Font Testing

1) I think Times New Roman, would not be suitable for a magazine as it is very plain, quite boring and not a font that would attract our target market to purchase the magazine. This font would be better suited to perhaps a newspaper such as The Daily Mail or Sunday Times, as they deliver national news, which is sometimes of a serious nature, therefore a more formal font is required in order for them to look professional.

2) Jokerman is a font I believe would be better suited, if our magazine was aimed at younger children about 10 and below, as it is very squiggly and playful, which would be appealing to younger children. I feel our target audience would find this font childish and immature and would struggle to take the magazine seriously.

3) I feel Mr Big SF could be suitable for my magazine, the font is quirky without being too childish at the same time. I would most likely use this font for the masthead, as writing too much in this font would be difficult to read and the appeal would be lost.

4) Arial Black, would be suitable for my magazine as it is bold and will stand out against any background. The colour is also neutral so it is not favouring males or females. This font would be used for more formal style magazines or magazines wanting a cleaner finish. 

5) This font would not be suitable for my magazine as it is very elaborate and quite feminine. A font like this would be better suited on a women's magazine where the audience would be predominantly female. Pink is also a colour mainly associated with females, so male students hoping to purchase the magazine may feel put off by this. 

6) Undercurrent BNT font could be quite fun to have on the cover, it's graffiti style is quite urban and graffiti is also stereotypically associated with teens, which is who my target audience are. A font style like this, would most likely be found on an underground music magazine and any other magazines with a more urban theme to them.

Colour Testing

Red symbolizes excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war and violence. As red is the colour of the school logo and this is a school magazine, i think red would be an appropriate color for my magazine. Red is also an attention grabbing colour so it would be attract people's eyes to it. 

Orange, is associated with warmth and happiness and is also a colour that represents energy. As orange is a warm colour, I feel it would draw readers to the magazine and it is also a colour that makes people feel happy, so this may help make them feel more inclined to read it. 

Yellow is a colour that represents happiness, it is a bright colour that will easily attract people's eyes towards it, however I would use it cautiously as too much of this colour, apparently causes irritation, which contradicts what I am trying to achieve.

Green has connotations of youth, growth and calmness. As my target market are young people that are growing, I feel this colour would subconsciously draw them to the magazine. Green also reflects calmness, which would be good as readers would feel calm as they flicked through the magazine.

Blue represents relaxation. It is also used worldwide as a "boy" colour, so I feel that maybe using blue might make females feel as though the magazine is not aimed at them. I would use this colour for maybe headings and some text, but not for the majority of the magazine.

Purple is a rich colour that oozes luxury and is also considered a royal colour as well. Using this colour would make my magazine feel more expensive than it is, so readers would feel like they are getting more out of their money which would be good.

School Magazine Questionnaire: Results Analysis

In this post, I will be be analyzing some of the results from my questionnaire and discussing how they will help me in regards to creating my school magazine. Here is the first analysis:

Q1

The bar graph above, shows that over half of the total people questioned would be reluctant to pay for a magazine, indicating that it would be sensible to either make the magazine free, or sell it for a small fee. 

Q2

 Over 90% of the people, said they would prefer the magazine to have an informal theme to it (yes, I've noticed the typo in the question!). In response to this, I will be sure to construct my magazine in a way that reflects this response.

Q3

This chart shows me that the majority of people feel that fashion would be the topic they would find the most interesting, followed by career/educational events. I do feel the response to this question is biased as the majority of people I asked to complete my questionnaire were girls, so fashion having the highest percentage is reflective of this. However in my magazine, I  will be sure to include a lot of the top 3 topics.

Q4

Over 80% of people said they would prefer the magazine to be bright and colourful. Therefore when making my magazine I will make sure to use cool, bright colours as opposed to formal, dull colours such as grey and other darker colours.

Q5

This information tells me that just over half the people would want the magazine to be available monthly (again, I've noticed the typo!). 33% want it weekly, so perhaps to compromise, it could be available fortnightly. Only 14% chose termly, so I will definitely not bring the magazine out termly.

Q6

The majority feel that tutor would be the best place for them to get the magazine. Seeing as they attend tutor regularly, this would be the easiest place for their tutor to just hand it out, as opposed to visiting a magazine stand, which they would have to do in their own time, which may affect their willingness to purchase the magazine. Therefore, I will make the magazine available to purchase through tutor.

Q7

Over 85% wanted an average amount of pages in the magazine, therefore i would make sure to make the magazine isn't too long or too short.

Q8

 I found that more people would be willing to purchase the magazine if it included a free promotional gift. When producing the magazine, we would be sure to include a gift in order to entice people to purchase the magazine.

These results show that people would prefer more informal fonts as this would create a more interesting, casual magazine that is easy to read.

People did not have much to say in this last question, the majority of the answers were in regards to my spelling mistakes.

School Magazine Research Questionnaire

Click the link below to answer my questionnaire!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LRSXSRL

Tesco FOOD Magazine Analysis

Pink suggests the magazine is aimed at women, and as the women are the ones most likely to be doing the weekly shopping, the heading "YOUR WEEKLY SHOPPING SORTED" supports this suggestion. The masthead is simple "Food" the reader knows what the magazine is about and the simplicity makes the magazine appear sophisticated so people will trust and be willing to use the recipe's and tips.

The image used is a bowl of warm soup, we can see the steam rising from the soup, which creates a feeling of warmth when viewed by potential buyers. The background is of a wooden counter top, probably in the kitchen, which is relevant for the magazine as this is where cooking will take place, so it almost subliminally makes the reader envision themselves making the bowl of soup in their own homes. By using deeps browns and warm colours, the magazine looks cosy, it makes people want to purchase it as it looks so inviting.

Words such as "WIN!" used in the bottom corner attract buyers as many people enjoy entering competitions and winning free prizes. The promise of a "Marco Exclusive" also encourages the readers to buy as they are getting information from a top chef.

BRIDES Magazine Analysis

The masthead of the magazine is written in white, as white is stereo-typically the colour associated with traditional weddings. The title of the magazine is big and bold to capture the readers attention, and the simplicity of the title adds to the elegance of the magazine, it cuts straight to the point, which readers and potential buyers like, as it excludes the wasting time flicking through the pages to see what the magazine is about.

The fonts used are cursive, which reflects the beauty and elegance associated with wedding. It is also quite feminine which shows the magazine is aimed at women, the magazine is also called "BRIDES" which confirms this. 

A beautiful model is seen on the cover, she is very slim, so women will purchase the magazine as they may want to know how they can look as good as her on their wedding day. She is wearing a long, ivory wedding dress, again reverting back to the traditional wedding themes, however she is also wearing a chunky, quirky necklace which adds a feel of uniqueness to her outfit, thus encouraging the reader to see what else it has to offer. The background is a plain, light gray colour, which allows the ivory/white of the dress and masthead to stand out clearly, with out looking to harsh, had they used a colour such as black. So it adds to the softness and elegant theme projected  by the magazine.

The magazine boasts "745 ETERNALLY STYLISH" wedding essentials, readers will feel they are getting a lot for the price of the magazine and will feel more encouraged to buy it. Words such as "your" and "we" address the reader directly and allow them to feel like a part of the magazine and will also make them feel encouraged to read more. People are always looking to save money, so headers such as "+14 ways to shrink your budget" will draw them in and they will be eager to buy the magazine to see how they can save money. The header at the top "The UK's No.1 bestselling bridal magazine" makes readers feel that they are truly buying the best of the best when they buy the magazine, the fact that it is number 1, shows it is the best in it's genre, so it definitely knows what it is talking about.