College Magazine Cover Brief

Using DTP and an image manipulation programme, produce the front page of a new school/ college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally I must produce mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

My product needs to contain a large dominant masthead which is easily noticed. The main image of the character must be in medium close-up, the face must be clearly seen and have them making eye contact with the camera. There must be a bright colour scheme and have three main colours.
-Thumbnail images that illustrate other articles
-Anchorage
- Price and barcode
- Teasing contents along the bottom
- Competitions and free gifts
- Main article / feature advertised must relate to the the main image

We could pretend that we are creating a front cover for an existing publisher. My target audience will be college students, so people aged between 16 and 19. My target audience will be presented positively, so that it will draw in the audience so that they think the magazine will benefit them and their college experience. I'll do this by having sub-headings which could benefit them, such as how to utilize study periods and free time.

The college to feature on my magazine cover will be Wyke college, as it has many photogenic view points, like the entrances to the different buildings, or the areas between these buildings. For my main image however I plan to use an entrance to one of the buildings.

College Advert Annotations

1. Colour scheme is bright and allows the text to be easily seen on the background. The red, bold text of the masthead stands out so you notice the magazine title first.

2.       Masthead is placed at the top and is big, bold and red, bringing your attention to the name of the magazine before anything else.

3.        Medium close-up allows you to see the facial expression of the character, which is ibviously happy.

4.       The flash “tattoos” would appeal to the college audience because most teenagers find tattoos stereotypically attractive, so this might catch the audience’s eye and persuade them to buy the magazine to get the free tattoos, even if they are temporary.

5.       Cover line are captions under sub-headings that  tell the reader briefly what a sub-heading is about, like on this for example under the sub-heading “Tattoos” it explains what type of tattoos are included with the magazine.

6.       Anchorage reels audiences in, explaining about a story or sub-heading in an attractive manner.

7.       Teller is a sub-heading which informs the audience what the article is about.

8.       Splash is everything on the magazine; the image of the woman is centralised so that you focus on her first, then read the text around the edge, telling you what the articles are about. The text is simple yet attractive and stands out well on the bright background and the masthead stands out the most and is one of the first things you see because of how it has been made big, bold and red.

9.       Barcode is required to scan so that it can be sold at the correct price.

10.   The left third is the bottom left third of magazine cover.

11.   Screamers are catchy headlines, and the headline “Gay and in a fraternity” instantly sparks an interest.