Evaluation of College magazine cover and contents page

1. In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of
Real Media Products?
I have followed the conventions of a magazine cover
concerning the Masthead:
• Largest writing on the page
• Located at the top of the cover
• Spreading across the entire width of the page.
• An extremely limited number of fonts used.
• Effects have been used to allow specific parts of
text to stand out, such as:
• Colour
• Capitalisation.
• Cover lines are made eye catching by using
different effects:
• Colours
• Capitalisation
• One main photograph
• Three main colours have been used for Colour
Scheme;
• Burgundy
• Black
• White.
• Text framing the image
Main cover line (sell line)
• Second largest text on the page.
• Anchors the meaning of the image and the article
that it relates to.

2. In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of
Real Media Products?
I have followed the conventions of a magazine
contents page concerning the Contents title:
• Largest writing on the page
• Located at the top of the page
Large and small images anchored by captions
Page Numbers first information listed with
effects such as:
• Colour
• Size
• 3 Column structure
Small number of fonts used
Headings
Picture of the Magazine Cover
Simple and consistent Colour Scheme

3. How did you use new media technologies in the construction of your media
product?
Adobe Photoshop CC 2015
• Horizontal Type Tool (T) to put text
onto the magazine cover.
• Main picture dragged onto page
using the Move Tool (V)
• Image was resized by pressing
CTRL T and enlarged by holding
down Shift and dragging.
• Colour Wheel and Eye Dropper
tool used for creating burgundy
colour.
• Text font Birch Std Regular
• Text size; 300pt, largest on page
QuarkXpress
• Colour wheel for imitating
burgundy theme colour.
• Text boxes added with Text
Content Tool (T)
• Picture box added with Picture
Content Tool (R)
• Import photo into picture box,
cropping them to desired size.
• 3 Columns created when
making project.
• International paper for size

4. What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Both the Product and Your Use of New Media
Technologies?
Strength
• Masthead is the largest writing on the
page
• Masthead located at top of the cover
• Masthead spreading across the entire
width of page
• Direct address from model
• Brightly lit main image
• Body language and posture of model
creates meaning for magazine
• Masthead or text does not cover
models face
• Text frames the image
• Main cover line (sell line) is the second
largest text on the cover
• Simple and consistent colour scheme of
black, white and burgundy
Weaknesses
• No issue date at the top of the page or
by bar code
• No price
• No bar code on cover of magazine
• Masthead not unique font – same as font
of the headings
• Colours of text not clearly visible against
background
• Main image in mid-close up rather than
specified medium close-up
• Background not plain
• Not much variation in heading texts
• No positioning statement
• Cover lines don’t contain a heading and
subline, doesn’t create flavour of
contents
• No puff
• No skyline or colour bars

5. What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Both the Product and Your Use of New Media
Technologies?
Strength
• Three Columns incorporating pictures
and text
• Pictures are different sizes and aspects
• Page numbers stand out in a larger size
and colour
• Small number of fonts used
• Image of cover
• Contents title largest on the page
• Pictures anchored by captions and
relating to featured stories
• Simple and consistent colour scheme of
black, white and burgundy
Weaknesses
• No sublines are used: doesn’t create
flavour of article
• Pictures do not have page numbers on
• Name of magazine not included
• Only one heading (for regulars) No
heading to divide featured stories
• Issue date not included
• Contents title not unique font
• No colour bars used
• Stories listed in page order - unusual