ccr questions

•          How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Some of the conventions that I followed when designing my magazine are: a masthead, main image, pull groove on the cover; 2 vertical columns on the table of content and a title and a main image for the article. I am targeting a niche audience formed by makeup lovers, art lovers attempting to establish connections not just between the two mediums but also between the two communities.

The magazine cover portrays a young person who is both an artist and an aspiring make-up artist. This is visible because the make-up of the person is following a pattern that is similar to the one of the drawing  on the back cover.

The magazine could fill a gap in the market - most beauty magazines are focused on either news and gossip or tutorials and “the right way to do make up” but this magazine focuses on the parallels between art and make up and how you can use make up to express yourself rather than hide a part of yourself.

•          How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

My product would have social media accounts on platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok. The content wouldn’t only focus on following trends, I would try to build a community of artists. Followers would be encouraged to support not only the magazine but each other, and the social media pages would also feature content from supporters. I would hold social media polls where people could vote on details like a colour scheme for an article design or a main theme for an article.

I would also organize open calls for artists that want to be featured on the magazine cover and have a feature article in the issue. Based on a theme that I would choose, people could submit makeup looks accompanied by drawings, paintings etc.

In terms of distribution, besides the usual kiosks where the magazine would be sold, whenever the featured artist from the magazine issue would hold any event like an exhibition, art fair, etc the magazine would also be sold there. I would also organise pop up stores where people could buy the magazine alongside merch/art work/products from the featured artists. I would also set up an online subscription for people who want to be environmentally friendly, where you could get bonus content from photoshoots.

•          How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Compared to my preliminary project, I think my production skills have developed a bit. For the preliminary project I made a book cover. For that photoshoot, I used a camera with lower quality, didn’t plan things very well and edited everything in Procreate. For the magazine photoshoot, things were quite different and I definitely took some risks. I had never done a photoshoot in a professional studio before and even though it was challenging, the results were worth it. I planned everything better in advance and while the process was not perfect, it was a lot better. For this project, I went a little outside my comfort zone with editing too. I used Photopea for the first time in a while, and it ended up actually making the process smoother. I had worked in this program before, but it was a long time ago and I am glad I managed to remember how to use it.

•          How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

The software I used was Photopea because it was more useful and convenient for adding and editing text than Procreate. The hardware I used was my computer, phone for minor editing, camera, tripod and lights from the photo studio. I accessed the following tools online: https://milanote.com/ for my original moodboard, https://ro.pinterest.com/ for inspiration for my makeup look and my blog for documenting the whole process.