Website

Website Link - https://12humphriesa.wixsite.com/boho

Research - Codes and Conventions: Website

Research and Planning

Codes and Conventions

* Show clear message about the aim of the magazine
* Have navigation elements such as buttons and various tabs in menu bar
* Masthead to include logo
* Masthead to have magazine title in big font to be the first thing audiences see when coming onto the website
* Title should be the same font and colour as on the magazine
* Make clear the target audience
* House style to be the same throughout with use of colour, font, text size etc.
* Menu bar at top that is easy to use
* Have an audio-visual element included
* Social media links, so people can access the magazine in different ways
* Feedback section so it is easy to stay in touch with what the audience are thinking

Audience Research

For my production I got together a small group of 12 people, a mixture of both men and women, that were from a class AB demographic, in order to get the most relevant feedback for my product. The people I spoke to were mostly aged 18, so were at the lower end of the 16-25 age range, however I feel as if the information I gathered from my focus group was still relevant to the whole target audience, and would still have appeal to people up to the age of 25. Some of the people I included in my focus group were people I had found online that had shown a keen interest in fashion magazines, and were interested in the behind the scenes and set up of a magazine, so I decided it would be very beneficial for me to have these people on board as I knew they would be knowledgeable and would give me suggestions of ideas that they think would help boost the quality of my final product.

I used them as a focus group as I was making my magazine covers and contents and asked them a series of questions in order to benefit me in the later stages of creating the magazine and making it as close to what my target audience wanted to see as possible. I asked them what they wanted to see in terms of articles and what kind of design would draw them in to pick it up off the shelf, I then based my product around this feedback and hoped this would attract my target audience to buy the first two issues, and potentially sign up to the subscription. After speaking to the group I gathered contact details from them so that I could contact them again after the first two issues were published and get their feedback, this links to the brief as by speaking to "a culturally sophisticated, 16-25 class AB demographic" I could really attempt to pinpoint what they wanted to see from my product and best design it to suit their needs.

1. Do you prefer to see models who are like you or models that are clearly fashion models?

"I prefer to see models who look like me as I feel as if then this magazine will be viewed as very inclusive, and not just using your stereotypical model, time and time again. This would mean I am more likely to pick this magazine up, if they are using models that differ from the norms, as it will stand out among other fashion magazines."

"I would like to see models that look like me, as I feel as if it would increase my self esteem and sense of self worth, as I am seeing someone with a similar body shape to mine and knowing if they are capable of being a model, I can be too, I don't have to be size 4 to be able to be on the cover of a magazine, so that would be really empowering for me."

2. What types of clothes/settings would you like to see on a new magazine?

"For a hippie/boho style magazine I would expect to see fashion that is in direct relation to the times, 60's style costume would really bring the magazine and website together, and give off the vibe you as the creator are trying to create."

"I think if you are aiming to do something quirky, you need to make sure the focus is on the fashion still, as it is a fashion magazine, something bright and colourful would definitely draw my eye, you could even try something more quirky and out there, as retro is making a comeback, so going along with the trends could be really beneficial to making a positive start to your magazine."

3. What types of articles/sell lines would attract you to buy a new fashion magazine?

"The sell lines that would interest me, are things that aren't too long so will stand out and catch my eye, but are also informative enough that I can understand the concept of the content of the magazine, such as tips and tricks and exclusive articles with models."

"Something that is in my face, with a story that I know about, for my target demographic you won't draw people in by being anti-everything, as I feel this generation are very empowering of other people such as women and people who are expressionistic in the way they present themselves, that stray from social norms, so articles giving information on different subject areas than what you generally see such as meditation, various different 60's style arts and crafts, and articles on areas that were popular in the 60's such as recycling, vinyl records and tie dye would make me pick it up, for example another article on Brexit would make me ignore your magazine but an article with a feminist would interest me."

4. Do you use the contents to help you decide whether to buy the magazine?

"The content of the contents page isn't the most important factor in me buying magazine, however it is important that everything is simply listed so I can decide whether it is worth buying, I am more inclined to be drawn in by bright and colourful photos, the general idea of what is included in the magazine should be included but isn't the most important thing for me as a reader."

"The contents page is very important to me, especially if you are looking for people to pay for subscriptions for your magazine, you need the content to be relevant, up to date and what the audience is looking to read."

5. What elements would you like to see on the website for your magazine/artist?

"Some of the elements that would be really beneficial on the website would firstly be, various points of contact, such as social media links for the magazine and a form that can be filled out for an email inquiry or feedback on the page. A very important factor that you should definitely consider having on your website is a forum for users to fill out, so you can see what people are loving and what isn't as popular. You will also be able to tell with this forum what your reach is, so what kinds of people are subscribing, e.g. their class and age, and where they are hearing about it. This way it will be easier for us to get further feedback from readers, and they have a place that they can ask questions if they are not on any social media platforms. Finally, a brief about us section would be a nice element that could be included as it is then easy for new readers to see the ethos of the magazine, and understand what you are trying to achieve."

6. What elements would attract you to purchase the magazine?

"I think that bright colours would really stand out for me as a reader as it would draw my eye in more as compared to a black and white cover, especially so if you use models that are different shape, sizes and from different backgrounds. People are used to seeing your stereotypical model, therefore if you have photos of someone who strays from this norm they are more likely to stand out as it is not what is usually seen so for me personally, would encourage me to pick it up and have a look."

"Well known names on the front of your magazine would draw me in to read, if you are getting in celebrities that the 16-25 year old age category know they are more likely to read your exclusive interviews and pick up copies, as compared to you interviewing a unknown star that was famous for one song in the 60's. Therefore I would aim to get in young celebrities, or at least ones that are very popular amongst your target audience s that you know the content you are putting out is what your audience (me), would like to see." 

Therefore from getting these answers from my focus group there were many different things I have added to my product and my website. For example my audience said they wanted to see models that looked more like them, rather than a stereotypical fashion model - I have done this by using different model on my covers, one being a white female teenage model, wearing a 60's outfit - this will mean she is able to connect with audiences in the class AB demographic. My second model was a black female teenage model, again dressed in a 60's outfit who could connect with people in a sophisticated class AB demographic. I chose to use models that were within my target audience as then it would be clearer who I was aiming at, and then my audience would be able to identify more with my message so would be likely to pick the magazine up.  

Another example of using my focus groups advice was making sure I had a strong use of colour throughout, in the product I made sure my models were wearing 60's style outfits that were colourful as well as being fitting of the era. I also then edited the product to make sure these colours really were bold and that they were standing out amongst other magazine covers. For the website I went for a colourful tie dye background, as not only as this is what my focus group has said they wanted to see but because it would then be very memorable. I think this advice was very helpful as it makes my product and website go against the stereotypes of fashion magazines but in a good way, and can encourage repeat visits to the website and repeat customers for the magazine, as it will be labelled a colourful and cheery magazine, as compared to some other more hard hitting fashion magazines on the market.  

I asked my focus group about the kinds of articles they would like to see and what sell lines would draw them in, from what they said I made sure they were short but punchy and can be read in a few seconds but be enough to spark an interest. I included exclusive interviews with my own and other models and a variety of tips and tricks on the covers as one of the people from my focus group suggested that this would encourage him to pick it up as he could quickly get the general idea of what my magazine was going to include. I made sure the subject areas I did include were things of interests to my target audience as well as still fitting in with the 60's theme, I used the areas that were suggested to me from the people in my focus group so I know that as part of my target audience they would know what they would be most interested in seeing, so it was important to me these were included.  

For my contents pages one of the females in my focus group said she wasn't too fussed about the contents page being the most important element of the magazine, as long as she could see what articles were going to be included she would rather the use of colour in images be carried on into the contents page. Therefore I did this for my contents page, I made the image take the whole page and overlaid text showing what was going to be in my magazine. Another person in my focus group said that the contents page was important to them, and to make sure the content was up to date and relevant to the target audience - I kept this in mind when deciding which article titles I was going to put there, as it is important to ensure my target audience would actually want to read my magazine.


I asked my focus group what elements they would like to see on my website they suggested that I should include points of contact, preferably in the form of social media links and email as this would be the easiest way for my target audience to contact us. I also made a feedback form on my website for users to fill out, this was so I could see what was going well and what my target audience would suggest that I improve, this would be helpful as then I could tailor my magazine to my target audience. I put in an about us section to show new readers the ethos of our magazine, to help inspire them to want to pick up a copy.

Finally, I spoke to my focus group about what elements they would want to see in order to encourage them to pick up a copy of my magazine they said they wanted colour and different models from what is stereotypically seen on fashion magazines, they said that if I did this that they would think my magazine would stand out more and would definitely encourage them to pick up a copy of my product over other fashion magazines. One of the women in my group also said that having a well known name on the cover would spark an interest for them, this is especially true for my 16-25 year old target audience as they are more likely to keep up with celebrities lives so will encourage more customers to pick up the magazine. They also needed to be relevant celebrities to the people in my 16-25 target audience age range so that they would actually be interested in reading the articles with that person.