Research on Covers
The masthead of this college magazine corresponds with the main image, making the cover more attractive as a whole, with part of the main image very slightly obstructing the masthead, although not by much. The red colour scheme with the main image and masthead is very vibrant, perhaps to attract the target audience of young readers. Red also connotes sensuality, which could draw men to the magazine. In addition, the shirt and shorts on an attractive female model will also attract men to purchase or read the magazine.
The main image is enhanced, whilst the background is a blurred shot of a park in the sun to draw attention to the model. It is a medium shot - angled straight-on - of a model looking directly at the camera, giving the effect of direct address to the audience. She is also wearing an ‘I Heart SMU’, representing that she is a student of the college. The model is represented in a positive way, as she is smiling and wearing a patriotic college t-shirt; hinting that she is a dedicated student which may influence the readers to become better students as well. Her left shoulder is slightly positioned further back than her right, and her head turned to the camera – this creates a more attractive and flattering angle for the cover. Subtly but very well done, the blue shorts also correspond with the rest of the text on the cover, meaning that the whole of the main image links with all of the text.
The main cover line is a story about the model on the front, ‘Nastia Liukin’ in bold, with blue text as the sub-headline and black text as the description. There are 4 other cover stories, alternating with blue and black text. All of these stories attract younger readers, which is the target audience, with stories such as “Avoid Sleeping Your Way to the Top” and “He Better Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”.This cover story ends with ‘Exclusive Interview’, attracting students as they are told they will find this interview nowhere else.
The date of the magazine is positioned just below the masthead on the right hand side, in yellow writing. This contrasts with the colour scheme, drawing attention to it. The barcode and price (free) are positioned in the right hand corner of the cover, as not to distract from any of the stories around the main image. All in all, the layout of the cover is very well structured, with cover lines and images placed very carefully so that certain parts catch the reader’s eye, and so that others don’t. For example, the barcode is not near the main image, whereas the story that links with the main image is.
The College Lifestyle magazine is strongly targeted at students, for many reasons. First of all, the masthead is a bold serif font with very vibrant colours. It is placed on a dark grey background, incredibly emphasising the vibrancy of the masthead, making the cover even more attractive to young students. This colour scheme of yellow and white is followed through the whole cover, making it very ordered and organised. The only slight difference in the colour scheme is the ‘Splat!’,which is ultimately there to catch the reader’s eye, but the text in the middle still manages to follow the colour scheme as it is written in yellow.
The main image is of a model who has the left side of his body positioned further back than the right, and his face turned to the camera. This positioning makes the model more attractive, as it is a flattering pose to use on magazine covers. It is a mid-shot angled straight on, with the model carrying some textbooks. He is also looking directly at the camera, producing very effective direct address to the reader. The model is carrying a range of textbooks, and the one on top is facing towards the camera so that we can clearly see the title: Law, Business and Society. This presents an image to the reader that the man on the cover is a serious and mature student, suggesting that this is a serious college magazine – which could perhaps subtly influence the reader to become a more dedicated and honourable student. This model is young and attractive, appealing to young female students but also to male, as he is wearing a black, butch biker jacket and a plain white shirt, therefore he could perhaps be someone they desire to be like. The black and white clothing contrast with each other, drawing immediate attention to the main image. His smile creates a positive representation of the magazine, thus creating a positive image about the college itself.
The main cover line is on the left hand side of the main image, similarly to the previous college magazine. It is in a larger font than the other cover stories, so that it is the first piece of text that the readers see. There is direct address in some cover lines, for example “Entrepreneurial Tips You Need to Know”, making the audience feel like they are already involved in the magazine and the college.
The price ($4.99) and barcode of the magazine are positioned in the left hand corner of the cover, so that it doesn’t distract any attention from the main image and text. The website is in a very small, white font just below the masthead on the left hand side of the main image. Again, this is so that it doesn’t attract away from the main image and text. All in all, this college magazine is very well ordered and structured, making it easy to read and understand, whilst still attracting its target audience.
Planning On Covers
1st Plan
This is my first plan for the cover of my
college magazine. I decided to call my magazine ‘The HUB’ – ‘HUB’ standing for
Harlington Upper Bulletin – which I have kept for my final plan. I originally
wanted the main image to be on the left of the cover, and to have the sell
lines on the right hand side. After creating other cover plans, I realised that
this looked too cluttered and rather dull. I have included a barcode and price
at the bottom on the left hand side, and a QR code on the left hand side at the
bottom. Other institutional information I have placed just below the masthead
on the right hand-side. I have also included a ‘Competition’ stamp to entice
and encourage people to read the magazine.
2nd Plan
This is my second cover plan. Here I have positioned
the main image in the centre of the cover, with the sell lines on either side
of it, and the main cover line on the right-hand side next to the model’s head.
I much prefer this layout, as it is more interesting and looks much more
professional. However, for this cover I have chosen to have the title of the
magazine at the bottom of the cover. This breaks the usual conventions of a
magazine, therefore making it an edgy and original cover for students. Unlike
cover 1, I have the QR code at the top of the magazine cover, and the barcode
at the bottom on the left-hand side with the price on the right-hand side.
Other institutional information is positioned in the same place (top right-hand
quarter). For this cover, I decided to have no ‘Competition’ stamp.
3rd Plan
My third and final cover plan is the one that I have
decided to officially work from. Here I have positioned the title at the top of
the magazine, as I prefer this layout to cover 2. However, I have kept the main
image in the centre of the cover, with the sell lines on either side. Taken
from cover 1, I have put the ‘Competition’ stamp on the left hand side of the
main image, as I believe that is always a good way to encourage purchases of
magazines. I have positioned the main image to be
obstructing the masthead ever so slightly, as it gives a more professional look
– but not obscuring the title too much. Institutional information such as the
date and issue number I have positioned just below the masthead – one on either
side of the main image. I have placed the barcode and price at the bottom of
the cover on the left hand side of the main image, as not to distract away from
the main image and cover lines. I also decided to put a QR code on the cover,
as it is moving further into e-technology, and interacts with the students on a
technological level.
Final Cover
Research on Contents
The first piece of text that
catches the reader’s eye is the rhetorical title at the top of the contents
page. This is a clever way of saying ‘Contents Page’, and is very original too.
It is in a bold, colourful blue font, linking with the colour scheme of this
contents page; there is also a blue strip running down the side of the page
with the page numbers on it.
On the left hand side of this
blue strip, there is a welcome note from the writer, making the magazine seem
friendly and positive, encouraging them to continue reading. Underneath the
welcome note is a bright yellow stamp, telling the audience to ‘subscribe’ to
the magazine. This is a clever selling line, as it is a vibrant colour that
immediately draws attention to it. Below this stamp is a section titled
‘Regulars’, with the page numbers next to it, much like a conventional contents
page. As this part of the contents page is always there, it is not positioned
in a place that immediately catches the reader’s eye.
However, the ‘Features’
section is placed directly below the title ‘what’s inside?’, making this the
piece of text the readers see straight after the title. The subheadings of this
section alternate between black and red text – perhaps to highlight the red
ones – as the magazine may want the audience to read them first. There are three
images placed around the list of subheadings, with blue stamps (following the
blue colour scheme) with numbers in the middle – to indicate which page these pictures
will feature on. One image is of a young boy holding up a tag on a tree branch,
with the camera angle facing down at the boy. He is looking up and smiling,
suggesting that he is happy – and because he is looking up, it reinforces the
fact that he is young and vulnerable, presenting him as a young student.
At the bottom of the page are recognition
of editors and employees of the magazine, and underneath this are adverts. The
adverts are small – but not too unnoticeable – so that they do not distract any
attention away from the main text and images on the contents page. All in all,
this contents page is organised relatively well, however it does seem rather
‘busy’ and cluttered with too much information on one single page.
This contents page is very
simple and easy to follow. First of all, ‘Contents’ is vertically positioned
down the left hand side of the page, with ‘OC Orpington College’ positioned
perpendicular to it. The colour scheme is grey, black, blue and white, with
‘Contents’ written in white on grey, and ‘OC Orpington College’ written in
black on blue. There are different shades of blue on the page, creating an
interesting tone to the colours. However, not sticking to the colour scheme is
an orange leaf in the bottom left hand corner of the page – drawing attention
to it as it may well be an emblem of the college.
Going down the middle of the
page are 9 boxes revealing where the information is in the magazine, with the
page numbers on the right hand side of them. They are equally separated, giving
it a structured and organised look. There is direct address in some boxes, for
example “Your Future – It’s In Your Hands”. This makes the reader feel involved
and part of the college, encouraging them to read on.
The boxes are blue with white
writing, on a descending fade-grey background. This is a simple but effective
technique, as it makes the bottom right hand side of the page brighter (more
attractive to the eye), therefore encouraging the reader to subconsciously turn
over to the next page.
There are no images on this
page apart from the leaf, making it a very simple – perhaps even dull contents
page. All in all, it is a very well structured contents page, however it
doesn’t have many interesting features; making it quite an unentertaining page
for a college magazine.
Planning on Contents
1st Plan
This is my first plan for a contents page. From research, I liked the idea of having a rhetorical question as the title for the contents page, as it gets the reader involved and encourages them to read the page. On this plan I have included an 'On the cover' section, however I decided not to in the second plan. I have only included one picture on this contents page, which I have decided against doing - as I believe it makes the contents page quite dull. I have also planned a 'regulars in the issue' section as some people like regularity in the media, which I believe is very important. In addition, I have added a 'strictly for sixth form' part to the page to attract the older readers, however I am not sure that I want to have this for my final contents page. (Other parts of the plan fit a conventional contents page).
2nd Plan
This is my second plan for a contents page. As you can see, I have added a lot more images to this page, which I seem to like better; although it may look quite cluttered when it is actually produced. The 'info' section is most likely to be an 'on the cover' part again, with the 'regulars' positioned directly underneath. The competition was placed in the bottom left hand corner as not to distract away from important information within the contents page, however this could be a mistake as the competition is a selling point so it should be positioned more towards the middle.
After reviewing the two plans, I have found that I like ideas from both of the contents pages, however my final contents page may be entirely different to that of the plans. I have also thought of having an image across the top of the contents page even though this is in neither of the plans. I am planning to take lots of different ideas from both plans whilst also incorporating new ones whilst producing my final contents page.
Final Contents Page
Gr8 Preliminary task bbe, u r rockin dat thang
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