Research summary

After carrying out my research for the preliminary task, I found a lot of useful information about the interests and expectations of my target audience which will help me design my magazine to appeal to them. By analysing school and sixth form magazines, I could get ideas from the designs, style and language used to appeal to certain audiences. I found that most school magazines are aimed at parents rather than students but sixth form magazines seemed to connote maturity which would appeal to older teenagers who are aspiring to be seen as young adults rather than teenagers. Sixth form college magazines such as Dave would appeal to older teenagers and students with its 'busy' cover and vivid colours. I also found that many of the magazines that I found came from white middle class institutes but have an absence of ethnic representation and so I designed my magazine to cater for other ethnic backgrounds. Most students would prefer their school magazine to contain a variety of general topics on the interests of teenagers rather than just school information which seems quite formal and uninteresting for teenage students. 

I also used questionnaires for my target and focus group to find out more about the interests and hobbies of teenage students. Generally, teenage girl's main interests included fashion, music, gossip and celebrity news while teenage boy's interests were focused on sport, music and computer games. Girls generally read more magazines that teenage boys and so I will try to design my magazine to appeal to boy's interests also to encourage them to read the magazine too. I will incorporate all of these ideas into my magazine so it appeals to all sixth form students. 

Focus group

To find out more about the interests and expectations of my target audience, I am going to use a focus group of 3 students at Southend High School for Girls sixth form. They will help me to decide on the final details of my magazine such as titles and layouts, as well as giving me more of an insight into the daily lives of teenagers. I have chosen 2 female students and 1 male student for my focus group to give me a range of different opinions and ideas.



Cassie, 16

Cassandra, also known as Cassie is currently in year 12 at SHSG sixth form, studying English language, theatre studies, history and government & politics. Cassie is very interested in performing arts and would like to go on to a performing arts school after sixth form. She attends a theatre school where she dances, sings and acts 5 days a week and takes part in many shows. Cassie attends many classes with people her age, who are also interested in performing arts, which seems to be a popular interest with teenagers and so Cassie's view will be useful when deciding what will feature in my magazine. Cassie uses the internet a lot to talk to friends, on msn and social networking sites such as Myspace and often buys magazines such as Elle and Cosmo.

Aimee, 16

Aimee is also currently in year 12 at SHSG, studying English literature, spanish, sociology and R.S. Aimee is very sociable and enjoys parties and going out with her friends. She likes spending time with lots of different people and spends a lot of time texting, on the internet and watching TV soaps such as Hollyoaks and Eastenders. Aimee also enjoys listening to music on her ipod and is interested in fashion and celebrity gossip as she often buys magazines such as Look and More. Aimee is very up to date with the social interests of teenagers which will be very helpful when designing my magazine to appeal to them.

Alex, 16

Alex is also in year 12 at SHSG and is studying Geography, Maths, Physics and I.T. Alex does a lot of sport and has a passion for racing, cars, motorbikes and planes. Alex's ambition is to be an RAF pilot and he spends a lot of time doing these activities. Alex also likes going out with his friends, listening to music and using the internet to keep in touch with his friends through social networking sites such as Myspace. His interests are quite typical of a teenage boy and therefore his ideas will be useful when designing my magazine to appeal to different students in the sixth form.

Audience profile

For my preliminary task, I am going to target my magazine for sixth form students at Southend High School for Girls, aged 16-18. The sixth form is a mixed gender sixth form and so I will ensure that my magazine appeals to female and male students of this age group. I used a questionnaire and focus group to find out more about the interests of teenagers and what they would expect in sixth form magazine. Generally, girls are interested in fashion, celebrities and spend a lot of their money on clothes, cosmetics and magazines. Teenage boys are generally more interested in sport and computer games. Both girls and boys share the common interest in music, concerts and the social side of school, as well as networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook. I will try to incorporate some of these themes into my magazine to interest different students to read it.

Questionnaire results

I asked 15 people in my target group to complete my questionnaire to get a range of opinions that would represent the total group. The sixth form is mixed so I ensured that I got results from both male and female students so I can design the magazine to appeal to both girls and boys. The first question I asked was whether they would like a magazine for their sixth form. Most people said that they did want a sixth form magazine, with only two people saying they did not.





The next question was to find out what they would like to feature in the magazine and the most popular answer was advice for sixth form life which shows that students would expect the magazine to focus on school life. However, the second most popular answer was music and film reviews which suggests that the magazine should also include features on music and common interests of teenagers.




Another question I asked was whether they would prefer the cover to be plain or busy. 100% said that they would prefer the magazine cover to be full of photos and captions rather than plain with one photo, logo or pattern. I will make sure that my cover contains lots of photos and information, like a general magazine with eye catching colours and text.



Another question asked on the questionnaire was to find out what sixth formers would like to appear on the cover of the magazine. The most popular answer was photos and captions about the features inside, as this is the layout of most general magazines. Most people also wanted photos of students on the front. This shows that students would rather see photos of themselves and their friends on the front of a magazine, who they can relate to, rather than celebrities. No one wanted just the school name and logo to feature on the cover which shows that most students would like the magazine to be more 'teenage-friendly' rather than focused on the academic side of school.





The next question that I asked was which name my target audience would prefer for their magazine. Although 'Connect' received the most votes, the results were very close and I will ask my focus group to help me decide on the final name of the magazine.
I tried out the two titles that got the most votes in my first questionnaire; Connect and High Life on my focus group to get their feedback on which one they preferred.
Cassie 'I prefer the name Connect as its short and catchy and I would be more likely to remember that than High Life. Connect is associated with school/college but not obviously, so it would still encourage me to read the magazine'
Aimee 'I think that High Life would be more appealing to teenagers as Connect seems a bit formal and associated with school. Although its memorable, I would prefer to read a magazine that is not focused on school and the name High Life suggests this'
Alex 'I think Connect would be a more appropriate name for your magazine as it relates to school life and the students who will read it. High Life doesn't really have any relevance to 6th form which is what the magazine is based on'
I will use the name Connect for my magazine as two of my focus group preferred it and I agree that it is more appropriate for a sixth form magazine than High Life.

Another question was how often sixth formers would like to receive a magazine and weekly was chosen the most.

I also wanted to find out what the main interests of sixth formers were in my target audience. The most popular interest was music, which was the same with both boys and girls and so shall play quite a big part in my magazine. The second most popular answer was fashion, which was mainly for girls, with sport being the most popular interest for boys. This shows that there is quite a range of interests in my target group and I will have to include a range of these to appeal to the whole group.

Another question that I asked was whether the parents of sixth formers would read their magazine. Most people said no, although many said yes. This led on to the next question, would they prefer the magazine to be aimed at them rather than their parents. 12 people said yes, which shows that students may feel that their school/college magazines are aimed at their parents rather than themselves but would prefer to have a magazine that is targeted at them. I will ensure that my magazine is targeted at sixth form students through informal language, style and layout.

Questionnaire for sixth form magazine

I created a questionnaire to find out more about my target audience of sixth form students; their interests and what they would expect from a sixth form magazine. I can then use these results to ensure that my magazine meets the expectations of its readers and their interests.



Would you like a magazine for your sixth form?

Yes/ No/ Not bothered


What would you like to feature in a sixth form magazine?

School news/ General news/ Advice for 6th form / Music&film reviews/

Other……………………………………………………………………………..


What would you like to see on the magazine cover?

Photos of students/Article/ Photos & captions about features inside/ School name & logo/

Other……………………………………………………………………………..


Would you prefer a sixth form magazine cover to be:

Plain & simple; one photo,logo&headline/ Colourful & busy; lots of photos & captions / Plain with a pattern logo & captions


What name do you prefer for a sixth form magazine?

Sixer/ Sixmag/ Connect/ High life


How often would you like to receive a sixth form magazine?

Weekly/ Monthly/ Termly/ Yearly


What are you interested in outside of school?

Music/ Sport/ Books&films/ Fashion

Other ………………………………………………………………………….



Would you like the magazine to be:

Informal/ Formal



Do your parents read your school/sixth form magazines?

Yes/ No



Would you prefer the magazine to be aimed at you rather than parents?

Yes/ No/ Not bothered

Moodboard for preliminary task

This is my moodboard for the preliminary task of creating a sixth form magazine cover. My magazine will be aimed at both male and female students aged 16-18, so my moodboard represents the general interests of teenages of this age group. I have used the colours blue green in my moodboard backgound as these colours are fairly neutral and will appeal to both genders. I have included photographs to represent the interests of girls and boys which differed slightly, as girls are interested in fashion, shopping, gossip and boys are more interested in sport and computer games. As many students are interested in the social side of school, I have included photos of groups of friends as well as social networking sites which appeal to both male and female. Music and television programmes are a common interest between teenagers which I have also included in the moodboard. I also included the school logo and a school bus as the magazine needs to also focus on school life as well as the interests of teenagers.

Analysis of magazine

Analysis of 'Closer' Magazine

The title of the magazine, ‘Closer’ is short, easy to remember and easily recognisable. The title ‘Closer’ has connotations of being closer to celebrity’s lives and the newest gossip and news about them. It also implies that the magazine gets closer to the latest news than other magazines.
‘Closer’ is published by EMAP Entertainment, a well known company which publishes other magazines such as ‘Nursing Times’ and ‘Heat’, one of the main competitors for ‘Closer’. EMAP entertainment also owns some UK radio stations and runs a portfolio of music channels including the Hits, Kerrang! and the Box.
‘Closer’ magazine is published weekly for £1 which is cheap and affordable to most people and encourages people to buy each issue to get constant updates on celebrities that week. The magazine also has a website, http://www.closermag.co.uk/ to advertise the magazine even more and encourage more people to buy it.
The target audience of ‘Closer’ is young women. We can tell this from the types of articles and adverts in the magazine, which are mostly gossip, celebrity news and fashion. There are many articles and comments on body shape and the latest diet plans, as looks are a concern for many young women who will read the magazine.
The adverts in the magazine are also aimed at women, as most of the adverts are for cosmetics such as make up, hair dye, fake tan which are particularly chosen as they would probably be purchased by young women readers who find looks important. There are also some adverts for food products such as Birds Eye vegetables and bolognese sauce, which may appeal to women who have a family and shop for food. All of the products advertised are relatively cheap and affordable to the people buying the magazine as they are generally around the price range of the magazine price. However, the adverts with models in are harder to relate to for the female target audience as they have been airbrushed to look 'perfect' which does not represent the readers of the magazine.
On the cover of the magazine, the main images are of Denise Van Outen and Kate Lawler in bikini's to show their body shapes. The text is commenting on their weight loss and gain which are both classed as 'body traumas'. Both women look unhappy in the photos which makes them seem 'sad' and 'lonely' as quoted on the front cover. This clearly shows what type of reader the magazine attacts as the main stories are about looks and weight, mainly in celebrities. It tells us that the target audience of young women are 'obsessed' with their looks and the lives of celebrities.
Also on the front cover of 'Closer' is previews of other articles and stories inside the magazine with eye-catching text such as 'shock new pics' and 'porn scandal'. The most interesting features are previewed to encourage people to buy the magazine to read the rest of the article.
The main colour of the front cover is pink, which is stereotypical of a 'girly' colour and so is clear that the magazine is aimed at women. The front cover looks very similar to other women's magazines such as 'heat' and 'new' with lots of photos and gossip about celebrities. The tag line, 'the only read you need!' tries to encourage women to buy 'Closer' rather than any of the very similar competitiors. Other titles in compeititon with 'Closer' include 'heat' 'new' 'love it' and many more. These magazines are also generally cheap and in the same price range as 'Closer', ranging from around 60p-£2. All of these magazines look quite cheap with eye-catching front covers, and pages of celebrity gossip which are all very similar.
However, there are some differences between the magazines, for example; 'Heat' contains more features and reviews on tv, films and music as well as many more interviews than 'Closer' rather than articles about the artist.
The presentation of the front cover is very eye-catching and bright, it is full of text and images with as many things as possible to stand out among other magazines. 'Closer' looks like a cheap magazine as it is quite small and the wide range of colours used also makes the magazine look cheap. The language of the magazine is quite colloquial which gives the whole magazine an informal feel which relates to its readers. The gossip creates a chatty address to the reader to encorage young women to read it. The main subjects covered in 'Closer' are body weight and looks, especialyl of celebrities, for example, gossip about celebrities such as Denise Van Outen, Jade Goody, Sinitta and their weight loss/gain. There are also many features on fashion and diets, which shows that looks are the main concern for young women readers. These articles are very stereotypical of young women and makes them seem quite shallow as the whole magazine centers on looks and the lives of celebrities.
The women in the magazine are also represented as quite shallow as the photos are mostly posed rather than natural. There are a limited range of representations of women in the magazine as they are mostly celebrities or are very stereotypical of young women, concerning looks and body shape.However, in the article about Denise Van Outen's weight gain, natural photos are used with the caption 'phew she's human' which relates to the worries of most of the target audience. There are also no men in 'Closer' as women can relate more to other women featuring in the magazine with problems similar to their own. Celebrites featuring in the magazine are well known, such as Jade Goody and Danni Minogue which attracts people to buy the magazine to get 'closer' to these celebrities. All of the celebrities chosen for the magazine are women so readers can relate to them.
Overall, we can tell a lot from the front cover of the magazine 'Closer' and the magazine is definately well targeted at an audience of young women who are interested in celebrites, fashion and looks.