I was asked to design a school magazine. That would include its front cover and a contents page.

I intended to:• Search up images of other school magazines and look into their

designs and the key things they add• Take pictures of fellow students in Preston Manor• Create a masthead for my magazine• Fill the front cover with stories that would interest students and

perhaps their parents

A date

Secondary stories

A splash with a teaser story

A splash with a teaser story

masthead

A price

A school name

26.09.13

26.09.13

This magazine uses colours red and green.

• Red is a colour of the Chenderit school. It works well, because people will look at it and will be more likely to buy it if they associate with it.

• The colour red also looks very lovely, making it a magazine which many girls of the school would buy

A date is there to show if it’s old or new

People interested in music and technically everyone who buys school food would buy the magazinePeople featured

in these photos (or their friends) may buy this magazine

Attracts fans of art

Any possible fans of the magazine will buy it

A price is relatively small, more people will buy it

Mentioning a school name gives this magazine a higher chance to be bought by students from the school

26.09.13

masthead

teaser story

a date

• This magazine uses blue as a main colour.

• It is a very calming colour.

• It is also associated with IT, which greatly links in with the topic this main magazine will be discussing

• It is a free magazine, meaning a lot of people will potentially be reading it.

• A focus on IT - both teachers and students, also "nerds" would be reading this for its teaser story

• ‘satips’ - anyone interested in this particular tablet could be reading this magazine

• Young children could be reading this magazine, because there are young children in the photo featured on the cover, which could connect to the reader

• Parents could be reading this magazine to know what ways PREP SCHOOL chooses to teach their children, therefore it interests them.

MY RESEARCHI interviewed 20 students from Preston Manor School to find out what they expect a magazine to be like.

What do you expect to see in a school magazine?

8 – information about the school4 – gossip3 – clubs 2 – photos2 – events 1 – modern art

How much do you expect a school magazine to cost?

10 – nothing 4 – 50p1 – £5 1 – £2.50 1 – £21 – 40p 1 – 25p 1 – 20p

How often should a school magazine be published?

13 – every two weeks12 – every week3 – every term1 – every month1 – every 5 weeks

Target audience: (age range, interests)Although it is a school newsletter you still have to think about your audience and how to appeal to them.

Students in Preston Manor School, teenagers.Their interests may be music, modern art, extra-curriculum activities, sports, upcoming events and information about our school.

Possible title ideas: (masthead / title block)What is your magazine going to be called?

PMS and YOU

Main image:What will be the focal point of your front page, remember, your work “must include a photograph of a student in a medium close-up”

Main image will be a photograph of a happy student in Preston Manor High School, preferably a girl. She will be smiling

Main cover line:What will be the main story?

A Level subjects and grades that get you into your dream job

Additional key images:What other images will be on your front cover?Remember, it is a school magazine.

MAYBE a picture of a head of a sixth form who would be telling them about the grades they need to get into further education OR a picture of a head boy/girl

Additional cover lines:Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the magazine, these need to be audience appropriate.

Upcoming school events this termAfterschool clubs that get you going!

Typography: (style, size, colour of copy)Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your front page.

Style: Easy to read; either white or purple, just like PMS; medium size in order not to overshadow a person but easy to read as well.

Background colour/image:What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to take the focus away from the main image.

Light background, maybe one of the school’s buildings far away in the picture

Technical considerations:(equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting)Be realistic and creative, think about what you have access to and how you could use it.

I can take a picture of a student on the field or somewhere inside the building, so a blank wall would work as a background. I would use a high quality camera and lighting in the art department to make sure my picture is as HQ as it can get. The person I will be photographing will be dressed in casual, preferably light clothes, so she/he does not look too concealed (this then will decrease the quality of the magazine, as the cover person will not connect with the audience to make them take a magazine and read it).

AS Media Studies Preliminary Task – School Magazine Front Page Proposal Form

Extreme Close-Up (ECU)

Big Close-Up (BCU)

Close-Up (CU)

Medium Shot (MS)

Medium Close-Up (MCU)

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

Long Shot (LS)

Very Long Shot (VLS)

‘Over the Shoulder Shot’

Two Shot (any shot with two characters or objects equally framed)

Interviewee looks into space in the frame

Moving Subject Walks into Space

High Angle Shot (looking down)

Tilted Frame (Canted/Dutch Angle)

Low Angle Shot (looking up)

Front cover sketch

I do not think I will be using the same layout, as this is my first try. I may follow some of its details.

Contents page sketch

I do not think I will be using the same layout, as this is my first try. I may follow some of its details.

• I used the pictures I took to create the cover of a school magazine. First, I set the clear background.

• Cropped another picture of a student

• Added a title

• Added a main story

• Improved the writing in terms of size and colour after trying out purple and seeing it not work

• I improved the colour of the picture, making it slightly brighter

• Then I added other stories

• Added a splash with more info about the A Level topic and a head boy’s picture to make it more interesting

• Then I added few other stories

• Added pictures that could link with the afterschool clubs

• Finally, I added the issue number. I chose to put it there because it isn’t very important and many other magazines do not emphasize it. They put it near the barcode, but since this magazine is free, there is no need for a barcode.

• I decided this is my final magazine cover, because it is decent, it has enough information on it and it looks as professional as it could with not too much and not too little. It has to catch the readers’ eyes and I think it does that.

• My contents page main colour is light grey. I decided not to use white, as it would be too bright.

• Added a picture I took of a student who looks very happy as it may increase the mood of the other students who are reading this magazine.

• I wrote ‘contents’ on top of the photo as this saves space and connects the blank page with the photo.

• Then I used a photo that was taken of me and photoshopped it. I took away the yellows, making it much more interesting, because the main colours are red and blue.

• I took away the corners of the photo to give it a softer look.

• I added the page numbers and started adding the stories that featured on the cover and others that did not.

What have I learned?

I learned how to make a magazine look as professional as possible and I learned how important the use of colours can be. Also, it really makes a difference what is the background and how close a person is to the camera.I learned it matters what your audience is interested in and what they would like to see.