Magazine : Style and Vision aspects.

While I await the results from my survey, I am currently planning the style and vision aspects of my magazine.

Here are a few examples of the different styles I could use:

This style I would consider vintage. Its simple but it has a type of aesthetic I really like. It has a type of filter throughout the cover of the magazine that makes the image more natural in my opinion. 

This is a more of a modern magazine. It has a clear photo that shows a lot of detail. While I really like this style, I feel with technology, the pictures can be easily edited. I also feel like the sidelines cover the main image, making it look crowded.

References :

Lydka. (1970, January 1). The most powerful fashion magazine. Retrieved from http://ljblog12.blogspot.com/2012/03/most-powerful-fashion-magazine.html.

May 1, 1951. @designerwallace: Various Vintage: Vogue covers, Vintage vogue, Vogue magazine covers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/252553491575037022/.

Audience Theories - Two-Step Flow Theory

Unlike the Hypodermic Needle Theory, the Two-Step Flow Theory understands that communication is more complex than what the other theory.

The Two-Step Theory basically involves leaders who pay attention to media, which they later form opinions or their interpretations of the message and share to others. This interpretation then begins to spread. Of course, since no one thinks the same, opinion leaders will have their own individual interpretations and these different opinions will clash and cause small controversies. 

The theory also bodes well for advertising. Industries that heavily depend on advertising mostly target opinion leaders. They try to use advertisements that would relate to them. Once these leader try the product they begin to by spread by communications. 

This goes well for media products as well. Media is an industry that relies on an audience. Usually, people would  go watch a film or read a magazine because of a recommendation that was made by someone who has already experienced it. Media companies also need to consider that the products they release are relate-able in their target groups, that way the can get the word of mouth.

Since I already know who my target audience is, I need to make sure my content is relate-able to these teens. I also need to ensure that the content is worth reading as well as worth spreading between teen groups because teens usually follow trends that are the most popular. In that case, there would need to be teens who deeply care about self-love and body imaging, most of all, they want to spread a positive message, especially to those who need it.

https://lessonbucket.com/media-in-minutes/the-two-step-flow-theory/

Lamb, Brett. “Brett Lamb.” Lessonbucket, lessonbucket.com/media-in-minutes/the-two-step-flow-theory/.

Audience Theorys - Hypodermic Needle Theory

When creating media products such as magazines, there are a lot of aspects of media that is needed to be taken into consideration.
For instance, the Hypodermic Needle Theory, also known as the Magic Bullet Theory, is a model of communication. It talks about the power the media has on the audience, in other words, how a particular message affects the audience, that as humans we are all the same and we think the same. The theory also explains how media controls almost anything an audience watches, listens, or reads and how media influences the public opinion and even cause changes and behavior.

Using what I know from this theory, the media product I produce will surely have a positive message. I would want to influence people to have self-love and to not bring people down based on their looks, genders, sexuality, or race. I want to "inject" into the audiences mind that we are all human who live on the same planet and that we need to treat each other with respect as well as kindness. The message would be especially effective if it were true that humans thought and acted the same way.






https://www.businesstopia.net/mass-communication/hypodermic-needle-theory-communication

Bajracharya, Shraddha. “Hypodermic Needle Theory of Communication.” Businesstopia, 15 Feb. 2018, www.businesstopia.net/mass-communication/hypodermic-needle-theory-communication.

Audiences

For my magazine, I want my audience to include vast majority of people. By this I mean, race, gender, body types, and basically anything that makes a person unique and that my magazine is inclusive to all of them not just a specific type.

When it comes to magazines about body image, the typical audience is usually directed towards women. I feel that men are left out of this trend and there should be content that helps men, especially teen males, about self-love/self-care.

There are also magazines for teens, but most of the content is fashion trends, celebrity gossip, make-up, and mostly targeted towards teen girls. I do like inputting fashion trends and make-up products, which could go well into my magazine but instead of gossip stories, I would prefer stories of individuals who has advice on positive body imaging, or how they got through a certain hardship. I feel this type of content would better motivate others and provide a positive message.

Magazine Titles

When it comes to magazine titles, to attract customers or an audience it needs to be eye-catching and roll of the tongue. But, it must also relate to the genre/theme of the magazine.
For my particular magazine, I have chosen a few names that would go well with the theme as well as implemented into my survey to see what my audience may like better.

These are the magazine title names I have created:

• Body Bloom
• Beautlux
• Aphrodite
• BeWitch
• Venus

These titles are supposed to be related to beauty, in which the message I am trying to portray with this magazine is that everyone is beautiful.

In addition with the name of the magazine, there is also font and color that is a part of the process. I would like my font to be eligible but have a cursive aesthetic. Here are some examples :

1. Body Bloom  Beautlux  Aphrodite  BeWitch  Venus
2. Body Bloom    Beautlux         Aphrodite           BeWitch         Venus
3. Body Bloom    Beautlux      Aphrodite      BeWitch        Venus
4. Body Bloom  Beautlux    Aphrodite     BeWitch    Venus
5. Body Bloom     Beautlux       Aphrodite         BeWitch          Venus

While looking at these fonts, I personally think the 1st, 2nd, and 4th font is more appropriate for my magazine. They have a unique aesthetic and could catch the eyes of potential audiences.

Market Research

Even though I already have ideas that I would like to be implemented into my magazine, I will also like to hear the opinion of my peers. This will be part of my market research plan.
Those who take the survey will be able to answer questions related to my magazine.

Some questions that will be on the survey will include:

• What do you wish to see more in body positivity magazines?
• Does reading other peoples stories of self-love influence you or inspire you in anyway?
• What do you expect the cover of a body image magazine be?
• What color schemes do you think is better fitted for the theme (with list of color combinations)?

With the survey I can also ask questions that can be implemented into my magazine such as beauty hacks or trends

After the survey, I can follow up with interviews, with about 4-5 people, who can better express their opinion on the topic of body positivity as well as give ideas for my magazine. Part of my interview will also ask students if they would like to be part of my magazine and if they are willing to share their stories about self-love.

Evaluating My Preliminary Tasks

Evaluation

The preliminary tasks conducted were my research to help conceive ideas for my own magazine. Since my group already had a theme placed for our media product, most of the research conducted was based on the conventions, layout, genres, etc. of magazines with the similar theme for our individual magazines. I will be working with Photoshop and InDesign to produce all original content of my magazine.

Layout

Throughout my research, I found the cover page layout to be very similar; the main cover image of a model centered typically posing, with a main headline and other sidelines. If possible I would want my cover to include at least three models, each a different type of ethnicity, body, and gender. If not, i will stick to the one-model-cover. Other contents withing the magazine will be made to be more diverse, organized in sections such as : Self-love/self-care stories, beauty hacks, and trends. 

Text Styles

In a magazine, fonts, especially on the front cover, are made to be eligible and bold in order to catch the eyes of potential readers. My text will follow a theme so it can be more organized, for instance, the text for a headline for an entry within the double-spread page will be larger and a different font and color than the text of the content. The text color will also be a contrast of what the background will be, that way it can pop out more.

Photography

Due to having access to a semi-professional camera, I will do my best to capture models, that give me permission, that have unique features for my "Body Positivity" magazine. My models will be different in aspects of race, gender, and body shape to better capture the self-love theme. I will also be using Photoshop to fix any photo issues or apply filters to make the photos become more professional. 

Magazine: Specific Themes within the Genre

My main goal for my own magazine is to make sure that it appeals to a wide audience of teens. I realized many magazines have appealed to women of color and different body types with their main theme on body positivity but men don't have the same content. My plan is to be able to include teens of both gender that can relate with the content in the magazine. 

During my research, I saw that there are two main genres within body positivity magazines, by this I mean magazines that include all race and body types. The two genres were health and fitness, and inspirational.

This  magazine is more inspirational. It’s main goal, based on the cover page, is to influence other women, mostly women of color, to love their skin. It also has sidelines with beauty hacks and advice, but this is what magazines typically offer. The color of the magazine and fonts is combined very well where it isn’t bold but still can catch the eyes of readers.

 

This magazine focuses more on health and fitness of women. But unlike other fitness magazines, the cover image is not a skinny, semi-built woman. This would appeal more to plus-sized women, who can better relate to the magazine. Plus, it’s main headline is body positivity. This magazine also has the same "tips and tricks" as the previous magazine, but is more on dieting and more health tips than beauty.

Magazine Research : Double-Spread

These are a few examples of a double spread page in fashion magazines. They can be a story of a person that is related to the theme of the magazine or explain trends in clothing, beauty products, and jewelry. 

For my own double spread page, I would like it to have either a body positivity story that spreads a message to my audience, that better influences self-love/self-care or the latest fashion trends that compliment every body type.

Magazine Research : Table of Contents

Table of contents are used to organize the contents within a magazine and is usually the first page after the cover.

I researched layouts of table of contents to get an idea or inspiration of what I can do for my own.

I really like this table of contents because of the image in the middle. It has an aesthetic that I can use for my own magazine.

Magazine Research : Conventions

While researching the magazine genre that promotes body positivity, I took note of the conventions that I had seen, such as :

• A masthead (usually the name of the magazine brand) : They are usually in big and unique fonts, which becomes the trademark of the magazine.

• An issue number and date : Placed under the title in small print.
• Main image/cover : Used to promote or is relation to what is inside the magazine
• Main cover line : Features what the magazine is about.
• Cover lines (typically on the left or right side) :  Tell readers of what other content will also be included in the magazine

Each of these are significant to the making of a magazine.

Depending on the genre of the magazine, these conventions may differ for the targeted audience.
While looking at other magazines for inspiration, I noticed that the magazines had similar cover lines, much being about life hacks, health, clothing, and for a few of them, self-love/self-care. These cover lines promotes what the content is like within the magazine targets audience.




References:
-Chatelaine. (2019, May 15). Let's Make This The Summer Of Body Positivity. Retrieved from        https://www.chatelaine.com/style/body-positivity-how-to-get-a-beach-body/.

-Conventions of a magazine cover. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://slides.com/poojapatel29/conventions-of-a-magazine-cover/fullscreen#/.

Magazine Reasearch : Genres

I continued to research magazines with the genre I am planning on doing for my own magazine. They had similar concepts, such as promoting life hacks, trends, and clothing styles.
I especially liked the Chatelaine magazine because on their other magazine front covers, or promotions, they had a better display of different ethnicity and body types.

References:

Bree Rody-Mantha. (n.d.). Dove integrates custom print cover. Retrieved from http://mediaincanada.com/2019/05/22/dove-integrates-custom-print-cover/.

Magazine Research : Genres

Magazines serve different purposes for specific audiences. For my particular magazine, I decided to research magazines with beauty-related theme, more specifically, body positivity. 

Here are some magazine covers that I found that help create inspiration for my own magazine cover.

• I was delighted to see a wide diversity of women on different magazine covers but was disappointed to not see any for men. This factor could influence my magazine about being more inclusive with different genders