Music Magazine: Research & Planning: Existing Magazine Analysis: Billboard

Billboard Magazine: Analysis No.1

Billboard chooses to use the mainstream chart music in their magazines. They provide the reader with the latest chart news, artist information and the songs from the charts. This is why they have a fairly young target audience as these are the people who enjoy the chart music most.

Student Magazine: Contents Page

This is my contents page to my magazine, I have made it simple and easy to follow/read. The colour scheme matched that of the colleges logo and I have also inserted the college logo into the background.
I have kept to simple colours for my text and simple fonts as this gives the page an over all uncluttered look which is the style I was aiming for in my magazine.
I have faded the back out by making it more transparent as this means the text stands out against the background and there are no colours too dark.
I used an underline on some of the text for the first time as another effect which creates part of my magazine.
I used a gradient effect to create the mixed background colour that matches the logo, this was difficult to create and took a lot of time to work out how to do it. Eventually I got the look I was looking for.
I am pleased with how the magazine contents page has turned out and think it matches exactly the image I had in my head.

Student Magazine: Cover Final Version

This is my latest version of my student magazine. I have added in all my cover lines and a logo, the logo is used so people can recognise my magazine cover straight away. I have found a way to edit the points of the boxes around my cover lines so they all have different shapes to them to make the magazine more interesting and to fit to the shape of the main picture. I am glad I discovered how to do this as it gives the magazine a better look and makes the magazine more similar to the image of my magazine I had in mind. It also adds in a more professional look to the magazine. I have chosen to have all cover lines in different colours as it separates them a bit more and also makes the magazine less boring and more exciting to look at. I have added in a tag line at the top of my magazine that was a quote 'Student Guidance' has given the magazine, this is going to be used as the magazines tag line on every magazine.


I am pleased with my final magazine cover as it is similar to the idea I had created in my head and I managed to figure out how to use InDesign to suit the needs of my magazine and create the cover I had imagined. There are some things I can improve on for example some of my cover lines I believe are harder to read then they should be and I could adapt my magazine so this does not happen. Overall I am fairly please with how my magazine cover has turned out.


I think my magazine cover has developed far and I am at the stage where I am ready to move onto the contents page of my magazine.

Student Magazine: Draft 2

This is my improved draft for my student magazine. I have not changed much apart from adding in some of my cover lines and editing them to how I want them to look. Next lesson I want to add in some more effects and maybe add an effect to my main image. I'm also thinking about adding the college logo and maybe some other images to make the magazine look better.

Student Magazine: Draft 1

This is my draft of my student magazine, I used a quick photograph and a simple masthead to get used to how InDesign works and to get to grips with the basics of creating my own magazine cover.

Student Magazine: Initial Ideas & Proposal

Who my magazine is aimed at: I am aiming my magazine at 16-18 year olds who are studying at college, the magazine should be aimed at both males and females.

What it is about: The magazine is going to be about events taking place in college, competitions and to give guidance/support to students attending the college.

Ideas for cover lines: 'Take a trip to Thorpe Park with new college friends!' 'Are you balancing your social life and homework well?' (including sub-header: 'we have the best easy tips from experts on how to have a social life while your courses are not effected!') 'Be a part of the college with your opinions' 'new loyalty cards for drinks!' (including sub-header: 'just simply like us on Facebook').

Magazine Title: I am going to call the magazine 'SD Student Mag' its an abbreviated way of 'South Downs Student Magazine', because its abbreviated I believe it fits in well with the targeted audience of 16-18 year olds.

Fonts to use: The font styling will be easy to read for anyone but still not too plain. I would like to include a bit of interest in the font without too much detail just to give the magazine a better and hopefully more interesting look to it.

I would like my masthead to have a simple font design so it is not too complicated and to suit a male and female audience.

When it will be published: My magazine will be published at the start of the college year as it has advice about coursework and courses so would be useful for the new students that have just started college and need some guidance. It will also include upcoming events/trips which means the magazine would have to be published at the start of the year to give a years overview of trips.

Image on the front cover: My image on the front cover will be a college student looking pleased and hopefully some of the college in the background. There are possibilities the student could have a book in hand or a 'Thorpe Park ticket' to make it look like they show a lot of interest in the contents of the magazine. The image will be taken on a digital camera.

How frequently its published: The magazine will be published at the start of every half term so students can be updated with new events/trips and guidance.

Dimensions of cover: A4 Size.

Images/colour to include on the contents page: I want to include lots of white behind the mast head to make it look very fresh and crisp and bright colours. I don't want to include any dark and dingy colours as it would make my magazine look very boring and it would not stand out to anyone. Around the time of christmas and other events the magazines theme will change to the theme of the holiday to make it more interesting, it will also have a nice change to the normal design and hopefully make it more fun to look at.

To What Extent Should Magazines Be Held Responsible For The Social Ramifications Of The Representations They Offer?