Research Rationale

My magazine has a target audience of 14-19. This is convenient as I attend sixth form so I have my target audience available to me daily. By having such a wide target audience I will be able to get a wide range of responses in regards to what direction I should go in with my magazine in order for it to appeal to the youth.

By using surveys and questionnaires (quantitative research) I am able to go through a large sample a lot more quickly and it will be easy to analyse. Also, considering my target audience is heavily influenced by the media and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook I hope to carry out some audience research here in hope to get a lot of insight.
In terms of qualitative research, I will gather focus groups  which will consist of varied ages (within my target audience) in each group allowing me to make comparisons and distinguish differences on the opinions of these different ages. I will hand out a number of different magazine covers ranging in genres and ask questions that will give me and insight on what makes a good front cover; in terms of fonts, colours, graphics and pull quotes.

Web 2.0 is an important component for me in regards of my research. I'll use it for m y surveys and questionnaires and for me to discover what is knew and trending in the music industry that I can incorporate in my magazine.

Magazine Typography

This is my typography mood-board which i created. I gathered many different music magazine mastheads which helps me to recognize a common theme in them and distinguish differences. The format of typography/font used in each music magazine matches the genre of music the magazine offers.

Magazine Deconstruction (2)

Magazine Deconstruction

I was given the task of analysing and dissecting front coves of a selection of magazines of my choice, paying attention to key details such as typography, graphics, fonts and their colours. From doing this, I gained a greater understanding of the conventions of magazines and the do’s and don’ts. This will help me create a successful magazine front cover and will help me to reach my target audience.

My Brief

For my project, my brief is to create a music magazine, including a front cover, contents page and double page spread which will feature an interview with an up and coming music artist. My blog will be updated frequently in order to show my progress throughout the course of this project. As I already have an idea of what is to come due to my preliminary task, I know that I will develop a lot more Photoshop skills and professional photo taking skills which I am excited about. I hope to create an RnB/Hip Hop music magazine as I have a lot of knowledge on this area or music.

For inspiration on choosing the style and format of my magazine, I used ‘Rolling Stone’ as I loved the bold colour and font but it was subtle to due italic in font which really reinforced the softness of RnB and incorporates the hard side of Hip Hop.
Any concerns for me may include timing, as I would aim to meet the deadline having completed the work to the best of my abilities and with time left over to check over everything.