Carol Klein's Cottage Garden magazine analysis

Carol Klein's Cottage Garden magazine analysis

This is Carol Klein's Cottage Garden magazine, straight away there is Puff and Plug alerting the audience that this is a free magazine when purchasing the Garden News. The plug has been emphasised both in font size and italics therefore really catching the target audience eyes, in this case the niche is most probably going to be older people at an age range of 60+ who find that that they have a lot of spare time on their hands. The puff is a green colour which ties in well with the actual meaning behind the magazine.

The masthead itself is extremely basic, unlike many magazines this masthead is visible in all its elements. The font of the magazine title is a Sans Serif therefore being extremely striking against a white background and the woman who has produced this magazine has had her name emphasised slightly by the use of red and a 'flicky' styled font. This magazine has the same codes and convention's as a young women's fashion magazine however it only focuses on the main cover line rather than a lot of cover lines, this main cover line portrays a good colour scheme and emits joy to its target audience; the font itself is again a Sans Serif, and the use of font sizing, colour and font styles have been used to create this main coverline.

Carol Klein herself has been used as the main image for this front cover, the image fills the whole spread of the design and depicts the magazines purpose. Carol Klein looks inviting and friendly, therefore making her target audience want to pick up the Garden News just for this magazine. The fact that there is a garden in the background emits the idea that the reader can achieve this garden look, this is a very clever technique as again it will draw a reader in to buying the Garden News for this magazine.

Finally a graphic image has been used of a 'poppy' flower, although it wasn't a necessity to this magazine front cover spread, its very striking and stands out a lot against the greens of this cover.

Overall this magazine has achieved its meaning and reaches its target audience, by using an ideal garden and Carol herself as being this warm, inviting woman who can really help the reader.

Look Magazine 500 words analysis

Look Magazine - 500 word analysis





Look Magazine was launched in 2007 by the global company IPC which also produces many other Fashion magazines like Marie Claire and InStyle. Look magazine has a target audience/niche of young women who take a high interest in fashion, Look has the same codes and conventions of many other women’s magazines however Look prioritises itself to Fashion and clothing rather than just celebrity gossip whereas magazines like Heat tend to do more so.

When it comes to magazines the first thing a person looks for is the name of the magazine itself. Also known as the masthead. Look has used a Serif font which inflicts the femininity of this magazine; also the colour is joyous, fun and bold. This bold colour easily grabs the attention of an individual and draws their attention in towards this magazine therefore beating marketing competition. The main cover line for this cover has been emphasized in pink; again this expresses the femininity behind Look and preserves this idea of women being girly. As well as the colour, Serif font has again been used - this Serif font has more of a girly connotation to it and ties in well with the actual text of the main cover line... Finally I notice there is an emphasis on the word '2013' this therefore directs the reader into what the fashion is for the year of 2013.

The cover lines for this particular cover contrast to the main cover line. In the main cover line we see a Serif font but in the other cover lines there is the use of a Sans Serif font, this therefore makes each cover line bold and striking without the use of large fonts. Every cover line has a different colour to it, but whether it is pink, yellow or white they all sum up what each article is about in a few words.

Look have used Cheryl Cole as the main image for this magazine design, Cheryl Cole is a British Celebrity in which many women know. This particular image of Cheryl expresses a sex appeal and sums up femininity in general; the dress is leather and a hot colour which compliments the yellow font and Cheryl herself looks extremely pretty, with the perfect hair and complexion therefore portraying the magazines femininity.

The usage of plugs & puffs on this magazine design are quite varied although the most striking one for me would be the plug ‘The pic everyone’s talking about it’ this plug is abbreviated and creates desire for the reader, this plug has been emphasized by the use of a puff which in this case is a yellow circle. Yellow again ties in with the colour scheme as well making the plug very striking to the eye.

The final thing I am picking up on is the actual text that is situated near to the masthead, this piece of text has been put near to the title to grab the audience’s attention. It has varied in font size and has the use of italics, therefore making it seem really quite genuine.

Overall this magazine cover has done its purpose and reached to its target audience. The way that Look has used the same codes and conventions as many other magazines makes it appeal more to the audience as it does not look to overpowering and different. Also the actual articles inside have been highlighted either with a Sans Serif or Serif font, therefore being bold and striking.

Skills audit

Skills audit - what I know

This is my skills audit, this was task 1 of the AS media coursework booklet.

Associated terms with magazine design

Terms associated with magazine design

Masthead - The title of the magazine - it needs to be iconic and recognisable

Barcode - The retailer scans this code when purchasing the item

Bleed- The portion of an image that extends beyond the trim area of a page

Blow up - To enlarge an image either photographically or digitally

Artwork  - Any portion of a published piece that isn't text

Booklet - A publication of less than 48 pages

Graphic - Any illustrative element in a page

Image area - The area of a page that can be printed upon

Pull quote - This is a quote taken from an interview

Colour scheme - Magazines normally have co-ordinating colours

Main cover line - This is the biggest piece of information, it usually has the largest font

Left third - Everything in terms of cover line is on the left hand side and sectioned into thirds

Plugs & Puffs - A puff is the actual graphic image where as a plug is the piece of information

Target audience/Niche - This is who the magazine is aimed at, the design needs to reflect this

Date line - This shows the date the magazine was published

Price - The pricing of the magazine is usually featured smaller on the magazine

Cover lines - These are the catchy phrase on a magazine, they give minimal detail to what the articles are about

Main image - An image that usually takes up the proportion of the magazine, also relates to the main article inside the magazine

Serif and Sans Serif font - Serif font usually has a flick at the end of lettering where as Sans Serif is more straight to the point and bold

Conventions - This is what we expect of a magazines - whether it be regrading its layout or font choice

Codes - We read beyond the media, every piece on a magazine has further meaning behind it

AS/A2 Media course at Southdowns College

AS media course description - Southdowns College

AS media blog introduction

Things you can do with Blogger:

Blogger can be used in many ways whether it be just for fun or to promote a product.  Below I have listed the features that can be found within Blogger.

1. Create a free blog -  Blogger is open to anyone with a gmail account. Blogger is free to use and can be easily found with a persons gmail account.

2. Customisation - With Blogger people can represent who they are by using the customisation tool. This tool allows for each blog to be unique and individual to the user, the blog can be customised in many ways such as:

• Backgrounds - Blogger offers the standard customisation to any blog, this includes an array of background choices however a feature that was introduced in 2010 allowed for users to add their own personal image or photo as their background.
• Templates- Blogger again offers standard template designs, these designs come in different colours that the user can choose to their own personal taste. As well as this each user can now create their own template design that reflects who they are, whether this be through choice of imagery or colours.
• Widgets-Blogger offers a choice of widgets that can be added to your blog, they are not a necessity but can make a blog look just that little bit better. Blogger widgets include things like, youtube links,page views and a search bar.
• Font- Whether it be changing the font itself or changing the colour/size, Blogger allows for each of its users to do this easily without no hassle.

3. Add photos and videos - A blog is meant to define who a person is, and the best way to do this is via photos and video. Any image or video whether it be sourced from the net or from your own camera can be uploaded to Blogger.

4. Blog on the go - If your mobile phone supports the net, you can use Blogger on the go!

5. Worldwide - Your blog is put out to the world and can be viewed by thousands, also your followers will see all your recent posts.

6. Group blog - Blogger runs group blog, which allows for people of a group to post to the blog few numerous accounts.

7. Embed Prezi and Powerpoint presentations - Bloggers allows for a user to embed a prezi or powerpoint presentation. What even is a Prezi? - Prezi is a web-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides

How I think Blogger will be useful for my coursework

Blogger is used by many people for many different things. Blogger will allow me to easily upload my classwork and anything I think is revelant to this media course, once uploaded all my posts will be visible for my fellow class mates and of course the head of Media Studies at Southdowns College to see. Blogger is a way of measuring how much effort you are putting into this course, its all self directed work that counts towards your overall grade. I will be trying my best to blog every piece of class work, this way I shall be meeting the criteria of a blog but hopefully will be criticized for any mishaps; allowing me to improve my work. Blogger overall is an extremely useful technique to the upload of my media coursework as media entwines with the idea of technology, and theres no better way than being able to blog my coursework.