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.

Hand drawn website draft

Masthead research

 To research the font and style of masthead I wanted to use for my magazine I firstly had to come to a final decision about the masthead I wanted to use. Using the information I gathered from my target research, I decided that “Dalia” would be a better name for my magazine as it would target a larger audience. Furthermore, it is shorter than Acacia, so it may be easier to remember as other big brand magazines are such as Elle and Vogue, whose names are also short.  I started by handwriting out “Dalia” in a variety of different ways and styles. Handwriting it out instead of writing on the computer for my first draft was much quicker and allowed me to quickly experiment with different fonts. I also experimented with using uppercase and lowercase letters, as some fashion magazines mastheads use all capital letters rather than upper and lower as it would normally be in a sentence. After trying a variety of fonts, I quickly realised that I preferred the fonts that were serif and had a handwritten image rather than a block, plain text feeling.

 Out of all of the different styles of writing I tried I liked two the most; the bottom right handed style the best, as it has an elegant and sophisticated look I believe, rather than looking to bold or brash, but also the fully capitalised style, which conveys a classical and timeless atmosphere.

 I then retried this experiment but on a Word document, to gain access to a wider variety of fonts that would be much more professional and sophisticated than a handwritten masthead. I then repeated what I did before and typed out “Dalia” repeatedly in lowercase and uppercase letters in a variety of fonts and made a note of the fonts next to it in case I wanted to use any of these for my final piece. Once finished, I highlighted the fonts I liked the most to make it easier to decide which was my favourite. After much contemplation I decided that my favourite font was “Goudy Old Style”. I like the font both in capitalised and lower-case letters. In lowercase letters I think it looks more feminine and pretty, however I think that when capitalised it looks bold and will address the female and male target audience I have decided upon.

Finally, I researched what other magazine mastheads looked like, although I already had a basic idea, to ensure I was making the right decision with the font I had chosen. 

All of the mastheads that i looked at used a serif font in mainly capitalised letters. All of the fonts used for the different mastheads are very similar and all convey the timeless, classical and elegant atmosphere that i would like my masthead to have. Although they may seem quite plain i think that a plain, simple masthead would benefit a fashion magazine more than an over the top masthead would, so that it does not distract away from the contents of the magazine but still clearly have an impact on the page. I think that choosing a capitalised and bold font such as these would not mean that my masthead would be ignored as it is like many others, instead I think it would be respected more initially by the target audience as it seems as though it has been around for a long period of time and is therefore a trustworthy brand such as Elle or Vogue. I do not think that using this masthead would be a USP however i would much rather the content of my magazine be a USP for the target audience rather than the masthead. 

In conclusion i believe that all of my research and experiments relating to my masthead have allowed me to confidently decide that the masthead i will be using is "Dalia", fully capitalised and in the "Goudy Old Style" font. I think that it will attract a female and male target audience as it is not overly feminine or manly; instead it has stereotypical aspects of both. The serif font makes it prettier and more feminine whilst the capitalised letters make a bold statement and therefore portrays the magazine as more daring and masculine.

Research of websites: Vogue

Vogue

The last website I researched was Vogue. At the top of the website there is a large white banner dedicated to the masthead of the magazine/website. It is written using large, bold and capitalised letters in a black serif font. This immediately draws your attention without using any bright over the
top colours to draw attention to it. Instead, the monotone background and font used make a simple but daring statement. The font that is used for the masthead links strongly to brand identity as it has become a very iconic brand name and logo over time for high fashion looks. Inside the “O” of “Vogue”, “British” is written in a small, sans serif font. This establishes that “Vogue” is a multicultural brand that has international success as it would not say “British” if it was only well known in Britain, whilst also helping their audience to find the correct website for their location.

To the left of their masthead in the banner there is a small image of the magazine front cover of an edition of Vogue. This uses cross media convergence to advertise their magazine to their online readers and by offering a “FREE” gift when buying their magazine, it will entice viewers to purchase the magazine just for the gift as they will believe they are getting a better deal than if they were to purchase it regularly or buy a different magazine. The use of the buzz word “Free” would immediately draw the viewers eye towards the offer, especially as it is placed so highly next to the masthead, symbolising it is of importance unlike the other articles or offers on the page. Below the facts relating to the advert is a red puff containing the verb “subscribe” in a capitalised, sans serif font in red to further encourage the audience to be interactive with all aspects of the brand rather than just the online version.

Below this section of the webpage there is a navigation bar in the centre of the page, listed with  All these options are written in a bold, sans serif font in black, again following the monochromatic colour theme set so far. This gives the website a sleek and modern look.
topics such as “Fashion” and “Beauty” which are stereotypically feminine interests as well as “News” and “Arts & Lifestyle”, which are not traditionally related to women, but usually men. This portrays how they represent women and what the women who read this magazine are interested in. This links to Curran and Seaton’s theory that the brand would “respond to the concerns of the readers”. It also shows the variety of interests that the modern woman enjoys, whilst being helpful to the viewer as it makes navigating the page easier. Despite this, the “news” that the website offers is all related to fashion, such as “London fashion week”, suggesting it revolves only around fashion and beauty related topics rather than real world issues such as politics.

On the far-right corner of the navigation bar, there is a “follow” option. This links to the brands social media accounts such as twitter, Instagram and Facebook. This depicts them as a modern and innovative brand despite being quite old, as they know how to reach a modern audience using newer technology. It also encourages the viewer to support and be more interactive with Vogue overall.

The main focus of the webpage is the “top stories” section, which is under a bold, sans serif font in black. This again makes it one of the most noticeable points of the webpage, suggesting it too is important. Unlike other fashion magazine websites, this aspect of the page is not moving to show more options, instead it only offers four articles, highlighting their importance over other articles towards the bottom of the page.

 On the far right the article is directly linked to fashion and “JW Anderson on why collaborations get the best result”. This establishes the obvious link between Vogue and Fashion, whilst calling on the audiences’ knowledge of fashion and fashion designers such as “JW Anderson”. This helps to make the audience feel involved with the brand and their articles if they know who he is and his place in the fashion industry. There is a large image above the title for the article which is obviously the most distinct part of the article. The image uses a variety of pastel toned colours such as pink and green to stereotypically target women and make the image more interesting. The image does not feature any models, just the products of the collaboration mentioned. This gives more context about the article for the viewer to help them decide whether to read it or not.

Another article that is in the top stories section is “7 skin experts on how to treat acne”. Again, this  
will address the readers concern as many women are now conscious of their looks and skin. The image for this particular story is a close up shot, sideways, of a model with seemingly clear, flawless skin. This implies to the reader that if they read this article and follow the advice given, that they too will have clear skin like the models. The model in the image is not wearing heavy makeup, if any, therefore conveys the idea of natural beauty and purity. She is unconventionally looking out of the camera; however, this will be to keep the focus on her skin rather than on her facial features.

“The 13 best kaftans to wear this summer” is another featured article, however this does not convey stereotypical British beauty, instead it portrays women from a different cultural background and culturally different fashion. The image attached is a long shot of a black woman wearing alternative fashion, for the UK. This represents vogue as a multicultural brand that target women from every cultural background rather than just “British” women. It also portrays that they are accepting of all styles of fashion. Overall it again reinforces the idea that fashion is the main aspect of their brand and their stories.