College Magazine Textual Analysis

DAVE - South East Essex College

DAVE magazine is associated with SEEC, a college in the centre of Southend but is also available at other locations around the area. Completely free and full of interviews and reviews, the magazine's popularity is increasing and it has become better known. On first impressions, the cover may appeal more to males than females as it features a male model and also presents black and yellow as the main colours which do not particularly have connotations of girls. However, in fact the magazine is targeted at all college students.

The image represents attitude and style and this is enhanced by the brickwork-like backdrop. The model is from a well-known local band in Southend, and therefore is very relevant to the target audience. The stylistic features of the cover such as the cut off square effect surrounding the image are cohesive to its connotations of attitude. The bold fonts used, stand out and draw the attention of the reader. Their bold style also has connotations of enthusiasm and fun, which young outgoing people would appreciate.

Overall, this magazine is highly effective in directly targeting its audience and presenting appropriate features. Although the cover makes it appear to be mostly targeted at males, when asking members of my focus group and other female friends, they said they would read the magazine anyway as it is specific to Southend and in particular SEEC. However, when I questionned boys on whether they would read a magazine which looked like it was targeted at girls, they said they probably wouldn't. Regardless, this suggests that in today's modern society, the barriers between genders are less defined and therefore something that appears to be targeted at males, can actual appeal and therefore be targeted at all young people.

School Magazine Textual Analysis

The Loyolite

The Loyolite school magazine is most likely targeted at students. This cover of the latest issue presents a scrapbook-like layout which has connotations of youth as does the use of lined paper for the background which also connotes school. This shows that the publication is targeted at the younger audience of students, rather than parents. However, the images of the school and its grounds along with the date of simply the year 2008 suggest that the publication is targeted at prospective students rather than current ones. 

The images on the cover are fairly simple and present the school buildings and grounds. The school crest is also presented on the cover which shows the schools pride and respect for its community. However, the students are not represented on the cover. This means the reader cannot feel a sense of belonging. On the other hand, this format does give the magazine quite a unique appearance that is not conventional of other school magazines. The notepad typeface used for the background had strong connotations of school life which fits well with the magazine's topic. 

Overall, this cover is effective in its individuality. However I feel that it does not particularly appeal to students. The magazine has the appearance of a school prospectus, even though it is actually a school publication for current students. When asking the thoughts of my focus groups, they all commented on how there are no images of students and that the cover makes it look like a prospectus. This shows the importance of the front cover in the industry and the impression it gives to readers.

School Magazine Textual Analysis

High Profile (King Edwards School for Girls)

High Profile is produced by the sixth form students at King Edwards School for Girls. It is a news and features magazine with a purpose of creating opportunities for students to practice their journalistic and editorial skills. I have chosen these two examples of covers as I feel they give a good representation of the large selection of  covers available in the school's online archive. Each cover presents a different activity and happy students are always featured. This implies that the school is a happy environment.

These covers are effective in portraying this, however if targeted at students, the images may appear to posed and not natural. Generally they are very positive images though and represent fun activities. The images are also very colourful which makes the covers bold and eye-catching. It is clearly targeted at the students themselves and they are the main cover feature. At the same time, the magazine maintains a professional appearance which does not suggest it is simply a student-produced school magazine.

Overall the magazine is very effective in achieving its purpose. It represents students themselves as the main feature and allows the students at the school to practice their journalistic skills. Being produced by members of its own target audience definitely gives High Profile an advantage over other similar publications. Generally, the magazine gives a good representation of students at the school however, my focus group commented on the style of the magazine and suggested that it could be modernised with some more contemporary stylistic features.

University Prospectus - Cover Analysis

This magazine cover, for a law at an American university is most likely to be targeted at current or prospective students. However, the cover features what appears to be a group of the university professors. This makes the university look respectable and disciplined which although may be a good impression, could also come across as rather dull to prospective students and in particular to current students who are unlikely to consider their professors the most exciting aspect of university.

There is not much text on the cover, it simply presents the name of the university, states that the magazine is for the law department and gives the issue date of 'Fall 2007'. The font is bold and capitalised so it stands out and is clear to the reader.

The photograph is set into a rich red colour which may be the university's colour. It also stands out and makes the magazine look more expensive. The picture is taken in a grand hallway and all the people are dressed smartly. This gives a certain impression of the university. however, although the impression is good, it is not particularly inticing. A photograph of students would probably be more appropriate as the magazine is most likely to be targeted at this audience. It might also be beneficial to quote some of the articles on the front cover.

Overall, I feel this magazine is not appropriate for its target audience. The cover gives off a good impression of the university as far as parents, or professors are concerned but for students, a more exciting cover is needed. Even if the same set up was used but with students standing in the hall, that would be better as readers would be able to relate to those on the cover. However, if i were to redesign this magazine, I would probably base it around a main picture of students and perhaps inset some smaller ones. It's likely I'd also quote some of the most relevant articles in the magazine on the cover.