THE PRELIMINARY TASK

Rianne Addo 12R

BRIEF OF PRELIMINARY TASK For a preliminary task, I had to make part of

a school magazine- a Front Cover and Contents Page.

I was asked to make two sections of a school magazine in preparation for my coursework whereby I make a music magazine, contents page and a double page spread.

SCHOOL MAGAZINE PROPOSAL FORM

This was completed in preparation of the school front cover and contents page.

Title/ Masthead: in yellow, stands out, likely to be the name of the school

Logo: Colours compliment each other, could suggest unity of different cultures and personalities working well together in their school

Heading: funny, not too formal- suggests that although school is an educational institution, students can still have fun and enjoy it

Majority of Magazine is copy/text: suggests that this may appeal to the upper high school students and sixth form (Year 10 to Year 13)

Website: invites reader to find out more information about school

Key Image: of football team, represents unity of students in this school

RESEARCH ON ANOTHER SCHOOL MAGAZINE COVER

FINAL SKETCHDRAFT SKETCH

Key image: both sketches are of a student, no changes made. This image takes up the majority of the front cover, tells reader what the magazine is about.

Changed title of magazineto suit my target audience-sixth formers and their parents. I believe that the “Source” title adheres to a more mature target audience than the “P.Manor” title which may conform to a younger audience (Year 7-10)

Headlines have stayed the same, however, in my final sketch, I have added “Excellent Institution- Rated by OFSTED,” which may be more appealing and relevant to an older audience and their parents, as opposed to a younger students

CONTENTS PAGE-DRAFT SKETCH AND FINAL SKETCH

“Contents” in simple block letters, “straight to the point”. Simplistic to appeal to my target audience (Sixth Formers aged 16-18 and their parents), who stereotypically prefer a school magazine to be informative as opposed to the magazine looking creative and colourful.

2 Key images of Head Boy and Head Girl and “Wings of Hope” banner – images next to each other, same size. Indicates what two aspects of the magazine readers may enjoy the most.

No changes made to my contents page.

Storylines are underneath the pictures, informs readers what the magazine includes.

SCHOOL MAGAZINE COVER AND CONTENTS

PAGE

CONTENTS PAGEFRONT COVERBackground is of a brown/grey colour which suggests seriousness therefore links to maturity with headlines and intention of magazine- meant to be informative, appealing to an older audience (sixth form students and their parents.

Title in block capitals, simplistic- design of font not exaggerating in the sense of not having a variety of vibrant colours- Information meant to stand out to target audience rather than design and colours. ‘S’ on magazine cover and ‘C’ on contents page are in a different colour and font to the rest of the titles - to add a subtle flare to the magazine as opposed to vibrant colours.

Headlines on the left side of the cover as people tend to read from left to right, reinforces that the most important part of this magazine is the information that is included in the school magazine.

Puff “Excellent Institution” appeals to sixth form students and their parents as it adds validity to the school- encourages them to feel proud and pelased to attend to this school.

Logo used to show that it is a school magazine.

Key images of students, reinforces target audience and tells reader what the magazine is about. Photos of students of different ethnicities- shows that school is diverse

ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL MAGAZINE COVER AND CONTENTS PAGE

Website for further information on headlines

ORIGINAL IMAGE MANIPULATED IMAGE

After cutting out the key image, I felt as if the edges of the image looked ridged. To overcome this, I used a drop shadow to blur the edges to make them look more smooth. This was successful as the key image now obtains a more professional look which is a trait normally associated with adults- part of my target audience (parents).

ORIGINAL IMAGE MANIPULATED IMAGE

After reviewing my contents page semi completed, I believed that the positioning of the images needed to be changed. The slanted image in the bottom left corner gave off a playful impression, whereas this school magazine is supposed to be informative with simple pictures which appeals to a mature audience (sixth formers aged 16-18 and their parents). To achieve this impression as opposed to the playful impression, I put both images next to each other, which achieved a simplistic look.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED? EVALUATION

Making a front cover and contents page of a school magazine has definitely prepared me for my coursework in making a music magazine front cover, a contents page and a double page spread. It has made me aware of the codes and conventions that should appear on a front cover and contents page, and how to manipulate these codes and conventions in order to conform to a specific type of magazine and audience.

In addition to this, making parts of a school magazine has also advanced my Photoshop skills. This is an advantage as my ability to work around the software will help me in making my music magazine.