My Sixth Form Magazine AnalysisBy Maisie Legg

Masthead• I change my masthead several times.

Originally it was white and the font was rather plain and simple, it didn’t really stand out. As the purpose of a masthead is that it stands out and catches the potential readers eye I changed the font to a more fun and engaging style as well as changing the colour to black so it can be seen more clearly. Finally I changed the colour of the word ‘KIND’ so that the masthead really stands out to the readers. This masthead has started to create a house style. This particular type of typography is Sans Serif, which gives the connotation of being a friendly and laid back sort of magazine. It especially implies that it was made by students for students. The white shape with lowered opacity really helps the masthead stand out.

Front Image&Anchorage Text• To make the main image

look better I edited it in photoshop. I enhanced the image quite a few times and then cropped it to fit the A4 piece of ‘paper’. With the text I decided to make the anchorage text a different colour to the straplines so that it stood out and you could tell it was different. On the anchorage text I also added a drop shadow and bevel and emboss to make it even easier for it to catch the readers eye.

Cover lines/Strap lines• Originally my

Cover lines did not have any effects on them. This led to them appearing to fade into the background. To stop this from happening I added a drop shadow and bevel and emboss effect so they really catch the readers eye and make it more interesting to read.

Plug/Bottom Strip• To keep with the House

Style I have used the same colour on the Bottom Strip as I have in the majority of the fonts. However to make the writing stand out I made it yellow, which matches with the colour scheme on our school ties.

Front Cover AnalysisMasthead- The typography is well suited to the magazines target audience (students). It is a friendly, cool and trendy font that does not seem to serious. It follows the two word rule of a masthead.Pug- The ‘ears’ of the magazine. This shows that the magazine does adhere to the codes and conventions of a magazine.Cover lines- These catch the readers eye. These particular ones contain colloquialisms such as UCAS and frees. These attract their target audience as it is jargon that only their audience will understand, making them feel included and special. These are also another code and convention of a magazine front cover. Main Image and Anchorage text

appeals to the school loyalty and most students will know this student and will therefore want to know what she is up to.The Bottom Strip also acts as a Plug as it attracts attention and boost status and desirability for the magazine as it is offering a prize.

Contents Page AnalysisThe same font is used on the contents page as the front cover which implies the magazine is very professional and takes its work seriously. From the contents page we can identify that this font and the colours yellow and green make the in-house style. This helps the magazines audience recognize the magazine. This page shows a very specific house style that gives the magazine a unique identity. The identity given is shown to be very structured but friendly and by making things easy for you. For example all of the pages are straight, easy to read, in order with pictures accompanying some of the bigger stories to intrigue the reader. This connotes to a friendly atmosphere that would appeal to the target audience, but it also adheres to the codes and conventions of a magazine contents page. However one way this contents page does not adhere to the codes and conventions of the magazine genre is it does not have a slug, nor do any of the pictures bleed.