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.
