Preliminary Task: School Magazines

Draft 1: This is my first draft of my school magazine. I used Photoshop to create it.

I used the rule of thirds whilst creating this magazine cover. I made the images towards the edge of the page so it is more aesthetically pleasing and more pleasing towards the eye. The important text and images are to the side of the cover so the audience is able to see them clearly and it is more eye-catching. The language I have used is suitable for my target audience as it is towards 11-18 year old children. As it is aimed towards the teen years, i have included the social media icons which they can find me on, that will interact with the audience.


I decided to make the title of my magazine 'Around Archies'. This is because it uses alliteration which is quite catchy and may stick into the audiences head therefore remember the name. It also rolls off the tongue. I have included a motto to my front cover which is the motto of the school, so it shows what the school is about and their standards of the pupils.


My Front cover includes all the usual conventions and codes such as a masthead, cover lines, images, the issue date and number, splash etc.. In the masthead I used a unique font which would stand out from other magazines and will attract my audience. The cover lines i have used are relevant to the magazine because they show a sneak peak of what is inside the magazine. They are bold and their colours are vibrant so it stands out and is one of the first thing the reader looks at. The images I have used are relevant as they include pupils of the school. It show they pupils having fun and yet being serious when they need to be, this gives a good impression to the reader about the school. Finally, I have included a splash as it is eye-catching and shows the main story in my magazine. It is in a bright yellow bow out so it is the first thing the reader looks at.

Contents Flat Plan: 

I have designed my contents page to be quite busy so it attracts the reader even more and it gives an impression that the school is busy and it means they have to take time to go through it.


I intend to have three images down the left side of the page so it is easy for the reader so see what is included in the magazine. The masthead is in the exact same place as the front cover but i have included a tab below it which shows it is the contents page, i intend to have them the same colour but the contents tab smaller.
Next to the mast head i have placed a school logo so signify it belongs to the school and it is a community. Below the logo i have placed a pug to attract more attention. I have placed the cover lines on the right side of the page and i will include the page number so it is easy to locate the page and whats on that page. I have included an editors message so I will interact the my audience.

My Finished Contents Page:

I have used the basic structure of my flat plan because I thought it would work well with the style that i was aiming for. The colours I have used are red, blue and yellow. They are the colours for the schools crest but I have softened them so it is not so intense also the school's logo stands out due to the colurs being harsh and dominant.
I went with the same font style with the mast head and strip line so it looks organised. On my flat plan it looked busy but on the actual finished product it does not look as busy as I thought which is good. The editors message allows me to interact with the reader with out actually being their with them, it makes them feel as though they are apart of the community.






Research On Other Magazines

I have researched and analysed other magazine front covers and picked out the key connotations which are included in the page. I also commented on the factors which are not included then finally at the bottom wrote an overview.















The masthead on this magazine shows the name of the school which shows the audience of which the magazine is targeted at. The amount of text is very limited, which means that the audience is more likely to read what's on the page rather than avoid it. The text is also quite clear and easy to read as it is suitable size, font and colour.

The boy is in the school uniform but his top button is undone which shows  that the school take s a more laid back approach and allows the students to express themselves however they want.

All of the coverline stories are based around music which suggests that the school is mainly focused on music and it wants to promote itself as music based. There is no price

on the  magazine suggesting that the school wants the magazine to be available to as many people as possible, which increases their popularity and allows them to promote their school to a much more variety of people.

The text at the bottom right of the page says "Head boy" and is the second largest text after the masthead. This shows that the main focus of this specific magazine is also promoting the students blogs and encouraging the audience to go and read them and read more about them.