I have designed the front cover and contents page of a new college magazine. I have named it Hyde life because it is for Hyde Clarendon college and is aimed at students who are spending some of their life at the college.
I designed the front cover on photoshop. I used the already existing house style of the college using the logo and looking at the website, seeing that green, blue, pink and green were often displayed on a black background. I recreated this effect within both my cover and contents page. Using semiotics this shows that it is directly linked to Hyde Clarendon college.
The image I chose to use on my front cover is one of myself which I cut out and reduced the opacity of. I think this effect worked well as it is still central on the cover, though not demanding attention like the stories are with their brighter colours. I don't think that the image was a very good one as it is quite plain.
The main story has a strongly contrasting style to the other ones, being in a different coloured box and text, though still using the colours that are linked with the college. I think this was successfully done.
The masthead is bold and strong to grab attention, the blue banner with green text which has a small, yet noticable, drop shadow is good at getting attention.
All of the text on the front cover is in front of a box to make it easier to read, and for it to jump out. I think there may have been a few too many different colours on there though.
On my contents page I repeated the logo right at the top. With the page masthead below this. The first thing on the page is a welcome note. These are arranged in this order because they are in the order that I want them to be read, with the welcome first, then a logo, then the "contents" text. This works quite well but if it was listed int the centre one on top pof the other this would have worked better. I don't think that would have looked as effective though.
The text on the page is aligned in columns, with a pink text for the story and a blue description in a slightly smaller font with the page number of the story listed next to it. This is done so that the story grabs attention and then the description is there to be read to find out a little more. This effect works very well as it makes the text clear and distinct, as well as causing it to stand out.
The image at the bottom is used to show a student working. This is easy for the target audience to relate to because they will be doing a lot of work at college.
What I Like about the college Magazine:
I like the variety of colours used within the magazine as they reflect the colours of Hyde Clarendon college. they are the same as on the logo and the ones used on the colleges website.
The stories are displayed within different coloured shapes, allowing them to stand out and create an effect within people, making them want to read it.
The image of myself has lowered opacity and lowers focus on it, highlighting the stories that the college magazine has to offer.
The contrasting colours used in every piece of text make every word very bold and clear, which is helpful for a product which needs to be read.
Dislikes about the college magazine:
The magazine looks very basic. There is very little involved in the making of it, which makes it look plain and dull, so it will not stand out from its competitors.
There are a lot of colours. Most magazines stick to a basic few colours, usually no more than three, though this has more than that. It could be quite confusing and difficult to follow as the structure is a bit more complex.
There is very little information involved. This gives people very little to think about it, and less chance of persuading them to read on and find out more.
Improvements:
More features and effects could be added to the magazine, For example there could be more images that have effects added to them, like liquifying.
There could be less colours involved within the magazine, and an easier structure. For example it could have pink and white text boxes or blue and green, rather than having both.
More stories and information could be included within the magazine in order to gain more interest and cause people to read more, persuading them to get the magazine.
Feedback:
Good use of information is included.
Small font is used which is quite hard to read.
Few images are used, there could be a lot more.
Little colour is included on the front cover and contents page, more colours would make it look more attractive.
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