Evaluating the norms from my format research

    After doing format research on 3 different school magazines I have come to realise that some share the norms but others defy convention. The research I did taught me that normally the masthead is written at the top of the page horizontally . However one of the Hampton's school magazine I edited had the masthead was vertically down the page which defied convention. I actually thought that the vertically down masthead was a very effective aspect of the magazine as it stood out but also worked well with the space on the page, therefore I would like to use the idea of vertical text when designing my own magazine.
   
     There was no norms on the main image either as none of them had a direct mode of address due to there being multiple students, and two out of the three magazines I analysed had more than one picture. This defied convention but also made the focus school magazine stand out due to the number of pictures on the page. After evaluating all three magazines I think using more than one picture is effective because it can show different aspects of the school and it makes the magazine more visually engaging, leading it to be something I would like to use when making my own magazine.
       
      In addition to this all three of the magazines stuck to the norms by keeping a constant house style, which were all determined by the colour of their logo. This meant that they all had a professional outcome therefore appealing to the target audience of parents, and occasionally the students. I would want to apply the consistency of colour in my magazine as it is one of the norms that really appeal on all three magazines.

       Furthermore another aspect that all magazines stuck to was the strapline. The majority of the time the strapline's were quite dull because it tended to be specific for the school to advertise it, for example the Hampton's school magazine had the dofE award as a strapline to show the parents that they do extra activities outside school that would benefit the students. This results in the magazine appealing to the target audience, the parents. When designing my magazine I want to think carefully about the strapline because even though I want to appeal to parents like the other magazines, I would also like to engage the students.

        To conclude I think that the format research I did on school magazine front covers has benefited me in the way it has lead me in the right direction when I come to make my magazine. It has allowed me to find out the norms of the magazine, but it has also shown me effective ways of defying convention. Therefore guiding me on my future ideas for my upcoming school magazine.