Colour in Student Magazine Design

Abstract

Creating a school magazine offers students opportunities to develop their skills, professional potential, teamwork, creativity, media literacy, and involvement in the school community. In magazine design, colours create a positive first impression, strengthen a magazine’s attractiveness and popularity among readers. Combinations of colours form a consistent visual identity and hierarchy, and set the spatial balance. Since colours have an emotional impact, they can affect the mood of the readers or evoke an emotion that corresponds to the article’s content. Using a colour palette that matches the identity of the university or the faculty can reinforce brand awareness and help build trust with students and the wider public. Critical to creating a professional university magazine are not only the right background and typeface colours, but also matching colours of imagery that appropriately complement the typography and page layout, including white spaces that reinforce the professional to upscale feel of the magazine design. Effectively selected colours will not only make the magazine a communication vehicle for information, but will also enhance marketing potential and especially aesthetic values.