Peer Pitch & Concept Refinement Chart

CATEGORY	DETAILS
Film OR Magazine	Magazine
Genre	The South/Life in the South
Target Audience (Be specific)	People living in the south. More specifically families and mothers in the south. People that enjoy cooking and home décor (which are normally mothers). People that live more traditionally (families on a plot of land) or people that like that lifestyle are also a target.
What is your concept? (Be thorough & specific. Review the links on Blackboard)	A magazine on southern living formatted like a photography portfolio/a collage. I want to focus on the idea of graphic design in this magazine because that is my strong suit. I want to experiment with font, color, and artistic design to visually appeal to readers before they even read the article. I’m experimenting with the idea of doing a magazine that has a holiday/season-based cover and article because southern magazines tend to focus on whatever current season is going on. Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up so their would-be easy access to different settings for a seasonal photoshoot for my cover page. Another cover picture idea I’m thinking of is the traditional southern architecture, I might research appealing houses I would be able to use for an aesthetic photoshoot.
How did you conceive the idea for this concept?	I enjoy working in graphic design and photography so I feel like my skills would be put to the best use if I highlighted those two tools.
What do you believe is unique about your concept?	The southern life has been thoroughly exploited in the magazine business, so I want to bring a fun graphic design twist to it to appeal to readers. It’s not your average magazine with a few recipes and a picture of a white picket house, the magazine itself is art. I will still be using the trademark colors of the southern aesthetic (neutral colors like brown, beige, grey, white) and incorporating some pops of color (like red and green).
Why do you believe this product will be of interest to your audience?	It will appeal to people living in the south because it is reminiscent of the traditional southern themes that are normally shown in magazines, but it has a fun element to graphic design added to it. I still want this magazine to be elegant, not too flashy or tacky, so it is visually appealing. I’m going to experiment with minimalist graphic design elements and see where I can go from there. I'm thinking about doing simple, thin, lines and shapes, I will experiment with different ideas to find a solid design.
FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM PEERS	- Focus on what part of the south you're focusing on  - What's going to be different other than the visuals  - New south? The south 2.0?

  

My original plan was to create a southern magazine based on the traditional southern aesthetic but with a graphic design spin to make it unique. After my pitch it was revealed that my concept was too plain and was too similar to popular southern magazines today, like Southern Living. My peers argued the point that if I want to do a magazine about the south, I should have it be a different concept than the one I was going to use originally. Suggestions were made for me to focus on “The New South” or “The South 2.0”; essentially a magazine about how the south is turning more liberal. This doesn’t line up with the idea I had dreamed of for this magazine, and while that would be a good idea for someone else, I personally don’t want to do that because I don’t feel inspired by it. I have a new idea for a magazine that I personally think is a unique and fun idea, a family travel magazine. Travel magazines are widely known but there aren’t any (at least that I could find) that highlight travelling with kids. Contrary to the popular belief that you can’t travel after having children, travelling is still possible, and it can be fun. This magazine will discuss the pros and cons of travelling with kids and feature tips on making travelling as a family easier. Each individual issue will be based on a different country and what to do there, some countries might be split up into multiple issues depending on the size and number of things to do there. I feel confident in this magazine idea and I hope that it will be an exciting spin on traditional travel magazines 

I feel that my new idea is unique because it is directed towards an audience that doesn’t have many outlets for information and help. The article “The Abundance, Joy, Beauty, Persistence, Power, and Potential of Independent Publishing: A CONVERSATION WITH SIX BLACK EDITORS” discusses the importance of bringing new ideas to the magazine industry. While my magazine isn’t going to focus on representing diversity in the world of magazines, it does introduce a new idea of family travel. The article discusses the importance of exploring the world and interests that aren’t commonly discussed to find topics for magazines. It is put best by Parneshia Jones, “I'm curious about the world, and I want to work with writers who share that curiosity” (Dungy, 2020). Essentially, in order to learn more about others you have to work with others who share your desire for unity. This is the key to developing unique ideas, deciding what is underappreciated and bringing light to it.