FOCUS GROUP

FOCUS GROUP – WHY?An important part of creating a media product is receiving feedback from the intended target audience. The feedback from other people can help to highlight problems or issues which are difficult to notice yourself. The feedback can then be used to make improvements or

to learn what to do differently in the future. I held a focus group with four people who would be interested in reading a music

magazine and asked them three questions about my finished front cover, contents page and double page spread.

EV IDENCE

H E R E I S A P H O T O O F M Y F O C U S G R O U P T A K I N G P L A C E .

WHAT D ID THE FOCUS GROUP LOOK AT?

M Y F O C U S G R O U P L O O K E D A T M Y F I N A L F I N I S H E D F R O N T C O V E R , C O N T E N T S P A G E A N D D O U B L E P A G E S P R E A D .

THE QUESTIONS:

•What genre do you think the music magazine is and why?• What are your thoughts on the overall layout and use of

space on the magazine pages?• Is there any elements of the magazine you dislike or you

think could be improved?

WHAT GENRE DO YOU THINK THE MUSIC MAGAZINE IS AND WHY?THE RESPONSE:“I think the magazine is based around the rock genre. This is because the magazine has a lot of dark colours especially black which makes me think of rock. Also, all the people in the pictures look like they are rock musicians as they are wearing dark colours and have dark make up andpiercings which makes me think of rock.”“I think it could be metal, this is because all the explosions and lightning shapes are quite violent and metal musician also feel quite violent.”“That the magazine is linked to rock, I think this because the word rock is mentioned on the cover as well as having rock bands mentioned on the cover. Also the main model is wearing heavy dark eye make up.”“Rock because it uses darker colours and it mentions rock legends and because the musicians look rocky because they are also wearing darker colours and dark colours make me think of rock.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE OVERALL LAYOUT AND USE OF SPACE ON THE MAGAZINE PAGES?

THE RESPONSE:“I like the layout of the magazine as there is not much empty space and there is a lot of different things to look at which makes it exciting.”“I think the layout is good, however, it is a bit too crowded and overwhelming as I don’t know what to look at first, particularly on the contents page.”“Lots of detail in the writing, detailed content. The use of young musicians implies the magazine is aimed at younger people. It’s easy to see which articles are linked to the photos and what page they are one.”“Very nice! I think it is very well set out. It looks very organised and easy to read and see what each article is about.”

IS THERE ANY ELEMENTS OF THE MAGAZINE YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE OR YOU THINK COULD BE IMPROVED?

THE RESPONSE:“I really like the rocky feel I get when looking at the music magazine. I especially like the use of the graphics on the front cover and the double page spread. I think the double page spread could be made to look a bit more exciting.”“I like the colour scheme a lot, the red and blue go well together and give it a 3D feel, especially on the magazine name. I don’t really like how brightly the yellow on the front cover stands out compared to the rest of the front cover.”“I like the magazine title and the lightning shapes. I like how they link to the name of the magazine. However, I don’t really like the graphics behind the text on the double page spread as it makes it difficult to read. If it was a lighted colour it would be easier to read.”“I think the magazine is really good! I like the title name and style because it link to rock. I also really like the star explosion shapes. I like it all and I don’t think it could really be improved.”