LO4: Evaluation

As part of this unit i have been tasked with creating a new magazine for SPH publishing house to cater for a large Sheffield. As a result i have planned, developed and produced a sports based magazine, more specifically of the extreme sports genre.

As part of this I have been asked to three pages, both a front cover and contents page as well as a double page spread to appeal to a Sheffield based audience.  

Front Cover – For the cover page I have used a bold sans serif font in addition to a graphic which emphasises the "s" as this style clearly portrays the nature of the sport and therefore the magazine whilst also having clear connotations of action and excitement which I plan to emulate throughout. The main masthead will read ‘Seven Peaks MTB’ as this name relates to the regional aspect of the magazine whilst also directly referring to the sport and therefore the context of the magazine, this style of masthead is also concentric to this genre. The sans serif font will also the audience to easily read and interoperate the text. Sell lines I have used are ; “Next Years Kit”, “Trail Tested” , "Ride Here, Ride Now"and “Rock Stars” most importantly this sell line would is affective as the pun creates interest and also directly refers to the content of the article.  As a whole I have used bold and vibrant block colours in the house style as these have a greater impact as they significantly contrast the background and stand out clearly against most imagery. Examples of colours I have used are yellows and oranges. Most noticeably oranges would are used as it connotes and is perceived to be creative, energetic, expressive, dynamic and is also often seen in recruitment, entertainment, education and sport medias.  

 Similarly, I also used a candid/ action style image which dominantly features a mountain biker which again clearly shows the reader the nature of the magazine whilst also immediately engaging them. The picture should also shows the rider in a positive light to engage the audience and to allow the model to be perceived as the ideal self or partner. For this i have used a telephoto lens zoomed in to frame the reader with a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion resulting in a sharp focussed rider with the background being slightly out of focus resulting in an aesthetically pleasing shallow depth of field.The composition for this photo would also be key as it has to be visually appealing whilst also being functional as a front cover. For example, i have positioned the rider central to the page to draw the readers attention to it immediately and to allow for the text elements such as the sell lines and banners would be placed so that they do not interfere with the imagery.  

However, within the front cover several aspects have changed from the original proposal and visualisation diagrams. For example the arrangement of the cover lives and colours have all been changed to fit with the new cover image used in the final piece. A different cover image was used as this new image represents an ideal self or partner better and would be seen to have a greater appeal. Unlike in the visualisation diagram i decided to remove certain elements such as the main banner at the top, as i felt the more minimalist look would have a greater appeal to the target audience. 

Contents Page – The contents page of this magazine has been dominantly filled with imagery and references to pages as this is a common theme throughout the genre of this magazine additionally I feel that it is more  visually appealing. Examples of images I have included are action style images featured in the main articles and double page spreads, all of which have vibrant colours to add visual interest and add emphasis to the piece. In addition to this, there is a section clearly defined, which describes the contents and pages that will involve articles on; product reviews/showcase, rider stories, news and updates, maps/locations and prizes or giveaways. 

Double page spreads - The main double page spread within the magazine features products being showcased and reviewed. Subsequently, this page heavily features close up photography of the products in question. For this I have used a portrait lens to achieve a shallow depth of field to emphasize the product on show. Similarly, the photos have also been taken in a natural setting to reiterate the ideas of the natural setting in which the sport is often undertaken in.  With regards to the body copy, this page is less text oriented with frequent use of facts and statistics such as pricing and shop links.

Throughout all the text and pages of the magazine I have kept a consistent house style and mode of address as this is seen in many current magazines. With regards to colour schemes and housetyle I have used the same bold, block colours used on the front cover of the magazine to keep in line with the idea of a consistent brand image. Furthermore, I have also used a limited amount of colours with the intention not to overcomplicate the page similarly on the main double page spread. Within the review section it features a more peer to peer tone of address due to advice being given directly to the reader and the feature of reviews from real personnel within the sport. 

As a whole i feel that the finished product meets the brief of a magazine to appeal to a sheffield based audience. For example within the magazine i have included local star persona which would therefore appeal to the local audience. In addition to this in order to appeal to a younger audience i have implemented a large variety of images in all pages of the magazine to add visual interest in addition to using bold and prominent colours. Despite this it is still seen to appeal to an ABC1 as throughout the layout is set out to be organised and well defined allowing the body copy to be easily interpreted