Step by Step Front Cover

Bethany Harvey

Step 1Drawing

Drafts

Before I started to develop my magazine and taking any images, I did 2 layouts in which I would like my front cover to have. I drew these layouts, considering my target audience because I wanted it to be clear enough to read as well a looking appealing to the audience.

I also looked at similar music magazines who have the same target audience as my magazine does, e.g. Q. From looking at other magazine layouts I saw that the simpler they are, the more popular they become. Therefore, I produced two simple but attractive layouts.

Step 2 Computer Based Drafts

After I designed my hand-drawn layout, I produced the layout on the computer of my favourite layout that I will be using for my magazine, so it becomes more clearer and I can use this as a guide for when I start producing my magazine front cover. I decided to use this one, because I wanted to make the front cover as simple as possible, so it attracts the target audience and then inside the magazine I would have more detail.

The fonts I have chosen to use are basic and easy to read. However, the main title is more bold and ‘Rocky’ that is because of the magazine name- Rock On! I thought it would add an effect so that the younger audience are more appealed.

The colours are simple and don’t clash with the background or with each other. Red seemed to be a popular colour for music magazines and I decided to use this colour because it almost symbolises to the audience that Red is music and could it be because of the mixed emotions in all types of music? For example, the emotions music can give from the colour red; Love, anger, danger, lust and passion, which is most songs are about.

The sizes are in order of importance, starting from the title being the biggest so it stands out the most. After that, the name of the band will be the next biggest, as after they see the magazine title they would want to know what band is the main feature. And then the other sizes are smaller so they still appeal but don’t stand out as much as the title and the band name.

I have left a big space for the image because I want it to stand out and blend in with the title and the band name. Therefore, I allow the image to overlap the title and the band name to overlap the image.

Step 3 – First DraftAfter collecting some images, my title and deciding on a layout for my magazine, I produced a quick draft to see if all the fonts, colours, images and the layout all work out. However, as you can see it didn’t work as well as I expected as many factors on the draft are out of proportion and the colours don’t match.. Therefore I come up with things I needed to change;

• Position of the band members on a new image• Change the outfit of the cast to match the magazine• Get the cast doing more ‘Rock’ or ‘Fun’ things to appeal to the younger audience more• Move the slogan, change the size and change the colour• Colour of the band name (depending on colours in next image)• Size of the title and the band name needs to be bigger

With the changes in mind, I was able to produce a second draft.

Step 4 – Second Draft

After producing my second draft as shown, I still wasn’t 100% happy. I changed everything I planned to and took some new images that match the genre of the magazine more, however, I wasn’t satisfied.

After some more magazine research for magazines, I found some magazines that appealed to me and decided to have a theme so that it’s different to other magazines and it stands out a little bit more than the competition. As you can see from the magazine I looked at, they all have something unique in them to make them stand out, e.g. Wet look, dogs and a bird. These props make the magazine stand out. Therefore, I decided to use a theme and possibly props but more than likely a guitar to match the genre of my magazine.

For my next draft magazine I will be changing;

• The layout of the timeline and slogan• Make the title bigger• Have a barcode on there• The slogans be more attractive• Theme • Guitar props

Step 5 – Final Draft

For this draft I made all the changes I said I would from the previous draft (2) and also some other minor changes, i.e. Having 2 slogans instead of one.

As you can see I have a colour code in which all blends in and looks more organised. I have made the title bigger to cover the width at the top of the cover so it stands out more. The band name is also a lot bigger and that’s at the very bottom of the page because it blended better and also filled the ‘jail’ line. The background I chose in the end was a jail theme, as if the band members had been arrested for being ‘so good’ in music. The guitar props adds to the genre of the magazine and I added name tags around their necks in Photoshop to add the effect of the jail theme. I moved the timeline at the top because on the previous drafts the top looked empty where the guitar handle was and placed the barcode on the end of the timeline to cover the gap of artists. The slogans are now more attractive by appearing in transparent bubbles and I have made a smaller logo of the magazine name so it can be recognised without the whole title being written. The band’s position is more relaxed and serious which I thought diverted the rock genre a little, but it works. For example, most magazines have rock bands in frantic and bold positions to symbolise rock, however I have left that to the magazine itself to sell the genre.

ConclusionIn conclusion, it took me 3 attempts to get the right magazine front cover that I was 100% pleased with. I used Macromedia Fireworks, Quark Express and Photoshop to produce this magazine. I feel it helped that I come up with a favourite layout even though my final magazine cover didn’t quite match, however working from the layout guide helped me see where everything could go and where it may look better. I think I have progressed excessively from the first draft and that is down to researching other magazine and getting some more ideas for my magazine and simply finding ways in which it helped the magazine looked more appealing to my target audience.

The colours in the end became more of a red, black and white theme and I feel this is because the magazine looks better when it has a colour theme, rather than loads of different colours as it makes the magazine more recognisable to the audience as well showing the type of magazine by using the colour red.

The sizes were a lot bigger than I anticipated at the start, but after seeing the sizes on the magazine I realised that my predictions were wrong and the title, band name and slogan need to be bigger, as well as different colours.

The images I used were better in the second and final draft as I didn’t costume the actors in the right ‘rock’ way for the magazine. However, after I spent the night taking new ones they became a lot better and I colour coded it by getting them to wear red so they blend in with the magazine. Making them black and white and just having their red piece of clothing in colour, I feel made an effect that I couldn’t find any other magazine doing, therefore I thought it was diverse and unique.

Finally, I feel the last draft was the best and therefore I didn’t make any more as I was fully satisfied. I feel now though that I could have done a few things differently after finishing it all. These are;

• Having the actor on the right, lift their head up so there more recognisable (even though it leaves mystery to the audience, to make them want to look in the magazine)• Used the actors in full colour so the colour theme isn’t too bold, as then the next magazine issue may have to relate and be very similar to the first one for it to get recognised again.

But overall, I was very happy with my final front cover and I feel I have satisfied all my target audiences needs and the magazine front cover is appealing enough to attract the target market.