Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs model around the 1940's. The Hierarchy of Needs theory remains valid even till today as it creates a clear understanding for human motivation, management training, and personal development. Maslow's ideas surrounding the Hierarchy of Needs concerns the responsibility of employers to provide a workplace environment that encourages and enables employees to fulfil their own unique potential are today more relevant than ever.The pyramid consists of 5 stages:Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization. The media industry of magazines fits into the hierarchy of needs theory in between Esteem and Self-Actualization. This is because people can relate or aspire to be those on the front cover, so they gain comfort and self estem as they feel as though they are not alone e.g. a punk boy may see a punk star on a front cover and feel as though he is not the only person out there that looks like a punk.

This also relates to the Uses and Gratifications theory as it consists of four main components which are, information, personal identity, integration and social interaction and finally entertainment. Music magazines can fall in to all of these categories as they inform you with information as you read them, they make you feel as though you can associate or relate to other people that appear in the magazine, they make you feel as though your part of a group and you have a place in society and finally the articles, gossip, pictures and tour dates offer you entertainment.

Therefore i will bear both theories in mind when creating my magazine so i can make them appeal to a wider audience.

Target audience.

This is Bee, she is 16 years old and lives in Hertfordshire with her family, she is a very loud, laid back individual. She is in to fashion and loves shopping, her favourite shops are River island, New look, H&m, Topshop and small fashion boutiques. Her hobbies are dancing, singing and acting. During her spare time she likes to socialize with her friends, she loves going to concerts, events and the cinemas for a night out but also loves a night in relaxing with a tub of Ben and Jerrys and an enjoyable film. Her favourite films are Mean Girls, Angus Thongs and perfect Snogging, Valentines day and Twilight. In the evening she likes to watch tv, her favorite shows are Skins, Shameless, X factor, keeping up with the Kardashians, the Hills and music channels. Therefore she mainly watches chanel 4, E4, ITV and 4music. She has a wide interest of music and her favorite genres range from pop, hiphop, RnB and indie music, however she dislikes rock and classical. Her favorite radio station is choice FM as they play the latest music she likes to listen to.

Analysis of a contents page two.

This contents page is from the music magazine Vibe. The colours are all very muted with no bright colours at all making the white and black contrast against each other well in a sophisticated way. Therefore this colour scheme conveys a moody appearance which when combined with the pose of the model is very provocative and suggestively sexy. The contents text has been arrange in a confusing but eye-catching manner as it is in white capital letters against a black background. It also uses enjambment however it doesn't have a meaning as the word 'contents' is not usually broken up into 3 syllables, therefore this highlights a sense of confusion, which then coincides with the whole page as it is all very unusual and unconventional for a contents page. As a contents page is normally very informative and simple however the image on this contents page looks as though it belongs on a front cover. The image itself is of a famous singer Ciara, she blends in with the colour theme as she is wearing a muted toned down creamy/white leotard with pastel grey shoes, her jewelry also blends in to the picture make it all subtle, however her legs contrast as they are a bare flesh colour which glows on the muted background, therefore her legs have been made the main attraction of the page. This represents her sexual, seductive appearance and also makes her sexy long legs the main attraction of the page; this suggests that the page wants the reader to focuses on them. The position of which she is laying in with her legs in the air staring at the reader could be seen to the reader as arousing and suggestively sexy. Therefore this image will attract both male and females, as males will easily be aroused by her seductive look and females will aspire to have such a perfect appearance and slim legs. At the top of the page the letter "v" has been put into the contents page, this represents the magazines’ masthead name "Vibe". As it is white it contrasts with the background, blends in with the wording “contents” and makes it noticeable to the reader, so that they can easily identify which magazine it is. All the other text is written in black to make it stand out, as it needs to be clear and informative, which are main conventions of a contents page. The words “features” and “fashions” are written in a bold italics text to catch the eye of the reader to inform the reader what the magazine will feature. The language is simple to read as it all age groups and genders. Overall I do not think the contents page gives a good indication of what will be inside as it is very unconventional and unclear, however it does addresses the reader well as she is giving the camera eye contact and it will appeal to its target audience, as it is eye catching.

Analysis of a contents page one.

This contents page is from the music magazine Kerrang. The four main colours it focuses on are white, black, yellow and red; these are all very conventional colours of a rock magazine. The reason these colours have been chosen is because black and white contrast against each other but most importantly the reader is easily able to read black font on white background and vice versa, due the the contrast of light and dark. The yellow is used as another contrast between light and dark colours. It's being used for page numbers and titles, orientating between yellow font in black boxes and black font in yellow boxes. The results of keeping this convention constant throughout the page makes the information easier to read, as the reader will know what they are looking for because it will be indicated by those two colours. Red has been used for a pug in the bottom right hand corner of the contents page. The colour red isn't being used in any other area of the contents page; its use has been solely restricted to key information located inside the pug therefore this information stands out. The consistency of the colour theme on this contents page has been kept nonchalant and repetitive, making it very appealing to the audience and easy on the eye. The bold headline, which is located at the top of the page, clearly states to the reader that they are on the contents page. The title "contents" is in a bold font and is easily noticeable at the top right hand side of the page, due to the big contrast between the use of light and dark colours, yellow and black. The main features and articles in the magazine are displayed in boxes, which take up half of the page. These boxes contain pictures of the band and artists of which there is an article about. This will appeal more to the audience because it is more fun to look at and most people enjoy looking at pictures in magazines, therefore there is a greater chance of the audience focusing in on the key articles. The names of the bands and the page number are also written underneath the pictures. On the right hand side of the page there is a column, which lists the least important articles in the magazine. These articles are not supposed to be attention grabbing as there are other articles that will appeal to readers more, which is why they are just informing the reader via text. A pug is using the extra spacing on the front cover. The pug is advertising subscription details for the magazine. There is also a small blurb about the magazine. There is one main image that is bigger than the other smaller pictures this gives a bigger emphasis on that certain article, suggesting that it is more important than the others, as the increase in size catches the audience's eyes first. All the images used easily show the musicians' faces so that the reader can easily identify who is who, with the help of text underneath each picture. The images will appeal to the audience because of the Punk/Rock they are representing, of which the target audience of "Kerrang Magazine" will be followers. The poses of the photographs do not portray a specific meaning, as they are purely to liven up the contents page and make it more eye catching. Many of the photos look as though they have been captured during a performance at a live gig etc or from a screenshot of a front cover. All the photos follow the same convention of being able to see and recognize the faces of the artists at a glance, as the only necessary convention is that the artist in the image must be easily recognizable to fans. The language is simple and follows the typical conventions of a contents page. Which are written to explain and inform, telling the audience the content of the magazine. The importance of the text is signified by size, colour and effect. The wording directly addresses the reader, telling him or her what pages each article or feature is located on. The language is easy to read as its main target audience is teens therefore the the language cannot be too complex. Overall the contents page gives you a good indication of hat will be inside, addresses the reader well and appeals to its target audience, as it is fun and eye catching.

Analysis of a double page spread three.

This double page spread is from the music magazine NME. It features a large image on Lily Allen on the right hand side indicating the article is going to be based on her. Taking up a lot of the double page is a large headline beside it to the left saying “People think I’m an attention seeker, but I’m just honest” the headline is written in an eye catching way, of which it looks like a torment letter cut out from newspaper pieces to match her bad girl look, this will persuade the audience to read the article as it stands out and is fun and unconventional. By using a catchy quote from the article will also persuade the audience to read it as they want to put the quote in to context. The large image which accompanies the text is of Lily continuing to conveying her bad girl attitude. The colours used on the page are the house colours of the NME magazine which are, red, black and white. These colours are also the main colour theme for this double page spread as Lilys red, black and white chequered shirt matches the white background and black text, this keeps the layout simple but effective, sophisticated and eye catching. The article is on a plain white background which makes the story, image and text stand out to the reader.Lily has dark black hair, her makeup is pale with dark eyeliner and eye shadow to make her stand out on the plain background and give her added attitude and add to the bad girl effect she is meant to be portraying. She is posing so that she’s leant slightly forward towards the camera with her hands on her hips. This pose and the slightly tilted camera angle makes Lily seem important, so that the reader focuses on her. Most readers can get put off by large amounts of writing on a page, However this article has taken up the majority of the spacing using the image on the right page and the main headline takes up the top left of the left page, therefore there is not much text but just enough to interest the reader. The text is written in columns which are conventional of an interview, it is of a small font but is still readable and the language is easy and clear to understand because it is targeted at adolescent age group. Overall this article looks fun and informal therefore the target audience isn’t huge but will attract mainly teenage girls of around the age of 11-19. The layout is simple and just by looking at the double page spread you can get a good indication of what will be inside which is ideal for the age group it is targeting.

Analysis of a double page spread two.

This double page spread is from the music magazine Kerrang, it contains several images and has a very busy layout which is often conventional of a rock genre magazine. The main image is large taking up most of the left page it is also is a monochrome (black and white) image which fits the colour scheme of black, white and red perfectly. The smaller images at the bottom of the page are also monochrome to fit the colour scheme and match the larger image. The double page spread is dominated by images and there is only a small amount of text on the right side of the page; however the text is white to stand out contrasting from the black background, so the text is noticeable and will attract the audience to read it. There are also hints of red throughout the page to break up the white and black theme as red works well against the black and stands out to attract the eye of the reader. The white text box will also catch the reader’s eye; therefore they will probably read this first as it stands out more than anything else on the page, therefore the information is most likely to be important information or facts. The headline is at a slight angle which contrasts the page as the rest of the text and images are straight. The font looks slightly worn out which suits the punk/rock theme of the band, the alternative colours help to identify the most important words of the title which seem to be “ The Best MCR”. In the top left corner there is a little banner saying 'world exclusive' this makes it seem unique to Kerrang so the readers will want to read it as it seems like a special one off addition interview. All the images convey a rock theme impression to them as the musicians are all depitected with paled skin with dark hair or rock styled hair. All of them have instruments to convey their style of music. The photographs look as though they are shot live because the lighting is very harsh and appears to be from a luve music event, which is conventional of rock magazines because the mood and atmoshphere portrayed. Therefore the poses are natural poses of them rocking out whilst playing their music. The language is written is proper english and is very readable to the reader as Kerrang targets a teenage market therefore it has to be readable to that social group. Overall i think this double page spread gives you a good indication of what the article will contain, it address the reader and will appeal to its target audience as it represents the conventions of a rock magazine well.

Analysis of a double page spread one.

This double page spread is from Q magazine. It features a large main image taking up the whole right side of the double page of punk/rock star Pink. As this image is a close up of Pinks face it clearly conveys to the reader that the article is going to be based on her. The story itself is very formal and contains questions that have been asked by the public, which is very unconventional as most interviews or articles are asked by a professional interviewer or the publicist. The article is written in small but readable writing because the page consists of a lot of wording therefore the writing cannot be too big, but it must be readable to the audience. The fact that the page consists of a lot of wording could cause readers not to want to read it because it may seem long and boring. The words relate to the pictures as the public are writing in questions about the star to earn money therefore the picture correlates well. In the picture she has a huge cheesy smile therefore this portrays her as being friendly, welcoming and bubbly; this would capture the readers and welcome them in to wanting to read the article. However this image is very unconventional of her as this is not how many people would imagine her, as she is usually portrayed as being quite hard, rocky and raw. Therefore this image will catch the reader’s eye and make them want to read the article when flicking through the magazine because it is a different view on her compare to how she’s is normally conveyed. Therefore the target audience will widen as not only her fans will read it but people that may be interested in seeing a different side to her will read it too. The colour scheme for the page is plain as the main colours are black and white but they contrast together perfectly because of the difference in the light and dark. The skyline is black however it contains a small amount of the colours green and yellow on it, these colours connect well together but they have also been highlighted in the picture ad her earrings are a greeny yellow colour. The headline “Cash for Questions” is written in a bold black colour at the top of the page as it is the main focus of the article and will catch the reader’s attention because people will want to read the questions and see how they can perhaps earn cash. The stars name “Pink” is written in a large written in a slightly lighter black almost a grey colour as she is who the questions are about therefore is the main focus.Overall I think the double page spread is simple but effective as the simplexes of it would catch the readers eye, just by having a glance at the page it gives you a good indication of what will be inside which the audience will like, finally the target audience for this page is large as it attracts Pink’s fans , non fans and also most ages from around 11+ because the writing and layout are simple to read and easy to understand and because it’s almost like a competition where you can win prize money it will attract all ages.