DEVELOPMENT - Magazine Cover 1

This is a screen shot of Adobe Illustrator CS3, the software I will be using to create my magazine cover.  

To find the Rolling Stone magazine font, I typed this into google and found the appropriate image. I saved this to my user area and imported it into Adobe Photoshop CS3.  

When the image was imported into Photoshop, I changed the background to transparent. This allowed me to use the magic wand tool to select the white background around the text and delete it with ease.

This screen shot shows the final edited image of the Rolling Stone text. Next, I saved this image and imported it into Illustrator.

On illustrator I set up a new print document which was a size A4 layout. I then used this as my template for my magazine cover. This screen shot shows the imported image of the Rolling Stone font placed at the top of the page, which is a convention of music magazines, including the Rolling Stone magazine. I also included the issue number, the date, the price and the magazine website in the top right hand corner, also conforming to the codes and conventions of a music magazine.

From the many pictures we took of our band, I chose a portrait image to use as the key image on the cover of the magazine. However, this image was not taken on a plain background as it was shot outside. Therefore, this made it slightly more difficult to erase the background around it. Instead of using the magic wand tool, I used the erase tool to delete the background. I changed the brush diameter size to 80 when erasing big sections, and a smaller diameter from 1 - 5 when erasing around the models.

Before importing the edited image from Photoshop onto the magazine cover in Illustrator, I added a brush stroke around the image to make the it stand out against the white background on the page. 

I added a main coverline to the magazine with the text 'Kings of Leon'. I used a white text in the font impact on a black background. This makes it stand out on the page and attracts the readers attention.

 I added other coverlines to the page down the left third of the pag so there is more information to interest the reader, conforming to the typical conventions of a magazine. These coverlines included recent news about Kings of Leon. I used a consistent colour scheme throughout the text and background block colours of red, black and white.  

This is a  zoomed screen shot of the coverlines on the page. There is a consistent house style used with the colours red, white and black. The  bold white impact text stands out on the red background and the white arial font is easy to read on the black background. I added a black stroke to the white font also.

I changed the font of the main coverline to 'Onyx' as the font on the Rolling Stone magazine is different to the other text on the page. By doing this my magazine cover is conforming to the codes and conventions of the Rolling Stone magazine.  



This is the finished final draft of my magazine front cover.

Here are some photos taken of myself creating my magazine cover and then importing the screen shots onto blogger:

PLANNING - Fonts

Choosing a main font, that would be used across the whole group's work, was a vital part of our planning. We had to communicate with eachother to decide on which font we thought suited our work and our alternative rock genre. We looked on the website www.dafont.com to choose an appropriate font. After looking through this website as a group, we decided to use the font 'Skin & Bones' as our main font.

The aspects that we liked about this font is that it's big, black and bold which is eyecatching for the audience. Also, the fact that the font is written in capital letters it is striking and stands out on the page. This also conforms to the alternative rock genre, in particular Kings of Leon, because from looking at Kings of Leon's website the font used is big and written in capitals. www.kingsofleon.com

To give myself an idea of what the font would look like on my digipak, I entered the key words that would appear on my album into the 'Custom preview' search bar. The keywords I searched was the band name, album title and the track list. This helped me to visualise what the font could potentially look like on my digipak. I then took some screenshots.

PLANNING - Drafts and Layouts: Magazine Cover (Computer)

As well as sketching a variety of initial ideas for my magazine front cover, I also designed magazine layouts on the computer. To do this I used Adobe Illustrator CS3. 

PLANNING - Drafts and Layouts: Magazine Cover (Freehand)

From researching a variety of genres of magazine front covers, it gave me inspiration on magazine layouts and the codes and conventions used. From carrying out this important research I was able to identify the key features of a magazine front cover, enabling me to design some freehand drafts of initial ideas.

Initial Idea 1

This is my first initial idea for my magazine front cover. A strength of this draft is that it has one key image that takes up most of the page, conforming to the layout of other magazines. The layout is clear and concise which is a strength as it doesn't distract from the content of the magazine. The masthead is big and bold and is centred at the very top of the page which is very common on all magazines. This draft is similar to the Rolling Stone magazine as it includes all of the features on that particular magazine. Overall, this magazine conforms to magazine conventions as it includes a masthead, main coverline, coverlines and a key image. However, it does not include any puffs, banners or any smaller images which is a weakness to this idea. There is also a lot of dead space on the right third of the page which could be improved on.

Initial Idea 2

A strength to this draft is that there is not a lot of dead space, as it includes many images and coverlines as well as a puff and a banner, which the first initial idea did not include. These elements show to the audience that this magazine has a lot of things to offer, such as many different articles to read and the main bands that will be featured in this issue. I developed some of the features of the initial first idea such as the main key image that takes up most of the page and included it in my second draft aswell.

Initial Idea 3

On the third draft, the main element I changed was the position and size of the masthead. Instead of having it centred in the middle of the page, I changed the layout of the page moving the masthead to the left third of the page. On the top right hand corner of the page there is an image which interests the reader into other articles featured in the magazine. As puffs are a good way to attract the audience and fill up any dead space on the page, I added two onto this sketch. If I were to add any improvements to this sketch, the key image on the page could be a bit bigger so it reaches the masthead at the top of the page.   

Here are some images of myself sketching some initial ideas:

PLANNING - Magazine Cover: Further Research

Other exisiting magazines

Instead of only researching music magazines, I looked at other genres such as celebrity, fashion and sports magazines to give me a further insight into magazine layouts and codes and conventions.

Celebrity:

Features:
- Big and bold masthead that stands out and identifies the magazine to the audience (Closer).
- The main coverline ('I feel so alone!') is positioned in the middle of the page so it stands out clearly on the page.
- There are small images on the page indicating a number of stories featured throughout the magazine to encourage the audience to buy the magazine to read the full article. The images on the front cover are also very colourful which is used also to attract the audience.

Fashion:

Features:
- The key image is positioned in the centre of the page to grab the readers attention and to inform them that this issue of the magazine will feature that particular celebrity. For example, for fans of Natalie Portman who see that she is featured in Vogue, it will encourage them to buy the magazine.
- There are 3 house colours used - red, black and beige. This adds to the consistent house style of the overall magazine front cover. From using minimal colours, it makes the page look more professional and it is easier for the audience to identify the key features and articles in the issue. There are also minimal fonts used, a featured font for the masthead and a sans serif font such as arial used for the coverline text.
- This issue includes coverlines that are conventionally placed down the left and right thirds of the page. The headlines are written in a bold, black font which stands out on the page and the key word on the page (Natalie Portman) is written in red, which is a striking colour that grabs the audiences attention.

Sports:

Features:

- The overall layout of this magazine is quite simplistic with only one key image and one main coverline (Summer of Sport). The background is an image of the sky, relating to the title of the magazine. These elements are a definate contrast to celebrity and music magazines. For instance, Closer includes one block colour (pink) as the background and has multiple images and coverlines.

- This magazines masthead is positioned in the left hand corner of the page, as opposed the centre. This is also a conventional position for a masthead as magazines such as NME have their masthead placed in this position.

- The key image is conventionally placed in the centre of the page. This image is of multiple figures rather than one main celebrity. This is common on music magazines as it usually features all members of the band on the cover.

PLANNING - Magazine Cover: Codes and Conventions 2

The date/issue number is conventionally positioned in the top right hand corner of the page along with the magazine website and price, so the audience can easily identify these features.

The barcode on this issue is placed in the bottem left hand corner. From recognising this, I placed the barcode on my magazine in the same place, so it conforms to typical codes and conventions of music magazines.  

The key image is the biggest and only photo image on the page. It is also placed in front of the masthead - 'Rolling Stone'. This shows that because the Rolling Stone magazine is well known, and the font of the heading is iconic, the image can be placed in front of the masthead, and people will still recognise what magazine it is.

PLANNING - Magazine Cover: Codes and Conventions

The masthead on this front cover is bright red with a thick black stroke around the letters so it stands out on the page is eye catching to the audience.

The main cover lines introduce the main artist who will be featured in this issue which would encourage their fans to buy the magazine. The font is big and bold with a stroke around it, which immediately draws in the readers attention.

The key image is the only image on the page which is positioned in the centre of the page, indicating that these are the main stories that will be featured.

PLANNING - Ancillary Task 2: Magazine Cover Research

For my second ancillary task, I decided to design and create a magazine cover. I based my design on the Rolling Stone Magazine.

In order to design and create a magazine cover I carried out research into similar products. I looked at various examples of front covers from exisiting music magazines to help distinguish the codes and conventions used in music magazines. I looked closely at the colour scheme and fonts used on a cover, the format and layout of the page and the images used.

I then identified the Rolling Stone magazine closer and picked out the features that I thought conformed to magazine codes and conventions.

DEVELOPMENT - Digipak (Photoshop and InDesign)