Component 1: Magazine Development

Here is the development process for my magazine project. I will put all of my ideas here and reflect on the decisions I make.

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

I struggled on deciding topics that I will discuss in my magazine. I did not put a wider range of selection because I did not have an idea on what to include. I am going to research more on generic conventions of topics and contents discussed on the fashion genre. I really enjoyed creating ideas and developing them for my magazine, However it was time-consuming as I did not know what to include yet. I will fill in more selections before the the final process of magazine creation over the holidays.

Genre: Fashion & Lifestyle

Sub genre: Women's

Name of magazine:

- Happening

- à la mode

- Modish

- Avant-garde

- Afflatus

- Utopia

- Glamour

- Muse

- Notion

*

- Vantgarde

The title 'Muse' is my personal favorite that I consider to be my magazine's title as it means an inspiring figure, the source of inspirations. The word 'muse' refers primarily to women, this defines my target audience and appeal to them as the word gets to their understanding. It would mean 'an inspiring women figure' and may relate to my magazine as it would be a fashion magazine targeted to females. This would further hint on Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratification theory about how audience consume media, since my magazine includes star appeals which would act as role models for the audience to follow, it will give them ideas and inspiration on fashion style to suit and form their own identity based on their taste, and would satisfy one of the four basic needs of the consumers which is personal identity of the audience. However, this magazine name has been used in another magazine brand therefore, I cannot use it. 

It was hard for me to choose the perfect magazine title that would replace the title 'Muse', it especially hard to find unoccupied magazine titles. In the end I grew fond of the title 'Avant-garde', in the dictionary it means a 'new and unusual or experimental ideas, especially in the arts, or the people introducing them'. This term is known generically in art, which refers to the subversion of traditional styles, technique, and concepts, it refers to the advancement and innovation art has evolved. In this case, it would mean almost the same thing as the title 'Muse' and would bring similar impacts towards the readers. The word 'Avant-garde' would mean an innovative idea that would be the source of inspiration in the couture world through magazine. although I found out it was also already an available magazine title. I had a brilliant idea inspired by puns and jokes by playing with words, so I made a new word that sounded like 'Avant-garde' which is 'Vantgarde'. 'Avant-grade' is implied through the actual title which is the wordplay 'Vantgarde' which sounds catchy and may attract the audiences' attention as it is an unfamiliar word. CONNOTATIONS: SOURCE OF FASHION INSPIRATIONS, INNOVATIVE DESIGN, MODERN TRENDS.

Possible Cover Lines:

- Bali Fashion Week 2025: Through the eyes of Navy Susanne

- 10 Fall Fashion Trends Inspired by Lone 

- Tips and Tricks to become a Fashion Model

- Upcoming beauty product: Awaited by everyone

- Kila Marrie's Iconic Appearances

Images:

- Southeast Asian International celebrity (Star Appeal)

- Medium shot, models directly looking to camera (Camera Angle)

- Cowboy shot (Camera Angle)

- Jewelries --> Long Shot

- Elegant poses

My main image would be a Southeast Asian internationally-known woman celebrity (Actor) for the front cover as she will be recognized more by teenagers.

Component 1: Magazines - Targeting Audiences Through Demographics + Psychographics

Here are my notes for my lesson about how media companies target audience through the Genre theory and Demographics & Psychographics. I worked as a part of a group but participated in the discussion. (Sorry that the notes are quite messy).

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

It was informative to study magazines in a group using psychographics, demographics, and genres. From different perspectives and opinions from my team members that are conveyed thoroughly in the discussions, I can get different viewpoints and more insights regarding how media (specifically magazines) are consumed by readers, as we are also a reader who consumes the media. They also added more information that I may not be aware of when analyzing parts of magazines and the implications of it. Not only did it help all of us understand how audiences are targeted, but it also clarified how it was showcased and implied using features of the magazine. I managed to get a better understanding of the audience by looking into their demographics, psychographics, and style/genre of the magazine. This increases my ability to pay attention to implied details from the magazine feature to prove how audiences are targeted and defined. On the other hand, working alone, like how the test would be, was a challenge for me because I usually did not get all of the specifications of magazine features and why audiences are targeted by them, especially in detailed form. I also kept rushing through my answers and still couldn’t get them all to be included in my answer, therefore I must learn more to write my answer quicker, efficiently, and effectively.

Magazine 1 - COSMOPOLITAN

Magazine 2 - GQ

Result of discussion and analysis

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I also did a ‘Unit Test’ for Media Studies regarding analyzing magazines using Demographics and Psychographics which was assessed by my Media Studies teacher (Mr Nick). I used the magazines ‘VOGUE’ and ‘SLAM, which are 2 contrasting magazines to prove the differences in the audience targeted using implications by features of the magazines that are showcased, as my case study to answer the question. The question was, “How are audiences targeted by the media?”. The image below is my answer and responses from my teacher which includes feedbacks and comments.

I was really disappointed in my final grade for my unit test because I got a low score (in my opinion) although still above pass rate. The red highlight and text here was added by my Media Studies teacher (Mr Nick) who graded and checked my test. I had created notes beforehand regarding the two magazine brands that I used (VOGUE & SLAM) and its features. I already had written all the specifications of the magazines such as the publisher, generic features of the front page, star appeal, what it covers, and others on my notes, although I really struggled on completing and adding every detail to my test. I had originally described the use of each feature and its effects to the audience but I didn’t get a chance to include it in my answer. Most importantly, I didn’t have time to complete writing the definitions of Psychographics & Demographics which were vital when answering the question too. I didn’t elaborate why each feature was attracted to generic conventions of the magazine genre, or how the features are showcased including its meaning. I was devastated because I could not give my best answer. Although, I will keep revising on missing points that my teacher had given me and will practice to finish writing quickly for answering Section B questions. I should arrange how I’m supposed to answer step-by-step to assure my knowledge on answering the question.

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Before the unit test, our teacher also had assessed our knowledge on the ‘Genre theory’ by Steve Neale to answer the same question which was “How are audiences targeted by the media?”. This time, I was supposed to analyze 2 movies. I used “Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse” and “Spider-man: No Way Home” as my case study. Here is my answer with feedback from my teacher.

 

As it was my first try, I think it was pretty decent because I do not have enough experience when answering this question in one paragraph all by myself. I had missed a lot of explanations as they were too brief. Which I expect to be revised before the actual test and improve my grades throughout the school year.

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Stuart Hall: Representation Theory

 

A representation in media refers to how various people (individual and community), places, events, and groups are depicted in a diverse form of media. 

According to Hall, an original subject in reality has no fixed meaning. Although, it is then given meaning through the representation in media (how it is depicted either positive or negative). 

"Something only has meaning once it is represented in the media."

Stereotypes of women has applied the same to the whole world. ...

It's notable how women are started to be represented as dominated through cliché superhero films. In addition, it is more common to see women as heroes rather than a sidekick, this shows how representation of women has developed throughout the years in media form. 

This applies to Indonesian media as well.

An example would be a superhero movie called Sri Asih, it tells the story of a woman Indonesian hero. 

Contradicting to the women stereotype, Sri Asih is a woman fighter presenting dominance towards men (and towards the community), overthrowing their power. In this case, a fight scene containing her and a man. High angled shots are used mainly during fight scenes in the first few seconds of the trailer, later on she defeated the man she

Component 1: Magazine Statement of Intent

 This is my magazine project's statement of intent.

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

I was able to complete the statement of intent thoroughly with little mistakes however I struggled on finding the right topic to discuss in my fashion and lifestyle magazine. I was already firm on my decision for the genre of my magazine project but I wasn't sure of the contents included on my magazine, therefore while completing my research I figure out some generic conventions of features and topics discussed on the fashion and lifestyle magazine genre. Fashion items/product reviews and celebrity interview are always included in a fashion and lifestyle magazine. So, I decided to follow those conventions and implemented in my magazine contents which I will hint in the coverlines. Next problem was that I collected this assignment late and was deducted a point from my teacher. I will manage my time more so I won't rush through things again. Another problem was that the embed of the docs wasn't able to display full-sized on my blog. However, my teacher had suggested to watch YouTube videos and so I did and had worked to display the statement of intent of my magazine project on my blogpost. The process is recorded on my 'Technical Skills' blogpost which can be accessed here. I enjoyed creating the statement of intent as it was simple and does not require analysis that are written in detail and too much words.

Component 1: Magazine Research

 Here is the research for my magazine project.

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

The whole magazine research included 2 detailed analysis and 4 unspecific analysis, which were 6 in total. To me, this was a lot of work to do which was remind by my Media Studies teacher to do it before the due-date of this blogpost, however I struggled to manage my time to complete this and had to rush through things 1/2 days before it was due because I was tired of writing at that time. Next time, I will manage my time when developing my magazine. Throughout the research, I was able to identify the features of magazines from terminologies provided by our teacher when he first introduced us to magazines. I quite enjoy to analyze magazines and their visual features which were effective to address audience. I learnt a lot regarding the effects of each features such as the masthead or fonts used and it appeal to the readers. I wish to master the terminologies by memorizing and learning them thoroughly to be able to use it when analyzing target audience of magazines. The research I did will also provided knowledge before-hand on generic features used on for conventions of a fashion and lifestyle magazine.

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Magazine 1: WEGO Magazine

WEGO YOUR FAN

March 3rd, 2020

WEGO Magazine is published by WEGO YOUR FAN, a Japanese clothing business, as a platform to promote their brand. The magazines are most likely catalog including the variety of clothes and prices along with promotional items and discounts in a specific time accordingly that would then be promoted by the business’ magazines.

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Magazine 2: VOGUE British/UK

Conde Nast

(Could not find the issue date)

Target Audience

The main picture of this magazine includes 4 women models with fancy clothes, by this statement we can identify that the genre of the magazine is women’s fashion. From the genre itself, women are primarily the targeted audience for this magazine along with the interests of garments/mode, entertainment, and culture.

The typography used throughout the magazine texts includes serifs which seems fancy and more adult-like as it looks professional, this attracts the attention towards adults.

Another identification of target audience may be pinpoint by the demographics and psychographics, here are the list:

Demographics:

1. Age: The primary target audience for this British Vogue magazine is women between the ages of 18 and 45, with a focus on the 25-35 age group as the star appeal appears to be more mature and senior, the lists of celebrity names below also may be recognised by them and therefore their interest.

2. Gender: The magazine is aimed predominantly at females.

3. Spending habits - Income: The target audience includes individuals with upper class income as they might be influenced by magazines they’ve read and kept purchasing garments as their interests are in fashion

5. Location: While the magazine caters to a national audience in the United Kingdom, it has an western readership. This is connotated from the pricelist in the left upper third that includes several countries besides the UK like the USA, Australia, and Canada. Moreover, the list of celebrity names are recognised by westerns.

6. Ethnicity/Race: Diverse Cultural Backgrounds - Given that the 4 models are from diverse cultural backgrounds, the readers are likely to be open-minded and appreciative of different cultures and styles.

Psychographics:

1. Interests: Fashion Enthusiasts - The audience is fashion-forward, with a keen interest in the latest trends, styles, and designers, this is implied by the fancy clothes worn by the models.

2. Values: Socially Conscious - The audience is socially aware and values diversity, inclusion, and representation in the fashion industry.

Career-Oriented: Many readers are career-focused and may be working in creative industries, such as fashion, media, or arts as the garments are fancy which connotes professionalism.

5. Lifestyle: Luxurious - The readers are interested in luxury products, travel, and experiences and may have a taste for the finer things in life.

Typography/font:

Headings and sub-headings are usually differentiated from the size of the text as headings are more bigger than sub-headings, although texts and heading are differentiated from the use of serifs in headings whereas regular texts uses sans-serif. This difference appeals to the readers eye as they may identify the title and the content of the article itself. The use of serif makes audience perceive the main title or coverline of this magazine is professional and formal which sounds intellectual.

Industry

Condé Nast, the company behind Vogue, holds a lot of power in fashion. Vogue's global presence and reputation influence what's trendy and how people see fashion. Being in Vogue can make or break careers in fashion. It's not just about clothes, it also shapes ideas about beauty, sets trends, and talks about important issues like diversity and sustainability. Through Vogue, Condé Nast has a big impact on how fashion evolves and what people care about in the fashion world.

        I personally like how the magazine includes a variety of models, because it may reach a wider and diverse audience and can promote the magazine more. As the publicity of the magazine increases, this may benefit the purpose of the magazine text, whether to discuss a topic and inform audiences, to influence them by using star appeals as role models, or to act as just entertainment for them. It may be an example of the Uses and Gratification theory from Blumler and Katz, which includes how media texts are used and understood by the audience. Hence, promoting usages of magazines to advertise products in the modern day, especially with technologies taking over a major section in the media world. It is also unlikely for magazines to be found in my country (Indonesia), so if magazines are trending, promotions of products may be derived from magazines as publishers of it spread throughout the world.

        Although the magazine may be using a simple and minimalistic concept to attract an older audience, I personally dislike this. I think younger generations would like to see more color as it may engage with them, contrasting to this magazine which looks plain.

        I would follow the capitalization of texts to attract the audience because they grab the reader’s attention as it appeals to be bigger than the others. I would also use topics and coverlines as an idea for my magazine content to follow the generic conventions of a fashion magazine.

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Magazine 3: Elle

PT Elia Mediatama Indonesia

February 2009

Genre: Women’s fashion and lifestyle

Likes: 

I admire ELLE Indonesia's magazine because it's stylish and grown-up. It mixes fashion, beauty, and important topics in a way that feels mature and interesting. The contents also displayed the generic conventions towards the fashion and lifestyle genre such as reviews of beauty products, and others. I like the visuals of the image and how uses of models are showcased to attract readers, such as the pose that are more attracting and alluring which looks them more mature and graceful which appeals to the eyes of grown-ups in 20s-30s.

Dislikes:

I am not fond of the color palette used in the magazine because it does not really showcase the maturity and content of the magazine. It uses yellow which is more symbolic to happiness and appeals to children more.

Steal:

I am considering to use the layout of the coverline which was near to the border of the magazine cover as it highlights the attention of the reader towards the model at the center of the page showcasing their visuals more.

Inspired by:

I'm not inspired greatly of this magazine as it does not appeal to my interests.

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Magazine 4: VOGUE

October 2023 Issue

Genre: Women's fashion and lifestyle

Likes: 

I like how the image and text are according to each of the page's color palette. The front page is more colorful and attracts the audience attention to grab the book as it is the cover, the text were all white so they can be seen but also not disrupt the harmony between the color and the visuals of Kate Winslet which is the star appeal. The double page spread was black and white themed which were displayed on point because it was complimenting the content hence the equality (model's skin tone wasn't differentiated) of representation of peoples (faces) in fashion. This was intellectually used and appears interesting visually.

Dislikes:

The magazine include less coverlines which does not give enough information towards the readers when reading and analyzing the cover page which may not peek their interest to open and read the whole magazine.

Steal:

I am considering to use the contrast between the color of text and visual to remain contrasting to each other but complimenting each other to keep the appeal of visual and text interesting for the readers but not make it "too much".

Inspired by:

I'm inspired by the double page as it covers a very deep controversies in fashion especially toward the models which subverts the generic conventions of how models should look like. It represents different bodies and faces of people throughout the whole world which may peek the interest of fashion enthusiast internationally and may reach a wider audience.

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Magazine 5:A-ONE

Likes: 

I like how the use of language directly targets the audience (Indonesian), and representation of the color red that appeals to Eastern Asian culture and traditions which means "luck" which evoke a positive connotations.

Dislikes:

I dislike the format and layout of this magazine especially on the cover because it looks too much and overcrowds the whole page. This overwhelms the feeling of readers when trying to consume the contents of the page.

Steal:

I don't consider stealing any features of this magazine as it doesn't peek my interest and fit to my personal likings as it is traditionally conventional but rather a poor display of the layout.

Inspired by:

I'm not inspired by this magazine at all, except for the use of dominant colors but I won't be using it for my magazine because this magazine was not appealing to my interests whatsoever.

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Magazine 6: VOGUE British/UK

Conde Nast

October 2023

Likes:

It includes a very well-known star appeal (Leonardo Dicaprio) whom I also admire which proves how audiences are targeted, in this case women. A medium shot was used as the star posed perfectly poised and still to capture visuals of the models (facial expressions, clothing, accessories, etc.) with them looking directly to the camera which implies a direct engagement to the audience. I like this because it appeals to the visuals of the front cover which evokes interests of consumers.

Dislikes:

The magazine include only one coverline which does not give enough information towards the readers when reading and analyzing the cover page which may not peek their interest to open and read the whole magazine.

Steal:

I want to use how the models are posed because it captures the elegance and beauty of the star while still engaging the audience, they also look very professional, calm, and charming which peeks audiences' interest. In the double page, a long shot was used to capture outfits and looks which is vital to the conventions to general fashion magazines.

Inspired by:

The images and pictures that showcase the fashion in star-appeals which were effective to address audience and peek their interest.

Component 1: Weekly Progress & Plan

Here is a report of my weekly progress for my magazine project, it also includes a rough planning for the project.

Week	Term 2	Week	Term 3
1 (2 Oct)	Brief, Research	8 ( 8 Jan)	Development
2	Research	9	Shoot
3	Research	10	Shoot, Self Reflection
4	Proposal	11	Post Production
5	Development	12	Post Production
6	Development	13 (12 Feb)	Deadline (Monday 12th February)
7	Development	14

Week 1

What we did throughout the week:

Introduction to the Magazine Project 

- Magazine terminologies (identify and explain)

- Analyzing parts of magazine

I was excited when introduced to this media text because I never really have read magazines completely before. I was able to memorize the terminologies of the magazine features and what effects does it have towards the reader. I manage my time well here and wasn't rushing through things which I enjoy very much. 

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Week 2

What we did throughout the week:

Monday: I wasn't present

Thursday: Introduction to Representation theory

Friday: Further analysis including the demographics and psychographics of magazine (front cover page, double page, etc.) 

We were introduced to the representation theory by Stuart Hall. I was able to briefly explain case studies on my own, but were not detailed as it was in class discussions. I have to improve my understanding and application of representation theory before this week as it is a vital information that may be required to be mentioned in my answer for the exams. I also analyzed my magazine and its pages with my friend. I did not like this because it is time consuming and requires a lot of writing which I am tired of. So, I didn't finish the research on time. However, I will manage to complete the research before next week so I can complete my other blogposts.

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Week 3

What we did throughout the week:

- Discussed on representation theory

- Continue our research

- Completing our research

- Fill in statement of intent

- Identify and plan our target audience for our magazine

The activities we did throughout the week was fun as we continued to research for our project. Although I need to make sure I complete everything on time .

Problem: I have had difficulties in finding a women's fashion magazine that I really like because from the researches done I would be able to find inspirations on what I want to include in my magazine or what not to include based on what features on magazines that I'm interested in. There are also several fashion magazines that includes different features which would be hard to figure out how my magazine should look like, in example, a fashion magazine includes many coverlines whereas others barely had a coverline and emphasizes the attention to the main image (model). These obstacles creates confusion to what a fashion magazine should look like as I wanted to achieve good grades for this project.

Solution: In the end, I figured to search fashion magazines online (digital magazines that are accessible/free) as our Media Studies teacher (Mr. Nick) allowed us to do so. Some platforms only include the cover, but it still works as it adds to my research and I found out a magazine cover that I really like and intend to replicate. Different magazines do include different features, I just need to find out how the visuals of the magazine to look like and make sure it matches to the topic and intent to attract the target audience.

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Week 4

What we did throughout the week:

- Discussed genre theory 

- Practice section B, answering the question "How different audiences are targeted through media?"

- Applying the genre theory and demographics and psychographics to target audience

- Completing research

- Finalizing statement of Intent

- Starting the magazine development process

In this week, I struggled a lot on keeping my time management for my Media Studies project, I missed on the deadline for the research and statement of intent. I need to improve my time management between school-works and non-academic activities by next week to maximize my performance especially in Media Studies. I will solve this by finishing everything by the end of this week, I will complete the research and statement of intent during weekends. 

Problem: Another setback for this week is technical decisions on my magazine such as the title. For the title I did found a word that I like although it is the name of an existing magazine brand. 

Solution: I will discuss this further with pairs and groups of my surroundings to get their ideas for inspiration. This will be done by next week. In addition, the statement of intent couldn't be published to my blogpost, I will find a solution with my teacher and will be completed and published quickly later on.

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Week 5

What we did throughout the week:

- Recap theories we learned so far

- Double page spread analysis

A problem from last week was that the statement of intent could not be published to my blogpost, this was figured out by my Media Studies teacher (Mr. Nick). He told us to search a YouTube video on how to embed a PDF file to the blog website that I am using for publishing all my Media Studies works. Although, as I searched YouTube, I found out a way to embed a Google Docs file instead which was more quicker and efficient. The video was effective to address a solution for this. I changed some codes and manage to control the size of the embed file display. The process can be seen here.

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Week 6

What we did throughout the week:

- Discussed traditional and new media

- Finishing double page spread analysis

- Starting the draft for my magazine's double page article

I was absent during one of the Media Studies lesson this week, I missed practicing the section A part of the exam where my friends and fellow classmate analyzed the introduction (first few minutes) of Netflix's 'Queen's Gambit'. I started to write my article for the double page spread in my magazine which I firstly struggled when choosing the topic of the article, I didn't have a clue on what to write about. Then, I decided to write .. and start writing the ideas for each paragraphs. I still need to finish 700 words article before next week ends.

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Week 7

What we did throughout the week:

- 

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Semester 2

Week 1

What we did throughout the week:

- Feedback, potential risk, scout

- 

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Week 2

What we did throughout the week:

- 

I really enjoyed the lessons I had during this week since I was able to understand the theories we learned and most specially the project lesson. I had fun shooting and trying out designs for my magazine cover. I figured out that there so many ideas that are fun, but I have to keep them simple and good enough to lay out all the texts and the main picture in a balanced proportion. I really need to find a desgin that is not generic but diffent and unique in a good way to remain interesting for my target audience. I need to finish .... Google draw is not good...

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Component 1: Brief

 Here is the brief for Component 1. I have decided to select the magazine option.

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

Creating my own magazines excites me because it's a chance to explore the unique rules and styles that make magazines tick. They're like a mix of storytelling and art, letting me blend words and visuals in exciting ways. I can't wait to play around with layouts, designs, and writing styles to see what works best. It's like diving into a world where I get to experiment and discover how to craft something that grabs people's attention and keeps them engaged. The conventions of magazine-making aren't limits but paths to new ideas and connections with readers who are eager for fresh, interesting content. This journey isn't just about making magazines; it's a deep dive into the creative possibilities of this amazing medium. I have to be able to manage my time in order to get good results for this project (Component 1).