Drafting and planning/Target audience

I have taken one image which has really stood out to me that I am going to use on my billboard:

What I find most effective about this image is the fact that her facial expression expresses her happiness, she looks excited about something and this will intrigue people who are passing by. 

Nonetheless, the fact she slightly tilts her head backwards shows that she's quite proud, representing her as a strong independent female figure, which will allow other women to relate to her and be inspired by her dominance in the picture. This will capture the attention of not only the female demographic but the mysteriousness of the head tilt will engage the male demographic too. 

This image is similar to the ones on my front page and double page spread, therefore there's a connection through my different products. Her pink lipstick contrasts with the black background, pale skin and brown hair. So I am also happy with the elements of colour.

One thing I would like to display in my magazine is more than one image, I am attracted to the idea of a fade, for example: using one image of the city which can fade into the image of Leona Foster.

I could use any of the images I took way back in September i.e.:

I am now going to play around with the Paint.Net software and see where it leads me.

Drafting and planning

I've also discovered that my article on my DPS is far too chatty and far too interested in the life of Leona Foster, rather than the club itself.

I need to form a new interview, asking questions that are more specific to the club itself...

Here are the questions I have derived:

How did you find out about Pop World?

What made you want to get involved?

What sort of age range would you tend to find in Pop World?

Is it open every night, and which DJ's should we watch out for?

Where do you find your DJ's?

Would you label Pop World as a cheap night out?

Are there any specific dates that the readers should keep in their diaries?

Are you going to be hosting any big events in Pop World this summer?

What makes Pop World so intriguing to you? Why do you continue to blog about it after all this time?

Could you summaries the club in just three words?


I will be asking my real-life blogger Leona Foster these questions on Saturday 27/02/16 and add the answers to my blog.

Drafting and planning

After I looked more closely at my images from my first draft, I noticed that from using my schools drama studio, there are actually uneven tones of black from the walls shining through in the images.

Therefore, to stray away from this problem I used the software Paint.Net to smooth out the background behind my model.

I started off by importing the picture of the model, selecting her, smoothing out the edges, then playing with the different contrasts around her. I did this using the select tool, the magic wand and then the different effects. By working in different layers, I found it much easier to come to the final result. It was an efficient way to edit the image.

These are the different steps:

I repeated the same process for the image for the double page spread.

You can now see that with both the front page and double page spread the images look a lot smoother. This makes them look more professional and real images you'd see in a magazine.

Drafting and planning / First draft analysis

This is my first official draft of my double page spread:

I have displayed the model on the left hand side so that when the reader turns the page onto this article, they will immediately engage with the model. They will be intrigued because of her happy, youthful look and direct mode of address which my target audience pointed out in my post on 06/02/16. She provides an exciting feel to the DPS. The other images I have used are of the model and the model among friends in Pop World itself, this emphasises that Pop World is busy and exciting and that there's a large element of personality within the article.

I have used a quote from the model "I just love the atmosphere in Pop World" to be the title of my article. I think this will help the magazine connect with the reader on a personal level, making them feel at ease. This was followed by a short summary of what to expect in the interview/article. You find that this is quite common in all DPS', just like the one outlined in my post on 27/01/16.

The interview is actually displayed in columns, this is a typical convention of double page spreads and I wanted to go along with this. I have used orange to feature the questions and white to feature the answers and this is inkeeping with my house colour scheme for the magazine. They provide a nice contrast to the black background. Personal quotes from the model once again give the reader an understanding of her personality.

I am very happy with my first draft, I will converse with my target audience and ask them how best to improve on my DPS, to appeal to them. I will do this through personal conversation, or comments on my posts.

Drafting and planning / First draft analysis

This is my first formal draft of my front page! IGNORE contents page:

For the front page:

Starting with my masthead, I specifically chose a white font, firstly because it complimented the darker background, and secondly because of the things it connotes: perfection and cleanliness - the perfect magazine that enlightens you about Birmingham. I issued the masthead with an orange outline as orange connotes warmth, friendliness and happiness, it's an exciting colour and these form the rest of my magazine. I included the word Birmingham as part of the masthead because it gives the reader an ultimate and immediate knowledge that the magazine is based on the city.

Moving on to the main image, I chose to feature just one image, a medium close up on my front page because it gives the cover star a sense of power and dominance, it draws all of the attention to her. Her facial expression (direct mode of address) invites the reader, she is trying to communicate with them through eye contact and a smile. Her hair is down because I wanted to give off the vibe that she has metaphorically and physically let her hair down, making her seem easy going. The hoop earrings suggest youth, and the bright pink lipsticks suggests that she's a stereotypical "girly girl", issuing her with an image of lots of personality.

The main cover line is a pun, Leona Foster (cover star) is a promoter for Pop World, one of the biggest clubs in Birmingham, so I've referred to her as the "queen of pop", I've included a quote from her on the front page, which will help readers to understand there's an exclusive interview with her inside the magazine. Once again I used white for the font making it seem clean cut, with a black outline helping it to stand out, yet for the word pop, the varied use of orange, pink and blue gives it a real sense of popping out or standing out to the reader. I used these colours in a clever way because the actual logo for pop world is:

And the three different colours are displayed once again. 

Moving on to the other cover lines, I've only issued the reader with snippets of what to find inside the magazine, not giving too much away. These cover lines range from genres within the magazine from arts and culture, to entertainment and nightlife. The plus sign looks quite edgy, and you tend to find this element on other magazines:

 Of course, I have included the other generic conventions on my front page too such as the dateline, social networks, a bar code etc.

At the moment, I am happy with my front page but I am aware there are areas I could improve on. I could come up with a better selling line to give my magazine a sense of branding, I will also bring my cover star in front of the masthead, I will ask members of my target audience this week on how best to improve on my front page.

Research into similar products

I have been researching into billboard advertisements from Google

I have found that most billboard advertisements advertise generic products like food, skincare etc.

Here are two examples:

You can immediately regard these as roadside advertisements, they are landscape.

I think that a roadside advertisement could work quite well for me because I can include the masthead from my magazine as the title, and two images, one of my cover star merged in with one of the city. I think if done well this could look quite edgy. I am going to include one of the city because it will give my magazine a sense of branding, it will allow readers to know that it's a regional magazine. But the cover star featuring on the billboard gives you personal insights into the inhabitants lives i.e. Leona Foster.

I know that from my post on 08/02/16, my billboard must "convey its message in seconds" because it is there for people passing by whether they're driving or walking. "Roadside posters need to be simple, with clear images and as few words as possible" this is the look I am going for. On my billboard, I'll have the two images, the masthead and selling line which will keep my billboard straight to the point.

I like the use of colour in these billboards and I am going to keep mine the same as the house colours within my magazine, so that I can create a real connection with all of my products, that is black, orange and white. 

Research into similar products

I think it is time to start looking at the ancillary products I will be creating in more depth.

I have found a website named: Marketing Donut

It has been really insightful as before now I was not aware of the different strands of billboard advertising.

I have learnt that:

"One of the key considerations for any outdoor advertising campaign is the length of time the audience will have to view the ad. A roadside billboard has to convey its message in seconds, while other sites, such as station platforms, buses and taxis, may be studied for longer. Distance is also a factor. Roadside posters need to be simple, with clear images and as few words as possible.

Advertisements that will be seen for longer allow you to convey more information. Details of a specific promotion, a call to action and contact details can be included. However, a simple message and a clear identity are always essential. Colours should be bold and the ad should be easily visible from a distance. Humour, strong images and wordplay will make an impact and make your message more memorable."

I am very happy that I found this website because it has allowed me to make my decision.

The most common billboard advertisement is a roadside advertisement, I see many of these on my day to day journeys to sixth-form and work etc. 

I feel that from my experience of seeing these billboards regularly, designing a roadside billboard is at my advantage. 

Target audience

I asked two members of my target audience to comment on my post from 02/02/16:

They were able to guide me on which image to choose for my DPS.

Coincidentally, they both chose the third image. The third image was my favourite too:

What struck me was that their reasoning behind their choices were similar to mine.

Megan liked her facial expression in the image, as did Paige, they both think it will fit in nicely with the whole Pop World theme as she looks "youthful", presenting Pop World as "fun".

Megan also picked up on the fact that the model is positioned on the left hand side, noticing that readers would immediately see her when they turn the page, so all attention would be on her.

Her body language according to Paige is relaxed and happy, and this will appeal to readers, as the model appears down to earth.

I am very happy that my target audience chose image number three, as this was my initial choice too. This way, I know that when my DPS is complete, my target audience on a wider scale will appreciate my choice of image.

Organisation

I am going to ask members of my target audience to comment on my post, so that I have their opinion on which image is best for a DPS.

By doing so, I'm able to appeal to my demographic successfully.

I will share their opinions and analyse them in a later post.

Drafting and planning

I am going to analyse the potential pictures for my double page spread and decide which image would look best.

1)

I like this one due to her facial expression. She looks happy and full of life, the way she has tilted her head back insinuates she is confident and proud. Her hoop earrings make her seem chic and up to the minute. She is positioned to one side of the picture, making it easy for me to put text around her. 

2)

I also like this one because the hand on hip and body language once again makes her seem confident, and dominant in the shot. But yet again, her facial expression is beaming with excitement, and her khaki green outfit displayed more clearly here works as a nice contrast in the rest of the shot. The way I have issued her hair behind her shoulders makes her facial expression and outfit more the focal point.

3)

I think this image is very effective. Her facial expression seems so natural, she looks as though she's relaxed, happy and likable. The readers will feel at ease with this image because she seems down to earth yet full of life. I like the way she is positioned more so on the left hand side of this image because when the readers turn the page they will see her ultimately straight away and be intrigued due to her excitement.

My favourite image for use in a double page spread is image number three, this is because of the above. I think the readers will feel less intimidated by this image and she will truly seem like a rational, normal person they'd want to know more about. The image looks realistic, rather than number two where she looks as I've asked her to pose for a picture and hand on hip is the immediate response. Number three will work better over number on as number three is in mid-laugh and she is making direct mode of address with the readers, whereas in image number one she has her head tilted back which might intimidate some readers, as she looks quite prestige and stuck up.