College magazine evaluation

We made a college magazine so we could practice and experiment with adobe Photoshop and Indesign. This helps us so we know how to use it when making our music magazines for our coursework. Also by evaluating our college magazines, it will help us on how to improve to make our music magazines the best that they can be.

What went well: Front cover

I think and others as well gave their opinion that the colour scheme of my Front cover went really well together (black, white and red - same as the lanyard which creates a student and college theme) and I think the layout of my magazine works and follows the conventions of a typical magazine. I chose to name the title of my magazine 'Leyton' because I wanted it to be exclusive to students at Leyton Sixth Form College than it being called something more vague like 'Student' or 'Success' which would make it for every student in college rather than those specifically who study at Leyton. The red font is really bold and makes it easier to read which is a good thing because it means the readers wont have to strain so hard to see what it says. The main image on the front cover is of a student posing which makes other students more relatable and have a more youthful and playful theme and this shows that it is not one of those boring and serious student magazines.

What didn't go well and what I need to improve on: Front cover

To improve I need to add more short and snappy cover lines to draw people in more, rather than having long paragraphs on the front cover as this is the first page people see and I don't want them to get bored or completely skip my magazine because there is so much words on it. Also, the picture used is not that clear but is an issue that can be fixed with using a better camera. In addition to the main image, there is no direct address which breaks the conventions of a magazine so next time i would need to have the person looking directly at the camera as this draws in viewers and makes them engage more as a student. The word "Success" looks almost as big as the masthead which could mislead people into thinking that it is part of the name, therefore I would need to make the size of the word more smaller so that the masthead is more clearer.

What went well: Contents page

The titles are bold and stand out making it easy to read and the font is red which links in with the colour scheme of the front cover. This creates a more organised look as I have specifically chosen certain colours and not just used random colours for the magazine. Also red is a bright and attracting colour which is useful because it grabs the attention of viewers. I have listed page numbers which is good because it directs people on where they need to go and where about in the magazine everything is. I think that the images I used worked well because it was of students (around the same age as the target audience; 16-18) in a school environment having fun which creates a youthful and fun theme which the readers can relate to.

What didn't go well and what I need to improve on: Contents Page

My contents page looks quite plain and looks like it doesn't have much content in the magazine which would make potential buyers question if they really want to spend their money on it. Therefore I need to add more content on to the page so that it looks like it has more in it. Also the writing underneath the titles are spaced out which gives the page a weird look so I need to find out how to get rid of the huge gap between the lines so that it looks more professional. In addition, I should've added at least one or two more pictures to the page because it looks a bit dry and not attractive. The font of the subtitles doesn't really suit the look and doesn't look as professional so I need to change the font so it looks more like the conventions of a magazine contents page.