Zashia iqbal Task 1Grid Sheet 1

Before you decide on the content of your magazine it would be beneficial for you to research into existing student magazines. Individually, look at the front cover of TNS magazine and fill in the grid sheet in your student booklet. You must ensure that you describe what you see. (P1 M1 D1

The ingredients Use on front cover Masthead (logo) The masthead is located in the left hand corner of the magazine, there is a yellow rectangle and the font of the colour is blue, the reason behind using the blue font is because it goes with what the main image model is wearing by making this connection through the visuals and text they are creating a theme, with every different magazine there is a theme, by having the TNS in capital and bold letters on a yellow rectangle stands out with it being bright it also attracts the audiences attention to it, through the continuity of the style and format of the masthead it creates a brand which the audience can familiarise with it and if this style was to appear on any other magazines or products then the audience will automatically know who it belongs to. Another thing mentioned within the mast head is the word independent this word highlights to many students that this magazine is not going to be biased which normally attracts students as they know that a certain education institution has not paid to have this magazine issued to advertise and get their views or topics across also what they are stating are instead in actual facts the people behind the magazines views on several topics covered. This is similar to a Mixmag style magazine, as I had to use the exact same Mixmag masthead in order to create a magazine where the audience will also be familiar and recognize that it is a Mixmag magazine, and then I had a theme with the mast head reflecting in some way to my main image, I had chosen the colour red and got my model to wear white clothes with red lipstick and red painted nails this then made a connection to the masthead. Mixmag also has a theme for every different magazine so that it is not the same in many ways based on the context and visuals but is still recognisable to their audience. Dateline On this particular front cover of the magazine there is no official date line, but the only feature relating to the date is a circle shape with 2011 being mentioned this shows that it must have been released during some time that year. The context which is covered on the front cover relates to university and careers due to normally applications being started during September to January this may have been issued over the summer in preparation for it. Due to it also being free they probably have decided a dateline is not necessary in this case. As it might be a yearly issue. conventionally there is supposed to always be a dateline on the front cover of a magazine so that the reader is aware of what year and date this issue was published, by knowing this information makes the process of a particular issue of magazine being back tracked, Mixmag always do this for that reason, this is why in order to complete the magazine I had to put the issue number and also the full date so that this information is easily accessible if in any case it a reader wants that certain issue. By not having a date line this magazine is breaking a 1

convention. Main image At this point the model used for the main image was Jessica Ennis who had just won a medal for the world championships and was a budding gold medallist and the face of many companies, she was inspirational for people who are really passionate about something and will be determined and work very hard in order to achieve, for this Jessica Ennis is a prime example so using her as the face of the student magazine would have been an excellent choice as she has also been to university. By having the main image model where what is related to her career a sports work out outfit is a wise choice as what she does now is also supported and has a link with her clothing. The year after this magazine was issued Jessica Ennis went on to winning a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic London games, so if now students were to see that she was the face of the 2011 edition they might be more interested in looking into this magazine to get opinions and advice. This is similarly like a Mixmag magazine as they majority of the time use a model on their front cover which is a dance music star and then conclude in side with an article based upon them. I also done this for my version of the magazine and used a dance music star that I was going to base a double spread page article on.

Colour The colour of majority cover lines is yellow this is good as it links in with the TNS logo background, the use of the colour yellow can also initiate the fact that they interpreting that its related to her soon winning the gold medal, which is the theme of it too that she is successful, by also having bright colours makes the front cover stand out and look much more appealing. The use of blue goes with the masthead and main image so there is a clear connection, the only colour which is standing out odd from the rest is the choice of colour pink some would argue that it does not go with the theme at all but I think they have personally used it so that they can highlight the fact that it is the 2011 edition and this information stands out from the rest as it is not a cover line to reveal in short snappy words and sentences the context of the magazine. This is similar to a Mixmag magazine as they also tend to have a certain colour theme for every different magazine to make it different.

Cover lines

The cover lines are quite short which is a good thing as this is the technique for the reader to remember what they have just read and also much quicker, they are laid out in a specific way where they are not 2

covering the main image too much especially the face as this would ruin the whole magazine, the magazine does not have too many cover lines as this can be too much at times and does not look good with loads of text. This in some ways is similar to a Mixmag magazine as they dont to overload the magazine with cover lines its always just the right amount surrounding the main image.

Main cover line

The Main cover line relates to the main image, which is excellent and also explains straight after with a cover line who she is by mentioning the university she attended this is good as if anyone at this particular stage is not familiar with her they now know who she is, as this magazine is targeting at student who want to further their education or get a job using the words medal and university is good it shows students exactly what they can do if they put their head to it and also can be inspiring for someone one day, the choice of the Blue background, which is blended into the colour of the top is a good effect allowing the yellow to stand out.

Conventionally all magazine have a cover line as this is an important aspect of it as the reader can know exactly what its about or the main theme of the issue.

Left third

The cover lines go across the page leaving space between the main images which is good as you can see clearly the photograph taken of the model, this matches also to how magazines tend to conventionally leave the left third of the magazine for the purpose of placing cover lines this is so that the main image is not covered.

Bar code

There is no barcode present as this magazine is free and is not sold for any profits, we know its free as on the mast head above it, it states free conventionally all magazine which are being sold at a price need to have a barcode so that it can get scanned and a certain price appears, this is why for my Mixmag edition of the magazine i used a barcode on the bottom right hand corner as this is where it normally placed. 3

Selling line The selling line is there to attract their main target audience, to do this they have stated that this is a free independent magazine which generally attracts student as they know that information is not being passed on from institution on what they believe. By having it in a bold font style it stands out to the reader to.

Task 2 Grid Sheet 2 Now look at the website www.thenationalstudent.com and select a double page spread to analyse. (P1 M1 D1) 1. What types of topics are discussed in the magazines and why have they chosen these subjects? The article is target at students at university informing them of what they can do after university through graduate scheme which are available upon graduation, also which sector pays the most and what they can expect from salary, these are good things to cover in article based on graduation opportunities as students who are not aware of certain opportunities can now find out.

2. How are the images used? What type of meaning are they trying to denote?

The images used are money related such as notes, these are used to initiate the idea that by going to university and getting a degree you will be earning quite a lot of money which is related to what the article topics are on about.

3. What colour scheme is used and why?

The colour scheme used is pink and gold the gold part of the colour scheme could be related to coins which are a type of money and the choice of pink is just a complementing colour for the gold and makes the article as a whole stand out and look more colourful and appealing.

4. Who is the target audience for the magazine? The target audience is students who are in university and thinking of jobs at this particular point and are thinking of applying for graduate schemes so now they no in what sectors these schemes are available for them.

5. What do you like or not like about this magazine? I like the fact that its aimed at serious topic which students face these days and question are basically answered such as how much they can expect to earn, which sector pays good money to give them a rough idea of whether or not its worth it.