Research and Planning: Completed college magazine and evaluation

The material featured in this college magazine is appropriate to the target audience. All of the images are of college students, this makes them relatable to the target audience (students) as they will notice the age of the subjects in each image are similar to their age. Also, every image is set in college, with the exception of the image of the college. These are all appropriate as they are college images for a college mgazine, as is required within this task. Another thing is the articles, all of which relate to the college or life at the college.

The layout of my front cover is typical of any magazine, including a college magazine. It has a large image in the centre as the centre of attention, a large, bold masthead at the top, of a strongly contrasting colour to the background. 

On the contents page, I created two columns, as is the case within the majority of magazines, although more columns are frequently used. I again placed the title at the top, bigger and bolder than the other text, with images either side of the page, and the main article centred at the bottom.

The front cover and contents page both have the largest text at the top of the page, as titles/mastheads commonly do have pride of place at the top, usually the largest feature but for an image. The next largest font on both page is the main article, because it is the main article, however, the descriptions about each article are in a different colour, as they are to develop interest in them, not to grab attention.

The smaller fonts around the pages for other articles then the main one all show that they are not the main article, but they are still there, there are enough to read through and create a sufficient amount of interest for someone to want to read on through the magazine.

The language used is of a simple nature, though not childish. Also, it is very informal, as it has to relate to a teenage audience, who wouldn't be interesting in reading a very complexly written article which seems to be too impersonal towards them. 

I created the magazine using only Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. The front cover was created entirely through adding each new feature on a new layer on Photoshop and positioning it after I had decided on the exact content, for example a cropped image being placed in the centre would be in a layer on its own. Using InDesign, the contents age was created. I had more difficulty with this software, as everything was done on one layer. I had to create a shape to add a background before completing the rest of the page, components like columns and the heading were straightforward enough though I had to use the "file' menu and 'place' for any images, with I then had a little difficulty cropping, often using the 'fit content to frame' option.

The illustrations all have a caption with them, each linking to the article they are about, most notably the contents page, with the article about the NUS where I have an image of the student president at the college. All images and captions are done in this manner.

My images, although all set within or around the college, are not very similar, each has a degree of individualism to it, meaning that it is obvious which article it relates to.

My images that had too much in the frame, like the one of the front cover, in the centre, needed cropping before it was enlarged to show it as the main article. On the other hand, on the contents page, a lot of images needed re-sizing to be smaller so that the could sit on the page next to the text which went with them.

The font sizes of the masthead and header are both larger than anything on the page, a typical magazine convention. However, smaller pieces of text do all have matching sizes, except from the main article about the NUS, with a slightly larger font.

The magazine has three main colours, black, green and white, as with most magazines, it has to keep to a house style. 

The contents page and front cover have an identical colour scheme, making it obvious which magazine they are both from. 

All photographs are very straightforward, yet feature all the content needed to relate them to the article they are related to.

The cover only has three stories, all of which are appropriate to a college magazine by being set at the college. However, many more stories are featured on the contents page, as is to be expected as a convention of any magazine.

I am happy with the way the magazine turned out, particularly the colour scheme which looks effective, though it isn't too complicated, which is a good thing. If the page looked too busy, it may look quite intimidating and seem too much to take in if it were read. 

I dislike the lack of effects I have on both pages, with the only real stand-out feature being the drop shadow I used on the masthead of the front cover. 

 If I were to go back I would definitely add more effects to the components within the magazine, particularly images on the front cover.