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/students 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.

In this project I am going to be:

Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate.
Using a variety of a shot distance as appropriate.
Shooting material appropriate to the task set.
Selecting mice-en scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting.
Manipulating photographs as appropriate to he context for presentation, including cropping and resizing.
Accurately using language and register.
Appropriately integrating illustration and text.
Showing understanding of conventions of layout and page design.
Showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size.
Use ICT appropriately for the task set.

In this project I will be using “LIIAR”. This covers five key areas/concepts that I will need to be able to effectively design and make, my magazine front page, for my college

These five key terms are:

L-anguage - Layout, text, font and arrangement of the masthead and the text.

I-nstitution – The college and people working for the college.

I-deology - The college’s message is to promote the college, and to promote the chance to be educated further at the college itself.

A-udience – The college students are aged around 16-19 so this gives me an idea of my target audience. I could also aim it towards the staff at the college.

R-epresentation - Showing the best of the college and making it look good and an easy place to settle down and learn.


Research and planning

To look deeper into college magazines, I am going to look at other college magazines. This will show me different conventions I can use in making my magazine front page. By doing this it will make my front page more appealing and stand out from other magazines.




In the magazine, ‘Secondary Teachers’ we expect to see the students working hard. When we expect something like this, they are called conventions. For example in a golf magazine you would expect to see somebody playing golf. This is the same in ‘Secondary Teachers’, as we expect to see students in their uniform doing work. As it is a secondary school teachers magazine, you would expect there to be some kind of fun activity involved. In this case as could have been predicted, the magazine is saying football can improve English and Maths skills. This shows the students smiling and having fun with what they do.

Also on the front page the Representation is shown very clearly. This means the target audience/society of the magazine. As there are two young students on the front page, the magazine is targeted for young people or people to do with young people. In this case the target audience/society, is teachers who work with children. The uniforms that the two students are wearing also shows that the magazine is made for teachers. This is because the uniforms associate to schools, which clearly involves teachers. The magazine front page will not have used teachers because it is not always clear to spot teachers as they tend to casually dress which blends in to other working people. Where as two children wearing uniforms clear represents schools.

On the front page itself we straight away look at the two students doing some work and having fun at the same time. This also shows that students can have fun whilst learning as the are smiling and in an arsenal dressing room. We can see this as the two students have identical arsenal booklets. This also shows that both students are equal in what they do. This again is shown as they are both wearing the same uniform.

The masthead is one of the main eye catching features of the magazine front page. This is because the colour of the masthead is a light blue colour. By using this colour you tend to make the masthead one of the first things you look at because it stands out from the neutral white background.

Another eye catching feature is the main picture in the centre of the page. Because the picture is big and bright you look and see what is in the picture. Also with having football shirts in the background football fans will also look at the picture. The picture also has some writing attached with it, “playing to learn”. With the writing of this being in yellow it stands out well and is very easy to read whilst being eye catching. By using the masthead and the picture in this way more people will look at the magazine and buy it. The bright colours also make the magazine stand out from other darker magazines.

The layout of the magazine is very simple. This means that the magazine front can be looked at and easily read. By this people will be able to know what is inside the magazine and what it is about without having to spend time reading the front page. This will mean people are not put of picking up the magazine and reading it as they know the contents.


Here is another example of a secondary school magazine.



In this issue of “Secondary Teachers” we can see that the background is the same colour and design is the same. Also the layout and features of the magazine are the same. For example the masthead of the magazine is the same colour and design and it is again below the plugs. By doing this the magazine is clear recognised as it does not change its main front cover. This also helps with the main masthead being in front of a white background which makes it stand out a lot more.

The main focus of this issue of “Secondary Teachers” is if boys and girls learn differently. This is shown in two ways. The first impression of this is the main picture as this is the first thing we look at as a reader. The picture shows that boys and girls learn differently because of many things. For example, the boy is very eager to put his hand up and getting involved into the lesson. Where as the girls is in a relaxed position waiting for the boy to give the answer. This gives the impression that the girl knows the answer but wants the boy to answer and get it wrong. She is also showing that she is more mature as she is sat with a pen in her hand, waiting to learn.

The second way that this is shown is in the plug where it says “Do boys and girls learn differently?”. This makes it a lot clearer to the reader on what the main focus of the issue is about. Also with it being next to the main picture it is one of the first things someone will look at. This is because the writing next to a picture normal is about the picture itself. This is the case with this picture on the magazine front.

So with these two main points, the reader can tell what the main focus of the magazine is going to be on. Also with the plug, which is with the picture, it is a question. This means the reader will read the question and ask themselves if they know the answer or not. In most situations the reader will want to know if they are right with there answer or just wont to know the answer. This will make the reader look into the magazine and find the answer.

Another way the magazine gets people to be look into the magazine is advertising free student cook books. This will again make people look inside to see what it is about. This also is encouraging people to cook for themselves as there is more speculation in the media about how people eat. So this may encourage parents to buy the magazine to get there children cooking healthier food.




Again in this issue of “Secondary Teachers”, can see similar conventions. Straight away when we look at the front page we see a smarty dressed individual that has been baking cookies. These cookies resemble pupils at a school. This tells the reader again that the magazine is aimed at teachers as the magazine resembles pupils. This makes it obvious who the target audience are and who is likely to read the magazine. Also the image has some text included with it. “Cook with me!”, this tells the reader that inside there will be a section on cooking in school. As eating healthy food is in the media a lot just lately parents and teachers would support the idea of pupils cooking in class. This will mean more people will pick up the magazine and look to see what is said about pupils cooking in school as it could give them vital skills in later life.

In the plug there is a clearly stated section about teenage girls not doing enough exercise. “The playground that gets girls moving”, this will have been included in the plug because most teenage girls do not do enough exercise. Because obesity is a main factor in the news, teachers and parents will want to know how they can get their child to do more physical activity at school. This again is a main factor in the media. This is because people are going to read about things they hear other places and will want to find the best ways to avoid current dilemmas like eating healthy and doing exercise.

Again, “Secondary Teachers” magazine is set out in the same way and using the same colour scheme. This is because regular readers will be able to easily recognise the magazine from others. Also with the background being a neutral colour the masthead and plugs stand out. This means that people that don’t normally read the magazine will be drawn to it and will be able to read the magazine front because of the colours.




In this issue of "Secondary teachers" we see, again, very similar conventions that are shown. For example, the layout is easy to understand and recognise. This will encourage people to pick up to magazine and read what it is about. It will also allow regular readers to be able to recognise the magazine easily.

Another way the magazine can be easily recognisable is by the colours of the masthead and the placing of the plugs. This is because they are normally placed in the same place in the same colour. With the colour standing out from the white background, which is again normally used, even the colour can determine which magazine it is. This is done so more people will pick up the magazine and read the front page to see what they are likely to find in it.

The reader can see what is going to be in the magazine in different ways. In this case of this issue of "Secondary Teachers", we can see this by the plugs and the picture. For example, the plugs are easy to read and clearly state what is going to be included in the magazine. The colours stand out from the neutral background which makes it stand out to the reader. Also with each different plug, they have been made in different colours. This is so that the reader again can find it easier to read.

The picture is another way that shows what is included in the magazine. For example, it clearly shows relation to racism as it is showing stereotypes in the form of 'black students'. This is story is about being treated equally. This is a main factor in the media to the current day. For example, "kick it out" is a campaign the football league do to keep racism away form football. This means people will look at the magazine and see what it says about this subject. By using this more people will pick up the magazine and hopefully buy it. The text on the picture also stands out well as it tells us about what the picture is about. With the text being yellow and white on a black background it stands out well to the reader.

Another way the magazine has been made to be appealing to the reader is by them having a chance to win a free I-pod. This will make the reader pay more attention to the magazine and look inside to try and win the I-pod. This will also widen the target audience as young people may want to win the I-pod. This is hoped to increase sales of the magazine and become a much more popular magazine to read.

Analysis

After looking at these front pages of “Secondary Teachers”, I have been able to see different techniques and conventions that are shown in most of the four magazines i have looked at.

For example the masthead is in the same place,and it is also in the same colour. By having the mast head blue, it shows that the magazine has no dramatic or love storeys in it. If this was the case the mast head colour would be more likely to be a dark red. But because the magazine is a bright blue, this shows that the magazine is a calm, easy to read magazine. This makes the magazine easy to recognise to regular readers and appealing to new readers. This will gain readers and which will then instantly recognise the masthead and know it is “Secondary Teachers”.

Another way the colours are used is by. In the four magazines, the colours are mainly blues and purple. This is because they stand out from the magazines white background. In the plug the different colours, being blue and purple break up the text and make each plug stand out and easier to individually read. This means that the reader will look at the text and be easily able to read it. Also with the text having a neutral white background the colours of the text will jump out at the reader and be appealing to them.

Another thing that is the same is that all the magazines have a main picture on the front page. This again makes the reader recognise the magazine easier. But at the same time, in the four cases I have encountered, the main picture is to give information on what is inside the magazine. This tells the reader what the magazine is about and what they should expect to find in the magazine itself. With the picture giving information about what is inside the magazine it also brings more colour to the front of the magazine and breaks down the written text.

In the magazines I have also noticed that the main focus is on aspects that are being included in the media. For example racism, healthy living/eating and including popular football teams. By doing this more people will look at the magazine widening the target audience. This is because there is a lot of talk in the media about these subjects and people will want to learn and read more about the subjects. A lot of time the this main subject is shown within the main image. This means that whilst the main picture appeals to the readers eyes because of the colours used, it will also attach the readers eyes because the story behind the picture is hell known in the current media. This will again increase the amount of people that read the magazine.

Summary of analysis

I have analysed the conventions shown regally in "Secondary Teachers". By doing this i can make my college magazine using similar conventions. This will allow me to make my college magazine as effective as possible by using the different conventions.

Draft

I am now going to make a hand written draft so i can plan the layout and design of my college magazine. This will allow me to work on my ideas and get the best layout to create an effective magazine front.

I have gone for a simple and easy to read magazine front that will appeal to the eyes of the staff and students of the college. I have put my plugs at the top of my page so that people will be able to easily find them as the work there way down the page. Below I will include a main picture that will be eye catching with bright colours and will appeal to most readers.

Now on Microsoft Desktop Publisher, i will now make a copy of my hand written front page. This will allow me to make some fine adjustments and make any changes that need to be made.

Final piece

Now that i have completed my hand drafts, i can now move onto putting my ideas into on final front page. This will be based on what i have found out over looking at different college magazine fronts and my own personal knowledge and opinions.

In my front page of a college magazine article i have used many different conventions.

For example, I have carefully selected the colours used in my magazine. This is because i have tried to get the colour scheme to stand out but at the same time, to match the college's colours. With the background being white, the purples and the blues from the background and surrounding magazines. By doing this my magazine would stand out from other magazines which would increase the amount of people that look at the magazine.

The plugs have also been carefully planned out as i was trying to find the most effective place to put them. By getting the most effective place more people will read about them and want to look at them and hopefully look into the magazine to see the story in more depth. Also with the plugs I have made the writing a slightly bright blue and some a darker blue. This is so when the reader is reading them it is easier to read because they are clearly separated. I have also included a single line so it is even clear to the separation of the plugs.

In one of the plugs I have advertised for a free ipod give away. This is again on a neutral white background with blue text. Also, by using the colour scheme of blue and purple, the ipod advertised is blue. This makes people think about the college and want to look inside the magazine. The hole idea of having an ipod give away is that people will look inside the magazine and try to find how they can win the ipod. This can apply to teachers and staff as more and more older people are buying new technoligy like ipods. This widens the taget audience for my magazine allowing more people to be able to enjoy the magazine.

Another way that I have widened the target audience is in the masthead. This is by including the text "Bringing students and staff closer together". This shows that the magazine is about bring students and staff closer together. By doing this both students and staff will read the magazine so they have an understanding between each. The colours of the masthead also stand out form the white neutral background. This makes the magazine, again, easy to recognise and apealing to new readers.

The main feature on my magazine front is the picture. This is because it is the biggest part of the magazine front and has bright colours that stand out from the neutral background. The shot taken is a mid shot that shows the two subjects holding a Hull City shirt with the Wyke College logo in the background. I have used a Hull City shirt because there is a big interest in football around the country and also Hull City are in the spot light at the moment after their recent run of sucess. This means that more people will want to read about it and want to see how Wyke College is related to Hull City. I have also used a boy and a girl in the picture. This is to show that there is equal opportunities for male and female students to get more involved with sport.

I have also include some text with the the picture. This tells the reader about the picture and what it resembels. This makes the reader aware of what is going to appear in the magazine and what they should expect to find in it. This makes it easyer reader to look at the magazine and be able to read it.

By using all of these conventions I have been able to make a magazine front page that can be easily recognised and stand out from other magazines. I have been able to do this by looking at other magazine fronts and looking at the conventions they use. This allows me to make the most out of my ideas and put them down on my page in the most effective way.

Contents page

Now i am going to make a contents page. This will go with my front page to show more conventions and show what is also included in the magazine. I will try to make a simple layout that will be easy to read and that will also catch the readers attention. This will allow the reader to easily find out the contents of the magazine and will be able to find what they want to read. By doing this the reader will spend more time reading the magazine as they do not have to spend alot of time looking for the artical they are looking to read.

I am now going to make a hand draft of my contents page.

Now that I have made a draft of my contents page, i am now able to make a draft on DTP so i am able to make some fine ajustments to my contents page.

DTP Draft of contents page

Now that I have made a draft on DTP I am now able to make my final contents page. By making a dradt I have been able to find dificuilt areas that are in my contents page which are hard to make or put together. I have also been able to move different parts of the page and make adustments that were needed to be made.

Final contents page

I have now completed my contents page. Again I have used conventios to make the page stand out to the reader.

An example of this is the colours I have used. I have used the same colours that where on my front page which are light and dark blues. This resembles the college as the college's main colours are blue and purples. This keeps the reader knowing that he magazine is from wyke college and everything they read they will resemble with the college. As all of the contents on the contents page are good things people will think that the college is a good college that has little bad points. Also the blue represent calm and peacefulness, this means that the reader will see the college as being a calm and relaxing place to learn. The blue colours also stand out well from the neutral white background there for making the writing standing out to the reader.

The main headline is also purple, this again resembles the magazine to college. This means the reader keeps the focus of the magazine being about the college and not about life outside college. This means that everything good in the magazine will make the reader see wyke college as a good college to go and work at. The main headline is placed centraly at the top of the page. This means that the page is really recognised as a contents page. The reader will then be able to easily turn to the contents page and find a story that relates to them or something they would be interested in.

The layout off the contents page is basic but very effective. This means that the reader will look at the page and read what is in the magazine. The boxes around each topic also break the text up. This gives the reader more to look at but at the same time make it easyer to read and easyer to pick up information about what is in the magazine.

All of the topics that I have used in my contents page have been carfully acounted for. I have tryed to make the topics interesting and well known in the media. This means that people will want to read the magazine and find alot of the topics appeal to a reader. For example i have included a story about Hull City football club signing a contract for sport at wyke college. I have done this because alot of people are interested in sport and there are a vast number of Hull City supporters in the college as it is in the area of Hull. This means that more people will want to read the magazine because it will mean something to them.

Another topic I have used is information on bus travel to college. The 930 is a bus that alot of the students at wyke use. This means people will want to know information about the bus and how its changed. Because alot off people use the bus more people will pick up the magazine to read about something they can relate to.

By using things that the students at the college would be interested in, more people will read the magazine. This is because it will appeal the reader because it is mainly about topics they would be interested in. Widening the rang by using different topics like sport and bus information will mean that more people will be able to relate to atleast one topic in the magazine.