Front Cover Construction. part2

Next I placed the main image on the front of the magazine but it didnt look right because of the direction he was facing, so i decided to flip the picture horizontally. The image had already been edited before I placed it on to the front cover. I also used the drop shadow effect on the image.

After the main image was added I used the 'Rectangular marquee tool' and then the 'paint bucket tool' to make the red strip along the bottom of the front cover. This will be one of the design elements of the magazine. I then used the 'Rectangular marquee tool' and 'paint bucket tool' again to make two small white bullet points. Then I added more headlines that would feature in the magazine onto the red strip. The next thing i did was to save an image of a bar code from google and then open it to resize on photoshop. This bar code makes the magazine seem more real as if it can be purchased.

Th last thing left was to add the headlines. I used different effects on the text for the headlines such as: 'drop shadow', 'inner shadow' and 'bavel and emboss' to make it look even more professional. I downloaded a blackberry bar code text from dafont.com  and used it to make a realistic bar code for the competition.

Researching double page spreads

This is an existing double page spread from 'Q Magazine' which as some good design elements. The first thing is that half of the double page spread is dedicated to the image or picture of 50 Cent so the remaining half is left for the text.  

Also a quote was taken away from the rest of the text and put on the other side of the double page spread, where the image is. "Getting shot didn't hurt as much as you'd think." This might be done to draw the attention of readers to that quote when they may be flicking through the magazine. The quote may interest the reader making them read on.

This is the text side of the double page spread. Again this page is divided into two. The top half is the title which is made big and is also a question 'Who the hell does 50 CENT think he is?' This would make the reader want to find out the answer to the question, therefore  continuing to read the main text below. The main text below has two drop caps, one in the beginning of each column. This is one of the design elements of the magazine. Another design element is in the bottom left corner of the page. The pages each have the 'Q' logo of the magazine and also most pages have a three digit number at the bottom of the page. For example page twenty seven would be '027' and page one hundred and one would be '101'.

 

Music Magazine Content Page

Music Magazine Front Cover

Main Image

This is the picture I have chosen to use for the main image. I have chosen this image because the model is smiling which presents a good vibe and also he is wearing headphones which portrays music is involved. 

 I then changed the brightness and contrast so the picture isnt dull before cropping it for the front cover.

Content layout research

I was looking at the contents page of 'KERRANG' and noticed a couple of features I liked about the layout. The 1st thing is that the title on the page 'Contents' is in the top right corner of the page. This leaves more space for the text underneath rather than it being in the middle. 
Another thing is noticed is that the contents page is split into three columns. The biggest column on the left because it contains a big image and two narrower colmns on the right of the page. This gives more organisation to the page and could make it easier to plan.

Alternatively, I also looked at a content page from both 'XXL Magazine' and 'Vibe Magazine'. Although these two content pages have a very strong image which is suitable to attract my target audience, there is hardly any text on the content page which leaves a large amount of space. Just like the 'KERRANG' content page, the 'Vibe Magazine' content page also says 'content' on the top right hand side of the page so I will carry this across onto my product.

Front page & Content so far

This is a screen grab of my music magazine front cover and content page so far. It is obviously unfinished and alot of work is still to be done but the class did a peer assesment activity where we all moved around and wrote comments on what we like and dislike about each others magazine front page and content page.
Three people looked at my work and this is what they said.

Person1 said, 'The title stands out very well and merges in with the background, however when adding your image you may have to shorten the length of effects. I think the font may be too big, I think it would be better for you to reduce the text and add more cover lines. I like the bottom half of your magazine, it sticks well with the color scheme. Your content page is not finished.'
Person2 said, 'I like the font and gradient background, and main coverline works well. I dont agree with the 'Cont Ent' on the contents page, try it on one page.
Person3 said, 'Font works well with title. 'Realist' is very effective. Obvious lack of picture. Lots of space above 'Money'. Contents unclear as to what is what. Good colour scheme.
I have taken all this feed back into consideration and will take the advice when editing and improving the magazine front cover and contents page.