FRONT COVER
For a better, High Definition version CLICK HERE
CONTENTS PAGE
ARTICLE
This is the page where I show how I completed my front, contents and article page. I used Photoshop to create these pages and here are the steps I took to complete them. It took me quite some time to complete but finally did so and I'm proud of the final product. Also I received a lot of feedback that helped a lot.
Article
To start my first Photoshop draft article I began with the masthead and the name of my band. I would’ve began with the image first but since I didn’t have one at the time I couldn’t do include it; also I couldn’t find any similar image online. I didn’t wait till I had one because it would’ve wasted time so I began anyhow. I got the unique typefaces from ‘Dafont.com’ because it wouldn’t have looked good with a normal font. Also I had a small banner placed on the bottom of the page which has the name of the magazine (website too) and the page number, this is used in many magazines so I took inspiration and used it in mine. For the masthead I changed the typeface I originally intended to use. This is because it would’ve been tough to edit since I was going to use it a lot on my pages and I felt it didn’t match my genre as it had that summer feel towards it which I didn’t want my magazine to have. So the typeface I used was the second option I was going to use and is the one that received the most votes during my feedback also it is simple and easy to edit. At the time colour wasn’t important so I left everything black and white because I would’ve then edited it at the end.
The
second step I took was making a line through the middle of the page which shows
the centre of the page of where the page splits. This is a vital step because
without it my image would’ve been over the line and in-between the two pages
and that is unconventional and would look bad on my magazine. I also typed in
the standfirst but didn’t place it in anywhere particular as of yet. The
typeface I used was a normal one because I didn’t want it to look too complex.
I included a ‘Gig dates’ box on the bottom left hand corner with the dates of
when my fictional band ‘The Globals’ are playing. This was a tough step because
I had to make everything look conventional but also good at the same time. I
used another font called ‘Habara’ from ‘Dafont.com’ for the text. Again it was
tough because I had to get the fonts the right size and make it look
professional the best way I can also I had to get the colour right too.
Next I added the text to my article which was a headache for me to adjust. As you can see in the print screen below there is a lot of text and it didn’t fit on my article so I moved the headline, standfirst and the name of the band around so I can fit the whole text in. Furthermore I had to put it into columns which I struggled a lot on but managed to make it look professional and more magazine looking it can. Unfortunately I couldn’t fit the whole text in so I decided to decrease the font and thankfully the whole text fitted; just about.
I
finally took my photos I needed for my article and I’m proud to say that I am
happy with them as I believe they look brilliant in terms of the photo itself
and the quality too. I admire the use of the band name on the jumper my mate
Sam is wearing, people wouldn’t know what it means but in Arabic it reads ‘Global’
which is excellent and something I believe is well done. The image fitted well
in the article and looked professional however the colour scheme didn’t match
with the image so I decided to change it to a more autumn look and it wasn’t a
bad move in my opinion because it looked great and consistent. I couldn’t see
the standfirst and headline clearly even with the colour change so I decided to
put a leaf texture behind it so it’s visible. I went out of my lesson to take a
picture of a leaf and in my luck the season was autumn so there were loads of
autumn leaves out there.
Once the previous step was completed I decided
to change the colour scheme of the article page and possibly carry the same
scheme onto the front and contents page. So I changed the background of the
article to match the leaves and I changed the blue and green to a brown and
yellow to make it have that autumn feel towards it. I believe the change was
needed because now it looks more professional and appealing; furthermore I’m
more than happy as it’s my first draft. From this will send my article to others
and hopefully they will tell me what to do and how to improve.
CONTENTS PAGE
To begin the contents page I decided to go from top to
bottom and keep it organized. So carrying over the colour scheme from the
article I used a camouflaged green for the top banner of the page. To get the
exact colour I used the eyedropper tool to do so, using it on the article from
where I previously used it. ‘This Week’ stands out the most because it shows what
the page is that the reader is reading furthermore on my planning page I justified
why I used it. The typeface used for the top banner is the same one as the
masthead because I want this typeface to be associated with my magazine similar
to what Kerrang does with theirs.
I was about to add some of the images but decided not to, as
you can see I cut out the background of the images with the magnetic lasso tool
leaving only the cover stars on the image. Besides from that I made my side
banner which is where I will put the contents features on. To create the banner
(+bottom banner) I used a rectangle shape and used a similar colour from the
article. For the contents features I followed my hand drawn drafts but I had to
make sure they’re consistent with the front cover and article. I didn’t use the
typeface that Photoshop provided as they weren’t anything I was looking for so
I went on ‘Dafont.com’ (Champagne font) to find a decent typeface, one that would look
professional. Again the colour of the font was following the colour scheme of
the front cover, contents and article page.
Moving down the page I began to make the subscription box of
my contents page starting with the box itself. I thought that a black box would
look to bland and cheap so I decided to add a gradient towards it and is a
feature of which I didn’t know how to use. I decided to watch a tutorial on YouTube
on how to make a simple gradient and it helped a lot (Link to video) to make the box look much better and professional than it was
before. For the text I made the most important words have the same type face as
the masthead and used the Photoshop provided typeface for the less important
words. Finally the text offers a subscription deal that will entice readers to
subscribe to Undiscovered magazine.
The next step I took was the creation of the editor’s note.
I thought the image I used for my preliminary task was perfect for an editor’s
note image so I decided to use that. Furthermore I introduced what this
magazine is about on the note. As this is the first issue I wanted to develop
the editor’s note because usually it is a lot shorter conventionally. It was
tough to fit everything in because I had to leave space for the images, but
because Photoshop is a brilliant software to work with the sharpness was
perfect and looked professional. The
signature I used was from a website advised from a friend (http://www.onlinesignature.in/) and
worked a treat.
Photoshop skills were heavily used in this next step which
was to add the main image. It may have sound simple but it wasn’t. I decided to
blur the background of the image and keep the focus on my cover stars. First I blurred
the whole image then added the same image without the effects on top, but using
the magnetic lasso tool and the inverse feature I took Sam and Harry (Persons
on the cover) out of the image and pasted them on top. It looked brilliant and
was a great way to express my Photoshop skills that I have learnt over the last
couple of months. I checked to see how it would look like without the blur
effect and in my opinion it wasn’t impressive but looked rather lazy instead
and wasn’t acceptable for the grade I wanted to achieve.
The final step I took was to add the other images and the
page numbers. Firstly the images I had used were images taken from a long time
ago when I was at high school and thought it would be perfect for my magazine
genre of indie. However I asked permission through Facebook in case because it wouldn’t
be right to have an image of them without their permission. Thankfully they
were more than happy to grant me the authorisation. The image fitted perfectly
to where I wanted it and was the best option to use because of their clothing
and posture. Finally I added the page numbers which had to be consistent with
the contents features on the right so I couldn’t put random numbers on; also I
used the same typeface as the masthead again to keep the consistency.
FRONT COVER
For
the front cover I began with the banner which outlines the free downloads
within the magazine. I used the shape option to create the box and for the typeface
I used a font from ‘Dafont.com’. It was tough to fit it all in the box but it
fit eventually and looked brilliant.
Next
up was one of the most important features of a magazine front cover that is the
masthead and I decided to follow my draft. I used the same typeface as I have
chosen for quite some time and pasted it onto the page. Behind it is the box
where it is placed. I used the colour green because it follows the theme and
colour scheme throughout my magazine. Additional features added were the issue
number and the type of magazine both done using ‘Dafont.com’.
I
started to add the cover lines again following my drafts except I made some
minor changes towards it. I used the fonts provided by Photoshop to complete it
except for the Globals typeface and the O2 Arena logo that I got of the
internet (LINK to image).
I added some effects to the ‘Bands of 2013’ typeface because it looked bland
and boring without it. As for the box of the Santiago’s review I used my skills
of the gradient, that I used previously on the contents page, on the box itself
and it looked better than just one whole colour. For the bottom banner I used
the same typeface as the masthead for the ‘Plus’ text and for the list of bands
I used a simple sans serif font from ‘Dafont.com’ once again. As for the
barcode I got one of Google as I was granted permission to do so.
I
started on the pug which is a convention of magazine covers. Using a variety of
typefaces I tried to make it look as appealing and professional as I can make
it. Furthermore another note of why it is appealing is because there are tickets
to be won and I’m sure many would take the opportunity to win. So the pug is
used to attract readers and with the colours and content I think this is a great
pug. I got the O2 arena logo from the internet because it wouldn't have looked as good had it been a normal typeface provided by Photoshop. LINK TO LOGO URL
I started on the headline and changed the artist at the last minute as I received feedback that the Globals image isn’t as appealing so I changed it. The new image is much better because it follows my magazine principles of a new artist and also it is appealing as a cover which I wanted. As for the headline I used a different typeface to match the artist but also to make it visible. I had to pick the right typeface as the checker style shirt would be hard to read a headline on. So I went for a much simpler and visible option. Furthermore I had to change his teeth colour as they were quite yellow so I watched a tutorial on YouTube on how to whiten teeth and the final result was first class! (Link to video) I also used the spot remover tool to remove any spots so he looks clean and fresh as any cover star looks like on a magazine. With everything now complete I just had to make some final adjustments to my page such as moving things around and changing some typefaces. Once I was done I am pretty relieved with the progress now I just have to send it out for feedback and make the necessary changes needed.
Feedback
After completing the Photoshop drafts of my magazine pages I
sent them out for feedback to my teachers and members of the target audience.
Soon after I received the feedback which told me what to improve and change to
make look as professional and conventional as it can be.
Front Cover
For the front cover I actually received feedback when actually producing the page that was to change the main image. The image of the Globals that I was going to use wasn’t as attracting and conventional for a front cover main image so I decided to take more pictures of a different artist. This was actually a blessing in disguise as now the main image would now follow the principles of my magazine that highlights new artists such as ‘Crazy Razey’. If I had used The Globals it wouldn’t have been conventional and the similar images would look too overused. It wasn’t all perfect for the new image as this image was less attractive according to my feedback. So I am going to use the image of the contents page and use the front page image on the contents page. Besides from that the feedback I also got was the size of the banners top and bottom. Most of the feedback read that the banners are too large for a magazine cover so I am going to reduce the size. Apart from that the magazine cover received positive feedback. The image below is one of the feedback sheets I had received, the changes that were needed are clearly highlighted.
For the front cover I actually received feedback when actually producing the page that was to change the main image. The image of the Globals that I was going to use wasn’t as attracting and conventional for a front cover main image so I decided to take more pictures of a different artist. This was actually a blessing in disguise as now the main image would now follow the principles of my magazine that highlights new artists such as ‘Crazy Razey’. If I had used The Globals it wouldn’t have been conventional and the similar images would look too overused. It wasn’t all perfect for the new image as this image was less attractive according to my feedback. So I am going to use the image of the contents page and use the front page image on the contents page. Besides from that the feedback I also got was the size of the banners top and bottom. Most of the feedback read that the banners are too large for a magazine cover so I am going to reduce the size. Apart from that the magazine cover received positive feedback. The image below is one of the feedback sheets I had received, the changes that were needed are clearly highlighted.
Contents Page
For the contents page I had made many changes from the one shown above on the construction progress. These changes include is the change of the images of the features and the editors image (Which hasn’t been changed as of yet). Another change I made was to fill in the empty space of images so I took that carefully and added some quotes to the images. And lastly I added a brief insight to what each important page is about. So I sent that through for feedback and got back the changes that I needed make. The obvious change I needed to make was the size of the editor’s note and the editor’s image as it was “too boring” which I had to agree with. What's more is that I needed to name the images as it isn’t as obvious as it could be. And finally I will have to change my magazine page numbers and increase it to a much larger number but I may leave it to how it is because since it is a new magazine you wouldn’t expect hundred pages for the first issue; so I may have to take that into consideration.
Out of the three pages the article required the most changes
which wasn’t good at first but going back at it the feedback was constructive
and very much needed. Firstly there were many punctuation and grammatical
mistakes, as expected but most of them were really poor and should’ve been
avoided. Another change I needed to make was the headline, because the leaf in
the background looked unprofessional and the use of the headline on two pages
was unconventional. Furthermore the colour scheme was disliked by many as it
was too boring and bland and I could’ve used one out of many colours on the
image too. Similar to the front cover, the banner was too large and needed
shrinking. So the main problems outlined from the feedback were to make the
article look more professional and conventional. I was disappointed after that
but I have to take the feedback carefully and make the article as well as the
front and contents page look as appealing and professional as I can possibly
make it.
Making the final changes
Front Cover
I made many changes after receiving my final feedback from
my target audience and teachers. Firstly for my front cover I changed the main
image itself as most of the feedback suggested to change it because it wasn’t appealing
and the pose wasn’t the best. So I decided to swap the contents page image and
the front cover image and the results were perfect as the image both fitted
their respective pages. I had to change the headline because it read ‘This is
my moment’ and it didn’t match the image as he is pointing at the camera
instead of himself which sent out a different connotation. With the headline I
also made it more visible by adding effects of the outline so now it is fully
visible and it also looks great too. I made the cover lines similar to each
other to make it look more professional and finally I reduced the size of my
banners following the feedback received.
Contents Page
For the contents page the changes were minor in contrast to
the article and front cover. The first change to make advised by many is the top
banner. That’s by making the issue and date number horizontal because it looked
childish and unprofessional by making it vertical. Moreover I have changed the 'This Week' to 'This Month' because my magazine is a monthly magazine and rightly so because I had intended to make my magazine a monthly release but made a mistake by making it weekly, so now that's changed. I reduced the editors note
size and adjusted the content names by making them more in line and straight
because it was out of place previously. As mentioned before I changed the image
of ‘Crazy Razey’ and was the right move to make as the previous images just wasn’t
right to use for their respective pages. I would have left it in the first place
but if it wasn’t for the feedback it would’ve stayed unprofessional and
unconventional. And lastly I was told to increase the page numbers to about
90-100 pages but because it’s the first issue of my magazine I decided to leave
it the way it is as my magazine isn’t successful and popular yet to become a
large, 100 page magazine.
Article Page
Out of the three pages, it was the article page from which I
made the most changes and it shows too. Firstly I deleted the leaf image behind
the headline because it looked “horrible” according to many also it was
unconventional to have two headlines on two pages, so I put the one headline
along with the stand first across the two pages. Next I changed the whole
background colour of the page because the previous colour scheme just didn’t work.
Using the eyedropper tool I picked a camouflage green from the image and used
it for the main colour. To make it look more professional and appealing I added
an opaque effect to the box so you can slightly see the background of the main
image. I also used the opacity tool on the gig dates and the caption box and
the results were superb! Staying with the gig dates box I deleted the text and
used a simpler typeface because it was too crammed and squashed into one box
but now its spread, more simple and professional.
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