Magazine

The target audience for my magazine is males and females generally aged sixteen to eighteen who go to Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College. Their interests will generally be the same as they live in the same area, go to the same college and are around the same age. Because people in my target audience have roughly the same taste in fashion, I ensured that the model on the main image of my magazine front cover wore clothes similar to what my target audience would wear.

My magazine front cover and contents page are, in many ways, are similar
to real media products such as Vogue or Men's health. Firstly, the photography I used for my front cover follows the usual guidelines that professional magazine covers also follow; the camera shot wasn't taken at too far a distance so a lot of the model can be seen. Also, like many main magazine covers, I chose not to have the model holding or being surrounded by any props. The reason for this is that, because the target audience for my magazine is young male and females (more specifically aged sizteen to eighteen), I want to ensure tht the images portray a sense of coolness which appeals and relates to my target audience. With the models looking sombre and serene without the use of unecessary props, I can ensure that my magazine front cover makes the audience feel they can connect with the magazine.
The lighting I used for my images is also similar to the lighting used for other magazine front cover images;I made sure that even lighting hit the subject of the photograph so there were no shadows. As my magazine is aimed at sixteen to eighteen year olds, I ensured that my models wore clothing similar to what the target audience would wear to help the target audience relate to the magazine. Also like the images on a front cover of a real media product, I had my model standing coolly and looking professional.
The page layout of my magazine front cover also follows the usual layout format of real media products as the skyline and masthead are at the top of the page and sell lines take up space around the sides of the page while the main sell line is appropriately in the middle. A barcode and price is seen in the bottom corner of the magazine front cover and the main image is centred in the middle and is shot from the waist-upwards on the model to emphasise the purpose which is to entice the customer to read.

The contents page layout also follows the layout of a typical magazine with the title in large letters across the top, a list of all the pages of the magazine with their title and page number, a box offering for customers to sign up for the magazine and images regarding the content of the magazine. I used similar fonts and a consistent colour scheme of purple, black and white throughout the two pagesand the sell lines on my front cover give information on the content of the magazine.

However, I feel that my magazine front cover and contents page isn't as professional as those of real meadia products because the image quality isn't as good because my editing skills are still developing. I also didn't include as many sell lines of some of the more up-market media products, the background of the front cover and contents page is plain white (which isn't uncommon), but the lack of sell lines makes the front cover look empty with too much empty space. Another reason I feel my magazine front cover isn't as professional as real media products is because the skyline gives information on the content of the magazine and acts as more of a sell line which isn't it's purpose.

Photography Composition

Photography Composition

Flat Plans

The flat plan for my magazine front cover incorporates the purple, grey and yellow house colours which I aim to use for my preliminary magazine. The masthead 'We R Young' is large and has an attractive layout which draws the target audience's attention. My magazine is for a college and is aimed at people aged 16 to 18 and so I used bright, eye-catching colours in my text and backgrounds. I chose these colours because they encapsulate what my magazine is about: the purple and yellow are the standard house colour for QE College which is the college that my magazine is aimed at and the grey in my 3 pallet rule colour scheme portrays the feel of simple cool which my target audience relate to. 'We R Young' uses an abbreviation for the word 'are' which is common among teenagers and relates to their interests; by using the word 'we', I ensured that the magazine title includes the audience as though it speaks directly to them.
Above my masthead is the skyline which I used as a banner to advertise that the Freshers Fayre is currently at the college. This gives the reader an idea of the features in the magazine.
I used a large colourful image of coolly posed teenagers (relating to the target audience) to draw appeal. I used the usual waist-upwards camera angle for my image as most magazine covers' photographs follow this camera angle.
My main sell line is large and bold to draw the readers' attention and the smaller, colourful sell lines on the sides show different features in the magazine with a colourful red background behind them which is called a banner.
I also included a bar code and price of the magazine which is an appropriate £3.80 so readers can see the price of the magazine.

The contents page of my magazine also follows the 3 pallet rule and uses purple, grey and yellow as they are the house colours for my magazine. However, three of the images which I used to promote the content of the magazine, use different colours (red, green and blue) because they are advertisements and I intended for these to stand out.
At the bottom of my contents page, I included a section for subscription information which most magazines also have.
My table of contents is the main feature of the contents page which has a list of the titles of pages in the magazine with a column of page numbers. I listed these pages in order of efficiency (library inductions and bus times) to general interest (student association feedback, top ten back to school outfits and a page including information on next week's issue of the magazine).
I used these features to make my contents page both attractive and easy to read as well as making it appeal to my target audience which, in my opinion, I think works quite effectively.

Inspirational Texts

This NME magazine has all of the usual features; a bold masthead with the magazine title below a skyline giving information on the contents of the magazine. The front cover also has a main sell line which is large and stands out with size and colour to grab the reader's attention. Numerous sell lines dotted around the page give additional information on what the magazine contains and a barcode in the bottom right hand corner allows the magazine to be sellable and give the price.
Also, a main image from the waist up (the usual camera angle for main photos on front covers) also catches the reader's attention and gives information on what the contents of the magazine are. Numerous smaller images also do this.

This contents page for NME magazine has the usual masthead with the main title of the contents page and a table of contents below is the main feature of the page which is split into categories. It has the page number and a main image which promotes the content of the magazine. This contents page also has a small box with helpful subscription information and a Band Index which is an A-Z list of bands featured in the magazine.

This front cover for KERRANG! magazine follows the standard structure for most magazine front covers. It has a small skyline giving information on ticket sales above the masthead which is the title of the magazine. As well as numerous sell lines, this magazine front cover incorporates a large main sell line and a large image to show the bands featured in the magazine which is of the band members from the waist upwards and is the standard camera angle for magazine front cover images. The barcode gives sales information at the bottom right hand corner.

This contents page for KERRANG! magazine has the usual page numbers in a table of contents which is split into appropriate categories and a main title which is 'Contents'. It also contains subscription information and numerous images which promote the contents of the magazine instead of one main image. 

Brief; Print

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, 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. Additionally, you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.
Main Task; the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
A minimum of four images must be used. All images and graphics must be produced by the candidate.