I used the masthead “KHS” because it was the most popular magazine name from doing my market research questionnaire, also I thought that I would stick to a basic, short name which grasps the attention of the buyer and instantly tells them what the magazine is about and where it’s from. The connotation of the masthead is that pupils at King Henry VIII School call it “KHS” for short, so it appeals to them because they can relate to and understand what is said quicker. Again I used the results from my questionnaire to pick my colour scheme for the masthead which were gold and black which I think contrast well against each other. I think that these are appropriate colours because they associate well with the new school uniform and also link in with the school buildings yellow/ gold shades of the school doors. I feel that the masthead is a sufficient and reasonable size as it is big enough to stand out which will attract the target audience and is not too small that it becomes pointless. The font interests the younger generation (the pupils) as it is fun, bold and bright.
My main image is of four 6th formers (two boys and two girls) walking out of the well known yellow school reception doors with their school bags talking to each other and smiling. It is a long shot of them so that you can see that they are walking out of the building. I think that this image works for the magazine because we can see that they are 6th formers because of their clothing and it’s not an extreme long shot so that we can’t see their facial expressions. I didn’t want it to be a close up of them because it would be difficult to fit four people in and also the subsidiary images would have covered up some of their face. I think that the image doesn’t fully tell us the main story but gives a hint in that it’s something to do with 6th former which makes the target audience want to find out more about it.
There are four subsidiary images on the cover the two at the bottom of the page are wide shots because it was easier to make them larger without covering up the faces on the main image. The two at the top are both medium shots which I’ve made quite narrow so that they don’t interfere too much with the main image. I think that they are a good size because they are big enough to see what the image is even from a distance but not too big that they cover up too much of the main image. The subsidiary images have been put quite symmetrical on the page so that they are not all bunched together. Like the main image I don’t think that the subsidiary images give a fully clear indication of what the story is about but again this encourages the reader to read the captions next to them and then want to read more about it.
I have used six strap lines on the cover, one for each of the images which each tell the target audience what to expect inside the magazine. Four of the image captions are informative while the other two I think are more entertaining and would probably appeal more to the younger pupils. I have used a question for one of my captions “How are your school sandwiches really made?” which I think would be the story my target audience will most likely want to read. My slogan uses alliteration “Happenings in Henry”.
I think that all the spelling and punctuation is accurate, a few comers might have needed to been added though. My four subsidiary images all have the same font which is quite clear so it’s easy to read. The slogan is in a different font which is slanted and joined up which might be more difficult to read. The main image strap line is also in a different font and all in capitals so that it stands out because it’s the most important images strap line. All the sell/strap lines are in white so that they stand out from the different coloured background. The slogan is in the same colour as the mast head because it links with he masthead more and follows the colour scheme that contrasts well.
I feel that the layout of the page is quite simple and organized because it’s symmetrical and doesn’t have too many images or strap lines all over the main image. I think that the front page is appealing to the reader especially the pupils because it doesn’t look too complicated and make you think you’re going to have to read loads because its mainly images. I think it is recognisable as King Henry VIII school magazine because of the masthead stating the school name and also the images will make anyone aware that this is “KHS’s” school magazine e.g. everyone knows Mr. Nelmes and they will recognize the image of the school uniform.
I would say that my masthead was successful because of the colour scheme going well together, the name itself because it’s simple and short and also the size and font makes it stand out. I think that my images were pretty successful because they show quite a wide variety of different people doing different things at KHS .e.g. Year 7 playing hockey, Mr Nelmes working and a 6th former buying food. I quite like the layout because it’s easy to read and fun which appeals to the pupils.
I think I could improve my sell lines more by making them more appealing to different types of people. I also think that they could stand out a bit more and give more information as to what the story inside is about. Finally I feel that my slogan could have a clearer size and font so that it stands out a bit more.
