Thursday, 15 November 2018

Final website

Homepage:











    Fashion page:









                                                    



Wednesday, 19 September 2018

First edition magazine analysis

To broaden my understanding of first-edition styles of magazines I looked into Hello fashions' first edition.


One of the first things I noticed about the first edition of Hello fashion is the masthead/logo. The "hello" is in a white sans serif font inside of a red box. This creates a strong sense of brand identity as the original Hello magazine also features this logo. This could draw loyal customers of the brand towards the new magazine and help it establish itself within the fashion magazine industry as a recognised brand.

Next to the Hello logo is a much larger part of the masthead, "fashion" in a large, thin, red serif font. This immediately categorises the magazine as a fashion magazine rather than beauty, for example, and differentiates it from the other magazine Hello produces. It also creates something for the readers to look for rather than just the Hello logo.

Above the "fashion" masthead is a much smaller "monthly" text in a black serif font. As this is the first edition, this would inform the readers that it is not weekly like other fashion magazines.

Furthermore, below the masthead is a small puff that says "brand new". This has been strategically positioned near the top of the magazine as when they are stacked in shops a limited amount of the front cover is on show. This will ensure that the readers are able to see that it is a new magazine from first glance and therefore draw them towards buying it.

The main image for the front cover is a conventional medium/long shot where the model is facing the camera. This is a traditional approach to the position of models on magazine front covers, again ensuring the magazine fits the conventions of fashion magazines.

The mise en scene of this image all reflects a traditional fashion magazine approach. The models hair is very simplistic and elegant in a pulled back style. The makeup is a full glam look rather than natural beauty. The costume of the fashionable dress and over sized earrings again make the image more suitable for a magazine relating to fashion as she is being portrayed purely from her image as a trendy and stylish woman. Furthermore, the location of the image seems to be very upmarket and glamorous as she is in an intricate, antique looking seat with flowers either side of her. The lighting is not overly harsh or dim ensuring that the model is completely in focus and the most important part of the page.

All of the text other than the masthead frames the models body and face, drawing attention to her rather than away from her. The rest of the text featured on the page is relevant to fashion, such as "Autumn trend special", "love your hair" and "style icon" ensuring that it addresses the social concerns of the readers, as well as all being in white, similar fonts. This helps create a further sense of stronger brand identity as well as creating a colour scheme to follow for the front cover.

Overall i think that for a first edition of a magazine they have followed codes/conventions of fashion magazines well. This has given me a much broader understanding of how to make my magazine much more authentic and realistic in terms of being alike other fashion magazines that are high end and sophisticated. From this i have taken that i should try follow colour schemes for each of my front covers to create brand identity. I am also starting to consider figuring out a brand logo that i could use either on my website or magazine to create a brand identity and make the magazine more recognisable for readers. Lastly, i know that i will definitely use a puff of some sort to address that my magazine is new to the market.

Thursday, 23 August 2018

Ideas for magazine context

Initial ideas: To begin this activity I had some very early ideas upfront about what I thought would be relevant in my magazine. I made a short list of my first thoughts so that i could then go over it and pinpoint key ideas and articles that would be appropriate in my magazine.

  • Fashion - relevant to season/trends
  • Beauty 
  • Fashion week?
  • Hard news; politics


After undertaking some research to see what popular magazines contained i then made another list that i comprised after looking deeper into what my magazine style would include and what would appeal to my target audience. Luckily i had already researched into what would be best to have in my magazine when drawing a plan for my website. I think that it would be effective to have some of the articles or top stories that would be on my website also in my magazine to make them link so that both of my target audiences, whether they buy the magazine or just use the online version, are able to access the same content. However, i think that in my magazine i should also have a wider range of articles that are more interesting and target a wider audience and more diverse range of people as this would encourage more of the audience i am targeting to buy the magazine rather than use the free online version.

- Equality for men and women
- Taking sexual assault on men seriously
- History of a widely recognised fashion item - LBD?
- Celebrity news - target modern audience
- Ruby rose to play first lesbian superhero Batwoman
- Steps for men & women to be stylish and practical
- Fashionable coats to keep you warm&dry this season.
- How to dress like a professional in the summer heat.
- Mens skincare & how it is just as important as womens
- Sustainable fashion: Bayou with love X dell
- Unisex jewellery takeover
- Advert for perfume with tester for men and women
- How to keep hair strong this fall.
- Sunscreen has more than one benefit this summer.
- The real difference between smart and casual - and how to do both at once.
- Dress codes; what they really mean.
- Stay active this fall with stylish new gear.
- Eco friendly alternatives for everyday products.
- Youtuber spreading only positive thoughts


Harpers Bazaar analysis




At the top of the website there is a large, moving image banner that contains the magazine masthead. By using a colourful and moving image it engages the audience immediately and draws all of their attention to the website. The moving image itself of models wearing fashionable clothing and having fun promotes the brand and everything that they have to offer as well as portraying the brand as fun and care-free rather than serious like some other fashion magazines. The masthead itself is in a serif, white font which makes it stand out against the colourful moving image as it is much simpler.



Below the banner there is a navigation bar across the page, allowing the audience to use the page with ease and target what they are looking for on the website. It allows the brand to advertise the other aspects of their content rather than just fashion, for example. The first option on the navigation bar is for “fashion” clearly suggesting that this is the most important aspect of the brand and is what they are focused on rather than beauty or news. The following options are “beauty” and “celebrity” which are topics that women stereotypically find interesting, depicting them as a more traditionally feminine brand rather than a magazine targeting a more modern audience that rebel against traditional representations. However, beauty and celebrity are still very relevant topics for women whether that are traditional or not, suggesting they know how to target their audience effectively. The next option is a very interactive and modern option, “shopBAZAAR”. This is a page where Harpers Bazaar editors sell a variety of products such as clothing and jewellery, using their brand name. This combines newer technology through online shopping and targeting their audience correctly as more and more people are using online shopping rather than going out to real shops to buy products. The last option revolves purely around marriage and planning your wedding day. This clearly depicts how the brand think that women should prioritise their wedding day over many other things and how the brand follows stereotypical expectation for women to obsess over their wedding day.



At the end of the navigation bar there is an option for the audience to subscribe to the magazine and follow the brand on other social media websites. This displays how they are fully committed to targeting a young and modern audience who will use social media sites on a regular basis. It also encourages the audience to be interactive with the brand on more than just their website, increasing the likeliness of them contributing money/time towards the brand overall. There is also a small image of the earth, implying that they are a brand with international resonance.



Underneath the navigation bar is a selection of articles for the audience to choose from to read/look at. The first article, “#TheLIST best dressed” is clearly all about clothes and what famous people have been seen wearing/fashionable clothing overall. This again highlights that fashion is at the core of their content despite also advertising the other aspects of the brand. It also states that it from “August 17, 2018”, implying that these “lists” are posted regularly so the audience can keep up to date with fashionable clothing and changing trends. This again follows their seemingly traditional and stereotypical representation of what women are interested in.


The second article is also purely about fashion, “The best animal prints to shop for fall”, however this one is purely about fashion rather than celebrities as well. This makes it more relevant to their audience as they can relate to and copy the advice/fashion tips given, such as wear they can buy fashionable animal prints, rather than trying to copy a celebrities fashion that would not suit their lifestyle.



The third article relates to news and celebrities, “Aretha Franklins iconic life in photos”. This provides a more factual article for the audience to read however it is still based upon a celebrity, implying that is what their audience is concerned about. As Aretha Franklin was a woman of colour, however, it suggests that they are very multicultural and open to portraying women from a variety of backgrounds rather than just middle-upper class white women. This depicts that their target audience are also a very diverse range of people.


The fourth article follows the more serious and factual theme set by the previous one, with “Signs for hope”. The title itself does not give away much about the article however with the image above it containing models promoting “equality” it explicitly shows that it could relate to politics and the way different people are treated, whether that relate to gender, age, race or religion. This represents a more modern woman as more and more women are becoming socially aware and trying to make changes for equality for women. This would link to a theorist such as Bell Hooks who also promotes quality for women, especially those of colour. The last story links news and celebrities once more, “Ariana Grande pays tribute to Aretha Franklin”. This would engage the audience fully as it relates to a legendary music icon as well as a modern musician.



All of these articles have clear titles in a black sans serif font and are numbered, implying they are ordered in term of the brands priority of what they want the audience to read. However, the title is rather small for all of the articles in comparison to the images paired with them; this portrays that the brand thinks their audience will pay more attention to images than text. Having these articles at the top of the page makes it more convenient for the audience to find what they could be looking for.



Below the list of articles is a large image of heeled shoes. At first, it seems as though the topic of this article is again fashion, however the title “when feminism is white supremacy in heels” clearly shows that the article is about hard news such as white supremacy and feminism, however they have used heels to make the headline more interesting and controversial. This completely contrasts the earlier theme of stereotypical interests for women being what this brand focuses on, as this is a very political and socially aware topic to write an article about. It also represents Harpers Bazaars target audience as politically/socially involved as they “respond to the concerns of their readers”, linking it to Curran and Seatons theory. As this is also a controversial topic to address, especially on a fashion website that has a diverse audience, it also portrays the brand as daring and confident, yet willing to address what readers are really concerned about. Furthermore, as the writer of the article is a female it suggests the brand wants to empower women and allow them to convey their opinions and beliefs through the articles they write. It also suggests that they think that by having female writers work on their articles they believe it will help them to target their own audience more effectively.

Final website

Homepage: Link:  https://alyshaa261.wixsite.com/mysite      Fashion page: ...