Title Ideas for School Magazine

Title Ideas for 6th Form Magazine

(I didn't realise I hadn't posted this work before I created my magazine)

Initially I thought of a few different ideas which I quite liked to use for the title of my School Magazine. I thought of, ‘Unique’, ‘Outcast’, ‘Matchless’, ‘Exclusive’ and then finally decided on using ‘Standout’. I choose these similar styles of titles because I wanted to emphasis on the fact that Fortismere School is a non-uniform school and 6th Form which creates more individuality, showing how different each pupil is. I also like ‘Standout’ as a title as it shows individuality- not only in the pupils, but also the magazine itself. For example; showing that this particular magazine ‘stands out’ from every other magazine in the media industry. Furthermore, ‘Standout’, also resembles the stand which holds magazines in the shops e.g. the shelves.

The first font which I liked is shown above. I decided not to use this as I think it will take too much attention from the imagery and it made the whole of the front cover seem too 'in your face'.

After I had played around with fonts before I even created my initial title for my school magazine. I choose the font which I will use for my final piece. The final title is shown below:

I liked my final font better than my first font because I think its bold and more effective, attracting my target audience more. Furthemore, I think it looks more modernised and school-like which is more relevant to my genre.

Evaluation of School Magazine

Evaluation of School Magazine

In what ways does your school magazine, develop or challenge forms and conventions for a real magazine?
I tried to create my school magazine to a professional standard, making it represent a real magazine with typical magazine conventions. Before I began the creation of my magazine, I researched all different kinds of magazines to find out different forms and conventions for different genres such as how, music, celebrity gossip, games, home life etc. differ from each other. Magazines have different conventions to attract and engage their particular audience. For example, a magazine aimed at young people would have less formal language and maybe use slang to direct their audience in a better understanding for them. I took all this information that I discovered into account when creating my ideas for my magazine and then the final piece. I decided to keep to the particular conventions of a school magazine, however using my own original ideas which were different to a typical school magazine that made it unique to other magazines. I used bold colourful fonts for the title to attract the reader’s attention. Furthermore ‘Stand’ was coloured black, whereas ‘Out’ was yellow to emphasis on ‘Standing out’ resembling individualism from not only other magazines in the industry, but also students who are the targeted audience. I also used slogans and catchphrases on the front cover (hinting what is included inside the magazine for the reader), this could attract the reader into taking their time out into actually being interested and reading the magazine.

Does your school magazine represent particular social groups?
My school magazine represents student social groups and tries to emphasise on the point of stereotypes in schools, as well as throughout the world. The title ‘Standout’ creates an aspect of being different to everyone else, and the students finding their inner soul and being their own characters. I created a contrast with the imagery and the title on the front cover of the magazine to make it obvious to the reader what my intentions of the front cover were, which were to show the importance of being an individual. In the photograph, it includes 3 students of different clichés- a sporty girl, the popular girl, and the nerd. These are typical stereotypes of students in school, especially within the film industry. I wanted to use this as, as soon as the audience see the front cover, they straight away know what it’s about- school life for girls (girls also being the target audience). I also decided on the costume for the characters- which was uniform. This was to creat contrast as Fortismere School doesn’t have uniform (which was the school I based the magazine on), therefore it creates a new aspect to the school for students, creating contrast which could be more interesting.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The type of media institution, who would distribute my media school magazine, would preferably be the school which the magazine was written for as the genre of my magazine is a school magazine. Fortismere Secondary School- was the particular school I created the magazine for, which is the 6th form I attend.

Who is the particular audience for your school magazine? And how did you attract/address your audience?
The particular audience which I intended my magazine to be targeted at, were secondary female school children- aged from 12-16 years of age, as well as 17 and 18 year olds as the Fortismere School has a joint 6th form which involves older students. I was able to attract my audience by including themes in the magazine which would be addressed to them, for example help on exam revision, as well as music chart hits, student real life stories, celebrity vs. student look-a-likes, fashion week and more. I discovered from my research and questionnaire that my target audience would be interested in these particular features, therefore I think it would be able to entice my target audience into reading the magazine. Furthemore, the language I used throughout the magazine contents and front cover was fairly informal and child-like. This was so that the audience could relate to the text. The type of colours and text I used was also to attract my target audience, as I used pastel pinky colours which reflect my target audience.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your magazine?
Throughout creating my front cover and contents page of my school magazine, I have been able to learn how to use Photoshop 7.0 and manipulate images. I experimented with the use of tools throughout the editing facility, and began to get more confident with my creativity on different tools. I also tried to work with publisher just to test it out, however I thought Photoshop gave better, more professional looking work as publisher also didn’t have as many tools and equipment to use. Therefore I used Adobe PhotoShop 7.0 for my final piece.

How did you find making this school magazine and what did you find particularly difficult or easy?
At the beginning of the project, I found it fairly difficult to start as a beginner on PhotoShop. This was quite a challenge, as PhotoShop is crucial for creating a realistic, professional final product. I think with practice and help from peers/ teacher; I was able to become more confident with it, making my final product realistic-looking. I think I found the research the least difficult thing to accomplish as I was already familiar with it from creating a toddlers magazine in GCSE. I was able to put my previous knowledge through my work now, which I think helped me a lot to discover what my particular audience would like to see in my school magazine, to help my magazine be appropriate for my chosen genre/ audience.

If you had the chance to do this school magazine again, what would you do different to improve it?
If I had the chance to do the magazine again, I think I would try and be more prepared from the very start of the project and begin my ideas for my magazine straight away rather than after my research. This is because of the time limit in which I had little time to complete the project. I would have also liked to have more time in being able to learn in more detail about PhotoShop 7.0 and experiment with my work more.

Contents page

Above is a print screen taken whilst I was editing my contents page on PhotoShop. I was still experimenting with the programme and the page, therefore, this wasn't the final design I wanted to use for my contents page of my school magazine. I noticed that the font coloured red made it harder to read the text and as the font overlapped particular parts of the images, such as the student's faces, it made it seem less effective for the reader. Therefore, below is an image of the final contents page I created. I changed the font layout and the colour which makes it easier for the reader to see what it says. I think I am fairly happy with the final contents page as I think it links to my target audience and I also like the organisation of the layout.

Front Cover Images + Final Front Cover

Images for my school magazine

I took some photos of my own, as well as a friend taking them for me as I was in the shot, therefore I couldn't take it myself so I just discussed how I wanted the image to look. My friends and I experimented with different stereotypical characters acting as school girls for the image. For example the characters I choose was a nerd, a sporty girl and the popular girl to show different cliche's. I wanted to create this because it's a typical school atmosphere and it makes it really obvious for the viewer of exactly what type of magazine I created

I thought this shot worked well as it shows the different levels resembling status' of the different characters. For example, in a school the nerd would be classed as having the lowest status, whereas the popular girl would be highest. The different movements and different body language, I also chose to include in this shot as it really shows the contrast between characters which I think works well. For example, we can see the figure in the middle has lots of attitude from the blow of the bubble and her facial expression.

This is another experiment image which I asked my friend to take, which I thought would work well. However, I wasn't as happy with the image as I thought I would be, therefore I knew I wouldn't be using it for my final front cover of my school magazine. From the characters facing away from the camera, it almost makes the viewer want to know what they're looking at which I thought could be quite effective. Furthermore, I think it shows the difference between each of them, the image looking as though it's an image for a character profile of them individually.

In this image I tried to create a more natural approach, making it seem like an average school day. The 'popular girl' is on the phone, ignoring 'the nerd' gesturing her away, whereas the 'sporty girl' is shown in an Adidas sport jumper with her tie undone, making it clear to the reader what type of person she is.

This is the final image, which I chose to use for my final front cover image for my school magazine. I liked the use of different levels again, showing status' between the characters. Furthermore I liked the background of graffiti which creates a child-like school, informal effect for the viewer. It also captures the viewers eye from the bright colours.

Below is an image of my final front cover which I created on PhotoShop. I was able to manipulate the photograph and transform it into my final cover.

'Standout' wasn't the font I initially intended to use for my front cover, however I decided on using it, as I thought it would work well with the imagery and the font looked quite modern and technical, more school-like than the other fonts I experimented with. Next to the title, it says '... From The Rest'. This is a play on words with the title, as it is telling the viewer to be individual and different from every one else by 'StandingOut'. I liked this idea, as it creates a link with the image, as we can see the vast difference between the characters personalities, even having to wear the same uniform. The title looks as though it's hiding behind the right person, which gives the magazine a more 3-D effect, making the actual magazine 'StandOut' to the audience, which is the approach I wanted to have. 'Issue 37' I used specifically, rather than 'Issue 1' for example, as I wanted it to seem as though this isn't the first magazine out, which makes it seem more popular as this is the 37th magazine so far. I also placed a barcode on the page with 'FREE' on it making it clear that the readers do not have to pay, this could make it more popular as students may not have a lot of money, especially with the recession and sales of magazines are decreasing.
Overall, I think I am fairly happy with the results considered on the minimal given time that I had to create and develop my front cover.

Manipulating Images

I found an image which is about how models are photo shopped to an extent where they’ve been manipulated and it doesn’t look like the real them, which is a topic I feel strongly about. I’m interested in this topic as it has recently become a huge issue within the media industry as it is having a huge affect on young teenage girls especially and the self conscious, insecurity of the general viewers.
From the image above, it shows the complete change from before the editor had manipulated the image (the right), and after (the left). It really shows the drastic measures of technology that the media industry uses, especially within magazines to make them seem ‘picture perfect’. Both the images shown above, show the difference between natural beauty, and the beauty which viewers compare themselves to and are influenced by. It also shows contrast between real life and unreality. Furthermore, it is a prime example of how the media industry use stereotypical images of thin, beautiful models which the viewers think are natural.

Being an Image Editor

"Being an image editor"

Throughout my media lesson, my peers and I were given certain activities, to get us more comfortable with manipulating images to help us with creating our magazine. My group designed an image which we thought worked well and linked with the particular article we were given to create an image.
The article was a horoscopes page and I came up with the idea, of using one person in the centre of the image, with lots of winding roads around them. There was also a sign post to the right of the individual with different directions and routes to chose. The sign post had quotes from the horoscope which really links it back to the article. For example, “This way for Libras” and “Money will come your way” etc. I was happy with this idea as I thought it really resembled the article and could make it more interesting for the reader, rather than a simple image such as a crystal ball for example- which was our first idea. Whilst creating the image, many factors helped me which I unconsciously used. Such as, personal experience, mise en scene and creativity. These are all important for an editor to create a good image which captures the viewer’s attention. Reading magazines also help which links to personal experience as it gets you more aware of particular types of images which are used to stand out to the audience. Mise en scene is also very important as it captures everything the viewer will see, as well as maybe the meaning behind the image. Lastly, creativity is crucial in creating a well suited image for a particular article, as it gains more interest from the viewer. For example, if the image was fairly boring and didn’t relate to the article then the audience may lose interest.

Experimenting with fonts

Fonts
Initially, I still haven’t decided what the title of my school magazine will be. To get some influence I experimented with different fonts which would suit my target audience which some have been shown below. I liked this font shown above, as it creates a girly welcoming for the audience and it seems quite feminine. I also liked it because it seems quite creative as though its been hand drawn which gives off an art aspect, especially for those who do graphical and creative courses.
This font really above, seems suitable for a school magazine as it looks as though its type written. However, I don’t think it’s very exciting for my target audience as its aimed at teenage girls which could be an off-put for my readers.

I like this font as its quite simple, which could initially let the readers be more drawn to the images shown on the front cover rather than the text which could be the outcome which I am hoping to get. However, I think that the title (font colours, type of font and actual title) could crucially be the most important part of the front cover as it gives off an impression of what the magazine will be about.

Above is an image of a banner which I thought would be useful to use behind my title font using bright colours. This could make the title stand out more and seem more eye-catching for my particular target audience. It also relates to the school genre of my magazine, as it looks like a school sign, or a symbol used on school uniform, for example.

I also thought this font shown above, was quite interesting, as it seems quite scruffy and child-like which makes the magazine seem more informal and able for my target audience to relate to. I thought that the “O” in the word “Fortismere” could be changed in PhotoShop to the female symbol which again links to my target audience. However, I will not be using “Fortismere” as my final title, I just came up with different ideas to get more influenced to create my title.

School Magazine Questionnaire + Analysis

School Magazine Questionnaire


Name: __________________

Age:
Under 10 years
11- 15
16 – 20
20 +

Gender:
Male
Female


What type of school do you attend?
Primary school
Middle school
Secondary school
6th form
College
University
None

If your school had a magazine created by students, would you read it and why?
No because it doesn’t interest me
No because I don't like reading
Yes because it’s free
Yes because it interests me

Other: ____________

What sized magazine do you prefer to read?
A4
A5

In a school magazine what type of articles and features are you more interested in?
Educational school magazine Gardening
Celebrity gossip Fashion
Music Cooking
Home/ living magazine Games/ Technology
Real life stories Posters/ celeb snaps
Advertisements Horoscopes
Competitions News
Discount offers on products e.g. clothes


What type of people would you like to see in a school magazine?
Teachers Celebrity’s
Students Music artists
Actors People from the general public
Footballers Young people

Other __________


After I had created the questionnaire, I gave it out to a number of people within the same age who attend a school, participants of different genders and people from different cultures as well as lifestyles. This particular group of people, resemble my target audience for my magazine which also helps as I can find out what my specific audience will be interested in. This would enable me to gain results from a wide range of people who would be interested in different things. This would then help me into deciding what type of things I will include throughout my school magazine. Below is the results tallyed up which I received from the questionnaire:



RESULTS from 11 people: (Red numbers symbolise the number of tally's per answer)

Name: __________________

Age:
Under 10 years 0
11- 15 3
16 – 20 8
20 + 1

Gender:
Male 5
Female 6


What type of school do you attend?
Primary school 0
Middle school 0
Secondary school 2
6th form 6
College 1
University 2
None 0

If your school had a magazine created by students, would you read it and why?
No because it doesn’t interest me 1
No because I don't like reading 2
Yes because it’s free 6
Yes because it interests me 2
Other : ______________


What sized magazine do you prefer to read?
A4 9
A5 2


In a school magazine what type of articles and features are you more interested in? (tick more than one if necessary)
Educational/ exam revision help 4
Gardening 2
Celebrity gossip 7
Fashion 8
Music 9
Cooking 3
Home/ living magazine 2
Games/ Technology 4
Real life stories 5
Posters/ celeb snaps 5
Advertisements 4
Horoscopes 7
Competitions 5
News 7
Discount offers on products e.g. clothes 6
Other: __________ *Crosswords



What type of people would you like to see in a school magazine?
Teachers 3
Celebrity’s 6
Students 9
Music artists 4
Actors 4
People from the general public 2
Footballers 5
Young people 7

Other: _______ *Professional gardeners



Analysis
From the results of the questionnaire I created, I have discovered a variety of different factors which I will relate to my own school magazine. We can see that the results from this survey are reliable and unbiased as the participants who took the questionnaire are both male and female, and are all students who can relate to a school magazine equally- the participants are also those of whom my magazine will be targeted at.

From the questionnaire, I discovered that maybe I could include a free gift with my magazine as it seems fairly popular from the results. We can see that 6 out of 11 participants had said that they enjoy the free gift because it’s free (however this may not be appropriate for a school magazine as the magazine is free itself).

I also know that the age group that my target audience will be aimed at will be varied between 16- 20 year olds, as I am creating my magazine for 6th form students. This will enable me to capture the audience in particular interests as I can relate to the audience as I am a similar age and attend a 6th form myself. I can then look at the magazine ideas from a student’s point of view and think about what I- as a student would enjoy reading too.

Furthermore, from the results I can see that the majority of participants who took the questionnaire, prefer reading an A4 sized magazine, rather than an A3 which is smaller. 9 out of 11 students preferred the A4 sized magazine which helps me into deciding what size I will develop my magazine, with information on what is more popular.

Another aspect from the questionnaire results which helps me in creating my magazine is the type of features and articles which is more interesting for my target audience. For example, I can see that Music is a very popular category, as well as Fashion, Celebrity gossip and more. This then helps me again, into deciding what feature I will include in my magazine as I have found out what type of aspects are most popular for my targeted audience.

One last important factor which I found out through my questionnaire was the type of people I will be including throughout my magazine. From the results, I can see that the participants are most interested in seeing students involved in the magazine. This maybe because it relates to the audience more and the magazine could seem more informal, welcoming and fun- seeing fellow peers in the magazine. On the other hand, I can see that including “people from the general public” was the least popular, which makes me think about whether my magazine will include members of the public as I can see it isn’t popular.

Overall, from researching the results of my questionnaire, it enables me to create a magazine which will be interesting and worth reading for my target audience. It gives me a better, clearer understanding of what a particular audience would like to read, which will really help me to entice the audience into the school magazine.

Evaluating school magazine- "Evolve"

“Evolve” Front Cover


I have researched a student magazine from George Stephenson High School which I was able to find on the internet via Google.

Forms and conventions
The front cover of the magazine “Evolve” doesn’t really follow the traditional conventions of a magazine. For example, the cover does not include any teasers or sell lines, prizes, or give any indication of what the magazine includes which could entice the audience into reading the magazine. However, the cover does include an issue number (Spring 2009 Issue 8), imagery and large text for the font, which are original conventions of magazine covers. The issue number implies to us that the magazine is produced quite frequently. Whether it is created by students or teachers, we are not definitely sure.

Title and connotations
The title, “Evolve” suggests growing into something new. This could symbolise the students reading the magazine developing into successful adults, after their education. Also, no capital letter has been used in the title “evolve”, this could resemble the rebellious students, as the cover doesn’t follow the correct punctuation or original criteria and conventions for a magazine.

Images/ visual
From the cover, we can see that the imagery is quite un-organised and is scattered all over the page. This could link into the disorganisation of some students, particularly through exam periods which therefore relates to the magazines target audience. The images involved are from; books, pencils, photography of teachers in costume, the school building in a surreal affect, and television programme logos and props, E.g. the Deal or No Deal box. The photography of the teachers could also give some indication that the magazine has been created by a teacher. All the images which are scrambled together making the cover seem quite surreal and childish, which could relate to the particular audience for this magazine.

Colour codes/ connotations
The creator of “evolve” has chosen to use very bright colours for the cover. This is quite affective for the target audience to catch their eye, especially as they’re a young generation. A purple cloudy background has been used, with white and black font on top of it. This creates contrast and really lets the audience focus their attention towards the imagery rather than the text as it’s quite simple.

Articles/ features
Unfortunately for the magazine, the front cover gives no initial indication of what features are inside it, which is quite ineffective. This immediately looses focus from the target audience as they aren’t as enticed as they would be if they knew what they would be reading- whether it’s to their interests.

Type faces and graphics
Overall, the font on the front cover is very basic. It’s not very exciting and it especially doesn’t entice the audience to flick straight to the text and read it. Black and white basic font has been used and the title is very bold, yet still basic. However, the black and white does contrast with the bright background and other images on the cover which makes the imagery seem more outstanding over the text. The basic fonts used on the front cover could again, show that a teacher has created the magazine as the graphical creativity could be improved.

Audience
The Evolve front cover gives quite a good indication that the magazine is directed at young people- preferably students from Stephenson High School. This is quite clear to us from the features used, such as; the type of imagery and original photography, the bright colours and disorganized structure of the cover. Which implies the magazine is targeted at a youthful generation rather than an elderly person, for example.

Issues raised
No particular issues have been raised by the representation of people shown on the front cover, as the cover doesn’t have a direct approach of what the magazine is about. However, the cover does try to be quite comical. We can see this from the photography taken of teachers dressed up in costume/ wearing wigs etc.

Improvement
The front cover of this school magazine could be improved by showing a better indication of the type of magazine it is and who it’s particularly targeted at- gender for example. It should also give a preview about what the magazine holds inside (such as teasers) to engage their particular audience into the magazine. Furthermore, through researching the magazine, I noticed that each issue has the exact same front cover with just a different colour/ background image. I think this makes the magazine seem quite plain, and wouldn’t entice many students as they may think they’re re-reading the same issue, for example.