Peer Assessment

Peer Assessment for my music magazine

Q- Do you think my magazine incorporates the theme of jazz?

A- Personally I think that this magazine does because as soon as I look at the front cover I can see by the chosen colour scheme and instruments in the images that this is a jazz magazine. The colours are dark and the images are of instruments such as trumpets and pianos.

Q- Would you say there is a house-style to this magazine?

A- Yes, I would because all the pages contain a grey border, the logo ‘CJ’  is on each of the pages and the text is the same. This to me shows that there is a house-style to the magazine as it proves that whatever page in the magazine you turn to, you will be able to tell what magazine it’s from.

Q- What feature on the front cover do you find the most eye-catching?

A- I find the masthead the most eye-catching because it is so contrasting from the black background on the main image. The colour white really stands out from the remains of the front cover and will attract readers from a distance.

Q- What do you make of the images I have chosen to use?

A- I believe that the images you have used reflect your theme of jazz very well; I like how you have edited some of your images with a smoky effect. However I think this should be continued throughout the whole of the magazine. The image of the piano on the front cover is very eye-catching as it is at an angle, drawing in the readers to look at this magazine. I like how you’ve used smaller images on the contents page; it clearly shows that they link with the text provided beside them. Finally I like how the image of the guitarist on the double page spread’s guitar neck reaches across to the other side of the page, it gives a twist on the magazine and makes it look more interesting rather than simple.

Q- Are there any improvements you could make to this magazine if you were to do it yourself?

A- Personally, on your double page spread I would make the article fit into columns. That way it indicates that this is a professional magazine. Also, on the front cover I would include the price of the magazine and the date it was published. It’s always good to be as informative as you can on the front cover as it gives the reader answers to any questions they may have about the magazine. The cover line “The Ultimate Guide to Jazz” I think could be made more appealing and unique. Therefore I would change the font and size to ensure it is recognised from a distance. Finally, on the contents page I would increase the size of the page numbers because they’re an important feature on a contents page, therefore this should be indicated by using a larger font size and I would also include another text box as you have four images, so four text boxes would be needed.

Q- If I was to make those changes, would you then by this magazine?

A- Yes, absolutely!

Q- Does the puff ‘FREE CD inside’ entice you to purchase the magazine?

A- Yes it does because it means that I will be getting more for my money and therefore would buy the magazine.

Q- Do the images on my contents page relate to the articles well?

A- I think that the pictures are good however they don’t all relate to the article, for example the pictures of the trumpets have no relation to the articles themselves that are previewed on the contents page, even though they are linked with the theme of jazz.

Q- Is there a specific feature on the double page spread that interests you?

A- Personally I find that the speech bubble is the most interesting feature on the page because it stands out on the white background; however I do believe that there is too much white on the page, therefore the speech bubble is the only feature that actually stands out.

Q- Is the layout for the article on the double page spread suitable or should I have made it into columns?

A- I think that the article is good however I do think that if it was made into columns it would look more professional, therefore I would change that although the content of it is very good.

Q- Is there anything you don’t like on my double page spread?

A- As I said before, I think that there is too much white on the background of the double page so I think you need to either change the colour of the background or have a faint design underneath the main image and text to make it look busier.