College Newsletter Analysis - Revised Front Page

This is my final version of the Deyes College newsletter. The reasons for choosing the various elements and layout can be read in the post below titled "College Newsletter Analysis - Mock-up Front Page". Click the above thumbnail to enlarge the image.

18/02/2010 - On reflection, there are a few design choices I initially made to produce this newsletter revision that I now believe were not the best to make. To elaborate:
The duplicate school logos placed either side of the top banner are not only of bad quality (rough edges) but unnecessary - only one logo is needed as an image anchor. Ink/cost trumps symmetry as the newsletter is handed out for free (does not need to aesthetically please consumers).
Keeping on the subject of the banner; "DEYES HIGH" does not fully align with the below "NEWSLETTER" sub-title. This is a minor grievance, but I feel it retracts from the overall professionalism the design portrays.
Moving down the page, my choice of puff positioning (the left-aligned article titles) go against conventional design. Typically the main article title is placed at the very top of the list, subsequently listing the less important articles below. Although not necessarily a bad decision, I personally believe it would simply look a lot nicer than my current placement.
Finally; the blue translucent box that houses the main article title is clearly too big height-wise - a considerable amount of empty space can be seen. This is a clear error regarding refinement.

With this final analysis of my college newsletter revision I have expanded my placement and design knowledge, and will bear it all in mind when creating my music magazine pages.

College Newsletter Analysis - Mock-up Front Page

Above is the mock up I produced for my version of the Deyes College newsletter. Despite my earlier analysis of the current newsletter – stating that it does not need to be changed – I decided to create my own version to practice using software such as Microsoft Publisher, and also the concepts of magazine layouts and presentation. For this reason I aimed it at a more particular audience, namely that of high school students (roughly between 11-17). Because of this I inserted a large image of a student who attends the school, and put less emphasis on the professionalism of the school being a special science college. The main colour of the cover is obviously blue; it is known to give connotations of loyalty and calmness – retaining at least some elements of the school’s ‘Proper’ image that it would no doubt want to retain.

College Newsletter Analysis - Existing Front Page

This analysis serves as research towards creating my own version of a school newsletter. Clicking the above thumbnail will maximize the image.