Final Magazine

 This is the front cover of my final magazine. The first thing I did was edit my main image by removing the background. I then used an effect on paint.NET which made the image black and white but highlighted the use of pink in my cover star's hair and lips. I then began adding the main codes and conventions such as a masthead, coverlines, barcode and web address etc. I made my main cover line pink as it contrasts with the rest of the coverlines and shows it is important. The use of pink in my image, main coverline and masthead creates a synergy between the two and refers to the target audience. The use of black and grey makes the pink more obvious and implies a happy, positive feel.

This is contents page of my final magazine. The first thing I did was to add my masthead to the page as it continues the consistency of my magazine. I also made sure I stuck to the same colour scheme of pink, black and grey as, again, is creates a consistent therefore professional look to my magazine. I then added page numbers and the articles which are featured on each one. I made the page numbers pink but made the text black and grey as I thought too much pink would make it look too busy and would be hard to read. I then added an image of the editor and a small note from her as I realised through my research that some magazines tend to do this. I also added images of some of the articles featured throughout my magazine.

This is the left side page of my final magazine. I wanted to keep this simple as I noticed through my research that this is common for magazines to do. The first thing I did was remove the background of the image and made it black and white to keep it consistent with the front cover. I then added a page number in pink and a quote from the article in a big, bold font. This would entice the reader into reading the article as they would want to find out more.

This is the right side page of my final magazine. I based this mainly on my research of 'Q' magazine as I really liked the design they used. The first thing I did was put the big P as a background and then added a masthead and page number. I then began to add my article to the page. I made sure it was in neat columns as this is what most magazines do. I made the first small paragraph pink to agree with the colour scheme but made the main text black so it was easy to read.

Further Improvements



I checked through the article in my double page spread and noticed this mistake. I had to correct it as a mistake would make my magazine seem less professional.

Improvements

On my front cover, although none of my classmates said it needed improving, I decided to place the cover star over my masthead to show her importance which is what many magazines do. I also made my masthead bigger, making it fill the page from left to right in order to make it stand out more. I then changed my cover lines and made them bold to make them more visible. I also replaced the price and the issue of the magazine on top of the barcode as I thought it looked out of place before.

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I didn't really like the draft of my contents page as I didn't think it looked professional. Some of my classmates said to add a border around the image of my cover star however I didn't think this looked right so I put the original image in with it's background and added another image of a concert. I also made the masthead smaller as before it was bigger than the one on the front cover which isn't right. I also made 'contents' bigger and the date in order to inform the reader more clearly what it is

I took on board the comments my classmates made and added text to the left side of my double page spread. I added a quote from the article which is what most magazines tend to do to entice the reader into reading the article.

On the right side of my double page spread, I realised some of the text in my article had been cut off so I had to re-size my text boxes and make the spacing between the text smaller. I also changed the layout by putting the web address at the end of the article to make it look neater and more professional as then all the text is lined up. 

Feedback from class on first proofs

Our lesson today consisted of getting feedback from the rest of my classmates on the first proofs I produced for my magazine. At first, we set out our front cover, contents page and double page spread on the table and each individual filled in a 'G321 individual portfolio.' They gave me some strengths of my magazine and then stated any areas for improvement. The main strengths consisted of good original photography as they reveal the artist as and individual and relate clearly to the genre of my magazine. Another comment was that the continuation of pink looks good as it makes my magazine look consistent therefore giving a professional feel. There were also many comments about the use of the big 'P' which looks effective and reveals that the article is about the artist 'Pixie.'
Areas of improvement consisted of adding some text to the left side of my double page spread. Suggestions included a quote from the article or the star's name. Another improvement was to possibly add a border around the image of Pixie on my contents page to make it look more neat.