I HAVE ANALYSED A STUDENT’S EXISTING MAGAZINE COVER AND SUMMARISED THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AS WELL AS DECIDING WHAT IDEAS I WILL TAKE

FROM IT.

Student Analysis

There isn’t many weaknesses of this front cover but one thing I would point out is that the picture doesn’t look very professional as she looks vulnerable and child like when it is meant to be a rebellious styled magazine.

This is a top mark magazine cover. They’ve used a red, black, white and grey colour scheme; these are very plain and basic colours but they look effective with the large center image as it makes it stand out. It also makes the writing on the front cover clearer and easier to read. This student has used most of the typical conventions of a R&B style magazine including the large, bold title, rebellious language (bad, mad, apocalypse etc.), prize giveaways and the date and bar code. The front cover is well structured and follows the typical layout of a magazine.

There aren’t, again, many weaknesses as this is a top band project but if I had to point something out it would be the top right hand corner of the page, this looks unprofessional and not very attractive the way they’ve set it out.

The contents page follows the same colour scheme which shows that the student has decided to choose a house style. The images are professional looking and show the inside of the magazine along with quotes from interviews to attract the audience. Also, The titles ‘features’ and ‘monthly treats’ show the reader exactly where to look along with the large, bold page numbers. The images on this page are a major strength to the contents page as they stand out and make the page look professional.

Again, there are next to no weaknesses on this page as it is a top band double page spread but if I had to choose something, it would again be the professionalism of the images. She still looks vulnerable and typically the picture used for an interview is quite fun and spontaneous whereas this is just plain.

I think that this is the strongest and most professional page that the students have made. The title of the page is a major strength as it looks professional and really fits the genre and magazine conventions. Again, they have stuck to the house style of red, grey and black and have used the title of the magazine at the top. The font of the title is fun and again, rebellious, the exact sort of theme I believe they were going for. They have used pull quotes to lure the readers in and making them want to read more and also the layout of the interview looks professional. Having a page just for images seems to be a typical convention of a magazine double page spread.

Ideas I will use in my own magazine

I like the idea of the large center image on the front cover – I will use this on my own front cover to attract the readers.

Also, from the front cover, I like the use of words that match the attitude of the readers, for example ‘bad’ and ‘mad’ attracts a rebellious audience.

Looking at the contents page, I like the idea of the various images with quotes from the magazine attached – I think that the images interest the reader and the quotes pull them in.

Finally, I like the idea of the full page of images on the double page spread along with the layout of the text and the fun and again, attitude linked font for the title.