School Magazine & Evaluation

Final Front cover and contents 

This is my completed school magazine front cover, after looking at both my first and second drafts I wrote down what was wrong and how I could change it/improve it. It think it was a good idea to have a Mast Head as it is how magazines are recognized, it's big and bright and the orange and blue make great contrast resulting into an eye catching header. It's pretty much sums up what the magazine is for so if this is what the reader is looking for then they'll know. As there is a lot going on in the background of the image I could only put a limited amount of copy on because otherwise it looked crowded, so if I was to do this again then I probably would find a different scene to take the picture that would allow me to put more on the front as that would help it look more like a magazine and if there was a reader looking at the cover, it would also make it more appealing if there was more information to read. For the font I have used Roman Times as it is the schools theme and I thought that since I'm representing the school I should keep to that theme, however I did use a different font for the word NEW as it draws attention and it is very important information that a parent would need to know. With the colour orange I have almost made a triangle, and from my research I have found out that this technique is most likely going to grab the readers attention, and to the image it surrounds. So when the readers attention is grabbed to the image, in which case a student doing an experiment, they are going to see this smartly dress girl who looks to be enjoying herself in a clean, bright and safe environment. All of them are shown through her calm facial expression, the bright and colourful surroundings and her safety goggles and all of these create very good representations to the school.

If I was to improve this magazine anymore I would have changed the background, as I said I would have liked more room for copy. I think I would have chosen a different colour from orange, as good as it stands out I think it's too bright and in your face to be mature enough for parents, it makes it look like its more the students instead.

The Final Contents

I tired to keep it simple and professional as it is for parents and they want to get straight to the point. I have kept with the house style of blue and orange. There is also synergy with the colours and the link between the science pictures and font. I thought the picture are acceptable as it gives a quick view to the parents at what the school environment is like.

First and Second Draft: School Magazine & Contents

Here is my first draft of my school magazine, I chose to do a magazine for the target audience of parents. The purpose of the magazine is to give them the general information on the school. 

Mast Head - Instead of making up a mast head I decided to use the Montsaye logo, because the logo is blue I decided that was going to be my colour scheme. It is fairly big and easily recognizable if you know the school already. 

Copy - I've put little copy on because from my research the magazines had very little but important information. Mine simply tells you have its for parents and it's information on the school. I used  the font that Montsaye use for their name and slogan so its a way of representing, it's in blue to go in with the colour scheme and at the bottom I have put the Montsaye slogan "Education in partnership" because it's an important part to the school. It's in white on a blue background so it helps it stand out.

Image - I have take an picture of a student that I thought was a good represent to the school as she was dressed smartly and she was following the school rules such as no make-up and nail varnish. I chose the location of the science room because its nice and bright, clean and colourful, I thought all of these things were important as when a parents see's that she's is working in a lovely environment the school looks like a good place to send their children. I set up a science experiment that shows that the science program get's them involved and it also looks very sophisticated. The student has a smiling face that suggest the school is a lovely and calm place to be educated. The goggles also represents the safety of the school.

My second draft

Mast Head - I decided that I needed to have a proper Mast Head because all magazines have one. I still kept the blue colour scheme but made it take up the length of the page and a large font but still keeping the font the same as the schools. I outlined it with orange because blue and orange have great contrast and help it stand out on the page. 

Copy - Even though my research shows little copy I decided to put more on because it looked bare and it didn't really have anything for anyone to read and want to pick it up. I went with the school font again still keeping in the theme and had it in blue; I outlined one part of the text because it was blending in with the background and it also was a great way to catch your attention. I added a band at the top of the magazine which highlighted important information which was on a orange band that yet again makes it stand out and catch attention.

School Magazine Research

The next magazine we have to create is a school magazine. First thing I’m going to do is research and analyse.

Mast Head – It’s sectioned at the top and takes the whole width of the page and a fair bit of the length. It’s bold and clear, it’s the first thing that grabs your attention and it’s outlined which helps it stand out on the page more. The colour scheme looks to be blue and white so they've put white writing against blue. Its good contrast which helps it stand out.  

Copy - From what I can see school magazines have little copy on the front, however it may be little but it's important and probably is all what the magazine is about. It is white and bold yet again going with the colour scheme and its clear to read.

Image - The picture has students from the school, they are well dressed and look smart which is representing the school in a good way, they all look happy and relaxed suggesting this school is stress free and fun which yet again is good representing. If a parent was to pick up this to see about sending their child to this school it defiantly looks like a good option with its updated technology and nice clean classrooms.

Mast Head - At the top and takes up quite a lot of the left corner. It's not big in length but they have used a big font. Its red to go with the colour scheme of red, white and black; they've outlined it with white to help it stand out of the page and not be lost into the background. They've used two different fonts so it doesn't look to plain and the Mast Head is also got two different things 'Parents and School' so the different fonts help single it out.

Copy - There is little copy but enough to give you the information you need. There is a piece of copy that is green which suggests they are making it stand out and it's the most important bit of copy. The green doesn't fit in with the rest of the magazine which is what makes it stand out. Then the others are in white on a black background which makes them show up and clear to read, the information is important but not as much as the other.

Image - A picture that is focused on a male student with science equipment which is related to the magazine purpose. He's dressed smartly and the classroom he is in look light, clean and a happy environment which all represent the school well. He has a calm straight face which suggests that the school is stress free.  

Fashion Magazine & Evaluation

Evaluation of my magazine

One of the most important things about a magazine is the mast head; this is because it contributes to grabbing a reader’s attention. So I was careful with the colour I chose, I ended up with a bold red, blocked font with black outline however, even though it was eye catching I still wanted it to be different to other magazines so I gave it a shadow so it has a 3D effect to it. Another important factor is the picture; this tells the readers a lot about what the magazine is about and who the target audience is. I chose to do a winter fashion magazine for the age group 16 -25 for females. I did my research on different types of fashion magazines to have a look at the kind of pictures they used and they were all very similar, they had a beautiful model or celebrity inducement with stylish clothes on to represent the magazine. So when doing my picture I wore a winter coat with the fluffy hood up to block the background with so it left me with just my face and the fluff of the hood, if I was to do it again I would change that because it didn’t leave me with enough space for the copy and it looks cluttered and effected the clearness of writing. Because I did the theme of winter I took that into account when I chose the colours, I edited the photo to whites and brown to represent the snow and bare trees and then the red for the falling leafs. I would also change the copy on the front as I don’t think is sounds very interesting and it wouldn’t stand out from other magazines if it was on the shelf. I would add things such as ‘NO.1 FASHION MAGAZINE’ so the readers would be pulled into what everyone else is into.

Fashion Magazine Research

We've been given the task to create a fashion magazine so my first step is to do my research of the product itself.

From what I've seen is that the fashion magazines are mainly targeted for younger females which means my cover picture must be of a young female. All the popular magazines have celebrity endorsement so I should put something in the copy that suggests the model is a celebrity. All have a very big and bold Mast head and clear and interesting copy that is colourful to stand out against the background and the other magazines which is what I have to do; I’ll have to be very careful picking the colours to make sure my magazine can be seen and stands out. The copy mostly includes things about trends, top 10 looks, what’s hot and chances to win vouchers for clothes; I will make sure that the information is persuasive and interesting to the target audience.  The camera angle is always at a mid-shot angle.