Evaluation

For this assignment I was asked to design and make a front cover of a college magazine and a draft of the contents page.

I started off by researching different target audiences for different magazines to compare which type of audience my magazine would appeal to. Being a college magazine it may appeal to college teachers or students, I decided to make a magazine cover for a magazine which would appeal to students that are going to enrol in a college soon.

When I had a rough idea of what I wanted my magazine to be I had to apply the conventions used on magazines that are sold nationwide to make it seem more professional. The most used conventions, which I noticed, on a wide range of magazines are:

• 
  Mastheads- Every magazine has a masthead, this is the main element of any magazine because it shows the reader what they are reading and the genre of the magazine. My masthead is “WYKEEP UP?” It is a play on words, I thought this would be a good idea because students around the age of 16 – 19 use “text talk” to communicate. This can also appeal to teachers because the masthead states “why keep up?” Teachers would want to keep up on the things that go on in college.

• Photos- Every magazine has some sort of photograph on the cover, this photograph usually has some sort of reference to the main story contained within the magazine. Photographs on most of the magazines I researched are usually medium close – ups mainly because they show facial expressions as well as body language.
  

• Stories- Again, every magazine I have researched has the inside stories mentioned on the cover. These stories are used to draw the reader in, they give an idea of what will be included in the magazine.
  After taking these conventions into account I had to make a mock – up of my cover, I made three hand made mock – ups using pen and paper then a final one using Microsoft publisher. I was happy with the final design and decided to base my magazine cover using that one.
  

I aimed my magazine at college students and teachers. I chose this audience because they are the main people you will find at a college. By carefully selecting the correct image, texts and colours I think I may have made my product suitable for teenagers, young adults and teachers.

My final design did not come out exactly how I wanted it to because I tried to get a background behind my main picture but I was too slow and had to hand in my work. If I was to do this assignment again I would space out my time more I would have better results. I am happy with the results I have now but I really feel I can improve on this assignment and make it more effective.

Final Product!!

This is my final product using my favourite photograph. I would have put a background of the college but i ran out of time.

After taking and experimenting with a range of pictures i decided to use this one. Mainly because it shows a student reading out of a folder. The earphones around his neck show that he is not stressed out by college life and has time to do what he likes.

It is not a medium close - up, it is more of a medium shot, i chose to do this because it shows the folder as well as the students facial expressions and the student is smiling show happiness and no signs of stress.

My Cover Layout

This is the final layout design that i have chosen for my cover.
It is simple yet effective and shows many of the main contents in my magazine.

Planning My Final Product

Before i start to plan my final design i need to decide on things such as;

• What photograph(s) am i going to use for my magazine cover?
• Where will this photograph be taken?
• What will the photo represent?
• Who will be in the picture?
• Will I use any props if so what?

After deciding on these things I have to draw a numerous amount of draft magazine cover layouts until I am happy on a design.

Then, when i have decided on a layout i will make another layouty by using a computer this time.

My Moodboard

This is the mood board i made usine microsoft publisher. I based my ideas on the basic subjects that would be taken up in college by a new student.

Close Up

A close up is effective for showing the emotions of the subject because it is mainly a close up of the face reigon unless stated otherwise.

Medium Shot

This is a medium shot, it shows the main body of the subject as if you are having a conversation with them. This is good because as well as being comfortable the subject is able to move around and also give hand gestures.

Medium Close Up

This is a medium close up, it is halfway between a mid shot and a close up. This shot shows the face clearly without getting uncomfortably close.

I got this picture and the details from http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/medium-closeup.html

Fonts

From all three of the magazines i have analised for many different reasons i have noticed that they all have used different fonts and writing styles for their titles.

Firstly, the title for the 'my college' magazine uses a 'handwriting' style of font. This is good for a college magazine because by using this certain style of font shows that it is a piece of handwriting and you are most likely to write during your college years. The title of this magazine is yellow, yellow is a bright colour and shows achievement.

The 'Austin college' magazine title uses a standard font but the colour is what really matters in this one because by using green on the letters and giving the 'jagged' edges makes it blend in with the picte of the flowers in the foreground of the main picture.

Finally, the 'college' magazine uses block capitals for the title with red colouring id guess this is to get the readers attention and the colours compilments the clothes that the student model is wearing.

Layout of A College Magazine

This is a typical college magazine.
It consists of a title, five inside stories, a main picture and a barcode.

The title is in a bold font and in block red colour this stands out because it is contrasted with the blurry trees in the background.

Five stories that would be found inside this magazine are mentioned on this cover so the readers have a rough idea of what this article may contain.

The main picture is of a female college student, the fact that she is smiling represents that this college is a friendly place to be in. By using a photo of a student for the cover of the magazine would attract an audience of the opposit sex.

There is a barcode on this magazine, this shows that this magazine is sold and available to everybody. Many other college magazines are given to students and teachers for free mainly because if they were sold there would not be very many buyers.

Analysis of Another Type of College Magazine

This is the 'Austin College' magazine

This is a different type of magazine than the one i analised in my last post. This one would be more about the college in general and not the activties that go on around the college.

The target audience for a magazine like this would be mainly teachers so they get an idea of other colleges and their campuses.

Still, a magazine like this may also be aimed at student that have just finished High School and are looking for a college to go to. These magazines give an insight to readers about the subject taught in this college. It may also include apartments near the campus for students to rent.

The main picture on this front cover is of the college and the friendly environment that it is surrounded by, such as the fountain and the flowers. The college is set in the background and more of the 'showy' part is ctually shown in the foreground.

Analysis of a college magazine cover

This is the 'My college' magazine 'Class of 2009'

Eye Catchers

The first thing to catch the readers eyes would be the title, the colouring and the main picture.

• Title - 'My College'

By reading the title the reader can easily see that this magazine is a college magazine and it may interest them in many ways.

Then there are three articles which are stated on the lower part of the cover of this magazine these are:

1. Student Profile
2. College News
3. From The President

These article titles suggest what may be contained within this article of the magazine.

• Colour

Using a bright colour like yellow makes the magazine stand out and catch the reader's eyes.

Colour is a big aspect of magazines because it would be the first thing that readers look for.

• Main Picture

The main picture is of a boy, well a student, you can see that he is a student because of the books under his head.

He is wearing a purple t-shirt purple is the contrasting colour to yellow, this is a good idea to attract an higher target audience.

Target Audiences

The target audience of college magazines is normally the students of the college so they can stay up to date with all the things going on around them within the college.

College magazines can also be aimed at teachers for the same reasons and also so they can find out different ways of teaching using student's views.

Conventions Of A Contents Page

Pictures
Sub-Headings
Competitions
Page Numbers
What's Inside
Subscriptions
Details Of Pages
Cover Stories
Adverts
Website Address
Contact Numbers

Conventions Of A Front Page

Title - Big text of a decent font with the name of the magazine written in a standing out colour to grab the readers attention.

Sub-Headings - Catchphrases, other titles included in the magazine.

Large Image - A large picture which shows something about one of the main articles in the magazine. happening at the college in colour and takes up most of the page

Date - When the article is released.

Price - How much does the magazine article cost?

Contact Details - Phone numbers and websites that readers may want to contact to get in touch with the magazine producers or representatives.

Brief Detail Of Contents