Target Audience Results

Survey Monkey Results.

I have currently been collecting data for about 2-3 weeks on Survey Monkey and I uploaded the survey onto a popular social networking site, Facebook.
These surveys are very useful as hopefully it will tell me what target audience I should be advertising the magazine for and what type of stories and the appearance of what the magazine should look like, so I decided to ask people on Facebook what they thought and what the preferred the most.
I need to analyse the research into the target audience I want for the magazine.

The majority of people who took the survey as you can see are students, the target audience would be targeted around students (ages 14-21) for the magazine. My target is to make the magazine appeal to these ages of people.

Here are some more of the results that I have found out:

These results show that 70% people who took the survey said that they prefer the college magazine cover to have this type of Masthead. I asked mostly students of Bodmin College what one they liked the most and by these results, I have been influenced to use the most popular masthead.

Here are the results from the survey when i asked people what magazine cover design do they prefer the most and here is the answer:

These results show that the majority of the audience who took the survey preferred the first image. However most of the chosen images were popular to the audiences who took the survey but just by one, Image one is the most preferred the Vogue magazine cover. However even though it is the most selected answer, its not a unisex magazine and not preferred by everyone, which means I have to consider the design of the magazine cover, but this has given me quite a good idea of what the audiences like and want in a magazine and what attracts and appeals to them. 

This certain set of results show that more females took the survey than males, however it is almost evenly match. The magazine would have to be unisex and appeal to all genders. The results I have collected helps me identify the type of conventions that the target audiences want and what appeals to them.

 These results show that not many of the audiences that took the survey, actually read the College magazine, my aim will be to try and change this and make it interesting and appealing to the target audience.

Common Conventions of Magazines

I have listed the common conventions of a random magazine which i have chosen. I have chosen Q Magazine.

Analysis of Edinburgh Napier University contents pages.

Contents Pages- The Red Triangle.

Masthead-In terms of masthead there doesn't seems to be an obvious one on the contents pages which is quite bad as the common conventions of a magazine continues to show the masthead on the contents page even if it is small. 

Layout-The layout of the contents page is very neat and continues the colour scheme, there are quite a few images which highlight the key parts that the university do and they show opportunities, editorial and much more. Even though the layout is well layed out and neat, the text is too small and unreadable again. And the pictures are not aligned with each other and this makes it look less professional and lowers the quality. This does and doesn't appeal to the target audience because on the left contents page it shows students and adults who have had the opportunity to do the things in the university but on the right contents page there is an image of an older woman which doesn't really appeal to people in their twenties. Its as if its a completely different magazine because it seems really boring on that side which would not appeal to their target audience. 

Imagery-There are many little images which are used to highlight and show the readers the types of people who have been involved with the university and their experiences (left contents page). On the right side of the contents page there is one image with is not aligned with the other picture on the left side. This is not a very good way of laying out the pictures, they show be neat and horizontal with each other to make it seem more professional and of a higher standard.  

Typography- In terms of Typography the text and information is not very clear which is quite a negative for the magazine. If the information is not clear and unreadable there is no point it being there. It does look tidy though the way its been set out and designed is very good. The number of pages in the magazine doesn't follow the conventions of a regular magazine which could make this magazine seem of a lower standard that others as it hasn't followed these conventions.

Colour- The colours are great, they contrast well with the images and follow the cover pages colours, they are all unisex colours and now it starts to follow the conventions of a regular magazine according to this type of genre. The picture quality and colour of the images are not too dull or bright, it really works well with the contents pages as a whole.

Text boxes- The page numbers are in a text box of a an opposite colour which draws the attention to the information inside of it. It shows the page numbers and the information that its showing. Many other magazine contents pages are bursting with pictures and information but this contents page seems quite bare and sparse but it works well with the whole design.

Analysis of Edinburgh Napier University magazine cover.

Edinburgh Napier University - The Red Triangle.

Target audience- In terms of target audience for this cover, the target audience would be university students, aged about 19+ and in the social status A to C It appeals to the older generation of people, even though it has a mare sophisticated look about it, I don't think it appeals to the target audience of older students.

Masthead-In terms of masthead this is quite a good one as its clear and takes up a large section of the magazine. However the text underneath of the mast head is very unclear and unreadable. Also the other piece of text is very small when its suppost to be highlighting the name of the university. This is quite  bad as this is the whole point of the magazine. Comparing this to the Bodmin College cover this is layed out much better because its clearer and easier to read.

Layout- In terms of layout the Edinburgh magazine cover is layed out very neatly, however there are many different sizes of text which makes the cover quite irritating to read and look at because the really small text you need to squint and is just a burden. Apart from that the layout is very tidy and the colours contrast well with each other and it doesn't clash which is great. This will appeal to the target audience because if its not all neat and tidy with unreadable text everywhere, nobody would be remotely interested in reading it because its so jumbled. Again the masthead is in a great place too. There is one image which gives the readers one thing to focus on rather that the other magazine which had 3 unclear pictures. However there are many colours on it which could be distracting but they do contrast well with the colour of the text.

Typography- In terms of this, its much better than the college magazine by far because the information is clearer and its more engaging to the reader. There is clear text which tells the readers whats happening special events which are going to occur soon. it doesn't have that much text, when i first saw this cover I didn't know what it was about, it needs to be more informative. In addition the language is quite formal as well.

Imagery- (main image and minor images)- In terms of imagery there is a long shot of the university and cyclist, its quite a clear crisp photo which is definitely better than the college pictures because they are not clear they are blurry and low quality. This could appeal to their target audience because it highlights the university which could appeal to the new starting students, older students and people in general. However in my opinion this might appeal to men more than women just by the picture and the layout.

Colour- There are many colours which could complicate the whole magazine and make it clash and distracting. This particular magazine doesn't do that, the colours contrast well with each other and they seem to be neutral colours that don't scream at you. The text colour works well with the colours because they are 'sharp' colours which illuminates the page and makes the text stand out with the colours. The colours Red, White and Black and unisex colours which appeals the the target audience but as I stated before its appeals more the men than woman in my opinion.

Conclusion- This is by far the better magazine cover than the Bodmin College magazine because its more informative and the layout is clearer and everything about it seems better than the Bodmin College magazine, its more appeal to their target audience and its a better quality too.

Analysis of the Bodmin College Magazine

Bodmin College Magazine-

Target Audience-

The primary target audience for the magazine are students.

The secondary target audiences are targeted at teachers, parents, governor’s etc.

This magazine is mainly aimed at C1 to E.

Mast Head (Logo)-

In terms of the Mast Head there are many issues involved. It doesn’t stand out; the colours are too dull for the target audience, its quite small, which prevents it from standing out. It’s not entirely clear for people to see, the background makes it unclear. For the target audience (teenagers) it does not appeal to the target audience which can make the audiences less interested.

Layout-

In terms of layout there are 3 main images and the majority of the pictures seem to only be focusing on the area of dance. The quality of the images are too quite poor. Another thing is that any text on the magazine is hard to see because its too small and doesn’t stand out. This is lacking with the layout because any other magazine fits in with the text and any images and this magazine seems to be having the most minimal amount of text to make sure people can see the images. There is too much going on. However this will not appeal to every audience and it might give the impression that its targeted at females rather than both. Also older students like 6^th Form will be prevented from looking at it because if there is a picture of younger students on it they will not be interested.

Colours-

In terms of colours there is too much colour in the images and doesn’t contrast with the colour of the text. With white text it can be hard to make out what it says, and in the middle of the magazine there is bold, white text, which is hard to make out because the font does not fit in with the whole design of the magazine. It’s a complete disaster if I’m completely honest. It does not appeal to the target audience because you cant read it due to the colours and especially the colours of the texts as it is quite faded and hard to make out. This is not like a common magazine cover as there are usually only 3 colours to prevent distraction.

Imagery-

In terms of imagery they are all long shots and are very poor quality, which makes the magazine look a bit tacky. The images are not in line with each other and look like they have been just placed on the page. Also a common magazine design only have one image and this one has 3 large pictures which defeats the object of it being a magazine and looks more like a collage on a page. This might not appeal to the target audience because it doesn’t look good!!

Typography-

In terms of typography the font of the magazine is the most unappealing type of font for a magazine. The magazine has no strap lines to indicate people what’s happening or going on, something to entice their target audience. No text which makes it hard to understand what the cover is actually promoting or telling you about and there are no teasers to actually make you take a look at the magazine and make you more interested and appealing. Another thing noticed there is no issue number on the magazine which should be there.

Conclusion-

Overall the magazine is not appealing to their target audience, its really below average because its not aimed at students when its suppose to be. This issue is only really appealing to dance students that’s about it. Its not like a regular magazine because the layout is not at all displayed as it should be.

Analysing Existing Magazines

I will analyse two college magazine covers and two contents pages in order to establish and identify the common conventions are in magazines today and I will be including my own work to represent the needs of the target audiences. As the following statements by well known theorists show creativity is not simply an instant process but:

“A process needed for problem solving…not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people”  (Jones, 1993).

“The making of the new and the rearranging of the old” (Bentley, 1997)

“Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996).

Prelim Task

TASK 1. Analysing the common conventions of the existing College Magazines

In order to develop my skills in pre-production, photography, Photoshop and critical reflection before undertaking my main task I firstly have to complete the following preliminary task outlined in the brief which is:

My AS Media Foundation Portfolio

For my Foundation Portfolio I have decided to undertake the brief print and make a magazine cover, contents page and feature spread associated with the music industry. I have a great interest in the music industry and feel that this will develop my skills in print and will help provide me with a solid foundation of understanding and knowledge concerning media production. The brief I will be working on is as follows: