Aquinas Magazine Front Cover

The banner at the top of my Aquinas magazine advertises the 'Win' cover feature. It headlines the magazine, making it one of the first features the audience notice. The prizes it advertises will appeal to the audience as from my audience research questionnaire I found out that my audience like modern technology, shopping and sports. The mast head, a code and convention of a typical magazine, of the publication is in the house style colours and font. The font is bold to stand out and clear so it is easy to read. The house style colours are red, black and white. These are the Aquinas colours so the audience can create a link between the magazine and the college. Red is also a bold colour and brings text to the foreground allowing important information stand out. Black and white contrast each other so allow the other text to stand out. Below the mast head is the tagline, another code and convention for a typical magazine. This informs the audience that the magazine comes out weekly and the purpose is to update them. The word 'your' creates a personal, informal feeling for the audience. Underneath the tagline is the issue number. This informs the audience of what they're reading. These code and conventions are important information so are grouped together for the audience to understand. 

Down the right of the mise-en-scene are the cover features. The first cover story appeal to the audience because it is about social networking and from my audience research questionnaire, I know that the two main social networking sites that my audience use are Facebook and Twitter. Using two different shades of blue (the official colours of Facebook and Twitter) draws in the readers attention because they contrast with red. Below this cover feature is a giveaway to the buyers of the magazine. From my audience research questionnaire I found out that the two most popular bands are The Arctic Monkeys and One Direction. These bands are different genres so the magazine appeals to all types of people. This also encourages people to buy the Aquinas Magazine as the word 'free' will attract them because they are getting more for their money. The secondary images to show what is given away for free also encourages the audience to buy the magazine. Underneath this is another cover feature advertising the news feature in the magazine. Emphasising 'Aquinas' shows the audience that the news inside is based on the college so is an easy way to be updated on what is going on. In the bottom right hand corner of the mise-en-scene is the date and the barcode, two codes and conventions of a typical magazine publication. The date tell the audience when the information, such as news, was relevant and the barcode allows the audience to purchase the publication. The four cover stories on the left hand side of the mise-en-scene appeal to the audience because from my audience research questionnaire I found out that they are topics my audience are interested in. Some of the text is capitalised and/or coloured red to emphasise the information to the audience.  

Below the left hand side cover features is the main cover feature. The text is alot bigger and bolder to jump out to the audience. The pull quote and extra information encourage the audience to read the feature as it is an exclusive. Again the important information is in red and the word 'before' is in italics to stress the word. This also anchors the main cover image. The cover star is 'Rachel Brown', who is supposedly a famous celebrity. However, to ensure the audience know this, the text anchoring the image is on the actual image where as the over cover stories fall round it to show they have no relevance to that feature. The colours in the image are neutral so the text can stand out around it. Below the main cover feature is an auto-shape. The rigid edges and bright colour of the shape helps the text stand out from the rest promoting the offers advertised.

I changed some of the layout from my original plan. The tagline of the publication is on the right hand side of the masthead rather than the left like on my plan. Rather than having two cover features on the left hand side of the mis-en-scene I have four in order to make sure there is no white space. My finished front cover is full and there is hardly any white space to connote to the audience that the magazine is full of information and features. There isn't a feature in the bottom left hand corner of the mise-en-scene as the auto shape has moved to the bottom of the page rather than about the main cover feature. The issue number is at the top of the page rather than the bottom like on my plan so it is easier for the audience to understand the chronological order of the magazines. The house style colours have stayed the same but are used in different ways however the main house style font has changed to one that is more bold.

 

To improve my Aquinas magazine front cover I would make the text on the left hand side of the mise-en-scene bigger to get rid of the white space and to make the text easier to read. I will also make the tagline bigger and the issue number to stand out agaisnt the other features better.