RESERCH - GENRE, AUDIENCE
GENRE
The genre of my magazine is a school magazine. The purpose will be to entertain and inform, as my audience is primarily school pupils, and secondly adults I will need to suit both of there interests. Typical to a school magazine it will include activities, events, information about the school, news, awards etc.
AUDIENCE
For my school magazine the audience is primarily school pupils years 9-13 (aged 12 to 18 years) and secondly, their parents or guardians Due to the age gap between some students, I will take into account different interest, and will provide sections that will interest each ages ensuring I please all ends of the audience. I would say that my audience is fairly niche, as it wouldn't interest or concern anyone other than people who have a link to the school. The ethnicity of my audience is mainly white British, as this the majority of the pupils fit this. The audience is mainly middle class which will be reflected in the magazine.
The genre of my magazine is a school magazine. The purpose will be to entertain and inform, as my audience is primarily school pupils, and secondly adults I will need to suit both of there interests. Typical to a school magazine it will include activities, events, information about the school, news, awards etc.
AUDIENCE
For my school magazine the audience is primarily school pupils years 9-13 (aged 12 to 18 years) and secondly, their parents or guardians Due to the age gap between some students, I will take into account different interest, and will provide sections that will interest each ages ensuring I please all ends of the audience. I would say that my audience is fairly niche, as it wouldn't interest or concern anyone other than people who have a link to the school. The ethnicity of my audience is mainly white British, as this the majority of the pupils fit this. The audience is mainly middle class which will be reflected in the magazine.
DESIGN
MASTHEADSI have decided to call my magazine 'the word'. I chose this name as I feel it suggest that the magazine is intended to suit the school genre. Also I asked a range of people in my target audience to choose from other names, and they picked 'the word' as they felt the name suggest that the magazine is suited to there age range. The typography of the masthead is vital in insuring its success is it will be what the readers associate with the magazine. As I want my magazine to appeal to the audience as much as possible, I will choose a font for the masthead that represents this.
From the five potential fonts below, I've chosen the font I am going to use for my masthead. After asking my target audience and taking into account detail which would best suit the magazine I have chosen to use the first one. To me this suggest school, as it is casually shaded [sort of like a doodle a pupil would do in school] , modern and attractive, also it is bold and noticeable.
As my audience is young upper school pupils, they will find something simple, modern and attractive the most appealing.
These are my 3 potential fonts that I may use for the text in my magazine, they are similar to the font used in my masthead. 'Cambria math' is the closest match to the masthead font. The examples above have been made bold, when they aren't emboldened they look less noticable, so for the front page I will use the font in bold, and inside the same font but normal.
From the five potential fonts below, I've chosen the font I am going to use for my masthead. After asking my target audience and taking into account detail which would best suit the magazine I have chosen to use the first one. To me this suggest school, as it is casually shaded [sort of like a doodle a pupil would do in school] , modern and attractive, also it is bold and noticeable.
FONTS
To create a link throughout my magazine I am going to use the same font throughout. I am going to take into account the style of the masthead when deciding on a font. As my audience is young upper school pupils, they will find something simple, modern and attractive the most appealing.
These are my 3 potential fonts that I may use for the text in my magazine, they are similar to the font used in my masthead. 'Cambria math' is the closest match to the masthead font. The examples above have been made bold, when they aren't emboldened they look less noticable, so for the front page I will use the font in bold, and inside the same font but normal.
franklin gothic book - euphemia - cambria math
COLOUR SCHEME
As I want my magazine to suit my school genre fully, and suit my audiences preferences, I aim to use colours that appeal to this. As the school I am creating my magazine has both males and females pupils, my colour scheme is required to suit both of them. This means avoiding using pinks, purples, greens and other typically gender stereotyped colours.
2. Green, yellow, light grey. These colours are all pale and I feel if I used these for my magazine it wouldn't be as noticeable than if I used a brighter colour.Although I do think these colours would be affective as they could look modern and simple, I don't think I will use them for my colour scheme.
3. Blue, pale blue, orange. Blue and orange are complementary colour,which means they are most appealing and suit each other well. By using two different shades of blue I have kept the colour scheme simple, which is a key convention of a successful magazine.
4. Purple, Yellow, Grey. Purple and yellow are also complementary colours, making this colour scheme attractive. Although, I think it appeals more to a female audience, rather than both male and female.. I think this colourscheme is appealing as the colours are fairly simple, however, I dont think it suit my magazines purpose as well as other colours would.
COLOUR SCHEMES
1. Yellow, pale blue, navy. These colour are all fairly light and clear, with the navy blue used sparingly as dark colours should be used in smaller areas to draw attention, it also looks more professional.2. Green, yellow, light grey. These colours are all pale and I feel if I used these for my magazine it wouldn't be as noticeable than if I used a brighter colour.Although I do think these colours would be affective as they could look modern and simple, I don't think I will use them for my colour scheme.
3. Blue, pale blue, orange. Blue and orange are complementary colour,which means they are most appealing and suit each other well. By using two different shades of blue I have kept the colour scheme simple, which is a key convention of a successful magazine.
4. Purple, Yellow, Grey. Purple and yellow are also complementary colours, making this colour scheme attractive. Although, I think it appeals more to a female audience, rather than both male and female.. I think this colourscheme is appealing as the colours are fairly simple, however, I dont think it suit my magazines purpose as well as other colours would.
MAIN IMAGE
IMAGE ONE
I chose to shoot this image in the library with books in the background and it has connotations of learning and studying, making the school genre instantly recognised. I don't think that this image is strong enough for the front cover, as the lighting is dull and doesn't make the subject stand out as much as I would like.
IMAGE TWO
In contrast to the picture above, I have chosen to shoot this photo in a simple location with only a white brick wall in the background. I think this image is a true representation of the students who attend the school, so it would be good to use on the front cover. However, I don't think that this image is strong enough to use on the cover as it doesn't instantly suggest school.
IMAGE THREE
I chose to shoot this image in the science lab, with the subject wearing a lab coat, and safety glasses. I am using Harlington Upper School for my magazine, which is a specialist science school, this is represented on my cover. I think this image would be suitable for my front cover, as it is very light and looks natural which also suggests that students are hardworking and happy, which represents the school well.
IMAGE FOUR
This is again a simple composition for a picture, which i feel is affective, although it doesn't suit the school genre because there is no implication that it is for a school magazine.
IMAGE FIVE
I like this image because the background is bright and appealing, also the computer in the background suggests a hardworking school environment. However, out of the other five photos I don't feel it suits the magazines purpose as well as others do.
LAYOUT OF FRONT COVER
FRONT COVER LAYOUT 1
This is a sketch of a possible layout for my front cover. It is different from a convectional magazine cover, as usually the main images covers the whole page, and the features/info are positioned to the left and right of the image. I trialed using this layout as it would be different from other magazine making it more unique. Although, as all the features and information are bunched together at the bottom, its doesn't allow the reader to quickly see what is in the magazine, which is a disadvantage to this layout.
FRONT COVER LAYOUT 2
This layout is similar to the classic front cover that you would see on most magazines, it is recognisable and familiar making it a strong cover for a magazine. I think that this layout is better than the first, as from researching different magazines, I have found out that the cluttered look doesn't make as successful cover as when there is space and everything is spread out, making it more appealing to the eye. I am going to use this layout for my cover.
MOCK LAYOUTS OF CONTENTS PAGE
POSSIBLE CONTENT PAGE LAYOUT 1
This content page layout is very structured and organised, it is a quite formal layout. These colours are fairly plain, so it would be reliant on the images to brighten up the page and attract the audience. The simplicity of the layout is a good feature as it allows for quick access and location of all the features in the magazine.
POSSIBLE CONTENT PAGE LAYOUT 2
Different to the first layout, this one has 3 more images making it appear more interesting and exciting to the audience. As this is the first page you will turn to you want it to be captivating and exciting. I prefer this layout much more than the first, as I think it suits the audiences preferences much greater, it is more attractive and instantly more informative.
FINAL FRONT COVER & CONTENTS
FINAL FRONT COVER
CONTENTS
