Wednesday 8 December 2010

How does Plumline construct and reflect its intended audience?

Plumline; a girls school magazine that keeps students up to date on events, news, information and trips that are happening in and around school. The magazine has to appeal to a wide range of students and create a sense of identity within the school; they achieve this through different layouts, colours, texts and images.

The school's uniform colour is used with the title along with other conventions; the significance of this is the students identifying themselves with the colour and wherefore the magazine. The symbols and logos are all things that are associated with Plumstead Manor School, adding to the overall individuality of the magazine. The name of the magazine is also a pun on the name of the school, making it an inside joke, creating a sense of shared experience. Stereotypically the colour pink is tied with females, the use of the colour may try and connote feeling that the girls can relate to the article, while also creating block colour suitable for the layout of the magazine. The colour is also very bright and vibrant, which reflects the positive mood of the article and the school.

Plumstead Manor is a performing arts school, so featuring an article on art caters to the interests of many student reading the magazine. The images used on the cover are all very warm and welcoming, this connotes the feeling of happiness and harmony within the school. The large images make the article approachable, and display items of interest. The images also feature important people within the school like Ms Flanagan, Headteacher; these are people that outside readers may not recognise. The images feature only women, mirroring the school set up. The inside of the magazine shows action images eg students working. Not only so these images show people current affair in school it could inspire younger students to go on work experience placements like the one presented in the article. Most obviously linked to the school are the images of the students wearing the Plumtead Manor uniform.

The consistent font used is easy to read meaning it is accessible for the majority of reading levels. Also it is a natural font, appealing to both males and females of any age including students  parents and teachers. The text is presented in articles, like an official newspaper. This layout provides students with a sophisticated layout that may be new to some students.

Inside the magazine there are many different articles divided by different colours, i feel this represents all of the different cultures we have in our school. As well as this they are all lively colours that brighten the page. There is more text inside and less emphasis on the images, giving more information. The articles are all written by students from the school this allows the reader to relate herself with the articles, and it also makes for a relaxed sounding magazine.

Overall the magazine uses familiar colours and conventions to identity the magazine with Plumstead Manor School. As well as this the images, articles and layout create a sense of shared experience. Plumline is a magazine run and read by students and caters fr their needs and their interests and reflects its audience.