Analysis of College Magazines

Analysis of Bodmin College Magazine Cover

The primary target audience is students who attend Bodmin College, which ranges from age eleven to nineteen, and occasionally 20 year olds who have had to retake  their last year. This means that the magazine has to be relatively simple, to ensure that the younger students find it easy to understand the magazine. It is successful in this, as the vocabulary is simple. Though, the magazine also has to appeal to the secondary target audience, which is the parents/guardians of the students. The majority of the people who read this magazine would be of the audience demographic C1-E. As this is a public school, it is unlikely that there would be parents/guardians who are higher in audience demographic C1. 

The colours of the masthead are not particularly suitable concerning the relatively busy background. It does not stand out and is not the first aspect of the text that the audience's eye is drawn to. The logo used is thin and difficult to see, whereas it should be bold and catch the audiences eye. The 'N' is blending in with the photographic background, giving the masthead an amateur appearance. Primary colours are present in the masthead, doubled with black and white, which looks blocky and does not portray the school in a particularly positive way; the primary colours are not professional, it seems as though the school wanted the logo to be incredibly simple, rather than outgoing. A positive aspect of the masthead is that it tells the audience what the magazine is about, though it is difficult to spot with all that is going on. This should take up 1/8 of the cover, as you will find a professional magazine does, but does not succeed in doing so, which makes it look as though it has not been created by someone of whom is skilled in this particular area of the media.  

This particular college magazine is poorly laid out. Personally, when I view the text, all I see is three images of which are blocky and do not portray professionalism within the magazine industry. Text has been placed over the images, again, ensuring the text fails in looking professional; as basically as I can explain, the magazine has been laid out like this: 'text, picture, text, picture, text, picture'. This is not professional, it rather reminds me of a formal letter with many paragraphs: daunting and boring. It should be fun and appealing, not a chore. A poor structure should not be something of which is so incredibly present in a magazine if the producer would actually like people to read it. The images should be different sizes, not imitating one another, and there should not be page numbers vacating the magazine front cover. These, in a professional magazine, would be located in the contents page. There is also a lack of teasers, the impression that this college magazine is giving out, is that each story on the front cover is as important as the other. Which is obviously not true. There will always be, no matter what the magazine is, one story that stands out and is the base of each issue. But not this magazine, no, they have failed to do this and it really does not grasp the attention of the audience.

What makes this awful magazine appear even worse to the target audience is the pictures of horrific quality. In the first image, it is difficult to make out faces, as the white balance is terrible. This is not something that the students themselves, who were in it, and the parents/guardians of said students would be pleased with. The magazine is very busy, there are so many different people in the photographs and it is daunting to even look at, putting off a lot of young students who find it difficult to find an interest in reading anyway; it is unnecessarily heavy for the reader. There is an overabundance of people in every single picture incorporated into the cover. It really is not simple enough to attract the young target audience. They do not want to see so many people, it is rather confusing for them, especially when they are age 11-13. As any magazine should, there should be a main story that the issue is focusing on, which requires a main photograph dominating the text. These images defy the common conventions of a magazine, the predominant images used as covers for magazines are mid shots. The pictures used in this magazine are wide angle extra long shots, which is unsuitable. The top image shows a white male commanding a group to do something, supporting the theory of Marx, who states that most dominant class of people is those who are white male heterosexuals of middle class, and as this man is wearing a suit, the Marxist view is connoted. A positive point about these images of which must be made, is that the magazine would appeal to different types of people, the first image denoting music, the second is year eleven leaving which would appeal to all years as they anticipate this from the moment they begin secondary school, and the third is Ten Tors which a wide range of students partake in.

The colour palettes consists of two primary colours, red and yellow, and black and white. Usually, a magazine will use three colours and have a colour scheme. This ensures it is simple enough to attract the reader, rather than a mix of colours that don't particularly go well together. Also, the colours used should be appealing to both genders, but these are not. Though red is not gender specific, yellow is generally directed towards females and tends to attract them, suggesting that this text was created by a female. They are bright, bold colours, but the text is minimal, and so it is difficult to see and does not stand out. These busy colours go against the common conventions of magazines, and does not look professional. 

In terms of typography, four different fonts are used on the cover, a huge aspect that takes ensure neglect towards professionalism of the magazine. On a professional magazine, the producers would not have used so many different fonts, as it is not part of the common conventions that cater to the needs of the target audience. there are no teasers included, which means that there is a harsh lack of information for the audience to be drawn in by. All that the text informs the reader on what the articles are literally about, rather than placing a little teaser to make them want to read on. Parent/guardians are unlikely to be interested in these articles if their children are not involved in some way, which is why teasers should be incorporated to ensure their curiosity. Page numbers are unnecessary on the font cover, it is unsightly and something that belongs of the contents page. 

To conclude, this magazine is not fit for purpose. My analysis has shown me that there is an immense lack of common conventions, and so it is likely that the target audience are repelled, rather than attracted to this magazine. Nothing about this cover is interesting, it does not capture the target audiences attention, as it is too busy and the colour palette is not suitable. The typography does not cater for the needs of the audience, as there are too many fonts, and there is lack of an interesting story. This college magazine looks nothing like the typical magazines that the target audience would opt for, thus is not appealing. 

Analysis of College Magazine Cover

                   

The target audience of 'College' magazine is very different to the likes of the 'Bodmin College' magazine. The primary target audience is students who attend university in America, which is, predominantly people from the ages of 18-25. There are also mature students who attend, but this magazine is not aimed towards them, rather the youth. Contrasting to the previous magazine analyzed, this magazine does not have a particular secondary audience like parents/guardians, as the students are seen as independent individuals and the producers of the magazine do not want to take away this independence, as it will not make them feel mature enough and will not attract the specified audience. It is also predominantly aimed towards males, though there are aspects of the text which are suggestions of intentions of female engagement.

The masthead, one of the most important aspects of every magazine, adheres to the common conventions of magazines; it is 1/8 of the page, unlike the 'Bodmin College' magazine. The vast majority of well known magazines place the dominant image over a small section of the text, as it shows the audience that it is not necessary to be able to view all of the masthead as the magazine is well known. It is large and bold, standing out to the target audience with an appropriate title of which is straight to the point. It does not get in the way of anything else, and is one of the first things that the audience observes, which is what the producers want. They want the target audience to be familiar with the name of their text to ensure that it is in their head, therefore more likely to purchase it multiple times (if what is on the inside is just as good). It is effective in communicating to the audience the purpose of the magazine: to inform (also to entertain).

The layout of this cover follows common conventions and caters to the needs of the target audience. It is sophisticated, modern, simple, and subtle. All of these aspects grasp the attention of the specified target audiences, ensuring they feel mature and like adults, coming out of that state of immaturity and patronising treatment as though they were young children. A common convention of all professional magazines is the one main image. This connotes to the reader that there is a main story, and that the person of whom has be incorporated into the cover is the subject of the issue. This is very easy to understand and clear to the audience. The story related to the subject of the cover is directly next to him and part of it overlays onto the image, it is the largest text on the cover and gives a professional vibe, rather than looking busy like the 'Bodmin College' magazine. Unlike the 'Bodmin College' magazine, there is a barcode which denotes a price and ability to purchase the product. This is a connotation that the product is worth paying for, that it is professional. This structure is professional and does not fail to cater to the needs of the target audience concerning its simplicity in a modern and new way. It is easy to tell that this is not for children, as the image is of a man who is holding books, rather than something that appeals to a child. A website address is located underneath the masthead, widening the range of platforms the magazine has to offer. Digital copies of magazines are becoming a sort of trend in the industry at the moment, which is the reasoning for it being included. 

The male is wearing black and white colours specifically not to clash with the green in the text, as this is a difficult colour to compliment. Green is generally thought to be associated with males, rather than females, suggesting that the magazine is targeted more so towards male students, who are considered to be the dominant class according to Marxism. Though there is a clear suggestion that the magazine has been produced to attract the likes of male university students, the splash of pink in the corner invites females to also purchase the magazine, widening its audience and ensuring its sales increase. In contrast to the pink colour, it the writing it contains inside, saying 'Lets go paint balling!' which is not considered to be an activity of which females particularly enjoy, stereotypically. This could be encouraging the stereotypical female to try something new. White has been used to be the neutral colour that balances out the bold colours, rather than introducing another colour, which would make the cover look to childish an unprofessional. Along with the white, the grey background is also neutral. This allows all of the text to stand out, grasping the attention of the target audience in a sophisticated and attractive manner. 

Only one image occupies the cover, and also serves as the background. This is particularly interesting to the audience, as there is not an overabundance of images and they can focus on the one story that the magazine is trying to sell. This is the same case with the colours of which occupy the image. It is not necessary to include various different colours, as it is likely that they will clash and distract the target audience from the real purpose of the magazine. Though the magazine is for university students who are intelligent and sophisticated, there is something in the image that suggests otherwise. The crucifix necklace is low and pointing downwards, creating a sexual aspect of the text, which ensures the audience feel as though they are 'cool' and can be if they read the magazine. Personally, I feel as though the imagery attempts to prevent racism by deifying the stereotype that black people are unintelligent and  social problems. This goes against Malik's theory that black people are portrayed as either the entertainer, the social problem, or the native. In a way, the image does support this theory, as he looks quite entertaining, though more intelligent. The image also invites females in, as this is the stereotypical jock that would be found in an American university, often shown in films, and it is likely that most females would find him attractive. Thus the reasoning for choosing to feature a male who clearly works out and is attractive. 

The typography for this particular cover is a portrayal of one side the stereotypical youth. I say one side because there are predominantly pessimistic views of the youth, especially depicted by the news, who only really show negative stories. In consideration of the fact that their target audience is still relatively young, a modern font has been used, which portrays their youth but does not make fun of it. Three fonts have been used, all of which are very similar. If fonts of which were varied in style, the magazine would lack in professionalism, as it is not sophisticated. The typography seems to flow really well, it is very effective in attracting the correct target audience. 'The ultimate Spring break escape' is quite difficult to see, so if this is an important story, the audience would find difficulty in reading it and would not be drawn to this specific feature. This could be improved by either changing the font, or ensuring the font is not as thin and delicate.

To conclude, I personally think that this magazine cover is successful. Everything about it follows common conventions of magazines, displaying an effort to ensure the cover looks professional and sophisticated, as the specified target audience would want. This caters to the youthful university students needs, as it consists of information of which is valuable to them, and imagery that will portray the lifestyle of a lot of the students. In particular, the colour scheme and imagery say a lot about a magazine, this cover has portrayed 'College' magazine as positive and educational. This modern magazine is fit for purpose, and much more suited to the target audience than the 'Bodmin College' magazine.