DECONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL MAGAZINESDeconstructing three front covers and three contents pages

Front covers – The Loyolite

Typically, the main images are placed centrally within the page. This seems neat and tidy. It also allows its audience to be enticed to the magazine. He presentation of the images is well fitted to its audience, that is, the students of the school. With their tilted positioning, and ripped effect around the edge, it avoids looking untidy, even asserts itself with its target audience. The images use bright colours, allowing them to stand out greatly against the background.

Moreover, the title of the magazine is placed at the top and central of the page, finding symmetry between itself and the main images used. It also finds a sense of fluency within the cover, again using the rough-edged effect.

The magazine firmly asserts itself as that of a school one, with the use of the school logo, placed underneath the images. Again, its placement is deliberate and fitting to the rest of the magazine. Additionally, the clever use of lined paper in the background is indeed appropriate for the nature of the magazine.

The magazine is clearly a yearly issued one. The date at the bottom right hand corner confirms this.

One criticism, however, is the lack of additional information on what is included within the magazine. It is very blunt in this sense, and will perhaps alienate some students.

Overall, I feel that the magazine is successful in asserting itself as a school one. It’s neat, crisp presentation is certainly attractive, as is the enticing colourful images used. The use of centralising the important aspects of the magazine attracts the audience to view the key features. Although the magazine doesn’t contain additional information, it does allow it to seem more fresh and less cluttered. Overall, I feel that this magazine is a successful one, with little to be criticised.

The RuthinianAn important thing to recognise within the front cover is the fact that there is no white. This prevents the product from appearing boring. It is successful in using bold colours to attract the attention if the students.

Moreover, the magazine cover anchors itself with the inclusion of the school logo placed centrally on the upper half of the page. This allows its audience to familiarise and link the magazine to the school without much concentration.

Another way in which the magazine asserts itself with the school is with the use of the school colours covering the entirety of the background of the page.

The use of pale colour for both the text and the logo is rather fitting to the magazine. It stands out greatly amongst the bold colours in the background, and is successful in not cluttering the page.

The magazine is clearly issued yearly. This is confirmed by the year date placed centrally at the bottom of the product.

The overall presentation finds much symmetry and fluency. The placement of text and logo is greatly appropriate, brining about a sense of organisation and formality.

However, the magazine does not contain certain typical conventions in which are found in many other school magazines. Such include the lack of images. Though it holds a logo, the cover has no attracting image to entice the audience. Moreover, informative text is not placed on the cover. This, again is not very appealing.

Overall, I feel that the magazine finds ambiguity in terms of the colour scheme. Ye, it is certainly enticing and attracting to the audience, however, it is also used to promote the school colours, fully asserting itself as a school magazine. Moreover, the presentation is very neat and deliberate. Two criticisms of the magazine are the lack of images, and informative text telling the reader what is in the contents of the magazine.

Prep School

Typically, there is a main image placed central to the page and covering almost the entirety of the front cover. This image anchors the school’s students, depicting young pupils. This allows us to understand that the school educates younger children. The frame is of a medium-long shot of four young pupils.

This point is echoed within the title ‘Prep-school’. This title is largely attractive, contrasting greatly from the red background of the head-mast.

The magazine has kept to a fluent colour scheme of red and white, both mature colours, enticing the parents of the pupils.

The use of white text is largely efficient, as it is easy for the audience to read.

The magazine contains informative text, briefly mentioning the contents of the magazine. This is appropriate as it, like many magazine covers, allows the audience to understand immediately what will be in the magazine.

Overall, I feel that this magazine is a great example of a successful school magazine front cover. With the inclusion of a large, appropriate image, bold, attracting text, and a neat colour scheme, the magazine flows greatly, and more importantly, will entice the target audience, the parents.

The magazine’s colour and presentation is deliberate in addressing its target audience. By using mature colours, and a neat presentation, it in no way patronises the audience with chaotic colours.

Contents pages - The Loyolite magazine

The contents uses a lot of white space, using the colour for the background. Although It seems fresh and crisp, it doesn’t seem very enticing. There are no bright colours used to attract the audience.

The text within the contents page is very informative and efficient to read, using the number of pages to indicate where the reader will find it

The contents page is spilt into sections such as ‘special articles’, ‘School events’ and ‘creative writing’. This seems much more efficient to read and is very neat. It allows the presentation to look organised.

The page typically holds the heading ‘Contents’ This is a convention used in most magazines. However, the colour used within the title is rather bland. In using a pale colour, it fails to stand out against the white background, and essentially does not look very attractive to the audience.

The page challenges codes and conventions as it doesn’t contain images as a means of attracting the audience. Perhaps it is ‘breaking the mould?’ To conclude I feel that this contents page is very bland, and could

be improved by the addition of more colour.

Science worlds contents page

This contents page holds nearly no white within the page, this is very attractive as white can be seen as rather bland.

A range of images are used to both inform and attract the audience. The images are colourful and each contrast against the light-gray background.

The presentation seems both neat and exciting. The contents page uses columns to present the text, using colours black and white to illustrate the information. This allows the page to appear more professional.

The use of varying colours within the page work very well and are successful in appealing to the audience of the magazine.

The contents page contains a paragraph informing the reader on what the issue contains. This is an addition that is not found in all magazines, but allows the contents to be more informative, and look less empty.

The magazine seems rather mature, yet far from boring. This is a great factor.

The colours used, and the presentation is very fitting to the theme of the magazine, science. It is obviously aimed at science students. However, it is not boring and uses attractive colours to allow the magazine to appear more eye-catching.

Underground art school contents page

The overall presentation of the contents page is vey much fitting to the theme of the magazine, that is, art. This is very creative and is very appealing, particularly to art students themselves. It works well in directing to the target audience.

The images used are all very appropriate and takes focal attention within the page, more so than the text. As this is an art-influenced magazine this is appropriate. The images are attractive, one being a photograph, and he others, drawings, adding an artsy vibe. This is very unique.

The magazine seems to be split into two categories. The first section being more directed to art and artists, the second being slightly less informal ‘Discussions’. This seems to then be aimed at the students themselves.

The contents page seems rather humble. Though it doesn’t use chaotic colours, it still seems very attractive. The pastoral colours are still eye-catching, and the use of drawings allows the magazine to seem more personal.

Overall, although there could have been more information used, I feel the contents page is successful in using original drawings and photographs as a means of enticing the audience. I feel that this is very fitting to the theme of the magazine and will appeal greatly to the target audience.