2. Step 1
Drawing
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.
3. 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.
4. Step 3 – First Draft
After 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.
5. 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
6. 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.
7. Conclusion
In 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.
