Main Cover Layout

Here is my layout for my front cover.

Evaluation

My front cover of a college magazine turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I started by setting up a blog, which I found easy to use and very helpful for the project.
I then started looking for current or past magazine covers which I could analyse and get ideas from for my own. I looked at American and English magazines, which I found very different to each other in layout and headlines. I decided to use quoted from students for my own magazine such as advertising the help at college and the support you are able to get but mostly the environment you are learning in. I did this to attract to the target audience which was 16-18yr olds. I also wanted to use logos used by the college as I felt these would be helpful to make sure it looked professional.
I made some changes when I was making the front cover. One of these was the setting for the picture and how I took it. I was originally going to use the Wilson Building as a background but I chose the Ash building instead as it wasn’t as bold and it gave a nicer background to the picture. I also chose to have 2 people in the picture as I thought this gave the reader and the target audience a feeling of being relaxed and content when they are at college.
In my blogger I included a mood board, the drafts I had made, contents draft and magazine analysis. All of these things show the work I had done to prepare for my final front cover. I was able to scan in my hand drawn draft which I put onto my blog and this enable me to show my original idea.
I used LIIAR to analyse my other magazine covers and also to think of a good idea for my own magazine following the steps of LIIAR.

I am very happy with my end result and I have enjoyed working on it and using the blogs to store my work and also add new ideas I have come up with on the way. I hope when people look at this cover they will get the idea I am trying to put across to the audience.

My Final Front Cover

Here is my final front cover for my magazine: I feel this is the best picture for it as it gives off a relaxed vibe for readers and the target audience.

Contents Plan

Here is a plan of my contents page:

Mood Board

This is my mood board of all my ideas and all of the images i could find on the web of other colleges and their magazines.

What the picture will involve

The pictue for the fornt cover will involve:

Models
Props
Costumes
A Location

All of these have been chosen to represent the cover and to attract the right target audience for the magazine. I will be using 2 models for the medium close up shot. The models will be holding books, folders, and their bags so they look like average students. They will be asked to wear very causal clothes so it gives off the casual feel of the college and how they represent the college atmosphere. The picture will be taken outside and infront of the Wilson building on the college site to show the modern campus. Her are a few pictures i took of the building which will be in the background:

My College Plan

Here is my plan for my college front cover. I have decided to add in a building to show the design of the college grounds as it is very modern and clean. I will also be adding 3 students into the picture in the foreground to add a more friendly vibe. The masthead will be in bold colours so it is the first thing that you notice on the page. You will then be drawn to the pictures and then

finally to the sub-headings at the side advertising the different activities that the college has to offer to new students.

Medium Shot

For the photograph on the front cover i will be taking a medium shot to equalise between the buildings of the College so they have equal share of the page. Here i found the definition of the medum shot which helpedme more to undrstand what type of shot i need.

http://www.answers.com/topic/medium-shot#

College Analysis 2

This is a very different style to the previous cover.

1) The layout is similiar with the masthead being at the top and in bright colours and fonts. It is in red to connotate passion to give the idea that the college is passionate about the students.

2) They have used Nastia Liukin who is an american gymnast who is a role model for young people. They have used her to show that young people can have a bright future if they go to SMU College. She is also wearing a t-shirt saying 'i love SMU' to influence people to go their because she looks like she loves it there.

3) It also involves headings which can relate to young teens who are thinking of going to college. Such as "She's 15 and pregnant" if young girls see this heading they wont feel alone in their situation.

4) The background of the picture is blurred out so that the viewers eyes are drawn straight to Nastia Liukin and the clthes she is wearing.

Magazine Analysis

This cover has many different points to make:
1) The masthead is at the very top so when it is stacked you can read the heading and laso in a bold colour.
2) The masthead is in a very relaxed font to mimic handwriting of a student or a teen.
3) The heading for the magazine is in the centre to give a bigger impact on the topic and what the magazine offers.
4) There are sub-heading to the side so they don't get in the way but also may attract a certain audience/reader.
5) The image of the girl lying down whilst listenign to music gives the connotation that it is a very relaxed feel around the college and that she is in a relaxed environment.
6) The model is giving full eye contact to give the full impact to the audience.
7) The background is very pale so that your attention is immediatley on the girl and the titiles.