Sixth Form Magazine Annotations…

Emily Ilett

Face is clearly presented makes it obvious that girl is laughing connoting happy feeling. Facial expressions suggest happy place to be, college is joyful. Encourages us to read because we want to know what is so good about it, why she is so happy.

Masthead in big letters but lower case suggests informality – colloquial language attracting younger audience as informal.Font is iconographic of magazine institution - unique & used in every magazine made by company.

Pale bluey grey background so things stand out more. Writing in white, stands out against background. Also suggests gender equality because neutral colours. Pale colours so nothing draws attention from main image.

Main image takes up most of page as main focus which attracts readers eye instantly.Mid shot – shows part of girl whilst still giving impression on whole subject.

Not wearing uniform, smart casual clothes, connotes idea that sixth form is relaxed environment, more freedom.

FRONT PAGE

The pug provides information on magazine: 2015 edition – suggests that its not a one off – it’s an annual magazine.

Follows codes & conventions of sixth form magazine – student on front, easy to read fonts, modern style to reflect teens. Student on front suggests

magazine is aimed at student audience – 14-19s. Also use of word ‘gap year’ attracts student audience as students may be interested in doing this.

Strapline in transparent box provides information on what magazine is about.

Box opacity has been decreased so you can still see student partially and you can still see what she’s wearing. Also the words in box stand out more because background is faded.

Delhi is capital of India which suggests different cultures / traditions – aimed at teens as they’re likely to want to go travelling.

CONTENTS PAGEPictures provide quick information on what is in magazine. Pictures break page up so readers aren’t constantly looking at words.

In-House conventions used – follows colour scheme of blue, also shown on front page – links closely together.

Writing is diagonal, not following codes/conventions of normal magazine. Editor has created unique style that reflects audience (teens), gives magazine more of an edgy feel.

Typically short paragraphs with subheadings to break writing up – follows codes / conventions of magazine contents.

Page numbers shown clearly in bigger font than other writing allows reader to quickly go to page they are interested in.

WELCOME section gives basic information on what is in magazine. Uses word ‘your’ which makes it more personal as if magazine is made for a specific individual. States that magazine is made my students, encourages students to read it because its made by members of a similar age group.

Picture of Emma Watson – idol to many teens, many people will generally recognize her & be intrigued as she is a famous figure – encourage people to read.

Background is plain (white) which draws main focus of the pictures which are darker so that they stand out more.

Message written from former student explaining her trip / gap year – attracts teen audience as may be interested in some one else's adventure.

FRONT PAGEThe blue connotes idea of winter which links with writing on page ‘Winter’. Also the blue used is a darker blue which connotes winter again because in winter its generally darker outside.

The white writing contrasts well with the dark blue background as it stands out more because the colours are so different.

The snowflake also connotes winter because snowflakes are associated with snow which happens sometimes in winter. This makes it clear to the reader that the magazine is a winter edition. Snowflakes are also soft which gives the magazine a calm feel. Snowflakes are unique & are never the same which suggests that the magazine is unique & has its own personal feel.

Snowflakes have crisp feel suggesting magazine has new fresh content & that it’s very up to date.

The masthead is ‘The First’ codes and conventions of a magazine as at the top so reader can easily identify what magazine is called. Its at the top and can easily be seen. Font used is casual connotes a relaxed vibe. It is known typography to make readers become familiar with magazine they’re reading. ‘The First’ anchors the text because snowflakes

are so unique that it suggests this is the first snowflake and that it’s very unique linking to the idea of the magazine being unique. The word ‘First’ also connotes exclusivity.

CONTENTS PAGE

Fonts are simple / easy to read suggests simple but effective feel to magazine. Doesn’t draw attention off of pictures.

Pictures dominate page so gives clearer image as to what’s in magazine which engages reader because they aren’t constantly reading words, they have something else to focus on.

Name of magazine on contents page encourages people to recognize magazine & makes people remember more so they will automatically associate words with magazine.

The magazine is iconographic because every magazine of this institution has exactly the same layout but each season the pictures / writing change to suit the magazine content.

Underneath topics there is short summary of what topic covers. Gives more information on what’s in magazine so reader is more informed about it – follow codes / conventions of magazines.

Numbers next to images anchor image to specific page number which suggests image is associated to feature on that page.

Topics in magazine reflect teen audience because its topics that they will be interested in as topics are generally associated with teens: technology which has become man part of teens life these days. Also fashion stereotypically associated with girls and sport stereotypically associated with boys showing it attracts both male & female audience. Also university fees section links to sixth form audience as its something many sixth formers may consider going to.

Black and white is also neutral colour so reflects male / female audience.

FRONT PAGEMasthead is iconographic of magazine institution as same font used in each magazine. This makes it easily recognizable to audience so that they will associate font with magazine & instantly recognize it when see it in shops. Follows magazine codes/conventions as at top which is where people first look. Masthead is in capital letters, quite a skinny font & bright colour (white) – all of these elements make it stand out more.

Strapline ‘Summers Coming’ links to image as Paris is somewhere people may be interested in visiting for summer – Paris also known as city of love which links to sixth formers as it’s when people start forming relationships. Strapline is in white writing which follows in-house style for magazine as they’re using same font & colour, again making it easily recognizable.

Main image is Eiffel Tower which is associated with Paris & is easily recognizable so people instantly have an idea of what the magazine is about. Shot is worms eye, makes image seem more realistic & livens image up. Connotes Eiffel Tower look tall, strong, mighty.

Word ‘sixth’ relates to matter of it being a sixth form magazine whilst ‘sense’ is a play on word & pun – effective as it creates a humorous effect.

Cover-lines at bottom of page give more information as to what’s in magazine. Also give magazine professional touch by following codes / conventions of magazine. Cover-lines have topics sixth formers may be interested. Xbox One reflects male audience as stereotypically boys are interested in video games. Poetry connotes magazine being intellectual. Festivals connote magazine as being fun & Blackpool pride reaches out to same sex couples – these all show magazine is aimed at wide variety of audiences.

Sun in corner of page brightens up magazine sending happy vibes throughout. Sun also connotes positive energy & links to idea of summer as stated in strapline. – Helps present magazine as summer edition.