Behind Schedule

Having been primarily focused on my dissertation throughout February, I have fallen very behind on my original production schedule.  Above is the production schedule that I proposed in my original project proposal.  Since then I have changed the outline of my project, however I was sticking to the same production schedule as it was still relevant.  So far, in relation to my schedule, I should have completed a week's worth of shooting, along with interviews with creatives and a developed website design.  In reality, I have not yet started shooting and I have not yet interviewed anyone, however I have sourced my models and begun designing the looks for upcoming photo shoots.  I have also visited some exhibitions, however they are no longer relevant.

My organisation skills within this project so far have not met my expectations as I have struggled to manage starting my FMP whilst still working on my dissertation.  This is due to me being originally unorganised with my dissertation, however now that it has been completed I can get back on track with production.  Below is a revised production schedule that I shall work to moving forward in my project.

The Trend

Time Period: A/W 16
Trend: Routine and Structure

Because the aim of the online magazine is to create a forecasting space for the public, I have decided that each issue will revolve around the trends for the season ahead.  Therefore, the first issue will focus on A/W 16 trends, as it will first be released in Spring.

The overall trend to be forecasted for this magazine will focus around the idea of routine and structure.  This has been influenced by the idea that society is becoming more structured through more rules being put into place by the government, and others alike.  The focus of the magazine will be how structure in society has been mirrored into beauty and fashion, and the main theme behind the first issue of the magazine will be how we create and follow our own routines within these areas.  For example, in beauty, skincare routines are becoming more important and more popular than the make-up that you apply.

Society has imprinted the idea of structure into our lives.  People wake up in the morning to proceed with a day that consists of numerous routines that they have put into place themselves, and the chances are that they repeat this daily.  This reflects into our hair and beauty routines, as we are lead to believe that through repeating the steps that brands tell us to, we will achieve a rejuvenated appearance - and so we either follow or create our own routines in the hope of achieving this end goal.

I think that in society we have devised this idea of the importance of routine because we like to have structure in our lives.  The majority of people would feel lost if they did not have a daily routine to follow.  We have been brought up being told what to do from a young age by parents and teachers, and when that superior instruction stops we create our own to abide by.  Therefore I am going to look at the effect that this idea is having on us, with regards to fashion, hair and beauty.

Product Areas

SKIN - Focusing on skincare, this section will have a written piece about how to care for your skin along with some visuals from photoshoots that I will undertake.  Along with skincare, the piece will also have a small feature on face make-up and various products that are available to buy.

EYES - This feature will focus on different ways to wear eyeshadow and eyeliner to suit your style and that will tie in with the trends of the season.  Visuals, text and suggested products will all be featured.

LIPS - Focusing on the lip colours of the season, the lips feature will entail predictions of popular shades and catwalk imagery to back up my opinions.  Product details will also be available for the viewer to consider and purchase.

NAILS - A feature that will focus on how to decorate your nails to fit with the rest of the range of beauty predictions.  This section will also entail a list of nail product suggestions, and where you can purchase them from.

FRAGRANCE - This will entail a photoshoot to represent the scent of fragrances for the A/W season. It will also feature fragrance products that I predict to be popular and that fit in with the theme of the other areas in the magazine.

HAIR - This area will feature hair care tips as well as hair styling tips.  Visuals will accompany the written pieces to show the reader which products are best for them and which hairstyles will be on trend when Autumn arrives.

FASHION - For the fashion section, I will have small written pieces about clothing items that can be found and bought for the upcoming season.  I plan to team up with a stylist to help me organise my thoughts in this areas, as it is not my expertise.  I like the idea of using a street style theme for the fashion feature, to contrast the studio settings for the beauty features.

The overall aim of the online magazine is to prepare people for the upcoming season in all areas of fashion, hair and beauty.  The USP of the project is the forecasting element that is involved, therefore it is vital that each section informs the reader about which products and styles are the ones to use and have for the season.  I am excited to kick start this project and get going with designing and creating the content, however I am nervous because I have set myself a lot to do over a short period of time.

Changes to my project

On receiving feedback to the project proposal, I have decided to make a few adjustments.  In my original project, it was suggested that my target audience would know more about the subject areas within my magazine than myself, meaning that I would not be supplying more information to them than they already know.  Having spoken to my mentor, we have decided that some changes to my project would be beneficial, as I proposed to achieve a lot of work that, on reflection, I might not be able to cope with alone in just a few months.
Elizabeth suggested that my original idea had been done before and to be unique I needed to have a forecasting element to my magazine. Below I have outlined a new plan for my project.

FOCUS

The aim of this project is to create an online magazine that acts as a trend forecasting platform for the public.  The website will allow the viewer to explore beauty, hair and fashion trends for the upcoming season - the first issue being for Autumn 2016.  Alongside forecasting features on beauty, hair and fashion, the online magazine will hold interviews with new, up and coming creatives and exhibition reviews.

I have chosen to continue with the platform of an online magazine for the reasons in my previous proposal - it will allow the viewer to be more interactive with the magazine, and most people have access to the internet in today's society, making it more accessible to a wider variety of people.

Features will include forecasted trends for the upcoming season in the format of photo shoots and articles to accompany and explain what the trend will be about.  Interviews with up and coming creatives and exhibition reviews will still feature within the project, however I need to refine which exhibitions to review.  Moving imagery will be used throughout the website, as well as high fashion imagery to add dynamic to the magazine, and it will be an interactive experience for the viewer.

TARGET MARKET

The target market for my online magazine will be similar to the one previously proposed - the magazine will be aimed at creative professionals and people with an interest in the creative industry.  The initial age range to be focused on will be men and women in their mid 20s, however the magazine will also be able to cater for a wider audience.  The target market will be primarily based in a major city, with great interests in fashion and beauty, and the future of the industry.

Age:
20 - 40

Sex:
Male/Female

Location:
Any major city

Occupation:
Creative professional/Creative student

Interests:
Fashion, beauty, museums such as the V&A and the National Portrait Gallery, exhibitions such as 100 years of Vogue, conventions such as the Glamour Beauty Festival, magazines such as i-D and websites such as Beauty Papers.

The target market described is an outline of whom I will be primarily aiming my online magazine at.  Alternatively, the magazine can be available to anyone who holds an interest in the subjects explored.

COMPETITORS

BEAUTY PAPERS
"A creative biannual about the culture of beauty."
Beauty Papers, founded in 2015 by Maxine Leonard and Valerie Wickes, explores the ideas that form our interpretation of beauty.  It connects ideas of some of the industry's experts with new talent, and writers to generate a more diverse, cultural understanding.
Beauty Papers is similar to the proposed online magazine in the way that it brings creatives together through articles and interviews.  However, the fact that the proposed project intends on focusing on the future of beauty and fashion, sets it apart.  Beauty Papers also offers a physical copy of their magazine, whereas mine will solely be online in the form of an interactive website.

UNIQUE SELLING POINT

The unique selling point of the newly proposed outcome for my project is the element of forecasting in the magazine.  The online space will include photo shoots, moving imagery and articles based on the trends of the upcoming season.

FEATURES

- Beauty - Hair - Fashion -

The online magazine will consist of three feature areas: beauty, hair and fashion.  It will focus solely on these three areas as the target audience is men and women in the creative industries.  Also, there are already many magazines out there that cater for other areas, such as art and culture, therefore I have chosen to be more specific and stick with just these topics.
Each feature area will have visuals and articles that talk the reader through trends for the next season.  I plan to have various sections within the beauty category, however hair and fashion will just be sole sections with different areas explored within them.

PRODUCTION ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS - Creating a forecasting space online that is open for the public to view at their pleasure is an innovative concept that will capsulate the audience within the future of beauty, hair and fashion.

WEAKNESSES - Producing the number of photoshoots and accompanying articles proposed is ambitious for the time frame, especially as it is shorter now that I have adapted my idea.  To keep on track, I shall have to revise my production schedule and be sure to keep strictly to it. Collaborating with other creatives will help to ensure that the projects targets are met and that each feature is completed to a high standard.

OPPORTUNITIES - The online magazine will showcase the trends of the upcoming season and the new talents of the creative industry, as well as working with current successors of the industry.  The online magazine aims to entertain and inspire creatives, and, if successful, it could be continued with more issues and features to be published on a regular basis.

THREATS - Managing a team of creatives, such as models, photographers and videographers is already proving to be difficult.  Moving forward, organisation will be vital in order for the project to be successful.  Members of the creative team will have to be committed, and sourcing a larger team than necessary will allow for cases of unavailability.

Tutorial with Elizabeth

In today's tutorial with Elizabeth we discussed the concept, direction and content for my online magazine.  Her opinion is that, for my magazine to be innovative, it needs a forecasting element within it, however I do not have the knowledge or resources that would allow me to stay ahead of my target audience.  It was discussed that maybe an arts project would not be the right direction for my online magazine, as we both agreed that I am not knowledgable enough within that area.  Therefore we have removed the arts element from my project, and my magazine will now focus on the future of fashion, hair and beauty.

I am happy with this decision, as I definitely feel more comfortable and am more knowledgeable with these creative areas.  Removing the arts element also means that my work load will be slightly less, because I will no longer have to go to London to continue reviewing exhibitions and it will not be necessary for me to find artists to collaborate with in my work.  This will also allow me to really focus on the three elements of fashion, hair and beauty, in order to create some great features for my magazine.

Moving forward:

- Define the trend and how far into the future that the magazine will look to

- Research into the three magazine areas

- Look for inspiration for online layouts

- Begin shooting

FMP Proposal: Feedback

GRADE ACHIEVED: C1

TUTOR MARKER: Jennifer Anyan

TUTOR COMMENTS: A proposal that is a good starting point and provides rich and diverse areas for developing interesting content.  The proposal is also ambitious, you need to be realistic about who you are writing for; is the target market you have outlined potentially more knowledgable than you are in some of the project areas - how will you develop content that appeals to the top end of that readership?  You could also consider Hungertv.com and Nowness as competitors - Nowness may not strictly be a magazine but the boundaries and definitions of online platforms are now very fluid.  Greater conceptual analysis is needed in order for the project to really fulfil its potential, you created make-up inspired by the World goes Pop exhibition - what was the design methodology you employed in doing this?  Far greater experimentation and a more questioning approach is needed here.  Some of the proposal sections would benefit from further explanation, for example page 10 - you need to explain what this is showing us?  Would it be a section of the magazine on your own illustrations?  Do you intend to write about your work too?  You have a good starting point, however there is much that needs to be considered in more detail in order to elevate the standard of what you can produce and also to make this project practically manageable: this is what we need to discuss in the first tutorial - a clearer plan of exactly what you are going to do and how you are going to do it.

REACTION TO FEEDBACK: At first I was disheartened by my grade, but since receiving my feedback comments I can understand why I only achieved a 2:2. Having looked back over by proposal alongside my feedback, I agree with the comments and am confident in moving forward and what to do next.
I think that when I was writing my proposal, I was quite overwhelmed by my idea and wasn't entirely sure where I was going with it, and I was getting lost within my own ideas.  Because I wasn't sure myself on some ideas, I lacked in test shoots and I didn't leave myself enough time to create more than one or even recreate the one that I did.  On reflection, I needed to have defined my concept before I started writing, as well as having a plan for the number of shoots and features that I intend to include.  Having already spoken to my mentor, Elizabeth, we have decided that it would be more manageable if I create a soft launch of a magazine, rather than a full first issue.  This is because I have been very ambitious with the amount that I originally set out to achieve, and a soft launch will allow me to create fewer great features, rather than many average features.
Moving forward, I need to go back to the beginning and pinpoint the concept behind my magazine and map out the features in order to be able to find a dedicated team that will be willing to help me.  Once I have my definitive idea and map of my website, I can progress into the staging of my project and the shoots.

MOVING FORWARD: To be able to move forward with my project, I need to rethink my concept and aims.  The next stage of this project will be to redefine my idea having received my feedback.  In my feedback, it was mentioned that my proposed target audience would possibly know more about the project areas, due to having proposed my online magazine would be aimed at professionals within the industry.  Rethinking my project and the outcome will allow me to create something more appropriated to my target audience.  Once I have redefined my project and discussed it with my mentor, Elizabeth, I can then map my contents and build a team of creatives to work alongside me.