Design of my front cover

Firstly I had to edit my cover photo. I used photo shop to add small touches such as: airbrushing her skin with the spot removal tool and making her eyes a really bright blue with the lasso tool and then upping the saturation to draw attention.

Before After

I originally chose this text:

But I decided that this text did not look of very good quality. I thought it looked very amateur and I am trying to make my magazine follow as many conventions and look as real as possible.I also thought the cover photo did not stand out and really pop off of the page. I thought she needed to be a bit brighter and really stand out to captivate people looking at my magazine.

I also decided that the photo did not look as authentic as I would have liked. I personally thought the foundation I put on the model looked slightly orange and the background was too grey. So I used photo shop to edit the colour of the photo and make her skin look a lot brighter and stand out more. I also edited her fringe slightly and filled in the gaps so it looked really sleek and perfect. I used the lasso tool to cut her out of the background and then put her on the white background of the magazine.

I then set out to find another text style for my masthead. I then found this text:

I chose this because:• It’s easy to read• It has a gothic look to it• On the ‘C’ it looks as if it has a

scribble on it- as if someones been careless when writing it, which could relate back to the whole name of the magazine ‘RECKLESS’.

• It draws your attention and stands out

• It relates to the theme of the magazine.

I then put the masthead behind the photo to see if it looked authentic with the photo. I was really pleased by it and I think this looks a lot better than my first attempt. I chose to put the masthead behind my model on this version, because I wanted it to be conveyed as if she is taking over everything, everyone knows her and everyone wants to know more about her. I also wanted it to be like she is very important within the magazine and I wanted her to be the centre of focus. I was slightly apprehensive about putting my masthead behind the photo: as some of the text would be covered up. I thought this may make it hard to read/understand what it actually says. However when I placed it behind I looked at it and I do not think this is a problem, as I personally think it still is easy to understand. Though I will get audience feedback, later on in the production of my front cover, so I can see whether people like this or would prefer it to be above the photo.

I then looked at my plan for my cover to see what I needed to do for the cover story. However looking at my photo I realised that what I had planned would overtake my models face completely and if I put it lower down it would disturb what I had planned to put underneath my cover story. I didn’t want to waste time doing something I knew I definitely did not want to do, so I set about to find a different way of presenting my cover story on the page. I looked at some magazine front covers that I had researched into. I found that I really liked the way the text was used for the cover story on this

I thought putting the text in black boxes was really interesting and conveyed a fun look. It also gave the ‘messy’ rock appeal.

Added the cover line which represents the text in the way it’s arranged ‘going crazy’.I then used the call out of ‘’I came so f**king close to losing it all’’- which is an expletive, this makes a lot more informal which is what I’m aiming for.

I added a bar at the bottom with band names that are to be featured at some point in the magazine as whilst I was doing my magazine research I noticed that this was a typical convention. However looking at the way it’s presented on other magazines has made me realise it needs to be a lot smaller and more cramped together. The band names also should have something separating them: stars/bullet points/shapes.

I then added small red stars to separate the band names and cramped them together a lot more to add to the emphasis the magazine ‘is packed with info and entertainment’ and that you get a lot for your money. Through my research I have noticed they use a buzz word such as ‘PLUS!’ in big bold letters that really stand out and capture the attention, to add to the emphasis of just how much you are getting.

I am now really pleased with the way the ‘band bar’ looks as I think it follows typical conventions and the typical look of a rock magazine aimed at young people such as Kerrang or NME.

I wasn’t too happy with the way it was previously arranged so I changed it to this.

I used this to make a circle to put one of my plugs on the magazine cover in.

This is the photo that I plan to use for my front cover. It is of a band called A day to Remember. I am going to edit in photo shop first though because I think it looks a bit hazy/greyed out.

I upped the contrast to maximum so that the darker tones would be bought out within the photo.

Then I added the plug of ‘A DAY TO REMEMBER’ and ‘THEY WANT TO KILL US’ – this again connotes everything that rock music does- violence, wild crowds, mosh pits which is what my target audience will be familiar with as they have most likely been to wild concerts before. This also leads the reader into reading as they are intrigued as to who wants to kill them and why?!

I then added the photo that I took at A day to Remember concert, to help add to the realism and the view that the reader could be in the crowd.

I then added the plug of ‘You me at six’. I added the call out of ‘JOSH FLASHED ON STAGE!’ to appeal to the entertainment and gossip of the reader (Uses and Gratification theory). This again intrigues the reader and appeals to the humour of my target audience.

This is a photo of a band called You me at six, that I took during their concert. I really would like to put this photo into black & white for my magazine, so I am going to use adobe photo shop to do this.

Firstly I slightly tweaked with the brightness and contrast just to bring out the darker tones and make it look a bit more professional.I then used the automatic black and white tool. I like this effect on the photo as I think it gives it a vintage look. My target audience will like this as I know they like a lot of old style rock bands/rock people like Kurt Cobain etc, so I think this vintage look will match their appeal.

I added the poster’s bit which I drew inspiration from Kerrang

I am now going to get some audience feedback to see what needs to be changed/what I can keep the same.

From my audience feedback I have learnt I need to: Make the posters bit smallerAdd date and pricePut something in the top right corner under the masthead.

This is a photo I took at a Deaf Havana concert. I am going to use it on my front cover on the posters section.

I upped the contrast so that he stands out on the stage.

Adding the photo.

I took this photo when Enter Shikari were playing.

I reduced the saturation so the arms looked a normal colour.

I added the photo to my posters section.

I added a plug of the festivals and added logos of popular festivals between my target audience: ‘Reading and Leeds’ and ‘Download’ festival underneath.

I added the date, issue number and price. I noticed it was a typical convention to add this under the barcode in bold on magazines such as Kerrang, so I followed this convention.

I am really pleased with this audience feedback. They were positive comments which means I do not need to change anything and that my target audience likes my magazine cover.