Evaluation

I have followed some of the conventions of a typical magazine. I have the put the competition on top of the page which is what I have learnt from other magazines that I have read and looked at. This is because when the magazines are stacked in the shops, the competition and the title are the first things that they will see. I put a picture of the painting within the flash graphic in order to make it stand out, but made it small so that people that buy this will want to see the picture in full. I put the main headline over the top of the picture and made it look better than the other story titles so that it stands out as the main headline. I made the sport story picture stand out by putting the purple box around it and making the story title stand out by putting it in a blue box with bright green writing. I put the date and price under the masthead and in a smaller text because it is still visible but out the way. I have put the model in the middle of my page so that she is the centre of attention and because she is the target of the main story. The competition appeals to a number of people because most students enjoy going to the student parties but feel that they can’t afford it because the prices are too high. Also, because the competition is in the skyline everyone is able to see it, and therefore has an equal opportunity to take part in it. The three main colours I have chosen represent the different aspects of the college, the blue represents the sport part of the college, and the green and purple are the standard college colours.

I have decided to include a sport story on the front page because Wyke is highly recognised for their sports department. However, I have made the story about the art department the main story as I feel the art department gets overlooked due to the fact it is a sports college. The teachers may feel that the magazine is a distraction; however, there are revision tips to ensure the students can get the most out of their courses. Each issue of the magazine would contain stories about different college departments, to make sure that the whole college gets the recognition that it deserves.

The magazine is mainly aimed at all the college students, but they’re likely to only read the issues that concern the courses they are taking or that they are interested in but aren’t taking. The magazine could also appeal to the family of students from the college because it can help them find out what it happening within the college.

By asking around the college, other students have positively commented on the prize of free tickets to the Wyke parties because they spend enough money travelling to and from college every day, getting to and from the parties and buying their drinks when they get to the party. Because the stories are written by students, I feel that the readers are getting a students’ point of view on what is happening around the college. The fact that the painting is a well-known childhood character, gives the sense of familiarity and comfort which makes students feel that they can relax within the art department, even if they aren’t taking a subject in the department. They also believe that they would buy this magazine because it is unique to our college, due to the fact that the colour scheme is the college colours.

While making this magazine cover in Photo shop, I have learnt that the tools take a while to get used to but they worked together effectively for what I was trying to achieve. I learnt that the quick selection tool isn’t always necessary when cropping aspects out of a photo. I have learnt that when cropping people out of a photo, sometimes it is best to use the polygon lasso tool, it may be time consuming but the results are enhanced. I learnt how to add effects to a certain piece of text to make it look more professional and to make it stand out against a busy background. When taking photos I learnt to take light and composition into consideration, and understand how the image will help my magazine appeal to the target audience that I wanted it to. I used my own digital camera to take my pictures; this helped me because I already understood the different effects that I can get on my camera have and the different types of shots I can get from my camera. I found that the angle of the photo makes a big difference to the image of the magazine cover. This is because it can change how the cover looks dramatically. I have never used Blogger before so I had to learn how to use that in a short space of time and learn how to add pictures and change the format of a save in order to add the pictures to my blog. I started to try and learn to use Prezi, however, I soon stopped using it because I couldn’t understand it, but I feel that this would have helped the planning of my work more if I had continued to use it. In order to get my paper drawings into the computer, I had to learn how to use the scanner, I will be using this in the future because I find it easier to plan my work using paper drawings and being able to show my friends and get their opinion and make any changes that they think would improve it.

Rough pictures

 I chose to put my model in the right corner because I am going to put the painting behind her to look like it's in a professional gallery. however, the colours in her jacket and the big logo on her shirt would make it difficult to choose a text colour to folow a specific colour scheme.

 I decided to try to put her in the middle of the page and then put the painting behind her. However, it would make it more difficult to put text on the page and put it over her. This would give me more work to do.

 I thought the idea that my model has the art department behind her would make it attract the some of the art students within the college. Also, the idea that my model is wearing alternative clothes would attract the alternative clique within the college. However, the different colours within her jacket would cause me more problems when choosing the colour scheme.

 The use of the art classroom in the background gives the idea that it was done in college and shows that she is studying Art within the college. However, the image in the background doesn't give the impression that it is an art classroom because it is empty. Also, we can see the big logo on her top and it will cause problems for me when it comes to choosing the colour scheme.

 This is the picture that I used for my magazine cover.

I chose that she should wear a black jumper because it would make it easier for me to choose a colour scheme and for me to write over it. However, I didn't use this one because the lighting on her face didn't give the impression that I wanted

Contents page mock-up

Final Design

This is my final design of my magazine front cover.

Screenshots of final design

I took a photo of a plain wall for my background and put a print screen of the college website on another page in order to get my colour scheme. I clicked the rectangle tool and drew the blue banner at the top. And made the writing for 'WIN!!!' bigger than the rest of the skyline.

I used the Polygon Lasso tool to cut out my model and clicked 'Transform - scale' and dragged the photo until it mirrored itself because her right arm was cut off, so I swapped it to make it look better.

I used the rectangle tool to draw the green box for the masthead, and used the idea of the logo for the 'Wyke' and the idea of the communication tool for the 'SKYPE'.

 I used the custom shape tool and chose the explosion for the green 'flash' and took a photo of my models actual painting for the artwork within it. This would act as the artwork that is for the gallery.

 I wrote 'Student Wins Artwork in Top London Art Gallery'. This would act as my main story for my magazine.

 I used a barcode generator to make the barcode in the corner and used a version of the logo for the logo on top of the barcode. I couldn't decide on a colour of writing for the main headline, so I added some different patterns to it to make it stand out better.

 Under the masthead, I put the price and the date, the in put a purple rectangle under it using the rectangle tool and placed a photo of a basketballer for another story.

 I put the blue box inder my basketballer and wrote 'Championships Here We Come' to represent the sport side of the college in green.

I then put another explosion in the top right corner to add another story and to draw some attention to it, but I changed the opacity of it so it isn't as bold as the rest of the magazine cover. Inside it, I put 'Revision Tips', to attract people that are looking for help.

Actual First Idea

This is my first attempt at my magazine front cover. I like the idea of the painting being in the background but I feel that it makes the cover a bit busy by using two focal points. I likes the idea of using her actual painting. The lighting that is on my model is lighter on the top, but it could give the impression that she is under a spotlight that is focused on the picture.

I am going to make the 'skype' part of the masthead in capitals because it follows the conventions of a normal magazine cover. I am going to keep the 'Wyke' lower case because it looks like the college logo.

I got the idea of the skyline from Kerrang Magazine. I first thought to put 'List of upcoming events' but then after talking to people, I decided to make it a competition to win free tickets.

Digital Mock-up

This is my first digital mock-up of my magazine. I feel that the picture of my model isn't quite a medium close-up which is what in the specification. I have changed my idea of the art room in the background I have changed it to a blank wall, to give the impression of it being in a gallery.