my final copy’s of my front and contents pages:
my evaluation
The assignment brief I chose for me was video. I was with three other people and we had to make a film that had specific elements that needed to be in the film. These were a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/ he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. We came up with the idea of making a modern version of a Mafia film. We got to the point of designing the script the and the props list. But due to problems of me moving into another class room I could no longer do film with them because of different time tables. Unfortunately I had to do print due the circumstance of moving groups. Although moving groups was not very good i found that print was a lot more quicker to do and less time-consuming i managed to catch up with the other students very quickly. The print assignment was using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP. I started by brain storming some idea’s for my college magazine, i thought what a basic college magazine would be like and came up with the idea of making it more eye-catching then a normal college magazine.
I found that magazines in colleges tended to be very basic and not eye-catching to students. I decided to look at teenage magazines such as “OK” magazine a very modern magazine and “Mr Confidential” an old magazine which isn’t printed anymore. I chose “OK” magazine because I felt that is a very popular magazine for many people around the world I looked at the different types of font and how they used colour and other techniques to catch peoples eyes. The magazine “Mr Confidential” is the complete opposite it is your more basic magazine which was very successful in its time. Although very simple it gets it’s story across of what is in the magazine easily. I decided to base my magazine on both designs, i tried to make it simple yet effect with getting my story across. The font, the size and the main image of the first magazine OK were good for this and for the second one Mr Confidential the layout was simple and the banner across the front was good way of getting attention.
When creating my magazine I came across a few problems such as how to set out my contents and how to place sub-stories on the front cover so people can see them without them being in an unusual place and making the magazine not professional and not willing to read. i looked at other magazines contents pages to give me an idea of what to do for mine. i found that contents pages tended to keep the same template as the front cover and the numbering of pages are simple and east to read. A lot of contents pages have pictures to relate to some of the texts of the contents is helped me in to designing my contents as i did not know how to lay it out and where to put my numbering of my contents so it is easy to read and well presented for the reader. i went through main different placements for my contents to get a good design so it was easy to read. i had each contents in blob of paint in different colour but when i had finished i felt it looked more like a poster then a contents. i then striped the contents and made it more simple by making it to basic colours and placing them to the side and putting pictures instead of the to paint blobs. i felt this made it look more like a contents and easier to read. i carried out a questionnaire to 10 people (college student) to find out what they thought of my magazine and if there were any corrections that needed to be made. Most of the comments were positive saying that it was eye-catching and that the background was a good idea. there were also some minor problems such as spelling and this is like of the pug of which i changed so it was more appealing to my audience.
I am very pleased with my final design I feel that it is very eye-catching and full of thing to draw my audience. This is my first draft of me magazine I started with the use of a plan back ground, a basic picture and a very simple title. When I drafted this and I final finished I felt that it was very simple and to basic, specially for the headline, the logo/masterhead and the background. The image is to big and makes the front cover more restricted for other texts such as sub stories (cover lines). The masthead is also to simple as it needs to be the most eye-catching and attractive part of the magazine, it is what makes my magazine unique from all other magazines. I used this as a way of making my final magazine more noticeable.
As you can see my magazine is still similar to my draft but I have put more effects and made it a lot more eye-catching which is what I wanted. The background is less boring as I have added a paint theme background. My picture is still big but I have placed it behind my cover lines and titles. As for my masterhead I have made it more effective by adding an outer glow and putting a catchy slogan underneath it, I then moved the edition number next to it because I felt it made it more noticeable and it blends with the masthead this then create as sense of unique individuality from other magazines and to the audience. The things I have kept is the back layout such as the red bar along the side and the price and bar code in the same place. i have made my final draft more exciting and makes the audience want to read it.
My target audience which is college students, can easily tell that this is a college magazine this is due to the slogan which allows them to know that the information in the magazine relates to Harlow college. Also the sub stories are relevant to college life such as sports, student president and cheap places to have lunch. My magazine creates a sense of youth due to it is well structured yet the background makes it seem not tidy this is the typical college student who wants a magazine to be interesting with the design and not a typical standard college magazine. They will be intrigued by the use of my pug as well because every students loves to win prizes specially when it is a gadget which appeals to them such as a iPod.
My magazine is the same as many other magazines such ok magazine. OK magazine consist of having a main story on the front cover with a picture to draw you in to read it. I feel my magazine does the same with the picture and the main story being boldly presented to catch readers’ eyes. Although OK magazine has the advantage of using celebrates to draw in readers i had to use a good story and a cliff hanger to draw the reader in due to it is only a college magazine and not a national magazine sold in stores. My magazine Extraction use sub story to interest the reader into buying the magazine in case they do not feel the main story intrigues them. This allows my audience (16-18 years) to read my magazine and allows a wide range of students to buy my magazine instead of just the one social group. OK magazine also uses simple colours so their magazine is not too complicated so that the stories are easy to locate i have also done the same. i feel if i was to make another magazine i would try and make it less tidy by not adding in a side column of colour i will use a wide range of colours to make the magazine more appealing and less tidy and also place my sub stories around the magazine and not down one side cause i feel it makes my magazine feel to heavy with thing on one side.
In conclusion to my magazine i feel that it is a good magazine for college students(16-18) i think it appeals to them through the use of my background which makes my magazine eye-catching. i feel my image attracts my audience as they will be thinking about why that image is there and will then be willing to found out what it is about. although using a big image restricts placement of other features of my magazine because i have to work around it. In my next magazine i will use a smaller image in order to allows more freedom in my magazine. i also need to be more creative when doing my contents page, it is lacking in appeal. i feel it needs to be more eye grabbing and more creative instead of plan and tidy, due to it does not make my magazine want to read it as much. Above all i concluded that my magazine is good but it needs some changes in the contents to make it more appealing.
What people thought of my final design of my magazine?
i designed a questionnaire and gave them out along with a copy of my magazine(front and contents). These are the questions and what was the main feed back i got from each question.
1) what are your first impressions of the magazine “extraction“?
i got very different comments on first impression but they were all positive. the maing information given was that it was very clear, eye catching and looks professional. I took this as a very good start due to there are no negative views.
2) if you saw this in college would you want to read it ?
for this question i got yes from every person i served this means my magazine is eye catching and draws people in.
3)is the layout of good standard?
again i got good results from this question everyone thought the layout was simple and basic which is what i wanted from my magazine. This means i have drawn readers in with very simple yet eye catchy ideas due to the comment from the other questions.
4)what is the main thing you like about the front cover?
the main comments i got from this question is that they liked the background splat of the paint the changing colour of the masthead “extraction” and the image on the front cover.
5) what do you dislike about the magazine?
people main disliked the the pug in the bottom corner of the WHSmiths vochers it did not appeal to them so i decide to change it to a free ipod to be won i thought this would be more appealing to young students.
6) in the contents page is the labeling of the pages easy to read?
everyone said yes. The labeling was clear and easy to read due to the contrast of each page number.
7) is there something you would put into my magazine?
i mainly got no in this question but a few people felt that another image on the front cover would be a good idea but due to the lack of space and that i felt it would be out of place on the front cover or the contents i decided to ignore it.
8 ) is there anything you would take out of my magazine?
most people we’re pleased with my design and didn’t want anything taken out but there we’re a few people who wanted the banner across the magazine out but as it was a main story that needed to stand out the way it did and i didn’t have anywhere else to put i decided to keep it.
9) would this appeal to people age 16-18?
100% worth of yes . this is a good thing due to my target audienece is college students.
10) any final comments which you would like to add?
final comment were just minor problem with my magazine such as spelling of which i corrected as soon as i got the comment in?
How i did my contents and why?
For my contents i kept the same template of the front cover so it said looking like the same magazine. but i reverved the background splats so it didn’t look exactly the same as the front. i also keep my name of the magazine because it is also classed as the logo of my magazine.
i then created the contents heading of my magazine this i kept in the same sort of theme as the slogan i made it big and more clearer so readers can identify what page it is.
I felt that for the numbering of the pages in my contents need to have some form of feminizing in it due to this magazine is for both male and female, so i added pink to the writing and made wit a defferent size so it didn’t seem dull and boring.
i added pictures to the contents so i could add some of the main storys that are in the magazine each one is different due to i need different acdemic subjects and if they were part of the college.
i then decide to put sub text’s next or below the pictures which made some of them not look like they are just floating there. i also put them there so people could no what the picture as about such as sports, subject or teachers.
How i made my front cover and why?
First i created a plain black back ground. I thought black was a very simple colour that can go with every colour.
i then thought of adding a effect to the background. A white paint mark would give the background more of a fun feel rather then just plain black. Also i felt that white is another neutral/simple colour that goes with any other colour.
i then added my main image of a college boy taking a picture due to it is a college magazine. i found there was a big space on the side of magazine so i put a red strip there to cover the space and also i can put pugs or sub stories on there.
This is what took me the most time to do. The reason it took me a while is due to the name of the magazine is the most important part of the magazine. It needs to draw people in with its design. I created the text of the title of my magazine “extraction” and i put a outer glow of a yellow gold colour to make it stand out from the background and from anything else on the magazine. i wanted the magazine to stay in the theme of the magazine and not have another different colour. i decided to make to black and red. i then created the slogan in the same colours and text but i made the outer glow a different colour so it does take to much attention from the name of the magazine.
I put the main story across the page so it stands out. i used a yellow because it contrasts with the red, black and white. it makes the main story stand out.
finally i added the last little details of my magazine. i put the sub storys down the left on the red strip so it is clear and easy to read. i then add a put on the bottom right of the page so readers are drawn in through being able to win something.after i added the bar code the date of the magazine is distributed and the barcode.
production log 6
Today i have final finished my final copy of my magazine. i went though many different styles in the contents to find what worked. I decided not to use the individual paint splats for the pages and decided to put them at the side because it was more clear and it didn’t make it look like a poster. after i finished my design i put together a questionnaire and asked 10 people what they thought. nearly all of the feed back was good and 
production log (5)
i used many different ideas of what to put on my magazine. In the end i used a basic template on my front and contents page this was the red strip and the black back ground. i also put a paint splat to make it more teenage orientated to them. i have my front cover done. next lesson i need to finish off my contents page. i took me a while to work out how to make my heading/ logo to stand out due to the back ground made it blind in so i put an outer glow which made it stand out more.
photos for my magazine (3)
this will go next to the page number of the sport in the contents and will have information next to it. this will allow the reader to know what that page is about
photo for my magazine (2)
this photo is going to be put in the contents page and its going to be used as a student studying.
