The first step of action I took was to look up as many school/college magazine front covers that are already out there and identify which ones sell well and are popular and why. Also, by researching what is already out there I gained a better understanding of the importance of a specific target audience and target readership.
This particular front cover stood out to me as I feel the colour scheme used is simple yet all the colours work well together.
Next I began thinking about ideas of what to include on the front cover to make my magazine, different, recognisable but also took into consideration what are crucial and compolsary to have on the front cover of a school magazine. I found a very useful image through google on what ALL genre's of magazines must have.
- Catchy title
- One main photo
- Color scheme (suitable for school mag)
- Barcode
- Story that relates to cover photo
- Issue number
- Date
- Price
- 5 cover stories (maximum)
- Taster of next weeks magazine
- Gifts/prizes/compettitions
- Fundraisers
After this I then watched a clip on what makes a magazine successful.
The video I watched gave me many different ideas and ways in which I could really make my magazine the one to buy. I brainstormed ideas for what would make fun, catchy, yet suitable cover stories such as:
- Summer Fare
- Exam Results
- Music Club Performance
- Sporting Tournament Win
- Trips
All of which would have puns & play on words as most magazines tend to do (and it helps sell better if people are able to get a few laughs out of reading it).
I then went on to thinking of names for the magazine but before I did this I carefully considered what sort of students I wanted to read this magazine. Students who have high hopes and dreams, students wanting to excell in all aspects of their education but also students who need a chance, who need that extra push and help.
The possible names were:
- SFX NOW!
- GO - GETTER
- DASH
- SUCCESS
- DRIVEN
- THE MONDAY TIMES
- THE VIEW
- INSIDE MINDS
- THE FUTURE
- PLAN A
I decided to go with SFX NOW as I felt it was relevant, catchy and got the point across (work hard at SFX now and it will pay off).
My front cover includes various forms and conventions in which real media products are made. It includes:
- A short memorable title
- A slogan which can be linked to the title
- Full page image of what the main article is about
- Price/date/barcode
- Language techniques (inspirational language)
- Teasing comments and tasters
1.To make my magazine more succesful in following the forms and conventions of a media product I could have made the cover image more imactful and dominant (direct eye contact with the reader). I also could have made my colour scheme more identifiable and subject relevant.
2.When approaching the subject of representing particular social groups within a college I took it upon myself to ask the people at my college whether they thought 'social classes' and 'groups' were still evident in this day and age.
I feel my magazine represents diveristy which is part of the reason why I chose not to have on person on the front cover I chose people of different height, weight, culture etc. However as the college I attend is largely dominated by one race of people, showing diveristy was not as clear cut as I had aprehended.
3.I think various different media institutions would distribute my magazine, such as schools, colleges, and even off lisence because I see it as being inspirational and also this would make the magazine highly accessibe to the students who attend the college and their parents. Different people could benefit from reading it.
4. The audience for my media product would be mainly at college students from the ages of 16-19 who are aspires, who strive for the best. However it is also for the students that struggle and need the push to become set in the mind set that hard work pays off.
5. By following the forms and conventions of a media product I feel that I will attract my audience because through the dominant cover image alone their attention will be captured (direct eye contact with the reader). I also feel I will attract my target audience through a suitable color scheme that is identifiable and subject relevant.
6. I have learnt that when using InDesign if I want the background to be the same of that in my image (created and adjusted in Photoshop) it is best to 'place' the image first.
