Mock up front cover and contents page.

Magazine name ideas.

Name ideas for my student magazine:

• Grade-A
• Ellipsis 
• Campus
• Campuscene
• College life

Font experiments.

For my magazine, I want the font for the text to be kept quite simple. Anything too fancy will make the magazine look tacky, and will distract from the content of the magazine.

Example. (Courier)This font would be good to use in the coverlines. It is a much more animated font than the rest of the examples, which suits the younger target audience I am aiming at.

Example. (Georgia) This font is a lot bolder than the rest. I think it would really stand out as a font for the Masthead. The target audience tend to like things that stand out to catch their eye. 

Example. (Helvetica) This example is still bold, but I feel it doesn't stand out to the reader as much as Georgia does. I don't think it would work as well for catching the attention of the audience.

Example. (Trebuchet) This type of font is just too dull for a magazine aimed at a students. I don't think that it would be eye-catching enough for a target audience like students, since most of the audience look for bold, flashy or stand-out aspects to the cover.

Generic conventions of a student magazine

Initial ideas

House style:

• Consisting of a basic colour pallet of 3-4 colours. 
• Colours kept at a mix between bright and dull- blacks, reds, greens etc. to connote relaxed, but friendly vibe for the magazine.
• Text font kept simple and easy to read.

Mode of address:

• Language should be kept informal to connote a friendly approach towards the reader, making the magazine more welcoming.
• Informal would be appropriate for the target audience, considering the age range.

Central image:

• The image will most likely fill the page, which will make the magazine stand out more.
• Photograph used will be a medium shot from a photoshoot.
• Most likely be set outside the college.
• Subjects will be students from the college.

Content:

• My magazine will consist of all things student relate- things that will concern and intrigue students.
• These features will include:

1. Tips to help students
2. Educational articles
3. music related articles
4. Stories from around the school that will keep students up to date.

• Will also include features/regulars surrounding topics from the target audience research:

1. Films
2. Television
3. Games

• The content will be mainly informative, and will consist of informal language.

Researching the target audience.

In order to create a successful magazine, I need to understand just what it is that the target audience are looking for in terms of a student magazine. In order to do this, I need to set up some audience research to find out what kind of magazine would appeal to students.

Questions to ask:

1. What sort of articles would you want to read about in a student magazine?
2. How much money would you be willing to pay for a student magazine?
3. Would you prefer to see brighter colours, or duller colours as the colour scheme?
4. Do you find informal or formal language is better when it comes to magazines?
5. Do you prefer to see artistic photographs in a magazine, or more laid back, ordinary examples from a photoshoot?
6. Would you say magazines are more appealing to you if they are jam-packed with content and arranged in a more cluttered format, or when they are organised and systematic? 

By doing this research with a group of my target audience, I have found out many things that I could apply  to my magazine. I have found that in general, the audience prefer the layout of the magazine to be slightly disorganised, but still remaining appealing to look at. In terms of the colour scheme, the students interviewed said that they would prefer a mix between brighter and dull colours. This indicates to me that I should ideally use colours like reds, greens etc. But they said that if I use colours that are too bright, the magazine would lose appeal. For price, I was told by one student that the maximum they would pay would be £4, since that's the highest price on the market that they have brought. Informal language would be preferred in the magazine.

In terms of content, the students interviewed told me that they would most enjoy reading about:

• Films/television
• Games
• College life and news etc.

Textual Analysis of a Student Magazine

Action Plan for Preliminary Task

Before I start the main task, I will complete the preliminary task, which is to create a front cover and contents page for a student magazine, aimed at colleges or universities. My time has been planned out as the following;
Week 1:

• Contextual analysis of current magazines, and the features found on the cover and contents page.
• Research into my target audience.
• Planning for production
-Colour schemes
-Fonts
-Contents
- Mode of address
-Target audience

Week 2:
• Organize photoshoot
• Complete design front cover
• Begin designing contents page

Week 3:
• Complete designing contents page
• Evaluate my outcomes


This action plan will hopefully result in a successful product of my preliminary task.

Introduction to brief

As part of my AS Media coursework, I am required to create the front page, contents page and a double page feature article for a new music magazine. This blog has been created for the purpose of recording my researching and planning as I create these aspects of the magazine, and will hopefully help me to produce a successful end product.