Planning Task 1 : My Magazine Title and Strapline

Magazine Title + Strapline

I produced this mindmap to assist me with finding a working title and strapline for my style magazine. This decision was made with my target audience and themes of the magazine in mind: they are mainly style conscious young people 16-25, many expressed their interest for alternative subcultures of fashion, and have a varied range of genders.

Title - 'The OUTlier'

I like the word 'outlier' as it reflects people who do not fit in to regular society. I intend to destigmatise the idea of not fitting into society by celebrating unique fashion and style. Other than fashion, we will also cover other niche subject matters that appeal to young people.

Strapline - 'Independence is Stylish'

This strapline encourages the reader to express themselves and be independent through style. Both this and the title also destigmatise the idea that being an 'outlier' means you are a societal outcast -- framing it in a positive light instead. As the editor, I believe that 'style' is very subjective and so the readers of my magazine can curate their own tastes.

Research Task 7 : Target Audience

Target Audience

Before I begin producing my magazine and its accompanying website, I must first determine what my target market is and what they want to see in my product. The target audience in question is "A primarily 16-25 year old middle and up market audience of style conscious people"; my product may cater to a niche because other magazines under Condé Nast appeal to people who are older and have a higher level of income. Due to the competitive nature of the media industry, I have to make sure that my magazine stands out against other publications to fulfill its purpose as a commercial product.

I have successfully found the target audience for my style magazine. The way I did this is by creating a form on Microsoft Forms with questions relevant to magazines and style. In order to receive responses, I have sent this form over to classmates and friends that fit the criteria of the target audience. As of now, I have managed to accumulate 18 responses on my form. This number of responses will be useful to me as a media producer because I needed a minimum of 10 to have a varied range of answers.

It has also been specified that there needs to be a range of genders in my target audience. I of course have an option for "man" and "woman" but also featured an "other" option for individuals who may not fit into the gender binary. What this pie chart tells me is that most (44%) of my respondents are men, followed by the other category and women. The distribution of gender is relatively equal -- so I may design my magazine product with gender inclusivity in mind, which has become a popular practise in modern media products. Style as a genre has traditionally been female-centric, household names like Vogue and Glamour have appealed to them for years, but I aim to diversify the audience of style magazines with my upcoming Condé Nast publication.

I also made sure to include a variety of ages in this research, all the people that responded to my form are within the ages of 16-25. 10 of these respondents (56%) are 17 years old, and I am aiming to cater the magazine and accompanying website to teenagers and young adults. Typically, other style magazine publications do not cater to the wants or interests to younger people but rather those who are middle-aged.  I aim to subvert this with my upcoming magazine as these style-conscious individuals have no media to consume that was specifically designed with them in mind. 

 

As the piece of media I am producing is a magazine, I must make sure I am reaching an audience that has an interest in them and reads them. There are more participants that don't read magazines (72%), so I will analyse the reasons for this. I asked the respondents a follow-up question, why or why not they read magazines. There are many reasons why magazines may not be appealing to certain people, and as a media producer I must analyse them and create a product that is more likely to suit their needs and wants. 

The most common reasons for not reading magazines are being too expensive, boring, or preferring other types of media such as books or online news. Style magazines traditionally come with expensive price-tags and heavy advertising of luxury brands like Dior and Cartier. 16-25 year olds most likely do not have interest in such products -- nor do they have the means to buy them so I may tap into style aspects that are reasonable and appealing to young people. Another popular concern my respondents had was not seeing the appeal in the subject material of most magazines. For instance, they may focus on "superficial stuff" and "biased news", which is the case for some mainstream magazines with topics surrounding politics and other public affairs. Finally, the existence of magazines may be completely "redundant" for younger audiences as four participants have explained how they prefer other channels of distribution such as online news, or reading other types of media such as books. 

Only 5/13 (28%) of my respondents have expressed that they do read magazines on a regular basis. I followed up this question by asking why and what kind of magazines they enjoy. Some that were mentioned include cooking/food, music, and Vogue. The other topics do not fit the description of my magazine product, but the fact that a respondent reads Vogue proves that I am reaching to style-conscious people. Though my magazine will be fashion-centric, I want to incorporate 

As fashion is subjective, I continued to ask my audience what aspects of style interest them the most and why. Fortunately, I got a very varied mix of responses -- most notably clothing while also mentioning makeup, hair, and even grooming. When providing their reasoning for liking clothing as a style aspects, some participants expressed their interest in alternative subcultures such as "dark academia, grunge, scene, indie, etc" which tells me that young people enjoy styles that subvert from mainstream representations in other style magazines. This is also implied through makeup as one respondent says she enjoys "trying new makeup styles". Another aspect of alternative style is the influence of social media platforms such as "Tumblr" and others that are more mainstream like TikTok which are widely used by young people.

As I will be producing a digitally convergent website to go along with my magazine product, I must also know my audience's views on magazine websites. These questions were structurally identical to the ones I asked about whether they read magazines: I asked a yes or no question about magazine websites, then included follow-up questions to find out why or why not they do. This was a 50/50 split between all 18 respondents which proves that more 16-25 year olds seek news and entertainment through digital channels of distribution. 

Half of my participants have said that they do visit magazine websites, though a couple of them have mentioned that they use them more for educational purposes (school assignments/coursework) rather than entertainment. Therefore I would like my website to include content that is entertaining and engaging for my target audience. Some expressed their interests in the websites of Vogue and GQ, which follow the genre conventions of style magazines and further prove I have reached a style-conscious audience. 

When analysing the reasoning behind the other half who said no, I noticed a trend that I saw when asking about magazines. Many respondents also do not like the paywalls in magazine websites; whether you pay to access the site or for a digital subscription. Also, one respondent prefers videos rather than reading articles, audio-visual elements are something commonly implemented in style magazine websites through advertisements or videos created in partnership with celebrities/public figures. 

In order to make money off of my style magazine, I must make sure that potential customers are effectively convinced into buying it. I continued to ask my respondents what would convince them to buy a style magazine. Many prioritised factors such as "affordable" style and fashion, niche/unique subject matter, and an interesting front cover. Though the audience consists of style-conscious people, they may not be willing or able to invest in huge designer brands that do not appeal to their tastes in style.

Finally, I asked my audience how much money they would be willing to pay for a style magazine like mine. It will be a commercial product with the ultimate goal of making money and gaining an established fanbase in the competitive media industry. The majority votes for £2.49 or less and £4-4.49 (both with 5 votes each) so I must price my magazine somewhere in between these figures to meet my audience's desires.

Research Task 6 : Style Magazine Websites

 Style magazine websites

Tatler

British GQ

British Vogue

Vanity Fair

Research Task 5 : Style Magazine Contents Page Analysis

 What is a contents page?

In magazines, there are contents pages that serve as a roadmap for its readers -- so they have a clear idea of the topics featured in the magazine. As each magazine has a specific target market they cater their products to, even if they are under the same genre, it is important that customers can have an easy to navigate system that allows them to pick and choose topics of personal interest. For instance, there may be a celebrity on the front cover of a magazine, their fans will want to read their interview and the contents page allows them to efficiently navigate themselves through the magazine. Therefore, the user experience is more customisable than other forms of print media like newspapers that make them flip through the entire issue. 

While functionality is a core part of contents pages, the design of them also reflect things about the brand of a certain magazines. No two publications are the same, even those under the same genre, due to branding and variation in their house style. They are, additionally, a marketing tactic used to create engagement and brand recognition for their audiences. 

Codes/conventions of contents pages 

To ensure they are visually appealing and easily navigated by the audience, contents pages follow specific codes and conventions suitable for pieces of media like magazines. While all conventions are the same, many magazine publications employ them in slightly different, unique ways. 

• Title/heading: title labelled as "Contents" or anything along the lines of this. Indicates where the contents page starts and is written in a large, bold typeface to grab attention
• Sectioned listings: Contents are organised into specific categories with clear headings. This helps readers find topics that interest them (customisable user experience). While style magazines predominantly focus on fashion, they have other topics like politics, beauty, and celebrity culture as subcategories
• Page numbers: Each article/section of the magazines has an accompanying page number, typically aligned to the left or right of the section's title. This allows for smooth and easy navigation for the consumers of the magazine
• Columns or grids: Text is arranged in a grid or column layout. This serves visual appeal as well as ensuring readability for the audience
• Visual hierarchy: Important and key articles are made to stand out from the others (usually the main coverline). They are made to stand out using larger/bolder fonts, different colours, or in boxes
• Article titles: Written to be short and catchy. Usually more prominent to catch the attention of the reader
• Subheadings/descriptions: Brief descriptions under titles to give teasers for the article's content. This entices the audience to read that article without revealing too much about it
• Consistent typography: Fonts that match the magazine's branding: serif for magazines with traditional styles, sans-serif to signify modernity. In some cases, a combination of both is used
• Images: Illustrations, photos, or icons that have anchorage with major articles. Often placed near the title or in a designated image section on the page
• Colour scheme: Colours are used strategically to attract the audiences' attention and align with the magazine's brand identity. Bright or muted accents used for different things 
• Lines and dividers: To keep the contents page organised, horizontal/vertical lines divide content into separate sections. Retains the clean and polished look of style magazines
• White space: Content is strategically spaced out to prevent clutter and make the contents page look inviting and approachable rather than overwhelming for the eye
• Order: Listing of articles/sections in the magazine may appear in a chronological order (front to back), though some order content differently such as ordering by topic
• Issue details: Details such as the issue number, publication name, and date appear in small print on the contents page for reference
• Branding: The way that the magazine's brand identity is reinforced. This is done using logos, taglines, and signature design choices to be inviting and memorable to readers

Conventions by genre

While these specific conventions exist in any magazine genre, they are not rigid rules for magazine publications to follow. They can be employed in many different ways depending on the genre of their content. Publications have varying brand values, intentions, and audience expectations -- so these conventions are not a one-size-fits-all principle and can be applied differently. Lifestyle/fashion magazines such as Vogue are known for their timeless and minimalist approach to design, which is also reflected in the topics they cover. Magazine publications that tailor to a more niche audience (with hobbies such as cooking, sports, and music) will employ thematic graphics throughout to reinforce their goal to attract those that share a passion for its topics. All magazine contents pages will achieve their goal of serving as a roadmap for the audience if they follow codes and conventions appropriately. 

Contents page analysis - style magazines

Research Task 4 : Style Magazine Front Cover Analysis