Sunday, 27 September 2009

Research on student magazines


Evolve magazine

The title ‘Evolve’ has connotations with growing up, developing etc, which makes it a good title for a school magazine.

The white writing stands out from the background and is easy to read.

Eye catching design which lets people know what will be included in the magazine. It gives people an idea of the content, but in an interesting way, rather than just listing articles on the cover.

The sponsorship means that the school can afford to give away the magazine for free.


People are more likely to be interested in the magazine if they believe it is a one-off. Labeling the magazine as a ‘special edition’ entices people to buy it.

It uses a bold, clear font, easy to read from a distance.

There is a bright coloured background which stands out and looks appealing. Purple may appeal to girl’s more, but this may have been chosen deliberately as girl’s are more likely to be interested in magazines.

Clearly shows the purpose of the magazine and the target audience (pupils who attend George Stephenson High School.)



High Profile magazine

Like 'Evovle' it has the name of the school at the top of the cover, making it clear who the target audience is

The title is in bold black writing which stands out

The title 'High Profile' suggests that this magazine is the best student magazine. 'High Profile' also has connatations with being well known, suggesting that the magazine is well known throughout the school.

The picture used in the background shows a student smiling happily, doing rock climbing or some smilar activity. This suggests to people that students at this school are very happy and also are provided with oppourtunities to do exciting activities such as rock climbing.

The magazine has a 'This Issue' box at the bottom of the page, which gives the reader an idea of the content of the magazine.


FFH

The title stands for Further Faster Higher. However, this is not made clear and may confuse some people.


The background is a big picture of a group of pupils in what looks like a school gym. They are looking upwards and whilst the background of the picture is blurry, they are in focus. The picture looks very professional, which gives a good impression.


The title is displayed within a logo, which gives the magazine a sense of identity. It also has a sloga of 'acheiving success together,' which makes it different from the other magazines I've looked at.


Like 'High Profile', the magazine has a 'In this issue' box at the bottom. This is an effective way of telling the reader what'll be included in the issue.


Some of the text is written sideways. This makes it harder to read at a glance.

















My focus group

An important part of my preliminary task is my audience focus group. This is a group of people, who fit into my target age group (16-18) for my student magazine. I deliberately chose students who attend my school as their suggestions could be specific to the school if necessary. Also they have experience of the student magazines my school have produced in the past, so they would have more of an idea of what they want to see. I will ask them their ideas on what they would like a student magazine to include and ask for their opinions on any work I produce. The members of my audience focus group are;




Name: Katie Fry

Age: 16

School/college: Southend High School for Girls

Studying: Biology, English Language, Geography and German

Katie currently reads Horse & Rider magazine regularly, as her main interest is horse riding. In a student magazine, Katie would like to see advice arcticles and reviews on the lastest music.




Name: Zehra Quereshi

Age: 16


School/college: Southend High School for Girls

Studying: French, Maths, Psychology and Spanish

Zehra doesn't really read magazines, though she will sometimes read music magazines of her favourite bands (The Killers, Fall Out Boy and The Script) are in them. In a student magazine she would like to see reviews on the latest music and films, fashion and advice.





Name: Leanne Saunders

Age:17

School/college: Southend High School for Girls

Studying: Drama, English Language, Geography and Psychology

Leanne likes More magazine. In a student magazine, she would like to see an Agony Aunt who could advise students on aspects of sixth form life.





Name: Kelly Woods


Age: 16


School/college: Southend High School for Girls

Studying: Biology, Chemistry, German and History

Kelly loves reading real life magazines like Take A Break but hates celebrity magazines. In a student magazine, she would like to see school news and infromation on upcoming events.