Final Magazine Project

Final Creative Critical Reflection: Prezi

     The link below will take you to the Prezi of my final Creative Critical Reflection.

http://prezi.com/8yfsuv5-3prw/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Magazine Flatplan

 
This is my magazine flatplan, it lays out the template for Fashion Co.

   

3rd Quarter Magazine Project Draft

Question #4: Creative Critical Reflection Draft

4. How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?


     To make my magazine I used Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, my phone's camera, marketing, distribution, magazine cover websites, and Gmail. Microsoft publisher was used to actually make the magazine product; the cover, table of contents, and article pages. Microsoft Word was used to type the interview questions and answers. The camera I used to take pictures for my magazine was my phone's camera (iPhone 6s Plus). I used the internet to find marketing and distribution websites so I could get an idea of how I could distribute my magazine product. Also, I used it to find cover, table of contents, and magazine layout ideas for my magazine. Gmail was a very important resource this is how I communicated with the store I interviewed for the article in my magazine (Shore). Through Gmail I was able to schedule an interview with the marketing coordinator and was also able to know her working schedule. This way I knew when I could come in to take pictures so she would be there to approve them.

Question #3: Creative Critical Reflection Draft

3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?


     At the beginning of this project I had never used Microsoft Publisher before. When I started to use Publisher I struggled with adding pictures and getting the text boxes to be even and proportionate. As I continued to work on my project I actually learned how to use it. The little things I had struggled to do at the beginning became very easy, and simple. For the interview even though I had done a couple of them before I was still not comfortable so I decided to practice. Through practicing it made it easier when I had to conduct the interview for my magazine. I felt more confident and believe I did a better job at this interview than I had for the previous interviews. Taking pictures for my magazine was another skill I had to develop. I used my phone's camera to take pictures of the store featured in my magazine. Achieving pictures that worked well on the magazine took time, so I took multiple pictures that way I could use the ones that worked the best for the cover, table of contents, and article pages.

Question #2: Creative Critical Reflection Draft

2. How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?


     My Magazine engages with audiences by having interactive articles. Some of the interactive articles featured in the June/July issue of Fashion Co. are Summer Style Preview, Trendy Summer Style Tips, 20 Easy Summer Looks, and How to get Beach Waves for ANY Type of Hair. In the magazine readers are often asked their opinion relating to the topics discussed in the article. For example the 20 Easy Summer Looks might ask the audience what their favorite outfit is in a little thought bubble somewhere on the page. Also several articles are split into different sections depending on which section relates to the reader. In the article How to get Beach Waves for ANY Type of Hair it is split into three sections; curly, straight, and wavy depending on what type of hair the audience has that is the section they would focus on. Fashion Co. also encourages readers to write in to the magazine to let me know how they liked the magazine, what type of articles they would like to read in the next issue, and what boutique they would like to be featured next. The audience is encouraged to write to the magazine about any thing they would like whether it be a question, comment, etc. My magazine prides itself on being an interactive magazine and engaging audiences. 

     Fashion Co. would be distributed through a real media text through stores as most magazines are. It would also be available online through the Fashion Co. app in the Apple app store and Google Play store. This way people on the go could access the magazine from their smartphones and tablets. As a way to engage audiences even more, and in case people do not use apps, the magazine would also have an online website. To get the magazine into stores a meeting would have to be set up with the specific store (to start off), so the product could be pitched directly to them. According to Observer.com to get the magazine app on the app stores "$99 a year would have to be paid for a developer's license, in addition to a $5 charge for the X code 4 development software." Then the app must be submitted to Apple for approval. After around 4 months of waiting Apple will say if the magazine app has been approved. The process for getting the magazine app on to the Google Play store is similar. The website is probably the easiest way to distribute the magazine, but is very expensive. The total cost of a "small" website is around $5,640 to $11,400, including visual design, testing, and launching (Executionists.com). 

Question #1: Creative Critical Reflection Draft

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

      Fashion Co. uses conventions because it looks like most magazines. The cover page uses a typical gossip/fashion magazine layout with a full image taking up the background and attention grabbers to the side of the magazine to attract readers. Towards the bottom right side of the magazine a bar code is utilized to tell readers how much the cost of the magazine is in the U.S. as most magazines have. The magazine challenges conventions because even though the background is a full image most fashion magazines tend to display famous celebrities on their covers. This fashion magazine uses the window display of the boutique discussed in the magazine as the cover image. The title font is different than usual fashion magazines that use more standard edgier font than the curly cursive font used in my magazine title. My magazine cover uses shapes to enhance the cover and attract readers attention but fashion magazines don't tend to use shapes. The font of the magazine is the same throughout most of the magazine. The article part of my magazine does not begin with a full page image instead it starts off with the article and two pictures that relate to the article. The final way Fashion Co. challenges conventions is it is about local boutiques in different states, this time about Shore. Traditionally most magazines cover global main stream topics instead of local topics such as boutiques. Fashion Co. represents social groups because it showcases local fashion boutiques that anyone living near them could go and visit, whether it be men, women, or teens. The magazine's target is mainly women or teens, but in many boutiques featured fashionable men's clothing is also available. Women and teens are mainly the magazine's target audience because more teenagers and women purchase magazines then men do. The magazine attempts to target women and girls through fashion by featuring articles on style and tutorials. Therefore, appealing to the audience that purchases products like magazines helps to increase revenue, sales, and also helps to get the magazine more attention. Many girls and women look to fashion magazines to find the latest trends and style. According to Statisticbrain.com "68% of girls and women say they use fashion magazines as their source of finding the latest trends." This is a big percentage and shows how much a fashion magazine like Fashion Co. represents the social group of girls, and women alike.

Blog Revisions

     On my blog I have gone back and edited a couple of posts from the past.

Magazine Pictures Post:

• Edited and differentiated between pictures I took and the professional pictures that were sent to me to use in rough draft of my magazine
• Added captions at the bottom of my pictures to explain where I planned to use them in my magazine and what the pictures were of
•  Changed the titles of both posts to be more specific 

Magazine Article Post:

• Edited the spelling errors in the article that had been posted
• Split up the article into paragraphs to make it easier to read

Blogs From the Past:

• I went back and added graphics to plain blog posts to spice them up
• The pictures were relating to the posts to grab attention or further explain the post
• Added spaces to make posts easier to read and look less cluttered 
• Added more sentences to shorter paragraphs on updates

Images of Magazine Revision

     These are the images of the revisions I have made so far, I have finished the Table of Contents, Article #1, and Article #2. I plan on having the Cover page done by the end of next week. All I have left to do is place the cover picture in the background and change the font color to one that matched my color scheme according to how the cover picture looks. Also, I plan on meeting with my teacher to get feedback on any final changes left to do on my magazine that I might have missed. 

Revisions Post

     So far I have completed most of my revisions on my Magazine except replacing the cover picture. I have the picture I plan on using as my Cover but I am having trouble making the picture fit to my magazine size. The picture also tends to hide some of the text so I have to figure out how to avoid this so the text is legible.

Revisions made
Cover:

• Corrected spelling errors
• Changed font of  title
• Changed color of font
• Moved bar code over more 

Table of Contents:

• Changed font of title
• Changed picture to my own
• Re-sized emoji s
• Capitalized letters of articles inside 
• Made "Fashion & Features" more visible

Article Page #1

• Changed font color
• Replaced pictures with my own
• Fixed spelling errors

Article page #2

• Changed font color
• Changed pictures to my own
• Made picture bigger 
• Fixed spelling errors
• Shifted paragraphs into more of a column style like the 1st page

Super Bowl Commercials

     In class we went over some advertising techniques that we could use on our magazine by watching Super Bowl commercials and taking notes of what the different brands used to sell their product.

Know- Advertisers use persuasive techniques to persuade consumers to buy their product or support their cause.

Understand- Most techniques are an emotional appeal or an appeal to sensibility.

Do- Write down the following information for 3 commercials- Product, Target audience, Persuasive techniques.



1. Product- Skittles
Target audience- 40-60 years range
Persuasive techniques- Use of celebrity Steven Tyler, attempting to be humorous


2. Product- Hyundai
Target audience- Parents, 20-40 years range
Persuasive techniques- Car finder, use of celebrity Kevin Hart, use of humor


3. Product- Honda Avalanche
Target audience- 35-45 years range
Persuasive techniques- Truck bed audio, humorous (sheep and dog), use of common know artist for age range: Queen

Class Feedback

     During the class feedback they made a couple of suggestions as to what I should fix on my blog and magazine to improve it.

Blog

• Add caption underneath pictures of what shot they are and what mood they help to create
• More in depth of magazine distribution and marketing

The Cover

• Spelling mistakes 
• The colors of the text needs to be changed to be more visible
• The background of the cover needs to be replaced with picture I take
• The title should be moved up
• The font of my title should be changed to be more "fashionable"

Table of Contents

• Title font changed 
• Pictures changed to be ones taken by me
• Letters of content capitalized

First article page

• Change color of article title 
• Replace top picture with picture of my own

Second article page

• Change color of article title
• Replace second picture with my own
• Space two pictures out to use third one on first page

Mid-Term Magazine Product Draft

My Magazine Pictures

Shot of clothing mentioned in the magazine article 

Display at shore used to advertise clothing

Outside of Shore

Closer view of Shore window display

Three employees at Shore who enjoy servicing Sarasota, correlating to quote in article 

Magazine Article

     Today's we are focusing on the local boutique Shore which originated in Sarasota, Florida and opened in 2008. The business according to Britney Guertin, marketing coordinator for Shore, originated when "We found there was a void in the market place where there was a great divide between young apparel lines and much older apparel lines. We felt there needed to be an apparel line and store that offered an ageless flair. Even a take on the surfer now all grown up and wanting a cool, hip apparel line that is made from high end fabrics that stand the test of time." Many wonder what the name Shore really means or where it originated from the truth is "the name Shore was created from the above need, water-centric, young and active. A throw back in time where life was a bit easier. Shore encapsulates all things good, vacation time, weekends, family, activity and serenity." said Guertin. Currently, Shore's only location is at 465 John Ringling Blvd #100, Sarasota, FL 34236. There are however plans to expand, there will be a second location coming to Longboat Key very soon.
The boutique's main target demographic is 18-60 year olds with discretionary incomes, living an active, healthy lifestyle, looking for quality clothing, with a passionate for water. Since Shore's demographic is mainly an older audience, they very much enjoy servicing Sarasota. Even though, Guertin added "We do tend to get quite a few teens in the store, mostly shopping with their parents. Instagram is the main marketing channel that attracts them I’m sure. My main guess is they come in with the target audience, their parents though. Teens are a secondary audience for us, thus we aren’t using marketing dollars to target them."
Shore markets and advertises to their target audience in many, many ways; email marketing (e-blasts/VIP club), social media, i.e. Facebook, Instagram, digital advertising, placing ads in national and local magazines, working with the Longboat Key and Sarasota Chambers, St. Armand's Association, Visit Sarasota Co., and other networking groups, fliers in guests bags as they purchase, and word of the month. Staying current with the latest fashion can prove to be quite hard but as for Shore they attempt to stay current by constantly attending trade shows, following trends via magazines and New York Fashion Week, and simply paying attention to the industry. The boutique offers a wide range of brands including Mara Hoffman, Tart, Blaque Label, Sol Angeles, 7 Diamonds, and Mavi. "Shore brand is our top seller, that is our private label." says Guertin. You can find out more about the brands offered and the boutique on the Shore website, http://shorebrand.com/. "Shore is about taking in all of life's many wonders, living life to its fullest, staying healthy and vibrant, living well and laughing often. Whether it be sailing, surfing, or just walking on the beach, let shore be a part of your day, every day."

Professional Magazine Pictures

     These professional pictures were taken by an in store photographer and were sent to me by the Shore marketing coordinator. I plan to use them in my rough draft copy of my magazine.

Problems Encountered #2

    Influence Style has not responded to my emails, so I have decided to just include Shore in my magazine. It turns out Shore doesn't mainly target teens it actually targets the older demographic because of this I have decided to change my magazine's focus from local boutiques that target teens instead of the older demographic to local fashion boutiques in general. My magazine will now be focused on local fashion boutiques in different states not just limited to Florida. This also gives me some room to expand and be able to interview more stores while still being a unique magazine.