School Magazine contents page flat plan

Here is a flat plan of my idea for a contents page, if I was to create a contents page for my school magazine.

Final School Magazine

I have made my final school magazine cover. I used some of the trends that i found in my previous market research. In my cover i have used complimentary covers and have given it a winter theme. For my winter theme i have made sure that my model and the weather represents the season and that the theme of the magazine and contents is based on the winter season. From my research i found that sub headings are not needed for a school magazine, especially as my magazine is explicitly for one school so it does not need something to make people know who it is for.

Photoshoot

I have finished my photoshoot for the school magazine cover. I tried using various different locations some inside and some outside. I used a female model as it seemed to be a common trend but i also used a male model a little bit just to compare. I also tried a variety of poses, some to make it seem like a hard working school and some to make it seem like the student enjoys school.

Initial Ideas

I have a few ideas of what i could do for my cover after doing a lot of research. My ideas are based on the trends and patterns i found in my market research. Here are some of my ideas for photographs:

- A female or male student doing some work in a classroom focused on work

- A female or male student doing some work in a classroom looking at the camera smiling

- A female or male student sitting in a classroom reading a book

- A female student outside the school smiling at the camera

When doing my photoshoot i will try all of these different shots and decide which one i think looks best.

Real media research techniques

I have used real life media techniques to research a large amount of school magazines. What i have done is got a wide variety of magazine covers and then i have made options down the side to choose from and i have put a cross if the option is used in the specific magazine. This technique is really good because it can see the trends and patterns in all of the magazines and give you an idea on what things work well and what things dont work well. From my research i found:

Commonly used techniques:
- Female models
- Smart uniform
- Primary Colours

Uncommon Techniques:
- Casual Clothes
- Quotes
- School Logo

In my cover i would like to use a female model, wearing smart clothes or uniform as it represents the school well and as clever. I would like to have the school logo on the cover but discreetly so that it is directly related to marlwood. I will use complimentary and primary colours so that it stands out but i will make sure the colours i use do not have any bad connotations.

School Magazine Market Research

Here are some examples of school magazine front covers. On most of the covers the title of the magazine is at the top of the page, the ones that work best are the larger ones across the whole top of the page. The good ones often use clear fonts and are solid fonts which contrast the rest of the page, they also often have a clear background behind them appose to a lot of varying colours and images. They all have text around the medium close up of the student ad use keywords such as "Exclusive" to attract attention. There is often clear sub headings. Most students on the cover look intellectual and hard working. Common colours are white, yellow, blue, red and green.