As part of the assignment, I was asked to create college
magazine cover and contents page aimed at students within my college. I used Photoshop
to successfully create the magazine and contents page then I received some
feedback from others on what went well and what to improve.
First of all I had to create a plan of the magazine and
contents page on Microsoft word to give me a rough idea of what it would look
like. This would also make it easier for me to lay out the magazine on Photoshop.
Once I had the pages planned I went around the college to take some photographs
for the cover page and contents page. I had to make sure the images taken were relevant
to the magazine genre and they were well photographed. The photos I took were of
students in Leyton Sixth form either studying in the street or in the library.
The image used on the front cover was a medium angle shot of
two students looking into their work. I used Photoshop to manipulate the image
and make the background brighter by changing the hue and saturation setting on
selected area which made the two student stand out even more. I sent this image
behind all the texts and other icons which made it look like a professional
college magazine. The fonts I used for the cover story are bold and the colours
of the fonts contrast well to the background. The cover line use of ‘college
giveaways’ will draw the reader’s attention as I included images of an ipad
that students will want to win.
I included icons of social networking links such as twitter,
Instagram and Facebook which are well known and most frequently used amongst
the young students. This is a popular convention on magazines which I successfully
portrayed as it will spread the word of the mag. Also students can keep up to
date of the latest college new through the apps linked to the magazine. I
included the college website which is clear to read above the masthead. My
magazine includes typical conventions of a magazine such as the barcode. In most
magazines the barcode is found on the bottom right hand corner which is why I placed
the barcode there too.
My magazine is only 40p for only 40 pages which goes to show
you will receive exactly what you are paying for. The magazine is cheap and
affordable, literally making it 1p per page. To improve on the magazine cover I
believe I need to experiment with fonts for the masthead as it doesn’t really
stand out in contrast to the cover lines. I should try playing around with
different font colour for the masthead and experiment with the thickness of the
font. Also I should try experimenting with the layouts of the cover lines and
place them where appropriate. I personally believe I need to include more cover
stories which will attract the audience’s attention.
The second part of my task was to create a contents page
which I believe I was successfully able to do however I think my contents page
was far too brief and simple. I created the contents page on Photoshop instead
of InDesign as I found Photoshop easier to use. The image on the contents page
is of a student directly looking at the camera, in the college library.
There is two parts to the contents page, the features which
include the special articles of that issue and the ‘every month’ articles which
are basically things that are found regularly on every issue. I could develop this
page further by manipulating the image used further such as experimenting with
the colour of the image. Also I believe more images are needed on the contents
page to make it look stronger. I should also try play around with the fonts and
colours scheme of the text. One of the mistakes I made in this content page was
I didn’t include the cover line ‘college giveaways’ which was on the front
cover of the magazine on my features section of the magazine. This was
important to include as if students are looking for that page on the magazine,
they would be able to find it on the contents page therefore have to look
through the whole magazine.
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