Flatplan

This is my flatplan for my magazine front cover. It is just a rough idea, but something I will follow roughly. Here is also a flatplan for my contents page.

Proposal

I will be aiming my magazine at 16 to 20 year old students. It will be for both genders as it will contain content that is suitable to both sexes. College information, such as cafe menu's, college events, course information and student union information will be included in the magazine as well as entertainment such as links to downloads and news on new music.


To grab attention I will have eye catching cover lines that appeal to young people. I will not use formal language as this will put teens off reading the magazine. I will have things about student discounts and revision tips -  things that will benefit the target audience. 


I have decided that my magazine will be called 'The Southdowns Special'. The alliteration makes it catchy and easy to remember. I did think about calling it 'Southdowns News' but I thought this sounded too serious. I also thought of the name 'College Chat' but after asking some friends I decided it wouldn't be suitable and wouldn't be taken seriously.


I will use simple fonts the are easy to read and gender neutral. To stop the front cover from looking too boring I will use two different fonts. This will prevent it from being confusing and add a slightly more interesting dimension. For example my tag line will be in a different front to other cover lines. 


'Hear it here first!' - This will be my tag line as it will make the readers believe they are getting exclusive information. It's short and snappy, something that a tag line should be. It is also persuading people to read it by letting them know there is important information inside.


My magazine will be published monthly and will have special editions for example a christmas issue, or a halloween issue. This will mean monthly information can be published in it. in December, January, May and June the magazine will focus on revision to aid students with their studies.


I will put an image of a student on my front cover so that my readers can relate to them. This will make people want to read my magazine as it will include images of people they know and people that are their age. The pictures will be taken in and around college to make it relevant to the magazine and the content. 


To make my magazine appealing to both genders I will uses colours that both sexes like. For example I won't use lots of pink, unless it is an article aimed at females. I will use vibrant bright colours that are pleasing to the eye and attention grabbing. The magazine will be published in A5 to make it easy to put in student's bag.

Initial Ideas

I have to produce a front cover for a college magazine. There are a few ideas that I have had for the content of the magazine and the front cover.

• For 17 to 20 year olds
• Contains information and entertainment
• College events, music, student union information, cafe menu's, college trips, library information, college shop information, college restaurant, course information
• Contains lots of pictures
• Contact information
• A place for students to advertise things
• Front cover should be eye catching
• Images a young people that students can relate to

The magazine will be informative but something fun for students to read.

Essay

To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Many magazines that are aimed at teen girls promote some questionable things. They can make young girls unhappy with their bodies, they often promote physical attraction, make celebrities seem like idols and can contain unsuitable content.

Body image is a key feature in teen magazines. Models with good figures, that are dressed immaculately, with hair and make up done perfectly are plastered across the magazine. This can make young girls think that is is what they should look like - and if they don't, they think they aren't normal. Most of the images are photoshopped, making teens aspire to look like an unrealistic character. Front page models are often white; this can cause people that are of a different race to feel like the odd one out. All of this can make girls feel very insecure.

Throughout most teen magazines there is a strong emphasis on boys and physical attraction. Girls are encouraged to get boyfriends and most magazines. Quizes and articles about kissing and 'how to get the boy you want' are an example of the sort of content that many young teens are reading. Boys are often portrayed as celebrities - it makes girls believe that this is what boys are and should be like. This is extremely superficial and very shallow. By reading these articles teenage girls aspire to have attractive, perfect boyfriends at a young age; personality is not mentioned at all. Teenagers ideas of relationships become warped.

Celebrities are featured heavily in teen magazines. Posed/well organised photos are spread across the pages, again, making girls think that this is what they should look like. What the celebs do and say influences the readers a great deal. It puts pressure on them to act like them  and be like them - they idolise these people. Not only does it put pressure on the teenagers, it puts pressure on parents. They want their children to be happy and have what they want. This can result in children and teenagers growing up too quickly.

Homosexuality is not mentioned at all in teen magazines. This can make some young people very confused and think that what they are thinking is wrong. Realising that you are gay can be a difficult time, and these magazines don't make it any easier. They focus on conventional stereotypes making teenagers think that that is the only way to be. Another issue that can arise from these magazines is eating disorders. More and more young girls are developing problems with they diet and view on how they look. Cases of bulimia and anorexia are being found in younger and younger teens. I think that this is because of the photoshopped photos of perfect models that girls see everyday. They don't see any real women on front covers of magazines.

Overall, I think that teen magazines are far too influential and are causing young girls to grow up too quickly. They aren't representing real life, or real women.

Teen Magazines

After looking at 5 different teen magazines I have compiled a list of things that help to create an effective magazine cover that is aimed at teenage girls.

• Girlie colour schemes to appeal to the target audience.
•  Words like 'exclusive' entice the reader.
• Popular celebrities feature on the covers to grab teenage girls attention. They are often people that the target audience look up to.
• Real life stories that the reader can associate with.
• Short catchy tag lines to give the consumer an incite as to what is inside the magazine.
• Fashion and beauty stories featured on the cover.
• Magazine title in a big bold clear font to make it recognisable and readable.
• Stories about boys and relationships - things that interest teenage girls.
• Offers and competitions to make the reader think they are getting something extra.
• Pictures of clothes and jewellery - again, things that girls like and enjoy reading about.

Magazine Analysis

 

Cosmopolitan Magazine is targeted at females ages between 16-25, we can tell this just by looking at the cover. Pink is a colour associated with girls and as it is featured heavily on the cover of the magazine it is instantly clear that this is something for females to read. The clever use of different shades of pink and the introduction of black and blues makes certain words more attention grabbing. For example, 'Your Body Rocks' is in big black writing to make it stand out. This would appeal to younger woman as they are often very self conscious and worried about their looks. It is almost as if the magazine is complimenting them. They will feel more inclined to buy the magazine and read what is inside. The fonts on the cover are simple and easy to read; making the cover a lot aesthetically pleasing.

The story's features on the front cover also show us that the magazine is aimed at females aged between 16-25. Young women are very fashion conscious -  so to hook them into purchasing the magazine there is a cover line about the 'Hottest High Street Looks'. The big bold story about sex draws attention to the cover, another tactic that would make the target audience want to buy it. Real life story's also appeal to young women as they like to know what other women are going through, therefore the ' Married 8 months before I had sex' story would be another things that catches their eye.

As well as getting gossip, fashion and sex tips, interviews and beauty information, Cosmopolitan are also offering 2 free cinema tickets to every reader. Young women often enjoy going to the cinema, so this helps to show who the target audience is. Just underneath the banner advertising the cinema tickets, there is a puff telling us that this is the 'Naked Body Confidence Issue'. Young women would like this as most of them would enjoy tips on how to become more confident. As it is in a pink puff it is clear that Cosmopolitan is for females.

Misha Barton features on the cover. She is most well known for starring in The O.C, a programme that was popular with 16.25 year olds. This is another major clue to the age of Cosmopolitan’s target audience. Many young females would like to look like her, or be like her, so to have an incite into her life would excite them. She is an attractive, likeable, well known celebrity that could be seen as a role model – making the magazine sellable.

The price of the magazine also shows that the magazine is aimed at 16-25 year old females. It is being sold for £3.30 - an affordable monthly price for people in their late teens/early twenties.

The whole style of the cover is very pleasing to the eye and very feminine. The soft pastel colours and whites make it look inoffensive and readable. They layout also is very traditional and prevents you from getting confused when looking at it. The language used is quite informal - also making it appealing to younger women.