Analysis of College Magazine 2/3

Reigate College May 2011

In this masthead, the main image only covers half the page but, because there are no other images, and it is on a plain background the attention is drawn to the pair of hands. The target audience for this magazine is 16 to 19 years olds. This image contrasts to the other magazines which feature students themselves. The reader gets the impression these are students hands because one of the articles has the title ‘festivals’ and the subject is wearing a festival band – they are also in a position which looks like they are raised in the air and in the middle of clapping which gives a sense of happiness and enthusiasm which represents the college and students in a positive way. The close-up shot of just the hands draws attention away from the image but attracts the title and even more so – the text presented in a column down the right hand side of the page. The text uses anchorage by featuring a person with positive attitudes and the articles cover most interests of a stereotypical teenager – this magazine is mainly aimed at the students in particular and their interests so the purpose of the magazine is to make the college look like a fun place to be. Similar to the previous magazine, there is use of the large font title and a smaller font size for the other text. However on this front cover, the text down the right hand side does not tease the contents or give an insight to what the main article is about – it lists the subjects and topics covered in the magazine to broaden the range of readers because it covers most hobbies and interests. The colour scheme and house-style is consistent throughout the magazine (light blue, dark blue and white) with bold writing. The plain, light-coloured background allows the audience to focus on the text and image which makes them more prominent. The date of publish is shown in this masthead to attract the reader’s attention and to show it is an up-to-date copy of the college magazine “May 2011” – this also shows that the magazine is published monthly. There is no barcode or price label included on the page indicating it does not cost anything.

This contents page has a very projecting title with an original and exaggerated font but still relating to the colour scheme by using a light blue colour which is quite an electric, positive colour. There are no images on this page which draws attention to the title even more so. The contents are presented as a list using centre positioned text which draws attention to the centre of the page making it easier to read. The text is in a larger size font, in black and with a space between each line making each individual topic clearer and easier to read. There is a small explanation in non-bold underneath some of the topics to describe some of the main articles but there are no pages to indicate where to find them.