Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Having looked at the feedback I got from my audience research, I took into account what my friends had said about what they would like to see in the content of the magazine. To ensure this I used a model that I felt could relate to all types of classes and looks interesting, the clothes I dressed her in were also a way I thought would make my target audience attracted to her. By having a strong yet relatable model on my front cover I feel that it's a way for the readers to associate what genre the magazine is and what it has to offer the public. Another way in which I feel I have attracted my audience through the model is the items of clothing she is wearing. By having her dress in dark, simple clothes I feel that most of the indie/alternative audience would be able to feel like the artist is 'one of them', I came to this conclusion after realising that most front cover models especially those classed in the indie genre dress quite simple unlike those out in the hip hop/r&b genre who over accessorise and use primary block colours in their clothing.

Another way I feel I have addressed my audience is through the cover lines which are present on my front cover. I have included some artists such as Santigold and Bombay Bicycle Club who are quite popular at the moment in the indie/alternative genre. By doing this it should make it much easier for the reader to recognise the artists and therefore the genre that my magazine is targeting. I have also used a classic convention of having a giveaway cover line on my front cover, this helps draw the reader in because everyone wants a free gift especially since we're in a recession and some may not be able to afford tickets to see a band that they love.

The font I used was very simple and easy to read. I used the Impact font for my cover lines and all other writing present in the magazine. By using a simple font it would clearly make it easier for the reader to read the magazine articles and also make them comfortable while reading instead of stressing while straining their eyes trying to read it. I also used the red stroke effect to make some of the fonts on my front cover stand out a bit and also used an inverted stroked cover line talking about the regular specials the magazine has to offer. I purposely used inverted colour format to attract my reader to other free giveaways the magazine has to offer.

For my contents page I kept the layout very simple, I used a white background and a similar colour scheme to that I used on the front cover to make it more interesting for my reader to read. I purposely didn't place my topic titles in a boarded shape because I wanted to make the contents page feel less barricaded and more open planed. I like the simplicity of my contents page and some magazine such as Q magazine also use a similar concept with their contents pages. I included a short editor's note which talks about what the team have been up to while the issue was in the process of being published and also to give a little hint to what the reader should expect in the magazine. Every magazine has an editor's note to inform the reader what the magazine holds and to give a personal touch to the final edit of the magazine.