Social Media Responses: Make-Up Experiments

I decided to find out what make-up looks was most popular amongst my target audience. I used Google hangouts and instant message to send pictures of each of the three makeup looks to people within my target audience. Before I sent the images, I asked them to respond with which make-up look they liked the most and to explain why this was their favourite. These were the responses that I received:
                                                                               

 

These social media responses show that my target audience prefer the second make-up look because the red-toned brown eyeshadow makes her eye's stand out more. I also like the second make-up look the most because of this reason and also because I like the winged eye-liner makes her follow the Indie Rock star image more. Therefore I am going to use the second make-up look on my model when I take the photographs for the magazine photoshoot. 

Social Media Responses: Outfit Experiments

I decided to find out what outfit was most popular amongst my target audience. I used Google hangouts and instant messaging to send the outfit collages to people within my target audience. Before I sent the images, I asked them which to say which outfit they liked the most out of the five and to explain why this was their favourite. These were the responses that I recieved:

These social media responses show that my target audience prefers the first outfit, because they like the colours and the overall aesthetic of the outfit. However I also like the look of the fishnet tights underneath the ripped denim, therefore I shall take some photographs with the fishnet tights underneath the jeans and some without. The second favourite outfit was the third outfit. Therefore when doing my photoshoots I shall use both of these outfits. 

Outfit Experiments

I decided to try a 5 different outfits on my model to see what clothes would suit her best. I used a variety of different clothing which I believed would make my model fit in Indie Rock star image. I used both black skinny jeans and blue boyfriend jeans. I also used a variety of different t-shirts, including band t-shirts and plain, basic t-shirts. I decided that my model should wear combat styled boots because they look edgy and go well with both style of jean that I used on my model. I took a variety of pictures of the outfits and then made a collage of them so that the whole outfit and its details could be clearly seen. The outfits can been seen below:

Outfit One: 

Outfit Two:

Outfit Three:

Outfit Four:

Outfit Five:

I am unsure as to what outfit is my favourite, therefore I will use social media sites as well as instant messaging to find out what outfit people in my target audience like the best. I can also ask them to explain why they choose that outfit to help provide me with additional information which could help with other design elements for photoshoots and the magazine itself. 

Make-Up Experiments

For makeup I decided to experiment with different eye-makeup looks. I decided to use fairly natural face makeup by using primer, BB Cream, concealer, cream contour, bronzer and a translucent powder. For the eyes I experimented with different warm toned eyeshadows as well as eyeliner. Below are pictures showing the finished makeup look and the products that I used to achieve them:

Make-Up Look One:

For this look I used a two brown eyeshadows to try and create a 90’s grunge eye makeup look. I applied the eyeshadow to both the eyelid and beneath the lower case line, I did this to make the eye make appear more smokey and messy. I used a volumising mascara on both the top and bottom eyelashes to create lots of definition and make the eyelashes appear thick and almost clumpy.

Make-Up Look Two:

For this look I took a red-toned brown eyeshadow and applied it to the eyelids and beneath the lower lash line. I made the eyeshadow more heavy beneath the lower lashes because it thought that it would make the models eyes stand out more. I then applied a liquid eyeliner to the eyelid and made it winged to create extra definition. I used a volumising mascara on both the top and bottom eyelashes to create lots of definition and make the eyelashes appear thick and almost clumpy.

Make-Up Look Three: 

For this look I took a warm-toned brown eyeshadow and applied it to the eyelids and beneath the lower lash line. I thought that this eyeshadow would help to create a 90’s grunge, eye make-up look. I used a volumising mascara on both the top and bottom eyelashes to create lots of definition and make the eyelashes appear thick and almost clumpy.

My personal favourite make-up look is the second one. This is because I think the eye make-up looks interesting and the red-toned brown eyeshadow helps to make the models eyes “pop”. I think the colour of the eyeshadow also compliments her hair colour more than the other eyeshadows. However I will use social media and instant messaging to find out what make-up look people within my target audience prefer. This will help me to make the magazine more interesting and appealing to them. 

Meet My Model

The model that I have chosen is Josie. Josie is 17 years old and is currently studying her a-levels. I have chosen Josie as my model because I agree with the majority of my focus group. Josie is generally quite edgy in terms of her fashion and style. I believe that her edgy fashion sense will help  her to feel more comfortable within the photoshoot which will reflect in the photographs. She also enjoys music of the Indie Rock genre, which will help her to understand the Indie Rock star image.

I believe that Josie will be a good model when taking photographs for my magazine, because I have used her as model for previous photography projects which means that she has experience in front of the camera and will therefore be confident and have her own ideas for poses and facial expressions. I also believe that Josie’s red hair also makes her appear more alternative and edgy which will be helpful when creating an Indie Rock star image. 

However because I believe the name Josie doesn't really suit the Indie Rock star image I have decide that on the magazine she will be known as Astrid. This is because I think the name is more different which makes it appropriate to the Indie Rock star image in comparison to Josie which is an abbreviation of the name Josephine which is a more traditional name.  

Focus Group Analysis

From holding my focus group I was able to get more accurate interpretation of what my target audience likes about my ideas and what they think should be included in the magazine.

The questions I asked in my focus group were:

Do you think that the name Phoenix is appropriate name for an Indie Rock music magazine? Why?

How much do you think an Indie Rock Music magazine should cost?

Do you think that the magazine should include a free single/cd?

Do you think that having a band index on the contents page will help with the sale of the magazine?

Do you think that the magazine should include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs?

Which model do you think suits the Indie Rock Star image more?  Leah OR Josie?

The focus group agreed that Phoenix was an appropriate name for an Indie Rock and then they gave reasons for why the thought that it was appropriate. One of these reasons was that fact that I could easily create a logo for the magazine.

The focus group told me that they believed that £3.50 was an appropriate price for a music magazine because of my target audience is teenagers and young adults, who are unlikely to have a lot of money; therefore £3.50 is a good price for them. The focus group also believes that £3.50 is an appropriate price for the content that will be provided.  Therefore I am going make my music magazine cost £3.50 because these are all valid points for why the cost of the magazine should be £3.50.

The focus group told me that they think that my magazine should not include a free single/cd because it might not appeal to everyone because they might not like the artist or bands whose single/cd it is. Also including a single/cd would mean that the price of the magazine would have to be increase which might make my target audience to buy the magazine because it might be too expensive for them. Therefore I am not going to include a free single/cd in my magazine because of these reasons.

The focus group helped me to realise that not everyone knows that a band index is, however once it is explained to them they believe that it is helpful, because it provides additional information. I personally don’t believe that the band index will help with the sale of the magazine therefore I will do additional research to find out if my target audience would like to see a band index on the contents page.

The focus group told me that they thought that the magazine should include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs. They thought this because they thought that it would make more people want to buy the magazine because of the chance to win something. Therefore I am going to include competitions to win tickets to concerts and gigs in my magazine because it will either make a good cover line on the magazine front cover or an advert on the contents page.

The majority of the focus group told me that they thought that Josie would suit the Indie Rock star image more than Leah would because they thought that she looked more ‘edgy’. However because I need to include different people on my contents page, I will still take photographs of Leah and will use clothing and makeup to make her appear more ‘edgy’.

Focus Group

I decided that I should hold a focus group to do more research and gain additional opinions from my target audience on my initial ideas. It is important to do research because it allows me to gain extra ideas and research as well as feedback; this will then allow me to create a music magazine that it well catered for my target audience. I decided to film my focus group with three of my friends, Emily, Kaye and Charis Mills. You can watch my focus group below: