Thursday, 12 December 2013

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and The Uses and Gratifications Theory

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

In the pre-production tasks, I looked at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as one way of seeing what needs to be considered in creating a magazine.




The pyramid reads from bottom to top with the most basic needs at the bottom.
Physiological and Safety needs - cannot be covered by magazines.

Love/Belonging - Is accomplished in magazines by giving exclusive information and gifts, which makes the reader feel like they belong in a group by getting a certain magazine.

Esteem - Often covered in magazines by having one or a combination of things, which may include stories that make celebrities seem more like an average person (gossip magazines may use this), or by giving advice to readers to help further themselves at something (used in hobby magazines).

Self-Actualisation - Some magazines accomplish this simply by helping people further themselves at something, such as learning to play an instrument.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory

The uses and gratifications theory uses 4 areas that people desire to see what else needs to be considered in the production of a magazine

Diversion - An escape from everyday life and it's problems. 

Personal Identity - How a person sees themselves and their views and beliefs. 
Personal Relationships - Feeling as if they are part of a group. This is similar to the love/belonging part of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Surveillance - A need to know what is happening in the world around a person.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Pre-Production of School Magazine

Before I created my front cover and contents page, I looked at various magazines (including "Vibe", "NME", "Q" and "Guitarist") to find conventions I could apply to my school magazine in order to make it more appealing to the chosen audience.

Masthead - Usually appears at the top of a page in a font that readers can associate with the magazine.

Strapline - Usually appears above the masthead and describes the magazine (usually using a superlative such as Britain's No. 1 Music magazine). It may also advertise free gifts and exclusives (i.e CDs specific to the magazine).

Feature Photo - This is a photo that usually takes up most of the cover. It is usually related to the main article of that particular issue of the magazine (i.e. in music magazines it will relate to the artist of the main article).

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

14th November, 2013 - School Magazine Plan

On Word I made a simple document to show the overall layout of the front cover of my school magazine.

Thursday, 7 November 2013