Evaluation - question one

Introduction to evaluation

I have now completed the construction of my music magazine, 'Electric'. It is a dance & clubbing magazine targeted at young adults of both genders, specifically students and those interested in the clubbing scene.

I chose the genre of dance music because it is a general interest of mine, and the idea appealed to my design interests. I began this project with research into the typical codes and conventions of music magazines by analysing 5 current magazines on the market. This helped me understand the essential components of a magazine, what elements are specific to the dance genre, and also gave me inspiration for my design. The planning tasks enabled me to create drafts in which I was then able to refer back to when creating my pages.

I am pleased with my end project, but believe there is still room for further improvements. I am now going to be carrying out an in-depth evaluation, focusing on seven questions.

Double page spread - version two (with text)

Double page spread - written article

Natalie Jones recently grabbed the number one spot on the BBC Sound of 2013, which groundbreaking artists Adele, 50 Cent, Jessie J and Ellie Goulding have all previously owned, way back when they were budding talent on the brink of fame. Raised in Holloway, London, Jones has been dedicated to her music since leaving school at 16. Aged only 17, she was spotted by music producer Daniel Huck for her remarkable songwriting skills, powerful vocals, and unique sound. She’s collaborated with top DJ, Redlight, and now with the upcoming release of her debut album ‘House on Fire’, an exciting blend of upbeat electropop and banging dance tracks, we get the chance to have a chat with Natalie, getting the inside info on her life as the hot new talent for 2013, and learning more about her plans to smash the music industry with a bang next year.

Congratulations on winning the top spot on BBC’s Sound of 2013! How does it feel knowing you’re in the same position Adele was just a few years ago?

Thank you! And yeah it’s totally overwhelming! It’s an amazing feeling knowing that you’ve been spotted for your talent and that people believe in you to go further and make it big. I also feel extremely grateful for the opportunity, as something like this is what I need to make the next step in my career. Absolutely crazy to think this is how Adele started back in 2008, no pressure or anything!

Your debut album ‘House on Fire’ is coming out in an month, what can people expect from the album?

It’s a bit of everything really. The sound is quite varied because it’s a compilation of tracks I’ve been writing for nearly 4 years. Most are upbeat and club friendly, but there’s a few darker ones too. It’s pretty much a journey of my life so far, I wrote about the shit times and the fucking fantastic ones so it’s a roller-coaster of a listen, but that’s what I love about it. There’s an exciting collaboration too, but that’s a secret!

Did you enjoy making the album? What would you say it’s like to work with you in the studio?

Yeah it’s been an amazing experience. I was actually writing tracks for the album when I was at school which was nearly 4 years ago, and some of them did make it on there, but it only really became a full time, focused project these last 18 months. It’s been intense, but totally worth it, and some of the people I’ve been able to work with have inspired me in so many ways. And I would like to say an absolute dream, but I’m sure my producer wouldn't agree! Nah I’m sure I’m not that bad, well maybe on Monday mornings I can be a bit of a fucking nightmare before you make me a coffee… I tend to be pretty easy going in the studio though, you have to be chilled in my opinion or it hinders your creativity, and pisses everyone off.

Who’s your biggest musical inspiration? And what’s currently playing on repeat?

Hmm, that’s so difficult! There’s so many inspiring songwriters and music artists! I would say the artist that really gave me a passion for Drum & Bass and dance music in general would be Andy C. I read about him in a magazine years ago and he sparked my interest for the genre and opened up my eyes to a whole new world of crazy electronic beats and remixes. This was back when I was in high school, and one of the reasons why I did not do any work or revision and failed my exams. At the moment I’ve been listening to a lot of Frank Ocean and The Weeknd. It’s not dance music, but so chilled out and I love Frank Ocean’s lyrics. Nothing like a bit of ‘Loft Music’ on a Sunday afternoon... mmm heaven!

So, what exactly are the plans for next year then? A tour? Any exciting collaborations you wanna tell us about?

Haven’t planned out any details yet but I already know next year is gonna be crazy! I’m touring around the UK from March until April so that’s something to look forward to. I’m hoping to do lots of festivals in the summer as well, as I got experience of that last year and it was fucking brill! There’s definitely a few collabs in the works, not a peep from me yet though or my manager might just kill me. I’m practically bursting with excitement, but you’ll just have to wait and see!

On the topic of collaborations, is there anyone you would love to work with in the future?

Yeah there’s so many talented DJ’s and producers I’d love to work with in the future like Tiesto and DJ Fresh. I could list more of my dream collaborations but to be honest I’ve got enough to focus on right now and I don’t wanna be getting ahead of myself. I keep on having to remind myself that the hard work is yet to come, this is hopefully only the beginning. Winning the BBC Sound of 2013 is the kickstart I’ve needed, but I wont get the success I’ve dreamed of it I don’t start working really rather fucking hard from this point onwards. Then maybe I’ll get out what I’ve put in, that’s what my mum always told me.

What are your plans for Christmas then? Time off to spend with the family/boyfriend?

Yep I’ve got a whole week off. I’m going back home to spend Christmas with my mum and brothers which will be so nice because I’ve really missed spending quality time with my family since working hard on the album. I already know it will be even tougher next year to regularly spend quality time with them because of all the promotion and touring, so I’ll be making the most of this Christmas and New Year. And haha I’m assuming that in other words your asking if there’s currently a special someone in my life? Because nope I’m a singleton and have been for a while now, music has been my focus for the past year or so and I haven’t felt ready to deal with a serious relationships at the same time. But who knows what 2013 might bring! ✦

Double page spread - version one (without text)

Double page spread - colour choice

I have begun my double page spread by choosing a main image (which is in black & white) and creating a template for the article title. I now need to choose a colour combination for this title which will become the colour scheme for the rest of the page, affecting subheadings and general text. This colour scheme does not need to follow on from my cover or contents page, as I found not many magazines do this, but it still needs to represent my genre well and appeal to my target audience. Due to the fact that my chosen main image is black & white, I want to use a bright, vibrant colour to compliment this. Looking back at my original questionnaire asking my target audience their preferred colour scheme, 'grey, black, white and one bright colour' actually came out on top, so I can be assured this will appeal to my readers. I have also seen similar colour schemes appear in other current dance music magazines so I believe it suits my genre.

The images below show the three colours I chose to experiment with, and the different combinations I tried. I dismissed the pink quite quickly due to the fact I decided it was less multi-gender friendly and definitely has too many feminine connotations. I like the blue, but when comparing it to the yellow options I can see it is much less bold and contrasting. Looking at the two yellow options it is obvious to me which one looks the most successful - the bottom right. This is because the use of the yellow on the word 'meet' stands out much more than the white version, and black text on the yellow and white boxes is much more readable compared to yellow text on a white box. I will therefore be choosing this colour combination, as it is the most eye-catching and I feel it will help my double page spread reach its full potential.

Contents page - final feedback

After following suggestions from the feedback of version one of my contents and continuing with its creation, I am now happy with the result. However, I needed to make sure I received final feedback from members of my target audience before evaluating it in great detail and producing a finished product. I asked the same people to comment with their opinion on my changes and progress, as well as anything they thought I should do to further improve. 

I got very positive feedback on the following:

• the colour scheme - 'very much like the matt colours '
• the layout/template - 'I like that you've kept the clear layout'
• the images - 'genre appropriate and will appeal to your target audience'
• my font choices - 'the font for the numbers and text work very well'

They seemed to agree that I had made quite a few improvements from my previous version, including finishing the text, adding more articles and filling in one of the image gaps. However it was mentioned that I should try experimenting with some more colour on the list of articles, for example, by making the white page numbers a different colour as they're the same as the adjacent text and it looks quite repetitive. 

I am now going to move onto the development of my double page spread, but will be continuing to make small changes to my contents (for example, changing some of the text colour) following this feedback and my own evaluation so I can create a final version at the end of this whole process.

Contents page - version two

Contents page - screen grabs

Finished list of articles with sub-categories

Page title with issue date

Image anchored with page number, plus added extra info

Bottom of page featuring page number, magazine title, website info and date

Contents page - feedback and changes

After asking four people to comment on version one of my contents page with their opinions on how I can improve it and what they like best, I now have a clearer idea of its current successes  as well as its weaknesses and how I can improve on them.

It seems the people who commented on my magazine agreed that its main successes are:

• the colour scheme - 'follows on from your front cover perfectly'
• the layout - 'clear to find everything'
• the main image - 'main image is great and reflects your genre well'

The following suggestions were made in order to improve my front cover further:

• complete text 
• add more articles
• fill image gaps 
• potentially add subscription info or editor's note

I agree with these suggestions and knew already that I needed to complete the text with engaging article titles and info, as well as fill the image gaps with photos as successful as my main image. Seeing as I am aiming for a 70-100 page magazine I also know that many more articles will need to be added, meaning that not only will I have to decrease the font size, but I may be extremely tight for space if I were to add subscription info or an editor's note. Due to this and the fact that I am aiming to keep a clean, uncluttered layout, I have decided not to add either. I can justify this decision with the fact that only two of the magazine contents pages I studied had an editor's note/subscription info.

I am now going to continue with my contents page, making the above changes and continuing with the text. I will then upload a version two and ask my commenters for their opinions on my progress and if there is anything further they think I could improve on.

Contents page - version one