Evaluation

AS Group 32: Evaluation for Print Coursework

Evaluation

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Editing my Front Cover

So this is my front cover, to start I used the "Magic Eraser Tool" to cut out my image from the original background and then placed it onto my cover - I used the Brightness and Contrast effect to alter the brightness, I made the image lighter as I really like the continual natural effect that this creates, I also used the "Spot Healing Tool" and the "Clone Stamp Tool" to cover up blemishes and create a smoother skin appearance. On my original photoshoot, my model's bottom teeth showed on the picture, however I did not like this, as only a small amount of the bottom teeth were visible, my model was not available for another shoot, so I decided to use the "Clone Stamp Tool" to cover up these teeth and create the effect that you can just see Karis' tongue. I created my title using the website urbanfonts.com and used the font "Base 02" with a "Drop Shadow Effect", "Outer Glow Effect" and "Bevel and Emboss Effect" to make the title have more depth. I then placed my first layer - my model first as I like the look created from having my title in the background and the image in the foreground.

I then added my Union Jack logo/image in the background, and I like the effect that the "Magic Eraser Tool" and the "Dodge" and "Burn" Tools has created, as it draws the audience's attention towards the front cover, and attach this with my model's eyes then both visual aids draw in the reader and attract their attention. I added a red banner across the header with a "Drop Shadow", "Inner Shadow" and "Bevel and Emboss" effects that increase the depth of the shape. I underlayed this with a black line to give extra shadow and depth, and using the font "Tw Cen MT" I added a promo text block that would encourage readers to buy the mag.

I added the main story title "Karis Platt" using the font "Base 02" from urbanfonts.com and using the same effect as those on the A3 Spread. I coloured the text in blue, and added a "Drop Shadow", "Inner Shadow" and "Outer Glow" Effects through blending options, I like the look that this has created and again adds to the attention grabbing look that I want my magazine to achieve. Underneath the main storyline, I added a caption that would again attract the reader, but would also expand on the main story line, so would want to make the audience read on.

Now I needed to add the other captions to fill the space and make it look more professional, I used urbanfonts.com for the main caption and "TW Cen MT" for the description underneath and contrasted this with capital letter text to stand out as well as making the text bold and black. I used bullet points to separate the main story line from the smaller captions underneath and varied the colour between blue and red to match my house style and the model's t-shirt and Union Jack Flag. I then added the essential little touches that would make my magazine look professional and add to the overall unique styling and look of my music themed mag. I added a website for my magazine using "Calibri" and added a bar code in the bottom left, also adding a price and issue number and date makes the magazine look believable. Now my magzine is complete, and I am really happy with the final look!! Hopefully all my hard work has paid off and it will all be worth it! I love my magzine look and feel and I think that my British Pop theme and extensive overhaul from my orginal design has really made it look fantastic...Here's the final product of the Front Cover!!

Editing the Contents

To start, I decided to place my main image in the bottom right hand corner of the page - I used the Brightness and Contrast effect to make the image brighter as again I thought that this would be more beneficial to the magazine as it would create a more natural look.I also used the "Spot Healing Tool" and the "Clone Stamp Tool" to smooth out my model's skin and make her look natural, crisp and clean. Again, I used my house style Union Jack Flag, and placed it in the top right hand corner, this was to make a consistent style throughout the pages, and I linked the text and image layers together, so I could overlay the "Contents" title within the flag. I liked the look that this created and felt that it added to the unique feel to my music magazine. I created my 'Dynamics' title, using the website urbanfonts.com and chose the font "Base 02". I then tilted this onto a slant as this look created style and diversion, I then overlapped the main title with my edited Union Jack, I also added an extra effect onto my flag - "Drop Shadow" as I felt this added even more depth to my artwork. I really liked this look and thought it went well with my magazine.

I then started to add the same lines as my spread - to re-created a style of border, so that it makes the page look professional and keeps the text in order and all in one place. I used the "Calibri" Font to add a note from the editor and put this into italics and the "Tx Cen MT" Font to create a sub-title to explain the date of my issue on the contents page. I like the way that my text wraps around the flag and overlaps it slightly, and I also like the overall look and feel that the text has created for my magazine - especially the month that has been linked to the flag and is now imprinted onto it. I created the Union Jack Flag and imported it into a circle shape, I really like this new logo/image, now it looks like an emulation of a badge, I added the effects of "Inner Shadow" using Blending Options to make it have more depth - I also added a quote and now the page is looking more like a contents!

To complete the editing process of the page, I made copies of my Union Jack Badge for bullet points for the page numbers, as I thought this looked quirky and unususal. I added a footer like that of my A3 Spread and then added my ususal text using "Tw Cen MT" Font. My contents page is now complete and I am VERY happy with my final design and layout! I also used the same font from urbanfont.com for the headers of my contents page.

Editing the A3 Spread

To start, I decided to place my two images of my models at opposite ends of my page, I played around by moving the images into the centre of the page and increasing and decreasing the sizes, however in the end deciding to place them in opposite corners, as to increase the effect of both images and to increase the space for text content. I decided on a Union Jack theme to match the new look of my magazine as this would tie in with my model's tee and the updated colour scheme. I decided to edit my flag with the "Magic Eraser Tool" to make it have a more urban and sheik look - this I thought fitted well with my new look of my magazine. I then used the "Dodge Tool" to fade away the edges to give a more used and worn look to the flag. By placing the flag in the top right hand corner, I thought that this gave my magazine a unique look and a consistent house style. I copied this layer and duplicated it twice so that I could layer it behind my first image, this was to create a mini-background and to add shading and depth to the first image. With both of my images in which the model is present - I used the "Brightness and Contrast" effect to make images lighter - this way I thought that a more natural look would be present, especially in my second image, as it looks as though Karis is looking up at natural light. Whilst editing both of my model's images, I used the "Quick Selection Tool" to highlight the main body of the image, and deleted the original background, also by using the "Spot Healing Brush Tool" and the "Clone Stamp Tool" to even out her skin and make my model look natural and stunning. This worked well and I am pleased with the outcome of my facial editing! To create the heading, I used urbanfonts.com and used the font "Base 02" as I thought this gave the best effect and rasterized the layer, then I used the "Dodge" and "Burn" Tools to add depth and shadow to the text, this lightened and darkened the text creating a much more unique look that matched my magazine. I then added the 'Drop Shadow', 'Inner Shadow' and the 'Inner Glow' effects through Blending Options to create an even more unique look, I finished by using the "Smudge Tool" and dragging this outwards and inwards through each letter seperately in order to create the ripped and torn effect.

I then added my introduction/sub heading at the top of the page - I overlapped this with my Union Jack, so that the flag acted again as a mini-background, I really like the effect that this has given to the spread and I like the personality and sense of "British-ness" that it has created. I used "Tw Cen MT" as my text, as I thought this look professional but added to my theme within the magazine and made the 'look' that I wanted work! By highlighting key words and making them italics makes this stand out to the reader and this professionalism is good to capture. I added small lines either side of the page, to act as mini-margins/borders just to keep the text in one place, I like this look and think that it adds to the professionalism of my magazine. I also added footers with key information on and another small sub title at the bottom, using the same methods as my main title with the "Smudging Tool" etc.

The final stage of production and editing was to add my textual content onto my spread, I did this my first introducing the interview, I made this stand out by highlighting it all in bold and selecting titles in a different colour. I contrasted my colours between red and black for the interviewer and the interviewee so that it would make it easier for the reader to understand and enjoy the article and as well as making the article look professional and adding to the consistent house style by using the red, blue, white and black colour scheme to match the Union Jack and my model (Karis') t-shirt.I then added quotes from the main body of text (again using urban fonts and the same font as my header to make it consistent) to make a more professional look and to emulate that of real music magazines, I decided to fill the empty spaces as well as overlapping the flag as I like the look that this creates. My final page is below - and I am really happy with my end product!

Spread and Front Page

After starting my front cover and completeing my double page spread, I have completed re working my print to incorporate my new ideas and themes. I now need to work on my contents page and to complete some research for this! I am really happy about my new 'look' for my magazine...

Revamp!

Ok so after some debating, and a chat with Bev, I have decided that my colour scheme and logo need a serious overhaul! I'm now using my 'British Pop' theme of the magazine with my colours and title. I have decided to use the colours blue, white and red for features and to use bold black font for headings and text. This idea plays well with my model's outfit (union jack tee). I have changed my title to "Dynamic" as this is much more music orientated. I feel that with these drastic changes my music magazine will have a much needed kick and look better than it did before.

Front Cover

Starting production on my front cover after my spread was a safe bet in my idea, as the spread gave me the opportunity for scope and creativity with fonts, colours and styles before using them as my house style. I chose to change my colour scheme from intially purple and green to using blue, green and pink - I felt that my new colour choice are much softer on the eye and that they reflect pastille colours and so are much more aimed towards my target audience. I have also chosen to use two different fonts, Calibri and TW Cen MT. I have used TW Cen MT for my main body of text and some sub titles and Calibri for my main title. But I have 'rounded' my title text so that it is much softer than the A3 spread, where the text is 'normal' but with the edges being smudged to give a harsher look and make it stand out.

A3 Spread Research

I have started my production, however I have researched several different spreads. I like the features in this spread of the central artist and the 'hand grab' almost grabbing the reader's attention and drawing you into the article. The bright pink hoodie draws attention and stands out, and we see the colour style with the drop cap at the beginning of the text. I like the way the text stands out, and how parts of the article stands out and is highlighted. I would also like to mirror the wrapping of the text around the image. The text in this spread is left aligned and the background of the spread - a ruled page, is supposed to mirror that of a notebook or pad, this is quite effective and I like this feature.

This spread with Lady Gaga, uses again a large photo to the left, this grabs the readers attention. I like the way the text is wrapped around the image, but in this spread the text is justified. The large drop caps stand out, and this encourages the reader to read on. The lightening bolt running through the article also creates a unique look, and this 'fills' up space on the page, I like this feature as it looks different and quirky and reflects GaGa's unique personality.

I like the way this spread uses a large vinyl that displays what the article is about. The way in which the black colour of the image is transistioned into the text, so that the page is consistent and professional. The contrasting pink title looks exciting and draws the readers attention, the bulk article text is justified and is white in colour, this looks good and professional on the black background.

From all these spreads, I would like to use the wrapping of the text around the image, and I prefer the look of left aligned text compared to justified, as justified text reminds me of a newspaper article instead of a magazine article.

A3 Spread

Production finally started with my A3 Spread first. I wanted to re-create a similar style to music magazines like my research (Blender and Billboard), so after consideration, I have changed my colour theme to reflect my model and image. I kept with the original lime green but changed the purple to pink and blue. This all creates a much softer look. Using three pastille shades also makes the magazine look much more professional. I also chose a white background with the hope that the simple layout would not distract the reader from the magazine spread. My A3 Spread looks proffesional and I have used some print features, such as wrapping the text around the images and borders to split up the pages, in order to re-create a music magazine look.

Picking a Model

I wanted my model to be a young female with a 'pop' look, but I didn't want her to be generic with no character. Her personality should be able to be visible within my images and I wanted her clothes to match the style of my magazine. I wanted to celebrate Britishness within my magazine, so the choice of my model had to be perfect! I thought of some styles that could be manipulated to match what I wanted and had in mind influences of Alexa Chung and Pixie Lott's blazers and shorts:
Finally, after searching inside and outside college I have found my model; she matches my 'British Pop' themed magazine and my personal criteria. She is photogenic and has features and reminds me of the British singer/songwriter Pixie Lott. After a few test shots in college, I decided she is perfect. On Friday 12 February, we both braved the cold outside to take advantage of the natural sunny day and ideal breeze - where I photographed some different shots against the College's 'Y' Block and Scooter Park. The natural lighting and perfect weather made my model look totally believeable and realistic, overall a fantastic photo shoot and now all I have to do is narrow down my photo's from several fantastic one's...

Layout

After looking at different templates from many music and weekly magazines, I have decided that I want to use a simple front cover that is clean crisp and appeals to the young reader audience. Billboard and Blender music magazines use a single artist on the front cover, which takes up the center of the page, attracting an audience, with the title at the top set behind of the artist's image and sub headings down each side - and this is something I want to mirror within my magazine production. I have sketched a template that will give me something to work with, although this may not necessarily be my final layout.

For the contents page, I would like to use a feature photo of my model along the left hand side of the spread, with the consistant use of my two contrasting colours of purple and green. I would also like to use features such as 'In every issue...' and 'exclusive' etc.

Naming my Magazine

I thought of many music genres and decided on an 'British Pop' magazine, featuring a single female artist (equivalent to Pixie Lott)as my main story. With this in mind, I came up with many different names including;

• Flick - trendy and appeals to a young teen audience.
• Kick - simple name, ideas of rebelling.
• Juice - teenager oriented, ideas of fun and life.
• U-Music - aimed at the individual, shows youth.

In the end I chose to use the name 'Juice' I thought that this was fun and young, relating to the teen audience it is aimed for. I also thought of colour schemes and decided that the name 'Juice' would give me more scope to work with. I planned some colours and different logo's and titles in rough; I chose simple colours that would leave a clean and professional look on my magazine cover. I particularly like the font used in my third title, with the blue font, but I prefer a contrasting pair of colours, as this would seem to appeal to a younger audience.

Therefore I settled for this final design for a logo, the use of the contrasting lime green and purple with a star design on the 'i', this is young and lively and reflects the type of trendy audience that listens to the type of music that my magazine will promote. The design is below:

Preliminary Print and Film

Working as part of a small group, our prelim task was to produce a magazine cover and contents page. We chose to use a close up head shot for our cover as we thought this would mirror the contempory feature used by many magazine's today. The sub headings down the right hand side of the page also added to the effect of a modern magazine. Overall the layout and design looked good, however the text, font and colour style did not match the model and looked unprofessional, this is something I will change within my final production task.



For our contents page, we chose to 'photoshop' our model, we adjusted the contrast and colour, and mirrored the style of contents page used in women's weekly magazine's like Cosmopolitan and Glamour. The positioning of the model is perfect, and as this is the main story, it appeals to the reader and catches their eye, however the overall quality and professionalism of the page is poor, and this contents page features no titles and headings - this is something I aim to change in my final production task.


We also undertook a film preliminary task, we chose to film a short 70 second police sequence. In a small group, we acted a police themed interview with a Police Woman and a juvenile criminal. This was shot on location within the 'C' Block in College. We filmed from different angles and used a variety of shots to make our film more professional, including 'over the shoulder' shots and 'close ups'. We also edited our film using Adobe.

After careful consideration, I have decided to work with print as my final production, as I think I can be more creative and show more originality within my work.

Research of Magazines

I chose to research the different techniques used in the music magazine BillBoard - an American weekly that closely follows the charting world, that has a target audience of older teenagers, and young adults. The magazine is simple, effective and sophisticated. A plain background, keeps the readers' attention, and does not distract them. The main image catches the audiences' eye, making sure that the main subject is captured. The title is large and clear, and the traditional house style is used of black text with the four basic colours being used within 'closed' letters. As I am having a female model for my magazine, I decided to look at mainly covers that feature females, to see the positioning of the subjects and how 'the look' is created overall. This cover I chose, as I like the feature of just a head shot on the cover. I like the basic layout of this magazine as it concentrates on just the main 'topic' for that week, meaning it is more effective in capturing the audience.

Other 'Billboard' magazines, have a very similar layout, that features the main subject in the centre of the cover, and short text highlighting stories around the page, with the signature house style at the top of the page, usually 'behind' the subject image. However this 'Alicia Keys' edition features the artist in a much more posing position, which I think I would like to use on my final magazine cover.

I also researched the magazine 'Blender'. This is much more aimed at teenagers (15 - 19) with young pop and charting acts featuring the spreads. I chose to research this magazine as many artists featured are females - something that links with my magazine. The cover below of Katy Perry, shows her full figure, something that is particularly effective, 'Blender' uses their house style of a thick bold black headline that catches the audiences' attention, which again is featured behind the subject so that the main image is in the foreground, something I would like to use within my magazine. The colour scheme of black and pink is simple and not too 'busy' it also matches with the clothing that the subject is wearing. Another 'Blender' edition uses the subject on a 'tilt'. This creates a nice effective shot, and makes sure that the cover stands out. The subject's position is natural and the layout is within the same house style as the previous 'Blender' edition. The consistency of both editions shows professionalism and effectiveness. The title in the 'Leona Lewis' edition is a different colour to the 'Katy Perry' edition. However using different colours on each cover, with the black makes each edition unique. This is effective and simplistic. The different subtitles around the page, break up the page and make it organised.

The contents page of 'Billboard' is structurally organsised, and is very easy to naviaget around. The text used is a simple black font, but each page topic is highlighted in the colour blue. The page is seperated by blue borders, text, and columns. The images split the page, making it easy to see what is within the magazine. Seperate headings and sub headings make the magazine look more professional, and I think I will be using this within my contents.