Website

Homepage:

Website address: https://iconiquemagazine.wixsite.com/mysite

Linked fashion page:

Final Magazine September Issue

Final Magazine August Issue

Analysis of contents pages

This is a contents page from a Hello! fashion magazine that I chose to analyse. It is clear that the pages have 3 columns which is conventional, and it makes the pages look more ordered and sophisticated. I have also included columns on both of my contents pages. "Contents" is in the same font as all of the subheadings and this font is a serif font meaning it looks classy and elegant. House style is created with this font as it is repeated several times, meaning it has become associated with the magazine itself. It also appears to be the same font used for 'fashion' in the masthead on the front cover, again reinforcing the house style. I have used the same fonts throughout my contents and front covers as I also wanted to create house style. The pages are colourful but not too bright, the colours are mainly pastel colours. There are social media links along the bottom that help to create a wider audience, I have included these on my contents pages as well. I like how the subheadings stand out due to them being in a much larger font compared to everything else. At the bottom under the social media links there is some text encouraging people to subscribe to the magazine, this is a good idea and I have also done a similar thing on my contents pages.

First Edition of a Magazine

This is the first edition of Hello! Fashion magazine. It is extremely sophisticated with the beautiful colour scheme and grand background setting. It is clear that it is a first edition as it has a puff in the shape of a circle, underneath the masthead reading "Brand new! Fashion magazine". This entices the audience as they will be intrigued as to what the magazine contains due to it being brand new. I will certainly include this on my first edition.

I really love the way they have used the transparent effect for the circle and then again at the bottom left, it looks very classy and the colour really works well with the rest of the cover.
There is a buzz word 'WIN!' at the bottom which attracts the audiences attention as they will want to win the £2000 to spend. Also, it is described as an "Autumn trend special", and this will encourage people to read it as they will want to know the latest trends, and the adjective "special" will make them feel as though they must read it, due to it being highly important and a 'special' edition.

The masthead contains the already known "Hello!" logo, meaning fans of that magazine will be temped to buy this one as it will be a similar layout, just fashion based rather than gossip etc like the regular hello magazine. The genre of fashion is very clear at a first glance due to the gorgeous fashion outfit and the fact the magazine is actually named "Hello! Fashion".

Overall I think they have created a sophisticated, classy front cover that will have made people want to buy further editions.

Contents Page Ideas

I have created a draft of how I would like my first contents page to look. This is so I can see if the format would work. I quite like the way it looks and I think it will look quite classy when it is all done. The Elle and Vogue contents page only have 1 or 2 pictures on them, but as my brief requires me to have more I looked at different contents pages to get an idea of to to include more pictures. I looked at Cosmopolitan and saw that the layout was quite neat and the pictures were well lined up, rather than all mixed in and overlapping like on some from other magazines. I think it looks more sophisticated when they're lined up hence why mine are. I will also add the page number of where to find each picture perhaps in the corner of the picture.
I am quite pleased with the way it looks and with the text I managed to come up with, therefore I think I will stick with a similar arrangement when it comes to creating my real one. I will have a strict layout for the other contents page as well, but it won't be exactly the same as this one as that isn't very interesting.

Similar Products

In order to add to my understanding of magazine front covers, I decided to buy some high fashion magazines that will be similar to the one I will make. I bought the August edition of Elle, and the August and September editions of Vogue. I also bought a Grazia magazine because Bauer owns them and so I thought it would really allow me to get an idea of the sort of product they own, seen as though mine will also be owned by them.

I really love the Elle magazine because the colour schemes allow it to look very classy and sophisticated. It is nearly a full length body shot and the model is posed in a way that makes her look quite voyeuristic, as she has her hand in her hair and isn't wearing much on her bottom half. However, it still seems very sophisticated and classy because of the high fashion clothes she is wearing and the way they match the masthead. The turquoise works very well. The font used is very elegant and simple, it is the same as the font used on the contents page inside. 

I like this August edition of Vogue because again, it is very classy. The red and white work really well together and are a lovely contrast. I will definitely have strong colour schemes on both my front covers as it certainly makes the magazines look sophisticated. On all the high fashion magazines the models are conventionally looking straight into camera. I really like how the earring has been featured on this front cover as well.

This September edition of Vogue is my favourite because I think it looks extremely aesthetically pleasing as the colours work so well together due to the strong contrast. It looks tropical and very classy. The models make up has been done very bold with a dark purple lipstick and very interesting thin pencil eyebrows. I think it really makes a statement and I would love to create something similar to this. There is barely any writing on this front cover so the attention is very much on the models face. I think this cover really stands out compared to the rest and I want both my magazines to create this effect as well. This cover has really inspired me. 

The Grazia magazine is nowhere near a sophisticated as the others, due to it not being a high fashion magazine. The front cover is a paparazzi picture so this instantly makes it not sophisticated. Even though it is owned by Bauer, it isn't a proper high fashion magazine like Vogue and Elle, so I won't be taking inspiration from this front cover. Although, I have looked at the contents page to get an idea of how they set it out and this might help me to design mine.

I also went on the British Vogue website to see all the front covers created by them in the past few years.

Something I noticed was that as the front covers got more recent, the amount of text reduced. June, July and August 2018 have text down one side and a larger piece of text at the bottom. September 2018 only has text at the bottom. Whereas if you look back at older covers this is very different.

These covers from 2015 all have text on each side and at the bottom. This makes them look very busy and not as sophisticated, which is probably why they have less writing now-a-days. It also takes the focus away from the models. When I design my front covers I will definitely go with a similar layout to June, July and August 2018 covers, with less text. This will make the main focus the model, and it will make it look much more sophisticated. I think there is no need to cram all of the text on the front - that is what the contents page is for.

So from this research I have learned:

• Not to put too much text on the front cover.
• Have a strong colour scheme on the front cover.
• Use contrasting colours to make an impact.
• Ensure the model is conventionally looking into camera.

Photography

I took my first pictures of one of my models at a very elegant location. My mums friend lives in a converted chapel and so we asked her for permission to use her house as a location for some pictures, after exploring many other possible locations. I was supposed to take these pictures earlier on in the week but unfortunately the heavy rain meant we had to reschedule last minute. Luckily this wasn't a problem for my model and we managed to get some really good shots. My model wore a very classy red dress that is actually couture and so very high fashion. It worked really well with the chapel background, and she looked extremely sophisticated.

In contrast, we also took some pictures where my model had trousers on that were quite unique and we chose to have her hair up, as it worked better with her costume. We used some very unique shoes here and really tried to make them a main feature of the picture. The setting was very old looking and classic, which made a really nice contrast with the modern clothes and poses. We used the natural light from outside which worked really well, creating a more natural sense, rather than artificial. I took most with the tripod as it provided more stability and gave the pictures an overall better effect. We took pictures in several other outfits that were quirky yet elegant and I am very exciting to see how they look and begin the editing process.

With my next 2 models I decided to take them to a location that sees the Humber Bride in the background. I felt it made a interesting backdrop for the picture. I dressed them both in fur coats with shorts and glasses. I felt this look was very bold and iconic, which is perfect for my magazine. I had one model with space buns because I think this hairstyle is unique  and the other with her natural curly hair as it contrasted well with the other models hairstyle. I also took them to Normanby Hall where they changed outfits allowing me to get several good images. I particularly like the green outfit that my model wore as it is very different and certainly stands out. I stood her in the green doorway because it worked as a natural frame and I think the outfit went well with it. Both my models had subtle make up which I felt worked well as it reflected youth and purity.

I took my next model to Normanby Hall as well, as I had seen several other locations that would work when I was there the first time. I had her with her hair down and straight as I wanted it to look natural. I took some pictures of her with her pointe shoes on as they look very elegant and so work well with the theme of my magazine. The leather jacket she wears contrasts with this elegance and makes it more unique which I really like. We did some with the jacket and some without. She had make up on that wasn't subtle but also wasn't too over the top.



I also took pictures of her in a different outfit. She wore a leopard print fur jacket, black top, black leather skirt and black heels. This look is very different to the other and I really like it. It contrasts well with her blonde hair and her facial expression really represents her as strong and powerful. I would like to use this image as a front cover because I think it reflects everything I want my magazine to be - unique, powerful, bold and iconic, yet elegant, sophisticated and classy. The grand location gives the image its elegance and sophistication.

I took this model into a yellow field near my house. I decided to have her in her prom dress as represents the magazine as elegant and classy. We took lots of different shots, some with her sat on the chair and some with her doing things with the dress. She also wore my prom dress for some pictures as the colour of it went nicely with the surroundings. For the ones in my prom dress we took an umbrella in an attempt to create some interesting shots. She had her hair down with full make up, making her look glamours but still classy.

For my final images I used my first model again, as I wish to use her for my other front cover. I really love this outfit because it is very unique. For my front cover it will be an over the shoulder medium close up. The background will be blurred so it just appears yellow. I wanted this effect because it is very summery and this is what I need seen as it is a summer edition. Her make up was very light and bright, making her skin glow and her hair is golden which works well with the summer theme.

Website Planning

I have began to plan how I want my website to look. I looked at other high fashion websites such as Vogue and also websites owned by Bauer such as Grazia, as this allowed me to gain inspiration as to what mine should look like. I am not certain it will look exactly like this, but I want it to be similar. I do not know exactly what the pictures will be as I have not yet taken them, and so I will write the captions once I know exactly what the pictures will be. On the left, I will include an image of the person I am using for my short video interview. The interview will be centred around a new fashion designer and their style and passion for designing.

I have also began to design another page for my website. This is the page that you are taken to when you press on the 'fashion' link. Again, I don't know exactly what the pictures will look like hence why I haven't come up with captions, the only picture I have already taken is the "Leah red and grey pic" so I was able to write a caption for this one. Below the captions I think I will add the topic that the article focuses on, so in this case 'fashion' and how long ago I was published, as well as a byline. I will do this for every article as this is what most high fashion websites do.

Logo Ideas

I have been experimenting with logos for my magazine and have come up with a final 2 that I will choose between. 

I like this one because it looks very feminine and classy. I have chosen to include 'Iconique Magazine' on both because this is the name of the brand and so therefore it is necessary. I think the swirls look very elegant and sophisticated, which are two things I would like my magazine to be represented as. My magazine will include images that all create a strong sense of elegance and class, in most cases due to the backgrounds, but also the poise and sophistication of the models. The issue I have with it is that it will take up a lot of room and is quite extravagant for a logo, perhaps less swirls would make it look better.

I like this one because I think it is very striking and simple yet sophisticated. The font used will always mean it looks elegant, so it doesn't matter that the design around it looks quite plain. I think this makes it look more striking as the lines frame the magazine title, representing it as important. The lack of detail around the title pulls attention to the elegant font, emphasising the idea of sophistication and class, hopefully representing my magazine this way. Perhaps if I could find a way of incorporating swirls into a design similar to this it would be better as it wouldn't be too busy with lots of swirls, but also not too plain with just simple lines.

Masthead Research

The font used for the Vogue masthead is a serif font and I really love how elegant and classy it looks. I love how it is thin in places and thick in others, it makes it look extremely sophisticated.  My magazine needs to be sophisticated so I will definitely use a serif font as I believe they look much more graceful. They have chosen to include 'British' in the O, so that you're aware of which version of the website you are on. This is in a plain sans serif font so it doesn't take away any attention from the tasteful serif font used for 'Vogue'. I most likely will not chose to include anything like the 'British' in the O as I think it is unnecessary and I don't want anything to take away the elegance of my masthead.

The font used here is again serif and so looks very classy. The letters are slightly more spread out and thin compared to the Vogue masthead. In my opinion, I prefer the Vogue on as I love how the thin sections contrast with the thick and how rounded it all looks. Although, I do love how symmetrical this one looks. The word 'Elle' is symmetrical so perhaps I could think of something similar for my masthead in order to achieve this look for my masthead. Although I do think this will be extremely hard, so I will most likely use a similar font to the Vogue masthead and have a word that is not symmetrical.

I love the font used for the Harper's Bazaar masthead as it has elements of the other two fonts that I enjoy. It has the thin and thick sections that I think look appealing, and it combines the thinness of Elle's font that I like, but still has the letters close together like Vogue's masthead. I will certainly use a serif font as they signify elegance, class and sophistication and so represent the magazine as these things. These are the things I really want to make my magazine.

After playing around with fonts I decided to go with a font named 'Didot' as it looks very classy and sophisticated which is what I want. Here is how it looks with my magazine name:

I like the distance between the letters and how the Q makes it look more unique as it hangs below the rest of the letters. I think this font will represent my magazine as sophisticated, elegant and tasteful.

How Different Magazines Target Different Age Groups

This Teen Vogue magazine targets a teenage audience aged 13-18. This TA is clearly reflected with the features of the magazine.

• The main colours used are bright pink and bright blue, these colours are very child-like and extravagant. They don't appear to look very classy, so they wouldn't attract an older audience. The colours would certainly be more eye-catching for a younger teen audience. 
• The word 'cool' has been used. This isn't sophisticated at all so wouldn't appeal to an older audience, meaning it targets a teen audience much better. 
• The sans serif font used for the features is again not very sophisticated, especially the 'Glam Alert' font, targeting a younger audience of teens. 
• There is a puff used in the shape of a star, it is bright pink. This targets a younger audience as it doesn't look very professional, so an adult wouldn't really appreciate the way it looks.
• The models costume and hair is very extravagant and bold, this look wouldn't really work with an adults, sophisticated magazine, so therefore it works much better for this teen edition. 
• Celebrities such as Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and One Direction are mentioned. These people are all aimed at a younger audience - teenagers. So including features about them will attract the teenage audience, and repel the older audience who will probably have no interest in them.

This Vogue magazine targets a sophisticated, older teen and adult audience aged 16-25. This TA is clearly reflected with the features of the magazine.

• The colours used are much more sophisticated and classy. The grey works really well with the dark red costume and deep pink masthead. This will attract an older audience due to the elegance of the colours.
• The font used for the features is a sans serif font, like the Teen Vogue magazine, however it is much thinner, which makes it look much more appealing and elegant. It would appeal to the older TA as it looks more classy, which they would appreciate.
• The models make up looks very detailed and neat. It is bold, but yet she still looks classy. Although the Teen Vogue edition features a model also with heavy make up, the model in this Vogue magazine looks much more sophisticated and classy, targeting an older more sophisticated audience. 
• The magazine just looks overall much more sophisticated. I believe the colour really make the difference as they look much more elegant and appeal more to an older audience.

More Target Audience Research

As my target audience is very wide (16-25), I have decided to split it into 3 age groups so that I can really look at how different they all are, and work out how to appeal to them all.


16-18 year old:
This is college age, so they will most likely be living with their parents. They are group A/B so might have money from their parents, meaning that providing their parents give them money, they will be able to afford high fashion clothes, like the ones depicted in my magazine. They may have part time jobs at this age so could also have a fair amount of money of their own. I think I should include some clothes that are more affordable because it is unfair to expect this auidence to have the same amount of money as those aged 25.


19-21 year old:
This is University age, so these people will probably have a fairly well paid part time job that provides them will a good amount of money. Either that, or they will have a full time job or apprenticeship. Both of these will mean they have a lot of money, and as they're group A/B, it is likely they will have good financial support from their parents. This means they will be able to afford high fashion clothes, similar to the ones depicted in my magazine.


22-25 year old:
At this age, it is likely that they will be in a full time job. They will most likely have a lot of money of their own by now, so won't have to rely on money from their family. They will be more independent now, and more free to go out and do as they please. They will therefore probably be very into shopping high fashion clothes and accessories, which means they will be influenced by my magazine and want to buy the products depicted. I can include very expensive clothes, as this audience, being group A/B, can probably afford them.

Bauer Media Research

Bauer Media is a large European based media company that manages several magazines, iital products, radio and TV stations across the world.Following their purchase of Emap in 2007, The Bauer Media Group obtained a collection of media brands, including heat and Grazia as well as many national radio brands including KISS FM UK and Magic, and regional radio brands across major UK cities. In 2013, Bauer Media also acquired the Absolute Radio Group from Times of India. Bauer Media broadcasts TV music channels including The Box TV. In the UK it is the sister company of H Bauer Publishin, who publish titles including Take a Break.

“Cultural connections

In an era where audiences are ever harder to categorise, we build strong cultural connections, drawing people together with the things that they really care about. Our brands become the lens through which our audiences see the world.

Our focus is on deep consumer insight and instinct, and when they collide, the sparks fly!


Magazines


Today we are Britain’s biggest magazine publisher.
Our magazine heritage stretches back to 1953 with the launch of Angling Times and the acquisition in 1956 of Motor Cycle News, both still iconic brands within our portfolio. More recently, Closer was launched in 2002 and Britain’s first weekly glossy, Grazia, was launched in 2005.
Our Women’s Weekly magazines include Take A Break, which has long been the UK’s best-selling women’s weekly title, and TV Choice, the UK’s biggest selling magazine.  In 2015, we created a new niche within the growing gardening market, with the launch of Modern Gardens, for an audience who want to enjoy their outdoor living space, without having to become expert gardeners.


Digital


Our digital business is harnessed under the Bauer Xcel umbrella, to leverage our scale and accelerate our digital ambitions, organically and through acquisition. Today we have 40 million unique users accessing Bauer brands globally and in the UK, we have over 100 websites and 50 digital editions of our print brands.


Radio


The seeds of Bauer Media’s radio business were planted in1990 with the acquisition of London dance station KISS FM.  Today we operate 69 commercial, local, national and digital stations in the UK, including Absolute Radio, Magic, KISS and the Bauer City Network of 22 iconic local brands, situated in cities across the UK.
Bauer Media UK has the biggest commercial digital radio audience, with over half of total Bauer Radio listening taking place via a digital device.
In March 2016, Bauer Media began broadcasting six of its national radio stations on the UK’s second national DAB digital radio multiplex network, including two new launches; Mellow Magic and Magic Chilled.
In May 2016, Bauer Media announced the acquisition of the market-leading Midlands-based commercial radio group, Orion Media, which incorporates the Free Radio and Gem radio brands, further strengthening the Bauer City Network across one of the UK’s fastest-growing regions.
Bauer Media UK has also expanded its radio operation in to Europe, acquiring Nordic broadcaster SBS Radio in 2015.  Reaching more than 10 million listeners weekly, through 20 highly demanded brands, SBS Radio is the leading commercial radio operator in Sweden and Denmark and is strongly positioned in Norway and Finland.  And in February 2016, the KISS brand launched in Norway and Finland, with KISSTORY now also on-air in Norway.


TV


In 1996, we acquired digital music TV channel The Box, that has grown into Box Plus Network, a seven-channel joint venture TV business with Channel4.  Reaching 16 million viewers per month and offering more music than any other TV network, Box Plus Network brands include 4Music, KISS, Magic, Boxhits and Kerrang!"

This was taken from the 'About' section on the Bauer Media website, so it is all in their own words. Researching this has allowed me to understand more about Bauer Media and what they own. They own Grazia magazine, which is also a fashion magazine, so my magazine would fit in.

Initial Photography Feedback From TA

I have uploaded this image to Flickr as I like the way the background works in representing the model. I think the natural background represents her innocence and sincerity. It would work well as a front cover, providing the background was blurred so the focus isn't taken away from the model. I have received 3 comments, each from members of my target audience (16-25), therefore these comments will help me develop an understanding of what my TA like.

The comments are positive and reinforce what I thought about the image. Daisy's comment mentions the models innocence which is what I was going for, and the positive tone implies my TA like this representation which is good and means I will definitely use this representation for this model. I will find better locations that are also natural and take more pictures of her and I will ensure the background is blurred because I need to make sure the focus is solely on the model - I don't want any distractions. One comment talks about they like how natural the model is. This is good because I want my magazine to focus more on natural girls, representing purity and innocence rather than fully made up girls, and so it is good to know that my TA also enjoy this.




I uploaded this picture to Flickr because I think the colours work really well and I like the expression on my models face. It is very pure and natural. Again, I would blur the background so that the focus is on the model alone. I think it would still be equally effective because the deep green colour would still remain very apparent. I love how her costume compliments her features such as her eyes and I just really think these colours work together nicely. I will make sure that if I take another one that is similar to this, the background will be completely covered with greenery, so that when it is blurred, all you can see are several shades of green, complementing her costume and eyes.



The comments are again positive and both mention how her eyes stand out due to the costume. I am very pleased with this feedback and this is definitely going to be an outfit I will use on this model seen as though my TA like it.

Although I am not too keen on the background of this, I do like the pose and the costume. I think the costume is very unusual, which is good for a high fashion magazine and I like the pose because it is similar to what you would tend to see in a fashion magazine, so would work really well in mine. The facial expression especially is typical of a fashion magazine, so I will definitely ask her to pull this facial expression again. I think the costume doesn't work well with the background because the colours don't go very well. The costume is pastel so it would look better with a pastel background.

The comment confirms what I believed about the pose, I will definitely ask the model to do a similar pose when I take more pictures of her as it works very well, especially for a fashion magazine as the comment states.

Overall, I am pleased with the feedback from my initial photography and I have learnt from my TA's comments and they have helped me to decide that:

• I will stick to the nature theme with this model and keep her relatively natural looking.
• I will take pictures of her in the blue outfit depicted in the first two images.
• I will encourage her to pose in the way she did in the last picture.