After talking to some students, I showed them the designs that I had come up with and then asked them to write about what they thought. I asked them about what they liked, what they thought could be improved and whether they think the magazine would appeal to other students/parents. Here are their responses:
#1 on Magazine Cover:
"It's attention grabbing. I like the title and picture, it shows Wyke is a nice, happy place to be judging by the background image and the smiling students.
The banner colours could be different to the heading font but it looks fine as it is."
#1 on Contents page:
"I like how it's varied from the Oak to Ash building, and a close up smiley face from a student. Once again, the font colour for "contents:" could differ but that's not a big deal. I like the listing and page numbers. Perhaps a little more colour."
#2 on Magazine Cover:
"It's simple which looks effective and draws thwe eye as it's not cluttered. The photo makes the college look like a nice, friendly place to be with space to sit outside.
The title could be slightly brighter to stand out from the black outline."
#2 on Contents Page:
"I like how it's different from the cover and shows off different buildings. I also like how the contents have been numbered. The colours could be varied."
I think the overall impression of my designs is positive but I could have varied the fonts and the colours a bit more. I will consider this when designing for other projects.
22 Oct 2010
Evaluation of final magazine pages
Most of the evaluation for my magazine is in the blog posts that I have already written.
Planning for college magazine
Work in progress (click links to enlarge):
1:
1:
Before I start to create any design, I like to try and start out with a simple template. Using colours that I found were mainly featured on the Wyke website, I created the simple grey background with the purple header and footer. This design is one of the ones that I had been thinking about in the first place but at the moment is just a simple design.
Potential pictures for my magazine
These pictures are all of the ones that I took as potential pictures for the magazine.
I obviously chose not to use them all as there are so many pictures but I will be giving my reasons for not using them here:
I obviously chose not to use them all as there are so many pictures but I will be giving my reasons for not using them here:
21 Oct 2010
Possible names for Wyke Magazine and article names:
The magazine names that I have thought of so far are quite generic and not that original; things such as Wyke News and News at Wyke.
I want to go for a magazine name that will stand out from other magazine titles that are available. Obviously it wont be a mainstream magazine but I need to choose something that makes the magazine known as a college magazine and not a celebrity magazine. The magazine title will also need to relate to the people who will be reading the magazine. The target audience for this college magazine is students of the magazine and possibly parents of the college students. For this reason, I will be adding in things in the contents that will relate to parents and students. For the parents, there will be an insight of what their child is doing in college in lunchtimes, and study periods, etc. and statistics (including exam results and coursework grades) with important dates for college such as open days and consultation evenings. The magazine should be important for Parents to read since most students probably wouldn't tell their parents about consultation evenings and things.
The other audience, students, will be the main target for this magazine and they are going to want to read it because, firstly, it is a free magazine, and, secondly, it will have everything that students need to know about what is going on for them around college such as the parties and events that are going on in college.
I want to go for a magazine name that will stand out from other magazine titles that are available. Obviously it wont be a mainstream magazine but I need to choose something that makes the magazine known as a college magazine and not a celebrity magazine. The magazine title will also need to relate to the people who will be reading the magazine. The target audience for this college magazine is students of the magazine and possibly parents of the college students. For this reason, I will be adding in things in the contents that will relate to parents and students. For the parents, there will be an insight of what their child is doing in college in lunchtimes, and study periods, etc. and statistics (including exam results and coursework grades) with important dates for college such as open days and consultation evenings. The magazine should be important for Parents to read since most students probably wouldn't tell their parents about consultation evenings and things.
The other audience, students, will be the main target for this magazine and they are going to want to read it because, firstly, it is a free magazine, and, secondly, it will have everything that students need to know about what is going on for them around college such as the parties and events that are going on in college.
20 Oct 2010
Product research for college magazines
After evaluating other college magazines, I have found the following conventions that most other college magazines follow:
They have articles that students will actually want to read. They don't have anything that is irrelevant to college life, college work or college itself. Some people's magazines that I have seen have added gossip sections and style sections and I don't think that this is at all relevant to a college magazine. College magazines tend to be educational but not explicitly so. They do it in a way that will make students want to read without really knowing that they are being educated, they create catchy headlines and slogans to draw them in.
They have relevant images. They show pictures that are to do with the college (campus pictures, classroom pictures, sports pictures, college trip pictures) and a lot of students would want to know whether their picture had been featured in the magazine so this would also make them want to read the magazine.
They are free. No students are going to pay for a 10 page college magazine that they're not really interested in. If you give them a free magazine, and they 'have nothing to do', they will read it and see if there is anything interesting/anything that they are interested in, in it. They would definitely not pay for the magazine since they probably wont read it again after they have read it the first time. This is where college magazines differ from music magazines. People will want to read them over and over again and since college magazines are educational, people aren't going to be interested enough to pay.
All of the conventions that are followed are all to get people reading the magazines. Since most are free, they have to get numbers of people reading the magazines to get the funding that is needed to print them.
They have articles that students will actually want to read. They don't have anything that is irrelevant to college life, college work or college itself. Some people's magazines that I have seen have added gossip sections and style sections and I don't think that this is at all relevant to a college magazine. College magazines tend to be educational but not explicitly so. They do it in a way that will make students want to read without really knowing that they are being educated, they create catchy headlines and slogans to draw them in.
They have relevant images. They show pictures that are to do with the college (campus pictures, classroom pictures, sports pictures, college trip pictures) and a lot of students would want to know whether their picture had been featured in the magazine so this would also make them want to read the magazine.
They are free. No students are going to pay for a 10 page college magazine that they're not really interested in. If you give them a free magazine, and they 'have nothing to do', they will read it and see if there is anything interesting/anything that they are interested in, in it. They would definitely not pay for the magazine since they probably wont read it again after they have read it the first time. This is where college magazines differ from music magazines. People will want to read them over and over again and since college magazines are educational, people aren't going to be interested enough to pay.
All of the conventions that are followed are all to get people reading the magazines. Since most are free, they have to get numbers of people reading the magazines to get the funding that is needed to print them.
19 Oct 2010
Fonts and colours
I researched fonts for my magazine using the existing Wyke College logo: And found that the font used for the main purple Wyke text is called SohoPro Heavy so I obtained this font and started messing around with different colours that I found as part of the Wyke College website house style.
I am going with the working title of 'W@W!' so these are the things that I came up with for the publication:
I am going with the working title of 'W@W!' so these are the things that I came up with for the publication:
The colour that I use will depend on the image that I put on the front of the magazine and the placing of the logo.
I am also testing whether to have the logo on a background or a lightly faded square of the page. I plan to have the logo in the top left hand corner of the publication as this is going with the normal conventions of a college magazine.
I am also testing whether to have the logo on a background or a lightly faded square of the page. I plan to have the logo in the top left hand corner of the publication as this is going with the normal conventions of a college magazine.
'W@W!' stands for Wyke @ Wyke, at the moment, but I might try and find something else that starts with W to substitute the first 'Wyke'. Something such as Word @ Wyke but I am not sure.
I want to keep the WOW thing going on because it does look like WOW and I think it is quite eye catching.
I want to keep the WOW thing going on because it does look like WOW and I think it is quite eye catching.
17 Oct 2010
More contents page possible designs
I created some more mock up designs for my contents page ideas. I have explained why I like them or don't like them under the cut!
16 Oct 2010
Colour connotations
The colours that mainly feature on my magazine include:
Purple - Purple is usally associated with royality and wealth. It is also a sign of nobility and superiority. I chose to use this colour because of this fact, and the fact that it goes with the Wyke College house style. Purple is also used to boost morale, imagination and creativity. Is it also eye catching and would definitely encourage people to read this magazine, especially since the purple house style runs all the way through.
White - White is featured a lot in my magazine; in the pictures, text and in the backgrounds. White symbolises perfection, goodness and purity. It is probably something that people notice sub consciously and they probably don't even realise they are realising it. White can also mean safety as opposed to black which can have a bad connotation.
Green - Green is the colour of nature. I plan to have some natural light and possibly outdoor scenes in my magazine. It would be best if my pictures were taken in the sun so the nature can come out of the pictures. Green is a really light colour so that will help aid the brightness of my image on the cover. Brightness on the cover will help me to attract more attention to the magazine and it will make people want to read it.
Purple - Purple is usally associated with royality and wealth. It is also a sign of nobility and superiority. I chose to use this colour because of this fact, and the fact that it goes with the Wyke College house style. Purple is also used to boost morale, imagination and creativity. Is it also eye catching and would definitely encourage people to read this magazine, especially since the purple house style runs all the way through.
White - White is featured a lot in my magazine; in the pictures, text and in the backgrounds. White symbolises perfection, goodness and purity. It is probably something that people notice sub consciously and they probably don't even realise they are realising it. White can also mean safety as opposed to black which can have a bad connotation.
Green - Green is the colour of nature. I plan to have some natural light and possibly outdoor scenes in my magazine. It would be best if my pictures were taken in the sun so the nature can come out of the pictures. Green is a really light colour so that will help aid the brightness of my image on the cover. Brightness on the cover will help me to attract more attention to the magazine and it will make people want to read it.
15 Oct 2010
Possible design ideas:
The space underneath the mastheads would be for the full page portrait pictures. I am not planning to use landscape pictures as they wont fill the whole of the page so it would just look odd.
10 Oct 2010
9 Oct 2010
New magazine design
After reading the brief, I don't want to mess about with the pictures that I use in a big way. I originally planned to use four pictures on my front cover but with a new design I have thought of that follows the normal conventions of a magazine I have decided that I will use only one mid-shot picture on the front cover.
My new magazine design is:
I still plan to use the colours that I originally planned which are the Wyke colours that are used on the website and in their newsletters.
I am thinking about looking through their old newsletters to get some inspiration for the content of my magazine.
4 Oct 2010
Planning for Wyke College magazine
For my prelimiary media College Magazine I need to: think of a magazine name, think of article titles or features to put in to the contents page, create a letter from the headteacher and get a picture of the headteacher to put on the contents page.
My ideas for the pictures on the front page are pictures of classes in the arts area of the college. I will be asking my own performing arts class if I can take pictures of the class in dance and drama classes, and then I will be asking to take pictures in art and music. In my performing arts class, we are currently putting on two plays so I could easily take pictures of a rehearsal of that and I am a member of Wyke Dance Company and two different dance classes: ballet and, currently, choreography so taking pictures of a dance class will be easy too.
For the music picture, I am thinking of having a picture of someone singing next to a piano reading music on the piano with a pianist. I also know people who study art so I will be able to take pictures of them working in their art lessons to put on the front cover. An example of how this will look:
I am thinking of having the four arts pictures on the cover inside a circle, each in one quarter but I may change this idea if I can think of something better.
I am also thinking of using the college colours which are used as a theme on the college website so it would fit in with the college design in print and also if it was online in .PDF format.
My ideas for the pictures on the front page are pictures of classes in the arts area of the college. I will be asking my own performing arts class if I can take pictures of the class in dance and drama classes, and then I will be asking to take pictures in art and music. In my performing arts class, we are currently putting on two plays so I could easily take pictures of a rehearsal of that and I am a member of Wyke Dance Company and two different dance classes: ballet and, currently, choreography so taking pictures of a dance class will be easy too.
I am thinking of having the four arts pictures on the cover inside a circle, each in one quarter but I may change this idea if I can think of something better.
I am also thinking of using the college colours which are used as a theme on the college website so it would fit in with the college design in print and also if it was online in .PDF format.
I have looked at the Wyke College website and the main colours that are used are: 
These are the colours that I plan to feature as the main colours in my magazine. Another highly featured colour is white which I will also be using.
The Brief
The Brief for the:
Preliminary Exercise -
Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.
Preliminary Exercise -
Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.
My Media Work
This is my first piece of Media coursework. It was part of the induction task of the AS Media Studies course at Wyke College.
Jack Beedle Aftershave project evaluation
Before I started to create my project design, I had to choose which product I would be advertising. At first I thought about designing an advert for a woman’s perfume because it would have been easier for me to find a girl to take a
3 Oct 2010
Planning for Media Induction Task.
This work goes step by step on how my work developed and changed through the two week period of figuring out how the final product will look.
Induction Task Brief
AS Media Studies
Induction Task
You are a new employee in an Advertising company.
Your company has just been asked to produce a magazine advert for one of two new products.
Choose either:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)