Initial Ideas

Flat Plans

Analysis of magazine covers

This magazine is aimed at males and females of 17 to 30. The main colour scheme is Gold, white and black, which are quite sophisticated and more mature colours. The serif font is quite archaic and the gold colour adds a more grown up feel to the cover. The headings are also more serious and the celebrities named are of an older generation. The magazine itself is quite old so the layout and design are much more aged and sophisticated.
The cover photo is very mature and simple but still is a poignant eye-catching shot. The fact he is wearing a shirt and the rough age of the model (Johnny Depp) also suggests a slightly older audience as they can relate to ages. The title of the magazine ‘rolling stones’ shows how it’s aimed at an older audience because of the generation of a band with the same name and the font its written in, which is quite classic.

This is a pop magazine aimed younger female readers aged from 11 to 16 because of the use of pink on the cover and the use of very bright colours. The main colour scheme is pink yellow, green and blue. This also makes the magazine very eye-catching and fun. I think the use of big bold lettering and the colourful font is aimed at a younger audience and the free posters and other free things also say its for a younger audience. The magazine is also quite a new publication so the layout and design is quite original and fresh.
The cover photo is very playful and not really serious aiming it at a younger audience .The clothes are quite funky and strange and all the people on the cover are quite young so the audience can relate more to them. The name of the magazine ‘smash hits’ also refers to a younger audience, as does the tag line ‘hogging the hits’ with the use of alliteration and slang.

Evaluation

So far I have created a cover for a student magazine in Adobe InDesign. I found it quite confusing and difficult to use the program at first but enjoyed playing with the colours and designs of the cover once I figured out the correct buttons. I think my cover is quite eye-catching and colourful although I changed the colours and text around a lot before I chose the final layout. I chose a light and dark blue theme to appeal to both genders and a wider range of students. I decided on the photo of two students for my cover photo because I thought it represented students well and it was a good shot to use. I think that i could have made my left hand side a bit more exciting and clear as it was quite busy. 

I also created a contence page for my student magazine also in Adobe InDesign. I though it was easier to make the contence because I already vaguely new how to work the program and I used a similar colour theme of dark blue, to my front cover. Although I changed the style of my boxes and numbering around a lot, I chose edgy boxes and numbers to make it more stylish. I think i could have taken some pictures to relate to the pages to make it more interesting though.

Proposal for College Magazine

My Proposal

My magazine is aimed at first and second year college students of any style and clique. It will be about general college life and the goings on of the college. It will have interviews with different people in each copy e.g. in this copy we are interviewing college bands. It will also include the latest fashions around college and the coolest places to hang out. It will also have a calendar of events and the latest things to do around college.

I decided on the title of Aim High because I thought it was catchy and bold. I was going to use SDC but decided against it because I thought it wasn’t very interesting. I was thinking of a simple but bold font to grab the reader’s attention but not to over complicate it.

I am going to have some cover lines down the left side of the page explaining the main articles of the magazine. The text can be in the same colour with odd shaped boxes around the text. Some may be things like; the greatest gift ideas by other students or Check out the latest winter trends around college.

This issue is will be published after October half term in the autumn term. It will be published every half term. This copy will reflect Christmas and the incoming winter with the latest winter trends and the best Christmas gift ideas submitted by other students.

I am going to put an image of two students on the cover, which I have already taken. It is a mid-shot and will spread over the right side of the cover with the student’s eyes a third of the way up the page.

The contents page will have all the page numbers and page descriptions on it. It will have bright colours on it to make it look exciting.

Magazine contence page

College magazine