Mark Sheet 3

Analysis of School Magazine Front Covers

I looked at some school magazine front covers to get an idea of what I should do on my magazine in order for it to be successful and evaluate how effective other covers are.

I feel that this cover is quite successful, as, while the girl's face is just off a hotspot, the picture of her is the most prominent feature of the cover and that draws attention to the upper left hotspot towards the masthead and strapline. The colour scheme is inconsistent at the bottom where there is yellow text, which doesn't help to complement the green text above or the picture at the bottom of the cover, where a parent is wearing orange, as all 3 colours seem to clash with one another.

This cover looks well produced and thought out, but has some areas for improvement. The student visibly has his top button undone and a badge on his tie, which makes him look messy, which, in turn makes the school seem messy. Additionally, the text is difficult to read in some places due to the colour of the background. The straplines are laid out clearly but the way they are laid out, one beneath the last, makes them feel like a list. The strapline layout does however complement the arrangement of the image (despite the colour issues making them difficult to read in places).

Mark Sheet 2

Mark Sheet 1

First mark sheet.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and The Uses and Gratifications Theory

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

In the pre-production tasks, I looked at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as one way of seeing what needs to be considered in creating a magazine.

The pyramid reads from bottom to top with the most basic needs at the bottom.

Physiological and Safety needs - cannot be covered by magazines.

Love/Belonging - Is accomplished in magazines by giving exclusive information and gifts, which makes the reader feel like they belong in a group by getting a certain magazine.

Esteem - Often covered in magazines by having one or a combination of things, which may include stories that make celebrities seem more like an average person (gossip magazines may use this), or by giving advice to readers to help further themselves at something (used in hobby magazines).

Self-Actualisation - Some magazines accomplish this simply by helping people further themselves at something, such as learning to play an instrument.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory

The uses and gratifications theory uses 4 areas that people desire to see what else needs to be considered in the production of a magazine

Diversion - An escape from everyday life and it's problems. 
Personal Identity - How a person sees themselves and their views and beliefs. 
Personal Relationships - Feeling as if they are part of a group. This is similar to the love/belonging part of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Surveillance - A need to know what is happening in the world around a person.

Pre-Production of School Magazine

Before I created my front cover and contents page, I looked at various magazines (including "Vibe", "NME", "Q" and "Guitarist") to find conventions I could apply to my school magazine in order to make it more appealing to the chosen audience.

Masthead - Usually appears at the top of a page in a font that readers can associate with the magazine.

Strapline - Usually appears above the masthead and describes the magazine (usually using a superlative such as Britain's No. 1 Music magazine). It may also advertise free gifts and exclusives (i.e CDs specific to the magazine).

Feature Photo - This is a photo that usually takes up most of the cover. It is usually related to the main article of that particular issue of the magazine (i.e. in music magazines it will relate to the artist of the main article).

14th November, 2013 - School Magazine Plan

On Word I made a simple document to show the overall layout of the front cover of my school magazine.