Student Magazine Evaluation

Student Magazine Evaluation
I am overall very happy with my student magazine, as it was my first time creating something truly challenging on Photoshop, whereas before I had only really messed around with photos and images, so I am particularly proud of how much I have progressed since.

One of the most obvious uses of conventional media that my front cover used was the slight tilt on the masthead and puff on the top of the page; this makes the magazine seem more casual. It also has the usual features of a magazine; the puff, the plugs, the masthead and the Bar code in the bottom right corner. What I have done that is different is put the headline over the feature photo’s face, which is not repeated in other magazines and was a mistake on my part. I also haven’t paid much attention to left and right profiling.

The fonts used on the front cover are very urban and bold, suggesting the same of the character in the feature photo. He is also blurred in the picture, suggesting that he is secretive or has something to hide. In addition, the graffiti on the wall is also blurred, suggesting it is something to do with him. The picture is also slightly tilted upwards so that he is standing over the audience, making him seem intimidating.

This magazine would not be widely distributed across the country, neither would any big publishing firm wish to publish it, as it is based purely around the one school, and it would usually be published by the school, for the school. Moreover, the audience would not be nationwide, as people halfway across the country would be uninterested in the goings on of a far away school. Consequently, the audience would mainly be sixth formers, “hence the name 6th” and possibly a few parents. The font is very bold and bright, which would catch people’s eye, and the large headline revealing the person in the feature article would make people instantly recognise it.

Before making the student magazine, I was fairly unconfident in making font look punchy and effective, usually only being able to create effective texts by using tutorials that took ages. Now, I use the “blending options” tab to greatly increase the look of my headlines and plugs. I will from now on, remember to place my Headlines lower down on the page, and not in front of the feature photo’s head, and I will make my magazine front covers look more professional, rather than so colourful and bright as it is now.