Victoria Harman AS Media : October 2012

Market research into existing magazines

Front cover:

These front covers all have similar layouts. They all have very clear, close up images, which make the magazine covers look very modern and stand out. All of these magazines have the same or similar colour schemes; 3 colours, mainly black red and white. The main images represent the type of artist that the main cover artist is, which is important for the audience if they are not familiar with the artist. Two of these images have a plain white background, making the image stand out more which is what I wanted to do in my magazine cover. Similarly to my magazine the title of the magazine is in a font colour that contrasts with the background, making it also stand out more. All sell lines on these magazines are down the left hand side with the image in the middle to the left.

Contents Page

All of these contents pages have a main image on them, which will relate to the main story within the magazine and on the front page. All contents pages have 2 images, so it is interesting for the reader. The stories are split into sections, making it easier for the reader to find the article they are looking for. All contents pages follow the colour scheme of the front cover, involving 3 main colours. The title of the magazine is placed in the top left of the page, same as the front cover. The theme of the contents page, follow on from the theme of the front cover - creating consistency for the reader.

Double Page Spread

These double page spread's all have a main image which relates to the main story of the magazine. The artist image is on one page and the text of the magazine on another. All double page spreads have a stand first, which introduces the audience to the artist and tells them information. The text on all magazines also starts with a drop cap, which tells the audience where to start reading.

Victoria Harman Evaluation AS Media

Preliminary brief:

Using DTP and an image manipulation programme produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP. ________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I had to do when making this magazine was to find out what the main conventions of a magazine are. I found that they are:

- A mast head

- Date line

- Main image

- Main cover line

- Sell lines.

Specifically for a college magazine these conventions would be relatable to colleges. For example the main image would be of a student or someone supporting colleges and the sell lines would have college related stories.

When planning my magazine I made a mood board. I got pictures off Google of magazine front covers that I liked and could be used as my inspiration. Most of the magazine covers on my mood board are of college magazines. These include college students in a medium close up shot standing in front of a building. I decided to use these images for my mood board so I could get a clear understanding of what I wanted to do, and these images followed the preliminary brief. The next thing I did was an analysis of already existing college magazines. I did this so I could see what has already been successfully made and sold. Therefore getting a clear understanding of what the target audience wants. I found that they all used the main conventions of magazines, they all have easy simple to read fonts, sell lines on college subjects, and a main image in medium shot.

I decided to call my magazine ‘Wyke NEWS’. I chose Wyke NEWS as my mast head as I wanted my magazine to be specific to this college, so all of the sell lines and articles in the magazine are Wyke topics and events that are happening in the college. This way there is a specific target audience for my magazine –students of this college. For the Wyke part of my mast head I chose the font Blackoak Std. I chose this font as I thought it was similar to the official Wyke college logo so I wanted it to look as professional as I could. Also by choosing a similar font people will be able to recognise the logo. I made Wyke purple, also so people would be able to recognise it as the official college colours. For the NEWS section of the logo I decided to make it Arial and black. So it was very simple and did not over power the Wyke title. I had to add a white shadow to each word as they did not stand out against the back ground. By adding this shadow both words stand out and are easy to read. Above the mast head I added a competition line. I added this so people would be more interested in buying the magazine. Even if they did not want to buy the magazine they still would to win the free ticket. I added a white background to this text to make it stand out more. By making the ‘WYKE FESTIVAL’ part black and the rest of the text purple it stands out more. Making people recognise this and get more people talking about it.

This is the picture I used for my magazine. I used a medium close up shot for the main image, so it shows the student properly and you can see the books she is holding. For a college magazine it is important to use a college student. Because if the person you use for your main image is an old man in a full time job and didn’t go to college, your target audience will not be able to relate to them. When trying to attract your target audience you need someone they can relate to. I also took a picture of the Wyke building to use as my background. I cut the background of my model out on Photoshop using the quick erase tool and then copied the picture of my model onto my background. If I were to do something like this again I would have just taken a picture of my model in front of the building first, to avoid having to cut her out and copy her on top.

The conventions of magazines state that the main cover line has to relate to the main image. My main image is a student holding books outside of college and looking pleased with herself. My main cover line says ’10 easy tips on how to stay on top of your college work’. The image is obviously showing that the student has used these tips and is now doing well with her college work. I decided to use this as my main cover line as I thought it would be something that all new students would like to know. Because they may be feeling like they have a lot of work to do and they may need these tips. Again this relates with the target audience. These are my other sell lines that run down the left third of the magazine. These give the audience a ‘sneak peak’ into the articles inside the magazine. On my main cover line the background of the text was white and the colour of the text was purple, in contrast on the sell lines the back ground is purple and text white. I have done this to show that they are two separate things on my magazine cover and so the text stands out against the background. Both of the articles are things that Wyke students would be interested in and would want to read about. By adding a ‘See the new study lounge designs inside’ to one of my sell lines I am making them want to buy the magazine and have a look inside.

These are some of the other conventions of a magazine that I used on my college magazine. I placed the barcode on the bottom left of the magazine with the price next to it. I chose to have the price of my magazine standing out, which is why I have it placed in a shape with a white background and bold easy to read font. I wanted it to stand out so the cheap price would attract the audience. I chose to have the magazine at a pound so it wasn’t too expensive but also not too cheap. Also if it was say £1.60 students don’t always have a lot of change so it would be hard for them to provide the 60p. However because it’s a £1, it doesn’t require change and can be payed with 1 coin. Also below the mast head is the issue of the magazine, along with the dates that in which this magazine comes out. There is a new issue of the magazine every two weeks. This way there is new information in ever magazine.

On my front cover I have used the same colour scheme and font. I have used black, white and purple and used the font Arial. I chose these because they are easy to read and stand out. Also by using the same font and colours you are providing consistency for the reader.