Design Research - Analysis

This is a basic college magazine called 'Beloit'. The colours used in this magazine are quite bright with a greyish background and a lady wearing goggles with science equipment most likely showing that this magazine is based on a science college. This type of shot taken is a medium close up shot as we can see the upper half of the lady which what looks like to be a science lab background. The target audience for this type of magazine is teenagers most likely who go to college and who have an interest in science. It has a piece of text on the right hand side saying 'Doing Science at Beloit' showing that this is clearly a Beloit magazine focusing on the science topic. This quote is in a quite big font with the word 'Science' placed out of line with the text maybe trying to highlight even more that this magazine is about science. The heading is big to grab the attention to show what the college is called with smaller text size underneath saying 'COLLEGE MAGAZINE' in capitals. There is a lot of lighting coming from the background of this image which I feel suits well as it makes the image and front cover seem very positive and gives it a connotation of brightness and looks professional due to the type of image taken and the scientific structure and image which is portrayed.

 This magazine I have already looked at but i like the look of it and the way it has been laid out with it's used of colours and images used. The image of the male holding backs represents he might be a student and relating to the magazine it suits in well as it's a college magazine. The colour scheme works well as the heading (masthead) is in yellow followed by text below it which is in yellow (mainly the most important information) and more text coloured in white. The fonts used are quite basic, it's very readable and makes the magazine look very professional and presentable, it makes it look very mature. On the other hand it shows a pink paint effect on the right hand side to make it turn to more of the teenager affect to make it more noticeable that this magazine is still related to teenagers with the word 'SPLAT' in the middle of the pink paint colour. This medium shot shows us the waist and up of this male teenager who is holding books to show he is a student.

Colour scheme - The colour scheme has mixed colours of light pink, light blue and then use of black, white and yellow on the top left which stands out from the rest of the text and then again at the bottom of the front of the magazine.

Layout - This magazine does not have a shot taken of anyone or anything but does include what looks like ripped up pieces of paper which fills the front cover in different colours with the name of the magazine 'The College' in the middle of the page so it is noticed.

Audience - We know that this magazine is aimed for people who go to college of the magazine heading. Underneath the heading shows people faded out in black which could mean this magazine is related to people and reality to make the magazine seem more realistic and important

This magazine is made clear what it is about and who it is aimed at and looks very effective because of its background of scrapped up paper instead of more common backgrounds which are mainly medium shots of a student. This magazine front cover is very effective in my opinion.

Design Research - Image

This part of the research is important as I need to understand what types of images to use in my magazines and what they are of. It has to relate a college or students there. I have looked at a number of college magazines and on average most of them have images (mostly mid shot) of a male or female teenager looking happy in quite smart, casual clothes with either books on their hands to show that they are a student and are happy by the facial expressions shown, as shown in this magazine below I found online.

By looking through different magazines in my research I have realised that i should not use a lot of images on the front cover as they are not needed. It will make the front cover seem overloaded and tacky, a simple mid shot picture with good use of layout and colours make a much more professional front cover.

It is important to use the right amount of images in magazines so it keeps the reader interested (who the magazine is aimed at) but to also not bore them with pictures which is not important or does not suit them.

The different types of shots used are important as they show who or what is in the picture. By looking through different types of images in magazines I feel that a mid close up shot is the best ones to show as they show the main point of the image up closely. Especially if it is a person, in this case it is, as you can see what they look like, and there facial expressions, you can see here the man is smiling and holding books insinuating that he is happy learning.

Design Research - Titles (Masthead)

I have researched a lot of college magazines to see what type of approach they have set for mostly teenagers to read. College magazines normally have short titles which are quick and catchy to the reader's eye. The choice of what the titles are called is very important as they have to appeal to the audience whilst attracting the target audience. Obviously the size, font, and colour come into action as well. This part of the research is important as it helps me find out about different titles in college magazines and how effective they may be and could help me to create a more professional title when i come to planning my own.

 For example this college magazine has a title called 'The College Issue'. This title is very catchy and is made clear that the magazine is aimed for people who go to college. The background surrounding this title is different colours mixed together which are scrambled up which links to teenagers as they are seemed as laid back.

Another example of a college magazine title is this. It is simply called 'College' in yellow text colour with a black background and a man standing in the centre of the magazine front cover and covering the middle of the work college. This is a good title as it gains attention towards the teenager which could be a typical person who reads these type of magazines as he is suited to the same type of age these magazines are supposed to be aimed at.

I found this college magazine online and found it very appealing because of the light colours used and the use of a young lady as the magazine cover. This magazine cover is called 'The National College Magazine'. It has the letter 'U' highlighted in red on the left hand side next to the word magazine which could suggest the magazine is trying to say this magazine is for you because the words 'U' and 'Magazine are located together.

This is a very basic college magazine title as it is called 'College' is capital letters with a red colour which attracts the eye of the audience. This title basically spells out what the magazine is about with a teenage girl's head overlapping a bit of the title.

I have looked through many customizing font websites online and have customized different words to see what they look like in the outcome. I have decided to call my magazine 'College Calls'. I think this is a good choice of a title as it shows what the magazine is about (college) and has a good ring to it with its use of alliteration. Here are lists of my title in different types of text, so that I can see which one would suit the audience of teenagers the best and which looks the most appropriate for my magazine title.




This is the title i am going to use for my magazine.

 

Design Research - Colour Scheme

Colour schemes are very important in magazines. These are used to set an opinion on different magazines and how the colours are represented with the magazine, for example if a music magazine has light colours it is more than likely to be seen as a type of pop genre than rather a rock genre magazine. I have looked at a lot of different college magazines and looked at the different type of colour schemes used to make magazines seem more appropriate and try to appeal people to look at their magazines related to the types of colours used to attract the audience of mostly teenagers or those who go to college.
 
Varying the use of colours in magazines can be good as it makes it look more attractive and appealing through its use of colour mixture. Having a good scheme means that you can only use a few colours so that the magazine does not got overloaded with colours and is set to a good proportion so it looks professional rather than tacky. The colours should be used to suit the audience the magazine is aimed at, in this cause teenagers are more than luckily to be the main audiences to read college/school magazines and maybe parents to. I have looked at a variety of magazines and a lot of them use the same types of dark colours, with more informal text. Whereas some other magazines have a different, more positive approach with bright colours and a more formal type of layout.

This is some colours I have formed to get a good idea of some colours I could include in my magazine and shows a mixture of colours which could or could not be used.