Finished Product As Last Post

This is my final product. I am happy with the outcome of the magazine cover and contents page. I think that the front cover works well, the colours are bright and stand out.

Creating/Designing Product (Print Screens)

 To begin with, I opened up the photo in Photoshop on an International Article. I then expanded the photo so that it would fit the size of the article. I decided to use this photo because of the lighting and the background is plain, so if I was to cut anything out, I would have a problem with the different textures.

 Next, I decided to add the Mass Head, I used the font 'Trajan Pro', the same as the magazine cover I created for as an introduction to Photoshop. I changed the size of the font to '72' because it fits across the top of the image and makes the font look more bold, the colour also helps make it look bold.

 I then went on to start adding featured articles. I decided to change the colour of the font to blue, because there was hints of it in the photo and I wanted to created a them which linked to the photo. I thought of different types of feature stories that would seem interesting, and I decided on stories that you would expect to see in a college magazine.

 Then, I added the main feature story which is 'Success Stories'. I chose to have this as the main story because I think that it is good to see how people have succeeded once leaving college. Also, I changed the colour of the title to purple and made the brightness of the photo a lot brighter as I thought that it was too dark.

After I made the changes, I then went onto adding plug, which would mean that tickets could be won to upcoming events. I thought this would be a good idea to use, because young people like concerts and festivals, and this would appeal to them. Also, I added a barcode and social media logos which is something you would expect to see on a magazine cover.

To finish the cover, I added the main feature story, and made the font bold to emphasize that this is the main story of the magazine. Because the colour is red, which is also very bright this makes it stand out much more. Also, I added an issue number and the date to let the students know when it was published and what number of the copy it is.

When it came to creating the contents page, I had a few ideas of how I pictured it. I knew that I wanted the images to one side so that the page list would be at the right side and that way nothing would overlap, and it wouldn't look too crowded. I opened up a new International Article and added one of the cover photos that I had taken. I then opened up text and began to use the colour red, same font and made it the same size so that it would be at the top of the page.

Next, I then began to add the page list. I used the same colour as the Mast head because it related to the theme of the cover. Then I carried on and began to write the feature story title of what was going to be inside the magazine. I know that in magazines they have adverts so the page numbers are spaced out because of them.

To finish it off, I then added a second photo like I had in my draft version of the content page. Even though I didn't add a third image, I think that it looks good with out it because there is everything that you would expect to see on a content page.

Photographs For Front Cover

This is the first photo that I took. I decided to do it against a white wall back when it came to editing and cutting parts out, I knew that patterns wouldn't be in the way and would make it easier to edit.

What I like about this photo is that she isn't being completely serious, instead she is laughing about the situation which is something that students do.

However, I don't think this would be a good magazine cover because she isn't looking directly at the photo and it's taken from a long shot.

The second photo is very simple and something that you would expect to see on a college magazine. The student is looking directly at the camera and is holding her folder.

What I like about this photo is that she is looking directly at the photo this time, compared to the first one when she wasn't. Also, the lighting is just right, it isn't too dark or too bright, so when it comes to editing the photo in Photoshop all I won't have to change the lighting as much as I need to.











 The third photo that I have taken is showing that she is smiling while looking at the camera. What I really like about this photo is that she is smiling while looking directly at the camera, which is good because it shows that she is having a good time.

However, the problem with this photo is that at the time that it was being taken, she moved her hand which has caused he hand to blur. If she didn't move it then this photo would be good for the front cover.

When I took this photo, I asked her to stand on a side because I thought that the lighting would reflect much better rather than her looking straight at the camera. This worked out well, because on the right side of the photo, it is much brighter compared to the previous photos that I have taken.

Once again, the lighting in the this photo is perfect as you can see the colours stand out more compared to what they used to. But the only problem with this photo is that her eyes are closed. At the time that I took this photo, she was in the middle of blinking and I took the photo at the wrong time. However, if her eyes weren't closed then I would use this as the magazine cover.

This photo is one of the best photos that I have taken. She is looking at the camera, not blinking and her hand isn't blurred from moving. Everything is exactly how it should be. Also, the lighting is the same as the rest of the photos. Overall, this is one of my choices for the magazine cover.

This photo is a medium close up, even though the rest of my photo's are long shot I can always crop them using photo shop. However, this photo is taken against a textured background with two different colours which seem to make her stand out from the rest of the photo.

Also, the lighting of this photo is much better than the rest of the other photo's because it is in natural daylight which is the best type of light.

This is my second favourite photo that I've taken. What I really like about it is that she is leaning on a side while looking at the photo, smiling as well.  Everything in this photo seems to contrast very well and the only thing that I would change about it is that I would make it a medium close up.

The final photo that I've taken is slightly different compared to the second one. This one is taken so that she is facing the camera directly and holding her folder. I think that this image could be improved if I had taken it as a medium close up.

Basics Of Photoshop

 To begin with, I opened up Photoshop and created a new International Article. Next, I placed the photo on top of the blank A4 sheet which I then expanded so it would fit the same size as the sheet. I decided on using this photo because it was very simple and I liked the black and white effect, as well as the different lighting.

Next, I decided on using the font 'Tajan Pro'. I liked how it was very simple but stood out at the same time; I decided to keep the font white because it looked bolder, as the top of the image is a lot darker. The size of the font is '72' and it fits across the top of the photo which works well.

Then, I added a plug at the bottom of the page, because that it where I would be adding a competition as it would make the reader interested in seeing what it is that they could win. Also, I added social media logos above the barcode because when looking at the front cover, it would be easy to notice and the colours of them stand out.

To finish the editing off, I then went on to add feature articles, as well as the main article. Also, I made sure to include what number the issue is, the date and the price.

Mise-en-scence and Locations Ideas

I think that these would be good locations to take photos because they all link into college. The entrance of the college would be a good place to take photos because it has a significance that it is the place where everything begins, a new experience that it different from high school. The next location is the campus site, on site it is a great place because there is all the different buildings in the background and the lighting is very good because of where the sun shines. Also, a library is useful because it is a place where people study and it is usually a place that is the main attraction.

These were what I came up with for what could be used when taking photos. I thought the most important were the right side of the image. One reason for this is that background and lighting are essential when it comes to taking photos, because if there wasn't any of these then the photo taken wouldn't look as good as it should. Also, the outdoors is a good place to take photos because of the great scenery. However, props such as a pen and folder are good to use because they help create what a college student looks like, and without them they wouldn't look as though they go to college.

Camera Framings

Close up

Medium Close Up

Long Shot

High Angle

Low Angle

Image Framed to the left

Image Framed to the right

Central Image

When it came to taking these photos, I decided to do it on the campus site. I used the campus site because it was the best place to take them, and because the weather was good I decided to take them outside. The effect of these photos is how the lighting is different on them all. Also, each framing is completely different from one another which shows how they are not similar and that there is different ways of taking photos.

Feature Story Ideas

When you think of ' Feature Story Ideas', it makes you think of what you would want the audience to read and how you can capture their attention to make the story sound interesting. Because my front cover is of a general college magazine, I have decided to use these ideas as my feature stories.

• Tips for college- this will be useful because the viewer will want to find out more about how the tips can be useful for them. And by making the test bright and colourful, it is going to stand out on the front cover.
• Student Stories-  with the magazine cover being general, this applies to students who are just starting college for the first time and by having a story on how other students coped, it will make the viewer know that other people have been going through what they're going through.
• A promotion for a competition- people always like to enter competitions, depending on what the prize is and this will be a good way to draw attention.
• Include a free revision guide to help students with their A-Levels.

Colour Schemes

Colour Scheme is important when it comes to designing a magazine. The colour can be based upon who the audience is, they range from different age groups so the colour depends on who they are.

The magazine that I'm creating is a General college magazine. The main colours that would fit a a general theme are:

•  Red
• Blue
• Purple
• Green

Yellow

I chose these colours because I believe that they are suitable and are aimed towards both genders.

 This is the first colour wheel that I created using 'Colour Adobe', a website that is in the form of a colour wheel, and you are able to select different colour rules and then adjusting them using the  markers to switch between the different shades. The first colour wheel that I created, as using the 'Triad' colour rule, this then brought up two of the main primary colours, but in different shades.






This one was created using the shades rules, because the college logo is purple. I wanted to see what the colour would look like in different shades and it came up with different types. My favourite one is the last one because it is
 the same shade as the college logo.

Name Ideas

For the college magazine, there are many different names that it can be called due to the different ideas for it.

When I first began  thinking about what I could call a college magazine, I thought of what a student would be interested in. These were the names that came to mind. The first name at the top was thought of about new students starting the college, the magazine was originally going to be based on new students who are starting the college. However, I then went on to think about students having a voice and speaking up for what they believe in and that is where I came up with the name 'Student Voice'. I thought that naming a college magazine 'Campus' was too basic, because students are interested in names that will capture their attention and easily remember.

Digital Draft

This is a draft of the layout of my magazine. It is how I would imagine it to look once I have put it all together and finished editing it in Photoshop. The contents page would be very simple, by having the images at the left side of the image and having the page list as the center of attention.

Mood Board

The magazine cover that I'm going to created is a General College Magazine. For the general theme, I have got inspiration from libraries, the campus site and other places in the college, as well as other know magazines. In the top right corner, are the three magazines that I used as inspiration for my own. What I like about them is they stand out from other magazines that you usually see. For example, the seventeen magazine uses very bright colour to captures the audiences attention. Whereas the second one uses very basic font which seems to be very effective for that type of magazine.

The photos that show a library, I thought that this would be a good idea because a library is very useful for college students because that is a place where they study. I also used the campus site, many students stay outside with their friends and talk. And for a college magazine cover to be based on a campus site it will work very well.

LIIAR &Conventions Research- Image Analysis 2*

LIIAR

Language- is what's used to create the text in the magazine.

Institution- is what the company has and what power they have.

Ideology- the ideas that go into being aimed at the audience. For example, it goes from ideas, language and then to the audience.

Audience- who it is targeted at.

Representation- the social groups that it represents.

Conventions Research- Image Analysis

Position Signs:

• The image shows the gloved hand holding a mint up to the unicorn, which draws the attention to the mint and the unicorns muzzle.

• The position of the image is at two different levels. One being that the unicorn is higher up and that the hand is lower, suggesting that there is a difference in height. But this makes the image effective, because using two different positions means that the viewer has to look between the two figures.
• 
  

Treatment Signs:

• One effective part of the image, is that the viewer cannot see who the arm belongs to. Not only does this make you wonder who the arm belongs to, but it also draws the attention to the mint which is in the woman's hand. The colour of the glove is black, and women usually wear these to formal events which suggests that this important.

Content Signs:

• The image mainly has a theme of black and white, however at he bottom of the advert it shows the Extra Strong mints. It's packaging is strong colors which stand out from the rest of the advert make it easier to draw attention to.

• The position of the gloved hand, is at an angle were a girl would feed  a horse if she was at a stable. This means that the image is representing that, but instead it is a more classier version of feeding an animal

Evaluation

What have you learnt from completing this task?

When I first began this task, I didn't know that each part of a magazine had different names. For example, the Title was called a Mass-head. I learned things that I didn't know before about Media and how to create a magazine successfully and know the audience that I'm targeting will be interested in it. I have also learned how to use Photoshop much better, back in school I only knew a few basic as to how I use it, but now I feel more confident in using it and knowing how to edit photo's much better than I did before.

How have you used technology?

I have used Adobe Photoshop on the computer which has been interesting. When I first started using Photoshop, I didn't know much about how to use it as I never got the chance to use more of it back in high school. But with some help, I have picked up some new skills that I had never learned before and now that has become useful in creating a magazine cover. I have also created power points to post how I have made progression to get to the final product, and this has been useful because it shows the different stages of how much it has changed.

What conventions have you used and why?

The conventions I have used are what you would expect to see on a magazine:

• Mass Head
• Plug
• Feature Stories
• Main Feature Story
• Main Image

I used these because they are essential for creating a magazine, and also they are what appear. I mainly used feature stories because it's the stories that draw the readers in and they need to stand out and look interesting. The main image was taken on the college campus, and because I created a college magazine I knew that taking the photo's on the campus would be relevant to the magazine. Also, the Mass Head was important of use because it had to be something that would stand out from other magazines.

What would you change if you were to do this task again?

If I was to do this task again, I would change the feature story ideas. I would change this because I know that there is more interesting things that the readers would be interested in, and the general college magazine has many different features in it that people would be interested in. Also, I would change the colour schemes. I would change these because there are other colour schemes that would work out very well.

Analysis of College Magazine Front Cover

Brief

To design a college magazine, what you need is a front cover and mock contents page. Images on the front cover must be original.