Magazine front cover and contents page with evaluation

I have finally made my front cover magazine and contents page. I have also evaluated my work below with the strengths and weeknessess of both the front cover and contents page.

                  Evaluation

For both of my magazine front cover and contents page, i had to use photoshop to make them.

My magazine's masthead is "shine" and i used the font colour yellow as shine connotes a star and being successful, therefore i chose yellow as yellow also represents being successful and being bright.

My main cover line is "trying to achieve the best?" which is written in red bold writting. I chose the font colour red as when i was doing some of my audience research, most of my audience seemed to like the colour theme to be red and white, so i put my audience in to consideration.

Most of my font on my front cover page is written in bold writing and has the "stroke" effect which i put on and i think it works because it makes the font stand out more and easier as well as more interesting to read. I also like the fact that i have included a star icon with the written words "win a ipod" inside it which makes my magazine front cover look quite fun and interesting.

However, if i was to make this magazine again, i think i would use more cover lines as my magazine does look simple, yet quite plain. I would also use choose my colours carefully and make sure that my font is carefully chosen aswell as the colours so people can read it and see it. I would also add more graphics and icons like the star so my front doesnt look plain and looks like a proper magazine.

Evaluation

here is my contents page and i think it turnt out quite well. I like how i chose to stick with the colour theme as red and white so the college students will like it. I also made the front cover and contents page link together and make it look quite similar. I did this by adding two lines across the titles on both pages. You can see two lines going across the words "Shine" on thhe front cover and then you can also see two lines going across the word "contents" on the contents page. I think this made the page look less plain. Again, i also added the "stroke" effect which i think makes the font easier to read and stand out.

If i was to do this contents page again, i think i would change the background image. I would use a better image of the school building. I had to use this image because i could not find any better landscape images of the building. therefore next time when i do this again or make another magazine contents page or front cover, i have to make sure that i take enough good pictures that i can use.  Another weekness of my contents page is that i think the font colour of the word "contents" is too bright so i would need to change it so it wouldnt hurt people's eyes and i also think that to make my contents page even better, i could add more images at the left hand side of groups of people enjoying college

Photographs

To make my magazine front cover and contents page, i have to include some pictures so i went around the college and took some pictures of the college building and some of students.

Draft Layouts

Before making my real magazine, I need to plan out my what my  magazine is going to look like therefore i produced some draft layouts of what i had in mind. I drew 8 draft layouts of what and where things were going to be on my front page of the college magazine, e.g. i put where i want my mast head and main cover lines to be.

I then drew four rough sketches of what i want my contents page to look like.

 

Audience research graphs and evaluations

After I checked that my questionnaire had no errors, I gave my questionnaire out to 20 random students in the college to fill it out so I can have some ideas on what my college magazine should include and how to make it to the best standard I can.

Here are my results:

Question 1: How old are you?

I asked this question to see if your age relates to what sort of topics you would prefer to read in a college magazine.

Question 2:  What gender are you?

I asked this question and as you can see from my results, I asked 10 males and 10 females, this was because I could make sure that I get an even amount of opinions and views from both genders.

Question 3: Would you be interested in reading the college magazine if there was one?

Out of the 20 people I asked, more people would read the magazine if there was one. This means that to make more students read my magazine, I would have to make sure that make my magazine eye catching and interesting.

Question 4: If yes, please state why

Out of the 15 students who answered yes that would read the college magazine, the majority of students said that they will read it because to see “what’s going round in college and to see college events” and also because of “gossip”. This means that I should include more news about the college and college events as well as some entertaining news.

Question 5: what sort of topics would you like the college magazine to include in it?

Most students have picked more than one topic which they would be happy to read bout in the college magazine. By asking this question, I can get an idea of what topics I can include in my magazine. Also if I include topics that they like on my contents page, students are also more likely to enjoy my magazine.

Question 6: would you pay for the college magazine?

The majority of people said that they will not pay for the college magazine. However, 8 people said that they will pay for the magazine therefore; this means that if I make my magazine look very interesting, students may want to pay for it and also it would mean that I must make sure that it is up to the standard that students expect it to be.

Question 7: If yes, how much are you willing to pay?

From the 8 people that said they will pay, 6 of those students said that they will pay £1 and more. This means that if I do decide to have a price for my magazine, I will consider the price range being from £1-£2.

Question 8: How often would you like the college magazine to be distributed?

I asked this question to see when students would like the college magazine to be distributed; this also gives me an idea of how much information I should put in the magazine for example, if people wanted the magazine to be distributed every week, I wouldn’t write as much information in it as I have to also save some information for the next edition of the college magazine. However, the majority of people would prefer the college magazine to be distributed every term and every month.

Question 9: Would you take part in the competitions in the college magazine?

15 students said that they will take part in the college magazine competitions. This means that I should include some competitions as students would happily like to get involved. This is also means that I need to think about what types on prizes college students would like.

Question10: What types of magazines do you enjoy reading?

The majority of students picked more than one magazine in which they normally read. This shows that students read a variety of magazines therefore when I make my college magazine, I should include topics that cover a variety of fields so all students can enjoy it and read it.

Question 11: What colour would you like the theme of the college magazine to be?

I asked this question so I could get a rough idea of what colour scheme students like and this would also help me decide on what colours I should use for my own magazine. From the graph above, more students preferred the colours red and white, therefore I now would consider using those two colours as the main colour scheme.

Question 12: In the magazine, would you prefer more images or writing?

Out of all the 20 people I asked, most people preferred a mixture of both images and writing. This helps me find out what college students would like to see in the magazine therefore I now know that to make students like to read my magazine, I would need a mixture of both images and writing to catch their attention.

Audience Research Questionnaire

I have created a questionnaire to ask students in my college on their views about having a college magazine made for the college. Here is a draft of my questionnaire:

College Magazine Questionnaire

I am doing this questionnaire to find out what students in the college would like to see in the college magazine. Please could you take your time and fill in this questionnaire.

Please tick the box that applies to you:

1.      How old are you?

            16                    17                   18             19

2.      What gender are you?

           Male                          Female

3.      Would you be interested in reading the college magazine if there was one?

 Yes                           No

4.      If yes, Please state why

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.      What sort of topics would you like the college magazine to include in it?

You may tick more than one box.

Educational                   Entertainment                   Sport                  Fashion             

College tips                     University information

6.      Would you pay for the college magazine?

Yes                       No

7.      If yes, how much are you willing to pay?

Under £1                     £1 and +

8.      How often would you like the college magazine to be distributed?

Every week                          Every month                               Every term

9.      Would you take part in the competitions in the college magazine?

Yes                               No

     

10.  What types of magazines to you enjoy reading?

Gossip/ entertainment                         Sport                       Fashion               Games          Other

11.  What colour would you like the theme of the college magazine to be?

Black & blue                              Red & white                  Grey & purple                     Other

12.   In the magazine, would you prefer more images or writing?

Images                    Writing                    Mixture of both

I appreciate you taking your time to complete my questionnaire.

Thank you!

Textual Analysis of a college magazine

Textual Analysis of a College Magazine

I have found a college/university magazine called Beloit. Beloit is a magazine for university students.

The masthead of this magazine is “Beloit College” written in bright yellow writing in which yellow symbolises being happy which connotes that Beloit College is a happy place to be. Beloit College is also the masthead which is the same as the college’s name which shows the students that they are proud of their college and want to show of their college and get people to notice their college too. The masthead is written in a serif font style which connotes that the school is quite fancy and traditional. However, the writing is also seen as quite hard and solid which connotes that the college has its ground rules and that it is a college that does not tolerate with any bad behaviour.

The denotation of this “Beloit College” magazine is a photographed picture of a happy group of people with paintings on their face who look like they have just won a basketball match.

            The connotation of the photograph on the front magazine is that the college students are good at sports and they are also very active as well as enthusiastic.  Everyone is seen cheering and smiling in the photograph which again connotes that the college has a very happy and positive environment and college students enjoy having each others accompany. In the main photograph there is an Asian boy. He is standing right in the middle at the front and I think that they deliberately chose to use an Asian student to show and to connote that this college has a variety of students from different ethnicities and race which shows and connotes that this school is multi- cultural. Also, it shows that if they have an Asian student in this school, then it is very likely that they also have a student from any other country or from any other backgrounds.

            The colours seen in the photograph is yellow, white and blue. These three colours are the main colours that you can see most on the front cover of this “Beloit College” magazine. By using the colours yellow, white and blue on the main magazine it gives connotations of the college. Yellow connotes the sun, being happy and bright. White connotes pure and futuristic. Blue connotes being friendly and mysterious. Using these colours connotes that the college as a good college with bright students and you will definitely enjoy going to this college and that is it not just about your education that the teachers care about, but also it is about having fun as you are still an young adult. You can have fun through playing sports and meeting new people at this college.

Near the top right hand side corner, underneath the word “Magazine”, it has the date. By showing the date you can see if it is the latest magazine out by the college or not which is very useful as you will not get confused by if it is the old or latest version of the magazine you are reading.

There are only two cover lines on this magazine front cover. This connotes that the college does not want to over pack the magazine with stories, so they only choose the most exciting and latest news to put as their cover lines.

One of the cover lines is also the main cover line. The main cover line is “Nationally televised basketball triumph sends school spirit soaring” This was written in the colour white. The colour white makes the main cover line stand out and white also connotes hope which shows that the college aims high. The main cover line also links with the magazine‘s main image.

The other cover line is also written in the colour white which again makes it stand out.  The main cover line and cover line is both written in sans serif font. This font style is quite modern and it connotes that the stories and information inside the magazine is up to date, quite recent and also interesting as they don’t just cover news about education, but also from other activities from what the school has been up to.

There is no barcode on this magazine or no price on it either. This shows that you don’t need to pay for this magazine as it is for free. This connotes that the college is friendly and they want the readers and college students to know what’s going on in their college.

Introduction

My name is Selina Hac and i currently attend Christ The King Sixth Form College.
I am hard working and dedicated to all of my subjects/courses i have chosen to study this year. I hope to achieve good grades at the end of this academic year to my best standard.
I have created this blog to keep track of my media work and coursework. This blog will also help me record all the media coursework which i've done.