My magazine will be aimed at a target audience of students that attend Southdowns College. Therefore, the age of my audience will rage from a minimum of 16 to a maximum of 18 years. Due to this, the magazine will have to be tapered to suit teenagers and their interests.
The magazine will be about general college life, and how to manage things such as workload, as well as music and fashion columns. Also, I feel that it is important to include FAQ’s for students that are new to the college, as it can be quite a daunting experience at first. It could be useful to have information about bus timetables and events that are happening throughout each month in college, as this would help students to organise themselves, and get involved within the college community. Another element that I feel is important within a college magazine is information on University fees and other financial issues (e.g. the price of driving lessons, and a list of shops that give student discount) that will directly affect most students. Finally, a ‘job page’ at the back of the magazine would prove extremely beneficial to students, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for teenagers to find jobs. Therefore, a page that shows a variety of jobs available in the area would be a very worthwhile aspect of the magazine. The student magazine will be released at the beginning of every month.
Some of my ideas for cover lines include the latest news on University fees and ‘cheap ways to learn how to drive’. This would grab the attention of students as money is a great issue for most 16-18 year olds, and they will jump at the chance of special deals or discount- especially on something as crucial as driving lessons. Additional cover lines that could be used are focused upon monthly events within college (e.g. a fashion show put on by students) and special deals for students in shops (e.g. 25% off in New Look- buy your winter wardrobe for less!).
I have decided upon the title of “ Student Life” as I feel it is simple but self-explanatory, and sufficiently conveys the soul focus of the magazine. I was also thinking of titles such as “Students Of Southdowns” and “ The Student Mag” but felt that they were not quite as catchy and diverse as “Student Life”.
Fonts that I intend to use are :
Papyrus bold (maybe for the masthead)
Courier (for the text within the magazine)
In reference to the tag lines that will be included on the front cover, or attached to the masthead, I was thinking of “Student Life-…live college”. This would give an air of reassurance and support to the magazine, and would make the reader (students) feel as if they had a guide to college life.
In terms of the time of year that the magazine will be published, i feel it would be useful to have a monthly issue rather than just one issue released every term. This is due to the fact that students would be more inclined to read a short magazine rather than a huge booklet with every piece of information possible included within it. My magazine will only include information that is relevant and necessary to students throughout each month, so as to avoid ‘information overload’.
Images that I intend to include on the front page are focused around the students themselves. For example, I plan to have a photograph (edited using Photoshop) of either one or two students, looking very happy to be in college. This will send out a positive message to students that read the magazine- especially those who have only just joined Southdowns College and are maybe still a little tentative about the ways of college life.
The dimensions of the cover will be A4 due to the fact that this is of a reasonable size, and would easily be able to fit in most students’ bags (if the magazine was too large, then students would be less inclined to pick it up as they would have to carry it around in their hand rather than in their bag).
On the contents page, I will use the ‘Southdowns colours’ (blue and green) so as to follow the theme of the college logo (which will also feature on the cover). The masthead will be in a darker colour than the background – maybe a dark blue- so as to make it stand out and grab the attention of the reader. Images included on the front page (apart from the main photograph) will be a barcode and the Southdowns logo, as these will enable the magazine to look more official.
