Evaluation of my magazine

In this final post I am going to evaluate my final copy of my magazine front cover and my draft of my contents page. I started by LIIAR analysing two examples of college magazines, these where the East Riding College Magazine and the Grimsby Institute magazine. This then helped me what devices and other features I needed to include into my magazine. After this I began to come up with my initial ideas for my magazine.I did a LIIAR analysis of what I needed to include in my magazine. I decided what media Language, Institution, Ideology, Audience and who the magazine would represent. Whilst doing this I contained all the conventions I needed to to make my magazine look proffessional and sophisticated. I then took images around the college of what I believe was going to work for my magazine front cover. I took several images and then posted them onto my blogger and annotated each image. I then put my final ideas onto blogger, and created a draft copy on desktop publisher of my front cover of my magazine. After this I began to use photoshop to create my magazine front cover. I then created a mock-up of my contents page, to add on to my blogger. Now I am going to evaluate my magazine front cover using the LIIAR device.
Placed on my magzine front cover I have used the following techniques for my media language. On my front page I have used constant housestyles such as the same colours. I decided to use the colour schemes of blue green and a pale yellow for the background. I decided to use these colours as they connect well together, and with the writing been blue and green, as it stands off the background. I decided to choose the masthead Wyke Life because it relates to the college and it shows to the audience that it could be about Life at Wyke. The image I also used on my front cover as my main image is of a girl holding a NUS card. This image is my main image as it is a medium close-up shot. This image works well with my main headline which is NUS "Have you got yours?". I decided to choose this as my main talking point as it is aimed at everyone. In my initial ideas my target audience was to both male and female, so this then makes it attract to everyone. I also added 3 other images with 3 other sub feature headings. I added these on to attract people to see what the content would be inside. My fonts I have used have kept consistant throughout, which shows that the magazine has a proffesional look. I have also contained other features such as a price an issue number and a barcode. The institution for my magazine was Wyke college this is the publisher of the magazine and this could also be Wyke Life. The Ideology of the magzine is aimed at students of the college, I said in my initial ideas it should be aimed at males and females. I believe my magazine is good for aiming at both male and females. The meaning of this magazine is topics that are associated in college. The Audience of the magazine is male and female students. The representation of the magazine was to put across that the college has high expectation. To support this I have shown a slogan of Study to Succeed.
If I had to re-do the magazine I would change the layout of the magazine because I believe the front page is to crowded and is not as appealing as it could have been. I would re-think this because this is a vital elemt in my magazine.

Draft of contents page

Here is my contents page, I created in the same format and layout as my front page copy of my magazine. I will be evaluating this also in my evaluation.

Analysis of two college magazine contents pages (Grimsby Institute magazine)

Again I am going to analyse the Grimsby Institute magazine but this time looking at the contents page to see if this can help me make my magazine look better. Here is a link to the college magazine: http://www.grimsby.ac.uk/documents/GX_mag/GX1.pdf
From reviewing this contents page it shows to me that they have kept a constant style from the front cover to the contents page. The creator of this magazine, has really put a lot of effort in to this page and thought about key devices. They have used the same colours at the bottom of the magazine, but made the border around the contents page pink, which makes it stand out from the rest of the page. They have used bold colours to make the headlines stand out and just a simple black colour for the page numbers to stand out. They have used images what are related to the stories on the side and connect well with one another. I like the text at the bottom about the magazines content and who it is aimed at, as some magazines like that what you buy. The only thing I don't like about the contents page is the image at the top of the contents page behind the writing. This is because you can only see half of the image because it is blocked by the writing.

Analysis of two college magazine contents pages (East Riding College)

Now I have finished my magazine, I have to produce a draft layout of my contents page. For this I am going to analyse the two college magazines I used before for my research to see if they kept there layouts and design to a similar content. This will then help me to design a layout for my contents page and see which key features I should keep the same.
Here I have included a link for the magazine which I am reviewing: http://www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk/retrieve/d2343bc1358b3983a89d916f6a988935

From looking at this college magazine produced for the East Riding college I can see that they have kept a similar format and consistency to there magazine. The producer of the magazine has decided to use again black and white, which is the same as they used on there front page. This again shows a sophisticated look on the magazine. They also used a constant house style with their font as well showing again a consistent look throughout. I believe the person who created this magazine rushed the contents page because there are a lot of pictures just added in around the edging of the text. This tells me that they have just placed pictures there to fill any empty spaces that was left on there contents page. To improve this they could have added in snippets of information what was going to appear in each story. However, I like the green block on the page as it helps the writing stand out and looking through the rest of the magazine this seems to be a constant format.

My Magazine Final Copy

This is my final copy of my magazine. I have used photoshop to create this magazine and will evaluate this in my evaluation once I have created a draft copy of my contents page.

My Final Ideas

I am now going to show what my final features are to add to my magazine.
The masthead of the magazine is going to be- Wyke Life and the slogan underneath is going to be called "Study to Succeed".
My main headline is going to be- "NUS- have you got yours?"
The feature sub headlines are going to be- "Healthier Wyke", "Top Tips to study for exams", and "How the library can help you learn more".
The colours I am going to use are- Blue, green and a pale yellow background.
The font I will be using is- Monotype Corsiva for the headlines and sub feature headlines and for my masthead the font is going to be- Bradley Hand ITC .
I will then be using the four photos I selected out of my pictures to place on to my magazine front cover.

Final Design layout

This is a rough layout of my final design. It includes all the key features I am going to include in my final copy of my magazine front cover.

Images taken for magazine

I took several images around the college to place on my magazine front cover. I chose to take images that would help realate to my text on the front page also. This then helps the reader to relate to the story more as there is a illustration with the text.
I decided to take this image because it is going to be used for my sub feature heading of "Top Tips to study for exams". I believe this was the best one to use for his heading.

This image I took is going to be for my main medium close-up shot. This picture I believe is the best one to use because it is clear, and you can see the NUS card in the females hand, which realtes to my main story headline of "NUS have you got yours?"


This image was going to be my medium close up-shot but the lighting on the females face is dark, and isn't really clear.







I have decided to use this image for my sub feature headline of "Healthier Wyke". I believe this is a good image to use as it shows the actual content of what my article would be about. It shows what is contained inside of the vending machine and shows whether that they should be a more healthier Wyke, and again supports my headline.







I have decided not to use this image as it is to close up and dosen't really work well with my magazine.

I have decided to use this image for my sub heading of "How the library can help you learn more". This shows both a male and female stood outside the library. It shows them also holding folders as though they are keen to learn. This also will appeal to my target audience as the magazine is aimed at both male and female.

These two images I decided not to use because they didnt really relate to any of my headings. I believe they wasn't taken aswell and my other images were better. 

Intial Ideas for my magazine front cover (Institution, Ideology, Audience and Represntation)

Now I am going to discuss my Institution, Ideology, Audience and Representation, of my magazine front page. The institution of my magazine will be Wyke College and the name of the magazine which is Wyke life. The ideology of my magazine is getting the meaning of this is a good college with the right to learn. With the slogan under the title as "Study to Succeed". I believe with all of my images and text that Wyke College will come across as a great place to study and to have a future career. I believe my magazine will also show how it can connect with the students by putting information in different issues of the magazine. My audience is students at the college and with the characteristics and devices I have used, I believe it will attract my target audience of both males and females to purchase the magazine. And finally my representation of my magazine is to show that the college is a place of work, and at the same time is a great place to be.

Initial Ideas for my magazine front cover (Media Language)

Now I have reviewed two other college magazines I have now began thinking up some ideas for my magazine front cover. I am going to talk about what I am going to include and then once this is finished create draft layout designs for my final copy of my college magazine.
For my magazine drafts I am going to keep a constant house style, by this I mean I am going to use three basic colours which will be blue, green, and a pale yellow for the background. I think these will work because I think they will blend well together. From looking at the magazines I reviewed and using LIIAR on them and also looking at other college magazines, I know that only using a few basic colours make the magazine look more professional. I will always use the same font (apart from the masthead) so that again it looks professional and that there isn't too much writing all with different styles, so it becomes difficult to read. I have decided to call my masthead Wyke Life. I believe this is a good masthead title because it incorporates the college name and it also gives the impression that in the magazine it would tell you what life is like at Wyke. I have also decided to give a slogan underneath the title which will be "Study to succeed". I believe this is good to add to my magazine because it shows the audience that people go to Wyke to study and earn qualifications from there.
Included in my media language I am going to have a main headline which will be "NUS- have you got yours?". With this I am going to include a picture of a girl holding an NUS card. This will be my main image of a medium close-up shot.  I believe this is the best topic to place as my main feature because it can involve all students in the college and would hopefully persuade people to purchase the magazine. It would also agree that I am aiming the magazine at both make and females. I am then going to include smaller pieces of anchorage. These will be indicating what else is inside of the magazine, and matters that people are interested in throughout the college. The smaller features I  have come up with and I'm going to place on my layouts are "Top tips to study for exams","Healthier Wyke?" and "How the library can help you learn more". I have decided to choose these to place as my smaller features because I think they may interest the students of the college to see what else is published inside the magazine. With these smaller features, images will be illustrating the text to make the audience (students) understand the story more. For example, I have decided to take an image of a boy and a girl student showing them holding books outside the library showing the title "How the library can help you learn more". I am going to also include the cost of the magazine, which will be £1.50 I believe this is a reasonable price that students will be willing to pay once a month, when each issue is published. I will also include the issue number and a bar code. For a final feature to add to my magazine I will add a banner style bubble on my magazine which will contain a promotion what will appear in my magazine. This is then another device to attract the students to buy the magazine.

LIIAR analysis of two college magazines (Grimsby Institute)

In  this post I am going to analyse another example of a college magazine. Like my previous post I am going to use LIIAR to help me do this, and see if this helps me to identify what I could place on my front page to make it look more appealing. This example is the Grimsby Institute of further and higher education. Here is a link to see the college magazine http://www.grimsby.ac.uk/documents/GX_mag/GX1.pdf

L- This magazine contains a lot of media language. The masthead of the magazine doesn't really relate to the college. However it still fits in with the type of magazine it is trying to portray. The magazines main image isn't a real photograph but is a cartoon like image. The style of the magazine is trying to create a look that is cool and be attractive to students who are interested in this kind of imagery. The magazine shows me that the boy and girl which is in the cartoon style are cool and stylish, meaning that the magazine is only aimed at these types of people. On the boys t-shirt it shows the logo of the college. There is also lots of text on this front page of what content is going to be included inside. This text really stands out off the background as well. I believe from reading the anchorage on the front cover that it will relate to topics that are real life and could possibly effect or have effected students in the past. On one of the pieces of text it talks about "booze, drugs and life", this shows an example of a possible real life topic. There is also two real images used on the front cover, and the background and the text colours all connect with each other and only a few colours have been used so that it doesn't look overpowering but still effective.
I- The institution of the magazine is Grimsby Institution. Like the previous magazine it doesn't really say to much about the college. However, at the bottom of the page there is a black logo. This could be the college logo, as it is a G but in the shape of someone weightlifting. This shows me that the college is hard work and the message that your there to learn.
I- The ideology of this magazine is trying to put a message across to the students that it is fun but still hardworking as of the college logo that I have previously mentioned.
A- The audience of this magazine is the students who attend the college. The magazine I believe will attract students. As me been a student myself it draws me in and makes me feel that I want to read more. It relates to its target audience also as the images used and the way they are used appeal to teenagers.
R-  The representation of the magazine shows that the college is hardworking and serious about studying at college but it also represents how fun it can be and how it can relate to students in this way.

LIIAR analysis of two college magazines (East Riding magazine)

I now have to use LIIAR to analyse two other example of college magazines. This way I can review what others add in to there magazine to make it appealing. My first example is a magazine made for East riding college. Here there is a link to the magazine: http://www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk/retrieve/d2343bc1358b3983a89d916f6a988935 I will now use LIIAR to explain how they have used LIIAR and how effectively they have used it to create there magazine.

L- The language of this magazine shows that there is a clear masthead which stands out from the black background. This shows that the creator of this magazine has thought that using colours to stand out will be attractive and catch the eye of the readers. I know that the masthead relates to the magazine also because its talking about students. The colour of the font on all the other pieces of text including the masthead has been a constant house style. This then is also good because lots of colour hasn't been used making it look to overpowering. I believe the image doesn't really relate to the college itself, although it shows that it is college trip they have visited to. On the magazine a sub heading shows that they went to Berlin and this was an image that was taken there. Even though it does relate to the college, I still think that a better image could have been used. By reviewing this magazine on the language aspect I know that I have to use an image that people can connect to, but I have also learnt that I should only use 2 or three colours at the most so that it is clear to read.

I- The institution of the magazine I am looking at is East Riding college, this shows me that this is the publisher of the magazine in this case. This doesn't really tell me much about the college. But been its own publisher it may then want to show the reader that they want to be represented as a good college not a relaxed one and the right to learn there.

I- The ideology of this magazine shows the meaning of the magazine. In this case it shows that when you study at this college there maybe trips involved. This then comes across that the college offers trips abroad to connect with studying, showing that it is not all textbook work and using other methods of teaching is used.
A- The audience of this magazine is the students who attend the East Riding college. This therefore means that the magazine is aimed at the people who go there, the image that is used on the front cover of this magazine shows the kind of things that happen as a student at this particular college.
R- The representation of this magazine shows that college life is fun, as one piece of anchorage says "media students in Berlin", this shows that going to this magazine could be good to go to because as well as studying there are trips involved. This shows to the reader that college life isn't always dull. The text at the bottom also represents that the college is also a good studying place as it portrays there is anti-bullying policy at the college.

LIIAR interpretation of the brief

For this part of the task I am going to outline the brief using the LIIAR format. LIIAR represents Language, Institution, Ideology, Audience, Representation. In all magazines we can identify features using LIIAR. So for my college magazine I am going to use the following features:

• Language- In this section I must include a masthead, as this is what the title of the magazine is. I have to include this in a suitable layout and I must also include a medium close up image. This is because this will attract the audience and has to be eye catching. This will then engage the audience to read the magazine. This image will also be the main part of the magazine and show what the magazine will be about. I will also include text on the front cover to see what is going to be included inside.
• Institution- This is what my magazine will be based on, the main institution of the magazine will be Wyke College. It is Wyke college as this is what my magazine will be about. The institution of other magazines could be by the publisher of the magazine.
• Ideology- In this part it should include who I am informing with information. This is important as we need to know who the magazine should be aimed at. In my case it will be college students because it is a college magazine. This then means I have to include features that will attract this audience range to my magazine. My intention of the magazine is to show that everyone in the college can be involved in things involved within the college.
• Audience- My audience as I have previously said is college students in Wyke. I am aiming my magazine at both male and female students as it is a wide variety of choice of people who I can aim it at.
• Representation- I have to include key information and relate this to what would be in the rest of my magazine. I have to include information that students would be interested in, in involving the college. I need to create this still looking in a professional format that a normal layout of a magazine would contain.

Outlining the brief

For this task I have to produce the front page and including a contents page of a new college magazine. When doing this task I have to include a photograph of a student in medium close up, this will be my main image of the front cover. I also have to place some text on their and a masthead. I have to create this by using Publisher and photoshop. By using this I can edit my images and make them look unique. For my contents page I have to produce a mock up layout, to demonstrate what it would look like and that I can use Publisher effectively.