A Mock up of Front cover and Contents page

Research and Planning: Audience Research Questionnaire

From my results i have decided to call my student magazine, Student Zone. The most popular colour scheme chosen from the 20 people i asked was Orange, White and Black so this will be my magazines main colour scheme. From my results it shows me people prefer to have the font both formal and informal, so i will include both. Also from my results i can see that people were most interested in music festivals , charts updates and reviews on latest movies and games in the magazine for the content.

No.2 Analysis of a front cover and contents page of a student magazine

This 247. Magazine is set out in a more informative and an unusual way compared to most student magazines. The magazine would probably be more aimed a specific students like art which makes this student magazine a niche product aiming at a specific interest group. We can tell this because the main centre image on the front cover as well as the contents page consists of an illustration of a piece of art rather than a photograph of a student like Campus Life did. This makes it less of a mass appeal magazine to most students as its mostly about a specific subject rather than being a hybrid magazine containing a lot of different genres of subjects. The magazine layout is a lot more informal as its very simple. The cover lines are very brief and give little detail in what to expect from inside the magazine.

When you see the contents page however it is a lot busier than on the front cover with hardly any space left on to add anything. The contents page is packed and loaded with informative information about what is in the magazine and the main sections are clearly highlighted in bold so audiences can quickly find what will interest them with it being set into different sections.

The masthead 247.is very unique and does not connote a specific meaning towards the audience. It is however very bold and suits well on the whole layout of the front cover page. The font is very modern and not old fashioned which would appeal to today's students. The colours are quite fashionable and well presented which altogether stand out as a whole.

The cover lines on the front cover are very straightforward and simple which makes it easier for students to read. They are displayed as informal but clearly gives the audience a clear meaning to what they should expect to see inside the magazine.

On the front cover there is also a puff with it saying ' WIN weekender offender goodies'. Though this is little thing being displayed on the front cover it is clearly labelled to its audience as its its highlighted in bright red where as the background at the back of it is just grey so it creates a good contrast and is easily see able. This is a way of getting the audience more interested in the magazine as free items are up for grabs.

Analysis of a front cover and contents page of a student magazine

The masthead of this magazine clearly connotes that its about student life at university. We known this through the generic codes and conventions shown on the front cover of the magazine and on the contents page. The front cover is simple but effective through its colour scheme and font style. The masthead is very bold which makes it easily seen as well as the cover lines which is highlighting the key information people want to know. The sans serif font anchors highlights an informal look to the magazine which may be more attractive to university students rather than it being made to look formal as most students live in an informal setting as they have less money.

The contents page however is set in a more formal layout even though it has still kept the sans serif style. They have laid out different sections of information for the audiences to read, this is a way for them to easily navigate which part of information they want to read about and makes it easier overall, whether its fashion, gaming or music.

On the front cover its main center image is taken of just one person taken at a medium long shot, which is made looking like a student, this makes it more appealing to the mass market as they know its targeted at their age group. The person is the center image is made to look like a model, which may attract audiences as it connotes what they see is what they get within the whole style of the magazine. The model is staring directly at the reader which may be a mode of address in a way of how the magazine is grabbing their audiences attention. On the contents page a advertisement is added as well as a cartoon. The advertisement is a niche product which is specifically aimed at mostly young people, maybe a drink which is perfect for them to revise with for example to give them more energy. The Cartoon is their for the audiences amusement to maybe persuade make them to want to read more of the magazine. The contents page is hybrid with a lot of different genres to make sure all personality of students are addressed.

The cover lines on the first page are spoken to lure their audiences in. Instead of it being short and to the point they give small detail on the front cover this is because if they like what they hear they will more likely go on to read the magazine inside. If it was short they might be less amused and maybe not be as interested whereas if you gave them a more detailed point of what to expect inside they might be more interested.

The puff is well highlighted on the front cover with it being in red. The red is a brighter colour than the background so it is easily see able and people will take more interest in it. The advertisement of ' Win a LG` is very appealing to students as most students at university have less money to spend so rewarding them with a chance of winning a top expensive gadget would give them a great amount of happiness and excitement for any student.

Research Codes and Conventions of Student Magazines

In class we analysed a range of magazines, and these were my results

Layout - Mostly consists of one central image of one person or a group. With cover lines place below or around.

Masthead - Bold and normally connotes a meaning to do with students.

Price - Normally free.

Language - Speaks directly at the reader and is mostly informal speaks the language of the teenage life.

Colour Schemes - Brightly colours used, very attractive and eye catching.

Contents - Clearly displayed and laid out, not to complicated or over crowded.

Research and Planning: Textual Analysis of a Magazine Front Cover

I have decided to evaluate and analyse the connotations of the popular celebrity/fashion magazine Bliss. Its front cover  is targeted at the teen female audience. This will help  me distinguish the similarities and differences between this and a college magazine. This will also help me with my final ideas when coming to make my college magazine front cover.

The masthead is the title of the brand featured at the top of the front cover which identifies the brands identity and is used to distingish the brand from other magazines. The word Bliss connotes that it is something good and appealing, and you want to get a piece of like the information is something tasteful and worth getting hold of.

Magazines like this one will often include on their front cover the date the issue was released for each week. The price will be shown, the date and the a tag line is usually placed just below it. This is a way of informing the audience of the information which is shown within the magazine which is a lure to grab the audiences attention. Small sections of information is revealed where the full story will be covered inside.

The magazine has a main image which is the main attraction for the magazine, which is addressed to the viewer as a exclusive headline. In this case it is Taylor Swift who is popular within the media who would if been a high interest to teenagers within  that time of release within the media. Certain celebrities are used to also influence its mass audience which helps promotes the magazine and is a key influence in the selling point. The magazine sets out to grab its mass markets attention more than a rival magazine. The main image which is of Taylor swift is a medium shot, this is shot reveals to the audience of what she is wearing, her body language given and her facial expressions. Which connotes a sense of glamour which would appeal to the target audiences of young people which they might aspire to be like her. Overall the front cover is very colourful which is also used to attract its audience; the backround or colour title is based within the colour pink which is a way of highlighting the key details of the magazines information which links to the main colour of the masthead this connotes a sense of femininity.

There are various plugs on the front of this magazine which show bits of information which can be found in further detail within the magazine. Coverlines are placed in a bold font and in a bright coloured font to grab the viewers attention, the use of graphics helps draw the audience in like by leaving behind rhetorical questions, like ‘ how far would you go for perfection?’ This is a direct mode of address.

There are many other plugs used on the front of this magazine including a section of hot lads which is done purposely to appeal to the target audience. Including some of the hottest names in the media at the moment, which the target audiences are obsessed over. There is also a plug advertising fashion essentials which would be very appealing to the target market as again its connotes femininity in what girls typically like and steroptypically outlines the target audience in how they like to be seen and staying within the latest fashion era.

Introduction to Preliminary Task

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, i am going to 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.

WK 1 : Research generic conventions of magazines

WK 2 : Set up a blog and introduce coursework task
            Put up an action plan
            Complete a textual analysis of a magazine and post it on my blog
            Complete textual analysis of school/college magazines and post on blog
            Devise a questionnaire to research student audience

WK 3 : Begin to take photos for my own magazine
             Post Research of my target audience on my blog and review findings
             Post mock-up of my magazine front cover on my blog and provide commentary
         
WK 4 : Post Final front cover and contents page on my blog

WK 5 : Post Evaluation on blog

Introduction to Brief

As part of my AS media coursework, the brief requires me to create the front page, contents and a double page feature spread of a new music magazine. I have created this blog in order to record my research and planning which will help me to product a successful magazine.