Work Experience - Express News 4U

I've recently been working for a web based company called the Symbios Group that specialise in website advertising, production etc. From this I was given the opportunity to design a website basis for my newspaper. It took me 8 hours to produce and I am able to regularly update the site through Wordpress and Dreamweaver:

http://www.expressnews4u.co.uk/

I took screenshots to show my production progression: 



Screenshot 2





Screenshot 3



Screenshot 4

It's also combined with a blog which I am deliberating weather or not to incorporate a newspaper blog to update 'potential' readers of the progression of the papers production and eventual release. A marketing scheme almost. This could be beneficial for the overall appeal of the paper as it's integrating with online activity (Web 2.0) and allowing people to comment and discuss: 



Screenshot 5 Blog



Production screenshots

These images show the progression of my newspaper cover design:

Screenshot 1

Screenshot 2

Screenshot 3

Screenshot 4

Screenshot 5

Production lesson 5

As it's going to be a first issue it has to emphasize the paper's release. I would like to incorporate a banner or maybe 'badge' on the cover to project this.
I also need to take a few factors into account:
Advertisements
Price
Date
Images
Main cover story

With regards to the price I researched other popular daily tabloids:

The Sun: 30p
The Daily Mail: 50p
Daily Express: 40p
Daily Star: 30p

The average price seems to range from 30-40p. I feel as I'm targeting a younger audience, I have to take debt, the recession and education funds into account and therefore I'll price it at a reasonable price of 30p.

The advertisements have to be relevant to my target demographic as well as competitions they'll find interesting and worth purchasing.

I've decided to release the paper in May as it co-insides with my coursework deadline.

Production lesson 4

Here is my finished logo and title:

I can now begin creating my newspaper layout.

Production lesson 3

I felt the logo should 'express' my initial idea of coffee and therefore possible include a icon. I found various styles that could inspire a design online:

Some of the icons I like include: 

This associates with a younger demographic and modern society as it's an on the go expresso

This has a nice design but I feel it's too hectic and detailed for my logo

It links well with the general theme however it's too clean and doesn't fit the colour connotations

I've also experimented with different fonts: 

Academy Engraved LET

I feel this font style doesn't represent a youthful tone and also looks quite degenerate and familiar for most newspapers. Therefore I won't be using it.

Monotype Corsiva

I like the italic style, however again it exudes an archaic feel. Therefore I won't be using it.

Century Gothic

I really like this font as it's simple and easy on the eye. It also has a stylistic quality with the calligraphy. I'll probably use this for my title.

Ariel Narrow

I don't like this as much as century gothic, however I believe it works well alongside it, and therefore I'll use it as my regular writing font for articles etc.

Production lesson 2

I've created a Facebook group and invited twenty people who all fit the age criteria. 10 girls, 10 boys to guarantee it's not gender specific:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_164677276897171

The feedback I'd received was extremely helpful towards my decision of a name. The most popular choice was 'Express News'. I also preferred this title and from the response of my target audience, I am confident it's a sensible decision. I also posted the image of my favorite colour scheme which I found on the colour lovers website:

The majority of people liked this arrangement of colours, however one particular response indicated it should be brighter. I've acknowledged this, but decided to stick to brown warm colours that resemble or evoke an idea of breakfast coffee. I would like my newspaper to have a semantic field of mornings to co-inside with young people waking early for work, education etc and needing a wake up call. A newspaper on the go...

I feel there's a gap in the market for a paper that 'caters' for the youth of today. Something that can be entertaining but also informing without criticising the younger generation. However I've reframed from making the audience too degenerate by over advertising the age group with bright youthful colours or an age specific name as I feel that will almost be patronising.
With this response I've also developed a slogan to coincide with the 'on the go' theme:
"Your morning dose"

Production Lesson 1

The first thing I've decided to focus on is my paper's ABC'S. I feel the best way to create a popular, successful print publication will be by using social networking sites such as Facebook, and word of mouth to receive constructive feedback from my target audience of teens to young adults. I feel as I'm categorized within this age group, I am best able to create and understand what they want in a paper.

To begin with I need to decide on a name for my paper that will attract a youthful audience. I've come up with four possibilities:

Relevant News
Express News
The Morning Dose
Current

I need to start by creating a Facebook page, and invite 15 females, and 15 males to vote on their preferred name. I can enquire on a preferred icon, content, and how much they'd pay. I've decided already for the paper to be a morning release as it can help with fast paced, early starts. An on the go read.

Here are some of the colour schemes:

1.

2.

3.

4.

As it's print I also need to take into account the pantone colour:

colour palette 1: 

colour palette 2:

colour palette 3:

colour palette 4:

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