This is my video created using powerpoint, analysing my mockups and final designs of my front cover and contents page.

1. My Planning Process
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Before I started using image manipulation programs such as Adobe Photoshop to edit and
create my two documents for my school magazine (front cover and contents page ), I made
sure I followed a process which would help me with creating my magazine, making it look
professional and suitable for my target audience.
Firstly, I undertook some market research of other magazines. I both bought and looked at
the more popular ones such as Vibe, XXL and OK! Magazine. When reading and analyzing
these magazines I made notes on all of the trends and consistencies that are and must be
kept in a professional magazine such as the masthead, features and contents page. By doing
this I understood and started thinking of how my magazine should look like and what should I
keep the same or change about it.
Secondly, I thought about what kinds of features you would see on a school magazine and
what would be appropriate for the target audience. Once I had the ideas I started to sketch
some possible outcomes of how I wanted my magazine to look like. I thought of the name
‘Your School’ with features such as ‘School Play’ and ‘Football as suitable features.
I sketched in black and white ideas onto A4 paper for my front cover and contents page so it
was easier to come back and change if I needed to. When I was finished with my black and
white version I scanned it onto the computer and then did colour versions for my front cover
and contents page on A4 paper.
Once I had scanned both the black & white and the colour sketches I started to perfect and
edit them on Photoshop you will see in this presentation the changes I made while in
production of the magazine to better its appearance and professionalism.

2. Black and white
mock up of front
cover

3. Colour mock upfront cover
There is a colour theme of mostly green, blue and yellow. I
thought that these three colours would go well together and are
mostly seen to stand out and attract the readers attention. The
‘FREE’ yellow strip stands out a lot, I have done this to captivate my
audience and make them want to read the magazine as there is no
fee required(which will make this magazine more accessible for
school pupils ). This is also keeping my house style consistent.
I have chosen a plain white background so my taglines and images
are in clear view and are not clouded or obstructed by the
background colures.
My fonts and features are consistent with my house
style but I will have to make the features a bit more
snappy as they are fairly lengthy.
I have a clear to read sub title which states ‘Exclusive Photos
Inside’, I do think the design of the heading is good however I need
to make the heading more specific with subjects such as sports
matches or end of year prom.

4. Final edit of
the front cover

5. Final front pagewith annotations
The Masthead: the title ‘Your School’
shows the magazine to be directed at
the school pupils, teachers and
people in the school community.
Therefore the name of the magazine is
suitable for my target audience at
ages 11-16 The term ‘Your’ gives a
sense of ownership and lends itself to
every audience which makes it familiar
and trustworthy. This name gives the
automatically tells the reader that this
magazine will give you information on
all the things that will be happening in
the school so it will have high amounts
of readership.
Tagline: the tagline I went with in
the end was ‘your number #1
school mag’ which is a branding
slogan typically used on
magazines. The use of the tagline
gives the magazine a memorable
and catchy slogan which will
always be associated with the
magazine and the school. The use
of ‘your’ reiterates the meaning of
the masthead and give the reader
a sense of ownership, so its only
and specifically for them.
Puff: by using terminology such as
‘exclusive’ this is called a puff. This
puff here gives the reader an
insight into what to expect in the
contents page and the actual article
in the magazine. This could
potentially boost my magazines
readership by attracting the
readers attention.
Shapes: there are only two main
shapes used on the front cover,
rectangles ands squares. Although
there are only two shapes used on
the front cover we can see them
used in different positions and
styles. For example in the top right
hand corner where it states ‘Free’
in the yellow rectangular strip.
There are also squares which form
the shapes of the photographs at
the bottom of the magazine and
are also on the puffs of the
magazine. These shapes separate
the individual stories for a more
focused and clearer layout.
Background: the background is
plain and white with a slight gloss.
This makes my central image of the
pupil more focused and clear to my
audience, it also makes the
lettering easier to read for the
reader which makes it easier to
choose fonts and colours. The gloss
makes the front cover look more
professional instead of just plain
white
Typography: on my front cover I
have tried to keep my cover lines
virtually the same however there
are numerous other sizes and fonts
used on the front cover. This was
done to attract the readers
attention by making the front cover
look more visually pleasing. I have
also given the reader a sense if
familiarization with the fonts so
they will know what to expect for
the contents and the magazine.

6. Final front pagewith annotations
continued
Central image: My central image
is of a young male, he isn't
dressed in school uniform as he is
in sixth form and is representing
many students at his school
especially in his own year, he also
acts as a role model for the rest
of the students who may aspire
to also be on the school magazine
cover. Typically he is the student
of the cover as his story is the
main article of ‘Lorenzo
Dentamaro ‘ speaks on his new
upcoming mix tape which is a
huge accomplishment
Cover lines: the main stories are
on the front of the cover this is
done purposefully to attract and
entice the reader to pick up and
read this magazine . The cover
lines give brief information to
what the reader should expect
throughout the magazine and
what is occurring at the school in
the near future. The cover lines
are all of different themes
therefore giving a wider range of
information which then appeals
to a wider base of audience
which will increase readership.
Monthly issue: as you can
see from at the top right
hand corner above the
masthead it says ‘October
2013’. This is obviously
telling the reader that this
magazine is a monthly
occurrence so they know
when the school will
release another one. I
also think this is a good
idea because it makes the
magazine more highly
anticipated instead of it
being weekly also it allows
the magazine to consist of
more information for the
reader for the whole
month.
Colour scheme: I have
used a colour scheme of
green, blue, yellow and
black. I have used these
colours because they all
are consistent to the my
idea of the house style
and the colours suit each
other . Also the colours
can apply to both males
and females as they can
be associated with both
genders .

7. Black and white
mock up of
contents page

8. Colour mock up
of contents page
The title of this page ‘Contents’ is the same font
and size as the front cover, therefore keeping
the house style consistent
All of my images are relevant and relate to
the front cover of the magazine and are the
main features of then magazine.
My page numbers are all in the same font and
are consistent to the house style and colour
theme of the magazine.
I decided to have only three pictures but I might
choose to change this in my final content page
and add more images and less writing as it makes
my contents page look too busy and I want the
images used to be the most eye catching items.
Also the writing should be more snappy and give
the reader an idea of what the article will be
about more quickly as it is quite lengthy which
could be an issue with the reader.

9. Final edit of
contents page

10. Final contents pagewith annotations
House Style: the fonts and colours
used are again consistent to the
house style of the front cover, the
use of green blue and black
proving this, the fonts are all the
same size and the stroking of the
green and blue is in continuous
effect. I have done this to maintain
the house style and not straying to
far from the front cover therefore
making the magazine look more
consistent and professional.
Background: I have used a plain
white background for my
contents page so all of the
lettering and images are visible
and clear to se and read. I have
also kept the background white
to keep it simple and it also is
consistent with my house style.
Images: all of my images relate
to the magazine and are
suitable for my target audience.
I have five different images for
different features in the
magazine which help to give the
reader more information. The
images do not overbear the text
and I think this is important.
Layout: the layout of the
contents page is easy to
understand, it is easy to
find out what page each
feature will be found at and
the header(title) of the
feature is always clear. The
layout is also consistent to
the house style which give
the professional look and is
suitable and simple for the
audience .
Positioning : the
positioning of my images
and text are suitable each
other and for the reader as
they make it easy to see
which images are
associated with which
sections of text. This make
the contents page more
clear and does not
overcomplicate the aim
which in result will end up
with the reader being
confused and unable to
utilize the contents page