Evaluation

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

Before i started designing my own magazine, i analysed existing student magaines to find out what kind of things need to be included on the front page and how the layout and appearance of it affects how much it appeals to you. The magazines i focused on were 'Student ID' and 'Student Times'.



The first thing that caught my eye from Ludlow
College's 'Student ID' is the use of bright blocks of colour. The black writing on a background of yellow orange and red makes it stand out more, and will draw people towards it as it makes it look suitable for the target audience of students.

For 'Student Times' the layout is more formal and unlike 'Student ID' which uses lots of small pictures, there is one picture as the background and the cover lines are associated with this picture.

For my front cover i combined both ideas by using bright colours for the writing and one picture to cover the background. The picture is quite dull so the colours purple and yellow stand out, and will catch people's eye. The picture is also a reference to what is included in the magazine and the cover line ties in with this.


How does your media product represent particular social groups?

First i decided my target audience would be 16-18 year olds. I thought this would be easiest to do because it was the same age as me so i could relate to them and knew what things to include. The magazine focuses on events, film reviews, exam help, and things aimed at both males and females. Although some things such as relationship advice and horoscopes would be mainly aimed at girls. I included a picture from a previous bash which features people of the target audience. This will appeal to both males and females. The colour scheme is not to girly, and will catch peoples eye.

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

Because the target age group is 16-18, an institiution such as a sixth form college would be suitable to distribute my media product. Ludlow college would be the most likely to choose this product as the magazine includes information specific to Ludlow, such as the opening of the new 'Spar' which could benefit students from the college. Year 11 students from local school's such as Ludlow, Cleobury, and Tenbury may also be interested.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The magazine is aimed at 16-18 year old students. It will appeal to both males and females, as there are contents to interest both. However, some featurs such as horoscopes will appeal more to females.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I used a bright colour scheme to draw the reader in, as the magazine needs to be eye catching for someone to pick it up. The cover lines refer to a variety of different things that could interest different people, for example, exam advice and news about the upcoming college bash. This will make students want to read more and buy the magazine. I also used lots of pictures which will draw the reader in.

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

I have learnt how to use photo editing programmes such as Picasa which helped me edit my pictures to give the effect i wanted. AN example of this is changing the brightness of the picture so it stands out more, and cropping it down so it is positioned properly on the page. Another thing i found was that i could download fonts off the internet, and use this for my magazine. I had never used this before and found there were lots to choose from. I have also gained a better understanding of how to use Publisher to create my front page and contents page.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I have learnt that research is very important to identify the target audience the magazine is aiming for. Also making sure i put detail into every post, and making more initial design ideas so i have more to choose from and spend longer on it so it is a better quality.

Week 3 Review

This week i found example photo's fro skins to find out the type of pictures i would use in my magazine. I then completed my photo shoot and used the pictures in my final design. The pictures were appropriate for the magazine because they contain a medium close up, and the picture on the front cover includes the new Spar which has recently opened in Ludlow. I decided to take a photo of this because it concerns students in the college as it is the closest place for people to get their lunch.

Also i chose the font which was most popular from people's feedback, which was the one i used on my final draft for my front cover an contents page. I used bright colours like the ones people suggested in my questionnaire as this attracts attention and makes the writing stand out from the picture. I continued the theme of purple and yellow in the contents page, and included more pictures of what would feature in the rest of the magazine.

Thiss week i am going to focus on my evaluation of the task, as that is all i have left to do. I think i could have stuck to my action plan better and planned my time more carefully so i wasn't left to do so much in the final week.

Final

This is my final front cover and contents page. I chose the main picture for my front cover to take up the whole page because i thought it fit in well with students lives at the moment as it relates to everyone. By taking up the whole page it is the main focus and will attract people to the magazine.

I chose to put the title at the bottom so it didn't cover up the word 'Spar' which is the main part of the picture, and doesn't steal and focus from the picture. I used a mid close up of someone in the foreground, with Spar in long shot.

The colours used are the same on the front page and the contents page, and i chose yellow and purple as they both stand out against the background.

I positioned the cover lines as they are so they don't cover up an important part of the picture (Naomi or the Spar sign) and are all angled differently around Naomi. The colours are the same in each cover line but are swapped round so there is more of one or the other.

There is a strapline at the top to give people an idea of what is featured in the magazine without them having to open it up to the contents page.

The contents page features pictures mentioned on the front cover of the magazine, such as a picture from a previous bach, and someone stressed about exams. I chose to put the writing on top so it didn't take up to much space on the rest of the page. Again i continued the theme of purple and yellow.

Front Page Image

This is the picture i have chosen for my front page. It's a medium close up of Nay and it ties in with the student magazine because she is pointing at the new spar in the background which is new to Ludlow and will appeal to students as it is close to the college.

Possible Photo's

Here are some examples for the photo's i am thinking on using for my contents page.

Final Font & Title

This is the font and title i have chose for my frpnt page. People's comments on my questionnaire showed me that 'Uproar' was the most popular idea. And this was my favourite font to use.

Organising a photoshoot

I might get a medium close up of someone so the focus is on them. And it could show clearly what mood the person is in.



















This was my second idea for a photo. It is a high angle shot taken from skins. I could take a photo like this to show upcoming events or something that has already happened that will be featured in the magazine, such as the bash.






















This was my last idea. I could take 4 different photo's and put them all together so it shows different events. One could be of someone looking stressed due to exams or something related to college. Or one could be of someone studying, or something related to fashion, as these are all things featured in the magazine. Also the image of people kissing could represent relationships.

Week 2 Review

In week 2 i completed most things on my action plan. Firstly i made some rough designs for a front cover. I took ideas from other magazines and looked on other peoples blog sites for some ideas. I came up with 2 designs and this week i will choose a final design.

I also decided on a title for my magazine. I chose 'Uproar' as i wanted it to be quite original and short, so it doesn't take up too much of the page. I went on dafont.com to find some samples of different fonts i could use for my title. I put my 6 favourites on and in week 3 will choose whic one fits in best with the rest of my front page.

I haven't started planning my photoshoot yet so this week i will go on the internet and find some examples of shots to use. I will take a variety of different pictures that fit in with the contents and ask for comments on which one is best.

Font Designs

These are the 6 favourite fonts i found on www.dafont.com. I think they all stand out and are quite young so will appear to the target audience.

Possibe Design 2

For my 2nd design i used quite a dull background so people's attention will be drawn more to the pictures. The cover lines are in bright colours and there is a bright pink strapline at the top advertising special offers which should attract readers attention. I decided to put the title down the side of the page to make it more different and unusual, but i realised that this may not be effective as people are used to seeing the tile in the top third of the page and don't automatically read downwards if they are just having a quick glance. I think the title needs to be more of a main focus. The pictures are positioned at random angles and the captions underneath them will describe whats in them, for example, an upcoming event.

Possible Design 1

This was my first idea for a design for my front page. I considered people's responses to my questionnaire which suggestd that the picture was the main focus of the front cover and it one of the main things that attracts someone to the magazine. This is why i used a picture to take up the whole background. I also used bright colours such as purple and red to catch people's eye. The masthead is at the top in the centre and cover lines are dotted around the page in different places and angles so they dont take much focus off the picture. The strapline at the bottom also stands out.

Week 1 Review

In week 1 i managed to complete nearly everything i included in my action plan. I wrote up a textual analysis of 2 other student magazines, "Student Times" and "Student ID" which helped me find out what kind of things are effective on a front page and what combinations of fonts, colours, and pictures appeal to the target audience.

I also chose my target audience. Due to the feedback i got from my audience questionnaire, i decided that i would aim my magazine at all students aged between 16 and 18. It would probably appeal more to girls because the colour scheme and fonts are quite bright and girly. However, the feedback i got from boys suggests that bright colours such as yellow, orange and red would appeal to them as well, and is something that attracts them to the magazine. Also, the contents of the magazine will be aimed at both males and females, as it will include student offers and upcoming events which relate to everyone.

My audience questionnaire was quite successful, and helped me a lot with deciding how to design my magazine. The responses i got gave me a general idea of what would be most popular to include, such as upcoming events and special offers for students. Fashion was also a popular idea but mostly from the girls. The most popular title ideas were "Uproar" and "College Ketchup" which i am yet to decide which one to use.

The next thing i am going to do is design possible ideas for a front page, taking the answers to my questionnaire into consideration. Having a picture as the main focus was quite popular as it gives people an idea of what to expect inside.

Questionnaire

I am trying to find out the types of thing students look for in a magazine. Please could you take the time to fill in my questionnaire to help me with my student magazine front cover :)

1. Do you enjoy reading a student magazine?

2. What sort of things do you like to read about?
- Career options
- Upcoming events
- Fashion
- Discounts for students?

3. What attracts you to the magazine?
- The colour
- The picture
- The contents

4. What type of colour scheme do you think is most appealing?
- Bright.. yellow orange and red?
- Basic.. black and white with not much colour?
- Something of your choice?

5. What do you think is an ideal title?
- The Student Voice
- Freestyle
- Uproar
- Students Revealed
- Student Splash
- College Ketchup
- Suggest your own?

6. Do you think there should be a lot going on or should it be kept quite basic?

7. How much would you expect to pay for a student magazine?
- 50p
- £1
- £2
- free

8. What should be included on the front page?
- Pictures
- Some of the contents
- Special offers
- Other

9. Do you think a picture should be the main focus of the front cover?

10. Would you prefer separate magazines aimed at males and females?

Thankyou!

Action Plan

Week 1:
* Set up my blog
* Write out action plan
* Find some examples of existing student magazines
* Choose a target audience
* Audience questionnaire

Week 2:
* Choose a name for magazine
* Organise and do a photoshoot
* Update blog
* Rough design

Week 3:
* Complete 1st draft and ask for comments
* Make any changes needed
* Update blog

Week 4:
* Evaluate and make sure everything is finshed
* Update blog
* Ask for comments

Textual Analysis of "Student id"

* 'Student id' is the Ludow College magazine and each issue costs 60p.

* The masshead is done in an eye catching font which would appeal to young people.

* The use of colour on the page stands out most, as it uses bright blocks of yellow, orange, and red. This will draw attention to it so people are more likely to pick it up.

* The contents of the magazine are done in bold and positioned randomly all over the page, this is to show the mass market what is featured inside.

*There are pictures in the bottom left quarter of the page, which are overlapping eachother.

Textual Analysis of "Student Times"

* The 'Student Times' is a free magazine that is produced by student and aimed at students.

* It has quite a dull background which doesn't appeal very much to it's target audience of young people.

* The main focus of the front page is the picture which is aimed at the mass market. The headline goes across the picture, and uses the biggest font. There is a lure written underneath "Peter Kay - te bloke from Bloton is back' to make you read the full story inside.

* The masthead 'Student Times' sounds more like a newspaper than a magazine, and the layout is quite traditional, expecially with the colours, blue and white. It uses a basic font as well.

* The banner along the bottom of the page stands out because it's bright green and contrasts with the rest of the page. It is a special offer for student railcards.

* It also has an offer for a niche product, a price-cut at Toni & Guy, which is positioned on the arm of the person in the picture. It is in bold and black so it stands out, but it only takes up a small proportion of the picture so it doesn't steal focus.