Beth Nevis- Media studies. : October 2012

Evaluation.

Whilst planning my college magazine I researched many other existing products to recognise mutual conventions/layouts which I could later interpret in my own work. As part of my planning process I evaluated different products and created a mood board which consisted of all sorts of things that I find effective on magazines. I found that the most conventional sources were things such as: barcodes, bright colours (mainly primary), different styled fonts and medium close ups was very popular. I also looked at ways in which other magazines targeted specific audiences and what kind of representation was presented. After looking at several things I decided I wanted my college magazine to be mainly aimed at teenagers with an age range of around 16-19 as this is the age students at the college would be. However to meet every individuals needs I would have to make my front cover stand out to all different types of people/social groups.

In terms of conventions I wanted to make my magazine look very conventional therefor it would look more realistic, I did this by following similar layouts to magazines that are currently on the market, however I still wanted it to be original to me, therefor it isn’t completely the same however elements were interpreted. For example I placed my masthead at the top of my page, to the left, which is very conventional, I also placed a barcode in the bottom right hand corner, additionally this makes my magazine look more realistic as this is a normal thing people would spot on magazines. I have also included features on my magazine, which are also in a conventional place as they are shown to the right of the page, mid-way down; this makes them easily recognisable to readers as this is a very common place to find them.

Overall I aimed to focus my magazine on any social group that may be attracted to the college of an age of around 16-19, therefor I had to make sure my target audience didn’t seem to aim only at a specific group for example I had to make sure that I didn’t base it all on one subject for example sport as this may have led people to believe that the college was only suitable for sports students. Or I had to make sure the colours I used suited everyone, for example if I used the colour pink throughout, it would have suggested that the magazine was aimed at girls, which isn’t the case. To make sure this didn’t happen I used very bright, bold colours which could appeal to every reader as I used purple and green, these colours stand out on the magazine and create a theme throughout the cover, these colours are also very unlikely to be stereotyped and put under a certain category to state who the magazine is aimed at. I also had to think about what my features included; the first feature I used read ‘fresher’s party tickets now on sale, don’t miss out!’ I thought this was very suitable as the fresher’s parties are open to anyone who may want to go, the fact it is directly addressing to the reader also emphasises their importance as it makes the audience feel like they are directly invited to the event. The fact that I have included a party on the front of a college magazine also makes the college seem fun, and implies that the college has a good social life as it is something that would appeal to a target audience of teenagers, rather that placing lots of features about work on there. The second feature I used was ‘Get your suitcase packed, were hitting the states.’ This shows the reader automatically that this is a good college to be at as they are travelling across the world; this would then make people want to read further about the opportunities arising. The fact I have used second person by saying ‘You’ also implies that anyone is welcome, as it is directing it straight away to the reader which also makes them feel included. The image I have included on my image is of two girls looking very happy, which represents a happy feel throughout the college, suggesting that if you come to this college you will be happy and you will make friends. The girls are also holding a book which links in with the whole education genre. My main cover line is also there to have an impact on the reader as I have put ‘Freedom to achieve’ this suggests that’s the college allows you to have freedom and have your own space, which will attract people to the college as they will want this opportunity. The word achieve also makes the reader believe that this college will make them achieve to a very high standard which will also make them want to come here. I positioned my main cover line in a very conventional position as I placed it at the bottom; left hand side of my page, the text is also a lot larger in comparison to the features which make it stand out more. The name ‘Wyke’ is also in large font which makes it stand out, it is also in a conventional place as it is at the top of my page, the left hand side, I have also put it in purple colour, which presents the colour scheme of the logo.

When choosing my images to edit I chose a long shot image of the college campus I had previously taken on my shoot and a medium close up/mid-shot image of the two girls. I chose the college image as it showed a very clear view of the college and presented its features, therefor making it a good place to be. I then chose the picture of the girls smiling as it didn’t look too posed and they both looked very happy. Originally I liked a picture that I had taken over the one I have used however it was a landscape image; therefor it wasn’t very conventional to use that. I then uploaded both images on to Photoshop. My first step was too cut the girls out of their background in order to place them on my other image however the quick selection tool didn’t work out as well as I had hoped, as it kept selected irrelevant section of my image and making marks on it. I then decided to cut out the largest chunks of the background out with the quick selection tool and then I got rid of the rest by using the eraser. However I wasn’t overly pleased with my editing as the edges of my image doesn’t look to natural and looks quite sharp however I did try and edit this however it wouldn’t let me make it look any smoother without chopping of parts of their body. I then placed my image onto my other background image and used the free transform tool to move it into the position I wanted. I then used several layers and began adding my text and my barcode. I had some difficulty finding a font that I thought looked good with my magazine as all of the fonts seemed to look unrealistic with my image however after a while I stuck with the best ones I could find.

Overall I am happy with my final product however the only thing I think doesn’t look very good is the features as the background interferes and makes it look too busy therefor they don’t stand out, Increasing the font size also didn’t solve this problem as features are conventionally meant to be quite small in comparison to the rest of my text. If I was to do this task again I think I would reconsider the images I was going to use and make sure I planned my layout very accurately and I have learnt that not everything looks right when placed together, for example my text (features).

However to conclude I think my magazine would suit all aspects of my target audience (16-19 year olds) and I think my magazine looks appealing to read.