This document summarizes Lauren Mcloughlin's evaluation of a college magazine cover and contents page she created. For the cover, her main feature picture is large and clear with direct address to capture attention. However, she could have included a website to make it more authentic. The contents page fits pictures and text nicely without being crowded. However, it looks more formal than a college magazine should and could include more pictures and pages. She used Photoshop to edit photos and design the cover, and Quark to layout the contents page, having to learn how to use the software and properly size and position elements.

1. College magazine evaluation
Lauren Mcloughlin

3. My magazine cover codes and conventions
BarcodeBanner
Direct address
Positioning statement
Cover lines
Splash
House style –
blue/simple
Main feature picture
Date/issue number
Masthead

4. Magazine cover strengths
and weaknesses
Feature picture is
large and clear with
direct address which
captures the reader’s
attention. It is also a
medium shot which is
the most common
type of shot on
magazine covers.
I didn’t include a website address that readers genuinely
use to find more information. Although I don’t have a
website page for the magazine I could have included the
Priestley address or made one up to make it look more
authentic.
I included small details like
the barcode and the issue
number and date which
makes it look more real.
Although I used a simple background
which is good, it looks a bit empty so I
could have included more cover lines or
other things that made it look more
detailed and interesting.
My masthead is a
different font to the rest
of the writing and
stands out to attract
peoples’ attention to
encourage people to
buy the magazine and
makes it memorable.
I used a splash and a
banner to make the
magazine look more
interesting and
include extra pieces
of information that
interest the reader
and encourage them
to read further.
The positioning
statement talks up
the magazine and
makes it seem
desired.

5. My cover page codes and conventions
Magazine name
Contents page
Categories
Page numbers
Main picture
3 columns
Bold heading
Sublines in
small font
A few smaller
images

6. Contents page strengths
and weaknesses
All of the pictures and text
fit nicely and aren’t
squashed against each other
which could have made it
look like it had been thrown
together and not thought
about.
Doesn’t look as busy and full as a lot of contents
pages which makes it look a bit more empty and
more formal than I wanted it to. I should have
included more pictures or maybe a few more
pages
There was a main picture
and a few more smaller,
appropriate pictures to
accentuate some of the
things included in the
magazine as stated in the
contents.
Doesn’t really look like a magazine aimed at college
students as it should look more laid back and fun rather
than smart and professional as this is what attracts the
target audience of ages 16-19/20
Each category included a
few examples of what
would be inside the
magazine, with a bold
heading, page numbers
and a small description in
smaller font.
The contents title box
provides colour and
links in with the cover
page as it is blue,
which is the main
colour on the cover.
However this is the
only colour aside from
some of the pictures.

7. Media technologies
Photographs
To take the photos I needed for my magazine, I used a digital
camera called a Canon 1200d. I then used different setting on
the camera and different types of shots, such as a medium shot
for the cover photo. When I had collected the photos I needed, I
uploaded them to the computer. Some of the photos needed
cropping or editing to make them what I needed for my
magazine, so I did these edits in Photoshop. For example I
needed to remove the background on the cover photo so it was
plain, as it needed to be to use for the cover.
I like my pictures as they are good quality and are all suited to
the magazine and are relevant. Also they are all the right type of
shot.

8. Magazine cover
I used Photoshop to create my cover page. I started by removing the background from the
picture I decided would be my feature picture and moving the picture over to a new, blank
page. I then changed the background to a light blue and inserted a darker blue rectangle at
the top of the page for the positioning statement. I chose to use blue because that is the
colours on the college logo. I then experimented with different fonts to find the masthead
and cover line fonts that I thought would most suit the magazine and changed them to a
colour that would make them stand out the most. Then by looking through the different
shaped I found a shape that could be the splash and inserted text. I then put in finishing
touches such as a barcode and a banner to make the magazine look more official.
The most difficult part of using photoshop was resizing everything and editing everything to
make it all fit right and make it look professional which I think I managed to do to an extent.

9. Contents page
To make my contents page I used a programme called Quark. I didn’t need to change the background colour on the contents
page because the backgrounds of contents pages are generally white. To insert my text I put a textbox inside the border and
split it in to 3 columns. I then put in picture boxes and text boxes where I needed them to be. In order to make the photos fit
in the box I had to insert the picture then scale it to fix the box. I managed to find the same font I used for the masthead to
put the title of the magazine on the page as magazines often do this and it has to be the same font as the original masthead.
It was difficult to figure out some aspects of Quark, but once I played around with it a bit I figured out how to do the things I
wanted and I got used to it.