who listens to jazz- target audience research

final adjustments and exportation

It's the deadline day for the magazines. Therefore I spent a few hours adding finishing touches to my magazine/proof reading.

FRONT COVER-

I changed the text on the cover, as response from final feedback included the text wasn't flowing with the magazine the best. Additionally, I double checked the codes and conventions and they didn't include a page number for the articles, therefore I removed the numbers. This improved the overall look of the magazine, making it seem more professional and sophisticated. The text is arranged in size order, following the conventions, this also carries on into the contents page, to maintain consistency. The Badu article is set to be the most important, as she's the featured artist. Therefore, the text for her name is almost as large as the masthead. This demonstrates how important the artists are in the jazz community, but also instantly tells the reader that the main resources and focus has been used on that specific article. Moreover, I added the banner, as it pulled an element of tradition from the Ella Fitzgerald magazine, as the front cover also features a banner. I felt instead of a sticker, used on the majority of magazins, a banner was more appropriate for a jazz magazine, symoblic for its uniqueness in the music industry; whilst using fitting codes and conventions. 

CONTENTS- 

 I Added orange to the numbers, which added an extra modern twist, and a sense of independence / brand consistency to my magazine. I added a twitter handle and website to the page and DPS, in order to directly address the modern / younger audience. This makes my magazine and brand more assessable to this market, adding more of a balance to the traditional and modern elements.

DPS-

I added an album to the bottom right hand corner. This was due to needing a 4th photo, however I opted for an album because it really made my DPS come together, and added an extra enphasis on the importance of the artists music. It also shows the artists dedication and passion to the genre to release an album. 

Time management-

Weekly, I planned how many hours I would work on both the blog and editing of the magazine. I aimed to split these equally, by not letting either fall too far behind. 

 I dedicated 2 hours each night to blogging and online research whilst using the school hours to editing the magazine. I acknowledged my magazine would need a lot of research, and trial and errors, so I factored this in. Out of the five hours a week of media lessons, Id use 2 hours efficiently on photoshop and indesign and the other 3 were used to take photos, download fonts etc. Specifically, as shown in my magazines the photos needed a lot of editing in order to fit the codes and conventions how I wanted. Such as creating my own brush. 

Weekly I would write a to do list, and have to complete it by the end of the week. This allowed me to keep up to date on the overloading tasks I set my self. 

Ultimately, it gave me a vey efficient and effective way to manage so many different tasks simultaneously. This was particularly difficult due to the fast deadline, however the lists created some stability. 

example of weekly table

spell check. DPS article

My article particularly addresses all the points and my target audience wanted, whilst I've added modern / tradition knowledge to suit my codes and conventions. For instance, I kept  Badu's aims as a reflection of my magazines aims. Like combining the 'modern nu jazz, with the traditional boogie woogie piano'. The article uses very knowledgeable and experienced language, which suits my target market. As sophistication and passion Is closely linked to jazz, I wanted to express it through the language in order to provide the readers with quality content. It mentions legendary artists in jazz, which bring a sense of reminiscence and community as everyone in jazz will have influenced off them somehow/know their music. I used a written article, without a Q and A unlike most younger aimed magazines. This reflects what my target audience want, to really be involved with the music and the process. Rather than reading about circulating 'news', learning is the key point I wanted to get through. The readers will LEARN about how to modernise jazz, without destroying the foundations. This is what my target audience requested, and it has been suggested to me that jazz readers are serious and dedicated to the music itself. Therefore, I wanted to rule out any comic or mockery style jokes etc. I felt this would undermine the history of jazz, or my magazine in general, fundamentally making it very unpopular. I used sophisticated punctuation, and ruled out any by the book tactics to grab the readers attention- such as exclamation marks, ellipsis etc. The buyer and creator of jazz magazines work on parr, as if they are serving each other. Therefore, jazz magazines are assured to deliver, hence why traditional magazines like Jazztimes are still producing with popularity. 

ALBUM - on dps

This is the final look of my DPS. As I had only included 3 photos, I needed a 4th. I felt an album would add a nice final tough and re emphasise the importance and effort the music. I placed It near the bottom, in order to show it isn't the most important item on the page, the article is. The article symbolising her background, vision, creativity etc, showing there is more to the artist than their music. However, its placed in a visible section to highlight the music a jazz artist creates is massively important to them and the community. Fundamentally, it is where it is because the target audience reader will read the article majorly for the content of the article. 

album

Album research

I used a few jazz albums in order to demonstrate the common traits, so I can follow these codes and conventions. Firstly I noticed every album included the artists name in a different colour font to the album. This makes them separately stand out, whilst also being aesthetically pleasing and following a colour scheme. All the albums include very brightly coloured / bold text, such as green and orange or a contrasting white- which gives an equal effect. 
The images I found didn't follow a common pattern, each was angled / captured very differently to each other. This shows that each jazz artist is unique, wanting to express this to their listeners. It also emphasises their creativity and artistic ability. It really demonstrates how diverse jazz is, particularly as it has so many sub genres, instruments, movements etc.
These all feature a plain background with an image overlapping, such as black or white. This really brings attention to the image themselves (most likely an instrument or artist, as shown above) highlighting their massive importance in the genre. 
The text is mainly bold and simple text, such as Grant Green's and Duke Ellington's. This follows the sense of simplicity and smoothness in jazz, whilst also conveying the strongest messages on the screen. Although, not all are bold they are all the largest texts on the page. Generally, this is aimed to attract the most attention or the first, reinforcing the artists importance over the company, price etc. This is why most have very little text on, as this diverts the attention from what the genre really aspires to portray. Simplicity, modesty, sophistication and passion. 

Ultimately, from my research I found the albums are heavily up to the own artist and how they want to present themselves. All images are fairly different, ranging from jazz art to images themselves. The texts, even on the few most popular shown above, all vary. There is no 'classic' model of what a jazz magazine looks like. Arguably, what ties them together is the image itself. Usually being a distinguishable jazz instrument or artist. Particularly, the genre will be recognised by the artists pose/angle/clothing etc. For instance all 3 artists shown above wear suits conveying the sophistication of jazz, this shows a common link making the albums genre more distinguishable. 

to do list

dps-

MORE TEXT, COLUMNS MORE, TEXT SMALLER - done
proof read- done

contents-

make numbers orange - done
add some items at the bottom, e,g logo or website - done

PROOF READ - done

All 3 together - before final adjustments

 By showing all 3 pages together it will allow me to present the main similarities and differences. Ultimately, the main attribute striking the reader is the orange colouring on the front cover. I decided colouring was a massive foundation in jazz, orange connotes visually what I want to express in my magazine. Passion, vibrancy ,modesty. Particularly, I chose a more rustic orange in comparison to a much bolder / brighter orange. I felt this made the colour not too much for the eye to get distracted by, or take away what the magazine is about, the appreciation of the genre. I wanted to lead this colouring through, subtly, to maintain consistency of the brand, along with consistency of my message. Therefore, I used small boxes, sculpted into lines throughout as a way to subtly carry the colour. I felt these lines added a sense of modernity, as its very minimalistic. However arent too modern o distracting to take the attention off the main sections. These lines could also be trade marked to the brand, for the reader to recognise that this magazine is instantly 'Floetry'. However, my inspiration for them was taken from the 'main inspirations' mastheads. They include a singular line below the title. I felt by expanding them across the page, and adding a few extra, it was symboliclly extending and reinventing the history of jazz magazines as a whole. 

front cover final- similarities / differences

Finally, I have improved my front cover drastically to follow my aims and codes and conventions more.  Firstly, the image itself is more of a closeup rather than a mid shot.I felt the first photo presented too much of the model rather than the equality of the instrument, I also felt the facial expression, and the eyes not directing the camera could be improved. Therefore, I modelled her by having the instrument to be aligned with her face, particularly so her face is at the central part of the instrument. This is physically showing how the artist is almost 'at one' with their instrument, the genre cant survive otherwise. The font has changed slightly, by using ''neau" as the secondary font I felt, as it was less bold, it ranked the importance of the text. This would be ok, however I wanted the ''Emilay Badu'' to be as equally important as the branding of the magazine. This is inferred that the artists and their talent make jazz, not the producers, mixers etc like other genres may rely on. I also felt the fonts weren't very coordinated, which made the magazine look less sophisticated and poor efforts went in. This is the exact opposite message I aimed to convey. The magazine is based upon knowledgable and communal efforts. Although I kept the background editing similar, to have the rugged looking edges, as if its been produced many years ago. I also used the same photographs for the background texture, as I enjoyed the look it created on the first magazine. However, noticably the colour has changed, still similarly in the vibrant and bold grouping. Also, the colours used, I had edited in photoshop to give a 'burnt out' look. Symbolising the ageing of jazz magazines. This theme stayed the same onto the 2nd magazine, as my aims weren't changing, it was the way in which I wanted to present them. I believe I have stayed true to my aims throughout, enhancing them along the way.

front cover final

contents page final

before

after

My completed contents page is shown on the right. I made a few adjustments, recommended by my peers, to finalise everything. Firstly, I downloaded the font bebas neu, in order to keep the consistency, as all the other mastheads are in this font. I felt it maintained the sense of the magazine throughout. Its slightly more modern than the text on the left, however it is similar to my 'main inspirations' fonts, which is following my main codes and conventions aim.  Additionally, I moved the text to be in line with the text next to it ( bottom right hand corner ). This made the page look more professionally done and more aesthetically pleasing. 

The language used was inspired from my target audience research. Many wanted a magazine that included experienced articles, along with critics, influences etc. I followed exactly this, and added some of my own knowledge and researched knowledge to it, such as the genre, 'how avant grade was formed'. Also, I wrote a description under the most important articles, which was demonstrated in all my contents analysis, so I felt this needed to be included in order to follow the codes and conventions. Additionally, the text is positioned in a way to visually demonstrate the importance and demand of each article, which again 3/4 of my analysis showed this. By doing so, I feel its easier to distinguish what topic you'd like to read on, and as most of my target audience buy a magazine for whats inside, rather than the outside, which features little insight to whats on the inside pages. It helps find what most jazz readers collectively wanted to see. As the front page lacks descriptions of whats inside, if a reader wanted to get the gist of the magazine they can simply look at the contents to see the main articles very easily. 

new contents page- structure

edited photos

Smoke is usually associated with poor choices, and certain class stereotypes. However, for the photos used I wanted to capture the element most don't see, the elegancy in how it moves, a physical representation of how jazz is heard at the ear. I felt smoke is dark, and possessive, like jazz can be, however it fits so many different interpretations, I felt it really brings the page alive. Particularly, breaking the certain stereotypes reflects the genre, and how many boundaries it broke in the music world. I wanted the smoke to represent the genre as a whole, dangerous, daring yet so sculpted and graceful. Although, in no way is this a promotion for smoking, it merely represents the roots of the jazz community, where everybody from the city would gather, drink, smoke and dance. Therefore, I tried to capture the photos as if they were in a darkened, noir jazz style club. I took the photos with smaller lights / objects in the background to make it seem as if it were a real jazz club. Moreover, I used the black and white editing on photoshop in order to demonstrate to the readers, that smoking is outdated and shouldn't be revived in the same light it once was. As my magazine is mainly targeting new, younger audiences, I wanted to be certain the image looked older. Also, I chose not to use a model for the photos. This was in order for readers to not be persuaded into the endorsement of cigarettes, the model may have swayed some if certain representations, for instance on rap magazines, connoting the 'cool, careless and laid-back' look.

photos- new contents

 
I decided to retake my photos for the contents page. These are of my 19 year old sister Jenna. I positioned these to all be close ups, and plan to use them as image dominating. All the contents I analysed feature an image dominating photo. My main inspiration is based upon analysis 2 of the contents pages, this features a similar motive of smoke . Therefore, by choosing to use a closeup, instead of a mid shot or longshot like the analysis's majorly show, I have challenged the codes and conventions by bringing a hint of uniqueness, whilst still staying in the realm of the conventions. I took these photos with the focus on the smoke and artist itself. To one, make the writing for the contents page easier to physically see, and two to keep the consistency throughout of the focus being on the art of jazz and the messages it presents.

new contents page- ideas

My previous contents page I felt didn't represent jazz how I wanted. Although the picture I enjoyed, connoting the elegance of jazz through the flowers binded to the saxophone. However, as it is an image dominating photo, it made the flow of the text very difficult to position. Additionally, I felt the photo was too modern for what I aimed for, I wanted the image to bring more traditional elements, mainly relating to the time period. Therefore, I researched jazz clubs, such as the cotton club, smoke, five spot and blue note. These clubs were massively popular in the 20s all the way to 70s/80s even. Like these clubs do, I aimed to connect the past with the present. During research, I found a correlation. Smoking was huge in the 20s- over 50% of Americans alread smoked during this time, which increased rapidly. It relates strongly to the era where mass production occurred and changed modern society forever. Arguably, i feel jazz changed music forever. 
It brings a sense of history, context and nostalgia to the eye. This is mainly aimed at the long term readers of jazz magazines, but as smoking is still popular today its still relatable to new readers. As we know the risks now, it brings a sense of youthfulness, liveliness and reminiscence of how society has changed so much. 

double page spread- final

The image used had to be edited in order to allow text to be fitted on the page, to fit my codes and conventions. Therefore, I used photoshop and created a background layer and restarted the background editing process. I re did the vignette effect and debris brush effect to ensure I had enough room for the collumns. The image is particularly covered by text in order to highlight how fundamental the instrument is in jazz, and to not take the attention away from it. Since its edited in black and white I felt I had to make a statement that cant be achieved by colour. 

colour scheme

Previously, I used a yellow colour scheme, mainly based on the 'modern colour' elements shown in my previous blog posts. I felt it brung both modern and contemporary together, as the Ella Fitzgerald very old magazine, and most of that seasons magazines feature very bold colours and a contrasting black and white photo. However, the yellow wasn't aesthetically pleasing when I asked my target audiences response:

Emily- ' the yellow is very eye-catching however makes it seem poster-like'
Aidan- ' it looks jazzy, but it may take the focus of the artist, as its so eye-catching'
Alfie- 'it doesn't fit right with the magazine, I enjoy the bold colouring, it looks modern but it doesn't fit right'

I listened to the responses, and decided to change the background on my front cover to orange; even on my questionnaire some of the target audience responded it was 'jazzy'. It has been used previously in jazz magazines, such as jazz times, previously in this blog. Orange connotes vibrance and modernity, however previously it was used in jazz as a colour which is very modest to the eye yet still had a creative impact. Which is everything jazz is about. 

fonts

The fonts used for my magazine mastheads is bebas neu.  I have used vey similar fonts throughout, to maintain consistency of brand, such as on my contents page. These fonts aren't too modern, and follow the codes and conventions of the magazines I analysed. They are fairly basic yet bold, in order to keep the focus on the article / images themselves. I didn't use modern fonts such as amethyst  as I felt they were too distracting and made the magazine somewhat commercialised. They stay true to the roots of jazz magazines. The bolder fonts sybolise the most important elements. This is why the header ' floetry ' and 'Emilay Badu' on the front cover are the same font bebas neu and similar in size. Demonstrating, jazz magazine buyers buy it usually on the basis of the artist / main article itself,. and in jazz the artists build the foundation of the music not branding or materialism. 

new front cover progress

original image

final edit

I felt my front cover lacked jazz connotations and didn't fully follow the codes and conventions the way i wanted. Such as the yellow background, making it look poster like, which i even received of teacher feedback. Therefore i decided to listen and respond to it. The image previously was the image to the right. Although it looked rustic and vintage as i aimed to, it didn't connote the passion for jazz i needed. Particularly I'm targeting the facial expression that my analysed magazines typically had, and this photo, i thought, didn't. Therefore, i used the photo above (original image). The image is positioned so the instrument is in line with her face. This physically demonstrates the equality and dedication to the instrument, shown in my analysis's of front covers, they will majorly