College Magazine Front Cover -Textual Analysis

Textual Analysis

College Magazine Analysation

Masthead

The masthead ‘Chalk’ is as been positioned at the top of the magazine cover is capture the audience’s attention instantly. The font of the masthead is bold and attention grabbing as the shape is very circular and inviting. The font used is Sans serif; this font would have been used as it is very modern and will grab the attention of the younger generation. The pink coloured masthead implies that the magazine is aimed at young girls. The magazine is named ‘Chalk’ this relates to the college content of the magazine. Chalk boards are the traditional way of teachers displaying what they want their class to learn. This is the aim of the magazine also to display, show and give information to the reader and to teach them something. Chalk is associated with school and work. This is another reason why the magazine was named ‘Chalk’. The young girl’s head is covering a part of the masthead, this connotes that the magazine is well known, recognisable and popular enough so the audience already know what it is called and will therefore read it.

Coverlines

There are many coverlines placed at the sides of the front cover. They are positioned in this way so the text will not obstruct the image. The sans serif font is repetitively used to modernise the magazine cover. Though the same font is used repetitively the font does not look overdone as the size of the font is varied. This variation allows the front cover to look fun and entertaining.  The colours used for the coverlines are different from the colours of the background and the image. Therefore the coverlines are very clear, easy to read and do not make the words hard to read. As the magazine is aimed at young teenage girls, assortments of colours are used to capture their attention and attraction. As a result of this they will read it. The colours of the coverlines are very cohesive and tie in well together. The most interesting content in the magazine is placed on the front cover of the college magazine as this is what the audience will first read before they open the magazine to read it. This is why coverlines are so important for the distribution and marketing of a magazine.

Dateline

The date is clearly positioned underneath masthead. This is not the traditional way the dates are positioned [usually by the barcode and price]. This may has been done to add some edginess to the magazine cover. The date is written as ‘AUG 10’ and not ‘AUGUST 2010’. Writing the full date makes the magazine seem formal, whereas the abbreviated date allows the magazine to look interesting and young. The date in written in two bold and visible colours. This brings an element of excitement to a feature not so interesting.

Barcode

A barcode is positioned in the bottom left corner of the magazine. Ths creates more space for the articles and images that will capture the interest and attention of the readers. There is usually a price by the barcode, but as there is no price this could mean that the magazine is a free college magazine.

Selling Line

‘Chalk’ magazines selling line is ‘Were online!  chalkmagazine.multiply.com’. This is Chalk magazines marketing point as they have now opened a new website. Like many magazines updating to new technology, Chalk magazine has now done the same and wants their audience to know about it. Chalk magazines target audience is young adults; young adults spend a lot of time on computers. They will be interested in the magazine and what it is like. The use of the exclamation mark attracts the young audience immediately.  As this issue of the magazine is attracting young girls the use of the exclamation mark is relevant and useful as girls are more likely to read a text with exclamation marks.  The website is the magazines marketing point as the more people visit the website, the more money they make i.e. advertising and sponsorships.  

Main Image

Chalk is an academic magazine but it appeals to the readers as it contains enjoyable and entertaining fashion advice and stories on successful college students. The main image of the magazine will instantly capture the attention of potential college, whether it is a boy or girl. The young woman is Kim Chiu she is of Asian origin [half Pilipino and half Chinese]. She went on to win Best Teen Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition in the Philippines. She is also an actress, singer, host and a model. She is very well known among the teenage demographic for her fun and bubbly personality. She is a good role model for teenagers as she has taken advantage of her in a positive way.  This is the reason why she was chosen to be on the front page of the magazine. This may even be for her own personal publicity to continue to be seen as a ‘good girl’. A college magazine would be the best place to for Kim Chiu for achieve this. Her look interprets what type of magazine she is modelling for. She wears a buttoned polo shirt which is button to the top. Her polo shirt is a statement piece as it shows she is a positive role model to young women. She does not need to show her skin in order to look attractive. The print on the polo shirt is a traditional school/academic print that is on the shirts and skirts of pupils. This relates to the college magazine. Her skirt is also below knee length, this is unusual for a college student as they usually wear casual demin shorts. She has minimal makeup and she looks very happy, many teenage girls want to feel this way Kim still looks attractive without the need to show her skin. This done is to convey a positive image and message to the students reading this magazine.  

Main Coverline

The main coverline is ‘Kim Chiu Living the Dream’.  The main coverline immediately catches the reader’s attention as it is written in a bright yellow sans sheriff font. This font attracts the readers and allows the main coverline look even more appealing. The content of the main coverline would be what the target audience would read first as it is placed in the centre of all the coverlines on the front cover. Many young people have dreams they want to come true and may find some inspiration from Kim Chui’s story. She is famous in the Philippines so the young readers want to know about her living the life she had always wanted.  As the main feature article in the magazine, the main coverline has to hold the attention of readers. I believe ‘Chalk’ magazine achieves this. 

The Puff

A puff is positioned underneath the masthead and beside the face of Chiu. This is because this is the area of the front cover that the reader will look at the most. The puff is in a different coloured circle as it needs to be visible and readable. It contains the text ‘The number one campus magazine in the country’. They are very proud of their magazine as it is very successful. This will lure the target audience into picking up the magazine as it is popular and the best campus magazine in the whole of the country. It has to be good so they can’t miss out. They have used the puff as their selling point as people are more likely to buy something if it is the best. They have not gone for the ‘Win Win!’ approach [which is with the coverlines] but have reserved its status as the number one magazine to be placed in the puff.

Audience Research Questionaire

Questionnaire for College Magazine

I am a student studying Media Studies at Christ the King Sixth Form College. I am currently producing a magazine cover for my coursework. I would gladly appreciate it if you could take part in my audience research. It is based upon the school providing a magazine to the students by completing this questionnaire.

Thank you very much or your co-operation.

Please TICK the box which applies to you.

 1 .What is your gender? Male [    ] Female [    ]

2. How Old Are You? 16 [    ] 17 [    ] 18 [   ] 19 [    ]

3. Would you pay for a college magazine? Yes [    ] No [    ]

4. If Yes, how much? 50p [    ] £1 [    ] £1.50 [   ] £2+ [    ]

5. How many magazines should be published each month? 1 [   ] 2 [    ] 3 [    ] 4 [   ]

6. Do you read magazines of any kind? Yes [   ] No [   ]

7. If yes, how often do you read one? Daily [   ] Weekly [    ] Monthly [    ]

8. If there were to be a college magazine would you ever like to participate into creating it? Yes [    ] No [    ]

9. If Yes, what is your expertise? Text Editing [    ] Art Work [    ] Designing [    ]

10. What topic would you prefer? Entertainment [  ] Education [   ]

11. What topics would you like to see in the magazine?  Celebrity gossip [   ] Music [                                     .                                                                                                   Fashion [   ]

12. Do you think the college would benefit from a magazine? Yes [   ] No [   ]

Thank you very much for completing this survey. The contents of the questionnaire will be much appreciated.

Audience Research Graphs- Computer RESTRICTING Posting of Images

Fatima Jalloh

Audience Research Graphs

Question 1: What is your gender?

I included gender in my questionnaire as it is important for me to distinguish whether it was filled out by a male or female. This is extremely important as I want my research see if there is a correlation between both of the sexes likes and dislikes. My college magazine will be aimed at both the male and female audience so it is designed to take both of their opinions into consideration and apply and incorporate their ideas into my college magazine. The majority of my questionnaire participants were males. My questions were asked randomly so this will ensure that my results will not be dominated by a particular group. This would mean that most my results would be from a male perspective, though I will incorporate the idea of all of my results my college magazine will appeal to both sexes.

                                      Question 2: How old are you?

I included this question in my questionnaire because it is extremely important                                                                 to know if their answers had any correspondence with their age. Opinions may vary according to age so I wanted to see if this was the case in the results of my questionnaire. One age group may agree on a certain aspect of how the magazine should be and another age may differ. Though the ages of the people I asked were very close together, I can still get an idea of what they all want or desire from the college magazine. The ruling majority of people I asked were 16 years old, though my results could been fairer this outcome up to the questionnaire being random and not set to a specific audience.

Question 3: Would you pay for a college magazine?

I asked this question to find out whether they were willing to pay for my college magazine. They had two choices, yes or no. This question was necessary as it will determine the amount of people who will actually read the magazine once it is published. Some of the people who answered may not be willing to pay whilst some will be happy to pay to read my college magazine. Most people agreed that they would not be willing to pay for a college magazine. The percentage of students who said this is very high. My college magazine would therefore be free as this is what most of my audience require and expect.

Question 4: If Yes how much?

The wanted to know how much they were willing to spend on the college magazine as they were willing to pay for it. Some of them may pay 50p whilst some will buy it for £2. Specific prices were stated as I wanted to know the exact amount they would buy it for. Both participants who would pay for my college magazine stated that they would pay 50p. My magazine would be at a low cost that students would be able to afford.

Question 5: How many magazines should be published each month?

I asked this question to know how many issues they would like to be published every month. Some people may prefer a weekly issue that will contain less content but will be very frequent, but some may want a monthly issue that they would have a wait a longer period of time for but will contain more content of more quality [more time taken to develop and produce]. My audience voted the most for 2 issues per month; this would be a magazine per fortnight. The results are very varied as they have ideas on when it should be published.

Question 6: Do you read magazines of any kind?

This question was created to see if my potential audience actually read magazines. If from my research I found that they did not read magazines of I would have to think twice about publishing a magazine to students who do not read them. I use d the words ‘of any kind’ to broaden the types of magazines they may read and not stick to specifics as my college magazine will feature many different topics. Most of my contributors read magazines already, most of my audience have an idea of what they like in magazines. This makes my questionnaires information even more reliable.

                             Question 7: If Yes how often do you read them?

For those who actually read magazines, it is important of me to find out how often they read the magazines. As this may determine how often they will read my college magazine. The results from this question will also contribute towards the amount of magazines that should be issued per month. There may be a correlation between the amount they read now and how much they will read the college magazine. 8 out of 20 people read magazines monthly and a very close number read then weekly. This is useful as the majority voted for the magazine to be published every fortnight, right in the middle of this result.

Question 8: If there were to be a college magazine would you ever like to participate into making it?

This question was to find out just how many of them were willing to contribute and help towards the making of the college magazine. Some may be interested and some may not want to be a part of it. This is also a useful way of finding people to help with creating the magazine. An adequate amount of my audience would partake into the making of my college magazine. If I do publish it every fortnight it would be able to run smoothly with the input of a large amount of students.

Question 9: If Yes what is your expertise?

This question is used to find out exactly what they will be able to add to the magazine. What they choose will be something they believe they are good at or they may want to give it a try. The multitude would be a part of designing the magazine. This is a pleasing result as the design is what first attracts the audience to the magazine. The artwork and text editing is almost equal so there would be an almost fair mixture of both.

Question 10: What topics would you prefer?

I needed to find out whether they would prefer the magazine to be educational or entertaining. Some may want to be educational as it may encourage them to do better and help them with their work or some may use the magazine as an escape from the pressures of work and will therefore want it to be entertaining. Something fun and engaging to read. A substantial number of my audience would prefer an entertaining college magazine. My magazine will therefore be entertainment based as this is clear what the largest amount of my audience want.

          Question 11: Do you think the college would benefit from a magazine?

The whole point of the college magazine is to benefit the students who read it. So it is important to know if it will make any difference to college life for them. A number of the people asked may find the magazine will benefit the college but some may disagree that the college will benefit from a magazine as they may not read magazines, they will therefore not be interested. 18 people agreed that that college would benefit from a college magazine. This is enough for me to make the decision to publish a college magazine, due to the large of number of people supporting the idea of it benefiting the college.

               Question 12: What topics would you like to see in the magazine?

I asked this question to find out what topics will attract my target audience to my college magazine. It is vital to find out what is the most popular topic as this will get my target audiences attention the most. They will be more engaged if the topics are what they like and what they prefer to read or look at. The greatest number of partakers would like music as a topic in the magazine. As many students like different types of music, my college magazine will include different genres of music. From rock to rap, pop to country. Fashion and celebrity gossip were also quite popular so these topics will also be added to my magazine. These topics will appeal to my target audience.

Using my results information, I have many ideas as to how my college magazine front page and contents age will include and what it would belike, Using the audience research I have found out many things that my fellow students would like to have in the magazine that I would not have included if they did not complete this questionnaire. All of the information provided will make the foundation of my college magazine.

Contents Page

Biro College Magazine

Photograps Used

Photographs Used

Front Cover photograph

Contents Page Photograph

Sketches