Evaluation

Evaluation 

I really enjoyed doing this task and I learnt many things while doing it. The only part I didn’t enjoy was using the computer software and the IMAC’s because they're very technical and hard to use. I now still don’t know how to use them properly but I can kind of use them as I have had help from others. Another part I didn’t enjoy was the fact that we had to do a student magazine. I did not know what to include on the front cover and contents page as there are not a lot of student magazines that already exist but in the end I did and I am pleased with my result.

One thing I learnt was how to use Blogger and this was very interesting because it is a way to present your work electronically. Blogger is also very good because it is a way to make your work look pretty and you can edit the colours and fonts of your blog to make it look aesthetically pleasing. Blogger can sometimes be very confusing though but once you actually know how to use it then you can get the hang of it and actually create your blog. 

Another reason why I liked doing this task is the fact that I had independence. I like the fact that I was able to create my own blog and make it how I wanted it to be. I also liked how we could create a magazine cover and contents page as I like magazines myself and to create one was really enjoyable.

I like my finished front cover and contents page. They both have the same colour scheme and similar pictures as I made it key for them to have the same house style. I used red, black, white and grey because they went well with the Highdown logo. The title of my magazine is ‘Get that grade!’. I purposely didn’t include a price on my magazine front cover as i’ve made it free and usually on free magazines you don’t put free you just leave it and make it available to everyone who wants a copy. 

What I think I could’ve improved on is I could’ve included more information on my front cover. I could’ve included more information on my contents page too. I could’ve included better pictures as well. Overall I am quite pleased with my magazine. I should’ve put more pictures and more information though and I could’ve filled up some of the spaces but it is okay. 

Finished front cover and contents page

Construction examples: Contents page

Construction examples: Front cover

Picture Practice

Information to do with my Mock Ups

Mock ups

I chose the layout for my front cover because I thought it was a very clear layout. The school name and logo are at the top of the page to show what school the magazine is from. The main title is underneath to show the magazine name and what it is to do with. Underneath is a picture about the main story and information about it surrounding the picture. Underneath that picture is a caption about the picture. In the bottom left hand corner is the date. Next to that is a box that says ‘Read full story inside’. I chose to include this because it draws attention to the magazine and gets the audience to read it. Next to this is a picture to do with the story that is inside. Underneath this picture is a caption explaining what page the story is on. The caption will not include too much information because that would give the story away. 

I chose the layout for my contents page because it is very clear and shows people where to go within the magazine. At the top of the page is a title saying ‘Contents’. Next to this is the school logo, I chose to put the logo again just to improve the aesthetics and to show what school the magazine is to do with. Underneath this are boxes saying page 1, page 2 etc. Next to the pages are boxes that have brief introductions to what is on the pages. At the bottom of the page will be pictures to do with some of the stories on these pages. 

Mock ups of my front cover and contents page

Front cover and Contents page draft

Research of student magazines already in the market

Research of student magazines already in the market

Student magazines already in the market

There are many magazines that are in the market but not many student magazines are to do with education. However there are a lot of teen magazines that are in the market, they just offer other things instead of education. For example Teen Vogue offers fashion tips, makeup tips and other things. But on this particular front cover they do have a section on Prom and this is a topic that is to do with school. 

Magazine Questionnaire Analysis

Magazine Questionnaire Analysis 

For my questionnaire i did a total of ten questions. Each question had a total of four answers that people could choose from, except question nine but that is because of the type of question. The question is ‘What gender are you?’ and i could only give a possible three answers which are Male, Female and Other. I chose to put in an other option just incase people are transgender or something similar to this. I asked a total of twenty people. 

For the following questions these are the answers that i got from my questionnaire: 

The answers with asterisk's next to them are the top answer: 

1. How old are you?

10 - 13  - One person chose this.    

14 - 17  - Thirteen people chose this.* 

18 - 21 - Four people chose this.      

21+ - Two people chose this. 

2. How much are you willing to pay for a magazine?

50p - £1.00 - No one chose this.     

£1.50 - £2.00 - Six people chose this.

£2.50 - £3.00 - Ten people chose this.*

£3.00+ - Four people chose this.

3. What makes you buy a magazine? 

3. What makes you buy a magazine? 

The front cover - Ten people chose this.*

The information - Two people chose this.

The fact that it might help you personally (offers advice) - Three people chose this.

The freebies - Five people chose this.

4. Why do you buy magazines? 

For the freebies - Seven people chose this.

For pleasure - Ten people chose this.*

For education - No one chose this.

For personal help - Three people chose this.

5. What do you dislike about magazines? 

The expensive prices - Eight people chose this.*

The celebrities - Five people chose this.

Too much information - Four people chose this. 

Some inappropriate pictures - Three people chose this.

6. What is your favourite part about a magazine? 

The front cover - Five people chose this.     

The fashion/makeup tips - Six people chose this.*    

Sports - Four people chose this.     

The information - Four people chose this. 

7. What type of magazines do you usually buy?

Fashion - Seven people chose this.* 

Sports - Six people chose this. 

Gossip - Five people chose this. 

Education - Two people chose this.

8. How often do you read magazines? 

Daily - One person chose this  

Weekly - Two people chose this.  

Monthly - Ten people chose this.* 

Hardly ever - Seven people chose this.

9. What gender are you? 

Male - Seven people chose this.

Female - Thirteen people chose this.*  

Other - No one chose this.  

10. What do you think a student magazine is for? 

Gossip - No one chose this.  

Help with personal issues (offers advice) - Six people chose this.

Education - Seven people chose this.*

School announcements - Seven people chose this.*