Final Submission

Final Creative Critical Reflection #4

Final Creative Critical Reflection #3

Final Creative Critical Reflection #2

Final Creative Critical Reflection #1

CCR Draft #4

4. How did you integrate technologies- software, hardware, and online- in this project?

When creating my product, I stuck to two applications to create my magazine. I mainly used publisher for nearly everything- putting my magazine together, choosing fonts and placements for photos or text, and writing my article. Publisher allows the user to view everything altogether and edit in an extremely simple way, which I really enjoyed and helped me refrain from any extra confusion and or stress. I had never used Publisher before, but after using it for the first time to create my product I was introduced to a very uncomplicated way of editing.I used VSCO to adjust the vibrancy, contrast, and brightness of all my photos. It is a very popular photo editing software and used by many teenagers to edit photos before posting on social media. VSCO as well, is a very simple and easy application to use. You just choose a photo, and add a filter or adjust any coloring in the photo. I found that these two applications were all I needed to be successful in creating my magazine because of the variety of editing you can do to your projects in an easy way.

CCR Draft #3

3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

When I first began creating my magazine, I was unaware of how to begin, and how to make it appealing to my target audience. Talking to peers and answering our questions between each other helped me understand what I was going to need to do to be successful. I found that using the applications Publisher and VSCO (allows you to edit photos) helped me a lot in the process of creating my magazine.To revise my product, I found that using Blogger was very useful in noticing things that may need improvements or small tweaks. I would go to my blog page and scroll through, then ask myself whether or not it was appealing. I then made a judgement and a decision on improving certain parts of my magazine or not.

When thinking about the photos that would be featured in my magazine, I knew I wanted them to stand out. I then remembered I had previously taken photos that would fit perfectly and appear as if they'd be in any other fashion magazine publication. When putting them together I realized they fit very nicely, and I enjoyed it. The only changes I made was vibrancy so that there is no inconsistency throughout my magazine. My skills began developing when I started doing more into-depth research about things other than the product itself. I researched many other magazines in my genre, beside what would make it appealing, where it would be distributed and how, etc. It opened my eyes to the magazine industry and showed me how much harder it is than I initially thought. I gave my best attempt at making my magazine similar to most other fashion magazines, but in a special way. Vogue was my main influence. Their basic and pure style was attractive to me, so I knew I wanted to produce something similar.

My final product was established by comparing and contrasting my magazine to existing ones, and keeping what appeared more original. I found that not only I, but friends and peers found my magazine interesting and appealing.

CCR Draft #2

2. How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

When figuring out how to make my product engage with audiences, it was crucial for me to see it from the consumer perspective. I pretended as if I was seeing my magazine on a rack for the first time, and what about it caught my attention. I noticed that the vibrant colors on the cover initially caught my eye, as well as what the cover lines said/what the articles were going to be about. When skimming through the magazine, I saw that there were more vibrant colors in the photos, and the layouts were pleasing. To be certain I was not just taking my own opinion as my reassurance for engaging audiences in my product was by asking peers or family members their opinion as well. For the most part, they stated the same things, and that they would be interested in reading my fashion magazine.

Considering there is a darker-skinned model being on the cover and a lighter-skinned model on my article pages, a representation of different social groups is present. Most magazines do not embrace many differences or different styles, and decide to stick to what is more prevailing within other magazines of the same genre. My magazine on the other hand, embraces these differences with the clothing and style of my model featured on the cover and table of contents. An inference can be made by the reader that my magazine may include a variety of different styles that would not typically be seen in other magazines. This would attract the attention and engage those audiences who particularly are not interested or do not relate to ordinary fashion magazines.

My magazine gives off multiple different emotions with the photos of my models. To start, the pose of my model on the cover gives off a feeling of directness and seriousness since she is posing with a straight face looking directly at the camera. My table of contents photo feels more relaxed and comfortable with the models pose, although, the colorful background with different shapes resembles a more thrilling and live feeling. When they are put together with my relaxed model standing in front of the colorful wall, it resembles a sense of being comfortable with differences surrounding you. The photo speaks more than words can when analyzing it, although when the reader skims over it, it registers in their mind in a similar way. This also represents the idea of my magazine representing differences.

My magazine is directed mainly towards teens (13-19). Being a teen myself, I have an idea of what my peers would find interesting or attractive. For example, I can recognize certain topics that should not be featured in my magazine because they are far too controversial or negative, as well as the topics that should be because they are positive or beneficial to my target audience. My product would be distributed as a real media text by utilizing the internet, and I would also aim to still have issues available in print. The internet has grown larger over the years, and a majority of the people that use it are teens, who are my target audience. Social media platforms such as Snapchat or Instagram allow businesses to sponsor themselves when scrolling through peers' posts. Snapchat specifically, allows users to make a subscription to magazines on the application itself. This would be my primary source to distribute my product, and attempt to do something similar utilizing Instagram. For printed magazines, I would simply use the old-fashioned way of having them available in book stores, grocery stores, or restaurants where teens would typically hang around.

CCR Draft #1

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

I began with choosing the title of my heading to be "La Moda", since it creates a sense of fashion and chic-ness in the sound of the name. It actually means "The Fashion" in Spanish, which gives the incentive that different culture or social groups will be addressed within different magazine issues. I chose a photo I had taken previously since I believed it would fit a fashion magazine cover perfectly due to the brightness and colors that stand in the photo, as well as the model's appearance. I then made one coverline whose article includes the model on the cover the most noticeable with it's size and being in close proximity to the model's face. Going along with size and relevancy, I made the second most important article a bit smaller, then the least important even smaller. I got my masthead inspiration from Vogue. I placed it at the center-top part of the cover and and made it white to contrast with the colorful photo. The font I chose for the masthead and coverlines is very similar to those in some magazines. I liked how it appeared on the photo, and decided to pull out color from the photo for my subheadings. This also made it more visible in comparison to what the subheadings looked like before revisions. 

In my table of contents, I decided to use another photo I took previously that was also filled with vibrant colors. It shows the audience the magazine is fashionable and hip, as well as grasps the readers attention. I found that keeping the same fonts as seen on my cover appeared more uniform when testing out different ones. I chose to use my magazine title along with the word "contents" curved beneath it to specify the page. Most magazines typically have one or the other, but I was fond of the appearance of them together, making this page of my magazine unique. When taking a look at other magazine's table of contents, I found that different types of styles were used to state the page numbers and what article was found on them. I chose squares around the numbers to grab the readers attention, because psychologically, when something is either boxed or circled, it makes the brain think it is important. I chose the color white for the article titles because it was a good color that matched the rest of my magazine and as well stood out from the colors in the background. The page heading and numbers were in black to separate from the article titles. 

When creating my first article page, I used a colorful photo I took that showed the clearness and glow of the models skin, since the article is about skincare. I made sure to adjust the vibrancy, since all other photos in my magazine are filled with bright, eye-catching colors. I decided to put a border around the photo to make it seem actually planted on the page and more professional. I chose to make the title of the article split into two parts. I started with putting the name of the interviewee first in a larger size, in a princess-looking font, and a dark purple color. This I believe grabs the attention of the reader when looking at or opening the page, and the font implies a sense of beauty and elegance. The second half of the article title is smaller, and in a more normal-looking font as well as being yellow which was pulled from the photo of the interviewee. This part of the title would be read directly after the name of the interviewee, still holding that importance and boldness in the article. I chose a light blue as the background color by pulling out the initial blue color in the model's shirt, and lightening it to still match all other colors presented on the page.

The photo on my second article page includes a photo of all the products being spoken about and explained throughout the article. I placed the same border around the photo as in the first article page to create a sense of uniform. I made my .... similar to my article title using the same fonts and colors to be uniform as well. Making "Cheaper Side" more eye-catching with its color and font makes the article more appealing to those who may be looking for a cheaper alternative. I then used the same background color to match my first article page.

3rd Quarter Submission

When revising my cover, I decided to enlarge the fonts and change the text colors so that it would appear more visible. Before, the text colors on the cover were all white, and I realized it seemed a bit plain as in addition to it not being as visible or eye-catching. I also adjusted the placements of the sub headings, since they fit and appeared better considering the colors and sizes.  

When revising my table of contents, I enlarged everything (other than the photo), and changed the color text for the article names to white. I thought this would be better because it will stood out more than the previous small and black color text.

When revising my first article page, I changed the vibrancy of the photo of my model, as well as the background color since the they did not match how colorful my table of contents and cover photos were. I also pulled out the yellow color from the photo to use in part of my title for the article to create a color coordination. 

When revising my second article page, I changed the brightness of the photo, as well as the background color for the same reasons as my first article page. I changed the subheading on the page to match the color on my first article page, but still match the page it is on. 

My Distribution Plan

For my magazine, La Moda, I plan to have it available on print which can be found in stores, as well as through social media platforms. I would pair with a distribution company to help me in doing this, and aim for teen clothing stores, considering my magazine would include fashion, style, and trends. For social media, magazine have began to arise throughout Snapchat and Instagram. Snapchat specifically, features a page where you can subscribe to a magazine and view it daily. On Instagram, they feature advertisements when clicking through peers' posts- an ad may pop up to read the most recent edition or article from a magazine. I would want to utilize these two social media applications and do the same, since my target audience is mainly found there.

In result of distributing in this way, I would hope for a large number of circulation across the globe, and a daily interest in reading the magazine from my consumers.

Elle Girl Distribution

Elle Girl, the younger sibling to Elle Magazine, similarly focuses on the same topics such as beauty, entertainment, health, gossip, fashion, etc., although they use information targeted towards a younger female crowd- specifically teenage girls. It can be assumed that their ages range from 13-19 years old, considering these are the teen years where these topics are still an interest to them. Elle Girl has not published their circulation number, although Elle, the older sibling magazine's monthly circulation number globally is 6,560,000. From this, it can be inferred that the distribution number for Elle Girl would not be more than Elle, but is a high number as well.

The internationalization of Elle began in the US and UK in 1985, and counts 45 editions in present-day around the world. Elle is also a global network, encompassing over 33 websites. It is owned by the Lagardere Group of France, and is published in the US and UK by Hearest Magazines, in Canada by TVA Group, in Brazil by Grupo Editora Abril, and many more. As an international magazine, they have many headquarters located around the world. 

Seventeen Magazine Distribution

The American magazine "Seventeen Magazine" that publishes articles addressing beauty, style, college, and health is a teen-based read. The age range is from 13-19 year old females. They aim to promote self confidence in these young women and inform them about their own development. As well, they introduce many female pop culture figures in their magazine to attract the attention of their target audience. Seventeen's total circulation was 1,901,924 according to the June 30, 2018 Alliance for Audited Media Report.

Seventeen Magazine traditionally distributes throughout stores, and can be found in grocery stores, clothing stores, bookstores, and many more. As well, they have a online website in which can be accessed by the public to read their articles every day. This easy accessibility has enlarged their amount of consumers, since they have the availability to view it from home. To add, their website also features video interviews with celebrities which cannot be found in print magazines. This is another factor to why their online format of their magazine has gained more attention.

Article Revisions

(Original First Page)

(REVISED First Page)

When revising the first page of my article, I took my peer suggestions into consideration. They suggested more color, since my table of contents and cover are very vibrant. I changed the saturation and vibrancy of the photo of Evita, and matched the subheading color to the photo. I also decided to change the background since it stands out a bit more colorful than the pale pink, but still matches my photos. As well, I changed the size of the page number to 20 to match the rest of the page numbers.

 (Original Second Page)

(REVISED Second Page)

When revising the second page of my article, I did much of the same changes to match my first page. For example, I changed half the color of my subheading to match the photo from my first page, and the other half to match the page it is on. As well, I changed the vibrancy of the photo as much as I could but still left it natural-looking. I also changed the size of my page number to match all other pages.

My Marketing Plan

My magazine, which is teenage-targeted, consists of beauty, fashion, trends, celebrities, and much more. Articles in my magazine include beauty tips and tricks, interviews, etc. It can be marketed in multiple different ways to catch the attention of my target audience. 

My first way to market my magazine, La Moda would be by utilizing social media networks, considering the amount of teenagers use social media platforms. For example, Instagram and Snapchat will show advertisements of products of all kinds between clicking or scrolling through photos. Instagram specifically, will advertise more of those based on their search history or likes. I would use an appealing story for the ad, and if they click on it an option to subscribe to my magazine with their email and address will pop up. A second way to utilize social media would be by having one of the celebrities that is featured on the cover to say something to their fans like "Hey, I am on the cover of this months issue of La Moda, you all should go pick one up!"

My second way to market my magazine would be by placing a photo of a popular celebrity on a billboard that will be seen by my targeted young audience, for example on a road that teenagers would typically drive down, possibly on the way to a high school, or the city mall. In the photo on the left, a celebrity is used to promote smart water on a billboard. I would use a celebrity with the title of my magazine enlarged, and an eye-catching title for an article.

My third way to market my magazine would be by aligning with an organization. For example, giving a percentage of our money earned from sales to PacSun, who will sell our magazines in store while also posting about it on social media, and using their celebrity clothing models in our magazines as well. My magazine would sponsor their store as well.

Elle Girl Target Audience

Elle Girl is a more sophisticated teen magazine that introduces many new styles, celebrities, and trends. Their target audience is young women ages 16-30 (AKA: Dynamic Audience). This can be assumed coinsidering "Elle" translated to english means "she", so it would be misleading if they targeted any males. Their articles of the publication are on fashion, beauty, life and culture, horoscopes, and celebrity features which successfully attracts the attention of their target audience.

Seventeen Magazine Target Audience

Seventeen Magazine is a fashion magazine whose target audience has been surveyed to typically be towards younger adults (18+), although, a different survey showed that a majority of their audience is teens from ages 12-19. The magazine includes many younger age appealing articles, celebrities, and colors, therefore attracting their younger audience.

Seventeen Magazine distributors utilize popular shows that their target audience views. For example, Seventeen was a sponsor for America's Next Top Model, as well as the winners from the show being featured in the magazine. To add, Seventeen worked with ABC Family to raise awareness of cyber bullying, also an interest to the younger female crowd. These have helped Seventeen greatly in distributing their magazine to their preferred audience.

Cover Revisions

Original

 Revised

I used my peer feedback to make many of my decisions for cover revisions. They suggested a different color for my titles, so decided to change it to black with the subtitles being a different color. The colors match the background of the photo, so I figured they were the best choices out of all other colors. I also enlarged all of the words so they are more legible. I switched around a couple of the titles so that they will still appear since I did not want drastically different colors. I did not want to change the color of the title of my magazine because I personally think it makes it look official. 

Table of Contents Revisions

When revising my Table of Contents, I used my peer feedback as a guide. I enlarged the text and moved it slightly so that it is more visible, and I changed the font color to white to contrast to the title. I do not want to change the color to something other than black or white, since I feel as if it would make the theme give off a different feel, and with the colorful background, if I were to change the text colors to vibrant colors it would not look as professional. I also enlarged the page number to be more visible.

    Original TOC

 Revised TOC

Teen Vogue Distribution

Teen Vogue has a circulation number of over 1,045,813 as of 2011, and can be purchased online or in print. They have successfully achieved in educating, enlightening, and empowering their young female audience with the amount of articles in their magazines. Due to this, it has skyrocketed and Vogue makes millions of dollars in profit. Distributing to a younger and older audiences creates a sense of need to the consumer -based off their age- to purchase a magazine that appears to be 'made for them'.

Teen Vogue is currently "ditching print" and utilizing social media platforms to distribute their magazines which is growing rapidly, although they have used traditional forms of distribution within stores. In January 2017, the magazine's website had 7.9 million US visitors compared to 2.9 million a year prior. This growth is what influenced their editor's team into deciding to make a switch over to social media. Teen Vogue is owned by Conde Nast, an American mass media company founded in 1909, and attracts more than 164 million consumers across its 19 brands and media. They have helped Teen Vogue in achieving success within distribution greatly.

Teen Vogue Target Audience

Teen Vogue's target audience is from the age range of 12-18, give or take a few. Since Teen Vogue is a teen version of the magazine Vogue, which gets a lot of attention and is well known by adults, they figures they would create a magazine in the same form but directed towards a younger audience to make more profit. This has worked extremely well, and works as a form of creating trends to market other products within the magazine using younger females.

Teen Vogue Marketing

Magazines such as Teen Vogue's audience is aimed to be teenage/young adult females. They have a few ways of marketing towards them. First off, they generally publish their magazine on a weekly or monthly basis since young females enjoy new and plentiful interesting gossip/things to read often. Second, Teen Vogue will sponsor their magazine on social media platforms using popular celebrities, companies, etc. They will use new trends and or styles to attract attention from that same audience. Retail stores where the general audience would shop would be filled with these magazines as well.

Peer Feedback

When presenting my magazine to the class, my peers gave me a lot of helpful advice for improving my magazine. They recommended making text sizes bigger, and adjusting the text color to be more visible in contrast to the background. As well, many of my peers noticed that my cover photo and table of contents had very vibrant colors and was eye-catching, which overshadowed my article due to its more pastel-looking colors. I am going to make adjustments using the advice my peers gave me by changing my text size and colors, as well as re shooting my article photos to be more eye-catching to my audience.

Use of Conventions

My product uses conventions of my genre because of the page layouts, order, and photo choices. The page layouts are in a girl-appealing structure, considering the main audience are going to be teenager girls and adults. My order is structured very similar to other fashion magazines with an average of 4 ads in between articles. My photo choices are of styles such as current fashion magazines. The clothes being worn in the photos chosen are "in-style" and eye appealing.

It challenges conventions of my genre because of the specific articles being written. For example, it is rare in a fashion magazine that there will be a fitness article, which can be found on my flat plan. As well, skincare will be frequently advertised, but not always have its own article.

My product represents social groups because of the general audience for the magazine. The articles, colors, and titles being used are to attract a younger female audience.

My product represents issues by providing articles with how to fix things that may be a problem in the general audience's lives, such as a skin care routine for clear skin.