Evaluation

The name of my magazine is ‘Wyke College’ with the slogan being ‘The Fun Starts Here’. Featured on the front of my magazine are a group of people enjoying themselves and having fun. This relates back to the slogan (‘The Fun Starts Here’) and shows that college isn’t all about work and can be fun too. This also shows that no where else will provide you with the same level and amount of entertainment as this college and magazine will. Shown in the picture are three girls and one boy smiling and enjoying themselves which connotates that college is for everyone and that everyone can be friends together no matter what their gender.

The cover line to link with the picture and main feature is ‘Children of the Revolution’ and features an article about the views of first year students and their thoughts about their first half term in the college. ‘Children of the Revolution’ connotates that despite the stereotype, the youth of today is not all drugs and violence and the majority of teenagers are friendly and not looking for trouble which is what I have shown on my front cover. This cover line title is also a song which will relate to the target audience, college students, as most are majorly interested in music and bands. As the front cover and image is the first thing buyers will see, it will give the readers a clear indication that Wyke College is full of outgoing people who are always up for a laugh. I have placed my main cover line at the top of the page as it will be the first thing people look at, whereas if it was at the bottom it wouldn’t be noticed as much, and contributes further to the idea that the college is filled with welcoming people. Other cover lines include Chlamydia and EMA related one’s titled ‘Sexually Active?’ and ‘Do YOU get EMA?’. As both cover lines are questions this makes the reader stop and think, drawing them in and possibly urging them to read on and find out what the articles are about. The cover lines also relate to the target audience (students of the college) as most are sexually active and will benefit from a Chlamydia screening and most also get EMA so the article about helping make sure the students never miss a payment is sure to make them want to read on more and purchase the magazine. The fourth cover line I used was titled ‘BOO!’, in relation to the Halloween party approaching. This relates to students as a main aspect in their lives at the moment, along side music, are parties and socialising. As the title is short, upper case and uses an exclamation point this automatically draws the reader in, despite being at the bottom of the page.

Contributing further to help draw in the readers is the use of capital letters to emphasise who the article is aiming at. The use of ‘you’ in capitals, used in the cover line ‘Do YOU get EMA?’, makes the reader feel singled out and important as though the magazine has been written for them only.

The text used on my magazine is bright and bold, the font being clear to read and also matching the colour scheme of the college logo and title. The only cover line which does not match to this is the halloween related one, as it is orange, which, because is placed at the bottom of the page, helps it stand out more and gives the students recognition of the cover line despite it's position.

The Selling line ‘The North East’s most successful college magazine’ is used to make the reader feel urged to buy it as they will feel that most people have already purchased it and enjoyed it. This will make the reader feel obliged to purchase it as students hate to feel left out and love to be on top of everything going on and up-to-date with the current trends and interests.

Also featured on my magazine front cover are typical college magazine conventions; the price, issue date, the college’s website and a barcode. The website is included to help the students get more information about the college and the magazine if needed.

Overall I believe my magazine, completed on DTP (desktop publisher) turned out well, targeting the audience successfully and portraying a realistic stereotype of the youth of today without giving the connotation of college being boring and consisting of work only.
However, if i were to produce my magazine again, i would possibly change the magazine name to something other than the name of the college and ensure that i timed myself more productively as some tasks were rushed due to the lack of time and therefore i do not feel as though some of the planning was up to the correct standard. Still, despite the lack of time i believe all tasks carried out where completed to an acceptable standard and therefore I am satisfied with the final production. Therefore for the music magazine and main task i will ensure that all work and planning is completed before the final due date to make sure i am completly satisfied with the final product and all planning work.
The production of the magazine cover was simple and therefore i felt comftable producing the final product, other than if I has completed it in another way, Adobe Photoshop, for example.