EVALUATION OF MY SCHOOL-

BASED MAGAZINE

Rebecca Phillips

BREAK! – FRONT PAGE COVER For my school based magazine, I have tried to follow the

codes and conventions of other magazines of this style.

Masthead – contains the title of the magazine, the banner, edition of the magazine and price.

Headline – a relevant title to the main article and is bold enough to grab the reader’s attention.

Main Picture – dominates the page to show importance and that the subject relates to the main article. We can see from the background that it is a library which links with the topic of reading.

Selling Line and Graphic Image – The graphic image pulls in the reader’s attention whilst the selling line encourages them to buy the product.

Coverlines – they surround the main image and give extra information on what is inside the magazine to entice the reader.

BREAK! – CONTENTS PAGE Logo of the school - gives the magazine an association to the cooperate image of the school.

Main Image – Attracts the reader’s attention and indicates the subject of the main article.

Masthead – contains the title of the page, Contents, and it part of the magazines house style.

Page Numbers – so the reader can navigate around the magazine quickly. Also part of the magazine’s house style.

List of Contents – Part of the house style, gives the reader a brief summary of Offers –

attracts and excites the reader into buying my product

HOW MY MAGAZINE RELATES TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE From my initial ideas I knew that I

wanted to create a school magazine that was primarily aimed at 6th Form students. This idea shaped the content and which codes and conventions I was going to use for my magazine. I chose the target audience of 6th Form students because they have some income from part-time jobs or parents. Furthermore they also have free periods away from lessons so they might want to spend this time relaxing and getting away from the pressures of studying for A-Levels.

HOW MY MAGAZINE RELATES TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE

Offers – My target audience of 16-18 year olds don’t have vast amounts of disposable income, so offers are appealing. This is also represented in the price of the magazine as it is as cheap as I could have possibly gone, for students to buy the magazine but still make some money. The Main image – The main image if of a teenage girl who is in my target audience age bracket. She is not wearing unsuitable clothes or amounts of make up so therefore she relates to a wider amount of students. The image is lit with natural light so she does not seen intimidating but friendly. However the image does not represent the school’s ethnic diversity so some people might not buy my magazine as they feel it does not represent them.

Text to image ratio – there is more image to text ratio for my magazine. I feel this appeals to my target audience more because they want quick bits of information on what is inside the magazine. The colours of the coverlines allow them to find them quickly so they can decide whether they want to read it quickly. Colour schemes – I feel the colour scheme of my magazine appeals to my target audience because it is a neutral colour for either sex. Furthermore it is bright so catches the reader’s eye but also shows the bright, energetic, fun mood of the whole magazine

HOW MY MAGAZINE RELATES TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE - LANGUAGE The language is not overly complex but it is of a

level of good understanding which would be suitable for students who are studying their A-Levels and have already got a qualification in English.

Using words like ‘cool’, ‘stressed’ and ‘tips’ all link into a 16-18 year olds desire to improve themselves for the better, whilst using ‘corridors’ is symbolic of a school–life environment.

The magazine title – Break! is further symbolic of a school environment as it relates to the time that the magazine will be read during school hours. Furthermore it links to the need to relax after stressful lessons during school times.

HOW MY MAGAZINE RELATES TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE

Interactive Features - Most of my target audience will have some sort of smart phone as they like to keep up-to-date with the latest trends. This interactive feature allows them to use their smartphone to get extra content.

Text to image ratio – Now the amount of text is greater in the contents magazine because a lot more information is needed.

Headlines – The main headlines are in a large text to quickly attract the readers attention, so they can quickly and easily navigate around the magazine.

Vouchers – As Sixth Form students do no have vast amounts of money, vouchers are welcomed.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

I had basic skills of the software Photoshop but by creating this preliminary piece I have developed these skills to a higher level. I can therefore use these higher skills for my main task to create a more professional looking magazine.

Specifically developed skills using the clone stamp tool, which I used to get rid of imperfection in my images.

Also, editing the brightness and contrast of images have improved my quality of images.

Furthermore, I developed my skills in using the text boxes and font to relate to my target audience and really make my magazine look professional.

I have also found new websites like SlideShare, help me easily present my research and evidence.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT? Moreover, I have learnt about how digital

technology helps constructing magazines. I learnt about how digital cameras make taking professional images much easier and for a lower budget. A DSLR cameras are not affordable for most, so crisper clearer images can easily be put onto computers through USB cables.

I also learnt how media convergence can link different media formats together. Print magazine can be also on a digital format and have links to digital websites through QR codes.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT FROM MY PRELIMINARY TASK THAT I CAN CARRY ONTO MY MAIN TASK. I have developed by skills on Photoshop. Furthermore, I feel I have a better understanding of

the conventions of magazines and how this changes between magazine, genre and target audience.

To improve I will have to research image composition and the message they give to the audience.

I have learnt the importance of planning and researching the conventions of magazines and magazine composition to ensure that my magazine looks as professional as I can make it.

I will look at time management to ensure that my magazine is carefully planned and executed, leaving me time to fully research magazine, conventions and messages given through magazines.