How does the magazine that you have studied construct and reflect its intended audience?

The magazines that I have studied have been directed at school children. There are many different ways to be able to tell who the intended audience of a magazine are, like by the use of colour, fonts, text, language and mise en scene.

The colours that have been used are neutral and bright. They’re used to make the magazine more appealing and interesting for secondary school students. The colours can be seen as calm and easy on the eyes, so it might not appeal only to secondary school children, but to parents as well.

The headline of the magazine has a ‘funky’, yet still formal font, so that it doesn’t seem too young for the targeted audience to read. The sub-headings for the articles are in a bigger and bolder font, which makes the individual stories stand out. All of the articles are school related, and they tell us about different things that have been achieved by the students who attend Plumstead Manor School.

 The type of pictures that have been used have been taken by a school photographer, either in school, or wherever they were; like the picture that had been taken of the year 8’s and 9’s at the Greenwich Magistrates court. The photographs aren’t of a high quality, and some of them have been cut out so that they fit in with the colour of the background of each article. The photographs that have been used help us see who the articles are telling us about and also to see what the event looked like. The photographs are all of the school students, which help us to understand who the intended audience are. The effect that this has on the intended audience would be that they connect with the pictures used and the information in the articles because it corresponds with what they’re doing inside (or outside) of school.

We are able to tell the identity of the people that are being written about by the school uniform that they are wearing in the photographs and the title of the magazine “Plumline”. We know that the magazine headline has come from the name of the school.

The language and photos used help share the experience of what students in the school have been taking part in. The language used is very informative, so it explains the individual stories.

Students from the school would be able to relate to this because it involves people that they know and have seen around the school, it also helps that they actually attend the school and might take and interest in what people are doing. This school magazine also appeals to the parents as they can read about what the school is doing, it can also create a sense of security to know that the school their children are attending takes a huge interest and helps the students with what they’re doing.

I have chosen a contents page from Q magazine. This could be related to the type of magazine that I will try and produce. Q magazine contents page is laid out a lot more neatly that the other two, with a simple colour scheme. It looks quite simple and straight forward, yet not boring to look at. This magazine would be aimed at, indie, rock, alternative type of people. The main image is aligned to the right side of the page, but still taking up quite a lot of space. A typical band has been used, and the band will be featured inside on one of the articles. The first thing that attracts the eye here is definitely the main image. The second image is a lot smaller, and has a sub-heading above saying "Review", which automatically tells the reader that their is a review of a certain artist inside the magazine. The second focus of the page is the articles, which are down the left side of the page. The colour scheme of the fonts is red and black, which attracts the eye to it. I guess you could say that the way something is laid out, can mirror the type of personality someone has. So this contents page could be trying to reach out to an audience that are straight forward and seem simple, but their personality could show otherwise.

I have selected a contents page from Kerrang magazine. The type of audience that this magazine is aimed at are people who are in to rock and alternative music. This contents page is a lot different to a contents page from a magazine which falls under the category of hip-hop, because the layout of images are different, and the colour schemes are different. The main thing that first stands out on this page is of course, the images. The images attract the audience's eye straight away, they can straight away see what type of bands will be in the issue of this magazine, E.g. "The Blackout". A|ll the images are based in the middle of the page, which is the main attraction of the contents. The audience's eye is then lead to the titles and numbers of the pages to the right side of the page, in alignment with the pictures. The sub-headings have been put in a black box, with the text being yellow, which makes it bold and stand out, it also suits the stereotypical colour scheme of that which "rockers" would like. People who read this magazine will easily be able to pick out what they want to read, E.g. if they see a band that they want to read about, with the page number of the story and a little about what it's about, its simple to find and can be a quick read for people who just buy the magazine to read about a select few bands that they like.

 

       I have chosen a contents page from a magazine called Vibe. It is a different genre to the type of magazine that I will be producing. This magazine would be considered R'n'B or Hip-Hop. The title of the magazine boldly stands out in a large, white text. The title has been separated in to different alignments to make it stand out and attract the audience's eye. The information about the different contents pages hangs neatly underneath in a small, black, italic font, with bold sub-headings to show what part of the magazine they're talking about. There is text in a blue bold font that stands out as well, these indicate the titles of the page. The bold title of the magazine at the top right of the page attracts the eye, then navigates the eye to below, which contains the information of the contents page. The image stands out as much as the title. A woman is posing seductively wearing just a leotard type top, belt, jewellery and very high heels. This is seen as sexy and could be aimed at men to attract their attention. The colour scheme fits in very well with the colours of the woman's clothing, which is grey. The black surrounding the contents page shadows the woman from the left side of her which leads the eye back up and around the beginning of the contents page. This type of layout would attract its audience by having the style of clothing that they find desirable and attractive.                                                                                                                 

Reader Profile

^Righteous^ readers just love to be different! They enjoy shopping at places like New Look, H&M and Topshop, to create their stylish look. It isn't just one type of music these funky teens are into, oh no! they like many different sub genres. They share a much respected interest in music that was produced between the 60's and 90's, like the Cure and the Smiths. 


Righteous's readers are all ages between 16 and 18 years. 60% of them are female, and the other 40% are male. 


Most readers prefer to buy their magazines in a shop, rather than to read them online and would love to see more posters, news and gig details used in magazines. Usually, the readers will attend between 3 -4 gigs per year. They would prefer to spend below £5 on magazines. 

My magazine covers