Story Ideas

Because I am a visual student i.e. I take 2 arts, I decided to create a mood board/visual board to represent possible stories.

 community

 Competition/Food

 Crime

Health

 Education

These are just basic illustrations of the possible stories that I could feature within my newspaper, I used the software of 'Paint' as it was quick and easy to use.I did not intend these images to be aesthetically pleasing, they were just a quick illustration sketch and I think that they do they job. 

   I have decided to focus my main cover story on crime as I feel that it would be easier to capture a mug-shot looking image.

Final Adverts

After I created my first attempt at an advert, I decided to do a cluster of them so that I had the choice of using many for the newspaper.

 

This was the next advert I created and I got the inspiration from my research for photoshoots and I like the simplicity of the advert I saw yet it contained an image and colour. I think that this is a fair advert but definitely on review could do with some improvements i.e getting the lines of the coins more horizontal. I think a good aspect of it is the reflections as it adds another dimension to the advert, aswell as something else to look at and study.

 In this advert I wanted to create a advert for a furniture store and I wanted it to be quite updated and modern and I think that the background, aswell as the font and colour scheme - which I toned in with the cushion of the chair-  achieve this as it creates a rememberable logo and recognisable style for the store. I liked the detail in the chairs wood and wanted the main focus to be on this so it shows that the furniture store contains traditional furniture yet could be presented in a modern, 21st century way.

 I realised that I had no food/grocery related adverts yet so I intended to create a bakery advert that was quite fun and charming. I think that my favourite aspect of this advert is the words being illustrated on a cake with cream and candles and cherries which I created in photoshop. The examples of photographs that I created make the readers eyes look around the advert, whilst the strong text reports all the relevant information. The only problem that I could face with this advert is that the colours could jeopardise the quality of the advert if the newspaper was to be printed or viewed in a way that I haven't seem or experimented with. By this I mean that, I have no idea on how the adverts colours would look once printed and whether it would effect the quality of the text.

 

I think that this could potentially be my weakest advert as I didn't spend alot of time focusing on the aesthetics of the advert but rather the edit of the image to create a old, vintage-styled Polaroid to link in with the theme. However, I feel that this advert could be related to a amateur business man that created an advert just to present in his/her local paper, instead of a highly qualified professional graphic designer.

Overall, I feel that I have created a good selection of adverts to use in my future newspaper and they showcase a variety of business that could be found in the local area, thus, making them relatable to potential readers. For all of these adverts, I used Photoshop.

Graphic Adverts

I want a balance...

By this, I mean I want a balance between adverts that contain images and pictures to one that include just the graphics.

This is the first advert that I have tried and I think that it has both successful points and weakness'. I think my favourite aspect of it is the silhouettes of the pets and the person as it is easily recognisable and adds images to the image without over-powering the information. I think that the coupon could be the downfall of the advert as if it was scaled down to the size required for an advert, the coupon COULD be too small to read or cut out etc.

Inspiration For Photoshoot For Adverts

Almost time to pick up the camera...

This first section is an advertisement for jewellery and using these professional adverts as my sources of inspiration.

I think that this advert is very elegant and feminine. The focus -of course- is on the rings but I think that the patterns on either side make it more interesting to the eye and it the lines flow through the wide shot.

 

This isn't as elegant as the previous one as it uses harsher colours but I think that this is one that would stand out more on the newspaper page because of the contrast between colours. I also don't understand the graphic of the horse but I presume that it is related to more of the owners and business than the specific jewellery. It contains enough information for the business to be found so it can be classed as successful.

 

I then looked at financial adverts for loans etc.

 

I definitely like the simplicity of the two white advertisements. It uses just one colour to attract the eye of a viewers and although the photographs are simple and don't tell much individually, when they are placed next to a text, you can see the link and understand them more.

 

If i see anything else during the photoshoot, I can easily find the inspiration from them and shoot them with this type of research.

Advert Research

I am not usually a fan of looking at adverts in a newspaper...

In order to find inspiration for my adverts, I have decided to look at professional ones that are displayed in newspapers around the country.

This is an advert for a pub and I think that the design and layout is good but to me the colours don't represent the pub as well. I think that there is nothing that definitely stands out from the page as the colours are too vivid as individual colours and do not really compliment one another in the size that the advert would be.

 

 

I was unsure whether there was any difference between normal advertisements and one that are placed within a local newspaper, so, my following research is looking at adverts place in the Leigh Journal. My local Newspaper.

 

 

 

 

I think that this advert is both basic yet has alot of information on it to offer. I think that the setting of the models are there to represent their personalties and what would appeal to certain audiences e.g. The woman is sat on an elegantly crean chaise lounge and has ornate furinture in the set - this makes the woman seem instantly of a wealthier class and this would appeal to many females, to aspire to be her. The male model on the other hand is in the outdoors and this makes him seem adventureous and sporty, thus appealing to men. It can be seen as quite stereotypical but is so subtle that it doesnt cause any offense to the viewers. The colours of the adverts seem to tie in with the image aswell i.e The females top (and most importantly shoes) and furniture, aswell as the man dark clothing can blend in with the dark blue and ivory colour scheme.

 

This is an advert for a restaruant and I think that it tries to illustrate the decor of the restraunt the most, which I first found quite unusual as I was expecting to see images of their food or chefs. However, the image does link in with the text 'Contemporary Indian Restraunt' and this can mean both modern indian food aswell as the interior. I think that the colour choice is wise as the reds keep in theme with their own logo whilst the blues help the highlighted texts stand out and catch the eye of a viewer...



This is an advert for a fireplace company and obviously the main focus of the advert is the new fireplaces, so it contains alot of photographs on it, yet displays them in a formatted and uniform structure -which I find to be the most professional looking. The colour scheme ties in with the idea of a 'fire' with the ambers and orange tones and they contrast well with both the white and the black aspects of the infographics.

 

I find that this is an advert that you would most likely expect to see within your local newspaper, largely down to the unprofessionally shot image of the store. I think that the best feature of the advert is the sizing of the door on the left hand space as it takes up half of that area and instantly attracts the eye towards it. The company has stuck to the 3-colour rule yet I feel that it wouldn't have downgraded them if they included another colour in order to brighten things up.

This is what I consider to be the brightest advert out of them all that I have reserached and the reason and idea behind this was to choose autumn colours - ambers, browns, greens and yellows- to emphaises and make the viewers instantly recognise the season for the sale. I feel that this is one of the most successful adverts as I believe that the sizing of the texts and image work well with one another and there is alot of inormation on the page, yet it has still got enough space to display backgrounds etc.

I was surprised to see that this image was in black/white but as I thought about it more, I knew that it made sense to do it this way. This advert in particular was full-scale towards the page and in the long run, it would be more cost efficeient for the image to be in this greyscale as then it would be easier to reproduce. I like how you can instantly tell the subject of the advert and the information is easy to see (except the small print like the Terms and Conditions etc) and the sticker labels help distinguish the most important information that the company is trying to get across.

I think that this advert is one of my favourites in what I researched. It plays on the stereotypical views on cleaning on the sexist view that it is a woman chore - using the stereotypical colour of pink and a bleach blonde woman in a small black dress. I think that the fonts used make the advert more eye-ctaching and lively and delievers the information straight away. The contact details are obvious to the veiwer and I think that overall it is a very successful advert.

 

 

 

From the research that I have just conducted, I can see that colours and scaling are highly important in showing off images and objects. I could proceed to do adverts with both photographs and without and yet could both be easily successful.

 

I also prefer to have the advert jam-packed with information rather than just using a basic lay-out and this is also supported by my previous questionnaire using the question of:

 

Do you prefer to see adverts that….?

Attract your eye with colours.
Have good information to offer
That have a simple, clean layout
That are mainly pictures

 

With the majority of the feedback being that the audience prefer to see mainly pictures and images, I shall create several pieces that include just this type of information.

 

 

Advert Audience

I feel that my next stage to do is perhaps the adverts...

I think that it is something that will take up time but isn't necessarily the most important aspect of the newspaper.

However, I feel that adverts should relate to the readers and on order to gain more of an insight into the target audience, I shall conduct a questionnaire that gives me information and likes/dislikes of the community, their own taste etc.

The example of my questionnaire is below and it is a simple multiple choice one that gives me information the quickest. I perhaps should have done an open answer questionnaire, as this would give true opinionated results, however, I felt that this would have taken up too much time to gather the results and to put a common theme among them in order to create stories and adverts that would appeal to everyone.I shall hand this to Winstanley College students, as well as Tyldesley locals as well as a online survey as I feel that these would give me the best overall opinion related to newspapers.


Questionnaire

Do you read your Local Newspaper?

Yes

No

Sometimes


Do you look/read the adverts?


Yes, if they concern me or my interests.

No, They don’t usually concern me.

Sometime, but only if they catch my eye



What would you consider paying for a newspaper?


I would want it free

Less than 50p

More than 50p


What do you feel is the least important thing for you to read?

Crime news in the area

About Local Businesses and Schools

The advertising Pages

Other ……………………………………………………………………………………


What writing style do you prefer?


Informative Writing

Friendly Writing

Minimum Words Possible

Lively, Confident yet Informative



Do you use your local facilities?

Yes

No

                       
Do you enter competitions?


Yes, (e.g. If the prize is worth while.)

No, (e.g. If they cost money to enter)

Other………………………………………………………..


Do you prefer to see adverts that….?


Attract your eye with colours.

Have good information to offer

That have a simple, clean layout

That are mainly pictures


Are You male or Female?

Female

Male

Prefer Not to say


How often would you want to get a newspaper (e.g delivered)?


Everyday

Every week

Every 2 weeks

Once a Month

Whenever I would collect it at a shop


What type of information appeals most to you?


Entertainment

Sports

Television/Radio

Real life/ local news

Politics



From my research, I have put the most important answers into a graph, so they easily illustrate the results, I think even though I have shown only a few questions in this format, it shows me what I need to focus on and what the audience would like - plus, I have kept all of the results from the questionnaire is I need to refer back to them at a later stage.

 

 

 I have used Microsoft Excel to create these graphs and Microsoft Word to create the questionnaire, the reason why I have not created an online survey was because i felt that not alot of people would take time out to complete it, where as if I handed it to them, there is a higher chance that it would be completed successfully.

Final Name

I have finally managed to choose a name for my local newspaper...

I have decided to use the title of 'Tyldesley Today' as I like the alliteration of it and I think that it gives the impression that Tyldesley has come along way from its deep history and emphasises the change that has happened over the years.

Tyldesley Today

I decided not to use 'bongs' as the area name as it can have connotations for it and I am not familiar enough with Winstanley to do a local newspaper about it.


I decided to take inspiration from the likes of 'The Times' 'The Independent' 'Daily Mail' from their Mastheads as I felt that they seemed low-key yet emphasised a professional establishment.

I have decided to 'colour-pop' the red in the coat of arms as I felt that it could tie in with a potential 3-colour scheme as well as making the title more visually enticing and eye catching. I decided to do alot of varieties so that I could see possible outcomes but after creating this many, I have found it difficult to choose which one I prefer. In order to solve this, I have printed out the possible option and handed them out to a potential target audience.

They have had to decided which they initially prefer as a masthead for the newspaper that I am designing.

The one in which came to be the majority vote was the 4th one on the list. I wasn't really expecting this result but I am pleased that there has been an outcome from doing this distribution of a 'questionnaire' as I can truly say that its what the 'readers' would want as a masthead.

Newspaper Names

From looking at the local newspapers, I can see that it is important to include the name of the area e.g. Leigh journal. Here is a list of possible names for the local newspaper:

Tyldesley Times
Tyldesley Tabloid
Tyldesley Today
Tyldesley Telegraph
Tyldesley Tribune

Tyldesley Chronicle
Tyldesley Courier
Tyldesley Union

(Tyldesley Used to be a mining town so to link in with the history I could use names such as; The Miners Mind, The Miner and News etc.)

Tyldesley is also known as 'Bongs' as it used to be called 'Tyldesley Banks' thus called 'Banks' then through local dialogue developed into 'Bongs' so I could also use this name; 
Bongs Bulletin
Bongs Brief
Bongs Banner
Bongs Watch
Bongs Acorn
Bongs Advance
Bongs Appeal
Bongs Echo etc

Winstanley Wire
Winstanley Word
Winstanley World
Winstanley Week

I cant just go with a name that sounds the best as I have adverts to do for it (both poster and radio commercials) so there needs to be a motto/slogan that ties into the name.

Ideas for Motto's/Slogans:

When the News Breaks, We Will Fix It.
We have Issues...

On the Tyldesley Crest is the motto of 'regis et patriae tantum valet amor' which I believed to be the motto of a battle that Sir Tyldelsey fought in and I could use a translation of this.The Tydesley High School Motto is Facta Non Verba- which translates to 'Deeds, Not Words'. I could re-adjust this to say 'We write the words, you do the deeds' etc to link in with the fact that it is a newspaper.

I have alot of decisions to make...

Masthead

Design Time...

After deciding on a possible layout for my local magazine, I decided to research the features of it separately as it mean that I am only focused on one task at a time.

Here are some examples of the mastheads that are in circulation, I researched both Local and National as I felt that there would be a common theme through them both.

I can see that the font that is used is highly important as it illustrates the type of newspaper it is. Some use bold colours where as others use images to add diversity and a brand to their newspaper.

Below are some examples of different fonts. There is a mixture of serif (Generally, Serif typefaces are more 'traditional' and authoritative) and Sans-serif (They have more of a modern or technological feel).

The black boxes are ideas for placing an illustration of some sort and I used the red background as it is to show how the text would look with a coloured background.

Next is the idea for names of the newspaper and then I can select which one of the fonts above suits the title best...

Plan Of Action

Its my time...

After looking back at my research, I have decided that it was time to draw up a rough draft of a possible layout that I could follow for my own newspaper, taking inspiration from each newspaper that I liked.

I have taken the influence of the Leigh Journal for the positioning of the adverts relative to the positioning of the lead story.
The side columns on the right is stemmed from the Manchester Evening News.

From the conventions research I have done -I used the Scottish Sun newspaper -I am keen to use info graphics on my newspaper.

All in all, I am happy with the layout at this stage, however, I know that I can always adjust and experiment with it when the time comes.

I feel that my next stage is to research the mastheads in more detail as they are something that always catches my eye and has high importance towards the front cover and the end product.

I think that the order that I am going to do the process of creating the magazine is:
Layout
Research for Masthead
Masthead Design
Research for Adverts
Planning/Photoshoot/Edits of Adverts (enough for second page if needed)
Research Story
Plan/Type/Present/Adjust Story ( enough for second page if needed)
Present all work into front cover
      Research Page 2 of Newspapers
      Plan second page/layout
      Present all work into second page
Research Posters for Newspapers
Plan Poster/photoshoot/Edits of Poster
      Research Radio Adverts
      Research Radio Adverts for Newspapers?
      Script Radio Advert
      Record Radio Advert/Edit
Finish Off any work or blog.

Bad Example

So far, i have researched reasonably respected and professional newspapers...

I think that they have all come across well and given me some sources of inspiration, however, I don't want to delve too deep into the research as I fear that my ideas will just revolve around them and end up copying alot of their work.

But, I decided just to look at local newspapers a couple more times and I came across this newspaper 'The Wigan Courier'.

This has given me a guideline of what not to aim towards and I'm glad that i took the time to research it...

Conventions

Its time to take a step back...

I think that I need to start looking at the norms and conventions of a local newspaper, perhaps i should have looked even before I actually started to research existing newspapers.

These images are the general conventions from a newspaper and I feel that the focus of a tabloid newspaper, such as the one above, shows the use of colour, size, typeface, shape to draw the reader in. It's like it depends on typography. An example of the opposite of this is a Broadsheet such as the New York Times.
                           

                

Information sourced from Wikipedia.com:
Broadsheets: 600 mm × 380 mm (23½ × 15 inches), generally associated with more intellectual newspapers, although a trend towards "compact" newspapers is changing this.
Tabloids: half the size of broadsheets at 380 mm × 300 mm (15 × 11¾ inches), and often perceived as sensationalist in contrast to broadsheets.Examples include The Sun etc.
Berliner or Midi: 470 mm × 315 mm (18½ × 12¼ inches) used by European papers such as Le Monde in France and, since 2005, The Guardian in the United Kingdom.



I have put the information of the types of newspapers onto my blog, just so it is a reminder to me that there are certain conventions that I need to avoid because they aren't related to a local newspaper. 

Research

I have continued looking at local newspaper, at this stage, it is 'Manchester Evening News'...

I think that I like aspects of this to take through to my own newspaper lay-out as it seems more established and professional than the previous research.

However, in my newspaper, I would want to include some adverts as I feel that it shows the local industry e.g local cafes. I think that it is important to represent the community especially if it is a local newspaper.

The colour scheme for this paper does not appear to follow 3-colour rule even though they do. I think that this is a clever way to bring in the colours (where as the Leigh Journals colours were obvious). The subtly used colours are Black (White Background) red and yellow and these are unisex colours so appeal to a wider audience...

Initial Research

First Looks...

This is my initial research into how a local newspaper is designed and how it gets the readers attention instantly.

The first newspaper that I have looked is 'The Leigh Journal' as it is my own local newspaper so I am familiar with the way it runs.

 
I have placed black markers on just the obvious partitions on the cover as I then can easily see the percentage of space used. I think that the simplicity of the masthead means that it is instantly recognisable and not to hard to re-adjust depending on circumstances.

I have to say that i was confused over the sign of 'Your Leigh Journal Is Inside' so I looked into this edition of the Leigh Journal in more detail...

I prefer the second front cover as I feel that it delivers more of an impact towards the reader, aswell as illustrating additional news stories and information...

Initial Ideas

And so it begins....

I have just began my research for the type of newspaper that I would want to do for my coursework and there's actually alot to think about -more than I realised!

I think that if I take into consideration that nothing is set in concrete, I will be more calm about my approach into the coursework,as it means that I have the ability to get feedback for ideas, or experiment and be creative with different stories.

The attractive diagram above just illustrates different starting points for the newspaper that I will eventually create. It helps me clearly see what options that I have and it helps me in a sense that I don't panic if one idea doesn't work out as there are other routes and paths that I could take. I'm looking forward to this project and I hope I can do it justice.

Decision Time

Only a fresh, new blog can mean the start of a brand new piece of coursework. I guess that its that time again. Its decision time...

    Actually, the decision isn't actually that difficult - I'm choosing to do the Newspaper option as I enjoy doing print. I'm an Art student and although I may have not done fantastic last time I did print, I am happy with my grade that I achieved in Media last year.
   Another factor of choosing print is that for any other option (Music Promo, etc.) I would need to work in a group, however, my bus journey is 1 and a half hours just to college, so it would be difficult for me to go to out-of-college locations and the option of working by myself would me that I cant let anyone else down...

So, with all that in mind, I shall begin to research my brief. Lets just hope its a wise choice to do...