School magazine & Evaluation

I was given the task of creating the front cover and contents page of a school magazine. Before designing this I took a look back over the previous years work for inspiration and as a way of gaining a better understanding of what was expected of this task. I was limited to using original photography only. After taking the pictures I then set up a plan which I could work from when it came to creating the magazine. To edit and prepare the cover and contents page, I used Photoshop Elements. I had previously been given a tutorial lesson in this software and so I had a basic understanding of how to cooporate with the software to benefit the presentation of my design.

Here is my finished work:

I wanted to use images which showed the school and its students. To make this appealing I wanted to capture the audience by using fun, interesting images on the cover which would hint at what was to be found inside the magazine. I felt the purpose of the cover is to persuade and inform, it aims to get the reade to pick up the magazine and to see what is inside. I felt that the contents page would not need to come accross so persuasive as I would have already captured the attention of the reader. I decided to use one main image of the school for this to keep the magazine simple and not overloaded ith images. The connotation of this main image of the school suggests pride enthusiasm for the school as it is shown big and bold. It reflects its importance.

The text was kept the same. The main titles and masthead were the same font, size and colour and other text such as caption and headings were also kept to the same font, size and colour. I chose to keep this consistancy to reflect organisation and to keep the magazine looking orderly. I used the school's signature maroon colouring for the text as I wanted to keep the magazine consistent in representing the school. I used text to link the magazine to what we already associate with our school. The font for the masthead and the page titles waas the same font that St. Marks use in the logo and on the school prospectus. this linked the magazine wit our preconceptions of St. Marks.

The logo was used on both pages to create a certain house style to the magazine. I used the original school logo to keep the regularity within the magazine. I feelthis also reflects a sense of pride within the school. To show the logo shows patriotism and loyaly for your school.

I felt the strangths of the magazine was its tidyness. I felt the magazine looked organised and not to overcrowded. I also like the science image as I felt this really showed an enjoyable side to learning and expressed gratification. I felt the weaknesses came with the lack of time I had to complete this tak. Due to commitments with the school dance production I was unfortunately left wth less time to complete this task. This meant that elements of my magazine had to be rushed.

If I was to redo this task now I would leave myself more time to complete this task. During this time I would concentrate on improving the layout so that I could fit more images on the front page without overcrowding it. I felt this was the main aspect which needed improvement as it appeared a little lacklustre.

From this preliminary task I have gained a better understanding in using Photoshop Elements. This experience has taught me how to use words and images effectively n creating an appealing magazine and I hope this will be useful when creating my music magazine in the future.