I chose an advert by Calvin Klein because the brand is aimed at the same age demographics as my target audience of my music magazine, which are millennials and Gen X. It is also more aimed at a female audience, the same as my magazine audience. The advert also includes the famous star Billie Eilish who will also resonate with my audience.

I also chose an advert by Nivea and Rihanna as it is a popular skincare brand which will fit the psychographics of my audience. As Rihanna is an incredibly popular artist and is globally recognised she will stand out and interest my audience as she will be recognised and will incite my audience, for her music and interests as they will be able to relate to her likes and dislikes. Such as, fashion, beauty, music and shopping. The audience being able to relate to the star will make them feel closer to them and more connected.

Article – Q&A

Our Hitz team met with Izzy Millis in preparation for the release of her new album and asked her the questions that you sent us in. Keep in touch with us using the hashtag #askHitz.

How often do you get recognized in public?

In the last few months I get recognised a few times everywhere I go. It is very exciting and I love meeting my fans. It makes me feel like I have made a difference in people’s lives and hopefully make them happy, which is a really good feeling. 

What made you decide to pursue a career in music?

Growing up I wasn’t one of those people who were good at everything they tried, I didn’t really have any hobbies apart from going out with my friends. This was until I found my passion for music. I started in school music lessons then went on to taking singing lessons outside of school. As I got older, around 17, I started singing in pubs around my hometown. I loved performing and watching people sit and listen to my songs, it gave me a buzz when nothing else did. This is when I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in music as it was my passion and the only thing I was really good at.

What advice would you give to a new upcoming artist?

Do not be disheartened by the hate or the people who don’t believe in you. Instead work even harder to prove those people wrong. If you find your passion in life is for music you have to work really hard for it, there is also a lot of competition now so making your music unique and stand out will really help your work to be recognized in the music business. 

What’s your process for dealing with performance anxiety?

To deal with performance anxiety as an artist I take regular breaks in my full time schedule to relax and destress, in order to destress and prepare for a performance I make sure to perfect what I am due to perform and after doing this I take deep breaths, go for a walk and then cut off from my social media in order to calm my nerves before getting on stage.

Are you dating anyone at the moment? 

Since becoming an artist I’ve liked to keep my personal life private, including my relationships as I want my audience to know I’m focused on them and my music career. Nowadays the people I do interviews with only focus on my dating life or personal relationships and commitments, when these are not the reasons why I have a platform. I like to just focus on my own life behind closed doors, and away from all the trolls and people who like to gossip.

How do you get inspiration for your song writing?

I get my inspiration for my lyrics from real life experiences. Because I’m more in touch with my music when it’s something I have been through myself and can express my emotions through my lyrics. I also think this is a good way to connect better with your fans as they can relate to your words and feelings. I also like my music to be raw and real so that I can express myself into a song without having to speak about it personally. 

Don’t forget to head to page 26 for a chance to win free tickets to Izzy’s London show, dates coming soon!

front cover:

What’s new:

For my front cover, I changed the cover lines and created them in all different styles and designs, this can show my audience which of the stories are the biggest and most popular as they will be shown as more bold on my cover, making the biggest stories easily assessable to my audience. I also added a price onto my cover so that the consumers know how much they’re paying for my product.

What’s next:

• add addition number
• Names of other artists that will be shown in the magazine
• extra colors on the subtitles

contents page:

What’s new:

For my contents page I improved a few things. Firstly, I added more cover lines so that my audience has more of a variety of stories and entertainment. I also changed the shadow on the title making it look more 3D and it now appeals to the right age category of my audience, where as on my draft 2 it was too childish for the demographics of my audience.

What’s next:

• make page number bigger on Izzy
• Add insert imagine either on contents or double page spread

Double page spread:

What’s new:

For my double page spread, I added some colored shapes in the corners of the page to add a pop of color and make it more fit to my genre. I added my article and changed the font to a handwritten one so it seems more personal and like the artist had written it herself, making the audience feel more connected to the artist. I also made the title bigger so that it stands out, making it clear to my audience that she is the star and the focus is on her. I also added a quote from the artist making the target audience feel closer to her.

What’s next:

• Get rid of shapes
• add insert image
• add by line
• put page numbers in order to contents page
• make the quote brighter

For my second draft of my contents page I improved a few things in order to make my magazine a success. I made all the text the same boldness as before a couple were in bold and some weren’t. I also added a coloured drop shadow to the title, making it stand out more4 and adding a pop of colour. I then changed the page numbers to chronological order to make it more professional and easier to read for the audience.

Moving on to my third draft of my contents page I will add something unique and different in the spare spaces, without making the page too chaotic and hard to read. I will add some more cover lines so that there is more to access for my audience and will be something that entertains and interests everyone. So that my magazine is ‘the same but different’ and stand out from other magazines, increasing the popularity.

For my second draft of my music magazine front cover I have changed a few things in order to make my magazine more successful. I have changed the subtitles to make them to do with music instead of beauty which is what they previously were as it is a music magazine so the content has to fit that. I also added some colored circles in clusters on parts of the page to make it more interesting, colorful and fit the genre of pop better.

I still need to improve a few more things so that my magazine cover can consist of as many magazine convections as possible, in order to make it as successful as it can be. Firstly, I need to add a price next to the barcode so that my audience and anyone buying my magazine can know how much they’re paying. I also need to make the spacing even in-between each of my subtitles to make it look more neat and professional . I also need to change some of the text as I accidently put some of it in bold. Once I improve on these things many magazine cover will look professional and will appeal to my target audience, making it popular and successful.

3 things I like about my double page spread draft;

• I like the use of the green background which matches with the top as it fits with my genre of pop
• I like the photo of my model that I chose as I think the simplistic yet elegant look represents what my target audience will be attracted to well.
• I like how the page is not too chaotic and just has the information needed without being too crowded and hard to read.

5 things that I need to do to improve my double page spread;

• I need to make the masthead more attractive and interesting to my audience.
• I need to spread out the text more to make it less chaotic and easier to read.
• I need to add a quote from my cover star on the left page so that my audience can feel closer and more connected to the star.
• I also need to add a bit more color to the right page in order to represents my genre of pop to my target audience.
• In order for my double page spread to reach my target audience I have to construct my article to fit to their interests and what they will be looking for, for entertainment.

Following up from my location shoot I did for the double page spread of my magazine I produced a contact sheet to display the photos taken and then a google doc slide of my favourite image. I chose this image to use for my double page spread because it was the clearest and brightest and I felt that it captured my genre of pop best. The use of the bright colour on the top and the dark backdrop mades my model pop more resulting in the main focus being the model. I kept the make up and hair simplistic yet elegant in order to appeal to my target audience. I used a range of different angles and distances for my model and could potentially use another photo for a pug to make my page more interesting as the more technical convections that are used, the more successful your magazine will be.

5 catchy headlines;

• bargain beauty tips you wont want to miss
• exclusive sneak peak into Rihannas day to day life
• twenty questions with Ariana Grande
• New unseen albums- including: Beyonce, Adele, Drake, Billie Eilish
• its now or never for festival fever

Hand drawn ideas of how I could layout my contents page:

Contents pages are an important part of a magazine. The main mission for a contents page it to hold the information, entertainment and page numbers in order for the audience to be easily directed to the content that they are interested in. A constants page usually consist of ; a main title, cover lines, page numbers, a cover model, sub headings, a colour scheme and other convections such as pugs, plugs issue date, contact details and a website address. I drew out four possible layouts for my contents page and made them in a way that are not too chaotic but still have all the information needed for my audience to be able to easily and quickly find which parts of my magazine will appeal to them.

This is my first draft of my pop magazine cover. Overall my magazine comes together and looks like a pop magazine due to the use of the colour palette, fonts, costume, masthead and my main cover model and I am pleased with the deign of my magazine cover so far.

Full self assessment: