School Magazine Cover page and Contents page hand drawn ideas.

I have created the basic design of my magazine by hand drawing it. I have attached both photos of my cover page and my contents page for you too see. 

Masthead idea analysis and social media feedback.

I created 3 titles using the website ‘DaFont’ and posted my chosen three ideas on my Twitter and received some response. I asked my followers which font they liked the best and why. As you can see, 0% of my folowers selected the 1^ST font.  10% selected the second text. And 90% selected the last masthead idea. As you can see, the last font was selected because they explained that it caught their attention and it looks proffestional. Also, the lettters are slightly bigger and further apart so it is easier to read.

Due to this result of my ideas, my school magazine’s masthead will be written in font number 3.

Below I have also attached a chart of my findings.

Analysis of my Questionnaire.

I gave my questionnaire out to be completed and i have gained results and feedback. Here are some of my many results. 

The most popular choice of colour scheme seemed to be white, black and blue. I asked why this was the choice over the yellow scheme and this was because yellow could be a difficult colour to read on the magazine. As well as this, if any students suffered with the condition of being colorblind, yellow is an extremely difficult colour to read and some people cannot see the colour yellow at all. 

Broadway also seemed to be the most popular font as it was easier to read and the font itself was bold and eye catching. 

The most popular masthead name was Chislehurst News.

50p was the amount most students were willing to pay so this will be the price of my magazine as well as the fact that quizzes and competitions were the most popular attraction for students to buy the magazine so ill make sure i advertise both these and the price of my magazine on the cover page. 

Also you can see below other information i received back from the students I asked.  

School Magazine Questionnaire.

 Below, i have constructed a small questionnaire, in order to regain feedback before i create my final magazine. 

Questionnaire

1)    How much would you be willing to pay for a magazine?

·        50P

·        £1

·        £1.50

2)    Which colour scheme would you prefer?

·        White, black and blue

·        Blue, Green and Black

·        Black, white and yellow.

3)    How often do you read magazines?

·        Once a week

·        More than twice a week

·        Once a month

·        More than once a month

·        Never

4)    What is more important to you in a magazine?

·        Content

·        Design

·        Offers

·        Other

5)    Which font would you prefer?

·        Calibri

·        Comic Sans MS

·        Arial

·        Broadway

6)    How often would you like the magazine to be released?

·        Once a week

·        Once a month

7)    What would you like to see in the magazine?

·        Interviews with teachers

·        Pupils art work

·        Quizzes

·        Competitions

·        School news

·        Results

8)    Which title would you prefer?

·        Chislehurst times

·        Chislehurst news

·        Chislehurst latest

9)    Would you prefer different magazines for separate years?

·        YES

·        NO

10)                       If the magazine chose to run a competition, which prize would interest you the most?

·        Stickers

·        Badge

·        Calculator

·        Pencil case

·        Selection of coloured pencils and highlighters

·        Poster

Conventions - contents and cover page.

Contents Conventions.

The contents convention consists of once main image that relates to the feature of the article. As well as this, it also contains other smaller images, but usually no more than 4. The colours of the contents page tend to use the same and simple colour scheme as the front cover of the magazine. 

The images that are selected to be used should really take up at least, but no more than 50% of the page. The images chosen should contain a page number as well as anchorage text.

The structured layout of the contents should include 1-3 columns that are usually divided into categories and headings. An example would be ‘Main Categories- features and regulars’.

However, the ‘feature’ section should be written in a different font as it is special or limited. These contents item should be written in bold / Italic titles in size 12 or 13 font. Whereas the description size should be written in size 11 / 12 font.

At the top of the page there should be the name of the magazine, an issue date as well as word contents.  As well as this, in various places, there should be subscription and contact information, and the month it is published, social media information if there is any, credits to the photographer, possibly a letter from the editor and an image of the front cover.

Cover Page Conventions.

Magazine cover page serves many purposes. It makes sure to sell the brand, must be visually appealing and different from the other cover pages on the newsstand in order to attract the new readers.

However, on the other hand each new cover must be different from the previous issue but still remotely familiar and recognizable to regular readers of the magazine.  It must make sure it references the publications character and its content. All of this make the cover page the most important page in any type of magazine.

The main image normally is the main feature of the article so the quality is professional and clear. The photographs are usually taken in medium close-up or mid shot. It also directly addresses the reader.

The masthead has the magazines trademark and a unique font to match. it usually is one or two words and fills the width of the cover or is normally in the top left hand corner. 

In my school magazine I will conform to the same colour scheme and follow the layout of the contents page, however I will subvert the size of the text and may have it written slightly larger than recommended.

Mode Of Address.

The definition of Mode of Address is written below:

 ‘Modes of address can be defined as the multiple ways in which relations between addresser and addressee are produced in a text. In order to communicate, a producer of any text must make some assumptions about an intended audience; reflections of such assumptions may be discerned in the text.’

The Mode of Address is a very important media term. But to put it simply, the Mode of Address is simply how the magazine speaks to the audience and involves them to some extent. As well as this the MOA also influences how members of the magazines audience respond to the text in a certain way. However, the way they respond depends on these attributes:

ü  Social and cultural background

ü  Ethnic background

ü  Class background.

ü  Gender

ü  Age

ü  Experience

ü  The construction of the audience within the text.

My magazine will be relatively informal as it is for the school community as they are already like a family and know each other to some extent.  As well as this, having informal language will be more attractive to younger people IE- age 11-16 as it is easier to read and understand.

Analysis of the colour wheel

The colour wheel is designed so that the colours that you pick from the spectrum will look pleasing together. Over decades, multiple variations have been created; however the most common version of the colour wheel is one of 12 colours as shown below. Traditionally, there are a number of colour combinations that are considered especially pleasing to the eye, and these are called colour harmonies or colour chords and consist of two or more colours with a fixed relation in the colour wheel.

The colour wheel was originally created by Sir Isaac Newton, and is categorised into 3 sections. Primary colours, secondary colours and tertiary colours.

Primary colours are ONLY Red, Yellow and Blue.

The three secondary colours are green, orange and purple. These are created by mixing 2 primary colours together.

Finally the 6 Tertiary colours  are created by mixing primary and secondary colours together.   

As well as these 3 sections, there are also ‘Warm colours’ and ‘Cool colours’. Warm colours are seen as energetic and vivid and tend to advance in space, whereas cool colours give an impression of a calm atmosphere and create a soothing impression. However, black, white and grey are considered to be neutral colours.

Cool colours give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.

Analysis Of Typography.

Here is my analysis of typography and my personal understanding of what typography actually is.

Typography is the art and skill of designing and rearranging text to make language that is written more readable and more aesthetically pleasing when shown. The arrangement of text involves selecting typefaces, point size, line length, line-spacing  which is also known as leading, letter spacing, (also known as tracking) and resizing the space within pairs of letters which is known as Kerning.

The term typography also is used to talk about the style, arrangement and appearance of the letters. As well as numbers, and symbols. 

Typography is the work of occupations such as typographers, graphic designer, manga/anime artists, comic book artists/designers graffiti artists and lots more. But now more recently, typography is used by any form of work that arranges words, letters, symbols and numbers for aspects such as publication, display or perhaps distribution. From clerical workers to magazine publishers, until the ‘Digital Age’ typography was a specialized occupation.

Below, I have selected some photos as examples of typography to enhance my understanding and knowledge.

What is a school magazine?

What is a school magazine?

A school magazine is a short collection of information and photos combined to make a informative magazine/pamphlet. 

School magazines are normally aimed between years 7-11 so the mode of address needs to be suitable and interesting for all the years. These magazines aim to inform the students about new and exciting information about what is happening in and around school.

Depending on the type of school, depends on the presentation of the magazine, as well as colour schemes and initial designs as every school is different and has a variety of different tastes. 

For example, at a standard comprehensive school, the magazine is normally created by year 8's to the final presentation is not going to be as well thought out and executed. However, a private school has professional content designers to construct a and produce their school's magazine, so the quality and execution of the magazine will be more professional.