My Magazine Front Cover

Here is the magazine cover which i achieved to design on photoshop, as you could see i have included most of the features which i have showed in my flatplans. I have tried to make my front cover more appealing by attracting my target audience by giving a bright colour scheme and discusing relevent topics within the magazine.

Flat Plans

I have designed both of my flat plans on ‘Microsoft Office Word’, as two flat plans would help me decide which ideas I can use on my Magazine Cover. Both flat plans clearly show a perfect layout of what the magazines should look like when produced on ‘Photoshop’, I have used square shapes and labelled them as they best describe the features I would be using on the cover, the features I have included are, ‘Strapline’,’Masterhead’, ‘ Issue Number’, ‘Date’, ‘Main Coverline’, ‘Coverlines’ and ‘Freebies’.

Typeface Research

I would be researching these four typefaces as they would be used for the master head for the front cover of my magazine, all of which i have downloaded from ‘dafont.com’, this website specialises in different types of font which you can download from their website for free.

This font is called ‘Bebas Neue’, which is downloaded from ‘dafont.com’, the font looks very formal as these types of fonts are used in formal publications such as ‘newspapers’ or ‘billboards’, the bold huge capital letters is appealing as it is eye catching and gets the reader’s attention, the lettering is sharp which also tells us it’s a formal text as text like this attracts serious readers which are of an older age. The font is neither masculine nor feminine as it’s targeted towards both genders.

This font is called ‘Philosopher’, the font looks less formal as they types of fonts are used in less serious publication such as ‘fiction books’ or in ‘magazines’, the text looks as if it could come from the Victorian times, as texts from then used to be in this format. The letters are in non-capital which doesn’t isn’t as much eye catching and shows it’s not formal, the text is appealing and would get the reader’s attention as the letters aren’t sharp but are curvy which normally is targeted towards less serious readers and also a younger audience. The font would be aimed at both genders but mostly female due to the curvy writing as it appeals more to them.

This font is called ‘Walkway’. The font looks formal and clear as these types of fonts could be used for ‘cover lines’ for ‘magazines’ and ‘newspapers’. This font also looks as if it could be from an olden decade as font like these used to be used in old churches, as they still exist. The letters are in bold capital letters which makes it more appealing to the reader and more eye catching, the lettering is sharp which tells us it’s used as formal text and also aimed at serious readers, the font is aimed at both genders.

This font ‘Harabara’ is clear and bold as these types of fonts could be used for commercial purposes and would be good for masterheads for a magazine aimed at young people. The non-capital letters indicate that the magazine is aimed at a young and less serious audience, the lettering is neither too sharp nor curvy as it has a mix of both is it makes it more appealing. The bold lettering makes it more attractive as it its aimed at young youths as they get attracted to bold and clear writing, it is also aimed at both male and female audiences.

Colour Schemes

I would be researching colour schemes as they are most relevant towards the magazine, as choosing a perfect colour scheme would make a perfect magazine. Each colour has a specific meaning as it could be associated with emotionally or intellectually as these have an effect on the human brain as colours could send positive or negative messages. Different colours such as ‘Red’ is a powerful and more noticeable colour, it could be associated with love (red roses, valentine hearts), it also could be associated with negative conventions such as hatred, blood, evil, danger and could be associated with many more.
The colour ‘black’ is associated with authority and power, such as if someone wears dark black glasses it shows status and also gives them another identity. It also symbolises the night sky as the night is always mysterious.
The colour white symbolises cleanliness, this could be addressed to a doctors or dentists coat, it also symbolises the morning sky as its clear and pure, also associating with heaven and its white surroundings. All sorts of colours have a positive or negative message; I would choose an appropriate colour for my magazine that would attract my audience as the right colour would give the right message across to the readers.

Introduction To The Preliminary Task

For the preliminary task we will be designing a front cover for a magazine aimed at sixth form/High school.

The magazine cover that I will be creating should appeal to its target audience which would be the school’s students. It is obligatory for the cover to have an image with a ‘medium shot’ which would be more appealing as it would show a more natural posture and the students would relate to it more effectively. My magazine is going to be called ‘The Hestoner’, I chose this name because it associates clearly with the name of the school. If the magazine went into production it would aim to distribute copies at the end of each month, this is because there would be more material to update the school about.  This magazine cover has to be produced in ‘Adobe Photoshop’; my aim whilst using ‘Photoshop’ would be to improve the covers appeal and to simultaneously enhance my Photoshop skills.

The magazine cover will include main stories from around the school. My main story and my main image on the cover will be on the subject of exam stress. I have taken a medium shot of myself in a library surrounded by many books as this visibly relates to the topic. I have included other stories, such as: ‘Sixth form trip to New York’- which would include news and pictures of the trip the students went on. Exam stress is a common issue amongst students of all ages. It can lead to huge build-ups of pressure, breakdowns and severe anxiety. I choose this topic as the main story as I have been through it and can relate to it well. Also, students would get advice and information about how to reduce their pressure and stress levels.

After this I designed two flat plans of my own magazine cover as these would give me a rough idea of how objects will be positioned it and what features it would include. I also produced a research on typefaces for my master head, as this would give an overall view on what types of master heads would be suitable for my magazine.