1. Task 2 – Creating for an
Audience
Hayley Roberts

2. Red Magazine
Red magazine is mainly a
fashion magazine which also
includes articles and information
about food, shopping, homes,
beauty and travel. It’s readers
are mainly a female audience
which are middle aged and the
median age is around 43 years
old. It’s print circulation has
202,463 readers and it’s digital
circulation has 3,445 readers
and this makes their overall
circulation 205, 908. It attracts a
middle-class audience (ABC1)
and the overall percentage of
the women audience in this
sector is 77%, making it nearly
¾ of the audience middle-class.
These figures were carried out
by the ABC, which calculated
the overall circulation and NRS.

3. Images
On the front of the magazine, they have used an image that takes up
the whole page. They have also used a well-known actress to attract
the audience. This contrasts with the bright red used and makes the
image stand out on the page and not be too crowded with all the
writing. They have used an actress which is slightly younger than the
median age but this also is used so the audience can relate to her
and look up to her. But they have used a younger actress because on
the front cover it explains about looking good, so if they use a
younger actress the audience then have someone to look up to and
try and want to look like her. They have used an image of a woman
as they audience is mainly woman so this helps link the reader to the
magazine. Kate is wearing quite a plain and pale coloured top and
because she has blonde hair it helps her stand out even more in her
own way and she is no being made to look too overly stereotyped like
some fashion magazines do and makes her look very natural
because this attracts women more than puts them off knowing they
wouldn’t be able to look like her.
Inside the magazine, each page or article has their own style. This
page keeps to the style as being vintage and the pictures are
quite calm and not too crazy and loud. This then compliments the
style of the writing and the colours used on the page. The white
background helps the images stand out and makes the page
layout more structured and even though there are quite a few
images, the different sizes and placement of them helps them
stand out and makes the more important images more appealing.
The title of the article relates to the images and has the festive
theme throughout the article. They are high quality images as the
main focus of the magazine is the images on most of the pages so
they use high quality images to present them as some take up a
full page on their own. They have used women models throughout
the images too because that’s their main target audience.

4. Words
On the cover, they have chosen their words carefully as this appeals
mainly to the audience and if they like the sound of what’s inside the
magazine, this makes them buy the magazine. The main theme of the
wording is based on how to look good and to do with styles which
attracts to women because they are always wanting to look better
because they have low confidence. It explains how they can get a
beach body in 30 minutes a day and this is what women want to do
as they want a body just as good as they can get and by doing less
work and by having ‘more toned, less tired’ in a large font, it attracts
women who want to do this easier. This is important for the reader to
see first because women will be happy to see that they get to tone up
without doing as much to look good and having this bold and bright to
grab their attention will encourage them to buy it and read it.
In this article, they relate the title to what is being said in the
magazine and they use the same colour purple to link it to the
picture. They have quoted some of the text and changed the
colour to purple so it links with the title and stands out more than
the rest of the article. They are normally the parts that get read
first, so that’s why the words that they have chosen need to be
something which encourages them to read the article. They have
a direct tone to the audience and in the title this helps having
‘your’ and making it personal because it then makes the title
sound more exciting how it WILL be their last new year diet which
people want as they may not want to be dieting constantly. They
add some humor into the article by saying ‘if you put a few pounds
on in a couple of weeks (and over Christmas who doesn’t?)’. This
makes it more amusing for the reader and doesn’t make it as
much of a serious article and this makes it have a more chatty and
conversational style. The left page contains more writing
compared to the right which has the image and this shows where

5. Colour
The main colours on the cover is a bright red which entices the reader
more as it’s a bright colour to attract the reader. With the red and
black writing, this shows that it’s aimed at a more middle aged
audience because they aren’t too overpowering but they grab your
attention, and keeping it to one main colour makes the cover more
appealing and not too random and out of control. The pale and cream
colours make the red writing stand out a lot more off the background.
The white font for the name of the magazine contrasts really well
against the red. With the bright colour and how bold it looks on the
page, when a woman walks by a and sees this out of sight it would
attract them to read the text and see what it says. The orange in the
text also works well with the red and is more of a washed out colour
which also fits in well but doesn’t jump out as boldly as the red does.
Inside the magazine, there are feminine colours used in the text
which helps appeal to the audience. Pink is a colour which is
associated with women and this is a colour which stands out to
them. It’s reflected in the article as well as in the title and in the
title when it says ‘festival’ they use capitals to help the word stand
out from the rest of the title and this shows the audience what the
article is mainly about. The highlighted words on the page are
also highlighted with a more softer shade of pink unlike the pink
used in the title which is a more bold pink that stands out more to
the reader. The colours used in the main, bigger images have
more bright colours that attract the reader to look at the images
before the article.

6. Font
The font used on the front cover needs to be eye catching like this
one for example and really needs to get the readers attention and
show what the magazine has to offer. They have used a bold and
large font where it says ‘more toned, less tired’ to make it the first
thing that the reader sees on the front and even though it’s quite bold
it’s got soft edging on the font so it’s not sharp and rigid it’s quite soft.
The title of the magazine uses a really feminine and a joined up font
which attracts to females more than males because of the feminine
element to it. The main stories being shown in the magazine are all in
capitals to make it stand out from the rest of the magazine and then
more information on that article is a different colour to the main article
and more in lower case so that the main focus is still on the points
that are wanted to be said. Some of the font on the front cover is
smaller than some and the larger fonts point out the information that
wants to be read and seen first by the audience.
The font inside is more feminine than the one used in the front
cover and not as bold as the ones on the title. It’s more feminine
because the letters with this font are more rounded off and this
font is sans serif font which creates a more feminine font and this
font is used mainly in women based magazines. The titles font
size is larger than the rest of the article and this is to attract the
readers attention and so they see the title first to make them read
the article. They have also used an italic style to the font to add
that extra feminine touch to the style as it’s not bold and chunky, it
looks more delicate and elegant. The font is separated into
sections by some of the images which take up a large amount of
space so it isn’t too crammed with a large article and is spaced
out right.

7. Layout
The covers layout is very neat and in proportion which makes it more
feminine as it’s got a certain look to it. The actress is posed more to
the right but this is so the title of the magazine doesn’t looked
crammed on the page and gives the actress her own space. The main
point that wants to be put across is the ‘more toned, less tired’ and
this is put in the middle of the page and at the bottom half because
then this is what the audiences eyes are drawn to and this is what is
seen first. Then some of the other articles which are in the magazine
are placed all around the edge and spread out evenly so that it’s still
noticeable but isn’t too tight around the actresses face and so that
she is still seen as the idol on the page. They have also photographed
her looking really relaxed and happy and it doesn’t look posed it looks
more natural so that the audience know that it’s really relaxed and
that she doesn’t look uncomfortable.
Inside the magazine, they have a more vintage and messy theme
which makes it look relaxed and more comfortable for the reader
and looks more informal. Some of the images are placed on a
slant on the page which looks like they have just been thrown on
like that and creates an informal look. There is an equal amount of
writing and images on each page so it gives the reader something
to look at as well as read. It’s not all crammed on the page and it’s
easy to see and read and has enough spacing between
everything. Pictures are overlapped and the models are cut out
and placed over the top of some of the images which makes it
look messy and more like a layout of a scrapbook which gives it
that down to earth and relaxed feeling for the audience.

8. Captions
On the cover, for the image the caption is ‘Kate Hudson’ and explains
a quote she says in the article which acts as a caption for the image.
Around the image is little captions and these are describing what will
be in the magazine. This then gives the reader a quick insight to what
is going to be in the magazine. Also at the bottom it has captions of
what the magazine contains overall so then people can see what the
magazine contains mainly so people can quickly read the cover and
see what the magazine is about and this then grabs their target
audience. Where it says ‘more toned, less tired’ this is a caption of the
main article or theme across the magazine.
Inside the magazine, the images in the magazines have captions
underneath or on the picture so this then backs up the image with
some detail about what is being displayed in the image. This also
links in with the text in the article to help provide visual information
about what’s being said. Also under the title of the article, there is
a little caption underneath that is the introduction to the article and
this acts as a caption for the title and the article in the magazine.

9. Anchorage
There isn’t a lot of anchorage used on the front cover but they have
mentioned some of the articles inside which are to do with looking
‘less tired’ and ‘how to look better’ and then they have Kate Hudson
gleaming and she doesn’t look tired and has no bags under her eyes
and a big grin. Having the writing which has been used gives the
image meaning as it shows the audience how they can look by doing
what the articles are saying. Having ‘Kate Hudson’ written on the
cover backs up who the person on the front cover is and not having it
as quite faint and a pale colour makes it not as noticeable as people
should already know who she is.
Also in the magazine there isn’t a lot of anchorage again but
having the word ‘Paris’ next to the model who is posing outside
what looks like part of the Eiffel Tower helps the reader identify
where she is and gives the image more of a meaning than just
having the image placed on the page without having some caption
to give the reader an idea of where she is.

10. Colour Scheme
The main colour scheme for the front cover is mainly a bright red and
an orange which makes both colours contrast together. The
background is white and a pale cream which makes the colours stand
out more on the page. The colour of the red also links in with the title
of the magazine which is called red. The blacks and whites are used
to add different colours to the cover but to not make it look too overly
coloruful and to attract the target audience. Where as if it was an
audience of young teenagers, bright colours (pinks, greens, yellows)
to attract them as it stands out more to them.
Inside the magazine, they use softer and less vivid colours unlike
the bright colours used on the front. They have used a white
background again to make the images and the writing stand out
against the background. The images have quite neutral and calm
colours and has quite a vintage style to it which attracts women
more than men and this appeals to their target audience. The
pinks used throughout the article adds colour because of all the
writing used and this then breaks down the writing a little and also
contrasts with the title of the article.

11. Photography
The image used on the front is a high quality image which is taken
professionally. This is what appeals to their audience, as they are
paying a fair amount for the magazine, it’s important the images are at
a high quality. Where as if the images were taken for Heat for
example, they wouldn’t be as such as a high quality as it has a target
audience mainly of a lower class so this means they don’t expect as
much for a lower cost of the magazine. There is a lot of detail in the
image used which needs to be captured right and you can tell it’s
been taken for the magazine and not been reused, where as for Heat
it would mainly be paparazzi who take the images just to make money
from it.
The photography used inside the magazine keeps the same high
expectations like the front cover and they are at a high quality.
They use a wide range of different images to interpret the article in
different ways through photography. They use models in some of
the images to pose for the images and also use different images
to support the captions. They have a soft and vintage look to
them. As it’s mainly a fashion magazine they show their unique
styles through the catwalk images and this shows that the images
have been taken at a high standard to be taken at a catwalk.

12. Writing Style and
Language
The writing style used and the language used to relate to the target audience is
important when creating a magazine. It needs to be chosen right for the target
audience to understand. The language used in the article, is a more highly
educated tone and this is because the magazine is aimed at more of a middle class
so the tone needs to reflect on how they would speak. If the product was aimed at a
younger audience it would be more simple words, easy enough for them to
understand and because they are less educated, they need something at their level
of understanding. As it is aimed at a more older audience, they use quite long and
lengthier paragraphs which contain a lot of level of detail. Where as if it was aimed
at a more younger audience, it would contain a lot more images and shorter
paragraphs to support the images so they don’t get bored of reading. But having an
older audience they may have time to sit down and read longer paragraphs. On the
cover and in the article ‘your’ and ‘we’ are used a lot and this makes it a more
informal and colloquial magazine. This grabs the audiences attention more because
they feel as if they are being spoken to instead of being reported to. Unless, if it was
a newspaper, they often use a more formal and indirect tone as they are reporting
to the audience. The article focuses on a more feminine topic and this is noticed by
the model in the image. The magazine is aimed to mainly females so having fashion
and weight articles intrigue the audience more because it’s something that interests
them. Where as if it was a newspaper, the articles are focused more on the daily
news and aim for both genders as an audience.

13. Text and Picture Ratio
The image on the front of the magazine is the main focus and is what
is wanted to grab the readers attention. The image is supported by
only a small amount of text as it just wants to give little detail about
what is in the magazine so that it doesn’t look too overcrowded as this
would put off the reader. This then can show them an insight of what
is in the magazine and what kind of articles it will contain. By having a
large image of someone who is well known and popular can attract
the reader even more than having it all full of writing.
In the articles, the writing is separated with different sized images.
This then helps break down the writing into little paragraphs so the
reader doesn’t get bored of reading long paragraphs. The text and
picture ratio is equal and has the same amount of writing on both
pages and quite a few images to back up the article and also to
give the reader a visual insight of what the article is expressing.
By doing this it helps the reader visualise what is being said and it
also makes the page less structured and more informal.

14. Fonts
The fonts used in the red magazine are very feminine and use a lot of
italics and use an elegant and joined up writing. This appeals to
females more because it looks a bit like writing from a woman and
this then intrigues the audience which is mainly females. The front
cover uses quite large and bold fonts to attract the reader to show
them what they have in the magazine. They have used a large font
because this is what women like to read about and will find interesting
so when it’s larger it springs out at the audience and makes it easier
for them to see. Using italics makes the writing more elegant which is
what the reader likes because of the higher class they are unlike if it
was a gossip magazine it would mainly be bold and chunky writing
which doesn’t look as elegant and looks heavy on the page. In the
article inside, one font is used throughout to make it simple and not as
messy on the page and the title which is filled in with the pink colour is
also in capitals to make the reader see the title of the article as it’s the
main focal point in the magazine. Having a bold, yet still italic and
feminine font for the titles fits in with the style of the magazine and
doesn’t look out of place.

15. Modes of Address
The front cover has an informal tone and mentions ‘your’ in quite a
large font which makes it more direct to the reader and makes it quite
conversational. On the cover, it is presented with just bullet point
sentences to make it relaxed and easier to read which then also
sounds quite colloquial. This also makes it sound less formal and this
also makes it feel as if the reader is linked to the magazine and adds
that personal feel to the magazine and gives the connection between
the reader and the publisher. This will appeal to the target audience
more because for the style of the magazine it doesn’t need to sound
formal or reported, it needs to be relaxed and direct.
Inside the magazine, there is a lot more direct language as ‘your’
straight away in the title of the article to show it’s personal. They also
use language to engage the reader which makes them feel as if they
are in a conversation by using ‘we’ a lot and this feels as if there is a
relationship between the reader and the publisher. This gives a
relaxed tone to the article and makes it a lot more colloquial than
formal. There is (in some places) humor added to also make it an
informal piece and this then engages the reader more and makes it
less of a serious article which would appeal to the audience more.

16. Audience Feedback
There are a range of ways which publishers can
use to get feedback from their audience. It isn’t
guaranteed that the chosen target audience will
be pleased with the product created and to
improve this, audience feedback is vital. The
ways which can be used to get the audience
feedback are:
Complaints
Focus Groups
Audience Panels
Trialing

17. Complaints
Some people might not like the product which is aimed at them and the way they
like to give their feedback is by complaining. Even though it’s not the best or most
reliable way to gain feedback, they test the reaction to change and how this effects
the audience. Social media is now a big impact when it comes to complaining
about a product and it allows consumers to give feedback to the media producers
in different kinds of ways.
Focus Groups
This method is used before the product is actually made. It involves getting a group
of people and if they were testing the layout of a new magazine (for example) they
would look at the layout they have chosen and feedback on what they think. Their
ideas are being recorded and then this gets played back to the designers and then
they can start designing their product.

18. Audience Panels
This involves a large group of people or proportion of the public and are contacted
every so often about a certain product or service. This allows them to get feedback
off a reliable proportion as they are used every time they want the feedback. They
will be used monthly or yearly.
Trialing
Before the product is put on the shelves, they have a trial with the finished product
first to see what the group think. So if the group don’t like some parts of the
product or don’t agree with some parts, they can then get sent back and then
change the parts needed and then after that, it can be officially be made seen to
the public.