Evaluation

Magazine Double-page spread final

Here is the final version of my magazine's Double-page spread

Creating my magazine double page spread

To start my double page spread I used an A4 landscape page, and used a line to seperate which page was it. A different font was used for the heading to the standard one seen in the contents and front cover, to make this article unique and stand out since it is the main article of the magazine being featured on the cover. A shade of yellow and cream is the background of the main body of text.

 

 

In the above screenshot I have done over half of the main text.

 

 

 

The text was then completed with a drop capital needed which was put in seperately.

 

 

The image to take up the left page was inserted along with a quote from the article as standard in most magazine interviews. The finished article can be seen in the following blog post.



Magazine content page final

This is the final version of my magazine's content page

Creating my magazine contents page

I started my magazine contents page by adding two boxes: one for the 'Contents' heading and one for the actual contents. I used the same font that I have used for the masthead on the front cover, as well as using it for the page numbers.

I then added contents to the page again using the same font.

I added the main picture as well as a box and number to show what page the article is on, before adding a picture and changing the colour of the boxes to a lighter one.

The finished product can be seen in the next post.



Magazine front cover final

This is the final version of my Magazine's front cover

Creating my magazine front cover

In this post I will detail the process of creating my front cover and the various drafts

The first thing I did was create a new Photoshop document of A4. I added a block where the masthead would go and the colour of my choice and using a font from an external website put in the masthead for my magazine, along with with the full title below it. This is similar to NME having the full 'New Musical Express' next to the logo on some covers.

I added in the photograph I took and fitted it to the magazine.

To make the cover look better I took a seperate image of the actor and placed it over while putting an effect of the image below. I started deleting parts of the wall around him so the background has a different effect but the actor in the centre of the image looks the same.

I then added most of the text on to the cover, keeping the same font for them all.

Then I decided to change the masthead of the magazine as well as putting a pug in the top-right corner of the magazine finalising it.

Logos

Here are the selection of fonts I have narrowed down to use for the masthead of my magazine:

 The first font here is my second favourite and captures closely the contemporary, minimal design I am looking for and was only not used because I preferred the less rounded style of the one chosen

This next font is good for it's bold lettering which captures your eye but is too striking for the more casual style I want on my magazine.

This font's strengths are how unique it is and it isn't very conventional, separating it from others but looks too traditional and has a 1970s vibe for a magazine that is focused on modern hip-hop music.

And finally my favourite of these fonts and the one I am selecting is this one. It looks contemporary which suits the music covered in my magazine as well as very easy on the eye and casual. It is also unique but not so much it looks unprofessional and because of the has been chosen for my magazine.

Double page spread mock-up

This is a draft of what my double page spread would look like, but changes could very well be made.
It is fairly standard and will look familiar to people who read magazines often, especially ones like Kerrang!

Prop, Actor and Costume lists

Here is the list for the various props, actors and costumes used in my photos.

Props

New Era fitted cap I own
This was used due to it being a common item to see hip hop artists wear, such as Jay-Z.



Actors

Aaron Ocquaye, a fellow Sixth Form student who agreed to take part.

Costumes

• White shirt with a large print
• Casual blue coat
• Normal skinny jeans
• Nike Air Max
• Branded New York Yankees cap

These items are considered quite casual and could easily be worn by a member of any genre including hip-hop/rap and takes inspiration from younger rappers like Big Sean.
I wanted to keep the faux photo shoot quite casual to fit with the casual style of magazine which could be picked up by any fan of hip-hop whether they are new to the genre or veterans to it.

Equipment used

The only equipment I needed for my photos was my Apple iPhone 5, which carries an 8 Megapixel HD camera.

Contents Mock Up

Magazine cover mock-up

This is a mock-up of what I want to base the cover of my magazine around. It is possible things will change on the final version but this is the base idea.

Mood Board

This is the mood board I have created to reflect on the genre I have chosen for my magazine, Rap.

It features pictures of artists like Dr. Dre and Kanye West as well as a photograph from a concert. I also have a music video still, various album covers and the main instrument used in the genre: a microphone.  I will take inspiration from some of these when I create my magazine cover, contents and double page spread.

Typography

Typography can mean both the font of the front cover of a magazine as well as the colour scheming of it.

The font (or 'copy') of a magazines masthead is very important for the cover as it needs to be suitable for the content of the front cover as well as appeal and stand out to the audience the magazine is geared to.

A colour scheme for the cover needs to stay consistent to avoid looking sloppy and unprofessional.
Colours most often used for a magazine colour scheme are red and black as these catch the eye a lot more then say, blue would.
These two magazines use red significantly along the masthead and would catch the eye of the respective audiences of these two magazines. I too plan on using one of these standout colours (preferably red as it would suit more to my genre then yellow).

Concepts

It is common for music videos and even things like album cover designs to have a concept behind them, and this too applies to magazine covers and even contents pages at times.

This is a cover from a 2009 issue of popular US music magazine Billboard which features prominently Jay-Z looking over a river with a cigar. The concept behind this seems to be retrospect with the black and white effect of the photo and the text talking of Jay-Z's past with his old record label. Cigars are usually associated with the older audience so Jay could be seen as being self-aware of his age and looking back on his decorated career as an elderly man would over his own life.

This is another issue of Billboard, this time from November 2010 and features Rihanna staring at the camera provocatively. The concept behind this seems to be reinvention, with the caption itself stating "The re-reinvention of Rihanna". This is potentially a pun as one of Rihanna's many nicknames is "Rhi-Rhi". With the way Rihanna is looking into the camera, it could be that this 'reinvention' is to a more adult, suggestive Rihanna. The line "My fans don't really know who I am" could possibly mean how her record label and pushed this 'good girl' image on her and she is trying to shed it for her real personality.

Magazine covers

XXL - Main Image of Kanye West

The centrepiece of the magazine is an image of rapper Kanye West who claims the cover story. A clever effect mirrors the image below him which coincides with the text "LOVE  HATE". Each side could possibly reflect each one (the top image the Kanye that people love and the bottom the one people hate) despite him being the same person. This connotes how split the public's opinion of him with people loving him for his music and people hating him for arrogance and controversial behaviour. There is an all white background to keep the simplistic style of the cover with the only cover being the red of the magazine logo (which is also mirrored). The unique selling point is how the cover story is focused on Kanye West who is very popular around the world. This is inspirational for my magazine cover as it has introduced me to unique mirror effect and I want something similar and unique for my magazine as well as a simplistic style.

Classic Rock - Main image of Led Zeppelin

The main image of this magazine is the classic rock band Led Zeppelin smiling and looking happy into the camera, which goes along with the positive vibes in the headline and text accompanying it which heavily compliment the band and their possible future. Led Zeppelin are one of the biggest and most influential heavy metal bands in the world and would in any form attract a large audience, but the fact it is talking about a rare reunion makes it a unique selling point on this cover.

The Source - Main Image of Kendrick Lamar

The main image is a close up West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar who is looking into the camera. He is wearing a crown on the cover. The caption under the headline is 'Compton's Crown Jewel' which obviously fits with the prop used. The unique selling point of this magazine would be the text at the top which says "2012 Year in Review", which is indicating the magazine has a summary of the year 2012 in the hip-hop world. This would attract people who haven't kept up with the genre as well as those who have, hoping to find their favourite artists highly rated. 

Magazine double page spread analysis

Magazine contents analysis

College Magazine front cover

Here is the finished product of my College Magazine front cover

College magazine double page spread

This is a mock-up of what a double page spread in a college magazine would look like

College magazine Contents mock up

This is a mock-up of what the contents page to a College magazine would look like

College magazine cover draft

This is the draft version to the front cover of my college magazine, and I expect that some changes will be made to it.

College magazine photographs

For the college magazine I had to take photographs around my Sixth Form to use on the front cover of it, here they are and if I think they're suitable for use

I won't use this medium-shot of a student looking at a map as it doesn't look appealing for a front-cover to make someone pick up the magazine

 This is a good landscape shot of the study room and would possibly be used in a contents page but as a front cover I'll opt for something a bit less vague.

 This will be the image I will use on the front cover of my college magazine as the medium shot fits right and the high angle gives a perspective of the work being revised at the college.

This is a good image of a fellow student working and could go well in a magazine article but I have already chose the above image to be used on the cover.

The high-angle image of the stairs (like the above image) would be used in an article of a college magazine rather then a cover.

College magazine analysis

What images have they used? What camera angles/shots have been used?

The image that has been used is a medium shot of two children smiling at the camera.

What is the mise-en-scene on the front cover?

The mise-en-scene on the front cover is two children in front of a green park-like background grabbing onto something with another child in the background on the extreme left with their back turned to the camera. The child at the front of the shot has a striped vest on, the child in the centre is wearing an orange shirt and the child in background has a blue polo shirt. The lighting is bright with the natural sun most likely being used.

Does the front cover engage the audience and why?

In my opinion the front cover does engage the audience as it features a headline involving children and their futures which can be a curious subject to college students who care about their younger relatives or possible children and wish to know more about their futures.

Who is the target audience? Age, gender, ethnicity, lifestyle etc

The target audience for this college magazine would obviously be college students, but also to people who are looking to possible enrol in the college and take a course there. So this would be the age of 16+, both males and females of all ethnicities. I imagine the lifestyle would be those who have college as a prominent part of their lives and wish to continue reading about it.


How does the magazine engage the target audience?

How the magazine engages the target audience is by having the big red banner for the masthead and the large bright main image of the cover. The colours are smooth and easy on the eye compared to being too extravagant with too much going on.

How do you know it is for this particular target audience?

How you know it is for this target audience is it having 'University' prominently next to the magazine name meaning the magazine is based around that and targeted to people interested in colleges and universities.

What is the ideology of the magazine?

The ideology of this magazine is for college students to learn more news and find out more about the college they attend or are planning on attending.

What does the college consider important?

What the college considers important is the future of children who could potentially attend the college and using this to get people to pick up the magazine and read, as it could be a subject which means much to them.

Using Photoshop

 I opened Photoshop and chose the paper size to be the standard A4.

I put in a picture of the hip-hop group N.W.A.

I right-clicked the layer of the picture and rasterised the image so it is available to edit.

I selected the Magic Wand tool...

...then removed the background as seen above.

I then inserted a background image which is completely different yet fits and looks like nothing has been edited.

While basic, these tools have helped me get used to Photoshop and be able create my magazine cover, contents and double page spread to a higher standard in the future.