Focus group discussion- layout

In order to move forward with the production of my newspaper for my main task, I wanted to get confirmation that what I was doing was appriciated by others and not just something I deemed appealing to the eye. Therefore I went about consulting members of my focus group to see what they thought. 85% of the group overall took a like to the two designs, with the other 15% having a few opinions on how the structure could be altered in order to improve the appearance to a reader.

Jack: I think the front page follows an efficient style, like everything was meant to go together with the other features of the page, therefore making the page overall seem fluent and pleasing to the eye also. In terms of the actual features proposed, I like the promotion for the inside magazine. Of course even though the task will not produce a magazine in reality, it is still effective as it gives that extra bit of content, making the newspaper look busier.

Sophie: Personally I believe that if these features that make up the whole structure on the front page all piece together ulitmately, it will serve as a stylish start to the newspaper. Looking at the two pages on the inside its clear to see that there is a unique structure being formed, with nice seperatrions from articles and other features and not just blocks of image and text, the pages tend to follow a pattern. To include an ad that takes up half of the second inside page is, technically a smart idea in reality because this is an attraction point and conveys to the reader that this ad holds an importance within the page as it takes up so much room. The reader can't not look at it.

Rose: I think having the ad take up so much space is a turning point which could disrupt the professional structure of the pages, therefore the content of the ad needs to be thought about very carefully as the description needs to suit the tone that this newspaper wants to follow. Class etc.

Summaritively I noticed that the primary element the focus group tended to take a dislike to was the ad, and its size especially in relation to the style of the paper. After taking a while to ponder whether this opinion will affect my layout and pursuade me to alter this factor, I came to the conclusion that I myself maintained an appriciation to the ad and its size, as it adds a hint of variation to the house style, therefore seperating it from other competitors within the area.