School Magazine Evaluation

Overall I was generally pleased with the school magazine front cover considering it was my first time in doing so and the fact that I am new to using the software. The masthead is appropriate for the school magazine, but has a hidden meaning. I named the magazine 'Jangle', this meaning gossip in the tudor times, which was the period of King Henry VIII. The main colour of the masthead is yellow, with a black border. I felt this appropriate as i thoght it suited the school in terms of colour.
   The main image is an appropriate size, and I feel gives a clear indication of the story that it is representing. The image is showing the "battle" between the two contenders for the lead role in the play, in which i think is portrayed through the image, the stance and facial expression expressed in the two individuals shows this. I was generally pleased with the final image, however there was one thing that I was dissapointed with. I think there should have been more blank space to the sides of the image as that way it would have made it easier to fit in the sell lines, and therefore make the overall cover less squashed. I didnt use any subsidiary images in this particular task, as I didn't think the cover needed it and secondly I think it would have made it look even more cramped.
   There are several sell lines used on my front cover, all of which give a clear indication about the content of the magazine. The language of these is more informative rather than entertaining, which is what makes them understandble, however they arent very fun as I haven't used any literacy devices here. All the sell lines have a consistent colour scheme, which at first I found difficult to find as I didn't want the choice of colour to clash with the background of the main image or the masthead. A variety of different fonts were used in a number of different of places which gave the cover some variation rather than it all looking too similar.
   The overall layout of the magazine is generally clear, however I do think it is slightly cramped and restricted for space. This is all down to the main image, and if this was altered i think it would improve the layout. I think the cover is appealing to the reader as I think the bold headline will draw in people's attention, however I don't think it would be overly obvious that this was a school magazine if it wasn't for the specific sell lines and strap lines.
   I think my main area of improvement would be getting the main image right. I would go back and make sure there was enough surrounding space so I was less restricted when producing the final front cover. I would also try and make the sell lines and strap lines slightly more interesting and fun. Generally though, I am very pleased with the final outcome.