Target Audience Feedback: Focus Group

On Saturday, 7th January at approx 5.30pm, I got a group of 6 people together and showed them my designs on my ipad on Issuu.

These 6 people were held under observation for just over half an hour, while I took down notes of our conversation that flowed from 4 questions I asked:

Do you think the design shows the magazine's genre?

Would this catch your eye in a shop?

Do you think £4.50 would be an appropriate price for content?

Does this magazine interest you?

During this session, I received many comments, both praising my work, and constructive criticism. I'll note down some of the comments made on my design work.

The first question received yes all round. The second question however led to some controversial views. I personally had thought the blue background with Georgie modelling was quite a striking image, along with the contrasting text, however 2 people made justified points that there wasn't much colour, and the masthead didn't jump out at them; someone suggested a bright yellow for the masthead instead. My masthead is quite long for a magazine and so it's difficult to make it a big part of the magazine without hiding too much behind it.

In terms of price, from all my previous work you can see I had my magazine at a steady £2.50. During my final design work, I decided to spike the price up to an expensive £4.50. My reasoning for this was purely after looking at my contents, and taking into consideration of all my time. I now realise that this was a silly adjustment to make, especially as it's my first design, so obviously, it would take time to produce. Plus, if it comes out every 2 weeks, that price is way too high. People suggested around £2.50-£3.50.

The final question had interesting answers. Almost all said yes, but then they all added that they don't read magazines, so therefore they probably wouldn't buy it. I think this points out the irrelevancy of magazines in modern day. I had chosen Georgie to be my front cover as she's a gorgeous female, and women are key selling points for media products. Women are frequently sexualised by a lot of media. However, one person pointed out he wouldn't read it, as he feels magazines are something women read. Looking at magazines you can see that is in fact the general trend - men's magazines are only ever sports, whether aimed around football, health, or yachts. Women magazines are everything else, from crafts, to fashion, to interior design, and cooking. I've only just fully picked up on this, had I realised earlier I could have made my design more feminine.

Overall though, people have said my design work is very professional and looks high quality. I can't deny that I'm happy with it, though I can see there are flaws, as expected.