Preliminary Task

Proposal:

Who are you aiming your magazine at specifically?

As a college magazine i am going to aim my magazine at college students, also as a college student my self this will make it closer to what the audience want as I am able to translate my thoughts and feelings so be generalised to the rest of the audience.  I have chosen to specifically aim it at females this make it a more fixed audience. I have done this because as a female myself I feel i will be able to create a female magazine better. I also believe if the magazine is aimed at the reader more specifically they will be more interested in reading or reading on to he following ones because it will appeal more specifically towards them.

What will your magazine be about?

My magazine will focus on different aspects of college life, this will help students through many different situations as well as entertain them for enjoyment. These include of: friends, work, fashion, keep up with class and home work, funny stories and competitions to win. I feel this is necessary content not only because it's a college magazine, but it will also appeal to my target audeince as this is the stage in their lives they are going through at the moment.

What are your ideas for cover lines?

The coverlines i have chosen all regard college life, these include of  "100 top college help tips" this is a good idea because the numeical data draws in attention as it questions the reader as to ...100 what? etc. This also leads onto a different cover line of "Work, Friends, Fashion". For a teenage girls who is a student, these are three highly worried and talked about subjects.

What title have you decided on and why?

I decided on the title of  'Progress', this word has educational connotations whilst having an optomistic view. I will put this in large, bold fonts so it easy and clear to see/read whilst emphasisng the importance. I feel this is a good title because it is short and catchy yet gives the reader an acknowledgement that the audience will be about student life.

What fonts do you want to use?

The fonts I will use will be the ones offered on InDesign. I will ensure they have a feminime feel and are clear to read.  I will use a large bold font for the title, with an increased space between them. This will be clear and show it's the most important part of the front cover. The coverline i will use more italic fonts (Serif) for the apperance side of it.

What are your ideas for tag lines?

I decided to use a tagline which basicly explains the title whilst adding humour. My idea for a tag line is...

"The weekly magazine that helps you... progress!"

When in the year will it be published?

I feel this should be published in summer months so that i can use more feminime colours - which is my specific target audeience. This will make it more attractive for girls, and then compete better in the market.

What kind of image will you put on your front cover and how will you go about getting this?
How frequently will it be published?

For my front cover i will use an image of a young girl, who is a student at southdowns. She will need to be looking happy, to show that she is happy at college and happy reading this magazine.
I will go about getting this by taking the photo my self with a digitial camera that i can then upload onto the computer and begin to edit.

What images/colour would you use on the contents page? 

On the contents page i will use summery, feminine colours so that it fits with the colour scheme used on the front cover. The images i will use are pull quotes and images from various in magazine stories.


Planning & Flat packs:

I created a flat pack of my front cover so i had a starting point for when i created mine. This could alter and change but it will still be very helpful for me to have. I also did the same for my contents page to give me a rough idea on how to make it. I then took photos for my front cover and analysed them to see which was the best to use.

Flatpack

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Contents page flatpack

Photographs i didnt use

Analysed stages of my front cover design:

My final copies of the contents page and the front cover

 

Evaluation of the preliminary task:

Overall, when looking at my end products I feel impressed with what I have created although I'm aware their are many improvements that need to be made when I create my music magazine.

Strengths:
The strength of my end products are that this was the first time I had tried to use these programs such as: photo shop, InDesign and Blogger - so considering this I feel well accomplished. Using a colour scheme adds professionalism ( The black and pink ) Although in my music magazine I need to add a third colour to add variety and ensure this colour scheme is consistent.

Weakness:
The criteria specified that the image was a head shot this brief was not fulfilled because the models whole body can be seen. In my music magazine I need to ensure the brief is made.
Looks amateur, as unconventional. For example:
- Text font
- Text positioning
- Object positioning ( barcode)
- Brightness of the top of photo
All these need to be considered in my music magazine.

Initial ideas

Initial ideas 

To begin with i created a basic mindmap of my initial ideas for my front cover. These ideas arent specific but they gave me an insight to some initial planning.

Task 5 - IPC Case Study

IPC Case Study

About IPC

IPC Responsibility

Task 4 - Anaylsing four different magazine covers

 
Additionally to the previous ones, I looked into the analysis of  this magazine cover.  The specific codes and conventions follow the generic theme throughout the other magazines. I believe this is because of the linked target audience and the reoccurring trend.  The masthead is recognizable as it is similar throughout each of the issues; this is similar due to fonts, colours and placement. The colours do differ but only through shade, it isn’t a large contrast of block colour.
The colour scheme doesn’t rely on the month of the year as many covers do, as this is a more winter month with summery colours.  I believe this is due to the fact the summery colours interlink with feminine colours. The plug of the latest looks would really appeal to teenage girls who are appearance conscious, or makes them to believe that they should be fashion/appearance led if they aren’t already. The left third is usually the busiest due to it being the side that the potential buyers can see when they are stacked in the magazine. This proves that ‘shout’ magazine believes their plug is the best selling point of this catalogue. The puff of this consists with a bright pink star in order for it to stand out and appeal to the audience and draw their attention.  The font is large and bold, this implies the importance of it to their cover.  Pixie lott was a very popular singer at the time of releasing this magazine, that lots of teenagers liked. She is seen as an inspirational role than many girls aspire to be.

When looking at this individually I scanned through the varying codes and conventions that each of the covers display. The masthead is recognizable as it has a trending theme throughout each of its issues, although, strangely the issues to vary in colour of the masthead dependent on the colour scheme of the magazine cover. The colour scheme doesn’t rely on the month of the year as many covers do, as this is a more winter month with summery colours.  I believe this is due to the fact the summery colours interlink with feminine colours. The plug of the fashion sector and ‘bargain style special’ takes up most of the left third. The left third is usually the busiest due to it being the side that the potential buyers can see when they are stacked in the magazine. This proves that ‘more’ magazine believes their plug is the best selling point of this catalogue. The puff of this is brightly coloured to match the colour scheme; the emphasis is on the costs as they are in yellow. The colour yellow is first attracted by the eye, so its what we first look at. This means they are impressed with the prices they are displaying.  Megan fox is the main actress, globally seen as a beautiful actress.  She is seen as an inspirational role than many girls aspire to be.


 When specifically looking into the cover of this magazine, there are some recognisably similar codes and conventions to the others whilst there are some noticeable differences as well. The masthead is well known, large and fuchsia it’s a primary attraction for teenage girls. The Serif font adds to the feminine feel, pushing the targeted audience.  Like the ‘More’ magazine the colour of the masthead is known, though this one varies in shades of pink unlike the drastic contrast that ‘More’ magazine completes. The colour scheme is relatable to the calendar month as the colours have a summer feel.  The plug of receiving ‘ 2 mags for price of 1’ draws the potential buyer in to purchase the magazine. The puff is a simple yellow circle; although simple this is cleverly constructed. The colour yellow is the first colour the naked eye is drawn too, so this will be seen first. In addition to this it is in the left third of the cover, this is important because its what the passer-by can view when they skim over the stacked magazine, hence why it is the busiest. Demi Lovato, an iconic Disney character, and aspiring female, she’s a well-processed choice for the front cover. The featured stories include: boyfriends, boys and looking ‘gorgeous’.  This implies that young teenage girls need to look ‘gorgeous’ in order to impress boys.


When I individually looked into this magazine I felt It was noticeably less busy than the others, although it still consists of many similar codes and conventions.  The masthead is well known, large and inclusive of pink colouring it’s a primary attraction for teenage girls. The Serif font gives off a more feminine feel, again guiding us at the targeted audience.  Like the other magazines the masthead is well known, the colours although tend to vary in shades of pink unlike the drastic contrast that ‘More’ magazine shows. The colour scheme is relatable to the calendar month as the colours have a summer feel. The plug of the 1D dream giveaway is an ideal persuasive prize for teenage girls. The puff of this is a pink circle, which isn’t a harsh shape nor colour, again encouraging the feel of the target audience.  Although differently, this isn’t in the left third of the magazine, which is usually where the most important features are displayed due to it being the section that everyone first sees.  The front cover features a one direction member, who are a current and popular boy band so members of society would be appealed to it.