Evaluation:

The technologies I used in the creation of my magazine were limited and therefore limited what I could control in the creation of my magazine. As a result the finished product isn’t to the highest possible standard, I feel if I had unlimited access to high end software such as Photoshop and was competent in using the software finish and overall quality of the magazine would be much higher in standard. I belive this software would have helped me to acheive a much higher standard mainly through the editing of photos and also through creating custom backgrounds. However despite this I believe that with the technology I had access to such as publisher I achieved the maximum capacity and therefore achieved a good end product. In particular focus I believe that my photos wouldn’t have been grainy and would have smoother boundaries when edited.

I was constantly thinking about my target audience when creating the magazine and this is shown in my end product. I found that my target audience of high end Hip Hop fans were fans more of context in formal English rather than through Street slang what is featured in many hip hop mags. The grey and simple tones I have used was a result of target audience, it appealed widely to my high end audience and was a symbol of simplistic class. The use of these tones also worked in not excluding any group of my wide target audience. The research into artist and common interest in my target audience also helped me because it gave me a frame in which I could create the theme of my magazine. This was particularly significant when I was creating my article as it gave me a ready made feel and plot. These features will attract my high end hip hop loving audience and create a “GQ” of Hip Hop.

I think that my magazines widely followed genre and also the higher end feel would appeal to a number of publishers. I would be particularly interested in publishing and distributing through the Conde Nast Company. The Conde Nast Company is responsible for the publishing and distributing of the world wide phenomenon GQ magazine. I also think that the influential central New York City base in the heart of Manhattan will easily be capable of distributing to my main target audiences in New York and London. I think this would suit my magazine more than distrinuting from an independent publishing house because i beleive there would be a high demmand due to the main stream popularity. My music magazine would be best place and distributed to large retailers such as super markets and WHSmith and also independent hip hop music shops. I beleive this would be extremely sucessful in reaching my target audience. 

The magazine that i created has a very strong house style mainly created by a house font that runss throughout the magazine. the house font has allowed me to acheive a magazine that is formal and respected however at the same time having the hard hitting look reflective of the hip hop genre. i have chosen to run the font in black throughout the magazine except for the front cover where black font wasnt possible due to the dark backgroung of the cover shot. the black font allows the text to be easy to read for the audience and also portrays good practice when used in used as the colour to a serious article. this is common throughout magazines and newspapers alike. 


my magazine front cover in my opinion is very successful; even though there are a large ammount of puffs as explored in my researched the page is well structured. the front cover has a very strong Z composition cretaed through the title achoring text and the bottom banner. Another traditional convention that i have stuck with on my front page is the possitioning of the top of the models head over the main title. this draws the eye to the magazine and creates a visual bridge to the cover and the main article, this creates more interest on the magazines contents from the veiwer. on my front cover i have deliberately chosen to use a larg ammount of puffs as an explicit link to the hip hop genre. i found thorughout my research of different magazines an "organised chaos" of puffs, examples of such include King Magazine and The Source. 

My magazine is representative of not only the undergorund rebellious roots of hip hop but also the main streem. the way that artist and fans of the hip hop genre have been representative through other forms of media such as television and newspaper explicitly links them to 'Gang' and 'Youth Crime'. My magazine attempts to change the commonly wrong perception that the hip hop music genre is violent and un pc. I have tried to change this through discussing the roots of hip hop and how the artist try too earn respect and strive for success. I have also tried to combat this trough positive imagery such as the suited and well groomed artist depicted on the front cover and article. I have steered away from depicting violence or discrimination in the hope that the public will change the perception on hip hop and the relatively young audience that follows the genre.

The magazine and the articles inside it appeal to the lifestyle of the user therefore making it more than a music magazine and reflecting the whole of the hip hop lifestyle. This is particularly significant in the technology section which asses and test different types of technologies such as mixing software and other things that relate to the genre. The magazine appeals to all backgrounds and races and doesn’t exclude anyone this is key due to the diversity that exists in the genre itself. This has been achieved through the use of subtle tones and colours and the use of casual yet formal language throughout the Articles and also on the front cover. 

The colours, fonts images and language that have been used in my magazine have me extremely well thought out. The colours of the Grey scale used throughout my magazine not only are favoured by my targget audience but also link to the street roots of the genre. The minimul use of primary colours such as yellow and red draw attention to a particular part of the page and build importance around that item. The colour of the red in my article is a direct link to the models red tie and therefore creates a visual bridge linking the picture to the text. The red and the yellow are also very significant in the hip hop genre because they both are symbolic of an object or emotion, 'seeing red' a clear showing of angur that links to my artcles story and the yellow of American Police incident tape that draws attention to something important. These subtle choices will be heavily appreciated by my target audience.  


I have also used Mise en scene from the genre in my photos an example of this is the use of rapper Dr Dre's Beats headphones. these headphones are used widely in the hip hop genre and therefore gives the target audience something to relate to and also understand. I have also used the commonly ascociated hooded top in one of my images as another link to my target audience. The use of suits and well groomed artist links to my higher end target audience of those aged 22-34 who look for the higher level of class and decorum. The use of font has also been veryinfluential in appealing to my target audience, this has mainly been acheived through the use of graffiti art style text on my contents page. This style links to the genre well and adds character to the page, the colours of the text are complimented well by the grey scale of the page.

In comparison to my preliminary task I have seen significant development in the article and Front cover however I believe there has only been a miniscule development in my contents page. This was due to the high standard of the original. I have chosen to stick with the software and programme I used when creating the preliminary magazine mostly due to my inexperience in using the other alternatives. The photos used in the final magazine are of a much higher standard than that of the preliminary task and are much more relative to the article and also the theme of the magazine in general. The colours used in the final magazine are mostly grey tones on the grey scale, this is for two reasons one because it makes the rest of the colours in the images stand out of the page and also because it adds class. However I have also use bold primary colours along with the grey in the titles and in the border art this allows a visual link to the images and ties them to the text. This has worked much more successfully in the final magazine task than the preliminary.     

in the final contents page i have descided to change the page numbers to the begining of the article name to make the page easier to read and interpret the imformation. i have chosen to keep the different backgroung tones because it hels the readers eye distinguish between the columns. i have changed the titles font to a much more relevant font to the genre of the magazine. the cleaness of the pagfe not only makes the page easier to navigate and read but also links to the preferences of the reader as i discovered in my surveys

the final version of my double page spread has been improve in the most part through cleaver use of artwork and through general finishing. i have editied my pictures to acheive the maximum quality, although the detail still isnt to a high definition it is a dramatic improvement to the photos last used. i have also done some layout editing mainly through extending and thickening the pages header art work. through this i have created a much more influential link between the picture and the artical title.

i have descided in the final editing stages that my magazine double page spread and contents page needed a more explicit link back to the genre. although aiming my magazuine at a more higher end audience i think it is important to show the roots of hiphop and link them to the pages in my magazine. i have done this on my contents page final version and also my double page. i have done this through the use of a graffiti style text as shown above, not only does the use of this font link back to the roots of the genre but also adds another dimension to the article because it is relative.