CCR Video

CCR question 4

All photos taken during this project were taken with the 29mm, 12MP camera found in my Iphone SE. The most important graphic design program i used for this project was the 2020 version of Adobe Indesign.Indesign's text features and photo editing functions were used significantly to redesign my magazine articles. While not a main factor, i did also use Gmail services to send images across devices. 

CCR Question 3

In this project i had the opportunity to practice and develop many production skills related to magazine planning, design and production.
In my planning phase i spent most of my time with two skills. These were camera work skills in the case of photography of food and interviewed people. I also spent some time working in microsoft word to plane the placing of my cover, table of contents, magazine articles and my story board.
In my design phase i was able to hone my skills in two online programs. These being Canva to make my cover and table of contents and FlipSnack to make both magazine articles.
In my final production phase i was able to use for the first time Adobe Indesign which i used to remake everything in my magazine.
With the exception of Microsoft word, this was the first time for being using all of these technology programs. In the time spent, i have been able to vastly improve my skills in digital creation and design.

CCR Question #2

One engagement feature that is part of each individual issue is a response to questions sent in. This engagement part incentives greater time spent with the magazine's producer's. I also have two other secondary audience engagement tactics. These include a social media account through Instagram that can increase viability and anticipation for upcoming issues and highlight articles that would be featured in them. A website is also included in this. It's main feature is how it makes subscribing to the magazine much easier and includes a small online store of related products. With online use, we can keep the magazine online. 

Many of these ideas came from my research. In all of the magazines i researched, all of them utilized a website for the reasons that i am using. The main purpose of websites was to allow for subscriptions, the selling of products, new articles and in the case of cooking light, meal plans. 

From my distribution research, i found a few ways that magazines are able to further distribute their magazine. Wired magazine offers newsletters of cut-down articles with a variety of different amounts people may subscribe to. National geographic magazine offers an entire online library for both adults and children featuring previous issues. LIkewise, The New Yorker also offers an online library to compliment their physical issues. My distribution plan draws from all of these sources. The printing of a magazine is an effective way of still reaching people. The having of online versions though is still a very beneficial choice to make along with it though, and one that allows for a far greater number of people to access each issue. A choice that was made by wired is also one that i believe would be effective. The use of newsletters to reach members further is also one that i hope to incorporate further.  Because my target audience is younger, the distribution focus of online use is one that should be more effective at reaching my audience better than other variants would be.

CCR Question #1

One of the main conventions i followed was the cover photo. Like many other magazines, the cover is used to present the main subject dish of the issue. Following this, my cover is taken up by the bowl of pho. The cover also follows the convention of various sub-headers being scattered around the edges of the cover. Font color does follow some current conventions, magazines such as Eating Well also have the same colors across the cover. Likewise here, the green backdrop is complimented by the darker green text used. The way the interview's text is also formatted follows common conventions. The differentiated text between the interview questions and the responses is a common format that my magazine utilized. 

 Because of the specific style of this issue, the main social groups involved are Asian. These include Chinese, Myanmar, Malaysian and Burmese, but also Italian and Jewish. With the exception of two interviews, the main representation is through culinary dishes. 

Revision Post 3

 My biggest changes between 2nd and 3rd revisions was the redesigning of both the cover and the table of contents in Adobe Indesign.
In addition to this, i also rearranged the positioning of some article heads on the cover and made some smaller changes to positioning and size on the contents page.
Because of this, the overall feel and flow of the magazine is now realigned and personally, i really like the outcome. 

Distribution Plan

One of the most common forms of modern distribution is a media app. Some such examples that have these are The New Yorker, Reader's Digest, The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek.  These apps are used to give more users access to their readers. By providing an online version of my magazine, I increase the number of people who can subscribe to the magazine and also reduces input costs as i do not have to physically print each issue.

But a physical print issue is also important to have. Even more technologically focused magazines such as Wired still provide printed copies. As people we seem to enjoy being able to hold the magazine and flip through pages. 

One idea that is also popular from the rise of computers was the development of newsletters that can be sent to readers to alert them of recent developments and interesting parts of the latest issue. Small cut-down versions of articles can raise interest from readers in what is being provided at relatively little cost.

Distribution Research-Wired

Wired Magazine, true to their topic, has been quick to develop ways for users to reach their product online. They offer three app based locations for different devices. These being on IPads, Kindle Fires and NOOK tablets.

Besides full versions of their magazine in print and online, they also offer cut-down versions through weekly-based and daily newsletters that can be emailed to the subscriber. They cover recent technology developments, transportation and longer articles.

Part of their website distribution also includes random pop-ups that "incentivize" users to spend more on a better service. These types include cheaper subscription rates for a year, deals off in their store for subscribing and access to exclusive newsletters.
The randomness element of these means that users are more willing to accept the deal, on the premise that it would be a 1 in a million chance of it ever popping up again, and dont want to miss out on whatever the deal intails.

Distribution Research-National Geographic

National Geographic has partnered with multiple software groups to make sure as much digital access to their magazine is available. For Iphones, they have their app on the App Store.
For andriods, the google play store also offers their app.
Besides these apps, they still offer online subscriptions to their issues.

They also have an online library. This means that once people subscribe they gain access to all the recent issues. With their children's library also included within their subscription, national geographic is able to spread as many versions of their magazine around and provide as great of an incentive to users to also use multiple forms of their service.

Distribution Research-The New Yorker

One of the more modern distribution methods from the New Yorker is their online mobile app. The to online version gives access to cut-down versions of some articles and online versions of comics and crosswords.
They also still provide both national and international print issues across  Despite this, do they not interact with much with retailers. Their main focus of physical distribution is through direct subscriptions available on their website.

They do work with some third-party services for distribution of their app version of their magazine with the Newsstand app.

Revision #2

My first major changes was the reworking of the two article pages in Adobe Indesign. This made them both look a lot better.  Because of this i also plan on redoing my cover and table of contents as well in Indesign, to improve both their visual appeal but also keep design consistency throughout my magazine.

Traditional Distribution

Retailers: Traditional distribution methods relied on physical locations to supply copies of their issues. Magazine stand and distribution with other businesses such as coffee shops and other stores. The use of retailers are still in use today but are used less than they used to be.

Wholesale: Magazine producers also used to rely more on magazine wholesalers. Prior to 1995 there were around 300 of these magazine wholesalers in the US.

National/Regional Distributors: With these on national producers they provide copies of the magazine to the retailers. They act more as a production site than a direct distribute, but are necessary for larger distribution.

Marketing Plan

One of the most common forms of engagement found across magazines today is a website. With this in mind, i created a simple webpage, and to stay with conventions, designed a small shop and linked a social media account to it.
https://blizzardystorm.wixsite.com/nichemagazine

The social media account serve to raise awareness of the magazine through use of common services. The account can also raise anticipation of the latest issues by teasing past and new dishes that may be highlighted. With the social media account linking to the website and the website linking to the social media account, both work in tandem to increase each others viewership.

Revision #1

First Set of Revisions

Indesign Class Activity

Today in class we utilized adobe indesign to lay out our 2 page spread. Definitely Indesign seemed hard to use but after an introduction course, it became much easier to use. It definitely creates a much easier process for re-designing my article.
For revisions i made a few text based changes through my original software but after that the vast majority of cosmetic changes were all through Indesign.

Audience Engagement Research-Cooking Light

How My Audience Is Similar: Cooking Light appeals to a moderately broad audience. Their media kit shows that their primary audience has a median HHI of around $80,000 They also appeal more to families without children in them.

How They Market: Cooking light uses one of the more common forms of audience engagement nowadays. Social media. In this case, Cooking Light uses an Instagram page to highlight meals and advertise their content to a larger audience. Announcing the latest issues, giving additional pictures of the dishes and overall letting fans interact more with the company are all the results of this technology. They also offer a way for their fans to send recipes to them under the premise that they may be featured, incentivizing audience engagement.



Their Website also offers an online shop where they can buy the various cooking products advertised through their magazine, this ranges from Knifes to Pots to Pans. The shop also offers some snack foods and fully cooked meals people can buy, including corn chips and whole steak dishes.



Their Site also allows for another engagement form. Their meal program. By subscribing through a $1.52 per week fee, the company provides a full meal plan to the user. This works with the magazines theme of health food and dieting.
These services are a good way for cooking light to draw in new users to their services and through those services they hope they can get them to buy or subscribe to other offers available.






Finally Cooking Light offers book sales to further the chances of being found by shoppers. Books give them a way into book stores, letting them reach some areas that are less likely to feature just magazines.

Audience Engagement Research-The Cook's Cook

Similar Audience: The Cook's Cook has a closer male/female ratio that i would be trying to reach. The magazine has an age range thats closer to what i would like to be at but is a bit older than my main aim.


The Cook's Cook has an interesting idea. They have a community forum where fans can submit their own dishes and discuss current food ideas. This community engagement is a good way to draw in fans but also keep them interested. Allowing for them to interact with photo submissions is a way to add another level of engagement to their community. The idea of using Facebook also works because of their target age, of around the 40-50 range being part of their majority audience.

They also have a smaller youtube channel to attract to a younger audience then would normally be reached by a Facebook group. Here they are able to increase the chances of being seen by a much larger number of people.

The Cook's Cook has also been able to gain a lot of publicity through the newspaper, "The Guardian". This paper has ran numerous articles about Chef's associated with the magazine.

Target Audience Research

Using Data from Food Network Magazine, The Cook's Cook and Cooking Light, there are a few conclusions to reach. First is that the majority of people buying these magazines are in their 40s with an HHI of around 80k per year. My magazine is trying to reach a bit younger of an age area then current magazines are trying to reach. Many of the mainstream magazines focus on a family-oriented, large meal making design. My magazine design reaches the age groups missed, the younger 18-30 range and the 55-60 range.
The modernistic design is used to appeal to a younger audience and the simple, easy to understand and easy to access information appeals to an older audience than is traditionally targeted. This design will also hopefully address the disparity between male/female audiences, which for Cooking Light has a significant male to female ratio of 14/84 split. This magazine aims to address interests in a more specific type of cooking. This magazine aims to highlight more unconventional foods found in the US. Foods styles like Malaysian and Burmese are uncommon to find in the United States and this magazine acts as an outlet to let interested cooks try out new flavors.

Audience Engagement Research-Fine Cooking

Similar Audience: Fine cooking has a closer gender split than cooking light to what im trying to achieve. While their median age is a bit older to what than i want to reach of 52, so while i wish to reach a big younger demographic they have some similarities.





Fine Cooking is one of many modern magazines that have opted to have a secondary website to help popularize their magazine. In the case of cooking magazines, these sites operate to host smaller articles and recipes.





The website though is also used to show content unavailable in print media. Some examples of these are Videos and the advertise their TV show "Movable Feast". Their website makes the processes of subscribing also much easier to do, encouraging people to keep spending their money on their products.






Fine Cooking also uses a Youtube account to show users how to make some of the dishes featured in their issues. With nearly 50 thousand subscribers, this allows them to reach even more users and acts as a secondary income source from Youtube.

Feedback and Revisions

Main Revisions

1. Change the Photo on the Table of Contents.
2. Change a bit of flavor text on the first article page. 
3. Text color edits on the cover to increase visibility.
4.  Edit the photo size on the first article page.
5. Any other quality of life changes.

The Purpose of these changes were to improve the visibility of the content and to improve general aesthetic. 

Blog Conventions

How Does this Magazine Conform to Conventions?
This magazine follows some of the common conventions found in magazines. First is with the cover. True to form, the title is on the top of the cover such as with Good Food magazine and Naked Food. As well as this, the main image is in the center of the cover, but with the majority of the dish to one side of the cover, typically the right, which my cover follows. Afterwords though common conventions are used. The style of the table of contents with its related photo on one side and list on the other is one of the most used conventions. The style of interview also with the italics questions and the standard form answer.
How Does this Magazine not Conform to Conventions?
The magazine does also challenge some conventions. The cover has a much more simplistic and modernistic design which while does appear on some covers, this design is by far less used for the more fuller design. Following the premise of a simple, easy to use magazine and recipe book, each issue should be easy to identify and read through.
Social Groups Represented
Cover highlights Vietnamese foods and the article focuses also on it. Throughout the magazine however, various other groups from around Asia are mentioned. We have Myanmaran, Chinese, Malaysian and Burmese. Because of the interview with Massimiliano Alajmo, Italian food is also highlighted.