College Magazine-Draft

This image shows a sketch of my idea for the layout of my front page. It gives me a rough idea of where I want to place things when it comes to creating my magazine.

Masthead
To help me come up with an idea for the masthead I had to think about the content of the magazine and who my target audience would be. I decided against aiming my magazine at a specific group, for example students who study physical education. Therefore, I decided to aim the magazine more generally, to all students at Wyke College.

My magazine is going to inform students at the college about their different options after A levels; such as, going to university or getting a job. This will appeal to all students, as they need as much information and help as possible to ensure they make the right decisions about their future. However, the magazine will also include other articles of interest such as, activities and social events. As my magazine is an information based publication I needed to come up with an appropriate masthead. A few ideas I had where:-
Wykeipedia
Your future, your choice?
Student Answers

Image
My photograph will be the main focus of my front cover along with the masthead. I therefore have to make sure my photograph is done to a good quality. The image will take up the whole of the front cover so must be eye catching and link into the themes and ideas of my magazine. It has to be a photograph of a student in a medium close up. I will make sure my image represents the students of Wyke College; however it is difficult to represent every student through a single person in one image. By making sure it represents the right people it will appeal more to my target audience. I will aim for my photograph to create a good impression of the magazine.

Main headline
My main headline is going to be about the choice students have to make after college. This will give the readers an idea of what the main article in the magazine is about. It will entice them to read further in a hope of maybe having some of their questions about the future answered. I will also make sure that my image links in with my main headline. The headline will be situated over my image, and be quite large so it stands out. However I will make sure that it is not larger than my masthead.

Other headlines
Down the side of my front cover I will have several other headlines that will give a taste of what is to come in my magazine. My headlines will include a variety of topics, such as social events. By having a variety of different topics it will ensure that my magazine is reaching the largest audience possible. Underneath some of my headlines I will include small images to make the contents easily understood. I will make sure that my headlines are not situated over the important parts of the main image, but instead in the background areas. This will make good use of the page so that there are not many blank spaces on the front cover. However, I do not want my page to look over crowded I want it to have a sophisticated look about it, like the Vogue cover.
Also on my front cover I will have a bar code, price and issue number to help give the feeling of a real magazine.