Contents Draft

This is my hand drawn contents page draft

Original Image

This is the original image which I manipulated to create my main image on the magazine cover.

My Magazine Cover Evaluation

In the last 3 weeks I have been researching, planning and finally creating a college magazine front cover and a plan of a college contents page. I began researching by looking at any magazine front covers and contents pages and deconstructing them in to their key parts.  A convention of a magazine front cover is something we expect to see on the magazine. I have specifically looked at the conventions of magazine front covers and contents pages and then looked at the genre of magazine, which was relative to my task, college magazines.

I believe my college magazine follows the conventions I identified and would make a successful college magazine as I think the simple front cover sells it to the target audience. My target audience in this case is college teachers; teachers are professional people who work hard to do the best for their students. My magazine would sell to this type of people as it looks pretty simple and formal and brings together news and stories from different colleges; this is shown in my front cover.

One of the main parts of a magazine is the masthead; this is no different for college magazines. Most magazines have a large simple masthead that is iconic to that magazine. College magazines have basic mastheads that are very clear. My magazine masthead follows this convention as it has a masthead in a simple readable font, in a stand out colour from the background. I have chosen red, as it is a basic colour and a convention for many magazines. I believe my masthead looks professional and therefore sells it to my target audience, as they are professional people. It spreads from left to right, like most college magazines and is a large size takes up over a fifth of the magazine height. It would establish the magazine if it were to be mass-produced.

The main image on a magazine is arguably the most important part of the magazine. It is what first catches the audiences eye and is how people decide if the magazine for them. The front cover is what sells the magazine and the power of image is much stronger than words. The image is of a student who is clearly learning from a textbook. This straight away says that the magazine is based on education and would catch the eye to a teacher. The image behind the image of the student is a picture of Wyke College itself, which relates to the main cover line story, which is also about Wyke. I believe that the layered image is a good idea as it is so strongly linked to the main cover line and would certainly catch the eye of a college teacher.

The main cover line is also a very important part of the front cover. It is usually layered up if the text is more than one line long and in different colours and size for each line. I included this in my magazine cover. I did this to make this cover line stand out. I think it adds a little more depth to the text on the page with the writing overlapped, different sized and coloured. I think it shows it is the main story. In the magazine. It is also linked to the main image, which is easily seen as it is located more central in the image than any other cover line.

 

I also included a web address. Today web addresses are a convention of a magazine as they appear on most magazines, this is because nowadays most people have access to the Internet and a lot of people use the Internet everyday. I added this as to make the magazine look a little more professional.

Another convention is the date line and issue number. All magazines have a date or/and an issue number. I decided to include both on my magazine.

Overall I think my magazine cover was good as I think it would sell the magazine. I think it is what the target audience would want to see a simple, basic front cover that, anything overcomplicated would be too informal for the target audience. I think the cover lines show things that a college teacher would want to see. I believe the masthead is professional looking and would sell the magazine well. The only problem I had was manipulating the image, as on my front page the image does not look as smooth as I would like it to be. I believe as a whole that my magazine does look appealing, and would look also appealing to the target audience. If I did this again I would take better picture in a blank environment with nobody around to allow for better image manipulation and therefore a better overall magazine cover.

My two original drawn plans

The Final Stage

I then added in three more cover lines. This completes my magazine.

Stage 6

I then added in my main cover line which is in 3 different colours and sizes. I have done this to make this cover line stand out. It is the largest and is the cover line relating to the image, 'This Month We Visit Wyke'. It is a Wyke Student and a Wyke building.

stage 5

Here I added In the issue number and the month the and year the magazine is for. I also decided to add the price, which for my college magazine is free.

Stage 4

Now i have added my main image which i have manipulated to the magazine cover.

stage 3

On this image i have added in the background image of my magazine and the bar at the bottom which is going to contain the date and the issue number.

Stage 2

This is my 2nd draft i have added the Masthead and the web address bar.

1st Draft

Here is my first draft, for my magazine cover.

I think this layout will be a good layout as it is very simple and formal which i am trying to achieve by my college magazine.

Camera shots

I found this image on the internet it demonstrates the different camera shots. I will be using Medium Close up (5).

Mind Map

Mood Board

This is my mood board. I have done this to give me ideas on magazine covers.

Programmes I Will Use

I am going to use Adobe Photoshop CS3 to manipulate my original image. I am also going to use it to create most of the add before putting it into Microsoft Office Publisher. I am going to do this because Publisher has limited options compared to photoshop. It is easy to edit text in Photoshop the way you want and the organisation is much better using a library and layers to organise the piece. I will then put it into Publisher.

Representation

Representation- represention always depends on what the magazine is about and who it is targeting. However whoever a magazine is targeting will be portrayed in a positive manner in the magazine.

In a college magazine there will be college teachers and students. The teachers will be portrayed as good and hard working. The pupils will be portrayed as there challenge although they will not be portrayed as bad, they will also be portrayed as good and hard working.

Audience

Audience- the target audience of a magazine varies from magazine to magazine. A lot of magazines aim there magazine at people in terms of gender and age. For example magazines are solely aimed at women for example; Heat, Cosmopolitan and Vogue and for example aimed at men are Nuts, Zoo, Fastcar and Mens Fitness. An example of targeting people based on age is Cbeebies aimed at children.

A college magazine however is not targeting people because of gender or age and instead is just targeting all college teachers. Teachers are of all ages and genders. The college magazine is simply going to be aimed at teachers.

Language

Language- the language used in magazines varies depending on what the magazine is about and what audience the magazine is targeting. In a college magazine they are rather aimed at the teachers or the students, if the magazine is aimed at the teachers the language being used will be more complex and formal, than for the students. If the magazine is aimed at the students it will be a more informal way of writing and may be even less complex because there are all students of different levels. In normal magazines the language being used depends on what the magazine is for. E.g. a rock music magazine will use some informal language where as in a orchestral magazine it would be more formal.

Analysis of Front Cover (NME)

This is a very good and effective front cover.

It contains the well known NME masthead. It is very recognisable as it has been a big selling magazine for so long. The magazine has a very large main coverline which appears at the top of the page above and next to the masthead. This main cover line is yellow text on a red background this is so the main coverline stands out and is easily readable.

The page has another main coverline on top of the main image which is linked to a normal coverline. Which is in the top left corner of the magazine. The coverline is quite detailed and contains a quote from a star of the story.

There are 2 more coverlines that are in two circles, which makes it easy to read. All the coverlines stand out and are easy to read.

At the bottom of the magazine there is a coverline with a list of the bands who appear inside.

The cover contains a date and price line and a barcode, like any other magazines that charge.

The cover also contains the NME web address.

I think this front page is very effective as it is attractive and draws you in to looking at it. It would do its job of selling the magazine very well. It is a very good example of a college magazine.

Analysis of a College Magazine Contents Page (secondary teachers)

This college magazine contents page is again very basic. It contains limited colours, on a white background which makes it simple to read. The contents page is mainly black writing with a few red a green headings.

Each heading has a sub-heading describing the story inside. All numbers are located in a straight green bar running down a section of the page, I think this looks good because it looks professional, which a college should do.

The page contains an introduction to the magazine. It also has an email address to contact to say what the reader feels about the magazine.

It also has contacts for subscription.

There are images related to the stories inside, this looks attractive and gives people a visual idea of what the story is about.

There is a list of terms and conditions for the competitions in the magazines, they have probably chosen to put it there as it applies for each competition in the magazine and the contents page is relating to all pages in the magazine.

There is also a list of the writers and editors and there contact details, in case anybody wishes to talk to a certain writer.

It also shows the logos of rewards they have received and organisations they support such as recycle.

I think this is a good contents page as it is basic, looks professional and good. It easy to read and does its job well.

The college magazine contents page looks a little more professional than the ones in normal magazines, although it is very similar. I thought that a normal magazine would use more colour than a college magazine but it was the college magazine that used more colour. The college magazine also contains a list of all the editors this does not appear in a normal magazine contents page.

Analysis of a contents page (The Brass Herald)

This contents page is again very basic and uses the main colours black, white and red. The text is clear and very easy to read.

On this contents it has some comments written.

The page has the heading 'Contents'. Each story has a heading and a sub-heading saying a little about the story. Each story has its page number next to it for easy reference.

The page also has some images related to the stories inside the magazine in the column with the list of stories.

I believe this contents page is effective because it is again very simple and looks good. It does its job which is to simple co-ordinate you around the magazine.

Analysis of a contents page (NME)

This contents page is easy to understand, this is because the page is in black and white with a bit of red. The stories are categorised and then there is a heading and a sub-heading as a brief description to every story inside the magazine. All the stories are lined up to the right of the page in this magazine. Next to each heading there is a number so for quick reference you know where each story is in the magazine.

The contents contains a large title.

It also has some images of a story inside and an offer which the magazine offers for subscribers which contains contact details if they wish to purchase this offer.

I believe this contents page is effective because it does a job, although it contains a lot of information it does its job and is very easy to read. It is well organised and is visualy attractive too. This is a good contents page.

Codes and Conventions of a College Magazine Front Cover

Masthead- the masthead of college magazines tend to be very basic, i think this is because college magazines tend to be a tad more formal than a normal magazine. The masthead on a college magazine also goes from the left page edge to the right page edge.

Main Image- the main image on college magazines is usually a basic image with little editing of the image as they want it to look real.

Cover Lines- the coverlines on a college magazine are not all located on the left hand side and they are all in the same font and colours, there is one main cover line which is usually linked with the main image, other than that the rest of the coverlines seem to be equal.

Web Address- most college magazines have a web address so people can contact the magazine.

Date Line- this is the month and year that the edition was published.

Deconstrusction of a College Magazine Front Cover

1- Main Image

2- Masthead

3- Coverlines

4- Main Coverline

5- Web Address

6- Date line

7- This is who the magazine is made by

8- A small image to go with one of the coverlines

Deconstruction of a College Magazine

1- Mast Head

2- Main Image

3- Standard Barcode

4- Price (saying 100% free in this case)

5- Website

6- Coverlines

Codes and Conventions of a Magazine Contents Page

Headings- the heading of each story is displayed on the contents page, this is so people can find what they want to see quickly and easily.

Sub-heading- this is usually a quick sentence explaining what the story is about.

Images- on the contents of most magazines there are some pictures which are part of the whats inside, this gives the reader visual information of the stories.

Page Numbers- the contents contains a page number next to the heading and sub-heading of each story.

Linked companies or organisations- magazines often display organisations which they support such as recycling.

Contact details- the contact details for the magazine are often printed on the contents so people can write into the company for any reason.

Codes and Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

Masthead: This is the name of the magazine. The masthead is how people recognize the magazine, most mastheads are of a unique font to make the magazine more recognisable.

Selling Line: Short description of what the magazine is about.

Main Image: A big image, relevant to the magazine, usually meant to draw people in.

Main cover line: Vary large writing usually telling the viewer the main story inside.

Cover lines: Usually disrubuted around the images in the left third (the left third of the magazine, important for selling the magazine, usually where the title is located and m0st of the cover lines).

Bar code: Most Magazines have a standard barcode printed for retailers.

Dateline: The date, usually the months and year of the publication. The price is usually displayed with the date.

The Brief

Preliminary Exercise: using DTP (desktop publishing) 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.

Main Task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.

Presentation of Your Work
The presentation of the research, planning and evaluation may take the form of any one, or combination of two or more, of the following:
-a presentation using slideshow software
-a blog
-a podcast