Unit G321 Preliminary product - Brief & Magazine Analysis

The Brief
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



This is the first module of Unit G321. I was introduced into the preliminary task by being shown examples of both good and bad previous college magazines which past media students created, here are some examples of the magazines we analysed:

East Riding College

The front cover is very simplistic due to the lack in the use of different colours however the white writing, which represents connotations of innocence and freshness, contrast well with the black background which in addition draws attention to the magazine. The terminology "Student Life" establishes the target audience to the viewer immediately.
There are some factors which are seen as pointless such as the text which indicates the magazine is "free" as this is obvious due to the fact there is no bar code or price which tells us otherwise yet the college may feel more people will be interested in the magazine if the viewers no it is defiantly free.
The picture is pleasing to the eye and looks quite professional, it also complements the house style well, however there is nothing to suggest why they have chosen this as their front cover other than it being some "media students in Berlin". I also noticed that there is also no official slogan used as anchorage to summarise what the college is about.

The contents page doesn't stay consistent with the house style as it differs from the cover in many ways such as the fonts used for the text and although the black and white colours are continued to be used, there is an introduction of a colour green which wasn't included on the front cover, this automatically lowers the professionalism of the magazine.

Also, when listing the page numbers on a magazine you do not generally say which page the article goes up to whereas this magazine has, again this is pointless.

The pictures have no specific structure and I have noticed that some body parts of the people within the images have been cut off such as their hands.

Throughout the contents page, direct mode of address has been used which implies that the magazine is including the reader and it is emphasising that the opinions of the students attending the East Riding College, which is the institution that has created this magazine, is valued.

GX magazine

The "gx magazine" masthead instantly draws the eyes attention due to its sheer size and its contrast against the background, it is quite simplistic in the way it is presented however it is bold and clear.

The main figures on the front cover have been edited using a photo manipulation programme and this gives the magazine a cartoon/ unrealistic feel to it therefore the photograph in the bottom right corner looks extremely out of place. 

The use of terminology and the style of the figures indicate that it is aimed at a teenage audience. A house style consisting of the colours blue, grey and white is used on the first page, it shows consistency however it is quite dull and boring, it is also difficult to read some of the text due to its colour against the background.

The contents page shows no comparisons to the front cover therefore there is no specific house style which all professional magazines should have, however the text at the bottom of the page "the word on the street..." continues throughout the magazine, this may be seen as the anchorage to the text as the images look "hip".

Once again direct mode of address is used on the contents page, this is done for the same reasons as the East Riding College magazine, to include the reader and emphasise that the students are valued greatly.

This exercise has helped me with  the further planning of my magazine as I now have the knowledge needed to make a good magazine and can identify the conventions within them.

My college magazine will be based around Wyke College as it is the most convenient option considering the time provided to finish the magazine and also the fact that all the pictures taken have to be original images among other aspects.