Time Management Update

So far we are currently on week three, and I am behind by the week of the 13th of October, as I still need to upload my 2xContents Page and 2xDouble Page spread analysis'. My target is to complete all of the work before we go back to college so that I am organised and ready to start the new piece of work.
All posts with be up by the 31st of November.

Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Evaluation of Preliminary Task

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before designing my own student magazine I decided to look at a few existing student magazines, to do some planning and research for my own. The aspects of these magazines I looked at were the layouts, house styles and the type of brand identity. The house styles of a majority of student magazines consist of three colours for the house styles, mostly all appealing to the target audience and colours that compliment each other well on the page, yet are still bold and stand out to the audience. The masthead and the layout were bold and central throughout the magazine, and were simple to keep the magazines looking professional. Another similar aspect that these magazines shared was that the central image was a student, which obviously relates to the topic of magazine and grabs the target audience’s attention.

For the house styles of my magazine I chose the three main colours, blue black and white. These colours compliment each other well and are bold and not to bright, which connotes a professional appeal which should appeal to the target audience of students, as they are “young adults”. I took a medium close up of a student for the central image of the front cover of my student magazine to help it stand out more to the specified audience to show that it was a “student magazine”. This central image was also partly the background of the front cover of my magazine to help it look more striking and in keeping with the brief. The name I chose for my magazine was “Student Guide” which is simple, along with the simple bold font, and connotes that the rest of the magazine isn’t too complex, and it made it certain that the magazine was targeted at students.

How does your media product represent certain social groups?

The target audience age I chose was students in college and the early years of university, so essentially about 16-19. From the research and planning I’ve done, the majority of magazines were free, so I’d chosen to price mine the same. The house style colours appeal for both female and male student audiences as they are quite basic neutral colours. The central image I chose is just a simple photo of a student smiling, connoting that it is a fun easy magazine to read.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The kind of media institutions that may distribute my student magazine could be colleges and universities, as that is where the target audience would be based. They could be around the colleges/universities in places such as common rooms and libraries, so that they were easily accessible and would stand out to the audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be college and early university students, so an average age range of 16-19. This is because it would contain articles targeting at an audience their age, and articles that would relate well to them.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted/addressed my audience by using images that would appeal for them, and also using simple bold fonts and text, and also creating a simple layout so that the read didn’t look to complex, and so that it stood out a lot better and clearer to the target audience. I kept the fonts consistent throughout so that nothing looked too out of place in the magazine, and it connoted that the magazine was going to be a simple read.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In this project I used some software called “In Design”, which can be complicated at times seeing as I had never used the software before, although it gave me the accessibility to add more features to my magazine and gave me more possibilities to make my magazine better and more professional than software such as Microsoft publisher could. 

Experiment with Mode of Address

My student magazine will be mainly formal to keep the professionalism of the magazine so that it doesn't look tacky, but it will have informal aspects to it to keep it a fairly easy read. My masthead will be formal and bold so that it can stand out easily to the target audience, and the images and photos that I shall use are a mixture of staged and some informal images as well.

Questions to my Target Audience

1.   What do you look for in a Student Magazine?

“Student discount vouchers etc. They’re always useful for people our age.”

“General modern day gossip, and the latest music from recent artists.”

“Things that appeal to our age group such as exam advice, and possibly problem page with an agony aunt.”

“Things that we can relate to, revision tips and general news.”

2.   Would you pay for a Student Magazine?

“It depends how good it was, and how many discounts/vouchers it contained.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“No, as it’s a student magazine, I’d expect it to be free.”

“No, students don’t tend to have a lot of spare money.”

3.   What kind of layout would you prefer in this type of magazine?

“A simple layout, nothing too complicated as I’d lose interest.”

“Not too simple. You don’t want it to look basic but then again if it’s too complex people may lose interest really.”

“A good mid-point of a simple and more complex layout. It needs to stand out and look appealing to the target audience.”

“With a really simple layout I would lose interest, but a complex one wouldn’t be too great either.”

4.   What do you think of the title “Student Guide”?

“A little basic, but it states the obvious really and that’s all you need.”

“A short title stands out, I’d pick up a copy.”

“It appeals to the target audience.”

“It says what it is, and that’s what I like about it.”

Mock up Magazine Pages

Generic Conventions of a Student Magazine

Initial Ideas for my Student Magazine

Names and connotations

The name of my magazine will be “Student’s Say” and will be in bold so that it stands out from the rest of the magazine.

Contents

The magazine will contain mostly current things, such as music and useful revision tips and websites etc. Also useful student based things such as cooking tips, how to save money and events near them.

House Styles

The colours and fonts I have chosen appeal to the target audience (boys, and girls) and the colours and fonts shall stay consistent throughout the magazine so it stays professional and doesn’t go off topic.

Mode of Address

The magazine will be mostly informal with the exception of some formal information to do with saving money or revision tips etc.

Images

The central image on the front cover of my magazine will be a staged photograph, as I want the magazine to look professional and appealing to the target audience. This is because most people do judge a book by its cover, and the magazine has to look appealing for the people who are buying it.

Price

This magazine will be free, as the majority of student magazines I’ve seen have been. This is because it’s an informational magazine, and students don’t tend to have a lot of spare money lying about.

Experiment with Colour Schemes/Fonts

Textual Analysis of Student Magazine