School magazine front cover analysis

School Magazine

The masthead on this magazine is printed in fluorescent blue which is very striking for the reader. The text  ‘success’ was most likely chosen to present to pupils and parents that Whitley Bay High obtains only success. This positive feedback for the school will benefit their appearance to the new parents of potential new students at the school.  The colour scheme for this magazine is blue and white; these colour match Whitey Bay’s uniform colours, as see in the main image. The choice of colour scheme for the masthead suggests that the magazine wants to appeal to the young readers. The font of the masthead is fun, informal writing therefore it shows that the magazine appeals their young readers.

The skyline clarifies that this school magazine is ‘free’, this is potentially encouraging the number of copy's read. The skyline is very attractive for the readers as they will be more encouraged to read this magazine because it is free otherwise they might not have  been that interested in it. The words ‘free’ is also in block capitals to further grab the attention of the readers in case they didn't look at the skyline. Furthermore, also printed on the skyline is the issue number of this magazine. By printing the issue number of this magazine suggests that this school magazine is printed quite often for students to read the highlights of the previous week in school or what's to come. This will help readers understand the order of the magazine and this will also allow the magazine to refer back to certain issues.

The main image on this article suggests that this girl is part of the school body. The girl is composed proudly on the front cover to present herself in her uniform professionally. The school magazine have clearly printed a fellow pupil on the front cover to illustrate that pupils, parents and teachers alike can read this magazine. It shows that this magazine are proud to present their pupils on a front cover. The smaller images are also showing  the same girl in different settings. One is showing the girl doing woodwork; suggesting that the school is recognising all aspects of the school, and presenting to new parents what the school has to offer.

Analysing a Contents Page

The bright font used in this contents page is what firstly grabs our attention. The bright yellow colour against the clear blue background strikes us as these colours complement each other to successfully present this page to us. The masthead is printed in a formal ‘boring’ font; this implies to us that the magazine may have formatted their design to be plain and not as eye-catching as the colours they have used. The contrast of a light blue background and a dark blue font for the masthead makes this page very appealing to us. Furthermore, the use of the grey outline of the masthead makes the letters stand out more. These features certainly give us, the readers, the idea that the target audience for this magazine is for both parents and pupils.

The list of articles is displayed over more than half the page which implies to us that the text is the main focus on this page. The author wants to grab our attention by revealing what we will find inside the magazine. The layout of this page is very common for contents pages; the list of articles, the page numbers and images. The connotations of this page are for both genders which gives the idea that this school has students of both genders. The blue colour does however have a male connotation but the use of yellow neutralises this. We can see the house-style of the magazine on this page; the use of capital letters in every word and the two shades of blue style. This gives the reader an insight of what the rest of the magazine will look like and also gives the reader the clarification that this page belongs to that certain school magazine.

Moreover, the yellow text is the main thing that stands out in this page. The text is grabbing and therefore we are almost forced to read it. The first line reads, ‘Year 11 Prom Photographs’, which is undoubtedly very appealing to a very large audience as everyone would like to see photographs from a prom. At first the reader would like to go to page one due to the fact it contains pictures; no reading is very appealing for us. Further on. The word ‘new’ is repeated often on this page which suggests to us that the magazine was published at the start of a term. This will attract us to read on because we would like to see the improvements in which the school has made. We are also given the idea that all pages have pictures due to the images displayed beside the list of articles.

The images displayed also draw in the reader as we can decide what page to read just by the pictures. The images are effective on this page because they give us the teaser of what’s to come in the following pages. The largest image on this page is of a female student who is smiling directly at the camera. The use of eye contact in this image is directly addressing the reader to read on. This image is a positive reflection of the school as the girl is smiling so clearly is happy with her school or her achievements which undoubtedly the school has supported her through. Also, because the girl is most likely attending the school this will help sales because those who know her, family and friends, will want to see her in the magazine. Another image which stands out to the reader is the image which shows students holding a banner reading ‘outstanding’. This image suggests to us that the school has achieved something outstanding, whether it is through academic reasons or contributions. This image has been placed specifically near the text which reads ‘GCSE and A Level Results’, by doing this the author is presenting the school in a positive light; that every student will achieve ‘outstanding’ results. This will be very appealing to parents of potential students.

The use of numbers of this page is interesting for us as well. We can immediately see that the numbers are in order so we can assume that the magazine only has seven pages. Therefore, we assume this is less of a highlight page of the best articles in the magazine; however a guide to what page will interest you most. The numbers are displayed in a bold large font will makes it easy for us to read.

From this contents page we assume the mode of address will be quite formal due to the lack of excitement this page gives the reader. Also the fact that there have been no spelling abbreviations makes to believe this as well. The author has evidently chosen a formal mode of address to show the school in a professional way to attract older readers such as potential new parents.