Student magazine By Daniel Coffey

Market research To begin with I conducted some market research in the form of a qualitative survey. I asked a group of Sheldon pupils what they would like to see in a student magazine. I recorded all the different ideas on paper and here are some of the results...

Results Teacher Gossip Information about the school What’s happening (An events calendar) School colours (as a theme) Treasure hunt Competitions Squid vouchers School trips Spot the difference Sudoku Crosswords Technology to help with school work Tips on how to pass your exams Clubs list

Market Analysis The overall response tended to be about the school and things that were going on in school currently and in the future, as well as some fun things like puzzles and a treasure hunt. This helped me decide what basic themes I would include in my magazine, however I wanted a more interesting theme for my magazine. It would include, of course, the school elements but with a fun conspiracy theory twist in and around school.

Magazine Cover development My initial magazine cover was the picture I took of Taz in a mask and crown. I had him stand against a very sterile and neutral background to make him stand out more in his fairly dark clothing. Because of my use of physical background in the initial photo I didn’t have to edit much at all, most colours would be in contrast to the drab grey. During the first development of my magazine cover, I lightened the contrast of the background and added my title at the top of the cover. I also decided on my tagline and put it below the title, as a form of branding for my magazine. I decided on my main headline and made it bold. My final development involved putting on some side stories to give an idea of what would be inside. I also added a secondary headline in the pink bar at the bottom and an edited picture to go with it. And of course the barcode and advertisement for a treasure hunt clue.

Magazine Cover Evaluation I placed the barcode here as appose to the usual place at the bottom of the magazine because it would look too cluttered. I decided to place my title at the very top of the magazine, I wanted the cover to look fairly busy and colourful because the background was fairly drab. Placing the title at the top left more room for over features of the magazine. I wanted the title to stand out yet have subtle connotations. Hence the bold font but neutral colour. For the ‘Treasure hunt clue’ I used the stamp tool and made it look like a scratch card that has been scratched to reveal the clue inside. My headline for my main story is in a bold magenta to stand out from the main background in contrast to the title which is bold but blends in. I’m not sure whether that was a good choice on my part because it may stand out more than the title. To make the bear look more radioactive I edited the photo and cut it out of its background with the lasso tool and also gave it a red tint on the contrast scale. When I added the green border, because I hadn’t cropped it very well, it highlighted bits that were still remaining from the background. I chose however to keep it like that because it looked like the bear was leaking radioactive material on the cover. The feature of the cover, I placed in a pink bar with white writing to make it stand out but not for it to overwhelm the main headline hence its placement at the bottom of the magazine.