Question 4 + 5

Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my magazine would fall into the age range of 18-25. On the jicnar scale they would most likely be C1-C2, but hopefully the way I have constructed mt production would allow for a wider range. Most of my audience would be hedonists, and therefore be fun loving and relaxed. Even though my target audience would probably not be interested in freebies, by including it in my first issue, a wider audience may be reached. Even though originally my magazine was going to be male orientated for the majority, I feel that now both a male and femal audience would be able to enjoy it.
5. How did you Attract/Address your Audience?

I was able to attract my audience through my use of colours, fonts and layouts. Often I would use interesting colours that weren't overly bright. This would connote how my audience are hedonistic and fun loving, but also sophisticated and not necessarily just attracted by bright flashy colours. For example, the brightest colours I used for the front cover were maroon and Yellow. By doing this so often, it allowed me to create an interesting colour scheme and stop my cover from being bland and boring. These colours mixed with a black and white photo create an atmosphere that suits my target audience and is not over the top. To find out what a member of my target audience though of my choice of colour I spoke to a 17 year old male whose favoured of music is Indie. This was my response:

" I like how the main title is red, and then the cover line is reversed out. Also, the use of yellow adds an extra element of interest as its used at the main point of interest in the title"

From this response, I believe that the choice of colour I used was appropriate.

Also the fonts I used were able to create interest as well as fit my chosen genre.
The font I used was downloaded off of www.dafont.com. I believe this font connotes aggression or rebellion, similar to that of the music contained within my magazine and therefore as attractive to my audience as the music.

I feel that I have been successful with my choice of font and the response I got when I asked a member of my target audience seems to reinforce this.

The first person I asked was a 16 year old female, who is a fan of the Indie genre. When asked about the font, the response I was given was as follows:

"I believe that this font connotes the Indie genre and is similar to the fonts used on other well established magazines. I think the colours will also attract the target audience as they alternate between red and white"

From this response I can see that this font is well suited to my front cover.

Also, the layout itself was design to generate interest from my target audience. Often I used sharp straight edges to again connote aggression. Also, I added a Splash effect in the upper left hand corner, by doing this I believe I am connoting informality or untidiness. I interviewed several people about my cover, and when I asked an 18 year old male, this was his response about this effect:

"I like the splash mark in the corner, it looks like you flicked paint onto the page, it makes it look messy, but still seems professional rather then tacky"

Overall, from my audience responses I can see that my cover was well liked. The colour scheme was well approved, along with my fonts and layout. However, I did also learn about some improvements, most of which were aimed at my contents page. Many audience members felt as though it was incomplete and rushed due to the lack of colour. From this I can see that being minimalistic does not always go to plan and in fact I should have spent more time on the contents page ensuring it was done according to my colour scheme, possibly including colour backgrounds etc.