List of common conventions

Edinburgh University magazine contents page

Edinburgh University magazine contents page analysis

Target Audience

The primary target audience for this magazine is former Napier University graduates (male and female) 22+ who, because they have degree, should fall into social groups A-C1.  The secondary target audience is relatives of graduates, lectures and current students.

Layout

The layout is very neat and clear, making it very easy to read and understand. The contents are in the centre of the page, making it the focus of the page, which works well as it is the main subject of the page.

Colour

There is not very much use of colour on the contents pages, with only red and black used. White is a good colour to use as it is a neutral colour and is suitable for all ages and both genders. The red used is more eye-catching than the white and helps attract some attention the welcome section.

Imagery

The images on the page are grown up and formal as well. They show images for all ages and both genders. The pictures are vey well taken and aren’t blurred or distorted in any way.

Text

The text on the contents page is in a quite formal font, which links with the target audience as university graduates will be grown up. The text is laid out neatly and is easy to read. Some of the text is quite small, which makes it look more grown up as graduates wouldn’t need a large font to be able to read it.

Conclusion

I think that this contents page is very effective at attracting the magazine’s target audience to reading it. It’s layout, imagery and text will all help to attract graduates of all ages and both genders.

Edinburgh University magazine front cover

Edinburgh University Magazine Analysis

Target Audience

The primary target audience for this magazine is former Napier University graduates (male and female) 22+ who, because they have degree, should fall into social groups A-C1.  The secondary target audience is relatives of graduates, lectures and current students.

Masthead

The masthead is in a very good position on the page. It is in a large and bold font which makes it eye-catching. The red background also makes it eye-catching as it stands out from the white on the page.

Layout

The cover is very well laid out. There is one main picture in the centre of the page with text around it. This layout means the target audience know where to look on the page and will quickly find out what the magazine is about.

Colours

The range of colours used is small. The colours aren’t very exciting or eye-catching but that wouldn’t really be needed if your target audience was university students as they will likely be looking for something more intellectual.

Images

There is one main picture in the centre of the page. This is an image of someone cycling towards the university building. This helps to show what the magazine is about as it has an image of the university on the cover. It also catches the eye of the target audience and means they know what they should be looking at.

Text

The text is on a good position on the page. The font used looks quite grown-up as that is what the target audience will be. The language is very formal, which matches with the target audience, as they will be looking for something more formal. The front cover says ‘New York Turns Tartan’, which links in with the university’s predominantly Scottish graduates.


Conclusion
I think that this magazine front cover is effective at attracting its target audience because of its grown up layout and text. I think it is something that graduates would be very likely to read if they saw it.

Bodmin College magazine front cover

Bodmin College Magazine Analysis

Target Audience

The primary target audience for the Bodmin College Magazine is students aged 11-19, both male and female. The secondary target audience is teachers, parents, governors etc.

Masthead

The masthead does not do its job properly for many reasons. One reason is that it is too small, so it doesn’t catch the audience’s attention. The masthead is boring, as it uses dull colours and a plain and uninteresting font. This will not help to attract the target audience to read it, as 11-19 year olds want something that looks exciting and eye-catching.

Layout

The layout is poor as there are too many things going on with no main focal point. Having one main picture with some text and maybe some smaller pictures around it would work much more effectively as the audience would know where to look instead of looking everywhere.

Colour

The colour of the text is not very easily readable on the background used. For example, the white text on the gold background in the centre of the page is barely readable at all. The colours used are boring and dull and will not attract the target audience to read the magazine.

Imagery

The quality of the images are very poor. They are all long shots and are quite blurred, especially the top left picture. The purple smoke in the image leads to a very bad photo, as the kids in it look ill. They should have more images to do with other things, such as sport or photography, as this would attract a larger audience.

Text

There is hardly any text on the page. The text that is there is barely readable. The main text on the page says ‘Bodmin College’s 13^th Community Dance Platform’, which alienates people who are interested in things other than dance as it seems as though it is all the magazine is about.

Conclusion

I believe that this cover is really not very effective at attracting its target audience, as the colours are dull, the masthead is boring, there is little text and what text is there is hard to read. There are lots of poorly taken images with no real focus point. Overall it is not a very good magazine as it does not do what a magazine needs to do to attract its target audience.

Analysing Existing Magazines

I am going to analyse two existing college magazine covers and contents pages. This will help me work out the common conventions that I will need to include in my own work to represent the needs of my target audience. These quotes from well known theorists show that creativity is not an instant process but is:

“A process needed for problem solving…not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people”  (Jones, 1993).

“The making of the new and the rearranging of the old” (Bentley, 1997).

“Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996).

Prelim Task

To develop my skills in photography, Photoshop, pre-production and critical reflection, I need to complete the prelim task, which is as follows:

My AS Media foundation portfolio

For my Media portfolio I have chosen to follow the print brief, the music magazine cover, contents and feature spread. I have chosen to do this because I am very interested in the music industry and would like to develop my skills and knowledge in the area. The brief I will be working on is: