2. INTRODUCTION
• For my coursework I chose to produce a draft of a school magazine front cover.
Which includes a close up shot of a student with masthead and body text laid out
appropriately. I have completed research beforehand to gain knowledge and skills
in layout and compositions on magazines. This demonstrates my grasp of the DTP
program. During the first few weeks I have analyzed three front covers and four
content pages of school magazines.
4. MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
DESIGN CODES AND CONVENTIONS
Masthead
Publish Date
Subject
Skyline
Main Cover Line
Smaller text indicates
less important articles
Rule of thirds
LEFT
THIRD
MIDDLE
THIRD
TOP
THIRD
5. MAGAZINE FRONT COVER DECONSTRUCTION
Masthead is a magazine feature composed out
of written and graphical elements. The written
element is in the foreground, while the
graphical element is in the background. It
utilizes cold colors. It is the first thing people
read. In the top middle third, we can see the
text utilizing 2 contrasting graphical elements
allowing for an attractive aesthetic. Typeface of
font of masthead belongs to the Sans – Serif
category. These fonts are clear, bold and easy
to read from a distance.
The dateline tells the reader which
magazine issue it is. This is
important because people want
to know whether the events in the
magazine they are reading are
recent or not.
The headline is this issue’s most important
news, hence why its on the front page in large
font. It is usually a catchy headline. Since it’s the
largest text on the cover apart from the
magazine name, it has to be catchy enough to
make the reader want to see what it is and
consequently buy the magazine.
The headline is this issue’s
most important news, hence
why its on the front page in
large font. It is usually a
catchy headline. Since it’s the
largest text on the cover
apart from the magazine
name, it has to be catchy
enough to make the reader
want to see what it is and
consequently buy the
magazine.
6. MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
DECONSTRUCTION
Masthead is a magazine feature composed
out of written and graphical elements. The
written element is in the foreground, while
the graphical element is in the background.
It utilizes cold colors. It is the first thing
people read. In the top middle third, we can
see the text utilizing 2 contrasting graphical
elements allowing for an attractive
aesthetic. Typeface of font of masthead
belongs to the Sans – Serif category. These
fonts are clear, bold and easy to read from
a distance.
The dateline tells the reader which
magazine issue it is. This is important
because people want to know whether the
events in the magazine they are reading
are recent or not.
The headline is this issue’s most important
news, hence why its on the front page in
large font. It is usually a catchy headline.
Since it’s the largest text on the cover
apart from the magazine name, it has to
be catchy enough to make the reader want
to see what it is and consequently buy the
magazine.
The headline is this issue’s most important
news, hence why its on the front page in
large font. It is usually a catchy headline.
Since it’s the largest text on the cover apart
from the magazine name, it has to be catchy
enough to make the reader want to see what
it is and consequently buy the magazine.
7. SCHOOL MAGAZINE CONTENT PAGE ANALYTICAL
DECONSTRUCTION
The pictures are all organized in a formal
snapshot style to appeal to the targeted
teenager audience. They are all taken outdoors
giving a sense of freedom and natural beauty.
Playing sports and the hanging out pictures show
the audience the friendship and synergy between
these two subjects. Most of the shots are
medium-long shots stressing both importance of
the main character without disregarding the
background.
The masthead of this content page is very simple
and informal. It is written in a sans-serif font as it
is bold, clear and eye-catching. and contains no
banners around it. It is enlarged so it is more
noticeable as well as the insides of the letters
have been made red to made it seem more
appealing and energetic instead of simply bland
and boring. Red is combined with a black
coating to make it more visually attracting .
The article headings are formal, due to the serif font
used which also gives the feel of order as it used in
amateur and professional magazines. As well as
informative, briefly explaining to the audience what
they are going to read about. There is use of rhetorical
questions and exclamation marks appeals to the
teenager audience and gets them exited to read the
rest of the magazine. The language is simple, effective
and casual as they target sport focused audience.
8. SCHOOL MAGAZINE CONTENT PAGE ANALYTICAL
DECONSTRUCTION
Pictures
Masthead
Article
Headings
Issue Date
15. QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS
• Based on the questionnaire results, I have concluded the following : The majority
of our audience is male and our magazine will be called Chartwell Piercer. The
magazine will mostly be composed of articles about school clubs, and
information surrounding them. We will be releasing our magazine on a monthly
basis. We will stick with the red & gray color scheme, and we will utilize an
informal tone in our articles to connect with the reader. Our magazine will be
upper secondary only, and exclusively available online.
17. MASTHEAD FONTS
Fancy, nice for reading, script font
Classic, Serif font, Easy to read,
medium weight
Simple, Elegant, Minimalistic Easy to
read
Sans Serif
