Final Evaluation

Overall Evaluation

I feel that in comparison to other existing magazines and conventions, my cover has a variety of conventions. The conventions that I identified back when I was researching that I feel are clearly on my cover are:

Ø  Mast head

Ø  Main image

Ø  Headline

Ø  Cover lines

Ø  Barcode

Ø  Secondary image

Ø  House-style

Ø  Punctuation

I am happy with the overall outcome of my magazine, as I feel it is easily recognised as a magazine cover because I have used the correct conventions and have considered the Gutenberg diagram theory when editing and have tried to make conscious decisions in the positioning of objects on the page.

I think if I were to do the cover again then I would have taken the main image picture at a different angle, as there isn’t a real focus on the front cover, unlike other covers that I analysed (Vogue). The problem I faced was that the masthead covered too much of the main image than I intended and ended up covering the models head and I didn’t feel that layering the model on top of the masthead would be a good decision due to the magazine not being well-known enough yet. I did attempt to edit it on Adobe Photoshop, but I couldn’t work the software completely without some part of the cover deleting. That is another thing I would change if I were to do it again; I would get some knowledge of Adobe InDesign, as I started to use it but couldn’t get to grips with it due to never having used the software before. In the end I ended up using Microsoft Publisher to put my magazine cover together as I know the program well and it was also the only software that I could easily access both at school and at home, where I spent the majority of my editing time.

I feel like I made the right decisions with my cover lines, as they’re relatively vague when looking at other existing magazine covers, but that’s due to the target audience and the purpose of my magazine, as it is completely different to others.

I spent the majority of my time planning and looking at existing magazine covers to understand the conventions made up on a cover. The most useful piece of research that I did was the ‘Readership Profile’ as I could see why other magazines are popular and who their primary target audience is and how they adapt their covers for them. Also, speaking to my target audience was extremely beneficial as it gave me building blocks to think of the headline and cover lines that feature on my cover. It also helped that I am a part of the target audience age range as it meant I could also use my logic in the editing. An example of this, was when deciding what the main image should be, as it had to appeal to both genders.

I took a variety of pictures for the main image, but reflecting back on the project I could have asked the target audience for their feedback and seen which one they would have rather seen as the front cover, but due to the time scale of the project, I wouldn’t have had enough time to then edit the cover. I do feel that I had enough time to edit my magazine cover, as I already had an idea of what I wanted it to look like due to my mock-up of the cover; due to me having spent less time on taking photos than I probably should have, meant I had time to try out the cover in a number of different ways to see what worked best in my eyes. Again, if I had more time then I would have liked to have the target audiences feedback to then edit it from critic feedback.

One problem I came across during the whole process was the photography for the main image and secondary image. I recently got a new camera and I haven't had the chance to have a play on it and get to grips with how it works. So the project enabled me to do this and start building a photography portfolio. I quickly overcame this problem after taking many pictures that weren't what I intended to take and weren't of the standard that I wanted for the front cover.

Reflecting back on the whole process I think I have produced a worthy magazine cover. I think it is clear who the target audience are and have ensured that they will be interested in reading the magazine. I feel that I understand all of the conventions that make up a magazine cover and why they are recognisable. Other than the previous things I have mentioned, I wouldn’t have changed any other elements in this project, but in the future I definitely would consult the target audience before any decision making to make sure I have made the right decisions.

Evaluation - 'Strive' Magazine Cover Annotated

Evaluation - Editing Process

Construction - Magazine Cover

Planning - Mock Up of Magazine Cover

Planning - Final Design Idea

Final Design Idea

Mast head: Strive

This font isn’t extremely informal or formal. It is a bold masthead making it recognisable.

The world ‘Strive’ is a synonym for words such as ‘determination’ and ‘achieve’. I feel that a positive mast head speaks for the whole tone of the magazine and is a word that should be echoed throughout Sixth Form. It will be in capitals to make it to stand out and also make it seem more official.

The typography is from Dafont.

Headline: “How to cheat at revising and get away with it”

I feel that this headline is light-hearted and witty. It covers an area that my target audience has asked to be covered and that is why I have chosen it to be the headline and not just a cover line.

Cover lines:

• ASOS guide to style
• What One Direction could learn from A-Levels
• Is fear really a strong motivator?
• “Work to become, not to acquire.”

I’ve chosen to use these four cover lines to include on the magazine as they touch upon areas that my target audience has asked to read about (readership profile). This is why I’ve tried to make the cover lines comical to entice the target audience to read the magazine. The cover lines are also quite vague which should persuade the target audience to read because it is mixed with comedy, as some of the students that I asked in my readership profile mentioned that they wouldn’t want all of the focus to be on education. With these cover lines I don’t feel that the whole focus of the magazine is on revising and exams, as I’ve tried to include some light hearted humour.

Secondary Image: I want to take a photo that is obviously taken away from school. Instead of taking a photo like suggested in previous planning, I have decided to go for more of a relaxed photo, away from school, possibly of a student and their dog. Both at low levels to represent ‘down time’, and being outside. This would follow the cover line: “PLUS tips on how to relax”. Which complements the idea of the secondary photo. I want the student and dog to be looking at each other to show the need to relax, hopefully the target audience will find the dog ‘cute’ which will create a topic to speculate about and then others will look and read the magazine.

Planning - Magazine Cover Ideas

Magazine Cover Ideas

Idea of a main photo	Why it would work	Why it wouldn’t work
Team photo of a football/rugby	From my research fewer boys read magazines than girls, so attracting and convincing boys to read my magazine may be a challenge. Therefore, if the cover is a photo of something the boys will be interested then	The team may have been defeated and therefore won’t want to read it and try and convince others not to read it either.
Students in lesson	It will make it clear to an audience what the magazine is about.	The target audience may think that the magazine is meant to be educational and would seem confusing if the cover lines are witty and not about education.
Idea for secondary image
Individual student achievement	Peers may not know and are interested in achievement. Also teachers may not know that a student has a special talent or hobby outside of school, and as a result everyone is sixth form can get to know each other better.	There may not be anyone who would want it published. And the worst is, that there wouldn’t be achievements every time an issue comes out. For that reason a house-style would be hard to create on the cover.
Future film release	It is modern and can interest anyone in sixth form.	Can’t advertise a rated 18 film as it wouldn’t even attract half of the target audience, and a rated 15 film may not interest the target audience at the higher end of the scale.

Mise-en-scene

Main photo

•    The image that I end up using will have a model looking at the camera lenses (direct mode of address) so it can build a relationship with the reader. The use of it makes the overall aesthetics of the magazine more attractive and makes it more eye catching.
•        Background of the shoot will be green scenery, with the model leaning against a fence. This will imply that the photo has taken place on a school location, as fences are most commonly found around the school which will later have connotations.
•       The model will be a male and he be wearing an outfit that is both smart and casual as it will convey a casual but important theme to the reader. He will wear a white t-shirt, blazer and skinny jeans.
•            The pose will be a ‘stern’ pose, in which the model will be stood upright, looking directly at the camera, shoulders back with his hands in his pockets. This will reflect the start of a new school year and to also convey that having the right mind set shows that the model is prepared.
•       The shot will be a mid shot, as when I was researching I rarely came across any magazine that didn't either use a mid shot or close up. This is due to the conventions.
•            Lighting will be in natural sunlight. This will then go with the rest of the shoot as it is outside. It could also convey that going into higher education is a 'natural' part of life and growing up. It is also the only lighting available, but will express  the time of the year the issue is, similar to the ‘annotated Vogue magazine’ I have previously looked at.

Edit

• House-style is similar to every other magazine cover.
• Colour theme could be Primary colours.
• Contrasting against background.
• Bright main photo so it is eye-catching.
• Two cover lines on the left side and two on the right, all in white font to stand out against the green background. I will include a ‘PLUS’ cover line to make the target audience think they’re getting their money worth. This will be in a red font to stand out against both the white font and green background.

From the ‘What kind of stories would you like to read about in a Sixth Form magazine?’ question I asked in previous planning, I have managed to get an understanding of what cover lines to have on the magazine cover, in which it will appeal to the target audience and will fulfil their interests.

From their responses I have come up with a number of headline and cover line ideas:

• How to cheat at revising and get away with it
• Why ____ is hotter than Jennifer Lawrence
• ASOS guide to style
• Fear is a strong motivator
• What One Direction could learn from A-Levels
• "Work to become, not to acquire."

Mast head

Next have to come up with a mast head name, this should be relevant to the stories inside, entice the target audience and to represent the content in the magazine.

• The Downs Daily
• The Downs Bulletin
• Strive
• The Downs School Telegraph