College magazine evaluation

Lauren Mcloughlin

My magazine cover codes and conventions

Barcode Banner

Direct address

Positioning statement

Cover lines

Splash

House style – blue/simple

Main feature picture

Date/issue numberMasthead

Magazine cover strengths and weaknesses

Feature picture is large and clear with direct address which captures the reader’s attention. It is also a medium shot which is the most common type of shot on magazine covers.

I didn’t include a website address that readers genuinely use to find more information. Although I don’t have a website page for the magazine I could have included the Priestley address or made one up to make it look more authentic.

I included small details like the barcode and the issue number and date which makes it look more real.

Although I used a simple background which is good, it looks a bit empty so I could have included more cover lines or other things that made it look more detailed and interesting.

My masthead is a different font to the rest of the writing and stands out to attract peoples’ attention to encourage people to buy the magazine and makes it memorable.

I used a splash and a banner to make the magazine look more interesting and include extra pieces of information that interest the reader and encourage them to read further.

The positioning statement talks up the magazine and makes it seem desired.

My cover page codes and conventions

Magazine name

Contents pageCategories

Page numbersMain picture

3 columns

Bold heading

Sublines in small font

A few smaller images

Contents page strengths and weaknesses

All of the pictures and text fit nicely and aren’t squashed against each other which could have made it look like it had been thrown together and not thought about.

Doesn’t look as busy and full as a lot of contents pages which makes it look a bit more empty and more formal than I wanted it to. I should have included more pictures or maybe a few more pages

There was a main picture and a few more smaller, appropriate pictures to accentuate some of the things included in the magazine as stated in the contents.

Doesn’t really look like a magazine aimed at college students as it should look more laid back and fun rather than smart and professional as this is what attracts the target audience of ages 16-19/20

Each category included a few examples of what would be inside the magazine, with a bold heading, page numbers and a small description in smaller font.

The contents title box provides colour and links in with the cover page as it is blue, which is the main colour on the cover.However this is the only colour aside from some of the pictures.

Media technologiesPhotographsTo take the photos I needed for my magazine, I used a digital camera called a Canon 1200d. I then used different setting on the camera and different types of shots, such as a medium shot for the cover photo. When I had collected the photos I needed, I uploaded them to the computer. Some of the photos needed cropping or editing to make them what I needed for my magazine, so I did these edits in Photoshop. For example I needed to remove the background on the cover photo so it was plain, as it needed to be to use for the cover.

I like my pictures as they are good quality and are all suited to the magazine and are relevant. Also they are all the right type of shot.

Magazine coverI used Photoshop to create my cover page. I started by removing the background from the picture I decided would be my feature picture and moving the picture over to a new, blank page. I then changed the background to a light blue and inserted a darker blue rectangle at the top of the page for the positioning statement. I chose to use blue because that is the colours on the college logo. I then experimented with different fonts to find the masthead and cover line fonts that I thought would most suit the magazine and changed them to a colour that would make them stand out the most. Then by looking through the different shaped I found a shape that could be the splash and inserted text. I then put in finishing touches such as a barcode and a banner to make the magazine look more official.

The most difficult part of using photoshop was resizing everything and editing everything to make it all fit right and make it look professional which I think I managed to do to an extent.

Contents pageTo make my contents page I used a programme called Quark. I didn’t need to change the background colour on the contents page because the backgrounds of contents pages are generally white. To insert my text I put a textbox inside the border and split it in to 3 columns. I then put in picture boxes and text boxes where I needed them to be. In order to make the photos fit in the box I had to insert the picture then scale it to fix the box. I managed to find the same font I used for the masthead to put the title of the magazine on the page as magazines often do this and it has to be the same font as the original masthead.

It was difficult to figure out some aspects of Quark, but once I played around with it a bit I figured out how to do the things I wanted and I got used to it.