Statement of Intent

 Product 1 - Magazine 

My media text will be designed to appeal towards a style-conscious audience, aged 16-25. To establish a unique brand identity, the front covers and contents pages will aim to reflect two general styles – the typical mainstream style seen in the media, and the underrepresented alternative style.  

I intend to use a combination of two sans serif fonts, effectively conveying modernity, which would strongly appeal to the young adult target audience who would be familiar with a simplistic font style. The colours used will be a mix of neutral blacks and whites, combined with brighter colours, including 2024’s iconic “Brat Green” and bright blues (which create a clear modern image); bright colours typically resonate with Gen Z audiences, which encompasses the entire scope of the targeted audience. 

As my style magazine will primarily have a focus on fashion, there will be a strong focus on costume design. One cover and contents page will aim to focus on conforming to the ideas of mainstream fashion, focusing on sleek looks, whilst I intend for the other cover and contents page to break ideas of fashion normativity; the fashion will focus on the bolder, atypical clothing styles often seen within the alternative community.  

Between the contents pages and covers, I intend to include 2-3 models which come from different social groups; it is important to represent a variety of social groups in the media positively to ensure audiences can see themselves reflected in the media and thus relate to them. This will build a positive brand loyalty and engage the audience. 

Product 2 – Website 

To ensure my product followed the codes and conventions of style magazine websites, my research primarily focused on looking at the websites of other products owned by Condé Nast.  This has led me make my website’s menu a drop-down, which is a consistent pattern across all the websites I studied. This will contain links such as my brand’s unique “X-ALTed” section and a subscription section. Social media links, such as Snapchat, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), will also be included at the bottom of the website – this is part of my method to promote cross-media convergence. An “Exclusive” section will also be included on the website, further promoting the website itself and brand. These will both allow for audience interactivity, emphasising the importance of an active audience – something the target audience is commonly known for. 

Other sections on the website will include news, fashion, and shopping, which would be commonly seen in style magazines; this will ensure that my website will conform to typical genre conventions. These will also be included under the brand name, though further sections will be included in the dropdown menu. Upon opening, the main page, the audience will be introduced to the Top Stories from several different sections of the website. The “News” section, which will be in the dropdown menu, will provide audiences with a variety of news stories, primarily focused on popular events in the fashion industry, some of which will be exclusive to the magazine itself. This will be the linked page. 

Linking Products – Digital Convergence 

The most important means of linking my products together will be to establish a clear brand identity. This will be done through the usage of the same masthead and fonts across all my products. I also hope include my “X-ALTed” concept across both the print and online texts; the print text will give reference to it in the contents page, whilst the online text will have a dedicated webpage for it. To drive attention to the website, my print texts will give reference to website-exclusive content, such as a prize draw. This will ensure audiences will access both platforms, creating synergy and reinforcing loyalty to the brand.