Section Two: First Level Questionnaire

As I'm not working for a client I used this questionnaire as an opportunity to hone my ideas and really think about what direction I want to take the magazine in. This will help me figure out what kind of bloggers I want to collaborate with and having a refined idea will also allow me to explain it to potential collaborators clearly.

Here is my first level questionnaire...

Have you ever created a magazine before?
No, not a full issue.

Who is your target audience?
Young female bloggers/blog readers aged 15-27.

Theoretically speaking, how often would the magazine be published?
It will be a monthly issue.

How many pages would you like it to have?
Around 50-80. Since it's a monthly issue it needs to be quite thick but not too thick that readers get bored half way through.

Are there any particular bloggers you would like to collaborate with on the project?
I have a few ideas of who I would like to work with. Jemma Morgan from www.dorkface.co.uk is the first person that springs to mind. She is highly active in the community, and is always up to collaborate and help people. It'd be fun to have her on board as an agony aunty or even do an interview.

I would like to interview a blogger who has recently gone full time as this would be appealing to my audience. Someone like: dizzybrunette3, Brogan Tate XO,  or dorkface would be ideal.

Apart from that there isn't specifically any one person I'd like to work with. I'm open to collaborating with anyone who wants to be involved. I'd rather have someone who is excited about the idea and co-operative then have my heart set on a certain person and it not work out very well.

Section Two: Scoping the Project

Identifying Previous Multimedia Experience 

As previously mentioned I already have experience of graphic design after studying it at art college. During this course I made various magazine spreads and magazine cover designs, however I have never made and produced a full magazine.

I am confident using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator and although I am not fully familiar with how to use photography equipment, I do have photography skills and believe I can create attractive imagery for the magazine.

I am contemplating adding watercolour illustrations to some of the pages. Whilst I can paint and draw fairly well I am not sure if my watercolour skills are up to scratch and so I might have to collaborate with an illustrator.

After writing my own blog for three years I am also fairly skilled at writing and think I can apply those skills to creating some articles for the magazine. However, as previously mentioned I will be collaborating with other bloggers to write and produce articles.

Understanding the Breadth and Depth of the Project 

Knowing My Audience

A recent blogger meet up I went to - all the guests were female

Analysis - From my own personal experience, the blogging industry is one of the only industries to be dominated by young, female entrepreneurs with the evolution of beauty and fashion "gurus" becoming a huge sensation. Many fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers have managed to turn their hobby into a full time job which is something to be celebrated.

Not only are these women carving a career for themselves but they tend to be very active within the community, regularly taking part in "Twitter Chats", engaging with other bloggers and supporting each other. Every single blogger event and meet up I have been to, whilst open to everyone, have only ever been attended by females.

Through my own observation these women tend to be aged between 15-27 with some older women run "mummy blogs" whilst still being active in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogging community.

As well as this, a lot of existing magazines are also aimed at this demographic and so this magazine will target young females, aged between 15-27 who are either bloggers themselves and/or regular readers of blogs.

Beauty, fashion and "lifestyle" (lifestyle usually consists of food, health, fitness, homeware/interiors, crafts, books etc) tend to be the main topics these women blog about so I would like to incorporate these subjects within the magazine. Again, these topics are also often covered in general women's magazines so it is something that should hopefully be of interest to my audience.

With this being said, I don't want the magazine to concentrate on superficial subjects, but instead focusing on empowering women and celebrating some of the hard working females that are part of this industry.

I think my audience needs to be entertained, empowered, inspired, advised and motivated through this magazine. It will be something that is both helpful and fun to read, with lots of blogging and lifestyle tips.

Readers should be able to learn something about blogging from reading the magazine, whether that simply be, being introduced to some new blogs, learning how to set up their own or even learning how to turn their blog into a full time career.

For the time being, I will mainly be directing the magazine at a UK audience, however the majority of articles will hopefully apply to an American/European audience as well.

Section One: Project Proposal Form & Approval

PROJECT: Bloggers' Magazine

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A magazine aimed at the blogging community. The idea is to provide bloggers' a chance to connect with the community through a different medium and encourage creative collaboration. The magazine will celebrate the current industry, showcasing upcoming bloggers as well as providing a compilation of different subjects from bloggers' perspectives. 

ASSESSED ARTEFACT: As well as documenting my progress through the project on my blog, I will be producing a full issue of the magazine, which could be used as a prototype if I decide to properly launch the magazine in the future. 

FINANCIAL: Depending on how I choose to conduct photo shoots, interviews and other aspects  of the magazine, there could be travel costs involved, which is something I will have to consider in more depth. Printing the magazine will be the main financial implication and will cost around £15-30 depending on which company I print it with and their shipping costs. 

CLIENT/PROJECT SPECIFICATION: A full first issue of the magazine. 

SOFTWARE & HARDWARE: Primarily Adobe InDesign to build the magazine. I will also be using a DSLR (Nikon D5200) and possibly photography equipment during the photo shoots. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator will also be used when editing the photos and creating design elements for the magazine. 

COPYRIGHT ISSUES: I need to make sure the photographs are my own or if I use photographs from another blogger I need to get permission first. Articles need to be original content, written solely for the magazine. 

POSSIBLE RISK: 

• Bloggers don't respond to the idea of a magazine/don't enjoy content. 
• Bloggers don't co-operate/can't find anyone willing to collaborate on the project. 
• Computer failure 
• Ongoing illness may slow down the progress of the project

SKILLS NEEDED: 

• Skills and knowledge of Adobe software
• Graphic Design and typographic layout skills
• PR skills for connecting with other bloggers
• Photography skills
• Illustration skills

TIME SCALE: Aiming to send the magazine to print at least 2-3 weeks before the project deadline so I have time to check and evaluate it and to ensure it arrives in time. 

..................................................................................................................................................................

I have talked through my idea with Claire and she was supportive of my idea which was encouraging.  I will now beginning working on the magazine. 

Section One: Identifying the Client/Project and Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas

To kickstart my project I brainstormed a few initial ideas, taking into consideration a few factors. Firstly, I wanted to pick something that was relevant to my degree as this would obviously be beneficial. I also wanted to choose a project that I am interested in as being passionate about a subject is useful for maintaining motivation throughout a long term project.

I considered the different skills I have, such as previous experience in graphic design as well as some photography skills, contemplating how I could bring these skills to the final artefact. Finally, I considered contacts I currently have as working with a client I have already established a relationship with, might mean they are more co-operative than someone I haven't met before.

The three main artefacts I thought about creating were a book, a "bloggers magazine" (which I will go into more detail about in a moment) and some sort of social media campaign. For each of those artefacts I thought of potential clients I could work with.

I thought that creating a social media campaign would be a good idea as it is relevant to my degree of Digital Marketing and is also an industry I'm interested in working in after I graduate. I liked the idea of creating a campaign for a local business as I am passionate about supporting small, local businesses and think that there are plenty of them in Portsmouth, who would like someone to help them in this area.

I used to volunteer for Made With Hartt, a local "community/charity gift shop" and thought they would be a great client as they are always looking to spread awareness of their work, so this is a potential client for me.

I quite like the idea of creating some sort of book, as I have previous experience with graphic design and a keen interest in typographic layout, photography and illustration. I did consider making some kind of children's book but felt it wasn't very relevant to my course or what I want to do in the future.

 I did like the idea of creating a cookbook, again for a small local business, either in Portsmouth or in my hometown. Potential clients include Pet Lamb Patisserie (a bakery in Newcastle) who have a strong pastel, Americano aesthetic that would be interesting to incorporate in the book, The Olde Young Teahouse who create homemade bakes and teas, also have a strong brand identity that would be good to work with and finally Wild Thyme Foods.

Wild Thyme Foods are a Portsmouth based, organic, natural, vegan grocery store and cafe. Working with them to create a healthy baking book could be very interesting and also quite popular as this kind of lifestyle is on trend at the moment.

The final idea I had was a "blogger's magazine". I have been running my own beauty and lifestyle blog for over three years and have a strong connection with the blogging community. It is something I am passionate about and believe there is a gap in the market for a magazine that is created by bloggers, for other bloggers and blog fans to read.

Again, it would involve my skills in graphic design and photography and would be relevant to my degree as I am currently applying for placements in the social media/blogging marketing industries.
As I have contacts with other bloggers, I am also confident that I would be able to find bloggers to collaborate with on this project, which would hopefully lead to a strong piece of work.

I brainstormed a few ideas for what the magazine could include, covering topics such as beauty, fashion, health and culture as well as features like a book club, an agony aunt and interviews with bloggers.

Identifying the Project 

Out of all of my ideas I am strongly passionate about creating a magazine aimed at the blogging community. Although I won't be working with one specific client, there is opportunity to collaborate with other people and involve them in the creative process.

Project Layout

Here are the sections I am aiming to complete throughout this project. 

Section One - Identifying a Client & Initial Ideas

• Identify the client/project 
• Identify the client's/project's needs/ideas
• Check suitability with Claire before progressing
• Fill in a client/project form and return to Claire

Section Two - Scoping the Project/Project Feasibility 

• Meeting the client
  
• Identifying clients or previous multimedia experience
  
• Understanding the breadth and depth of the project
  
• Two interviews:
  
• Developing a questionnaire (First Level)
  
• Developing a questionnaire (Second Level)
  * Potentially considering initial costings

Section Three - Proposal 

• General introduction summarising section 1 from the information given by the client or myself
  
• Statement of what the client or you want
  
• Statement of what the users require/gain from this project
  
• Description of the resources required
  
• Identify collaborators where applicable 

Section Four - Project Management Methods and Tools

• Work breakdown and schedule (Gantt Chart)
  
• Gantt Charts
  
• Needs / SWOT analysis
  
• Risk Assessment 

Section Five - Asset Production

• Selecting the correct media
• Sourcing the media – where will it come from
  
• Interface design – storyboards, design drawings, Flowcharts
  
• Lots of visual examples – colours, fonts, styles 

Section Six - Project Development 

• Learning software or equipment
  
• Production Phase
  
• Creating the artefact 

Section Seven - Project Delivery 

• Review the project with client or peers/audience
• Ensure the project is running to plan
• Check assumptions made earlier are still valid 

Section Eight - Testing

• Usability testing
• Any errors or admissions
• Correcting faults
• Does the artefact meet the needs of the client and user 

Section Nine - Signing Off the Project 

• Agreeing the final project artefact with client and ensuring it meets the needs of the client and the user
• Agreeing the project with myself and making sure it meets my needs as indicated on the proposal and detailed project specification. 

Section 10 - Final Completion 

• Final written evaluation of the artefact and Project Management experience including the interaction with the client, collaborators and myself - 1500 words