Analysation of a college magazine front cover

St Edwards Magazine front cover

Who's the target audience?

The target audience for this magazine front colour is for the students of St Edwards, the teachers and possible students/ and or their parents who are intending to go there. It's suitable for both men and women to read as it's gender neutral and also a mixed school so it is appropriate.

How do you know who the target audience is?

It's obvious who the target audience is because it's a school magazine and therefore targeted at those who are associated with St Edwards.  It's more than likely aimed at those in sixth form and older because of the amount of writing an lack of colour involved.

How does it engage the audience?

It engages the audience very minimally. It doesn't use a lot of colour or striking images/ headlines, this makes it seem slightly boring an uninteresting as it doesn't catch people's eye. It does however provide a story about one of the pupils, so it could engage the teachers and parents of students to see how the pupils actually benefit from going there. It also includes the school badge so it makes it seem more professional and therefore more appealing to the people it is targeted at.

What's the ideology of the college from looking at the front  cover?

The priorities of this magazine is mainly the students, which is highly appropriate considering it is suppose to inform people about what's going on there. There is also a side story about a priest which is also appropriate because it's a catholic school, and involving something about religion could mean a lot to the people that go there. There is a story about some of the staff in addition, so this means it's attracting as many people as it can; more than likely to increase the number of readers.

What do they consider important?

They obviously consider every aspect about the school to be important which is very important for them to try and put across to the audience. Involving both students an staff is obviously a clever way to interact with both sides of the schools population as it's informing them both about what each is doing and achieving while attending there. Also, including the story on the priest could be important to many of the readers, because if it's a religious school people may expect to know whats going on in that area.

What images have they used? camera angles?

There seems to be a main image of two teachers presenting an award to someone, using a wide shot so that we can see the awards being the main attraction and meaning. This image could attract peoples attention as people may be interested to find out what a fellow student has won, especially parents who want to see what the school can help their children achieve. There is also a close up image of a priest used to portray the other important notice of that school week/ term. This could have been used to illustrate that it's a simple story, possibly just informing people of what's been going on.\

What's the mise-en-scene?

The main image has a simple background so we are attracted the the people and the certificate more. The fact that the people are smartly dressed tells us that it's a formal occasion and possibly very important making it more interesting to the reader. The lighting is quite light so it tells us it's a positive occasion. The other picture of the priest also has a simple background of just nature, and natural lighting so it's very simplistic.

Would this successfully engage the reader?

I dont think this would successfully engage the reader by only the way it looks. I think it could do better with more colour, and more striking titles to attract peoples eye more. The stories may only attract certain people because I don't believe it would attract younger people in the school because it doesn't have the most interesting topics.

How much is it?

The magazine has no barcode or price so it means that it's free, and therefore nothing free will be given with it. It also means that it's easier for it's target to access, and therefore will increase the number of people who read it.

How this could help me with my magazine

This magazine helps me by showing what I should include, such as appropriate pictures and headlines. It also shows me how not to design my magazine, an helps me to understand how presentation is very important in catching the readers eye and interest. As long as I make mine as interesting as possible it should appeal to my target audience.