Final Submission

For my final revisions, I made the title of my magazine a little less brighter red. Some of my peers and I both thought it was slightly too bright and hurt the eyes to look at. I then outlined it in white to make it easier to see the letters. I also revised the second page of my article. I spread the two pictures out more by moving the second one towards the top. Before, the pictures were closer together and I didn't use the space well. My teacher and I both thought that I should move them apart a little bit. I kept my table of contents the same, as well as my first page of the article.

Creative Critical Reflection

https://prezi.com/view/rFNmGvDrU2RSdonTxW9n/

CCR Question #4 Draft

I incorporated a lot of technology into creating my magazine. The main program I used to design my magazine was Microsoft Publisher. Publisher was very easy for me to use and navigate. It made making my magazine an easier process. When I first started working on my magazine, I made my cover page first. I played around with a lot of different fonts and colors to find what I thought looked best and what stood out most. For my table of contents, I had to re-arrange a lot of my articles to make everything symmetrical and have a good use of white space. There are many steps I took on Publisher to make my two page article look the way I wanted it to be. I also used the "justify" option for my text to make it symmetrical and in columns. The software wasn't too difficult to use, but it just took me a while to organize all my text and pictures to make it look a certain way. For practice, I used InDesign to learn the functions to help format my two page article, but I did not end up using this program to actually make the outcome of my magazine. I found it difficult to use and I could not remember all of the tools. The internet was very helpful to me for my research during this whole process. It was useful when I had to research my magazine genre, audience engagement, marketing, and distribution. For my photoshoot I used my phone. I have an iPhone XR, so the camera quality is pretty good and my pictures came out sharp. I tried to make sure I got good angles of all the pictures and framed them well for the photo. The last aspect of technology that I used for my project is Instagram. For my marketing plan, I made an Instagram for my magazine. I am familiar with creating an account on Instagram, so it was fairly easy for me and very quick. I then made a profile picture, a post regarding my magazine, and a caption.

CCR Question #3 Draft

During this process, my production skills have developed and improved. In the beginning, I had to create a schedule to get all of my pictures needed for my magazine, along with scheduling an interview with the interior designer that I know. Creating this schedule for many jobs to complete seemed overwhelming to me and I was not sure which days to set aside for specific aspects of my project, along with the other planning of the design of my magazine I had to make. I eventually picked days for everything and got everything done. For my photographs, I had to make sure they were all at the right angles so that I got everything I needed into the shots. My skills using Microsoft Publisher to edit my magazine have improved. I started out just picking out fonts and colors for my text, to having symmetry in my text and arranging many layouts. Now that we have advanced technology, I was able to make a simple way to advertise my magazine by creating an Instagram account. I learned how to specifically target a certain audience and market my product towards those people. I also started out with little knowledge about the distribution process. After researching many magazines' way of distributing their product, I got familiar with the process. I then made my own plan to make an app for smartphones and tablets. After researching some more on apps for specific magazines, I began to develop even more ideas for my own. I had then completed my whole idea for my app which included many different features. I believe that my editing skills have improved and my knowledge of the business side of magazines has evolved.

CCR Question #2 Draft

The magazines I researched for audience engagement were Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, and Southern Living. They had many strategies for audience engagement that I thought were effective. The Real Simple magazine created a "home idea" in New York. They took a regular townhouse and designed it into their own home. People can go online and take a virtual 360 degree tour of the house. This is engaging because it gives the readers inspiration for their own homes and they can even take the magazine's ideas and put it in their house. The Good Housekeeping magazine uses a Facebook site. This is engaging because people can follow their page and get updates on the magazine almost on a daily basis. They post videos of DIYS and cooking, and also post their own articles. Readers can watch these videos at home whenever they want and have access to many different kinds of videos. The Southern Living magazine partnered with the store "Dillard's" to make and sell their own products. This is engaging because if the readers see something they like in the magazine, sometimes they can buy it from the store. They can use these products to decorate their homes. My marketing plan to get my audience engaged is to have an Instagram account. Instagram is very user-friendly and easy to work with, so it will even work with older adults. It will have links to articles and many videos and pictures of food and decorating.

My magazine will be distributed as a real media text. The traditional method of distribution for my magazine is through print. Subscription letters will be sent in the mail to houses for people to fill out. Then the magazines will be sent to the people who subscribed monthly. For my digital distribution, I also researched Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, and Southern Living.

My digital distribution plan is to use an app. It will be available on any smartphones or tablets. Consumers can subscribe and get access to all issues, or they can pay for individual issues. There is also an option for "sneak peaks" of some articles in the magazines if people do not wish to pay for anything.

CCR Question #1 Draft

My magazine that I made uses many conventions of the magazines in my genre. The title of magazine is in a large, blocky font. The word stretches across the whole top of the page. This type of font is used by the "Real Simple" and "Good Housekeeping" magazines. The color of my title is bright red. Almost all of the magazines I researched had their title in a bright color such as yellow, orange, red, or white. I used the big, bold letters and a bright color for my magazine title to make it stand out. It is easier to see and read and it draws attention right away. My photographs were also very similar as the magazines I researched. For my two page article, I took pictures of the DIY decorations that were explained by the woman I interviewed. Some magazines that have pictures of all the DIY gifts, decorations, and crafts that are mentioned are "The Pioneer Woman" and "Real Simple." I used these type of pictures because it helps the readers understand the descriptions and instructions of the particular decor item. My magazine can be for people who have little to no knowledge about design crafts, so having those visual aids will help with their desired outcome. The layout of my table of contents has some of the same aspects as other magazines in my genre. There are four section headers with a few featured articles under each section. There are two columns and one of them has one picture. I used this layout for my table of contents because I wanted it to look very organized. I also was trying to make a good use of white space. Some magazines I researched have this same format such as "Southern Living" and "Good Housekeeping."

The social groups represented in magazine are mainly women, homeowners, the middle class, and people with hobbies such as decorating, cooking, or baking. My magazine has different ways in which these groups are represented. My main article is about making simple decorations with items you own in the house. One of my articles in my flat plan is about buying gifts on a budget. Most of the fun extra articles are related to fashion and makeup. The woman I interviewed is an interior designer, so her social group would be and educated woman and also someone who has a passion for designing and decorating.

3rd Quarter Submission

My magazine had some changes that needed to be done to make it look more professional and clean. For my cover page, I changed the color of the title and moved all the article names onto the sides. I moved all the articles on the border because it made the Christmas tree the main focus of the page, since it is the only picture there. For my table of contents, I changed some fonts and added a page number ad branding. I changed the font to make it look more creative and decorative. I added the branding so people can know the Instagram username and look it up for more features of the magazine. For the two page article, I added in a picture of the person I was interviewing so people would know who she is and what she looks like. Then I reorganized the text and put it into two columns. The spacing of the text is all the same and it is justified. I did this so that it was easier to read and so that it didn't look messy. I also added page numbers and branding to these pages.

Revision #3

My last revision was for my two page article. I made a lot of little changes to these two pages. First I had to add another picture in, so that meant I had to format my article differently and rearrange all the text. I moved my article title up and changed the color to make it a slightly lighter shade of a "wine" color. After the picture was in, I had less space for my text on the first page. I wanted to get rid of the white space I had previously, since it was a waste of space. I moved all the text closer together. Then, all of my text was aligned to the left, so I changed the setting to have it in columns which made the text end at a specific point. This allowed the words to line up in the same spot and form a straight line down. This makes the article a lot cleaner and professional. I also used this same technique on the second article page.I made the tree picture bigger on the first page to give it more emphasis. I formatted the text differently to fit the second page better. For both pages, I added branding in the top corners and a page number in the bottom corners along with the magazine name and issue.

Revision #2

 This is my second revision for my magazine. I liked the layout of my table of contents, but felt as if it looked too boring and plain. I also had to add some text in it. The first thing I changed was the font of the section headers. It was very basic before, but I changed the font to "Script MT Bold." I realized that since a lot of my magazine has to do with designing and decorating, I should have a fancier font that resembles the genre of the magazine. It is a more creative font. I also changed the font of the actual articles. I changed it to "Eras Medium ITC." It is still a simple font so that it is easy to read, but the letters have a different shape to them than they did before. It makes it slightly more unique than just the basic "Verdana" font I had for the articles before. I also had to add a page number to the bottom corner, along with the name of the magazine and its issue. The last thing I revised was adding in branding. Since I made an Instagram account for my marketing plan, I added the Instagram name into the top right corner.

Distribution Plan

To distribute my magazine traditionally, I am going to be using mailing. It seems like an easy and fast wait to deliver the magazines to consumers. When people subscribe to the magazine, they will choose either a monthly or annual subscription. Then they will receive their printed copy of the magazine at their house. To distribute my magazine digitally, I am going to be using an app. The app can be available on smart phones and tablets, such as iPhones, iPads, and Samsungs. It will be on the app stores on these devices. There will be a subscription option at the top of my screen with a 30 day free trial. Once subscribed, you can set up your account on the app to have full access to every magazine. If you choose not to subscribe, you can purchase an issue separately for $4.99. If you do not want to purchase any product at the moment and want to browse the magazine some more to see what it's all about, there will be one small article from each issue. This acts as a "sneak peek" for the rest of the magazine so that the audiences will be engaged and want to read more.

Distribution Research- Real Simple

A digital distribution method Real Simple magazine uses is an online website. Their website has many different features that make it very accessible. They have an option to subscribe to their magazine. Their explore button can let you choose any category to see small articles from, without even subscribing to the magazine. They also have little social media icons you can click and it will bring you right to their page on that particular platform. The website can also bring you to the Real Simple shop to buy their products. I could use this method to distribute because a website brings people to many other applications for the magazine. There is a wide variety of selections and is easy to navigate. I would have the option of smaller articles for free so that the consumers know what kind of product they will get and it will leave them wanting more.

Distribution Research- Good Housekeeping

A digital distribution method that the Good Housekeeping magazine uses is having their own app for devices. They have a subscription option where you can choose to subscribe for a monthly or annual subscription. You can also log into the app if you already have a subscription. Then they have a magazine option. In the top border, they have a search bar where you can search any magazine you want. At the top of the page, they feature their newest magazine. Under this, you can scroll to find all of their other issues in order from newest to oldest. If you aren't a subscriber, you can get 5 minutes of free access for every issue. After 5 minutes, you can unlock the issue for $3.99. I could use this method for my magazine distribution. I would make an app for my Celebration magazine and include the option to subscribe to the magazine or buy single issues for a cheaper cost. I would also add some other features like having smaller articles to look at.

Distribution Research- Southern Living

There are many methods of digital distribution for magazines now that technology is more advanced. The Southern Living magazine has a way of distributing their magazine digitally through tablets. You have the option to purchase a subscription on their website and then new issues will be downloaded onto your tablet automatically. This is a fast and easy way to read the magazine and you can take it anywhere you want to. It is available on iPads, Kindles, NOOKs, and some Android devices. It is available on a variety of tablets so that it is easily accessible. I could incorporate this method into my distribution plan. I would have an option to make the magazine available on tablets and smart phones. This way, if you are subscribed to my magazine, you can take it anywhere with you to read.