Front cover evaluation

The media studies task that was given to me was to make a front cover and content page made completely by myself. The aim of the magazine was to attract college students and give them discussion topics of their choice, so I had to make a college magazine. For that task I had to take a reasonable number of pictures and also use photo-editing software, Photoshop, to edit the pictures I took. This was at first a challenge because I was not aware or familiar with the software, however,  after using it a couple of times I got the gist of it and soon started using it in my spare time which was a really good advantage because I really enjoyed and performed this task to the best of my ability. This part of the task was one the things I enjoyed the most because it’s a chance for you to learn different skills and ideas so that you can advance in this area.

But before we could do any editing we had to take some pictures. This part of the task was quite tricky because at first I didn’t what kind of angles to take in my photos. So I had to learn how to use the camera efficiently and appropriately so that I can produce good results. So in the end this part wasn’t tough or tricky and I ended up producing appropriate photos. However my first set of photos were done in landscape and not portrait so this was something that held me back, eventually I took another set of pictures, which I learnt how to put focus on by focusing the red dot that appeared on the camera to my models eye for great results, that were in portrait so that my pictures can come out looking more professionally done.

When making my magazine I made sure my house style was appropriate for my target audience. My fonts were impact and forte because I felt it would give my magazine a more young, modern and interactive look to it and because I know that it would attract my audience. I also learnt how to colour co ordinate my colours so that my Image can flourish and look more professional and attractive to the audience. I gave my mast heading texture and shadow to it because it shows professionalism and material, it immediately attracts the audience to the magazine and it adds an effect to it also. I also mad my mast heading colour purple because it is the main colour for my magazine and I wanted to keep my house style consistent and not messy, this is because it can immediately distract the audience to the message the magazine is trying to give out.

The strengths of my front page are that it was very easy for me to use the editing software and it helped my pictures look more professional and attractive. The results of my magazine is that everyone liked the style and the house style of it  and also how the colours didn’t contrast too much or distract the audience to the actual purpose of the magazine. My other strength is that I was able to reach my target and that is to make a fun and interactive magazine and that is exactly what my magazine looks like. Lastly I was able to hand in my deadline on time so I wasn’t unfinished with work and I could be able to relax and reflect on the work that I’ve done and be proud of my hard work.

My weaknesses, however, were that a lot of the work I needed to get down were hard for me to understand so it lead my performance to be a little be slack and underachieving. My questionnaire was very detailed, however I didn’t use many ideas that were given to me by other people, and the comments I received were not added to the magazine

My Draft

Peace's Content Page

Peace's Front Page

My Drafts

my graphs

my graphs

my graphs

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I asked this question in order to find out what colours appeal young people the most. The highest vote was purple and white, and this means that I will consider my designs and front cover to be purple and white.

my graphs

I asked this question because I wanted to know peoples view on weather every college magazine should be educational. If the majority agreed then I would consider changing my magazine topic to a more educational type. It the majority disagreed then I will not consider this, however, for the sake of those who do agree with this statement , I will put key elements of education in my magazine.

my graphs

I wanted to know people’s views on magazines so that I can tackle the faults a lot of people see in magazines. The reason why I left it as either “un interesting” and “enjoyable, is because I want to try and avoid making a magazine that is not un interesting and more enjoyable.

my graphs

Relationships and Education were the top two out of the 6 options I gave. I made sure the options were fair by choosing people at random. And I also made sue that these were people in different colleges to get diverse results. There was one result I got from “other” options that mentioned religion. But this wasn’t so popular.

my graphs

This helped me see how much interested college students are in magazines. The results tell me that making a magazine is exactly what needs to happen for example. Three 16 year olds buy magazines five times a month, furthermore on two 16 year olds and one 17 year old buys a magazine once a month.

my graphs

I made sure I gave my questionnaire to an equal number of genders so that my results are reliable, balanced and non-bias. I randomly asked college students because I feel that it will relate to them the most. I also randomly asked so that my results are fair.

I made sure I surveyed people within the target audience so that it is suit for purpose. This was useful because I was able more ideas out of my questionnaire to help me relate to the readers.

My photograhs

Peace's Ouestionnaire

Hi my name is Peace and I am a media studies student on an assignment to find out how people, like you, interconnect with college magazines and what you want from a typical college magazine. Please feel free to give comments at the end of the questionnaire, everything you put in will be considered and you might see some of your ideas displayed on this college magazine. Enjoy!

1. What is your Gender? (Please tick the appropriate box)

o   Male

o   Female

2. What is your age? (Please state)

3. Do you buy magazines?

o   Yes

o   No

4. How often do you buy magazines a month? (Please tick the appropriate box)

o   1 a month

o   2-4 a month

o   More then 5 a month

o   Less then 5 a month

5. What topics do you enjoy the most? (Please tick the appropriate box)

o   Educational

o   Entertainment

o   Celebrities

o   Love lives

o   Gossip

o   Action and motors

o   Other

If other state here:

6. What topics would you like to see more out of these? (Please tick the appropriate box)

o   Educational  

o   Entertainment

o   Celebrities

o   Love lives

o   Gossip

o   Action and motors

o   Other

7. What is your view towards magazines? (Please tick the appropriate box)

   o     Uninteresting

   o     Enjoyable

   o     None of the above

8. “College magazines should always be educational” Do you: (Please tick the appropriate box)

o   Strongly agree

o   Strongly disagree

o   Agree

o   Disagree

o   No opinion

9. What colour scheme do you enjoy the most out of these three? (Please tick the appropriate box)

             o      Purple and white

             o     Blue and white

             o     Green, white and black

10. Would you pay for a college magazine? (Please tick the appropriate box)

   o     Yes

   o     No

11. If yes, how much would you be willing to pay? (Please tick the appropriate box)

   o     50p

   o     £1

   o     £2-£4

   o     More then £5

12. What things appeal you to the front cover of a magazine? (Tick one or more)

   o     The image(s)

   o     The colours

   o     The topic

   o     other

 If other, please state:

Do you have any comments to add to this questionnaire?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you for answering this questionnaire to the best of your ability.

Textual Analysis of a front cover

Textual Analysis of a Front Cover

 

The denotation of this magazine is a photograph of a woman posing with a handbag on her shoulder; her eyes are staring straight into the camera as if she knows her picture is being taken. The colours that are used for the anchorage are yellow and blue which are the primary colours for the college itself.

The mise-en-scene of this magazine is used in significant ways to catch the attention of the reader. The costume, of the woman, is casual and simple perhaps this portrays a typical student because it relates to the purpose and aim of the magazine, to attract students or people that want to be students. The costume could also show how students are in this particular college, happy, casual and relaxed, to make the reader want to go there so that they can feel and look the same way.

There is only one props used in this magazine which is a bag, this is effective because it relates to ordinary people who use this in their day to day lives, this prop tells us that this woman has personality and character and draws the reader to read what the magazine is about and causes us to open the magazine and read more. The lighting of the magazine is very high key which shows us that the atmosphere as a whole is positive and bright; this is effective because it makes the reader happy just by looking at the image.

The setting of the magazine is a plain white background setting to connote simplicity and originality of a student, perhaps its saying you don’t have to be the brightest or smartest person, all you have to do is have character and personality, which is linked to why the woman has a handbag on her shoulder. The body language and facial expression of the woman is very confident and a little bit enthusiastic, this connotes that she is prepared and ready for any challenge that comes her way. Her eyes are fixed in the camera which also connotes determination and grit to succeed in life, and it’s almost as if she is staring at doubt straight in its face. This is effective as it gives the audience an inspection that this is how students’ mindsets are; determined and fortified.

The anchorage of the image is sans serif which generally implies that the magazine is modern and state-of-the-art which is effective because it will cause the reader to read the magazine and because it is fit for purpose and audience. The composition of the magazine uses the rule of three, the main image and the text are separated which creates more energy and attractiveness to the magazine.

The masthead of this magazine is very unique and attractive, the creator has given it a faded –colour look, it also shades a sign of creativity because it looks like it’s been crayoned or pencilled in. This is effective for the audience as it catches their attention and gives a clear view of the font even though it looks like the colour has faded out. The masthead is also very unique and attractive, the author of the magazine was taking a risk as it’s very unlikely for magazines to have faded out fonts because at times it can be hard to read, but this type of font makes the magazine look original and character-filled.

The coverline of this magazine shows vital information needed for the target audiences and is very easy to read, this is useful because the reader doesn’t have to try and find key information because it’s already there blue and bold which makes the magazine, as a whole, easier to read. The coverlines also make the magazine look more formal which in the end makes the magazine look less fun and less attractive for the target audience.

The main coverline of the magazine is nice and bold this makes it eye catching for the audience. Usually the mistake, that designers for magazines often make, for the coverline is that the words run over an important image or an image that has a lot of colour to it but it isn’t true in this case because the  coverlines are aligned in appropriate places. The main image is placed over the main coverline this is a really good technique as it makes the magazine look more professional and less cheesy. It could also connote victory and accomplishment because she looks confident, so confident that she will step over any obstacle. The colour of the main coverline co ordinates with the setting/background colour, this was done to makes the magazine look more smart and less messy and confusing, it there were different colours place in the magazine it would look very disorganized and perplexed which will cause the reader to avoid reading the magazine.

In this magazine the main picture makes the whole thing because it confirms the purpose of the magazine, people who are determined to study, get good grades and widen their learning spectrum and skills will look at this magazine and immediately it will catch their attention because of the image that connotes an ordinary person determined to reach her goal and they will be able to relate to the image.

Introduction

Hello and my name is Peace Oluwatobi. The reason why I have created this blog is so I can Produce media studies project where I need to create a Media Studies blog so that I can present my Media work magazine's more effectively.