LO2 (P2): Proposal and Client Documentation
Purpose:
My magazine is called Urban Weekly. The purpose of my magazine is to promote and sell the style of thrifting and influence the audience to shop at these stores to reduce waste of clothing. I will do this through including images of popular and trending styles on my models to influence and promote the look of thrifting, specifically in the urban-street style. By including models in this style, it will help readers see the potential in thrifting and how it can contribute to personal identity (Denis McQuail 1972) and reduce the misconception that it is cheap worn clothes. His theory suggests that media has uses and gratifications as to why the audience accesses it. For my product, the theme of thrifting will help shape personal identity.
I want my magazine to increase the sales in thrift shops in Sheffield and the local area. This is because of the increase of clothing waste in recent years, so I want to promote the re-selling of clothing. This will also help keep the clothing from different eras current and still in fashion. Thrift shops, specifically in Sheffield, are owned by small businesses, so the purpose of my magazine is also to sell. This is because people tend to buy from cheap fast-fashion marketplaces, rather than thrift shops that are also cheap but sustainable.
Form and Genre:
The form of the magazine is local to promote thrift stores in Sheffield. The magazine will be targeted at Sheffield residents as there are multiple thrift shops in Sheffield that are easily accessible. Promoting this will increase the use of thrifting in the local area which is more effective than trying to target a nation.
The magazines genre is fashion, and it will include images of different styles being worn by models, and where the styles can be found around Sheffield. This is to increase the number of people shopping at local thrift stores.
Content:
My magazine will consist of three pages: front cover, contents page, and double page spread.
Front Cover
My front cover will have a sans serif font style to appeal to a younger and more modern audience. I conducted market research and found that it is a common trope of fashion magazines to have bold sans serif fonts, specifically in street-style and more urban fashion magazines, rather than high-fashion magazines such as Vogue. I chose to have this font as it is contemporary, and this will help to appeal to my age demographic of 16–25-year-olds. The house style will be grey and orange, as this is modern and stands out to the audience. It is also vibrant to link to the urban theme. The contrast between the orange and grey will attract people to the magazine as it allows the masthead to stand out. The masthead will be “Urban Weekly” and to fit the niche and alternate audience, I will add an arch to the text, and change the sizing between letters. This is to make the masthead appear quirkier and fun, and therefore appeal to my target audience of 16-25 year olds. This fits with the theme of urban street-fashion as it is bold but unique. The cover lines will appeal to all gender demographics and will consist of short statements written in bold text. The writing will be in white with a black paint-like stroke for the banner. This links to the theme as it is aimed at a young and niche audience that are interested in thrifting. Thrifting and fashion can be seen as a creative way of self-expression, so the paint strokes link to the idea of creativity and experimentation. The cover lines will feature quotes such as “all-year-round styles”, “timeless pieces” and “keep the style alive”. This is because they all have a direct link with thrifting without it being too obvious to an audience what the intention of the magazine is. The cover lines all connote the idea of recycling clothing and reducing fast fashion. My main cover image is going to be one model in a Sheffield location. My model is going to be a male as most fashion magazines are aimed towards women so having a male as the cover will attract men as well as women, which fits my demographic of all genders. This will attract women too as he will appeal to the female gaze, as well as act as a figure for the male audience’s ideal self. My model will be dressed in streetwear such as a jacket, joggers, and trainers. These pieces of clothing will be vibrant and have a blue/beige colour scheme to contract with the orange and grey. Orange and blue are complimentary colours so it will add to the modern vibrancy of the magazine. This will help readers form a personal identity and ideal self. The range of genders in this style of clothing will resonate with the audience as they are of a similar age demographic and will see the models wearing the clothes and looking stylish. I am not including an ideal partner in my magazine as the intention of the models are to display clothing and influence thrifting, rather than the models themselves. I am going to take my photograph in front of a popular graffiti wall in Sheffield, as it links with my urban theme, and it will also contrast to the grey border. The wall features orange colours so it will complement the masthead. I will take my photo from a low angle so that my model appears in control and confident, to contribute to the ideal self theory (Carl Rodgers 1980) that I want the male side of the demographic aged 16-25 to resonate with. He will be photographed from a wide angle to get his entire body in frame so that the audience can see his full outfit, and the wall behind him that that links to my urban street theme. This is the main cover image. My main coverline will be linking to my interview on the DPS, so will be “Timeless Vibe” or something similar.
Contents Page
My contents page will feature pages for articles on the most popular thrift shops in Sheffield, and interviews with thrift shop activists to help promote the use of thrifting. The person I will interview is Orlando Wilson who runs a personal account and an account dedicated to street-fashion. He shops at thrift stores in Sheffield so I will interview him for my double page spread. I will have links to pages dedicated to showing popular street styles consisting of images, with links to the models’ social media. I will include styles that are in fashion and trendy now, as it will reach a wider target audience as it is similar to the popular contemporary fashion. There will be two images on the contents page, one with two models at a Sheffield location from a wide angle, and the other a close-up of clothing. The first image will be in the top right corner and will be a close up of my female model’s outfit, which will follow the same style as urban street fashion and will also be thrifted. The close up of the clothing will allow the audience to connect more and see the pieces in more detail, rather than the model. I will give links to where the clothing is from so that the female audience of 16-25 can get inspiration from her outfit and shop at those places. The second image will be at the bottom left corner and will feature two male models from a medium shot, to focus on the style from the legs upwards. They will be doing the same poses to help the audience focus on the differences between their styles so they can find the one they resonate with most. There will also be links to thrift shops that the pieces are from.
Double-Page Spread 1
My double-page spread will have a collage-style composition, with a range of images and text from different locations. The headline for the double-page spread will be “Discover” as it relates to the idea of exploring different stores in Sheffield and the local area. It also links to thrifting as it connotes discovering styles form different eras. The reason the DPS title is different to the masthead is because I want the DPS to have a collage-style appearance where the audience can explore different stores and styles as their leisure. It is a page where the audience has control over what they want to view. The headline will be in red to fit the house style of warm tones combined with vibrance. The masthead name will be underneath the title to remind the audience which magazine they are viewing. The yellow and red contrasts with the grey to connote confidence and expression that the magazine aims to influence within the reader. I will have photographs from inside and outside different thrift stores, along with the location of where the store is. The thrift stores I plan to include are: Thrifty Store, Cow, Mooch, A New Shop, Vulgar, Freshmans, and Brag Vintage. I will take photographs of both the inside and outside to provide awareness of the location and the types of clothing that they sell. The captions will be the same as the cover lines on the contents page, and they will be paint-like strokes. They will be orange rather than black to match the masthead and bring attention to the location of the stores. I will also include model photographs wearing different styles to promote the street fashion. They will be shown from a range of angles and shots, but the most common will be a close-up from a low angle. This is because it makes the models appear dominant and powerful, especially when photographing the female model to break the stereotype of women being submissive in media (Laura Mulvey). The close-up will focus the reader’s attention on the clothing and styles featured, and less on the model specifically in order to keep it genre specific. These will be dotted around the DPS to add to the aesthetic of the page and continue to influence readers to shop there. I will caption the models Instagram and social media platforms so that people can follow them and keep up to date with their fashion. This will incorporate synergy as my magazine will be linked to social media and webpages. The colour scheme will be consistent with the house style, grey and white, and the captions will be orange to link to the masthead. The grey will help the vibrancy of the pictures to stand out. The article on this page will be a small section that will be dedicated to showcasing other thrift stores from around the country, which will change every week. It will provide details in location and overall atmosphere in the store. For this magazine, I am planning to include a small article on The Vintage Store in York, including images from the location and what it sells.
Double-Page Spread 2
My second DPS will be an interview with Orlando Wilson who is a fashion influencer on Instagram. He runs a personal account and a fashion account where he posts other people’s street-fashion. He has over 6K followers on this account, and he also shops at thrift stores. He has a passion for fashion, specifically urban fashion so I will interview him and ask his opinions on topics such as fast fashion and the best thrift shops in Sheffield. I want to get his personal opinion on different styles as they will help influence my audience to shop at similar places. The title of this DPS will link to my interview and the influencer and I may also use a title that is a pun based on the DPS I have researched. The title will follow the same format as the first DPS with a red colour scheme and a sans serif font. I will include an image of the influencer next to the interview text, with a caption linking to his social media so that people can follow him and keep up to date. He will be photographed from a wide angle against an urban background such as a graffiti wall or city skyline to link to my street theme. My pull quote will be “Timeless vibes” as it is also the link to his social media and Instagram profile, and it also links with my theme of thrifting and fashion. The interview questions I will ask him are things such as “Who is your biggest style influence?”, “What is your favourite thrift shop in Sheffield?”, “Do you think thrifting is the next step to reducing fast fashion?”. These questions will spark a detailed response that the audience can read and form their own opinion on. This mode of address will be a combination of teacher to student and peer to peer. It will be teacher to student as I am trying to convey a message and teach my audience about the benefits of thrifting rather than using fast fashion. I aim to educate the readers through this interview, however my use of more casual and informal language, and the conversation-like questions may connote a peer-to-peer mode of address as my target audience is young, 16-25, and of a lower social grade, C2DE, meaning the more casual atmosphere is what I am intending to create.
Target Audience:
My target audience will be niche as it is aimed at a young audience, specifically students, of a lower social grade, that are interested in thrifting and urban fashion specifically. The age demographic is young people aged 16-25 as the styles featured are modern and following the current trends of now. The gender demographic is not specific as I will feature both male and female models in my magazine, and the thrift stores I will include in my articles and double-page spread will not be gender specific. The social grade I am targeting is C2DE as thrifting is a cheap way to get stylish clothing and it promotes the reusing of clothing to reduce waste. This promotes the disuse of fast-fashion brands.
Imaginary Entity:
Katie is a 19-year-old teenager who shops at vintage shops. She listens to artists such as Taylor Swift and Maisie Peters, and she lives in Sheffield. Katie is currently in her first year at the University of Sheffield, so she has accommodation in the local area. Her hobbies are shopping at thrift stores with her friends and going out to eat at independent restaurants. She loves to go to the cinema and is a huge Marvel fan.
Josh is a 20-year-old young adult who lives in Sheffield. He goes to university in the city, so he shops at thrift stores to save money. He is also an activist for clothing wastage due to fast fashion. He is up to date with social media and loves to post about his favourite thrift stores. His favourite artists are Harry Styles, The Wanted, and Arctic Monkeys.
Reader Profile:
Resources and Personnel:
I am working independently meaning that I will be responsible for the editing, photography, and graphic design for my magazine. I will take the photographs of my models, then edit them to link them to my theme, and then make them fit into the magazine that I have created.
The hardware I will need is a computer, canon DSLR camera, tripod, and SD cards. I will need this in order to shoot my photos for my pages, and the computer will be used to edit them to enhance the urban genre I want to display.
The software I will need is Adobe such as Photoshop and Illustrator. I will need PowerPoint and Word for pre-production and planning. I will need Adobe to edit my photos before putting them in my magazine.
I will need three models in total. I have been given consent to use these people in my magazine. There are two males and one female to allow a range of styles across genders, which widens my target audience. I will use one model on the front cover, and he will fill the whole screen. This is because it will draw attention to the magazine. On the contents page, I will use two images, one with a close up of clothing and one with two models posing. This is because the contents page needs to show different styles to represent variety in the magazine. For the double-page spread, I will use all three models wearing urban clothing from thrift stores to show different pieces being styled to make the target audience more likely to buy.
Distribution and Marketing Methods:
My magazine will use synergy to promote the brand through marketing and distribution.
When marketing I will use below the line advertising as it is a local magazine based in Sheffield locations. One way I will do this is through social media. I will have my own social media page where I will promote the magazine and brand. I will do this through Instagram as my target audience is in the age demographic of 16–25-year-olds, and this is the most popular platform amongst this age group. My primary audience would use Instagram commonly and it could also be used to promote synergy. Using social media, especially Instagram, will also allow me to add locations and hashtags to ensure that the algorithm reaches the target audience from the local area of Sheffield. I will also aim to get my magazine posted on other businesses social media sites, such as Instagram to increase the reach to my target audience. Some businesses I will consider are Cow Vintage and Thrifty Store. I will consider these as they link to my genre of fashion, specifically urban thrift fashion. I will also feature these shops in my magazine meaning they will get promotion through featuring the magazine on their own site. This is synergy as it connects my magazine and other businesses. I chose thrift businesses as they will also have the same demographic who visit the stores, as they will be from Sheffield, young, have the same sense of style, and will have an interest in thrifting and fashion. This would increase the number of people who read my magazine. I will also cross-promote on local radio stations such as Sheffield Live. Sheffield Live is a community station which is non-profit, so they may advertise my magazine for cheaper than higher, more well-known stations such as Hallam FM. This will be effective as it would increase the reach of my target audience as people from Sheffield will hear about my magazine through the radio station. Another below the line method that I will use is putting up posters in the local area and in cultural hubs where my target audience would likely be. An example is at universities such as Sheffield Hallam University, as my target audience is people aged 16-25 and people who are students with less disposable income. Putting posters up for my magazine in universities will ensure that I am effectively targeting my audience and imaginary entity (Ang 1991). People of this audience would also have the most interest in contemporary fashion and thrifting so they would be more likely to read my magazine if they see an advertisement for it in their cultural hub.
When distributing my magazine, I will aim to sell my magazine in shops similar to my genre. I am going to distribute my magazine in thrift stores such as Cow Vintage and Thrifty Store where I plan to advertise my magazine. This is so that people shopping in those places will see the magazine and it will take their interest. The people visiting these shops will already fit my target audience of fashion enthusiasts. If I begin distributing in these places it will increase the reach of my magazine through social interaction and readership, and then I can distribute in other places. One place could be in coffee shops, such as Starbucks and Marmadukes as they also have a similar demographic. Students in Sheffield also tend to visit local coffee shops so it will increase the number of students seeing my magazine, so it will mean that more people read it. I may also distribute online copies of my magazine in order to target my younger audience. The use of social media will ensure that I reach my intended audience, and it will also allow for it to be distributed more effectively through algorithms and may end up with a wider reach than having just print copies. I could also feature sections of my magazine as posts so that people can read more in depth. I will use Instagram for this as it is the most popular site for 16–25-year-olds, and the i9 layout could also give me an opportunity to be creative with the posts of each section of my magazine. I will use synergy by using social media to promote and distribute my magazine, as well as radio stations such as Sheffield Live. By using a range of cross promotional media, it will increase the reach to my target audience and overall increase the readership and circulation of my magazine.
Specifications
Note: Specifications are in Width x Length
Full Page 170mm x 230mm £400
DPS 340mm x 460mm £800
Half Page Vertical 85mm x 230mm £250
Half Page Horizontal 170mm x 115mm £250
Trim and Bleed
Safe Area 165mm x 225mm
Trim 170mm x 230mm
Bleed 173mm x 233mm
I want to make my magazine smaller than other magazines in the industry such as Vogue and Grazia as it is aimed at a younger target audience. My magazine is aimed at students aged 16-25, meaning that they will be on the go in their daily lives. By making my magazine smaller, it will make it more portable and therefore more popular and convenient for this age demographic. Because of its smaller size, this also adds to the urban alternative genre of my magazine, and will appeal to my imaginary entity and reader profile more effectively. Having a smaller magazine will also make the production less expensive which is more suited to my company as it is smaller and niche so I will have a smaller budget to produce the magazine.
Circulation 5-7K distributed each month
Readership 10K
The circulation will be 10K each month as they can be sold in multiple areas around Sheffield. My magazine will also be available in universities around Sheffield to target my audience of students aged 16-25. By them being sold in hubs for young people such as coffee shops and other existing thrift shops, they will be passed around Sheffield and this will increase the readership. Because of the nature of this magazine and also the type of people reading, it will be shared between peers and left around universities for others to pick up.
My magazine will feature adverts from similar genres and interests of my readers. Examples are coffee shops and bars that would appeal to this age demographic. An example is at Mow’s Café, or the Steam Yard Café. It will advertise things to do around Sheffield, as well as places directly linked to my genre of street fashion and thrifting.
LO2 (P3): Pitch
Prompt Cards
LO2 (M2): Client Questions
Draft 1: In the first draft of my pitch, each slide was very verbal, rather than visual. I had 5 slides, which included a title slide, a page on the product, and three specific page slides that had details on each page and what each page would contain. The only images I had in my presentation were for the last three pages, which had an image of the final page version. I designed the slides to look scrapbook-like, as I felt that this links closely with the style of my magazine, so on text-heavy pages, there is still a visual element that helps connote the magazine theme. However, I felt that less images would lead to the client being left unsure of the magazine look and style, which may lead them to ask further questions on the actual appearance.
Draft 2: In the second draft, I began adding more images to my pages, as I felt that they should be more visual and less text-based, in order to maintain the clients attention, as too much text may lead them to read the slides instead of me explaining the product. This would make the presentation unmemorable. I added various images to the title slide, to give a clear introduction to the overall style and appearance of my magazine. After viewing my presentation again, I decided that it was lacking explanation on more intricate details such as costs and personnel. I also wanted to make it clear how I was targeting a certain demographic, whilst focusing less on visuals as it has been covered significantly through my magazine and the images.
Draft 3: In the third draft, I added two extra slides, which consisted of a page on target audience, and a page on budget and production. I included these slides as I felt that the client may need information on the cost and more financial aspects, as well as the theme and style, as this is something that needs to be considered for a product. I decided on the cost per issue, as well as how often an issue is released. I also included the personnel and if they will need to be paid for work. Because I am the editor, I am reducing costs for the magazine production, and limiting it to the print costs. I then included a page on target audience. For this page I included both text based and visual content. The text based content explains the imaginary entity to help the client understand who I am targeting and how, through my magazines house style and theme. I also then included visual mind maps and mood boards that give a clearer idea of what the demographic looks like.
Draft 4: After finishing my presentation, I decided to add prompt cards that would give me pointers to mention to the client. I felt that reading from the slideshow would not be an effective way to show my thought process and interest in the project, and may come across flat and dull. Because of this I created cards that I will use as sentence openers and important information, and will also keep me on track. The prompt cards will have details such as the history of fast fashion and the impact, as well as more information on the demographic and how I will reflect this in my magazine. This also reduces the amount of text on the actual presentation, so the client can focus on the visuals rather than reading from the screen.
