College Magazine Evaluation

Hannah Chase

Front CoverIdentifier

Lead Image

Essential Information

Strap Line

Masthead

Lead Line

Cover Lines

Banner

What Works?I think my identifier and mast head work really well because the ‘E’ which is the identifier stands out from the rest of the masthead as it is a different colour and slightly bigger .

Another thing that I think works is the image because he is just really casual and laughing which is really natural looking. The fact that he is laughing is like my story and lead line.

I also think that my colour scheme works really well because it is simple but still works and has a sort of classy feel about it. All of the font colours used stand out from the background and are quite easy to read.

What Doesn’t Work?One of the things which I think doesn’t work is the competitions colour of writing because it doesn’t clearly stand out from the picture.

Another thing that I think doesn’t work is that there is quite a lot of blank space. But it does keep the cover looking simple which is what I wanted.

I think that the barcode doesn’t work that well because of the date bit. If it had all been in line then I think that the barcode would of look more aesthetically pleasing.

What Was Difficult?

One of the most difficult things was deciding on the placement of the writing because I wanted to follow the rule of thirds and also because I didn’t want to cover the image to much. Another thing that was quite difficult was deciding on a strap line because I didn’t want it to be cheesy or corny but I wanted it to be catchy. I also found deciding on the colour scheme difficult because I didn’t want it to look to much and be overpowering, I wanted the magazine to still look quite sophisticated and appealing.

What Was Easy?What I found easiest was deciding how much I wanted on my front cover, I knew that I didn’t want to much on it because I wanted it to be simple and clean. I didn’t want it to be a magazine that was screaming for attention by being overly colourful and having loads on it, I wanted it to be eye catching because of the image and actual content. I also found choosing my masthead and identifier’s font easy because that kind of font is often associated with colleges. When deciding how I wanted them to be I knew that I wanted the identifier to be a slightly different colour to the rest of the masthead because that way it would stand out and be easily recognisable. The other thing that I found easy was choosing my image as I knew that I wanted it to be natural not a pose. I wanted it to be a laughing/smiling picture because it fits the lead story. Another thing I found easy was deciding that I wanted my magazine to be free as it was a college one and most students wouldn’t want to have to pay for it.

Contents PageIdentifier

Features

Page Numbers

Image

Image

Regulars

What Works?I think that the page numbers used work because they are the same font as the identifier and stand out from the background.

The identifier works well because it’s something you would see and think of the magazine. It’s easily recognisable and stands out from the background.

I think that the colour scheme also works really well on the contents page. Because it is just two colours that compliment each other and make each other stand out. They look sophisticated and simple.

What Doesn’t Work?

I think that this picture doesn’t work to well because it looks like the people in it are kind of floating or like they aren’t meant to be there.

I think that the amount of regulars may become confusing because they are placed quite close together and the page numbers could become easily confused.

I’m not sure whether this font works because it is close together and could be hard to read. Also it is all in capitals so could seem like the magazine is screaming at the reader.

What Was Difficult?

What I found most difficult with the contents page was deciding that the content would be, what would be classed as features and what would be classed as regulars because I wanted it to be an interesting magazine all of the time not just have a lot of one offs. Another thing that I found difficult was choosing the images to be used because I wanted them to be of multiple people not of one person. The other thing I found difficult was deciding where everything was going to go because I wanted the layout to be clean and simple just like the cover.

What Was Easy?What I found easiest was choosing the colour scheme because I used the same colour as the front covers background for the writing and for the top part of the contents page. I then found a colour which complimented and contrasted with that colour to make everything stand out. I also chose this colour scheme because it is so similar to the front cover that it shows they are a pat of the same magazine, I didn’t want the cover one colour and the contents page another. Another thing I found easy was deciding that I wanted the identifier to be the first thing you look at. I also found deciding that I wanted a split colour page easy because it made the page look more interesting and made the writing easier to read.

What Have I Learnt?

If I had all the money in the world, what would I change?

Are there any magazines I can compare it to?

I have learnt about placement of writing and how important it is. I have also learnt how to use photoshop

better and how to make everything look clean and simple.

I would make the front cover look a little more professional. I would also have more features.

I could compare it to Q magazine as that it also quite simple or vogue because they don’t have a lot on the cover.