Varsity website

The Epigram website

The Echo website

Researching Newspaper Websites

As I have completed most of my research for the front cover of my newspaper and are now focusing on the practical side, I have begun researching newspaper websites in order to prepare for the next stage of my project. It involves creating two hyperlinked pages from the newspapers website. I will need to research existing websites in order to see what features are successful. This will involve looking at layout, features, advertising, colours, text and font types. I will be looking at the websites of the newspapers I previously analysed, as well as two other websites.

Looking at font styles 2

I decided to use the website http://www.dafont.com/ to look at possible font styles I could use for the masthead of my newspaper. As I researched san and san serif fonts and preferred using san serif, all fonts below are of this style. I have tried to include a variety of font styles in order to see which one could and will look most effective on my front cover. This is my analysis of all the styles. I will choose two styles, before surveying my class on which they feel is suitable.


1 - Caviar Dreams font
Although this font is clean cut and modern, I do not feel it is bold or eye catching enough to be the feature of my front cover. The letters are too thin and may appear unclear, however I am going to put this style into the survey to see what my age group see fit.

2-Harabara font
Where the previous font was not eye catching enough, I feel this font is too bold. The letters are close together, slightly blurring the words, meaning my audience may be unable to read it therefore are put off the newspaper.

3-Franchise font
Again, I will be discounting this font as I do not feel it is appropriate for a newspaper front cover. For the subject of university, I feel this style appears technology related, therefore attracting more of a male audience.

4-Alte Haas Grotesk font
This will be one of the two texts to be chosen. I feel this text is bold, eye catching and easy to read. The simplicity of the font style will attract my audience, without detracting from the other features of my front page. I feel it is also a style which is unisex, therefore attracting a wider audience.

5-Juice font
I immediately discounted this style from being used as I feel it is totally inappropriate for a magazine based on universities. It again, seems slightly technology or science based which does not appeal to all of my audience. The text is not bold enough either.

6- Old Sans Black
This text is extremely similar to number 4, therefore I will be discounting it. It has the correct features however, being easily readable, bold and similar to other newspaper masthead I have seen.

7-Aubrey font
I feel this text does not attract enough attention to be used for the masthead. It is slightly decorative, which I feel detracts from what it will be saying.

Looking at font styles

Next Steps

The next step will be choosing the text style for my masthead. To catch attention the text will need to be bold, modern and easy to view. As the newspaper is focused on University I will look into creating a bouncing text effect for the last letter of my heading. I thought this idea may look good as it signifies how university elevates you into the world, mirroring the phrase 'the sky is the limit'. However once designed, this may look tacky, which would risk the reputation and success of my newspaper, in which case I will not use this effect. As the newspaper will feature about universities from all over the UK, but only feature about student life in Essex, I have chosen to have a red colour scheme as this is the colour featured on the coat of arms.

I have also looked at serif and san serif fonts. Serif is the style in which there are decorative pieces of swirls or designs used in the font, whereas sans serif is without these decorative effects. For my newspaper I feel sans serif will be effective as I feel it fits my criteria better. It can be bold, more visible, and seems more clean cut. I have found an example for serif and sans serif on google...

Name of Newspaper

In order to attract my audience to my newspaper I need to have a name which hints at what the newspaper will be about, whilst attracting my target audience. I brainstormed several words which I thought could be associated with universities. I then decided to conduct a survey to decide which name would appeal most. Out of 5 possible choices, Moving On, University Life, Decisions, Big Dreams and Big Steps, Big Steps was the most popular. Out of the 20 people surveyed, 8 supported Big Steps, 7 choosing Big Dreams, with others gaining 3 or less votes. I feel these names have appealed to my audience the most as the words in the title give reference to univeristy, whilst not appearing too dull and boring. Using Big Steps, the next choice I faced was the spelling of Steps. To appeal to my target audience I had the idea to spell it as 'Stepz' as it indicates the age of the audience. Slang is seen as popular with the younger generation, and may interest the audience in picking up the newspaper. However for people going to university, slang or may not make this magazine anymore appealing, as they are taking a serious interest in education and the future. Therefore I will keep the original spelling of steps, calling my newspaper Big Steps.

Conclusion of Research / Survey Introduction

As both newspapers I have analysed have similarities and differences it is hard to say which one is better. From my point of view Epigram appeals to more students as I feel it is less daunting and contains less text. The masthead and headlines I feel attract more attention, however it could be seen as being too crowded. I feel the lures are layout in a better, more stylish way which will attract my audience. Also the choice of lures appeal to my personal, and general student interests. However Cambridge university is one of the most prestigious in the world, so can be expected to target different interests. The meal deal is a very good pug as it will attract to many students as it is eye catching and benefits students. I feel both magazines use colour appropriately, although The Epigram appears more striking. On the other hand, Varsity's layout appeals to me as it seems clean and less busy.

To determine which cover attracts my audience more I will conduct a survey. From this I can conclude what types of layout, colour, content and headlines appeal to them.

I will brainstorm some potential questions.

Which newspaper cover attracts you the most?

Is this because of:

• colour scheme
• content/headlines
• main images
• name of magazine
• font styles
• lures (fashion/music/arts)
• layout

What do you feel is most important on the front cover of a student newspaper? ( 1 - 6, 1 being the most important)

• name of the newspaper
• any deals/promotions featured
• fashion/art/music lures
• images
• headlines/content
• layout

Varsity Student Newspaper

The style of this newspaper, contrasting to The Epigram is, I feel, much more formal. The masthead - Varsity is featured in a different font to the whole of the front page, catching the readers eye. There is also an emblem to represent the newspaper, which is placed above Varsity. The mast head is placed in a gray box out, which is separated from the rest of the layout by thin black horizontal lines. Within the box out, pugs are featured, being the issue number, date and newspaper website. Also in the first third of the layout lures are used. The heading of each lure is in a contrasting color to the remainder of text on the page, making it stand out. This is where the page of each is also written. The text used to explain the lures is an alternate font to those used on the front cover. There are 3 lures, used to attract audiences with these interests. Arts, fashion and news interviews are what the headings say, showing the papers different sections, not just focused on news. Images are placed next to these sub headings, which hint at the content of the lures. The splash is introduced by the heading, which is in a black text. There is an eye catching image which takes up the second third of the page. It is an eye catching image but provokes ambiguity, slightly explained by the caption. The writer is credited at the start of the article is bold, but in small black text. The article is featured over 4 columns and unlike The Epigram, is separated from the secondary lead by a vertical line. The story is continued, the front cover giving the page number. The text for the lead story takes up the remaining third of the page. On the right hand side of the page the secondary lead is featured. A smaller headline is used to create interest for the article, however no caption is used. This article is the full article so does not need a page number to be continued. At the bottom of this article is another box out, this time in the purple color the lure text used. Within the box out is the title of another article and a bar code. The title is explanatory of the article, whilst the bar code shows the newspaper needs to be purchased, unlike The Epigram.

The Epigram - Bristol University's independent student newspaper

This newspaper can be seen to display many technical features of a typical newspaper. We are immediately drawn to the masthead, 'Epigram' which is the largest, boldest text on the page. This ensures the reader is drawn to the newspaper. We are then drawn to the main story of the page, called the splash. We can see the lead story contains an image, headline, caption, introductory text and the credits of the writer and photographer. The picture may intrigue the readers to read the article, then the paper. Within this article, the caption briefly sums up the content of the article for readers who have little time or arn't particularly interested in this article. There has been a tag used to attract readers to this, by using the powerful word 'demand', implying conflict which would make readers curious. A secondary lead is featured on the right hand side of the page, with another caption used, and a smaller amount of text. The headline for this article is in smaller font than the lead story, as not to distract from the main story. Pugs are used on the left hand side of the page, where the issue number and date is featured. As this is placed on solid turquoise lines, this part stood out to me. Another pun used is the 'EXCLUSIVE MEAL DEAL' featured on the top right hand side of the page. As this newspaper is aimed at students who need to save money, meal deals will attract this audience. I hope to include something like this on my front page. It is also featured in alternate colours to the newspaper colour scheme, which appears to be black, blues and greens. A lure is used at the bottom of the newspaper to draw in readers who arn't necassarily willing to read the main articles. By featuring popular subjects of music, fashion and british life this will attract a different reader, ensuring the widest range of students read the newspaper. Each article contains information detailing which page the full article can be found on.

I think this is a successfull university newspaper as it manages to attract a range of interests, therefore a wider audience. Its appearance is clean cut and modern, with a small amount of colour used to ensure the page isn't dull, but not too overpowering. The masthead is obvious, as well as which stories are meant to be of greater importance. I think the layout of this newspaper works well, including the pug at the top right of the newspaper. There are also two horizontal lines used to seperate to the masthead section, and then the lure section. This means the articles are positioned central to the newspaper. The only factor I feel could be improved was the seperation of texts from each article, as they could be mixed up.

Introduction/Statement of Intent

For my media project I have chosen to complete number 8 of the tasks. This is to produce a front cover of a local newspaper, along with a hyperlinked page from the newspapers website, and a poster for the newspaper. I feel this choice will work to my advantage as I am more familiar with newspapers than websites. As both a media and English student, I have previously analysed visual aspects of front covers, along with having to produce newspaper articles. This previous knowledge will help me in designing my front cover in order to attract readers to the product. I feel I am strong in creative writing, which I will adapt to the purpose of my newspaper.

Initially, I was interested in creating a stereotypical local newspaper (free, and received in the post) however I began to find this dull and uninspiring. During this time I began applying to universities where I used a series of leaflets and brochures to decide. I noticed a lack of local papers or magazines focused on universities and the lifestyle. This encouraged me to begin brainstorming about a university focused newspaper aimed at 17 - 19 year olds. Although the newspaper will be local, it will include news and features about universities across the country. Locally the newspaper will cover student life, advising on finance and health, whilst giving money saving tips on leisure, dining and household. From university I have seen, I found they are specific to the university attended, and the specific area. As I am of the age group targeted, I will have a basic knowledge of what is needed to attract readers to my product, and what issues need to be addressed. To attract my audience I aim to produce a contemporary, bold and clean cut cover.

I will be researching existing university magazines in order to see how they have been laid out in terms of masthead, strapline and the splash (terms explained in detail after). Taking notes on colour schemes used will indicate what attracts people to read them. As is is a local newspaper based on advising student I am contemplating marketing this product as free. The purpose of the paper will mean it could be distributed in places such as libraries, leisure centres, colleges and youth centres. Alternatively it could be distributed through the post.

After researching existing papers, I will brainstorm ideas for the name of my paper, then designing several visual identities (logo). During the processes of designing the front page I will survey fellow students to establish the best design. The reliability of these results will be high as the people being surveyed could potentially be the people my paper will be of the same age.

Throughout this process I will be documenting my efforts through this blog. Improving on last year, I will need to use the blog more effectively and most on a regular basis. I will also need to devote further time to the practical side of this project, as the software used is unfamiliar to me.