Planning

Production

Evaluation

Front Cover

Backgrounds

I began by taking pictures of possible background for my front cover which would possibly be used, here are some examples:

Initi

al Id

ea The text should be green to keep to the school colour scheme

Background will be a brick wall at a slant to follow the position of the boys and to fit in with the school genre, or it will be plain white for a classy, professional look, and to fit in with the school/ sixth-

form colours.

Image – Three boys which are in the features article. They are positioned in this way to add dimension, follow the angle of the background and to make them look as though they are a team.

Choosing an ImageI then selected the most appropriate image for my front cover. I had to chose between

the following images:

I chose image the second of the two because I felt as though the lighting and quality was far better. I also chose the second image because of the visible green in the tie which would connect with the colour scheme of my magazine. The second image is also good because of the camera angle looking up at the boys, this creates a sense of power or looking up to them as role models, which is how the features article would portray them.

Stage One of Production

I firstly decided to try a plain white background, I felt as though this could look simple but classy. The white background would also represent the school uniform (students have to wear white shirts.) However, this is later changed because I felt it looked unprofessional and too simple.The masthead is different shades of green to add substance to a plain front cover.

Stage Two of Production

I found it very difficult to layer text over the layout and so I added a grey colour ‘strip’ on the left side. This helped the text to show up however I felt as though the front cover was in-complete and unprofessional looking.

Stage Three ProductionI decided the change the layout dramatically. I added a brick wall which symbolises a school building. The brick wall was a picture taken earlier on in my project.The masthead is all one colour and very bold. This particular font was chosen because it represents urban life and today’s youth.A shape was added to the bottom where the names of other feature articles are mentioned – I got this idea from my research where I found something similar in ‘FFH’.The star at the bottom grabs attention and was created as a result of my research before hand.

Stage Four of ProductionAt this stage, my

front cover is almost complete. I have

added the school’s slogan at the top in a

yellow/gold colour which also follows the school colour

scheme. The date, also in gold, has

been moved onto the green ‘O’ where it shows up. There is also a border around

the star so that it doesn’t blend into

the image.

There are tiny imperfections at this

point which needed to be changed, these include: • Straightening the date

and aligning the price properly.

• Moving the name of the features article so it does not blend in with

the colours in the image.• Perfecting the cutting

of the image.• Moving the star so that

it does not overlap the white text.

The Final Product

I found that when printed, my front cover was to dark. To change this, I lightened the

green and the yellow and also the image.

I also added bullet points to the text at the bottom of the

page to make it easier to read.The minor imperfections have

been changed.

Feedback… This is the questionnaire

which I used to survey 10 pupils in Oaks Park (high school students and Sixth

Formers) about my magazine cover, the results

are as follows:

On a scale of 1 – 10, how professional would you say the front cover looks? (10 being the highest)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100

1

2

3

4

5

6

Score out of 10

Num

ber o

f peo

ple

How well do you think the front cover meets the ‘school magazine’ genre?

Very well Well Average Not well Not well at all0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

How in-fitting with school magazine genre

No.

Of P

eopl

e

How well do you think the colour scheme works?

Very well Well Average Not well Not well at all0123456789

10

Colour Scheme

No.

Of P

eopl

e

Do you think the colours used reflect Oaks Park High School?

100% said yes!

By looking at the front cover alone, would you be interested in reading my magazine if it was published? If not, why not?

YesNoMaybe

Reasoning:

No – “because I don’t find the genre very interesting.”

Maybe - “because I have never come across a school magazine but if there were things that interested me I would.”

What improvements, if any, would you make to the contents page?

• “Maybe the price should be smaller to make it look a bit more professional. And maybe also some more text on the cover.”

• “I would put more writing on the front about what is in it.”(I wanted to go for a simpler front cover like the ‘High Profile’ ones analysed)

• “Get the school logo in there somewhere.”

• “Make the ‘WIN!!!’ sign look more professional.”

• “Tell us more about the issue.”

• “More info about the features article.”(I didn’t think there was much need for this)

• “Add a barcode”(Our school doesn’t have a system yet in which bar codes can be scanned)

What I like and dislike about the front cover...

• The image I have chosen is well suited.• The colour scheme works very well and is in-

fitting with the school colours (9 out of 10 said the colour scheme worked very well, and 100% said that the colours reflected Oaks Park).

• Certain aspects could look more professional e.g. the price.

To improve my front cover, I would...

• Make the price smaller so it looks more professional.

• Change some of the more simple fonts to make them look more professional.

• Maybe put a bit more content on the front cover, however not too much.

Overall I am fairly happy with the quality of my front cover. Most of the feedback is good, but lots of improvement tips would suggest

that there is room to make the front cover better.