Magazine Front Cover Feedback

By Evie Theodore

First Draft

First Draft Feedback- By Ezreen

• You have used the appropriate A4 dimensions for the front cover. You have clearly begun to think about your colour schemes. The use of the two primary colours will help the magazine be bright as you stated that in your survey that people wanted a mix of a light and dark colour scheme. Through the use of the colour black, you have also provided the dark colour that is neutral and should appease to the majority of you audience. Camera angles have also been used to show you have thought about the models possible position/pose.

• The use of the electric guitar as a prop conveys the genre of the magazine is rock.• However you should start to think about the costume of the model. E.g. what colours they are

wearing, what type of clothing (shorts or jeans? A jumper or a t-shirt? Etc.) You have said that the background of the front cover will be the background of the Main Image. You will need to begin to think about what the background of the Main Image is as you have not specified on the draft. Think about the location or the background if you are establishing a scene.

• You have included the key elements relevant to the construction of the front cover. For example the use of the Plug to promote the magazine for a special event such as the ‘20th Anniversary’.

• The eye flow is natural as the reader will look from left to right and top to bottom as your images and texts are conventionally placed with a large Masthead at the top with the colour of silver which is bright and attractive, and the cover lines, pull quote and barcode on the left which makes them stand out and easy to find the price etc. as that is where the reader will naturally look.

• Based on the colours and sizes chosen for the texts, the fonts should be legible and eye catching to the audience.

Changes I made

• I made changes to most of my texts. I did this because I felt that the texts on Photoshop were not suitable as they were too plain, and I wanted something bold and more original. For example I changed the Masthead from Papyrus in Photoshop to Masterplan from 1001fonts.com

• I moved the position of the plug from the right to the left in order to conforms to the Eye Flow Theory, that the human eye naturally reads from left to right and top to bottom. The position of the plug is now in the top left hand side, which makes it easier to see

• The image no longer overlaps the masthead. I decided to incoporate two of my images together: The picture of the model posing with a graffiti wall background, to create on main image on the front cover. Now it dominates the whole page.

• Also the position of the Main cover Line and Pull quote have moved to the right hand side.

• I included a kicker • I included a banner

Second Draft

Second Draft Feedback- By Ezreen

• The fonts you have chosen are easy to read and stand out well. There is not an overwhelming variety of styles which makes it easier to focus on the content rather than the font itself. Your Masthead is effective as the colour is of a different shade in comparison to the blacks and whites used as it appears more silver with a black outline and eroded design. The title ‘Metallix’ is good as you have explained that it connotes the band Metallica and it also brings to mind the rock genre of heavy metal music which is linked to your magazine. Therefore the choice of font was a good choice as it looks like the metal is scratched and faded.

• The colour scheme you have chosen is clear. The use of the colours yellow and red are effective as they are harmonious primary colours as you have explained, and the white gives the page a sense of space or ‘breath’, while the black is dark andbold, standing out against the other lighter colours. The colour scheme has met your goal of providing the audience with a blend of both a light and a dark colour scheme, as requested by your test group.

• Your eye flow needs to be improved. While key features such as the plug and the barcode are positioned on the left hand side,as the natural eye flow is from left to right, however, your Coverlines are all positioned at the bottom. It would be better if you put them on the left.

• You have placed the image in a suitable location on the front cover. It is easily seen, however you may want to think about making it bigger. Even though the way the image must be placed to make it seem as though the model is leaning against the background, it should be made slightly larger so that it is more striking to the target audience.

• Mise en scene:• The costume the model is wearing is suitable as it is all black as you said in your plan would be used to reflect the rock genre

of the magazine. As genre has many sub genres, black is neutral enough to appeal to an individual within the target audience.• Although the background has been removed and replaced, the graffiti backdrop is suitable as it gives the magazine an urban

sense. It can also appeal to the ‘Indie’ genre and audience in contrast with the black costume of the model which may appeal to a ‘Goth’ audience. Additionally the colours of the graffiti wall also help to bring more colour to the front cover. As the main colours are red, blue and white and they are not too overwhelming, particularly as they are slightly faded. They are also nottoo light and not too dark; therefore appeal to the test groups request of both a light and dark colour scheme.

• The model’s pose is particularly good , as she her leg is kicking out like she is playing the guitar at a performance. This is supported with the use of the electric guitar prop. Her facial expression is also very serious, with her mouth shaped as though she is singing/ screaming, also reinforcing the idea that this is a music magazine.

• There are no spelling mistakes.• To improve you should include the date and price.

Changes I made

• I changed the Footbar to a Skyline to make it easier to see, conform with the Eye Flow Theory and so that it did not obstruct my image as it overlapped the models foot

• I changed the style of the second plug offering a chance to win free tickets. I made the shape of the box into a triangle and places it in the right hand corner to make it seem as though the reader has curled up the corner of the page.

• I changed the position of the coverlines to the left hand side of the magazine to conform to the Eye Flow Theory so that the audience would be able to see it better, read and take and interest in the content of the magazine.

• The barcode’s position has been changed. I also used it to include the price and issue number so that they are locatable on the magazine without taking up too much space.

• I made changes to the barcode by adding serial numbers, a price, issue number and website details to seem more professional.

Final Version