This new publication will be fun, edgy, fresh, creative, bright, urban, contemporary, innovative, and youthful. The publication may include topics such as: “What is mixed media art?”, a readers’ art spotlight, artist interviews, artist spotlights (interviews, photography, artwork, etc.), D.I.Y. project ideas and tutorials, information regarding where to purchase mixed media artwork, blogs to follow, the movement’s impact on the design field, and mixed media techniques and methodologies.

It will be a unique publication because it is both informative and inspiring to readers.

I chose mixed media as the subject for the publication because I think it is an interesting subject and is popular within the art community. However, I believe it needs a new publication because although there is some information that has already been published on the subject, it would be good to have one go-to source for information and inspiration.

This publication is primarily targeting art students, design students, working artists and designers, innovators and creatives that live/work/attend school in Toronto and the GTA, between the ages of 18 and 30 years old. I believe the readership will be primarily female – most likely around 70% female, 30% male.

A typical reader is someone who is interested in contemporary art and is curious about mixed media. A loyal reader is someone who participates actively in the urban art community, who is interested in mixed media art and contemporary artists, and is perhaps interested in being published in the magazine.

Seeing as this demographic is relatively young and is living in an urban environment, the publication would be best suited to an urban, edgy, youthful aesthetic with bright colours and plenty of imagery.

The publication has the advantage of novelty. Although mixed media is already a popular trend in contemporary art, there is no go-to place for both information and inspiration. There is very little information professionally published on the subject, despite being so popular.

This publication will be better than competing publications because it will not only include information on the subject, but also inspiration, instruction, and lots of artist-based articles. Because there will be such a focus on the artwork, artists and designers in Toronto and the GTA will crave recognition and try to get their work published in the magazine as well.

The publication will have access to contests and competitions, exclusive artist interviews, and advertisements for art supplies, art prints, mixed media original artwork, local schools for art and design, and artist-supported products. The publication will create a sort of sub-culture within the magazine that caters to the target demographic.

Readers will see the publication as a means to publish and promote their artwork and designs, as well as a reliable and innovative source for information regarding the mixed media trend in contemporary art.

The publication will need to focus on getting designers interested in the subject. Because it is an art-based magazine, the readership will rely heavily on artists who are involved in or curious about mixed media. In order to encourage designers to participate in reading the publication, we will need to link the mixed media methodologies to the design industry.

The publication should avoid broadening the subject too much: the focus should be on the artists and their work, and not so much on art galleries, purchasing information, and the like.

Other people may see its novelty as a weakness – because it is just starting out, people will be unfamiliar with it. I propose advertising the new publication within other art-based magazines using inserts.

The special expertise/appeal is the mixed media trend that has emerged in contemporary art today. It is now a very popular medium within the art world. It will appeal to the target demographic through the use of an urban, contemporary, youthful, edgy aesthetic (which reflects the style of the artwork itself).

Because it is a new publication, it has the opportunity to become a brand new source for information and news that is both inspiring and educative.
We expect to have both casual readers as well as a loyal readership that is artist-based. Because artists will be motivated to get published in the magazine, they will be likely to routinely read the magazine.

The quality of the publication will be urban, edgy, youthful, fun, creative, and innovative with bright colours and plenty of imagery.

The most prominent obstacle is that people will be unfamiliar with the new publication and may not pick it up. I believe that by catering heavily to the target demographic and by promoting the magazine prior to its launch, we can avoid this problem.

One of the publication’s top competitors, Applied Arts Magazine, has the advantage of archiving, awards, portfolio promotion, benefits, and career information. I believe that by promoting artists in a similar way, and by including articles that are both interesting, educational, and inspiring, this publication may become just as popular as its competitors.

The publication will include a lot of photography of artists and their work, lots of bright colours, shapes and other graphic elements, and clean sans-serif typography. Some of the colours that may be used include: black, white, charcoal grey, hot pink, lime green or chartreuse, and cyan or baby blue. This fun, bright, youthful aesthetic will be eye-catching on news stands and will appeal to the young, urban target demographic described above.

In conclusion, this new publication will generate interest in the art movement and promote and showcase artists who work with mixed media, as well as educate and inform readers about mixed media artwork and the related methods and techniques used to create it. This publication is primarily targeting art students, design students, working artists and designers, innovators and creatives that live/work/attend school in Toronto and the GTA, and will feature photography of artists and their work, lots of bright colours, shapes and other graphic elements, and clean sans-serif typography. Readers will see the publication as a means to publish and promote their artwork and designs. The publication will have both casual readers as well as a loyal readership that is artist-based.