Preliminary Task

Brief

• Produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in a medium close-up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead
• Produce a mock up of the layout of the contents page
• Include some relevant pre-production exercises

Flatplan

Images photographed for magazine front cover

This is an edited version of the coloured image below and the one that will be used on the front cover. This is because the sepia colouring adds some age to the image, making it fit the theme of Halloween as it a very ancient and traditional event. The cake shop background is meant to relate to the coverline "Come to the Dark Side, We Have Cookies", and to help the audience see the rewards they would receive if they choose to pick up the magazine. The hand offering the cakes is also meant to create a sinister invitation to accept the cookies, but in doing so joining the dark side. This also contradicts the image of giving to charity, making the sacrifice feel worth it to the reader.

The coloured version matches the colour scheme of the magazine front cover, which is black, purple, orange and white. The colour version also makes the image, particularly the cakes, stand out more against the purple background of the magazine. However, the image is also only marginally fitting the brief of a medium close-up, hence why the above image was cropped to the suitable length. The use of a student not only fits the brief but also makes the audience feel as though they can relate to her more, rather than an adult or a more sinister character. This image also has some less desirable aspects, such as the man in the background and the tiled ceiling, which takes away the Halloween image, and more of a typical bakery shop.

The second coloured image shows the student not showing much interest in the bakery, not showing the friendly invitation to join the dark side. It also takes away the focus of the cakes, as the student is dressed in darker clothes than her surroundings, making her stand out more. The facial  features remain passive, again showing no link with the coverline. This image does show some links to the Halloween theme, such as the decorations in the background and on the windows, but these are sparse.

Images for Contents Page

This image was taken by myself on a school trip in the early hours of the morning. It was taken on a trip to Butser Hill to study what life was like during the medieval period. This image is being used because it adds some colour to the contents page and also partially goes with the colour scheme, with the black outline of the trees.

This image was taken on a media trip to Universal Orlando in the late May period. This image also adds some colour to the contents page and also shows the variety of trips on offer at the college.

Proposal

The magazine is primarily aimed at 16-18 year old, who are the typical students at college. In this particular issue, it is primarily about raising money for Water Aid the charity through purchasing the magazine. It also advertises SDC's got Talent, and the main stories inside would be achievements by the college, general news and fact files on Water Aid and Britain's Got Talent, as well a variety of activities and competition. Mastheads for the magazine included Kees, Volume and Sound. Kees was selected because of the play on words of unlocking the magazine to retrieve its contents, as every future issue would have a type of give-a-way, such as the cookie vouchers in this issue. The fonts I would use are Cracked (for the masthead), Lucinda Blackletter and Apple Chancery to enforce the Halloween theme, as both were quite cryptic fonts.The tagline of this edition 'Come to the Dark Side. We Have Cookies' gives the magazine a playful and more appealing edge to the front cover. This particular edition would be on offer from the end of October to the beginning of November because of its theming of Halloween and it also gives the students some time to redeem their cookie vouchers. The main image will be sepia and show a student in medium close-up range with a bakery behind them. This is image will be retrieved by primary photography. The magazine as a whole would be published every term, with a different theme and different charity to raise money for, as well as news on the college progress throughout the year. The size of the magazine would be A4. The colour scheme of this particular edition is black, orange, purple and white, and this would vary every issue depending on the theme. Additional images may include pumpkins, bats and witch's broomsticks to fit with the theme and these would also change every issue depending on the theme.

Front Cover Development

This was my initial mock up of the front cover design. It does have a medium close up shot of a student and has an appropriate masthead. The articles are all relevant to events at the college and the colour scheme is consistent throughout the whole page. At this stage, I was learning to use the programme and as such included many of the different features in this initial design. I also used a wide variety of fonts to emphasise different information, such as dates, places and titles. The image of the pumpkin is to reinforce a halloween theme and also matches the colour of the masthead. The contrast of colours against backgrounds makes all of the information stand out and the variety of fonts shows different aspects of information e.g. the masthead 'Kees' is the only one in a cracked font, making it  stand out and it would also be the one consistent feature throughout all of the magazines.

The enlargement of the image makes the cover have a more magazine appearance than a poster. The masthead has been put on the top of the page to make it more obvious as the title of the magazine. There is also the addition of the barcode and the pumpkin image was changed to a witch on a broomstick because it matches the colour scheme and gives a stenciled effect against the orange background. None of the shapes have been changed from the first draft, but they have been rearranged into a more spread out appearance.

The masthead of the magazine has been changed to make it more obvious that it is a student magazine, which is what the brief requested.

Contents Page Development 

This is the initial layout of the contents page. Similarly to the front cover, it has a orange and black masthead with the title of the magazine on it. It also has the contrast of the white font on the black shape. The background is purple because it is a part of the colour scheme that hasn't been used fully on the front cover.

This contents page has had the information on where certain articles are throughout the magazine added. The white box is slightly see-through so that images that will be put behind it will still be visible. The font size is a variety of sizes to make certain aspects stand out more than others, such as the advertisement for free cookie vouchers compared with the news, which would be a more common aspect of the magazine, as needs less advertising.

In this edition, an image of a school trip has been added to the page to create a more interesting background and also advertises the photography competition and events page.

This is the final mock up of the contents page. A second image has been added to add some colour to the page. The black silhouette of the trees in the image allows the image to match the colour scheme. It also contrasts with the white opaque box which contains all of the information and makes this text visible. The orange and black masthead helps to make it stand out against the purple background. The contrast of white on black also makes the contents page banner standout. 

Task 5: IPC Case Study

Task 5: IPC Case Study

Research

History

• IPC originated from 3 large companies (George Newnes, Odhams Press and Fleetway Publications) merging together in 1963, whilst the first magazine was published in 1968.
• Each of the individual companies date back to the late 19th Century.
• Later, in 1994, The Field joined IPC, which stretched the history back even further to the mid 19th Century. 

Publications

• There is a range of magazines that IPC have links with, including: Cycling Fitness, Amateur Gardening, Ideal Home, Good to Know Recipes, Living Tec, Superyacht World, World Soccer, Womens Weekly and Teen Now.
• They also reach a huge range of target audiences including middle age women, teenagers, young men and fitness orientated people.

Portfolio of Titles

• Ranges of genres including Countryside and Horses, Fashion and Beauty, Lifestyle, Sport and Leisure, Teen, TV Entertainment, Womens Weeklies, Young Men and Music.

Structure

• IPC newspapers including The Sun and The Daily Mail
• IPC Magazines including consumer magazines and comics
• IPC Trade and Technical (later changed to IPC Business Press LTD) specialist magazines
• IPC Books - book publishing
• IPC Printing - All non-newspaper printing operations
• IPC New products - launching pad for new products which use new technology

Current News

• 3rd October 2013 - Jo Smalley appointed publishing director of NME and Uncut
• 23rd September 2013 - IPC Southbank appoints group digital editor across fashion brands

Why might IPC be an appropriate publisher for a new music magazine?

IPC has a lot of experience with many genres of magazine and already has a few titles in the genre.

Why might alternative publishers like Bauer be appropriate?

It is known to have a wide audience, with 300 magazines published in 15 countries online, over radio and on TV. It is also Europe's largest independent publishing group. This would make it more appropriate because of the larger audience this brand reaches.

Task 4: Essay

Task 4: Essay

Find 5 examples of magazine covers for magazines aimed at teenage girls. Study them closely and identify what seem to be the conventions of this genre of magazine.

This front cover for Cosmo Girl has a colour scheme of blue, pink, yellow and orange, which suggests and teen female audience, as the colour scheme suggests it is playful, and not on serious topics. The magazine advertises articles about getting boys over night and extreme stories such as 'Raped for years by my piano teacher', making readers intrigued. There are also plugs such as '143 hot autumn looks'. The left third is also populated with the most shocking stories the magazine has to offer, so that it is the first thing readers see on the shelf.  The main coverline is '476 ways to be irresistible' is showing the teenage audience that there is a way to look attractive, but without the designer price tag.

This magazine cover has the colour scheme of pinks, oranges and whites, indicating spring because of the cheerful colours. Taylor Swift's image shows her with wild hair, indicating she has broken free of her feelings for Harry Styles, as indicated by the main coverline, "Taylor her first interview since Harry". This is contradicted by the hairbrush that she is using as a fake mike, which also gives the impression of fun. Taylor's outfit also contrasts with the clothes in the plug in the bottom left corner, making them stand out more. The left third also shows that main stories, with the titles in white text boxes to make them stand out as well. The plug and puff in the top right corner attracts a niche audience of One Direction Fans.

This magazine front cover has a colour scheme of pink and blue, with a blurred forest background, putting more focus on Taylor Swift, who is the main image and is also wearing a dress that matches the colour scheme of the magazine cover. The writing in the only black text box is a code that is is the only bad news on the front cover, which is proven true as it advertises 'Holiday Horrors', which is normally a grim subject. The blue and striped dress on Taylor Swift contrasts the pink puff of the fashion advertisement on the bottom left corner, as well as the pink text boxes in the bottom right hand corner. The green background allows the bold blue text to be visible, but also ties in with Taylor's dress. The colour scheme also matches the 'eclectic' clothing advertised because blue and pink are chosen from different sources.

This magazine has a more random layout, with text in varying fonts and colours, which suggests excitement as it is a 'special issue'. This is also enforced by the pose that Rihanna is holding in the main image, where she is smiling and looks as though she is jumping up and down. The colour scheme of pink, blue, yellow and black all contrast together to make the relevant titles, such as the main coverline and pull quote 'Rihanna "why British men are the hottest"' stand out more to the audience. The puff in the left third is positioned there because of how they are typically stacked on shelves. The word 'sexy' is written in a different text and in black, emphasising that they will improve your appearance and also gives  the audience the impression that autumn coats are a must and should be bought.  

The model this magazine is using is not as famous as the above, as she plays Alice Cullen in the Twilight series. The blurred background of a desert suggests summer, and the bright orange of the floor length split skirt, contrasted with the black shoes and jacket, gives a rebellious feel, as one of the key titles is that she reveals the ending of the last film. The accompanying colours of orange and yellow  further implies a summer theme.The left third also looks populated with the plug '503 fun party looks', again giving the audience the impression that wardrobe choices do matter, and only a select few options are acceptable. The main coverline 'Holiday Beauty', further implies the idea that appearances do matter, instead of intelligence.

To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Magazines are a popular source of entertainment, as shown by the Press Gazette website, which shows that 351,020 copies of Ok magazine were sold in just 6 months in 2012. This shows the wide audience that these magazines have influence over.

On one hand, there is little evidence to suggest any direct link between teen magazines and their readers, as most teenagers today do not follow a certain fashion or listen to the same types of music. This makes it unlikely that all teenagers read the most popular teen magazines because most of the main stories are based on pop artists, such as Taylor Swift and Rihanna. Furthermore, according to ABC consummer magazine round-up, there has been a signficant drop in sales in the countries top teenage magazines, including Bliss and Mizz, both of which have seen sale decrease of 20%. Top of the Pops, Sugar and Shout have also seen 10% decreases.

However, the audience that does still purchase magazines are influenced in their fashion and lifestyle by the stories published. A review completed by physcologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos shows that the increased use of sexual imagery in advertising campaigns and ‘lads’ mags’, encourage boys to become macho and dominant, whilst girls become more sexually attractive. This has also led to an increase in sexual bullying, in which girls felt seduced into posting topless/naked photos on social networking sites. The review also gives recomendations on how to limit childrens exposure to mature themes, such as not allowing job centres to advertise lap dancing and massager jobs and games consoles being automatically set up with parental control.

However, this does not include other social factors which could affect teens daily. Examples of other social factors include family and income, as this could influence the brands of clothing and other products they buy, because they may not necessarily be in fashion. Other influences could be friends and the neighbourhood in which the teens live, as this again could affect clothing choice and music, which could either make them agree or disagree with negative activities, such as crime and pornography.

In conclusion, magazines should be accountable for the stereotypical messages they give to teenagers because of the amount of advertising of sexual images that convince boys to become more physically strong and girls to become more sexually appealing, as shown by scientific reseach. Magazines also encourage stereotypes on areas that are less wealthy than others to give the illusion that less savory activities are decided on by the individuals and not  fantisied by magazines. Although statistics of sales of magazines counter the idea of a large audience, this further shows how the internet has expanded in avaliablity and information that was previously difficult to obtain by teenagers. This means that subjects like pornography and violence can be more freely viewed without parental concent. Finally, magazines show a ideology of men being dominant over women, thus showing that history is repeating itself, and making women feel inferior once again.