The two school magazines I analysed was ‘Focus’ and ‘College’. Although both magazines cover the same genre there context is completely different as each one is specific to the individual school.
On both covers the masthead is spread across the whole of the top half of the page, this is a very effective way of catching your readers attention as when it is stacked behind other magazines and books you are able to see its name at the top of the page. The masthead is very effective for the schools magazine ‘Focus’, this is because it is not often that a masthead could cover the that space without looking squashed or disproportionate. Unlike ‘College’ magazine which has managed to fit the forward in the whole space however the lettering does looked squashed and different sizes, this is because the word is longer and the font the school have used it larger and bold however the function is still effective.
Both ‘Focus’ and ‘College’ use teenage female models to sell heir magazines however in ‘Focus’ the models mode of address is straight at the camera and its audience unlike’Colleges’ model who is looking down at the camera. Both photos are effective in different ways. ’Focus’ magazine have used a medium shot of there model, the girl is smiling and has a fresh faced hair scraped back look of a student who is enthusiastic about their work and the school. She is clutching onto her stripy folder and in the background we can see the lit up school corridor, this all emphasises her interest to learn and succeed. On the other hand the ‘College’ magazine have used a girl who comes across as an older girl. Because of the way the image has been shot it seems like she is coming out of the page. Unlike the other magazine ‘College’ is set in what is perceived as a bar as she is playing pool. However we know that this model has been cut out of her original background and replaced with a pale blue colour which matches the material of the pool table she is playing, this could be because that is the colour of the colleges uniform or logo. The model on colleges mode of address is facing down at the table as she is looking down her pool stick, this creates a more interesting photo and makes you as the reader feel like you are playing pool with her taking your shot. Both magazine central images involve the consumer as you are made to think they are directing there line of view onto you which makes it more personal and intimate.
On the other hand although both magazines have a lot of similarities they also have many differences. With the masthead in the same place on both covers, on ‘Focus’ the title is in front of their model whereas in ‘College’ the masthead is behind the model. You often see this effect on big branded magazine companies like ‘Vogue’ ‘ELLE’ and ‘Harpers Bazaar’.
On both magazines there are cover lines. Both use the correct amount of information and a good title to try and entice the reader into opening it up. Focuses most effective cover line is “Meet our new head girl” this is because as a human we are all naturally nosey therefore what would know one not like then to know more details and the inside story of their head girl? Colleges most effective cover line is “Freshers party : Don’t miss out out on the college freshers party” this is once again down to the readers interest in looking at photos and probably funny photos of the comers. The small amount of detail that we are given is just the right amount to keep us intrigued but not giving away too much detail to keep us interested and wanting more. If either magazine said too much in their cover lines we would feel like we didn't need to purchase the magazine as we already knew all about it from the front cover. Although both magazines follow the ‘Three colour Principle’ the colours chosen are very simplistic and dull and mainstream. ‘Focus’ used light blue, dark blue and white which are not colours yoyo would associate with vibrance and fun and ‘College’ use only two colours, black and blue which is extremely boring and does not suit the audience they are targeting, this is definitely something that lets down both magazines.
Barcodes and prices are located at the bottom of both magazines, this makes the magazine seem more official and purposeful. However ‘College’ costs £2.99 when ‘Focus’ only costs £1.50. For magazines that are of the same quality, have roughly the same amount of content (with different information) and are for the same genre the price difference is unnecessary. If the targeted group of people are for people who will probably not be working £2.99 is a lot to pay for your school magazine whereas pricing your magazine at £1.50 is far more realistic and shows an understanding of your market.
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