Planning, Production and Evaluation

1. Planning Production Evaluation Front Cover

2. Backgrounds I began by taking pictures of possible background for my front cover which would possibly be used, here are some examples:

3. Background will be a brick wall at a slant to follow the position of the boys and to fit in with the school genre, or it will be plain white for a classy, professional look, and to fit in with the school/ sixth-form colours. The text should be green to keep to the school colour scheme Initial Idea Image – Three boys which are in the features article. They are positioned in this way to add dimension, follow the angle of the background and to make them look as though they are a team.

4. Choosing an Image I then selected the most appropriate image for my front cover. I had to chose between the following images: I chose image the second of the two because I felt as though the lighting and quality was far better. I also chose the second image because of the visible green in the tie which would connect with the colour scheme of my magazine. The second image is also good because of the camera angle looking up at the boys, this creates a sense of power or looking up to them as role models, which is how the features article would portray them.

5. Stage One of Production I firstly decided to try a plain white background, I felt as though this could look simple but classy. The white background would also represent the school uniform (students have to wear white shirts.) However, this is later changed because I felt it looked unprofessional and too simple. The masthead is different shades of green to add substance to a plain front cover.

6. Stage Two of Production I found it very difficult to layer text over the layout and so I added a grey colour ‘strip’ on the left side. This helped the text to show up however I felt as though the front cover was in-complete and unprofessional looking.

7. Stage Three Production I decided the change the layout dramatically. I added a brick wall which symbolises a school building. The brick wall was a picture taken earlier on in my project. The masthead is all one colour and very bold. This particular font was chosen because it represents urban life and today’s youth. A shape was added to the bottom where the names of other feature articles are mentioned – I got this idea from my research where I found something similar in ‘FFH’. The star at the bottom grabs attention and was created as a result of my research before hand.

9. Moving the name of the features article so it does not blend in with the colours in the image.

10. Perfecting the cutting of the image.

12. Feedback… This is the questionnaire which I used to survey 10 pupils in Oaks Park (high school students and Sixth Formers) about my magazine cover, the results are as follows:

13. On a scale of 1 – 10, how professional would you say the front cover looks? (10 being the highest)

14. How well do you think the front cover meets the ‘school magazine’ genre?

15. How well do you think the colour scheme works?

16. Do you think the colours used reflect Oaks Park High School? 100% said yes!

17. By looking at the front cover alone, would you be interested in reading my magazine if it was published? If not, why not? Reasoning: No – “because I don’t find the genre very interesting.” Maybe - “because I have never come across a school magazine but if there were things that interested me I would.”

18. What improvements, if any, would you make to the contents page? “Maybe the price should be smaller to make it look a bit more professional. And maybe also some more text on the cover.” “I would put more writing on the front about what is in it.” (I wanted to go for a simpler front cover like the ‘High Profile’ ones analysed) “Get the school logo in there somewhere.” “Make the ‘WIN!!!’ sign look more professional.” “Tell us more about the issue.” “More info about the features article.” (I didn’t think there was much need for this) “Add a barcode” (Our school doesn’t have a system yet in which bar codes can be scanned)

19. What I likeand dislike about the front cover... The image I have chosen is well suited. The colour scheme works very well and is in-fitting with the school colours (9 out of 10 said the colour scheme worked very well, and 100% said that the colours reflected Oaks Park). Certain aspects could look more professional e.g. the price.

20. To improve my front cover, I would... Make the price smaller so it looks more professional. Change some of the more simple fonts to make them look more professional. Maybe put a bit more content on the front cover, however not too much.

21. Overall I am fairly happy with the quality of my front cover. Most of the feedback is good, but lots of improvement tips would suggest that there is room to make the front cover better.