When we were asked to do a school magazine I chose to do a sixth form magazine because I can relate to the audience, which makes the magazine easier and also we can give advice to anyone seeking help. It took a lot of planning to get the magazine photographs but I managed to take them during a free lesson.
Whilst working on my front cover I did encounter some problems, firstly; some of the pictures that I took were too bright and so the person in the photograph was squinting, this made the cover look unprofessional. Secondly, some of the colours that the models are wearing clashed with the colours that I initially wanted to use, so I had to change that to make it look more effective and professional (I had to use colours that made the models stand out as well as the text).
I settled for a picture that showed the models smiling and having fun. This would attract the reader as they would feel attracted to it. I used the rule of three to make the front cover look basic but interesting; I didn’t want to make the cover look over the top as it would make it look unprofessional and untidy. I also situated the models in the centre of the magazine cover so they took up more of the space and also it would make the magazine stand out more.
The positioning of the Masthead was also difficult as I wanted to make it look edgy and but also big enough for the reader to see. It also covers a lot of the page restricting me to fill any gaps that are not wanted. The positioning of the primary and secondary stories was easy to place as they had to be down one side of the magazine cover. This helped to achieve and show the main stories in the magazine and it also gives a taste to the audience about what will be featured in the magazine. It also helped to take up unwanted space like the ground and made it look more attractive.
I decided to place the puff along the bottom of the magazine as it would make it will make it stand out more and also it wouldn’t be missed by the readers. I used a bubble to make the magazine look a little animated and to emphasise that there are other important bits in the magazine.
If I could make my magazine better I would put a date and the issue number to make it more effective and also it would make the magazine look a lot more professional. I would also try and mix around the colours to see if there are better matches to fit the picture. I could have also made added pictures to make it look more attractive and show more information and I would also try and make the writing stand out more.
For my contents page I experienced much less problems as I knew what colours I had to use and what pictures I had to add into it. For my contents page I used totally new photo’s to show the variety of issues in the magazine and to show the different features in the magazine. For the contents page it was much harder trying to fill in the gaps as there was less to show, however, as I took a lot of pictures this helped to fill those gaps as well as make the contents look lovely.
I decided to use the same font and colours as it would make the contents look much more professional and tidy, this helps create a link between the two pages and so they are more recognisable.
All in all I took about 45 different pictures and chose the best ones to help create my front cover and my contents page. I think that I was successful in using the rule of three and not changing my colours as that would have been much harder work trying to make it look better. I did find it hard to use fireworks but after a while of constant use I managed to get the hang of it and was able to achieve this and next time I will be able to understand it better.
Overall, I think that for my first time I did well making the magazine cover and contents page and it met my required target audience as I used informal language to achieve this ‘Chat with a teacher! Who will it be?’. This helps to create a relationship with the editor and the reader making the magazine more effective and interesting.