Mock ups

Name and Font Ideas

Colour Scheme Ideas

Research

Before I start designing my magazine I decided to do some research into my target audience by asking students various questions:

1. What's the most you'd be willing to pay for a student magazine?
2. Would you prefer to read a magazine  that uses formal or informal language? Why?
3. Do you think bright colours would be suitable for the colour scheme or do you think paler ones would look better?What do you think of the colours blue, black and white?
4. What do you think a good central image for the front cover would be?
5. Do you think there should be images on the contents page? If so how big?
6. What do you think of including giveaways or competitions? Any suggestions for prizes/competitions?
7. Where would be the best position for the magazine name? 

The following were the answers to my questions:

• Firstly, they weren't prepared to pay much money for the magazine, with the majority thinking it should be free. 
• They would prefer to read informal language.
• They think that bright, vibrant colours would look better. However, mostly they believed my suggested colour scheme wasn't interesting enough and so that'll need reconsidering. 
• Some thought pictures of the college would be good and others thought a group of students together.
• They agreed that there should be pictures on the contents page which should be quite large.
• The group thought competitions were a good idea as long as there were good prizes, like gadgets. 
• The title should be positioned in the middle at the top, with only one person saying from the left. 

Initial Ideas

House style/ brand identity- I think my colour scheme should be bright and interesting because that's what most of the student magazines I researched did. Initially I am thinking of electric blue and white (only on dark backgrounds), as I think they would connote youth and fun. I might also use black for the smaller text to make it easier to read.

Mode of Address- Needs to be informal and conversational to suit students. This would make the audience feel more comfortable reading the magazine as it's everyday language that they're used to.

Central Image- Typical group of students looking happy, celebrating maybe. Needs to be bright and colourful.

Content- Interviews, reviews, top tips, travel advice, polls.

Fonts- Something quite informal not anything like "Times New Roman". Needs to feel relaxed and youthful.

Coverlines- Brief and to the point. Only a few words to invite interest in the articles and make people want to look inside.

Masthead- Big, at the very top of the page, starting from the left and going into the centre. Different font to the main house style so it clearly stands out and grabs attention but similar colour to maintain brand identity. 

Student Magazine Analysis

Generic Conventions of Student Magazines

Intro to prelim task

My preliminary task- I will create the front cover a new college magazine and a contents page. 

Action Plan!

Week 1 (16th Sept) 

• Analysis of magazines and how they target audiences
• Research of target audience
• Planning for production

Week 2 (23nd Sept)

• Photo shoot
• Design front cover
• Design contents page

Week 3 (30th Sept)

• Design contents page

Week 4 (7th Oct)

• Evaluation