Magazine Contents Research

School Magazine Name and Font Research

School Magazine Name and Font Research

Here I will post my decisions for the name and font I will use in my magazine.

My name needs to be school related, and also something that will attract and inspire the appropriate audience.

 After creating a brief Spider diagram I have decided to use the name 'Achieve.'

Here I have used Adobe InDesign to see which fonts and effects I like the best.

From this initial research I have decided I want to use a White coloured font, as it looks clean, modern and professional against the image I will use.

From this research I have decided I will use 2 fonts on my front page, the main title and subtitle will use a font called 'Trajan Pro'  and my footer will use Lucida Calligraphy.

Both of the fonts will use a white colour, as it is professional looking.

These are the 2 fonts I will use on my magazines cover.

School Magazine Image Research.

My magazine will be based on the upper years of secondary school, so the final image I choose will need to be an appropriate image of students around years 10-11 and 6th form.

A very common theme in images of 6th form students is a group of students facing the camera with a results sheet. These images generally have a positive emotional feel to them, with students looking happy, holding their results which generates a very enthusiastic feel to them. They are normally taken with a school based background, for example in the first image, the students are standing outside a school building, this is good as it relates the theme of the magazine directly to the school. The second image was taken inside a school building, with the relevant schools logo directly behind and above the students' heads. This partners the students and their happiness directly to the school, which again is beneficial to the readers reaction to the magazine/image. The third image, shows a large group of students standing outside. This gives the image a very open feel.

The lighting used in each of the images is natural sunlight, they are not professionally taken so studio lighting is not used. By using sunlight instead of artificial light, the images have a very natural feel to them, with the bright and sunny day outside reflecting the mood of the students

However, these images are taken in the landscape position, which would not work for a magazine, which is portrait. These images have a good theme which would be fine to use in a school related magazine, but the photo would need to be taken differentley so it is capable of being used in a portrait magazine.


Another style of image that is popular is of a student(s) studying/reading a worksheet or book. This again directly relates to the school theme, this is the style of image I will use in my school magazine, as it directly shows the student in a working environment.

The theme shown in this image is of a student working in a school environment, this is the kind of image I will use in my magazine cover. The focus of the image is on the student, and the work, with little attention to the background which looks to be a library. The lighting of the image presents a large focus on the student, with a shadowy background which draws attention away from the surroundings and on to the student. The shadows cast across his shoulder suggests natural lighting coming in from a near by window, with no artificial lighting used.

This image shows another student working, although this time the image is portrait, which is the orientation that I will need to use for my magazine cover. This image is a lot brighter than the last, with a window behind the student bringing in a lot of natural lighting.

For my final image I would like to use a student in an environment using natural lighting (outside) standing or seated. I like the idea of a photo of a group of students, however the orientation of the image would not be suitable for use as a magazine front cover. Due to this, an image of a single student would be more appropriate.

School Magazine Initial Research.

Media Studies School Magazine Initial Planning and Research.

My school based magazine will mainly feature teenage students, from around year 10 (14-15 years old) to students starting University. The first example magazine I have found features a group of Year 13 students with their A level results letters, this is relevant to my target audience as they are within the age range I am aiming my magazine at.

The image on the front cover is simple, a group of students outside in front of what  looks to be the school they attend. The mood of the image is cheery, with none of the models used looking upset, this is possibly to encourage a positive attitude with potential readers. The magazine has chosen to use simple white text, as it stands out from the background and has a simple feel to it, instead of being over-elaborate.

The layout of the magazine is clean and modern, it is not cluttered with stories, and has a short summary of the issues content at the bottom under the main stories name. The cover contains information such as the date the issue was released, a related website address, and a notice for a special offer run by the magazine.

The second example I found takes a different approach. This magazine has used an image of a student holding various different cables, with the article it is aimed at being called "The Great Disruption? - Technology and the future of our schools." This is also relevant to my theme, as technology is an important part of modern schooling, with many lessons being taught with computers. The magazine has also chosen a clean, simple large white font to use for the title, with a summary of the contents at the side out of the way of the main image. The image used in this magazine is in a different environment to the other example magazine. It has been taken in a dark environment creating a lot of shadows in the final shot, this is maybe symbolic for the "Disruption" that technology may be causing. This magazine also has relevant information such as the date and a short subtitle which backs up the main focus of the magazine.

I like the design of this magazine as it is more complicated than the first, but is not TOO complicated. 

The last image I found for my initial research shows a young student directly facing the camera, with a few other students behind her, slightly out of focus. Unlike the other magazine covers I found, this image is not a full cover photo, and instead covers about 3/4 of the page, with a space at the top for the logo and a brief contents description. This cover is clean and not over complicated.

In my magazine I will use a simple and clean text for the title, as it serves its purpose well without drawing too much attention from the rest of the page. My cover image will be taken outside in a light environment, so the titles image will not be able to be a light colour such as white, as it will conflict too much with my background image. The lighting of the image used is important, as the content pictured must be easily view able by the reader.