Task 14: Layout Design

Our original mock-ups:

We came up with initial ideas and decided it would help to get a visual representation of how we wanted our magazine to look. Our first masthead consisted of bright colours to impersonate the underground rail-map and made our magazine look very hectic. At first, we did like the original ideas however, after gaining audience feedback we decided it was too busy and overpowering for a simple regional magazine. By doing the original mock-ups we then knew where to go with it, what we should and what we shouldn't do - we really liked the design of the typography, just not the surrounding. This was a good approach to learn what looks good or not.

The next mock-up designs were our finalised ones, after we had gone away and thought how we really wanted our magazine to look. We decided to go for a more simplistic look for the magazine due to fitting the regional genre more but, in some cases wanted to illustrate the fashion genre that we needed to apply. We were very happy with the basis of our mock-ups and they were a guide for what the final product should look like. 

Mock-up designs (Lucy):

Front cover

Contents page

Double-page spread

Mock-up designs (Teddy):

Front cover 

Contents page 

Double-page spread 

Task 13 : Seeking Locations, Models, etc

In this task, we were asked to finalise our locations and models for our magazine. Furthermore, we used this task to research more into the style of photography that we would like to use as this was an immortant aspect too when considering photography locations. 

Location & photography Ideas: 

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/teddyseansmith/photoshoot-locations/

Here are some of the locations which we would like to use in our photoshoot. All of these places capture the image that we would like for our magazine and also London as a whole which will make our magazine easily identifiable as a London centred magazine. Furthermore, we have included a few photography ideas too in order for us to visualise how we can utilise these locations.

We have decided that for Lucy's magazine we will use pictures taken in parts of London such as Embankment, London Bridge and parts of Kensington. 

For Teddy's edition of our magazine the areas of focus would be Chinatown, Brick Lane and Knightsbridge.  

Due to the nature of the Locations we are thinking of doing our photoshoots at, we will not have to gain any type of permission as they will all be in public areas. This being said however, we will have to make sure that people who do not wish to be in our photos are not included. Therefore, we may have to take pictures when there are a small number of people in the surrounding area. 

Models:

Eliza Perkin: (fashion blogger) is whom we will be using, alongside ourselves for another feature. 

Teddy Smith: Who will act as the travel blogger for our magazine. 

We have created an array of images, consisting of various background choices to then decide the best fit for the magazine. 

Task 12 : Fashion and Props

Fashion

Due to the fact our magazine is a hybrid of a regional magazine and fashion magazine it is absolutely fundamental that we represent London fashion throughout it in the best way posisble . This is because we hope that will be setting an example/trend for others who are reading, just as fashion magazines such as 'Elle' or 'Vogue' do. In order to gain a sense of inspiration for what we should include fashion wise we had to research what styles and looks are popular. In order to do this we have produced a Pinterest mood board in order to showcase all aspects of the London fashion scene (Link below)

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/teddyseansmith/london-fashion/

From this research we have found that fashion in London is extremely varied ranging from the extremely casual to high fashion avant-garde. However, typical British (and more importantly London) fashion mainly focuses on a more sleek, clean look that is not too over complicated. In order to appeal to the target audience we have decided that in order for our magazine to succeed we must incorporate this style of fashion into our magazine. By paying homage to the basic rules of British fashion trends we will thus be able to gain an audience who's interests align with the style of underground. 

We have decided that we should follow the work of some of Britain's most notable fashion brands such as Burberry, Vivienne Westwood & Stella McCartney whilst incorporating a sense of affordability to our target market by using affordable items from high-street stores.  

Props

Throughout our magazine we plan not to use any particular props as our magazine will mainly focus on photography of places and people. This being said, it should be something that we keep in mind incase we decide that a prop may be appropriate for a particular photo shoot. 

Task 11 : Moodboard

In order to gain an idea of the final concept of our magazine, and get a visual representation of every aspect coming together we constructed a mood board to highlight how the magazine should look. We included different typographies we were aspiring to use, the colour scheme, examples of images and locations for this images - we also, wanted to include examples of magazines that we have used for inspiration when constructing and finalising concepts for our magazine. This was a very useful tool when it came to piecing our magazine together. 

Task 10 : Initial ideas (Pitch)

In this task we needed to spend some time coming up with initial ideas for our magazine. It was crucial that we considered content, photography, features, location ideas and the fashion going into our magazine. Furthermore, it was important that we got feedback on our ideas after presenting them to people in order to grasp whether they'd be accepted. 

Click here to view our initial ideas pitch!

Task 9 : Permissions

In order to gain official, appropriate knowledge for our magazine we wanted to include a local blogger as a feature for our double-page spread. The idea was to generate more features that will engage our younger demographic - blogging, is very upcoming and modern within this area and allows people without authority (people like you and I) to enjoy the freedom of fashion without feeling the pressure against the professionals, it is ideal for those whom have the passion for it.The response we received was perfect, in order to start 



Furthermore, we also needed to receive permission to use a certain image taken on a photoshoot in London. 

Thanks to her quick response it meant we was able to use the image we wanted to.

Task 8 : Thinking of concepts

This task dictated that we had to begin thinking about the concept of our magazine in an attempt to plan for our final magazine. 

Firstly, we started to jot our ideas down in order to come up with a concept for our magazine:






From this we have come up with a few ideas for how we would imagine our magazine to look. We want to make sure our magazine is a success and thus decided that by getting our ideas down on paper it would allow us to think more clearly. This is because we would be able to come up with ideas which were not rushed and were well thought out. 

After producing this we then decided to make a digital version to finalise the ideas that we had come up with: 
Mind Map created by Teddy Smith with GoConqr

Task 7 - Media Producers/Directors (individual)

The purpose of this task was to gain a better knowledge of how key people in the magazine industry work. From our research into photographers and magazine editors we were able to gain a much more comprehensive understanding of what we wanted to include in our magazine and it gave us the opportunity to take inspiration from existing magazines and real life examples and implement aspects of their ideas into our own designs. 

Lucy's Blog: http://lucyswallowa2coursework.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/task-7-media-producersdirectors.html
Teddy's Blog: https://a2mediastudiesteddy.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/task-7-media-producersdirectors.html

TASK 6 - Audience Consumption (individual)

The idea of this task was to identify how and why people consume magazines, this was a great exercise as it gave us an insight into the magazine industry and also gave us the opportunity to get an idea of what our audience wants from us. 

below you can find a link to our 2 blogs: 

Lucy's Blog: http://lucyswallowa2coursework.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/task-6-audience-consumption.html 

Teddy's Blog: https://a2mediastudiesteddy.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/task-6-media-consumption.html 

Task 5 - MEGA RESEARCH / ANALYSIS (Individual)

This task was a task which encompasses everything that our magazine should include. It allows us to look at magazines which already exist in an attempt to identify what we should create. Through dissecting each magazine it has allowed us to identify what our magazines must include to live up to the standard of existing magazines. 

Lucy's Blog: http://lucyswallowa2coursework.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/task-5-mega-research.html

Teddy's Blog: https://a2mediastudiesteddy.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/task-5-mega-research-analysis.html

Task 4 : Analysis of other students' work

In order to gain a better understanding of what was expected from us we decided that it would be essential to look at other examples of student work. This was a great activity to do as it allowed us to see what we liked in other peoples work and also what we did not like so that we could use certain aspects we liked and avoid others which we disliked. This was a task which really gave us a guideline of what we had to create.

Task 3 : Branding

In this task we had to decide how to brand our own magazine. as one can imagine this is quite a difficult and complex task as it sets out who our magazine shall be marketed towards, its place in the market and it's purpose. In this task we had to look at how existing magazines create a brand and use that to formulate our own ideas of how our magazine should look.

Click the link below to view our presentation about branding:
http://www.emaze.com/@AOOIIZOCC/blank

After creating this branding powerpoint and a lot of deliberation, we realised we wanted to go for a slightly different concept due to the fact we felt it did not fit our target audience and thus we have tweaked a few aspects of our design. This new, revamped branding consists of a black and red colour scheme (still keeping to the 'London' look) opposed to the originally proposed 'underground map' idea. We both felt that it looked overall too childish and thus we have made the decision to go for a much more stripped back simple design as from our understanding it appeal to the audience much more so than the original idea. This is because it is our belief that the young adult prefers a much more sleek, clean look. In contrast we felt our original idea was a tad dated and therefore would appeal to a potential reader. 

Task 2: History of Ancillary Tasks (Individual)

In order to become better acquainted and gain a further understanding of our ancillary tasks (being websites and billboards) we decided that we would investigate a bit more into the history and uses of our chosen tasks. This activity allowed us to become aware of real life examples of our chosen tasks in the magazine industry and how to achieve the same in our own work. From doing this we were able to identify some of the key features, codes and conventions of both websites and billboards. Through doing this it really will aided us with the production of our websites and billboards. 

Below you can find 2 individual links to our personal blogging websites: 

Lucy's blog: http://lucyswallowa2coursework.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/task-2-history-of-ancillary-tasks.html

Teddy's Blog: https://a2mediastudiesteddy.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/task-2-history-of-ancillary-task-1-and-2.html

Task 1 : History of Magazines (Regional)

To see the history of Regional magazines follow the link below: 

History of regional magazines timeline | Timetoast timelines

From this task we have learnt that magazines have developed a lot over their history from the beginning of time when they were thin and flimsy to nowadays when digital copies are available to read on your tablet. This change highlights the fact that we have to create a magazine which is both unique from competitors and also modern and relevant so that people will be interested.

Furthermore, we have also learnt that fashion, events, celebrities, and places of interest are what we should focus on as they are what a reader would expect a regional magazine to feature. Our magazine must be current and relevant to the times in order for it to be successful with out target market of young adults and young professionals.

Regional Magazine

 Regional Magazine - (London)

We have chosen to create a regional magazine based around our local area (London). This magazine will be different from the conventional regional magazine due to our target demographic we propose for our magazine. When conducting research we found that regional magazines tend to be quite 'boring' and 'dated' and therefore there is a gap in the market to be filled. We want to create a fresh new magazine which focuses on everything quintessentially London. the magazines main focus will be fashion, however we aim to embed other elements of London life such as events, celebrities, shopping, sport and hotspots. Our magazine will be targeted towards the young adult/ young professional demographic that possibly either live in or commute to London. When conducting research we found that there really is not a wide variety of magazines are available for this age range so we think that our magazine will provide something unique. 

Initial ideas when brainstorming: