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).