On the left hand side on my two pages I will feature a advertisement for an article featured in the newspaper. It will appeal to my audience because of the subject - bars, pubs and alcohol. This is another aspect of the newspaper which advises, therefore fulfilling the purpose of my newspaper. I have chosen the phrase 'big steps best bars' as it is simple, snappy and easy to remember. It also lets the audience know the purpose of the article clearly. I will be completing it on photoshop, and will produce several outcomes so I can decide which is most effective. This first draft is very simple and contains no editing. From here, I will change the layout and edit the text to make it more visually appealing.
in the second of my designs I have changed the layout in order to make it look more appealing and intriguing. I think this design works well as you can still see all the text clearly enough. The '10' has been arranged behind the letters so it doesn't blur the text. Overall I think this layout is good, and looks more appealing than my first draft.
this is the third design of my advertisement and I have edited the text in order to make it more attractive, as well as trying a new layout. On the text of the 'big', 'steps' and 'bars' I have used the effects of bevel and emboss. It has given the text another dimension and it seems more visually appealing. I have featured 'BEST' in a bigger font to emphasise the view of the article, it will be positive not negative. I have edited this text by using bevel and emboss, and adding an outer glow. The new layout does not leave much surplus space and is able to be seen clearly. I have also added a pale gray to the background in the hope that the text stands out more.
this design featured the same text effects as previous, however the background has been changed to be of different textures and gradients of colour. I feel this design is suitable for an advert as it includes the colour scheme of my newspaper, whilst remaining attractive and enticing. The font effects and sizes have remained the same.
Due to the image size being too small, I decided not to use these in my newspaper. I opted for a simpler design which I felt was effective.However doing this has helped me to gain more knowledge of photoshop.
In order to gain a bit more knowledge about my newspapers and as a final part of my research I decided to look on the internet about the newspapers. This extract is from Wikipedia about the Epigram - Bristol Student Newspaper.
"Epigram is the independent student newspaper of the University of Bristol. It was set up in 1988 by James Landale, now a senior BBC journalist, who studied politics at Bristol. The current editor of The Daily Telegraph, William Lewis, was a writer for Epigram in its early years.
Epigram is produced fortnightly during term time, and as of February 2010 the newspaper had reached 224 editions. It is available as a paper edition distributed freely around the university, with articles and discussion also appearing online. The paper follows a traditional newspaper layout: the front of the newspaper is devoted to news issues, particularly those concerning students at the university.
The paper has a 25-strong editorial team consisting of students from the second year and above (formal recruitment is carried out in the last term of an academic year). The current editor is Will Miles, and the deputy editors are Camilla Arnold and Laura Walters.
All students at the University are encouraged to write for the paper and each section of the paper has a weekly publicised meeting to discuss and allocate stories for the next edition - there are opportunities to join each section team at the Freshers' Fair at the beginning of the year or by emailing the relevant section editor."
This extract is from the same source about Varsity - Cambridge Student Newspaper.
"Varsity is the older of Cambridge University's main student newspapers. It has been published continuously since 1947, and is one of only three fully independent student newspapers in the UK. It appears every Friday around Cambridge. In November 2009, the paper won six prizes at the Guardian Student Media Awards, was nominated for a further two, and former editor Patrick Kingsley was named Student Journalist of the Year"
In order to create my own two pages of a newspaper I wanted to research existing products to see what features in these pages. I wanted to get impressions of layout, colour use and the types of article used in this place. For this I have looked at The Epigram and Varsity, establishing continuity from my other research tasks.
This is The Epigram, which can also be seen by the use of blue, a colour seen on the front cover of the newspaper. We can see the name Epigram has been placed at the top left hand side of the left page, along with the date on the right. By looking at other newspapers I found this was quite a frequent pattern. Featured on this page are the contents, some adverts, session meeting times and the editorial team. I particularly liked the layout of the contents, with the use of colour, aspects I hope to reflect in my own newspaper. The contents has been colour coded, so readers flicking through can identify the pages they want through stopping at this colour. The section meeting times and editorial team are both in the same size, colour and font, with a blue heading for each. This aspect of the newspaper may not be read by many but is important to include. A advert for what is featured later in the newspaper stands out on the page, another incentive for readers. This page also provides contact details for anyone wanting to get in touch.
The facing page focuses on news, seen by the heading and colour coding. There are 3 articles featured on this page, with one taking up the majority of the page with both text and picture. This article also has the biggest headline showing its importance. The other two articles are at the right side and bottom of the page, so the eye automatically goes to read the middle one first.
These are the first two pages of Varsity newspaper. Unlike Epigram, Varsity straight away begins with the news content. Thumbnails of pictures are used to break up a lot of text used. The initial page contains one main article and 3 smaller ones. The first layout splits the page into thirds. There is a smaller section at the top of the page which promotes the website. At the bottom of the page the editors and session times are mention, in a much smaller font. Varsity has made this section much less appealing than Epigram has. The second page contains 3 main news articles, with 3 pictures. The page has no bold colours, and I feel does lack visual appeal. There is an offer featured on the bottom right hand of the screen, another aspect the student audience will be attracted to. Similar to the Epigram, each page is headed by the date and the purpose of that page.
Searching on the internet for posters advertising newspapers proved unsuccessful, as there was hardly any images of these, despite extensive searching of websites such as google, yahoo, wikipedia and poster sites. However I did find how newspaper advertisments are set out and structured by going on The Sun website, which was advertising aspects of its paper.
The Sun uses bold colour on a equally bold background in order to attract the reader to what they are promoting. The images used in these posters cover most of the area, providing more visual attraction. Each headline is exemplary of many posters, as they give enough detail to tempt the reader but not enough to ruin the story. This is done by many newspapers, especially the sun who sensationalize their headlines all the time to advertise. Words such as 'exclusive' and 'no1' is essential in persuading the reader they should choose that newspaper. In my poster I will be using my colour scheme along with headlines in order to appeal to my target audience and persuade them to buy my newspaper.
I have created a heading in photoshop using the font Gill Sans Ultra Bold. I have used capitals to emphasise the importance of this text and the red again represents the fact the newspaper is Essex based. I have used several effects on my title in order to make it appear similar to a logo that would attract attention, than ordinary text. I have used the effects of drop shaddow, bevel and emboss, in order to make it more visually attractive and appealing. The shaddow ensures this text will stand out from the other headings and text. I will place this text onto a background to ensure the text stands out more.
This was the first draft of my University Newspaper. This draft remains unfinished however the layout is roughly how it will be when finished. I have the masthead of my newspaper at the top right of the page, as I feel centring it will lose the newspaper valuable space on each side, which can be used for other aspects such as lures or smaller articles. I have used a black box out in order to ensure the red stands out and attracts potential readers. Underneath the masthead is a small heading acting as a subtitle. It is placed to the right and reads "Essex's Leading Student Newspaper". This clears up any misunderstandings from the title by telling the readers what the subject is. I have ensured the theme of red is continued throughout my front page by having vertical and horizontal lines which split texts featured in red. The theme of red is also used in one of my lures, a student deal. To attract readers I have included a meal deal for a restaurant on the upcoming holiday Valentine’s Day. This will provide readers with an incentive to purchase or pick up this newspaper. I used a Valentines font from www.dafont.com to provide the hearts. The grey boxes are where I will copy the pictures I have taken into. All the articles currently have the same heading as at the time of the draft I had only brainstormed one. I have now written half of the text that will be used on the front cover. As this is my first draft, many aspects of this have changed since. I have yet to take the pictures for my lures, which will be based on fashion, music, and another social event. These pictures will be placed over the red box at the bottom to continue the theme, and ensure they stand out.
The three websites I analysed are; The Echo, a local newspaper, Epigram and Varsity, both university newspapers. I have previously analysed The Epigram and Varsity in researching my newspaper so are familiar with both. Although all three websites all follow a similar format, there are noticable differences.
I found compared to the other two, The Epigram website lacked visuals. Varsity and The Echo feature video clips, and several images on the homepage, generating interest and making it look more visually attractive. The lack of visual aids I feel disadvantages the Epigram website and would not generate a great deal of interest. A similar aspect of all three is the masthead. Each has used the same font to establish continuity. They are all in similar colours to the newspaper also. The university websites both feature the strapline underneath the masthead. This is featured in a smaller font so it is not initially looked at. Each masthead is featured on a box of alternative colour. This ensures the masthead catches your eye. Two of the three newspapers have a horizontal row of tabs directly under the masthead, the remaining newspaper featuring it above. Each follows a similar colour scheme, the text alternating from the background it is on. The Epigram has bigger tabs, which I feel is better as they become clearer and more appealing. In addition to the tabs, The Epigram has a list of the tab subjects featured within the box containing the masthead. This ensures the subjects are seen, whether from the tab or the list. Similarly, all the newspapers contain an advertisment at the top of the page. Varsity's is advertising a bank, Epigram advertising a comedy night and Echo advertising a car website. I feel the Epigram would be more appropriate for my area, relfecting their local interests. However considering the stereotype and class of students at Cambridge, the advert does target its audience appropriately. The Echo uses colour to advertise successfully, using a bright yellow colour to attract the eye to the advert.
Articles are introduced briefly on each website, containing a headline and a smaller texted summary of the article. There are two articles featured in the print screen of the Echo homepage. As a general local newspaper, this allows the homepage space to focus on other aspects of interest. The Epigram contains 5 articles on the homepage, which I feel is too much. There are no visual aids linked to these and I feel they all look the same. Varsity focuses on one main article, shown linked to a picture, and two smaller articles. I like this homepage and feel it is successful as it contains enough, but not too much information about news. It also uses visual aids, and doesn't use all the space for news.
The layout of Varsity allows for a panel of images that link you to another page. These images have little text on them, however do not need a great deal of explanation. There is also another section for people looking for something specific. The headings 'Latest Stories' and 'Popular by section' are featured on the right hand side, in a small text. The text is a small sentance which can be linked to the full article. It contains music, film and event features. It contains thin lines segregating the articles so the website appears clear and uncrowded. The Epigram layout is clear, also containing lines seperating articles, however the lack of visual aids means there is lots of space.
In summary, I feel the websites use colour in a positive way, subconsciously leading the audience into reading what is most important first. The continuity between the newspapers and the website is vital, and successful. The most successful homepage in my opinion is Varsity, as it uses many techniques which successfully combine to attract the audience. It contains an clear layout which is easy to navigate around. It manages to combine many links to news and popular interest stories, while attracting the eye to images and videos. The articles importance is shown by colour and size of text, which the audience follows. This is the website I would like mine to mirror.
