Textual analysis- Double page spread 5

Textual analysis- Double page spread 4

Textual analysis- Double page spread 3

Textual analysis- Double page spread 2

Textual analysis- Double page spread 1

College magazine evaluation

College magazine prelim evaluation

For my prelim task I had to construct a college magazine suitable for an audience between the ages of 16-18. This is the chosen age because this is how old most college students are. It helped me vary my decision for what I could actually use for my music magazine. 
          I did this by making my magazine appealing to the readers. The magazine included latest news articles of current situations around college. I wanted to engage with the reader and I did this by using relevant articles that I thought the target audience would be interested in. I also took photos for my cover photo, however I took them all in landscape shots. They wouldn't fit on the page so I had to go back out and take portrait photos instead. My favourite part about making the magazine was making my masthead. I loved this because as I was making it I thought it looked quite boring, so I decided to tilt the 'The' to the side to give it a more appealing effect. I made the cover lines and masthead colours that all link together well. I chose red because it catches your eye. I then made the cover lines red & white as I wanted to use some sort of vary on my front page. I chose the title name 'The college magazine' as it was simple and easy to use. People who saw it would recognise that it was a college magazine instantly due to the title.

          I made the contents page spacious and clear so that it wasn't misleading and was easy to follow.
I think one thing I could improve on is the contents page as it looked a bit bare and I could of done this by taking more photos of the school and filling up the page.

Unfinished 

Questionnaire- graphs and analysis

Questionnaire

Prelim task- Finished college magazine contents page

Prelim task thoughts

I really enjoyed making my prelim front cover. It gave me loads of ideas for my actual front cover which I can use! However when I was taking my photos for the front cover I took them all landscape so when I uploaded them onto photoshop they didn't quite fit. I knew for next time to take them portrait to make them fit the whole front cover. I also wasn't prepared for which cover lines I was going to used so I struggled to find ones that would work and would fit in well with the magazine. But all-in-all I thought it was alright :)

Prelim task- Finished college magazine front cover

Textual analysis- Contents page 5

Textual analysis- Contents page 4

Textual analysis- Contents page 3

Textual analysis- Contents page 2

Textual analysis- Contents page 1

Prelim Task experiment with photoshop

Photoshop experiments

My initial thoughts on using photoshop aren't too bad. I've used photoshop before so I didn't find it too hard to use. I wanted to make my masthead unique and for someone to know I had made it but adding a quirk to it. I did this by tilting the 'The' sideways. I really liked the way it turned out because it looked slightly professional.

I really wanted to have a well-polished masthead, something that would go well with a college magazine. Something fun but not over the top and something classy but not to mature as I didn't want to put readers off.

This was the first font I used for my masthead but I didn't like it because I  think that people may have some trouble reading it. I just wanted something easy going and polished.

I found out what this was by experimenting with different things to try and make my masthead standout. In the end I used the drop shadow option because it seemed to give some sort of depth towards my masthead. It made it look 3 dimensional.

This is the final version of my masthead.

So far so good

I quite enjoyed making my mood boards. Sounds weird because I don't actually really enjoy work at all?! I didn't think that the mood boards would help but I think the reason I enjoyed making them is because it gave me loads of ideas that I could use in my magazine. Especially for my photo shoot! I can't wait to get started. 

Mood Board 2: Alternative bands and solo artists

Mood Board 1: Alternative clothing and fashion shoot ideas

I think I just died

Just finished ALL of my textual analysis'. I now know for next time not to leave them all for last minute. That was awful. Horrible. Disgusting. I've learnt my lesson and that is to do at least one textual analysis every day!

Textual analysis- Front cover 5

Textual analysis of front cover- 5

This is also a very simplistic magazine layout. I really like the simple layout as it gives it a polished look and that's exactly what I'm going for. The image is showing the well-known alternative band 'Bombay Bicycle Club'. The band is dressed in young and fashionable clothing which could influence readers to dress in similar clothing. The main focus is on the lead singer Jack Steadmen because as we can see he is the only member in the foreground and in focus. This definitely shows the importance of each band member.
The colour scheme on the front cover is very simple as well, this co-ordinates with the simple layout. Most magazines have a lot going on e.g. cover lines, advertisements etc. But this one is kept very straight forward. I'd like to give my magazine that sort of affect because I feel it looks classy. The greyish background and the dull typography makes the image stand out even more. This is good because 'Bombay Bicycle Club' don't have much colour to them anyways. The grey background and their skin tone almost match. This connotes with them blending into the background and giving it an even more alternative edge. As their clothes don't have much colour in them anyways this gives it more of a sharpness. Most music magazines would have a crisp photograph of the model, but in this case there is one band member in focus and it isn't the most crisp of photos.
The headline 'Bombay Bicycle Club' the word 'Bombay' is slightly slanted up. This could connote with them rising in the charts, but I think by slanting it it's adding fun and interest to the topic rather than just having it straight and boring. This connotes with the type of music they make because it's different and upbeat.

Textual analysis- Front cover 4

Textual analysis of front cover- 4

Q is normally a very well-polished magazine. There is usually a lot going on but although it is packed with things to read it still manages to pull of 'clean', 'finished' look.
This image is of 'Noel Fielding' and it is a full body shot. He is wearing mostly dark colours such as greys, blacks and browns and this contrasts with the background which is a white washed colour. This makes the image stand out.
The plain background allows the image and the writing to stand out more, drawing in the readers attention. The kicker is used as an extra piece of information to influence the audience to buy it. The kicker is also a different colour from everything else, a washed out gold colour has been used to make it look unique and to almost make the reader seem interested.
The cover lines of his opinions are voiced on the speakers and could be used as a 'hook' to draw the reader into finding out more about what Noel has to say. It's ironic because it's drawing you in to 'listen' about what Noel has to say and this is presented on a speaker. This connotes as it is done in a smart way in which you wouldn't automatically think of the first time you see the magazine.
There is lots of different varieties of typography used on the front cover in order to intrigue the reader. Although there are lots of cover lines. They are all mostly in one place- on the right hand side going down the column. This is to inform their target audiences what is included within this publication. Like I said it is laid out very neatly and has a clear structure to it. Everything seems to look right where it is. There are very few colours used for the front cover: red, black and white seem to be the three main colours. The red is definitely the more striking colour out of all three because the 2 other colours seem to blend in better with the background, this makes the red stand out even more so.
With 'Q' magazine I love the fact that the 'Q' is always in the same place. It gives it a distinctive look about it, and like I said well-presented and polished.

Textual analysis- Front cover 3

Textual analysis of front cover- 3

Artrocker has a very simple lay out. It is not too messy but it doesn't really have much going on. 'The Horrors' are one band but they have used separate images for each band member. They consider themselves to be an edgy alternate band. The image is in greyscale and only of the band members heads. The use of greyscale could represent the 'retro' roots and influences the band claims to have. The image shows some stripy, pixilated graphics. The colour of the graphics matches the masthead and the cover all together has a main palette of pinks, greys, blacks and white. The way in which the front cover is different or alternative suggests that the target audience is roughly between 16-25- this is the type of audience I am aiming for as I mentioned it in my introduction and aims.
The main article is 'The Horrors- leaving behind the hair and living up to the hype.' The selling line beneath the headline is the selling point towards this article as it draws readers in and makes it seem more interesting. The typography is black which connotes simplicity and is bold. 
Near the top right hand corner of the magazine it mentions different music artists such as 'slow club' and 'Lethal Bizzle' who are varied in styles, but are still fitting in with the magazines image of being alternative. Along the top of the magazine in white are  different genres of what the magazine consists of, such as "Rock n Roll", "electro" and "indie" showing a varied range of tastes/ artists that indicates the kind of music fans are interested in the magazine and indicates to the reader weather they will like the magazine. It also gives a wider range towards the magazine as it is not narrowed down into one music category. 
The text in white- which connotes simplicity again and contrasts the black text- is echoed at the bottom of the cover. This is directing the more alternative audience with artists such as "Bombay Bicycle club" and "Nightmare Air". These sell lines would attract a reader who particularly likes those artists.
The thing I like most about Artrocker magazine is the simplicity of it. It may have taken a lot of effort to create and make it but it just looks so effortless, giving it a rough, careless look about it. I would love for my magazine to have those types of characteristics.

Textual analysis- Front cover 2

Textual analysis of front cover- 2

Rolling stone is a well established alternate rock magazine. Although the target audience for this magazine may be slightly older- twenties to mid forties. I would still like my magazine to have some qualities from this. My target audience is sixteen to mid-twenties, so I would have to make it more appealing for that age group.
The main image is of Robert Downey Jr. It is a photograph of his head down to his shoulders and takes up partially all the space. There are no other photos on this front cover which shows he is the main focus for this magazine. Robert Downey Jr. has his orange hood up in this image. The connotations of having a hood up are that of a 'bad' persona, as a hoodie is seen as the uniform of what a thug would wear. However his facial expression gives us a different impression. Instead of looking at the ground like a thug might do, he is looking straight ahead. He has a slight frown. This gives off the impression of innocents and counterbalances the thug attitude. This expression fits with the text 'To Hell and back with Robert Downey Jr.' This connotes that Robert Downey jr. has been through a hard time and the article has made him as the subject which will explain more about his journey 'to hell and back'.
The typography for this front cover gives it the very 'classic', 'old' look about it. The main title 'Rolling Stone' is in a bold script font. It is easily recognisable as the font for the rolling stone magazine, because they usually use the same font for every issue and this is what makes it iconic. Although there is a text box that is covering the masthead in the top right corner it doesn't matter because the Rolling Stone magazine is already well established and it does not need to show its whole name. The font used for the rest of the magazine matches the title as it still has that very 'classic', 'old' feel about it. Therefore this has connotations of being cultured and gives the impression it's a serious magazine containing well informed articles.
The colours used for the front cover for the background & texts are all very dull, boring colours. Black, grey and white. These colours could connotate masculinity and are definitely more serious colours. They definitely contrast to the bright orange hoodie that Robert Downey Jr. is wearing in the main picture, this makes him stand out more. Orange is usually a colour associated with prison which could link back to the article about him 'going to hell and back' which connotes that maybe he spent some time in prison.