Millennial’s genre is Alternative R&B, which mainly consists of listeners aged 23 to 39, of both men and women. From my audience profile research, I discovered that these listeners are typically creative, artistic individuals who like to stand out from the crowd. My research also suggests that the audience is likely to be avant-garde characters whom are interested in fashion.

The Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications model suggests that consumers confide in media for 4 main reasons; information, entertainment, personal identity and social interaction. Therefore, I will focus the ads on topics such as fashion and familiar artists in the industry, targeting the audiences personal identity.

Here is the first Ad I have chosen:

This ad is for Calvin Klein – a fashion brand – which is featuring Frank Ocean, an R&B artist. This ad will hopefully stand out to the audience through the creative avant-garde feel which it reflects and the fashion perspective that it offers. If the consumers see this artist, who they admire, wearing Calvin Kleins, then they are likely to also purchase the product. Calvin Klein produces garments for both men and women, making it a diverse ad.

Ad 2:

 

The second advert is advertising Nike. I feel that this ad is fitting for Millennial as is promotes a meaningful message that ‘quitting is quiet’, which encourages the audience to not give up. As an audience that are considered keen to break traditions, this message can push them to have a voice that promotes change. This ad also reflects the magazine’s colour scheme of red.

After adding some final touches, I am now ready for the submission of my Music Magazine, Millennial.

MILLENNIAL: FRONT COVER

What’s new?

• Added a subheading to the headline ‘Lil Koris’, to give the readers an idea of what to expect inside the article
• Added another coverline on the lefthand side, to help fill the space
• Reduce the opacity of the background, to help enhance the cover star
• Deleted the pug of Callum as I realised it was unnecessary seeing as I also have a coverline to interest the readers to the feature

MILLENNIAL: CONTENTS PAGE

What’s new?

• Changed the colour of the image of Callum to colour, as the B&W blended into the page
• Changed the colour of the star’s to white from grey, as the grey was attracting too much attention
• Altered the highlighted words to just be the featured celebrities

MILLENNIAL: DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

What’s new?

• Added an exaggerated underline, to help fill the space on the upper left hand side
• Changed the ‘Callum Wood’ in the headline to be the same shade of blue as the pull quote and questions, to help the layout flow better and look more aesthetically pleasing

MILLENNIAL: MISSION STATEMENT

“We are a brand, and most of all a community, that believe in the power of diversity within the music industry. Millennial’s ethics are to promote our passions; colour, rhythm, fashion and culture. The R&B community to us, is all about being able to express your creative individuality, while being part of something wider.”

How does Millennial meet its Mission Statement?

• Diversity:
  • Shown through the different genders featured
  • Features people from different ethnic backgrounds e.g. Basquiat is from a Haitian and Puerto Rican ethnic background
• Colour:
  • Millennial’s brand is based around red
  • DPS is a range of olive-green to sky blue
• Rhythm:
  • The images show rhythm through the attitude and repetition of colour
  • The image of Callum on the DPS also shows rhythm as it has jazz aspects to it e.g. the sleek black suit
• Fashion:
  • Fashion is a big aspect of the magazine – the Mise En Scene was really thought about to try and reflect the influential street style that the community praise.
  • The contents page also shows that there will be other articles in the magazine about style e.g. ‘How to Slay Streetwear with SZA’ and the monthly feature of ‘style’.
• Community:
  • The audience is made to feel a part of this community through the compulsive words used on the contents page e.g. ‘your new’, ‘how to’, ‘you should’ – it makes the audience feel that they are included and they were thought about during the creation of this content.
  • The questions in the feature article were also submitted by Instagram Fans, suggesting that they had some input into this article.

 

I have now made further improvements to my DPS:

The changes I have made:

• I used the eyedropper tool to find a ‘sage green’ shade within the image – I then altered the colour palette to be based around this shade.
• Standfirst & finish is now in white
• Questions – added highlight and changed font
• Text wrapped the article around Callum
• Wrote the pull quote along a path
• Changed the headline
• Added a filter to the image

Why I made them:

• I changed the colour scheme as I felt it tied in with the image, rather than the previous red and lilac which didn’t seem to fit right.
• The standfirst and conclusion being in white now makes them more separated and readable.
• The highlight on the questions help make it clear where the questions are.
• The pull quote is now on a text path around Callum’s left side, making it flow better.
• I didn’t like the paper tear effect anymore, as I felt it was very bulky and didn’t blend in very well. So, I replaced the headline with a simple ‘Callum Wood: Unreserved’, using the same typeface as the questions. I also incorporated a paintbrush effect (from Illustrator), which is similar to what I used on the front cover.

Why I like my draft 3:

I like this new and improved Double Page Spread as I feel it is very fitting with the genre of Alternative R&B; it is modern yet vintage. The simple layout is quite timeless. I really enjoy the colour scheme as I think the similar yet different shades I have used make it look aesthetically pleasing and easy to read.

The conventions:

• Headline/Article name
• Pull quote
• Main Image
• Drop Capital
• Folio
• Stand first
• Conclusion

Here is my magazine draft 3:

  

Here is my teacher feedback:

From the teacher feedback, I have now derived my targets:

FRONT COVER

• Increase the opacity of the CD background
• Add a drop shadow around the pugs
• Add another cover line on the left hand side
• Add a subheading for the main headline

CONTENTS PAGE

• Put Callum in colour
• Change the stars to help pull it all in
• Decide what needs a highlight and why

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

• Enlarge Callum and move him more to the right
• Text wrap the article around Callum
• Put the pull quote on the left of him
• Enlarge the paper tear effect
• Make the stand first bigger
• Signify where the end is

Below is my contents page draft 2:

What I improved:

• Added a colour drop shadow around the images
• Replaced the ‘Happening column’ with an image of Callum
• Changed the page numbers to have a border around, adding a ‘button’ effect
• Added stars around the headlines
• Wrote who modelled and styled, around the image

Conventions

• 2 main images

Introduces the reader of what to expect inside the magazine

• Structured layout with contents is divided into categories, making it easily accessible for the reader to find the page they want

Looks professional and readable

• Colour scheme is the same as the front cover

It therefore all ties together and is visually pleasing

• Page numbers to the written contents

Makes it easier for the reader to find the page they want

• Editors note

Gives the readers an story of the making of the issue and what to expect

• Page number, name of magazine and webpage at the bottom of the page (this is called the folio)

Makes it conventional for the reader to find the page easily

Peer Assessment

 

Targets for development:

Change the image of Callum to colour, rather than B&W

• From the peer feedback, I have learnt that the image blends in too much with the text and it would stand out more if it were colourful

Improve the spacing

• It is important for everything on the page to be spaced out evenly so that it is attractable

Here is my rough plan of what I would like the contents page to look like:

Draft 1:

CONVENTIONS:

• One main image
• Structured layout
• Page numbers to the written contents
• Editors note
• Colour scheme is the same as the front cover
• Contents is divided into categories, making it easily accessible for the reader to find the page they want
• Page number at the bottom of the page

What’s next?

• Highlight key words

This will help direct the audience to the key pages and features in the magazine.

• Write the ‘editors note’

The editors note is usually a rough summary of what is in the magazine, written by the editor. It sometimes includes advice and their own opinion. This will be impactful to the audience as it acts as a great hook.

• Make sure everything is evenly displayed

If the contents page is evenly distributed then it will be pleasing to the eye.

• Add colour around Kate’s body

I want to add a coloured drop shadow around Kate’s body as I feel like the pop of colour will help her stand out.

• Name of magazine/webpage and issue number at the bottom of the page
• Photo credited

Below, is my new, improved Double Page Spread. However, it still has a lot of room for improvement.

The changes I made and why:

I cut Callum out and replaced him with a plain white background

• The books were too busy and didn’t relate to the article. I also couldn’t enlarge Callum without him being in the way of the text so I decided the best solution was cutting him out.

I changed the paper tear to be white

• After altering the background, I decided the brown didn’t work well against the white so I changed the tear to be white.

Added more features e.g. a drop capital, folio, page number

• Helps the magazine become more conventional

Changed the typeface

• The body text is now the same typeface as the coverlines on the front cover, making the magazine tie in a bit better. I also changed the headline and pull quote font to imitate a marker, which is similar to the masthead typeface I used but not exactly the same.

Added a colour drop shadow around Callum

• Makes him pop and shows that he is the main feature

Highlighted the questions

• Separates the answers from the questions, making it more readable.

Following the targets I made, I have now improved my feature article:

The changes I made:

• I made the answers shorter so that the audience stay interested
• I removed any swear words because it was informal
• I replaced the cliché answers to be more relatable
• I also edited the stand-first to be more relevant

 

What impact do you hope the changes bring?

• I hope that the answers are now catchier and relatable
• The slang such as ‘homeboy’ and ‘sick’, will hopefully make a more significant effect on the millennial age audience

Further targets:

• On my DPS, I will make it clear where the article ends by putting the summary in a different colour or font.

After finishing my second draft of my Double Page Spread, I asked Jaime to fill out a feedback form:

This feedback was very helpful and I have concluded some overall targets for developing my Double Page Spread:

• More conventional features; a page number, a drop capital, a by line
• Text wrap the headline around Callum
• The folio at the bottom
• Questions in a different colour
• Change the typefaces to fit more with the brand
• Change the background as it is a bit too busy

A PDF of your double page spread and what should it contain? See our blog post for ideas.

Here is the rough plan I made for my double page spread:

Since drawing the rough draft, I have now made another plan using PicsArt:

• I would like to attempt to make a ripped paper effect, using Illustrator. I will try to make it look like the photo is being ripped open, and underneath will be a white page where I will write “CALLUM WOOD”.
• I also plan to use a red stamp font for the ‘unreserved’ title, using a text wrap around Callum’s arm.
• The article will be on the left page and for the time being I am planning on placing the pull quote in the centre of the page. However, this may alter depending on how it looks.

Here is my first draft:

What I like:

• The torn paper effect
• The layout of the columns and where the pull quote is situated
• The chosen image

What I would like to improve:

• Change the body text typeface
• Add ‘unreserved’ as a tex wrap around Callum’s left arm
• Make the background black and white and keep Callum in colour?

To achieve this first draft, I used:

• Adobe Photoshop to resize the image but keep Callum the same
• Adobe Illustrator to create the torn paper effect

Before I make any changes, I will have it peer assessed so I can then evaluate how I need to improve.