Evaluation 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Masthead: The masthead of my magazine is in a large and bold text that follows the house style and colour scheme of my magazine. The use of serif font crates the idea of sophistication and professionalism along with the colour scheme which appeals to those of middle to high class. However, this doesn’t in any way make my magazine seem boring or outdated as this idea was inspired by modern day Kpop and Korean lifestyle magazines like ‘CeCi magazine’. The use of a dropped capital ‘K’ emphasises the idea of it being a Kpop magazine since the word Kpop means ‘Korean pop’ and Kstar means ‘Korean Star’ so it follows the same pattern. This type of abbreviation is familiar to Kpop fans and thus makes it easily identifiable as a Kpop magazine. The use of the word star links to the fame that Kpop stars have and suggests that there will be celeb gossip and news about Kpop stars inside which would appeal to the average Kpop fan as suggested in my questionnaire. This is further emphasised with the use of a star icon which is more pleasing to the eye than just a plain title which may have negligible impact on the reader.

Cover lines: These are the cover lines and features of my magazine. These have been made to attract a potential reader as the feature what the magazine will contain. Each cover line is distinctly different to add variety however all follow a strict Red, Black, White and Blue colour scheme. This emphasises the house style whilst making it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. On the bottom cover line reading ‘Seoul Style’. I changed it to this ‘chalkboard’ font to represent the street art movement in South Korea which would interest the ‘modern rebellious Korean teen’ However, it also represents how ‘fragile’ the genre is and how it can always be changed just like chalk or paint which I think is very interesting and would be appreciated by the target audience. This also adds variety to the other cover lines and is something interesting for the reader to look at opposed to just plain serif text. Each cover line is larger than the text below it in order to grab the reader’s attention before they read further as if it was all the same size it would fade into the background.

Language: Throughout the entirety of  my magazine I have used many different types of language to appeal to my target audience. For instance, I have incorporated the Korean Writing system of Hangul into my magazine cover which appeals to the target audience since it not only is the first language of most Kpop fans but it is also appeals to those that have an interest in Korean culture as well. Furthermore, this is a defining trait of most Kpop magazines as their readers tend to be Korean. The large Korean writing along the bottom is significant as it means ‘Hello’ and is almost introducing the magazines first issue and links to the rise of a new Korean star (My main artist – UNIQUE). Also, I have used a text abbreviation in the form of ‘WTF’ which creates the idea that my magazine is quite edgy as the actual meaning of ‘WTF could not be published on the front of a magazine. The alliteration of Seoul Style is a persuasive literacy technique that I have used in order to grab the potential reader’s attention.

Photography: The picture I used on the front of my magazine was edited using Photoshop to create the ‘Perfect Korean’ image. The picture covers a large section of the page and is half covered, making the reader want to open the magazine to find out who this person is. The fact she is posed covering her face furthers the idea of mystery and thus intrigues a potential reader. The artist is looking straight into the readers eyes, addressing the audience. This is a main convention of any magazine.

Mise en scène: On the front cover, I have used many different colours in the background which is meant to represent a trendy street in Gangnam, South Korea. I was able to merge two images with the use of Photoshop to create an illusion of a blurred, busy district. This links to the mysterious artist ‘UNIQUE’ and foreshadows what is to be expected further on in the magazine. This also adds an element of mystery to the reader and may entice them to read further.

Competition: I added a competition as this is a common magazine feature and may entice a person to buy the magazine as they want to be in with a chance of winning the prize up for grabs. This competition is relevant to Kpop fans as it would allow them to download music from their favourite artists.

Selling Price: The selling price of my magazine is only £3.50 (as suggested by my questionnaire) which is within the pocket money range of most people aged 16-25. This makes it much more reasonable to purchase than if it were £5.00 like other music magazines.

Layout: The layout of my text is need and all inline with each other. The only exception to this is the text surrounding the polaroid picture as this would seem more interesting than the text. I have used a number of separations also to break up the text to make it easier on the readers eyes. I believe that the reader would appreciate this order as it will be much easier for them to locate the page that they wish to look at.

Font: The font that I have used throughout my magazine tends to be the same serif font, however in the contents I have decided to use a hand written style font a number of times in both Korean Hangul and in English on the polaroid 'undiscovered discovery. This handwritten style text helps to emphasise the young audience (16-25) that I want to appeal to as this creates a kind of scrap book style that features predominantly in teen/ young adult magazines.  

Colour scheme: The colour scheme of my magazine overall is very diverse, here in the
contents page however I have decided to use a more monochrome colour scheme with a Smokey grey background. This was because I wanted the contents page to be relatively plain and not over crowded as this is a place that you go to find the things that you want to read about so it should be simple on the eye and not too 'out there'. I think that the slightly bland colour scheme worked and it is very similar to that of another magazines contents page that I analysed called 'NYLON' in which it worked really well. The overall look, I think, looks very professional.

Photography: The photography which I used for the contents page could be considered to be quite abstract and crates an effect of confusion to the reader which is the effect that I wanted it to have, in the photo you can see only the artists eye and her hands covering the rest, which builds upon the picture on the front cover in which she is covering her moth with her hands. The position in which she stands builds upon the mystery of the 'Kpop's newest star' (as put on the front cover). I also put this photo in a polaroid frame which creates a sense that it is almost amateur, which links to the scrapbook style I was aiming to achieve with this page. Furthermore, I made sure this was the only picture on the page to make sure that it would be the centre of attention to the reader. Overall, I believe that this appeals to the target audience since Kpop is a very abstract and some may say weird genre of music and I believe that the photography I used on this page portrays this.

Social Media: The incorporation of social media is very significant for the reason that the audience which I wish to appeal to ,which are people aged 16-25, would probably consider themselves to be avid social media users. If my magazine is able to involve readers through the medium of social media then that is very powerful as it means that my magazine instantly increases the amount of potential readers. Many magazines nowadays have multiple social media accounts which are able to involve readers in features and stories in their latest editions so for my magazine not to have some sort of reference to social media would be insane.

Colour scheme: Here I have used the colour very differently in comparison with the rest of my magazine. The use of pinks are very important when conveying meaning to my readers, I want the use of colour to be justified and mean something and I think that come through very well in this page. I have used a range of pinks in order to express femininity, and although my magazine is unisex, stereotypically Kpop fans tend to be mainly female so I believe that this use of pink would appeal to the majority. different shades of pink allowed me to create a shadowed effect of Q&A in the background which establish what the page is about. hot pinks contrast the background making it easier to read the title. The use of very light pink has been used to represent the sweetness and innocence of the singer who is yet to push herself into the public eye and open up fully unlike the hot pink flowers which surround her that have connotations of confidence and passion and playfulness, just like the majority of other Kpop singers she is surrounded by. This appeals to the audience as they would want to follow her journey to the top to watch her blossom into a star.

Photography: The photography I have used here is interesting in that it only reveals half of the artists face and she is also fading into the light pink background creating the idea that she could easily fade away like most Kpop stars. This may interest a reader as they would hope the best for her as a singer after reading her interview. Furthermore, the photograph in which she is smiling gives us the impression she is childlike and pure, untainted by the music industry. With the added effect of the flowers it brings out real natural beauty which is uncommon in the Kpop industry and goes against the codes and conventions of most magazines in that they are heavily edited and this is the opposite. A reader would appreciate this uniqueness and possibly want to look into her further as she challenges what is accepted to be 'the perfect Korean image'.

Content: The actual content of my magazine follows the main codes and conventions of any music magazine in that it focuses mainly on the artist and her music and not much else. However, she talks about her own life experiences and what lead her to produce some of her music. These life experiences may lead to the readers being able to relate to her as a real human being and not so much as an artist which is important as readers feel connected and everything becomes a lot more realistic, which Kpop often strays away from, thus giving my magazine a distinct unique selling point.

Layout: The layout is very simple and nothing too special, it is all laid out neatly in columns which is standard for any magazine. This addresses my audience since people would want to read something that was neat and easy on the eye.