College Magazine Cover

This image shows my final college magazine cover.

After looking at many magazine conventions I included many of these within my final piece. For example I used a short and snappy masthead which is placed on the top left hand side of the cover. This is the same as every other magazine cover I have looked at. Under the mast head I have put the date and issue number which is conventional of a magazine. I have also included a bar code and price. Sub-headlines and images have been included to give an idea of what is inside the magazine and the placing of these down the left hand side with small text and pictures is typical of a magazine cover. The main headline covers the centre of of the cover and is in large bold font which is a typical convention of magazine covers.

The magazine aims to represent the college and students at the college and the main image plays the largest part in doing so. The image shows a student from the college and it represents them as happy and hard working as it shows her smiling and also holding what could be her results. The image suggests that the results are good making her happy and therefore showing how hardworking she has been. Also it shows how the college is capable of providing a base to achieving success.

The kind of institution which may distribute this magazine may be the college administration or the student union. They may distribute it to inform as well as entertain the students, and also to bring the college and the students together for example with the barcelona or disneyland article, or alternatively to encourge independent learning with the article 'Have you been revising enough?'

The magazine, aimed at Wyke students, would attract its target audience simply through the main headline as results are someting many students are concerned about. Claiming that these are the best results would also appeal to the more competetive side of people. Also the main image is of a student from Wyke college who is the same age, and possibly doing the same courses of many of the target audience therefore the audience can relate to it and it becomes more appealing. Also the image of Disneyland Paris is a strong brand which many people will recognise and it should appeal to young people. Finally the image of the books and the wyke college logo underline that the magazine is for the students of Wyke college.

Making this product I used a digital camera to take my main image and photoshop to manipulate it and add text. After taking my photo, using photoshop I blurred out the background and revealed only the student as the focal point. I added the mast head and chose colours which I believed to be light and fresh to appeal to younger people. I then added all other pieces such as the main headline and the sub-headlines.

Overall this preliminary exercise has been useful because I have learnt about different magazine conventions, how and why they are used and also I have learnt how to use the programme Photoshop, which allowed me to create and edit my magazine cover. All of these I will need to use within my main music magazine.

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