1st Draft Double Page Spread

1st Draft Contents Page

Above is the contents which i entered as my first draft. To ensure that my contents continued the house theme that i had previously created on the cover of my magazine i once again used the eye dropper tool. This way i could be sure that the colours within the page were identical to the ones i had used on the front cover. For the page numbers and the "FLUX" logo i have used the deep red colour. In comparison to my cover i did not have to perform as much editing but infact resizing of text, numbers and images.

1st Draft Magazine Cover

This is the cover that i submitted as my first draft magazine cover. Over all i think the product that i produced for my draft was of an acceptable standard and included the common conventions that you would expect to find in a music magazine. To begin with the masthead of my magazine was insipired by the colour of the lips on my main image. To do this i used the eye dropper tool in photoshop to ensure that the colours were an exact match. When going through the styling process i did this delibratly so i was able to create continuity and a common theme throughout my cover. I have once again used this red on the main cover line which is informing my audience of the artist on the front of my magazine. To ensure that my main image was large enough and exactly how i wanted it to be i used the magnetic lasso tool to first of all cut the image out from the original background it was on. I then placed it onto the light grey shaded background which i also created using blending and shadowing tools in photoshop.

After fixing the main image and the masthead, the coverlines were the next stage i took. I have used two different fonts for the coverlines, as you can see a simple font for the two headings and a more ornamental font for the subheadings. For the coverline that states "2011 Festival Updates" i have once again used the eye dropper tool which meant i was able to use the denim blue colour found on the shirt for the colour of my font. After completing my coverlines and adjusting them to the appropriate sizes i made the decision to add a banner at the bottom of my magazines advertising more about what to expect inside. I have stuck to my colour scheme and decided to use black and white. I have used a black background with white writing which adds eye catching elements to the page.

Peer evaluation

After receiving comments and feedback throughout my blog from peers in my class and also my teachers, i feel that there is several things i now need to take into consideration when putting my final piece together. When creating the first two mock ups of my front cover i kept these very basic and did not use my time well and make use of the editing on photoshop itself. Looking at the these i have decided that the image on the front of my magazine will be cut out using the magnetic lasso tool, rather than using the background from the image itself. I will be doing this because i created a third mock up cover which i later posted and gained much more positive feedback than the previous two. This will also allow me to use lighting and correct colours to highlight and compliment the other features of my magazine front cover.

The definite colour scheme that i will be using will be similar if not identical to the one used in my last mock up. This is a use of black, grey, white and then red which i have been told is eye catching and adds an element of class to the magazine. One of the comments i actually received surrounding the colour scheme was that it keeps the page looking clean and also reflects the music and stays clear of being mistaken for something such as pop and r'n'b which i also think is a bonus considering i would like my magazine to portray the correct genre through the cover to my target audience.

When creating my contents page for my music magazine, after receiving feedback and also taking research and planning into consideration i now believe that i have a clear idea of what i am hoping to produce. Within the three mockups that i have created it has become clear to me that the actual information regarding the contents of the magazine itself needs to be located on the left hand side due to the audience's instinct the automatically cast their eyes upon the left of the page. One of the comments i received was about using the same or a very similar font to the one i am going to be using for my masthead my front cover to create a sense of continuity throughout the magazine. This is something that i will now be sure to do when choosing the fonts for my final piece. I receive several comments surrounding the banner which i would like to feature at the top of my page. This was to ensure it's not too top heavy and that it is preferred when it blends it and fits with the house style slightly more. One thing i must take into consideration is the number of images that will be found within the page. As one of the comments did state i must think about how many models i need to find. I need to use a minimum of three images to ensure that the content within the magazine does not look too minimalistic and lacking in entertainment. Something i think that would be good to use for my images is photo's i have previously taken of live performances as this is a common feature in magazines such as NME and Q.

After i had created my double page spreads my class mates advised me on how the page should be layed out to portray the correct image to my audience. When reviewing my feedback i took into consideration that if i was to use an image on the top third of the page it would need to be taken from an angle which i could stretch across the page without the pixels looking blurred. As this would lower the professional look of the image and the double page spread itself. Therefore due to this i believe that my double page spread will consist of a large image on the right or left hand side, which then the text is on the opposite spread over three neat sections. Within the text i am also going to add images of my artist just to ensure it does not look too challenging and far too bulky. Within my comments i was told that this would look professional as it is a common feature to find within magazines and i was also told that the large image which is separated from the text stops the page from looking cheesy and too busy.

Representation of social group

Within my magazine I am going to be creating a look and image that is going to represent a particular social group within our society. The social group that i am going to be representing and aiming my magazine towards is a middle class group aged between 16-28 of a mixed gender. The social group i would expect to read a magazine such a my own would be a well presented group, which have a slightly smart/casual indie fashion sense. A group such as these would be living within a music and fashion concious city and attending college or university.