Preliminary Task Evaluation

Overall I'm quite happy with the outcome of my preliminary task.
I feel that through a variety of different techniques I have created a front cover that is eye-catching and would connect to the target audience of 6^th form students. 

For example I have used a strong enigmatic image of a girl wearing a Venetian mask pushing her hair out of her face. This creates a sense of enigma and juxtaposition as the reader wants to know why she is both hiding behind a disguise and revealing herself to the reader by moving the hair out of her face. This creates a connection between the reader and the magazine as they are intrigued and want to know what is happening within the picture so persuades them to look closer and see the cover line above the image saying “How to come out of hiding within 6^th Form” which then reveals the concept behind the image; that of a girl coming out of hiding as she enters the 6^th Form, thus linking into the school magazine.

However the image could also been seen as too abstract and not related enough to school magazines as it does not fit the cultural stereotype and expectations of a school magazine which usually has an image of a student doing work. However I feel with the accompanying cover lines and masthead it does denote a 6^th Form magazine.

It also mimics more editorial and fashionable magazines which have enigmatic and artistic images on the front cover which implies to the reader that this school magazine is a more fashionable lifestyle magazine instead of a study based one. However this link could also alienate potential buyers as it appeals more to young women not men so reduces its readership.

The girl is also staring straight out at the reader which is again engaging and reinforces the connection between the reader and the magazine. It also connotes a confident woman who doesn’t want to hide which is the message the main article within the magazine is portraying to the reader. The use of bracelets and bangles on the front cover image also connotes a sense of individuality and freedom of expression which is again what the magazines main story is about.

The use of complimentary colours has also been used on the front cover to again grab the attention of the reader. For example the girl has bright red hair, lips and bracelets whereas the background, her eyes and eyeliner are a greeny/blue which creates a strong contrast. This contrast is an unusual one for a magazine front cover which often favour black or white backgrounds so grabs the attention of the reader. The bright red of the hair, lips and bracelets also connotes a sense of danger and confidence which coupled with the black mask and vest implies to the reader that this girl is powerful, confident and in control which is again what the main message of the cover story is.

There is also a sense of unity of colour on the front cover with a theme of red, white and black all of which are eye catching and bold. For example the red of the girl’s hair, lips and bracelets is also the same red as the last word of the magazine’s masthead and the black of her mask and vest is also used in the second word of the title and in many of the coverlines. This gives the impression of a cohesive coherent magazine and makes it look more professional and therefore believable which is important as it needs its readers to respect its contents or else it wouldn’t be bought.

The font type on the front cover has also been chosen carefully with a font type that looks like chalk on a board used for the magazine’s name. This connotes that it is a magazine linked to education and reinforces to the reader that this is a school magazine.

The coverlines are written in Comic Sans as this is the most used font by young people so again reveals its target audience of students in 6^th Form and portrays what they are used to and familiar with which makes the magazine more appealing to them.

All of the coverlines also have a drop shadow on them, especially the white ones as this makes it much easier to read from far away to enable potential customers to see easily what the main stories of this edition are about and entice them to buy it and fits the proper mode of address for a magazine.

The actual text has also been used to entice the reader into buying the magazine. For example there four main stories shown on the front cover and all have been placed on the left hand side and as high up as possible as this is the most seen area by customers when it’s on the shelf so this space has been utilised to try and persuade the reader to buy the magazine. The main article is written along the top and connotes what the cover image is about. The other main articles are placed down the left hand side with relevant stories and articles such as “Poet Laureate Visit” and “Top 10 Tips to deal with exam stress” which shows that the magazine deals with current news such as important visits and also offers advice and guidance all of which a 6^th Form student would expect to find in a school magazine and would theoretically want to read so this provides incentive to the reader to buy it.

There is also another main story on the front cover which says “Win a Macbook!” with an image of a Macbook below which provides even more incentive for the reader to buy the magazine as they could win an expensive computer. The use of the term “win a Macbook” also suggests to the reader that it is something that is easy and could be achieved whereas if it had been phrased differently, for example maybe “have a chance to win a Macbook”, it would provide less incentive as there appears to be less certainty at wining the desired object.

The magazine’s title and pun of “A New Level” also reveals to the reader that this is a school magazine and implies that through reading this magazine they can make something better of themselves which 6^th Form students are already trying to do through furthering their education, so again persuades the reader to buy it.

Overall the language on the front cover is fairly formal with no colloquial language which shows that it is well written piece so worthy of intelligent people such as its target audience but is also not too wordy and does not use complicated language so appeals to the younger generations which are its target audience.

I am overall very pleased with how my preliminary task has gone as I feel I have created an eye catching front cover that fits the appropriate modes of address for a magazine front cover. However I feel there are a number of aspects I can improve on such as making it clearer as to what type of magazine it is.