PRELIM School Magazine contents page final

This is my final school contents page, I had added the image with the word "Highdown" this was because it is the main part of the school as it is the "Reception" place where a lot of pupils, teachers, parents or visitors etc. will have obviously been to and they would recognise it.

The models are posing in a casual look and as it is of two sixth formers, therefore it shows the sixth form side as well rather than having students in school uniform. But the outfits worn by the models is also very laid back and the colours as well are not too bright and overpowering but works very well with the image as a whole with the background.

The contents section has been inspired by a couple of magazines especially the use of different colour for the numbers, many magazines had done this as this makes it very quick for the audience to know which pages include the more "important" information and they can straight away change the page to one of the ones highlighted.

This contents page was not challenging as I kept it very basic yet looking quite professional and well organised, having the same colours and main font used makes the magazine look structured and efficient. But the only part where it was quite time consuming was when knowing what to put as a "sub-heading" for each pages in the contents. But I had looked at a couple of magazines and got an idea of what to include but keeping it broad and basic as I did not want to give too much information away in the title.

PRELIM School Magazine contents page

For my school contents page, I had used Photoshop to create it. I had to first open up an image on Photoshop and I had chosen the below image. At first I thought I would use it for the cover but then decided it would work well for the contents due to the name of the school would be repetitive if it was on the cover twice as an image as well as a title.

I did not have to change the brightness or contrast etc. of the image, this was because the lighting was suitable and I felt it would not look right if the "naturalness" gets taken away. I had then placed the image to where I thought it would look best. Placing it below gave me enough space to place the title above the image.

I had then placed the title at the top, by using the same font as the one used on the cover. This was because I did not want to use a wide range as it would not look professional and also the colours used on the cover would also be used on the contents page to keep the colour theme throughout the magazine.

I had then started to list the contents below the title but over the image, this was because the space on this part of the image had a plain white background and so the text would stand out and is not distracting anything else but has a nice section for the information to be placed. I had taken inspiration from the magazines I had researched and also other magazines form "Google" but kept the information quite basic and also broad and not too specific.

I had also changed the number of the pages to red, this was to keep the co,lour theme as the fonts used so far has been black and so by having the numbers in a different colour makes it stand out and more appealing. I had then put the website again at the bottom of the page in a white font as it is a darker background and the black or red would not be as clear.

PRELIM School Magazine cover final

This is my final piece of the school magazine front cover, it is very evident that the colour theme is black, white and red which is the school uniform colours as well. Therefore, it is very clear that it is a "Highdown School" magazine and also the school itself also provides "Highdown Link" which is like a short booklet for students. The colours used on there are also black, white and red and so my inspirations has been taken from the school uniform and the leaflets.

At first I wanted to vary the text positions so that it does not have information just on one part of the page but to have bits "scattered" around. But as the image used has been placed in the centre, with space on the bottom part of the image due to it being of the road, I felt that it would look better with text overlapped on that part and not at the top. However, there was also space below the image and so I put as much information on there as above the image there was no space due to the title.

I had also taken some inspiration from school magazines I had looked at during my research by highlighting the titles in a different colour, or having a block around the title and also the style of fonts and positioning. Having some of the text in red such as the titles, made it eye catching and interesting to view as it is different to the rest of the page. Although, the white was much brighter and clearer it did not seem as fascinating as the red.

As a result, the magazine was quite easy and straightforward to create once I knew how to open up images and use the text box etc. which was quite similar to other softwares therefore, I did not find any difficulties in creating this cover. However the only part where I did find it hard was to get the school logo on to the page. This was because on other softwares I would have to just copy and paste an image I have found on "Google Images" but this did not work on Photoshop. This was because the image would have to be saved first and then opened onto another Photoshop page, then dragged out so that it is separated from the top bar and then the image with it being "unlocked" and clicked on would then need to be dragged onto the cover. Then the size can be altered and the position of it can be changed.

PRELIM School Magazine cover

This was my template I had created using Photoshop, I kept it simple in order to understand clearly, therefore used the colours black and white as it was just a plan. I set out where I want different text and information to be placed, by putting the heading of each section. 

To do this I had to add text box in the different places and then adjust the size of the text. This was to show the "importance" of each section such as; the "title" and the "image" will be the main focus with the "information" etc. being slightly smaller.

For my school magazine cover I had used photoshop to create it, I had first opened up one of the images I had taken on photoshop. I thought of having an image where quite a lot can be seen not one part of the image really exaggerated. This is because I wanted a landscape-like photo in order to have the text on the cover stand out.

I had then used the paint brush tool and coloured the background in black, this was because "Highdown School" has a colour theme of black, white and red. Therefore I wanted my magazine to consist of these colours as well. And I thought the white was too basic, and no changes would have to be done. The red will be too vivid and bright as I wanted it to still look sophisticated and so I went for the black.

I then added a title "Highdown School & Sixth Form Centre, I had placed it on the left side with "Highdown School" on one line as it is one part of the school and the rest on the second. I used a simple font that would look thin and very clear in capital letters. The colour used is white as it stands out dramatically from the background colour.

Next I added the school logo which I had saved from "Google images", I had then opened up the image on Photoshop but realised that it had come up on a separate page. Therefore I had to drag the page out and then place it on to the magazine page in order for it to come up.

I had then adjusted the size and placed it on the right side of the page, This is where the space form the title was and so I thought it fitted and worked perfectly. The size as well was not too big or small but at a reasonable size where it can still catch the audience's attention.

Then I started to add fonts, I used the colours red and white only due to the colour theme and arranged the texts in a way where the red was not put altogether and the whites altogether but tried to vary the colours out.

I had also used different fonts as I felt using one would be too "boring", therefore this creates a more appealing look. Having the titles in red and then a sentence below in white makes it look professional and efficient.

I added a couple of information that I thought would increase the attention, and by placing the "World Challenge 2014" near the title made it seem like this information is the main part of the magazine as well as very interesting for the audience as the title would catch their attention immediately.

Also placing the website address, makes the magazine look well organised and competent, and by putting it along the bottom in a slightly smaller font completes the magazine as this is where magazines tend to put any websites.

PRELIM Pictures 2

These are my pictures that I had taken using my phone which is an iPhone 4, the quality of the images are of a high standard due to its sharpness and colour depth of the images. I had taken the school landscapes without any pupils or teachers as this gives a clear look of how the school is. 

Also it does not show specifically which school it is therefore can be used if I do not do a specific school. But with the pupils, the uniform would be shown therefore showing it is "Highdown".

I have taken images of outside the hall as well as the inside, this gives a variety of options to choose from and can work very well with the background of the front cover or even in the contents page.

I have also taken images of the medals and certificates of the school, this can be placed in the contents page showing the achievements of the school if I do have the magazine about "Highdown", this can show how well the school is running etc.

PRELIM Pictures 1

These are my pictures I had taken, I wanted images that specifically shows the school name in order for the audience to know which school it is as I may used it as a title on the cover due to the name clearly being shown already. I had taken several images with a few changes in order for me to have a wide range of which photos to use.