Language:
On the front cover of my magazine there isn’t an actual banner headline, and after the audience feedback I believe that there should be one, because this will help to sell the magazine. The main image used as the background, depicts a positive representation of life at Wyke College and as the institution I have made a conscious decision to do this. Upon my front cover there is no need for a byline or a lead either this is because it doesn’t fit in with the style I wanted my magazine to have. Now because I only have one image (used as the background) on my front cover, a caption cannot be used here, but on the other hand it is used on my contents page, when I produce an improved draft of my final front cover I will make sure there is at least one image with a caption underneath. Particular codes that are always used upon any magazine have been placed on mine too, such as the issue number, date and a website therefore the audience will find this acceptable and familiar. My magazine has between 1 and 2 decks per headline; I believe this is acceptable because if there was any more the audience would begin to lose interest in the actual headline. I suppose that the featured competitions featured could be classed as an exclusive to the magazine but not your ‘usual’ exclusive headline, where the language used would give the reader a shock; I could again consider this when producing another draft. As proven from my audience feedback the house style I’ve used is fairly consistent and also eye catching, if I were to produce my magazine as part of a professional institution then I would have to use this house style again, because it’s the magazine’s ‘branded colours’. The layout of both the front cover and draft of my contents page appear to be acceptable, the audience feedback suggests that perhaps the masthead doesn’t stand out enough and blends in along with the other headlines, in contrast though the issue number and date e.t.c do fit in nicely alongside the theme of the front cover. The way in which the logo has been placed on the piece of paper that the student is writing on is quite clever and cunning, because it brands the magazine just nicely. It could be said that a strap line is used on the front cover, where a brief overview of the article is given in just a few words. Also teasing contents are used but not to the high expectation expected by the audience, because it’s been used in the same context as the headlines in the top right corner, again I will consider this effect when re-drafting my final front cover. There are not any thumbnail images used on the front cover either, which from the audience feedback is not a particularly good thing, although they’re used on the contents page, I will consider these when re-drafting the front cover again.
Ideology:
The message I wanted my magazine to give out is that you don’t have to have money to read the magazine (it’s free). Also it’s both informative as well as fun to read too, because of its bold house style as well as the competitions e.t.c. Finally I would like the image to give a positive and entertaining connotation of Wyke. If I was to produce this magazine even further I would make sure it features more ‘serious’ articles such as an issue from the ‘real world’.
Institution:
The magazine I initially researched that’s similar to mine is the Grimsby Institute; they use double entendres, bold colours, a consistent house style and also a large main image. There’s also a lot of information on the front cover too as well as the website. I’ve also noticed that the institution doesn’t wish to sell the magazine either, there’s no bar code on the front cover. Finally on the contents page there are thumbnail pictures corresponding the page numbers and information but they’re random so as the audience you don’t know where they belong. Also there’s possibly just a little bit too much information on the contents page and therefore you don’t know where to look, this is where I think my magazine holds a more positive hold against the ‘gx’ magazine and the professional institution behind both this and my magazine could IPC media, they own 100’s of magazines and would be a great way of promoting college magazine, yet on a smaller more realistic scale, the institution behind my magazine right now would be classed as the college’s website.
Audience:
The target audience for my college magazine is for Wyke college students between 15-21, who’re from the E band of the socio-economic grouping system. The bright and brash fonts I used have been made to attract the youthfulness of my target audience as well as the youth and hard working ethic of the student portrayed as the main image. Considering the ‘VALS’ scale I will be covering each category, I’ve decided on this because students are always changing their wants and needs.
Representation:
I wanted my magazine to represent a positive outlook on college life, depicted again by the image and the specific language genre used. I also want the students and their life to be stereotyped but in the most positive way possible, not just by their peers but non-students too, denoting and also connoting this is the hard working ethic of the student.
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