solely on school life.

5. who do you think would be a good representative of the magazine on the front cover?

student(s) - teachers - celebrities - politicians - other

as the magazine is solely for the students, it is important that they feel it represents them. i have given them a wide range of representatives. they may feel that they would like a range of representatives throughout production of the magazine. it is more likely that they would like students, celebrities or politicians as they may feel they are a good representation of who they are, and may also gain more inspiration.

6. are you more likely to read the magazine if it has any of the below included?

university open days - personal advertisements e.g. gigs, charity events - UCAS information

these are things that students are more likely to favour over other topics as they will help them and also give them something to do outside of school. many students find that they are not given enough information about universities and UCAS, so by including it in a magazine that they will enjoy reading whilst benefiting them, they will gain all the information they need to know.

7. would you be interested in reading inspirational, real life articles?

yes - no

students can be easily inspired by other peoples achievements, as they want to achieve their own goals. however, many students find it hard to motivate themselves. i felt that by asking them if they would want to read about inspirational stories they may motivate themselves and better themselves during school.

8. if the magazine was to include other aspects of life excluding school, what would you like to read about?

fashion - music - sports - television shows and movies - galleries and theatres

although the magazine is based on school life, it is important that the readers are interested in the magazine. so by including other aspects of life that may interest them personally, they may be more likely to read the magazine. i have given them a wide range of other aspects which i feel most students are interested in, even if these are only included in a small amount so not to take over the main focus of the magazine, it could still benefit the readers and encourage them to read it as they will be interested in these small topics.

9. do you have any suggestions for the title of the magazine?

yes - no

if yes please state here: ________________________

i feel that as the consumer, students would want to feel that they are a part of the magazine, and may want to read it more if they feel that they have had some part in producing it. the name of the magazine is very important as it draws the reader in. if the title does not interest the reader or relate to them they are less likely to purchase it. i want the students to feel that they have something that is theirs, something to interest them. if the title of the magazine interest them, the magazine itself is more likely to interest them.

10. would you be interested in purchasing a school magazine?

yes - no - possibly

although this question seems very obvious, it is important to know wether students would actually purchase one. many people may fill in the questionnaire just for the sake of doing so, and may not actually want to purchase one. however, i feel that if they have filled in the more personal questions above, they may be more interested in purchasing it so that is why i have put this question last, as their opinions may change over the course of filling out the questionnaire.

focus group.

I asked three students with different interests, 'What are you're main interests within school and outside of it, and how would you want this reflected in a school magazine?' I thought it was important that I asked people with different interests, and different lifestyles to get a varied answer. One of the students I asked is from Seevic College, so her  opinions of school life may be very different to those who attend a Sixth Form. 

Josie 17, Sixth Form Student

I'm mostly in to fashion and socialising, so I think that this would be a main area that I'd be keen to read about. Also, as a textiles students, it would be nice if fashion and textiles could be incorporated into the magazine as one topic. Although the magazine is for school, I don't feel that it should be specifically based entirely around school, as I would be less likely to buy, or even read it. It would be nice to have help academically though, such as UCAS guidance and university application advice, these topics I feel would persuade me more to purchase the magazine as it would be benefiting me. If the magazine had lot's of different topics, I feel that it would seem more like a magazine and not just a sixth form magazine so it would be accepted better by students. Events would be nice to read about as well as I love going to gigs with friends, if the magazine had personal events that everyone can enjoy it's more likely tat the magazine will have a better reputation - not just be perceived as 'a school magazine'.

                                                                    Fola 16, Sixth Form Student

I would say that I am a very school orientated person, and my education is very important to me. Although it would be nice to read about topics besides school, I feel that it is more important as students, that we are given advice and help that will help us regarding our education. I think that it would be beneficial to students if we were given advice on studying for exams and university applications, as these are what are most important at the moment. I also feel that it is important to know about current events and global news as this gives us more of an insight into the world and society in which we live. As a student it is important that we gain a good balance of school, general knowledge and socialising, so it would also be favoured by many students if it were to include local events. Sixth Form creates a vast window for opportunity and it is important that as students we take advantage of the things that we are able to do, and this should be encouraged in the school magazine. 

Esme (Left) 16, College Student

I feel that at college we are given more independence as everyone in our working environment is new, having a college magazine means that we are given even more expression in college. At college, the main focus can sometimes be about socialising as you rarely know very many people, so having a magazine that had information about local events and gigs would be enjoyed by all students as many people are trying to become more independent, confident and outgoing in college. Although socialising is an important factor to have in the magazine, it is also important that college is dominant as the freedom that college allows students to have can undermine the academic aspect. To be given more knowledge of what to expect in college and also information that may further us as students into university life would be very useful. Although freedom is enjoyed during college, it is also important that we work hard and are disciplined, and if a magazine was able to satisfy and discipline students at the same time, it would be a very positive approach to learning. 

audience profile and mood board.

In my mood board I have collected a range of different photographs that I feel reflect my target audience of sixth form girls. I researched my target audience and asked questions about what interests they have. Although some had other interests such as sports, I found that the majority of people were more interested in shopping, driving and reading. This is reflected in my mood board, as it consists of all three of these main interests.

I have included such interests as driving by using a picture of a Mini Cooper, which most girls said that they wished to drive. I have also used images of shopping and clothes with a Burberry runway show, an Abercrombie and Fitch carrier bag and the famous jewellers, Tiffany & Co. logo. To involve the past time of reading, I have incorporated different aspects of reading such as studying , and also reading magazines which I found many people enjoyed reading. Although there was a vast variety of different magazines that people read, I found that the majority of magazines read was More, Look, Elle, Tatler and Glamour.

Alongside the main interests of my target audience, I found that they also enjoyed socialising, which included being with friends, going to Starbucks and also going to music festivals. they also felt that being organised was a key priority when it came to school work, which is why i have put a photograph of a post-it! note. Amongst socialising with friends, many students said that they found communicating with their friends was easier with such social networks as Myspace and Facebook, and it also let them find out coursework deadlines and any school work that they missed if they were not in school. However, they did say that it can often sidetrack them at home whilst doing school work, which is why I have not included it in my mood board as I feel that it may be a negative image to include in my magazine.

I feel that my mood board consists of a good variety of photographs that my target audience are interested in. I have included different aspects of student life as well which I think is important so not to bore my target audience. Overall I am very pleased with my mood board as it consists of photographs that my target audience are interested in.

textual analysis - magazines aimed at my target audience

Certain magazines aimed at the 13-17 year old demographic are being shunned by the latter years of this age range. Many of these magazines including Teen Vogue, Seventeen and Cosmo Girl, and are being favoured by the 13-15 year olds'. In this day in age, girls are growing up faster and with that, their taste in magazines. Many older teenage girls favour magazines that are considered too mature for their age group, however, they defy this by being a regular consumer of magazines such as Look, Vogue,  Tatler and More. When asked, girls said that they weren't interested in teen magazines anymore as they felt they were being targeted at younger year groups and that they felt they were more mature than what the magazine assumed. For my magazines aimed at my target audience, I have decided to include magazines that my demographic would be interested in reading, and not what may be considered as magazines targeted for them. 

I have chosen Grazia Magazine for one of my magazine analysis'. The title means grace in Italian which suggests that the readers would be sophisticated, and probably due to the content and price of the magazine would range between 22-35, although many younger adults between 16-21 also purchase it. The magazine costs £1.80 and is issued weekly by Bauer Consumption Media founded in 1875, which also publishes Heat, FHM and Empire. Grazia sells around 220,000 copies each distribution and the price and wide distribution suggest that the magazine is affordable, but because it is supposed to be a glossy is targeted mainly for middle-class women not the working class. The front cover is the focal point for the target audience as it is the first part of the magazine that they will see when deciding on whether to purchase the magazine. Grazia usually has a sub-heading which over the years has changed from 'BRITAIN'S FIRST WEEKLY GLOSSY' to 'BRITAIN'S NO.1 GLOSSY', this shows that the magazine has gained popularity over the years of distribution, and possibly since publishing was taken over by Bauer Consumption Media from EMAP ELAN. The fact that the magazine names itself 'BRITAIN'S NO.1 GLOSSY' informs the audience that it is very popular and by choosing to read Grazia they are choosing the best. Its vast circulation also proves that it is highly regarded by readers, and also by online readers who visit the Grazia website.

The article that has been used to represent the magazine is about actress Jennifer Aniston, who has become more and more popular since her divorce from Brad Pitt after his apparent infidelity. Their choice in using her is very wise as she has been getting a lot of media attention so readers will be interested to know more about her 

life. She is also a role model for young to middle-aged women as she is a very attractive, fashionable and a hard-working career woman, which is what most modern women aspire to be. The photograph that has been used is of herself looking very positive and happy at an awards ceremony or premiere, and it is a medium/close-up shot which keeps the focus on her. She also seems to be wearing very neutral make-up which would makes her appear more attractive as most young to middle-aged women would want to look naturally pretty, and also the magazine is more approachable when the target audience choose it. The cover also advertises clothing and accessories, which includes an expensive 'It' bag which would cost roughly £300-£400, this shows that the target audience are more likely to be young career women or middle-class women. It also shows different articles that are featured in the magazine, one of these is about 'The new super-rich women', this is a positive article as it make the target audience have something to aspire to whilst reading the magazine. It shows that the target audience are more likely to be interested in learning how to better their careers than about ten-year old tanaholics that you might read about in other Bauer published magazines such as Closer.

Grazia is dissimilar to other magazines due to its typeface and use of colour. The font used is Bordeaux Roman Bold and is very sophisticated, reflecting the target audience, and is usually in white which is simple and elegant but catches the eye. Inside the magazine it is also very dissimilar to other magazines. The articles all have a slanted background which exudes youthfulness whilst still being sophisticated. The paper used is also different to most weekly magazines, which is why Grazia tends to compare itself to 'glossies' such as, Tatler, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. This also gives the impression that the magazine is more upmarket and would be favoured by sophisticated women. The companies that are advertised in Grazia are commonly clothing and perfume brands, but may also include foods or television programmes that are being broadcast. The main features of the magazine are based around celebrities and clothing. This is also seen in the advertisements as many of the brands use celebrities to endorse their products, which gives them good publicity. Other models that are seen throughout the magazine tend to be very slim, which would resemble the type of reader that the magazine usually attracts, or wants to attract. This represents women with being slim and could be seen by some readers as a negative image.

My next magazine choice is Look. This magazine has a median reader age of 25, however the reader age ranges from 16-30. Look costs £1.40 and is issued weekly by IPC Media founded in 1963 and based in London, who also distribute leading magazines such as NME, Marie Claire, In Style and also cheaper magazines such as Now. IPC Media is one of the United Kingdoms leading consumer magazine publishers, selling around 350 million magazines every year - with Look having a 307,274 circulation and 521,000 readership. Almost two in every three UK women and over 45% of UK men read an IPC magazine, which is almost 27 million adults. Look manages to outsell Grazia and also maintain a cheaper price, which could suggest that Grazia has to keep their magazine more costly to stay in line with this magazine. However, whereas it seems Grazia readers are more likely to be middle-class, it could be suggested the same for Look readers - as only 41% are in full time employment. The vast circulation and the popularity of the Look website suggest that it is a very popular magazine. Looks sub-heading also suggests this as it says, 'Britain's Best Selling Fashion Weekly', which its publishers also state on their website. 

Look uses a lot of exclamation marks which connotates that the magazine has new information or surprising one off offers. This is a good way to interest the consumer, and may bring in new consumers. Also, using words such as 'secret, shock, new and details' it enforces the audience to buy the magazine and read it. The cover girl on Look is also Jennifer Aniston, and I have used a magazine with her on the cover for my final magazine analysis to create cohesion. The magazines are all from around similar times, when she was very much in the public eye. I thought that this would demonstrate that all of the magazines consumers would be interested in reading about her, which is why my target audience would all be interested in reading any of my magazine choices. The font used on the cover is very bold, which would stand out to consumers. Look's general font colour varies between pink, orange, red or yellow, these are all very bright colours so the magazine is very recognisable. The subheading is written in a slightly different font, but is still very bold, and is white which catches the eye. The photograph is a medium close-up of Jennifer, which is traditionally used on weekly distributed magazines, but varies on covers of monthly glossies. 

Although Look could be compared to other magazines in terms of some content and its structure, it is comparatively dissimilar to other magazines' as it is fashion based compared to other magazines thats focal point is celebrity gossip. Look does include some gossip inside, but most of it's content is about fashion and this is recognised in it's sub-heading, 'Britain's Best Selling Fashion Weekly'. Look tends to stick to one structure in terms of its layout. After the contents it will show a double-page spread of new fashion items or  new collections at high street shops. It then would usually showcases dresses that have been worn to award ceremonies by celebrities and then be followed by the cover story and other articles. Unlike many other fashion-based magazines, Look includes a variety of different companies advertisements, ranging from perfumes, to clothes, to television shows which is very unusual. The main features in Look are obviously fashion, then celebrities, including celebrity love lives, diets and fashions. However, the magazine also does two real-life articles in every magazine, and these would usually include a global issue about women and a collection of people with a similarity such as cancer victims, leaving jobs to better their career and also the lives of gap-year students. On the Look website, and on IPC media's website, the magazine is hailed as ' the fast paced, glamorous, glossy high street fashion and celebrity weekly for young women', this highlight the fact that the readers are generally young and that its content is largely about fashion. 

My final choice of magazine for my textual analysis is Elle. As well as students reading weekly issued 

magazine,  many also read monthly glossies such as Tatler, Vogue and Elle. Elle magazine is also fashion-based magazine and was originally founded in the US. The english version costs £3.50, and is issued monthly by Hachette Filipacchi UK Ltd, Britain's newest and 'most exciting magazine publishing house'. Hachette Filipacchi is a subsidiary of Lagardère Active one of the world's leading media companies present in 39 countries, they publish 262 magazine titles and sell over 1 billion copes worldwide. Hachette Filipacchi UK Ltd also publishes other leading magazines such as Sugar, Red and Elle Decoration. The first UK edition of Elle was published in 1985 and since then has become a leading fashion glossy. Elle magazine has a median age of 34.7 years old and has an audience of between ages 16-49. Subscriptions to the magazine account for 73% of readers with the remaining 23% purchasing single issues, the magazine reaches over 4.8 million readers. With such a vast circulation and readership it is no wonder why the magazines website says 'first stop for daily fashion, shopping and celebrity style news, up to the minute reports from the international collections, beauty news, celebrity style secrets, spa guides, the latest diets, hair and beauty trends from the catwalk, celebrity trends, everyone's wearing and get the look, the best edit of what to buy in designer stores and on the high street, fashion, shopping and celebrity blogs!'

The font cover is very recognisable as all of the Elle products have the same font which is Bordeaux Roman Bold LET - also used by Grazia - and it is a very recognisable and bold font.  Elle magazine tend to change the colour of their font with each cover and the colour is used for sub-headings as well. The cover uses words which will grab the consumer such as 'must haves' and 'your', this creates a personal feel and the use of 'must haves' is a clever advertising slogan as many people will go and purchase whatever products are being advertised. Elle doesn't use a lot of punctuation on the cover and this makes it seem more personal again at as if it is aimed at the younger generation who do not care about punctuation. The sub-headings are all bold which draws focus to what they are about even though the information is actually in a regular sized font. Elle is also able to bring focus to what they think is an important article or feature, this is done by using yellow as a font or to underline headings. 'Win' is written in yellow and so is '10' when talking about make-up must haves. Jennifer Aniston - the cover girl again - is shot in a medium long-shot which is popular as a cover shot for monthly glossies. 

Although Elle is dissimilar to the other two magazine choices, Grazia and Look, it is very similar to other magazines in its market area such as Tatler, Vogue and Harpars Bazaar. They all tend to have similar layouts and articles inside, usually of a popular actress or model, and sometimes a young socialite which brings a younger demographic to the magazine. The layout of Elle is very customary of a glossy, it will include a main feature article of the cover girl, pictures of events that have happened such as the MET Ball, or the possibly an awards ceremony, and also has a regular article feature of 'the life of an Elle girl'. The companies that Elle is most likely to advertise are generally perfumes or big fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Gucci. Elle magazines main articles would be based around a few celebrities, and mainly fashion. The magazine tends to focus entirely on fashion, even in its interviews. Articles based around fashion and beauty are common in such magazines as Elle and Vogue as these are their focal points for the magazine. It is also common for some glossies to advertise high-priced housing at the back of the magazine near-side the horoscopes which tend to be in-depth. 

textual analysis - existing school magazines.

The first magazine that I am going to study is a college magazine called DAVE. It is the magazine for students at SEEC College in Southend and is relatively new. Although it is a college magazine, the front cover has the singer of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Sam Duckworth. This could be quite an inspirational artist for the college as he is from Southend, like most students who attend the college. The magazine has a very personal and down to earth name, which connotates that it is trying to reach out to the students and it is intended entirely for them. The magazine has very bright font colour against a black background which makes the magazine more recognisable. The magazine has a place on the college website, so it is easily viewable in a day in age where internet is the common means of communication by young adults.  The magazine has a sub-heading which says 'Can you gig it?' this denotates that the magazine is going to include music, and this is also reflected by Sam Duckworth being on the front cover. The font used is very memorable as it is bold and uses bright colours, which would appeal to younger people. Although the magazine does not look particularly expensive, it does no0t appear cheap and would therefore be more aesthetically pleasing to its target audience. The main article feature has a heading going through the middle of the cover picture, which is not similar to other magazine types so the magazine has its own style. The use of 'YOU' makes the magazine appear more personal to the reader. The magazine seems to be advertising a lot of music festivals which connotates that the target audience will mainly be interested in music. The magazine seems to intended for both male and female students and does not in any way have a preference - for example, it does not specify a certain sex over another. 

The magazine has a estimated circulation of 15,000 and is distributed around the Southend area. The magazine is free, which will promote more people to read it, as they are less likely to pay for a school magazine.

High Profile, is the sixth form magazine for King Edward High School for Girls. The magazine seems to be more about achievments throughout the school as the cover is a picture taken from a school drama production. The main heading says 'A Star is Born' which connotates that the students should feel good about themselves, but it also reflects the drama students on the front. I prefer this style of magazine as it reflects the students better than Dave does. However, i did like that Dave used a famous singer as it is aspirational to students. The front cover of this magazine is much more plain than the other magazine and although this would encourage you to read it, it could also force people not to buy it as they do not know what else is inside. The font used is very bold and is also white which stands out against the bright colours of the clothing worn in the photograph. The name itself gives the magazine a high standard as it is called High Profile, and as a reader you would expect it to be interesting and be full of current events. The magazine looks particularly cheap compared to Dave as it has less information.

My final choice of school magazine is The Loyolite. Unlike the two previous school magazines

this magazine does not have anyone on the cover, students or otherwise. This gives the impression of a less personal tone to that of High Profile, as their cover includes four students that represent the school. The style that The Loyolite has opted for is to represent the school itself, by using images of the building and using as little writing as possible. The layout of their magazine is in the style of a scrapbook as the images and the font have ripped edges, this gives a sense of youth and reflects back to the students that attend the school, and suggests that they had an input in the cover of the magazine. The cover is very basic in colour also, with the background being quite a block colour sheet of paper and then using what appears to be the school badge - probably in the school colour - to make it obvious to a consumer that it is for that school.