Magazine cover Evaluation - Preliminary Task

Preliminary task College Magazine front cover

Evaluation questions

My media product is a magazine front cover, which usually have conventions such as a mast head, plug, header, footer, barcode, feature stories, and a main image. I have took this into consideration when creating my cover such as my main image had to be near enough centre so that I could fit feature stories around the sides of the cover. The barcode of real magazine covers is usually on the bottom right hand corner, which is where mines placed. I did this to mimic the professional look and make my cover look real. I did the same with the footer and mast head.

With my magazine cover I haven't really isolated a social group in my media product. The main image is of a girl holding a folder, and my feature stories can be related to by both male and females, or all social groups. I wanted to leave it open to all social groups because there seems to always be some sort of divide between them in colleges and I think the one way to bring them all together would be a college magazine, so that one or a few didn't feel completely left out. As a college we should be including everyone and not focusing the magazine on a certain group.

My audience would be college students aged 16 to 18.

I attracted my audience by putting the colours of text on my magazine cover the same as the college. This way they'll feel like it's familiar and not too much like its a new thing. I also put a student on the cover to make them feel equal to them, if I put a super model on the cover they'd feel beneath them. I have addressed them by putting the feature stories ones that they can relate to and find helpful and informative. By putting about study periods and fresher's party I am able to connect with them because they know and have heard about them things.

During this task I have learnt how to use photoshop properly. I have learnt how to use layers to change things and how to change text and font colours. I have also used how to constuct an appropriate front cover image by using composition and chosing the right background.

Looking back on my perfume task, now I think I have learnt how to construct a better looking product. My magazine cover looks professional and sophisticated where as my perfume advert looks like a student has done it. I now understand properly how to use conventions to construct a professional looking product.

If I was to do this task again I would try to make sure I had all the conventions in there instead of missing out a header. I think putting a header on my cover would of made it look even more professional however I couldn't of moved my mast head down any more to fit one it. To do this I would of had to go futher back when taking the image to make more room between my subject's head and the top of the image, this way I could of fit both in.