My College Magazine Front Cover

Photo shoot

These images are the ones that I have used on my cover page and contents page. I have used medium shots for the main images for both pages. I like these two images because they represent my target audience, they are in focus and aren't too serious which will attract the younger readers of the college magazine.

I used these three images below on my cover page as teasers of what content will be in my magazine. I cropped the first picture to just the face of the cat so it was obvious what the image was representing. I used the other two images to show a teaser of the images that are in the magazine of last years prom.

 Below are some of the images that I took for my magazine but didn't use. I didn't use the first two because they are slightly blurry, and I think expression for the one I used was better.

I didn't use the image below because I preferred the lighting and the angle of the one I did use.

Flat Plans

Target Audience

To find out my primary target audience, I have created a survey on Survey Monkey and have posted the link on Facebook for people to fill out. The target audience for the Bodmin College Magazine is students that are aged between 11 and 19 because these are the ages of the students attending Bodmin College. The gender of my target audience will be open to both male and female students as both attend Bodmin College. The content of my magazine will need to appeal to this age range of both genders, so there will need to be stories that they will enjoy reading and images that will be relevant to their school life. I think they will be interested in stories about the events that happen around the school. I also think stories about curriculum and the changes of subjects and marking schemes should be written about in the magazine so students will understand more about this. Students would like to see a better quality overall magazine with better fonts and images. Students as well as their parents would like to see images and information about previous events that have happened so they can see the events that their child has participated in. The parents/guardians of the children that attend Bodmin College are the secondary target audience of the magazine, so they would also like to see a better quality magazine as they are interested in their education.

I found out further information about my target audience from the results of my survey monkey which will help me decide on the content of my magazine. Firstly, I found out that more females read the magazine than males.

I found out that it is mainly 14-16 year olds that read the magazine with only a few aged between 17 and 18. This will help me understand what my target audience wants to see on their magazine.

The approximate household income to all of the people who answered my survey was £25, 000 to £49,000. This suggests that people who answered this would prefer the magazine to be free.

All of the people who answered my survey answered 'White British' as their ethnic group. I asked this question to make sure that no one got offended from any of the content of the magazine.

No one who answered my survey currently reads the Bodmin College magazine. This is probably because the target audience find it boring.

I asked what people like about the magazine so that I can use the same features in my magazine. There was an equal vote for colour, pictures and content.

I also asked what people don't like about the Bodmin College magazine so I know what not to use in my own. The highest choice was quality, with layout, colour, pictures and images all coming in joint second.

Better quality and better images were the most popular choices for what people would like to see on the front cover of the magazine.

Out of the three choices I gave of different magazine names that could be used for the Bodmin College magazine, Rumor was the most popular choice.

Everyone who answered my survey said that they wouldn't pay for a magazine. This could link with my question about their average household income, or people might not want to pay for it because they know that the quality of the magazines are usually bad and won't want to waste money on it.

Magazine Contents Page Analysis

Empire Magazine

Target Audience – The primary target audience for the Empire magazine is people that are interested in film generally between ages 15 - 30. This magazine is aimed at a large target audience, as there is a wide range of people who are interested in films of all ages. The majority of people reading this magazine will fall into the audience demographic at band C1 – D.

Layout – This contents page has a fairly simple layout. It is split into two sections; on the right it has a list of what is featuring inside the magazine, and on the left there is a large picture that overlaps some of the header with smaller pictures of the magazine covers related to this film that can be collected. At the top of the page, the word ‘contents’ is written in a bold, red font that stands out from the background, which makes it clear to the reader what they are reading. This layout gives a lot of information to the reader without looking too busy.

Colour – The colour scheme is quite simple – it has a black background with mostly white text, and red text where there is more important information. This is mainly plain with a splash of colour; it makes it eye catching and keeps a professional look to the whole page. The background is plain, but is lit up around the image.

Typography – The typography in the text is effective as all the fonts used are similar to each other, which makes the whole page flow together. Having similar fonts makes the page less busy for the reader and gives them all the information they need. Also, because there is different coloured text for when there is more important information, it makes it look more interesting as well as separating the different parts of writing. This makes it easier for the reader to find the section with the information that they want to know about.

Images – The use of images are effective because there is one main image to the left that overlaps the header, and the text fits around it. There are also other smaller images at the bottom that advertise the other magazines related to this film. The main image is a main character from a film that the magazine is advertising – this will catch the eye of the reader if they are interested in this genre of film.

Conclusion - Overall, I think this contents page works well for its purpose of giving the reader information they need before they continue to read the magazine without looking too busy, and keeps its professional look. The use of colours and imagery works well together; it is quite plain and simple but also captures the reader’s attention without looking boring. The contents page looks interesting and invites the reader. The more important parts of the text are written in red, which stands out to the reader.

Cosmo Girl

Target Audience – The primary target audience for the Cosmo Girl is for females who are over the age of 15. Also, as this is a prom issue, people who are looking for prom ideas would want to look at this magazine. Most of the people reading this magazine will fall into the audience demographic at band C1 - D.

Layout – The layout of the contents page is quite simple and is not crowded making it easy for the reader to get the information they want. The background is an image of a girl clearly representing this issues topic: prom, sat in front of a fairly plain back drop. The header is bold and is in a traditional colour for girls to wear to prom: pink. On the left side of the page there is a column that includes the contents information clearly for the reader; the page numbers are larger than the text and are of a different colour, as well as the title of each page to make it easy for the reader to get all of the information. There is also another small piece of text to the right of the girl explaining information about the background image – this allows the reader to get more information of the image if they are interested in the dress she is wearing or the story about it.

Colour – There is a rather plain colour scheme; pink, red and black which goes with the background of mainly white and gold. The header is written in pink: the same colour as the dress the girl is wearing in the image, which keeps with the topic of this issue. The main other colour for the text is mainly black, which makes it look professional. The colour red is used for the important parts of the text; this does make it stands out, but red and pink are two colours that are generally not put together in a colour scheme. However, it does seem to work in this case. The gold in the back drop of the image also goes with the topic of proms. This colour scheme keeps the reader interested in the topic because the colours used are traditional colours for proms. The red highlights the more important parts of the text so the reader can see the information they want to know easily.

Typography – Again, the fonts used are very similar to each other which makes the typography effective because the page flows. The makes the contents page look tidy and professional because it is not overloaded with information. The different coloured text makes the page more interesting as well as highlights the more important parts of text. This ensures that the reader can find the information that they want to know easily.

Images – There is only one image used in this page which is used as the background. This makes the page look effective and professional without looking busy. The colours in the image also work well with the colour of the text and the topic of this issue. Although there is only one, the image gives the reader an insight of what will be included throughout the magazine; this draws their attention to the imagery and is more likely going to get them to continue reading the magazine.

Conclusion – Overall, I think this contents page serves its purpose very well as it gives all the information that is necessary without too much text or images and still looks professional and tidy. The colours work well together, although I personally wouldn’t put red and pink together. It is a very simple layout and design but does not look boring or dull. This design would keep the reader interested and gives all of the information needed.

Comparison – The two contents pages are of a similar layout; they both include the necessary information without looking too busy and have a professional feel. They both have ideal aspects; different coloured text to highlight the more important parts, a bold header, a main image that catches the eye of the reader, a column of contents information that looks tidy and a small part of text that describes the main image. The topics of the magazines are completely different, and therefore they also have different colour schemes. Personally, I prefer the Cosmo Girl magazine because I think the layout is more professional looking and I think the background image works better.

Analysing Magazine Front Covers

I am going to analyse a Bodmin College magazine to gain a better understanding of the common conventions.

Target Audience - The target audience for the Bodmin College magazine is mainly students aged between 11 and 19 because these are the age ranges of students attending the college. There is also another target audience that is aimed at the parents/guardians of the student who are of an older age. Most of the people reading this magazine fall into the audience demographic within band C1 – E.

Masthead – The masthead is not the best design for its purpose as it doesn’t stand out because the colours of the text is not clear on the busy and colourful background; this means it does not catch the eye of the reader. In conventional magazines, the masthead would be an 1/8 of the cover meaning it would be eye catching. The text is an out dated font, which does not fit with the style and audience of the magazine. The theme and style of the front cover doesn’t interest the target audience.

Colour – There are generally too many colours used together on the front cover to make it appealing to look at, and doesn’t make it look very professional. Usually, a professional magazine cover would have a colour scheme that is continually used throughout and links with the theme/topic of the magazine. Whereas, this magazine cover uses colour that do not work well together, with the text colour not even standing out against the colours behind it. This makes the display of the cover seem unclear to the reader with no main subject standing out. The colours of the magazine are very busy, and it goes against the conventions of magazines, which usually use 3-5 colours only at the most. Again, this lacks appeal to the target audience.

Layout – The overall layout used for the magazine cover is not the general layout that usually seen on a magazine because it has three images that are of low quality long shots all of the same event, which makes the cover look too busy. To look appealing, the layout should have one main image with text overlaid of a contrasting font, and possibly a few smaller images – this layout would be less heavy and look much more professional. The cover should also show little teasers of information inside the magazine that would make the reader more likely to want to read it. This is also against the target audience, as students want something interesting on the front cover that gets their attention.

Images – These images go against the usual conventions of a magazine. There are three images that appear thrown together, whereas on a usual magazine cover, there would just be one main image with maybe a few smaller ones. These images are also all long shot photographs; the main image on a magazine is usually close up or medium shot as well as being poor quality images. Within the images, the content is mainly of girls – this supports Laura Mulvey’s theory that it will get male attention and is shown that this might be showing them as an erotic desire for the reader. The images are about dancing which means that it will not appeal to all of the target audience.

Typography – Quite a few fonts are used which takes away the professional aspect to it. Also, there isn’t any teasers which means the reader doesn’t get any information about what is included inside. The magazine doesn’t have an issue number; this means the reader doesn’t get any extra information.

Conclusions – Overall, I don’t think this magazine fits the purpose because none of the aspects are like the common conventions of a magazine. It goes against most of these conventions and it doesn’t appeal to the target audience because it is not eye catching to capture their attention. It looks too busy and is lacking a professional look, so I can connote that it will not be interesting enough for the audience to want to read it. It doesn’t have many similarities to something a student would want to read outside of school. The reader could assume that the content is as bad as the front cover because nothing is jumping out at them that makes them interested.

I am also analysing this magazine and am going to compare the two.

Target Audience – The target audience is again for the Bodmin College students aged between 11 and 19. This also targets the parents of the school students who are older. Again, most of the people reading this magazine fall into the audience demographic within band C1 – E.

Masthead – The masthead is a good design for its purpose as it does stand out because there is a plain black background and the text is quite clear.  The text has flames and smoke around it that fits with the word ‘Skive’ as it is something that is known to be a bad and rebellious. The masthead is eye catching as it is of a large size and is bold. The theme and style of the magazine is suitable for the topic and will interest the target audience.

Colour – The main colours that are used are black, white and orange. These colours give the cover a professional look as they work well together and do not make the page look too busy. The colour scheme fits with the topic of the magazine; the background is plain back with white text that stands out, and orange is used for the flames around the text on the masthead and the pictures on the right. The display of the cover is clear to the reader with the masthead standing out, as well as the word ‘stress’ and ‘monogamy’ at the bottom, which are probably some of the main topics that are in the magazine content. The colours of the magazine are quite plain; it also supports the conventions of a magazine (3-5 colours).

Layout – The overall layout of the magazine cover is the general layout that is usually seen on a magazine; the background is quite plain and has one close up image in the middle with text of a contrasting colour around it. It also has a few smaller images around it showing what else will be inside. It shows teasers of information that makes the reader more likely to want to read it. This will interest the target audience because it will get the attention of students in this age range. This layout looks quite professional, but on a negative note, the font is quite spread out making it look a little messy in some places.

Images – The images support the usual conventions of a magazine. There is one main close up image with a few smaller ones showing teasers of what content will be inside the magazine. The content of the images will be of an interest to both male and female readers.

Typography – There is one main font that is used for the text around the main image, two different fonts used for two of the main headings at the bottom and separate one used for the text on the masthead. The magazine has an issue number and teasers which gives the reader extra information.

Conclusions – Overall, I think this magazine fits the purpose because most of its aspects are like the common conventions of a magazine. It supports most of the conventions and it does appeal to the target audience because it is eye catching and will capture their attention. It has a professional look, so I can connote that it will interest the reader. It has similarities to what a student of the age would want to read outside of school.

Comparison – The Skive magazine is better than the Bodmin College magazine because it fits more of the common conventions and is generally more interesting to look at. To capture the target audiences attention, the Skive magazine would be better as it will be more eye catching and has a similar look to something someone of this age would be found reading outside of school. The colour scheme is quite plain but gives a more professional appearance to the magazine, whereas, the Bodmin College magazine has too many colours which makes it difficult to read and look too busy. The images of the Skive magazine are much better placed because there is one main image and few others to show what will be included inside, however I personally think the main image is over edited. The Bodmin College magazine has images that seem thrown together without much thought about presentation.

Analysing College Magazines

I will be analysing two college magazine covers, and two college magazine contents pages that were carefully chosen in order to establish what common conventions I need to use in my own work to ensure that I represent the needs of my specifically chosen target audience. To do this, I have to follow the conventions they expect to see, so it is vital to research the the following existing conventions. The following theorists have stated the creative process is about the development of creative products through drawing on existing professional conventions:

'A process needed for problem solving... not a specific gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people' (Jones, 1993)

'The making of the new and rearranging of the old' (Bentley, 1997)

'Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed in three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain. and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation' ( Caikazentmihalyi, 1996)

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

I am going to complete a prelim task before continuing with the main task that involves creating the cover and contents page for a new college magazine. During the completion of this task, I will have an excellent opportunity to develop my skills that I began working on during GCSE Photography in Photoshop; and also new skills, such as audience research, production and media language. I am looking forward to doing this task as I will be able to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of professional magazine conventions. I will also be able to practice creating more sophisticated products before I begin my main task.

My AS Coursework

I have decided to take the Print Brief at this point of the course because I think that it is the most interesting brief for me to take after looking at the selection of Foundation Portfolio Briefs. I have produced a magazine at GCSE level on the ICT DiDa course, but it was lacking the specific conventions required for magazine and professional aspects. Through this brief, I intend to improve my skills on magazine production and my understanding of how it will be appealing to specific target audiences; this will improve my knowledge when it comes to media production. Personally, I am interested in creative design for art and photography and am excited to start this project.