Evaluation of My College Magazine Front Cover

My front cover is of a college magazine and it represents college students. The front cover shows that college is fun as the subject/student is playing pool. This gives a good impression to the reader as the main message the magazine front cover gives off is that college looks interesting.

My media product represents a majority of social groups as it doesn't appeal to one certain group of people. This is because the college magazine relates to people who are up for fun and outgoing as the subject/student looks like she is having fun and may be a popular person. It represents people who are college students or are about to be college students as the picture appeals to them and the information on the front of the magazine is college related. I have made my magazine so it appeals to all types of social groups because this means that my magazine is suitable for a wider audience therefore more people will buy the magazine.

The media institution that will distribute my media product would be a company called IPC. This is a media company that produce magazines and is a well known company. This company would publish and distribute my magazine because it will be a hit with college students and people who may be going into college. With the media company being such a big media company this will mean that my magazine will be sold in a lot of shops which means more and more people can see it

The primary audience for my magazine will be college students and people who are about to join college. This is my audience because my magazine is all about college and the activities that go on in a college, and consists of information that may help you and give you an idea of what college will be like. However, there is a secondary audience which consists of parents. This is because they may want to know information about the college they are sending there children to and get an idea for themselves what there child’s college experience will be like. This gives the parents comfort and allows them to know what there child is going into. This means that more people are buying my college magazine.

For my magazine I made sure that the magazine front cover appeals to my audience. To do this I made sure that there was a main image that caught my audience’s eye, and by this I included a student on the front cover which looked like she was having fun. I also made sure that the colours were bright rather than dull as college students and teenagers are appealed towards brighter colours therefore this is also catching there eye. I also made sure that once the magazine has caught there eye and they may begin to read the information on the front cover, that the information was interesting to a college student. By this I made sure it included some serious stuff so they know they come to college to learn, but I also included information that was fun such as the 'pool competition' which lets them know that college isn't all about studying as there are fun activities that go on within the college.

I used Photoshop CS5 which is a programme that allows me to be able to create my front cover of my magazine. I learnt a lot about this programme as it allowed me to be able to create my final piece. I learnt how to layer my magazine, by this I mean that on my front cover of my magazine the main image is in front of the main title, I learn how to do this because of Photoshop and this makes my magazine look more professional. I also changed the colours around and added saturation which Photoshop allowed me to do, but also I took the picture of the college student which included a background behind her, but I cropped this out using the magnetic tool on Photoshop which allowed me to remove the background to add my own in.

I am pleased with my final piece of the magazine front cover as it is appealing to the target audience intended and it looks professional.

Front covers and Contents pages

There is a masthead in yellow which stands out from the blurred background. There is a skyline across the top of the masthead which gives you some information on what the magazine is about. The main image is related to the masthead as there is a guy playing American Football and this will show an interest in the audience that is reading the magazine. The audience of this magazine is college students and also people who may be coming up to college so that they get an idea what college is going to be like. The audience could also include parents whose children may be going to college so that they get an idea of what there children are getting into. The main image covers some of the masthead which shows confidence in the brand of the magazine and that they are well known as people will know what it says anyway. There is a barcode in the bottom right of the page with the price to let people know who may be buying the magazine how much it actually is. There is another main slogan which reads 'The Sure Thing' this is bigger than the rest of the text because it is a catchy slogan which grabs your attention when you look at the magazine. There is also a question underneath this which makes you question a certain thing about the sport and the recent events that are happening, this means that it will draw you into the magazine and read on as the magazine will answer this question inside. The layout of the magazine is simple but it looks sophisticated. It is a simple layout because college students see this as a laidback magazine but it also has the sophisticated look because it is about college and they are going to be studying when they join.

This magazine has a fairly large masthead that reads 'College' however on this magazine you can't read the entire masthead as the main image is covering up some of the letters. Even though this is the case you still know what it says as it is obvious. The reason the magazine company has done this is because this shows that they have confidence in their brand name because they know that it is a well known and popular magazine therefore they don't need to show the entire masthead. The main image is a picture of a college student, and you know this because he is holding books and is looking casual but also very formal and sophisticated. This image shows to the people who are buying the magazine that college is a good place and you know this because the person in the main image is looking happy which shows a good impression on the college and the reader. The colour scheme on this magazine is simple as there is only 3 colours being used throughout the magazine, this makes it look formal and interesting as it's not just a multi-coloured all over the place magazine, even though they used a random bit of pink on the magazine this doesn't break the colour scheme as this draw attention towards the splat. The font is kept the same and only a few different fonts and sizes have been used, this shows that once again it makes the magazine look sophisticated and professional as the person making the magazine hasn't just gone crazy and using all different types of fonts and colours. There is a barcode in the bottom left of the magazine which shows us the price of the magazine so that the person who may want to purchase that magazine then knows how much it is. Also with the barcode being in the bottom left of the magazine it isn't interfering and in the way of anything. It doesn’t overlap over the main image otherwise it would ruin the magazine and make it look tack/less professional. There is a small strapline/skyline above that runs across the top of the page above the masthead which gives you a bit of information. There are many different types of slogans on the magazine which draws attention from the reader or the audience  which may make them want to buy and read further into the magazine. The black background behind the main image makes the main image stand out to the audience and the reader. This is good because it draws attention to the image that is telling you most about college which is what the magazine wants to do. The layout of the magazine is very carefully chosen and ordered which shows that the magazine is sophisticated and professional. The layout also shows that although college is a happy place to be and it is fun there is also a serious side to it and you do need to work while you are there.

This main heading on this college magazine reads 'College' however you cant see all of the main heading. This shows that the make of the magazine is a popular magazine as they are confident enough for the audience to know the make of magazine and what it says. The main image of the girl who will be a college student shows that college is a happy place as she has a smile on her face. Also the way she is dressed looks casual but also formal therefore this shows that college is a fun place but there is work to be done. The main headings that are the sell lines are laid out in a good way as they are not cramped together, they are spread out and in an orderly form. The colour scheme of the front page is restricted to 3 colours which is good as it makes the magazine look professional and sophisticated. If there was all random colours and not thought about the magazine would look tacky and all over the place so this makes a big difference. There is a barcode in the bottom right hand corner which will show the price of the magazine but also it isn't in the way of the magazine it is in a place which makes it look proffessional and not out of place. The whole magazine as a whole looks proffessional and sophisticated and sells the idea of college in a good way, and will draw people to the idea of going to college.

This layout of this contents page looks very sophisticated and professional because there are three main images that are promoting the college and then there are the main headings underneath these images which tells you all the information you need to fnd the article you want to read. The images promote the college in a good way as the picture of all the girls together in there sports kit looking happy, this promotes it in a good way because it makes the reader believe that college is a happy place. The other image which is the picture of the college that the magazine is based on also promotes the college because it looks very formal and professional which lets the audience know they are going to a top college. The last picture of the woman who may be a student there lying on the books which gives an impression on the reader and the audience. The impression that this will give the reader is that learning is good and not boring because she looks happy that she is there. The layout of the contents page is very organised which can have a reflection on the college and give it a good impression. The clolour scheme of the contents page is chosen carefully as they have only used 2-3 colours. This is good because it looks formal and the publisher hasn't gone mad on colours making it all colourful and look unproffessional.

 This contents page looks professional as the layout of this is very organised and formal. This looks good because it shows a good impression on the college as they care about the appearence of the college and the representation they are giving. The colour scheme of the contents page is very formal as black and white are very formal colours as they represent a formal image. This shows that the college is good but its also formal. The picture of the woman on this contents page is appealing to the eye of the audience. It is appealing to girls because she has fashion sense and it will appeal to the boys because she is good looking. Therefore this makes the audience think that college will be good, interesting and enjoyable. The main heading is appealing as the way it is set out isn't how you would see a normal magazine to be set out. Therefore its a different layout which is more interesting and appealing to the eye. The pose of the woman on the contents page strikes the audience and grabs their eye towards the contents page. All of these points make the college seem interesting and appeals the audience to the idea of going to college.