Final Cover and Evaluation

For our preliminary task we had to create a college magazine cover and use a medium close-up shot of a student and include appropriately laid-out text and masthead. I started by analysing two existing college magazine covers and highlighting the main features of a college magazine. From this I could decide what to include on my front cover and begin planning. Like most magazines I included a masthead, coverlines, main image and date line.

I think a strength of my cover is the colour scheme. I used the same colour scheme of other Wyke booklets so the magazine is recognisable as a product of the college. The purple can be used for bold titles and the green is brighter so can be used to highlight smaller coverlines. To show that is also from Wyke college I used the logo of a white and green arrow as bullet points to list my coverlines. I also think by using bullet points my coverlines are neatly displayed and are organised. This also shows the college expects students to be organised.

I think another strength is my main image. The student is portrayed as a model student as she is carrying books with her and looks like she is ready to learn. She is also an ethnic minority and gives an ideology of the college of that anyone can come to the college if they are willing to learn and that the college promotes diversity. In the background is a picture of the college. I chose this part of the college site as it is a key meeting area for students so will be clearly recognised as part of the college. The picture of the model and the college were taken separately and I used Photoshop to cut out the picture of the student and paste it onto the backdrop. I also changed the colours of the backdrop to make the day look sunnier by increasing the colour. This makes the image and magazine look more appealing to readers.

One of the problems of the design is where the coverlines are placed. I spent a lot of time trying to have them in the correct position so they are easy to read and doesn’t attract too much attention away from the main image. I am still not totally happy with positioning of the main coverline as I think it may be hard to read for some people as lots of colours overlap it in the background. For my music magazine cover I want to think more clearly about where the main image is placed so I have enough room for the coverlines, rather than just try to fit the text around the image.

My magazine cover compares quite closely to the two I researched as I have two colours in the title separating the two words which is used in the second magazine I analysed. I also used the left third of the splash to display my coverlines like in the first magazine, so if the magazine is stacked with others the majority of the coverlines can still be read.

I think my cover attracts its target audience of student of the college because of the use of a student as the main image and the coverlines. My coverlines are of academic and social events happening at the college so attracts the majority of students. I think it represents students by having both sides of student life and showing that is like that.

Overall I think I planned out my time well by using one week for research and planning and the last week for putting together my final design and writing my evaluation.

Contents Page mock-up

Here is my mock-up of my contents page. I want the layout to be simple and neat so all the information is displayed clearly for the audience.

If I had finished making the contents page it would have the same colour scheme and font of the front cover as would the whole magazine to have continuity and to keep it looking tidy. As well as giving information on page numbers I have images down the right hand side which relate to the main cover story and another smaller story. These will create more interest in the stories and the reader will be able to see what page it is on instantly by looking on the left hand side or reading the caption underneath.

Pictures

Last night I met up with my friend, Shaka, in town in take these photos of her for my main image. I tried three different angles then I will choose the one I think is best to further edit and cut out. So far I am choosing the first image because she is facing the front most on this picture and showing the text books she is holding clearly.

This morning I took this picture of the college which I am going to crop and edit then put Shaka infront.

Second Draft

This is my second draft of my college magazine. This time I have thought of a name for my magazine rather than just having the name of the college as the masthead. I have kept the same main cover line and other smaller cover lines but swapped them around so the smaller cover lines are on the left third of the page. This is so if the magazine is stacked with others the reader will be able to see more of what is in the magazine rather than seeing just one cover line. I have also kept the dateline and issue number in the same place as I think it is displayed clearly here.

I have chosen to use a green and purple colour scheme which I have used on all the text. This is the colour scheme used by the college for other booklets and flyer's, so I am using the same so the audience will know it is from the college and recognise it. I have the 'Wyke' title in purple as it is the colour of the official logo and put 'Bites' in the bright green as it stands out more, and separates the words. I have also included the white and green arrows facing each other from the 'Wyke' logo. I have used these as bullet points, again to clearly show it is the college magazine. My first idea was to have the logo in the top right corner but it didn't leave enough room for the full title across the top.

For the main image I have asked my friend to meet up with me and we can take the photos. I will then cut her out and put her in front of a picture of the college using photoshop which I have on my home computer. I can also adjust the colours so the two images fit together better and the image doesn't look obviously photoshopped. I want her to be looking directly into the camera to engage the audience and to look like she has just stopped for a photo on the way to lesson. She will be looking natural for a down to earth feel and have books in her hand to empathise the academic side to college life. This gives an ideal image of how a model student should look.

For my next IT draft I want the main image of the model closer in the picture so it is more of a medium close-up rather than just a medium shot. I will have to fit the cover lines around the image so they don't overlap with the face or body.

Mood board

I wanted to think about my second draft more so I made a mood board of images from the Wyke college website and pictures of students from google images. I also included my two different colour scheme ideas and different fonts that I could use. From finding images of the Wyke logo I realised it is purple instead of blue as I first thought so my next draft will include purple.

In the top left hand corner is the Wyke college logo which I am already incorporating into my front cover, there is also another logo of a green and white arrows put together to make a star shape. In my next draft I am either going to include this in the top right corner or as the bullet points for my cover lines. In the bottom right corner is a picture of the front cover of the Wyke prospectus. I included this as an example of a booklet the school as made so I may follow the colour scheme so the reader will associate it with the college. The pictures of the ash building and the pictures of students are to help me think of how I am going to take my main image and what I am going to include in it.

So far I think I will be using the second colour scheme and the font 'Rockwell' for my IT draft as it is the best match for the font used in the Wyke logo.

First Draft

This is my first draft of the front page of my college magazine. My masthead is the college name logo which can be found on all texts created by the college. By using this the reader will instantly connect the magazine to the college. My main image is of a girl holding some books and stood slightly to a side. This looks like she is on her way to a lesson and she will look natural and happy to promote a relaxed student lifestyle. In the background is the college to emphasis it is a college magazine. I don't know who my model will be yet so I will start talking to my friends about the photo shoot.

My main cover line is in a big font and is blue to match the blue wyke college logo. I have smaller cover lines down the right hand side in a smaller font so it dosen't take attention away from the main cover line. This is in green which will go with the grass in the background image but hopefully you will still be able to read the cover lines clearly without i bending into the main image. I have included a date line with the magazine issue and date in the top right corner. My target audience are students of the college and the cover lines are stories which are made for the students and will hopefully appeal to them.

My colour scheme for this draft is blue and green, and these colours are in all my text and behind the model in the main image as sky and grass. In my next draft I want to create a unique title for the magazine which isn't just the name of the college but I want to keep the logo in the name. I also want to have my coverlines on the left third of the splash and my main cover line on the right, so if the magazine stacked with others the reader can still see what's in the magazine. Also I need to think of a selling line as a slogan for my magazine. I have an idea of what to include in my next splash and a good idea of my main image.

College Magazine Analysis 2

I'm analysing another college magazine using the front of the magazine from King Edward VI College.The main image is of two students laughing together at medium shot looking directly at the camera to engage the audience. The models are of both genders which show that the college doesn't discriminate gender. In the background of the main image is a display of bright colours which catches the readers attention whilst not taking the attention away from the models.

The masthead, 'King Ed's' is in a bold green and pink and this would be used as a logo to be displayed on each issue. This makes it easy to recognise for regular readers or if the magazine is displayed with others. In the title there is a dateline down the inside one of the letters to let the reader see how recent the issue is and it is displayed clearly. There is also the selling line 'The New Edwardian Magazine' The word 'Magazine' is in pink to correspond with the pink in the title and the rest is in a white font to stand out against the main image behind it.

The main cover line is quite small but still bigger then the other cover lines. It's in a white font to stand out and to match the colour of the selling line. The main cover line advertises that the magazine has an interview with a film director which will attract an audience of film students and anyone interested in the directors work. This also advertises the college as high profile as it can have interviews with film directors. The other cover lines are much smaller and hard to read at first. There in a black and blue font which is used nowhere else on the splash and doesn't match anything. The cover lines mention sport to show the college is active and also has the cover line 'Celebrating Diversity' which promotes acceptance of all people and that anyone can come to the college to learn, and that the students share this ideology.
Unlike the other magazine cover this one focuses more on extra-curricular activities and appeals more to the students interests rather than the interlectual side of college life.

College Magazine Analysis

I am analysing Ridgewater College magazine aimed at students of the college. The magazine reaches its target audience by having a young girl at a medium shot who is a student of the college as it’s main image. The model looks happy and is wearing casual clothes in a comfy seating area which portrays a relaxed student lifestyle and how every student should be. The model is at looking up directly into the camera to engage the audience. There is a model credit which confirms that the model is a student which gives the magazine a more down to earth feel rather than using a hired model. The model is also asian which promotes racial harmony in the school and the idea that anyone can learn.

The masthead is in a different font to the coverlines as the magazine title will be its logo. The text is in white to make it stand out against the main image.The main coverline is in the top left of the splash and talks about students from around the world to highlight that Ridgewater College promotes diversity. The other coverlines are down the left hand side and don't attract too much attention from the main image, and in the bottom left hand corner is another smaller image which suggests the college is also promotes helping wildlife. The left third of the splash contains all of the coverlines so when it's displayed with other magazines the audience will be able to see the stories inside the magazine.

I think this magazine reaches its target audience of students of the college by having a student as its main image to attract attention and having its main coverline about learning and interests to the students. Overall this focuses mainly on academic subjects for the students.