Week 33: Introduction to Documentary Assignment and Homework Assignment

Today I have been introduced to my 4th Assignment and this is to create a Documentary which shows a subject which I am interested in and also shows social and community within the theme of the subject. I have also gained knowledge into what documentaries are and I have been shown the features which should be included within a documentary and the order in which they are put into the documentary footage. For example the background on the subject is very important and also interviews with both the people which the subject affects and experts on this subject, as this therefore supports the case you are trying to portray to the viewer. Throughout this week I will be developing an idea for a documentary which I would want to create and learn more about the different documentaries, as today as a class we also watched some short videos on the BBC website on subjects such as Royal Weddings and the FA Cup, which were factual programmes which included archive footage, sound effects and narration.

Homework Assignment Introduction
Today I have also been introduced to a Homework Assignment which is a booklet with tasks which I need to complete as well as the Documentary Assignment, this homework assignment allows me to gain further knowledge in understanding the Media Industry. Today I have started Task 1, and within this task I am researching into two large companies, The Walt Disney Company and ITV, within this task I am creating a research dossier and presentation of some sort which shows the history of the company, the company income, what the company owns, who owns the company and how many employees the company has.

ITV Logo

The Walt Disney Company Logo

Week 30: Feedback from Target Audience

I created a questionnaire for the target audience of students and secondary audience of parents, I decided to create a questionnaire to gain the potential readers opinion on my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread as these are the people who will be reading the magazine and therefore the magazine needs to appeal to this target audience. From this questionnaire I got positive and negative feedback from the target audience which was useful as I was able to see the positives and negatives with my magazine pages, for example the feedback on my front cover was quite positive and that the majority of the people liked the image which I used on my front cover, as they believed it represented student life clearly and they were able to see that the magazine was for students. Some negative feedback which I received in relation to my front cover was one comment that my front cover looked to 'busy', I believed it was good to gain negative feedback as this could be an improvement I could make in the future if I were able to repeat this assignment. The main positive feedback came from the questions and answers on my double page spread, as all 9 people liked the content and layout of my double page spread and believed it does look original and eye catching which is the main aspect I wanted to create within my double page spread.
I believe I have gained a lot of feedback from this questionnaire and it was important that I gained opinions from the secondary audience of Parents as well as Students.

Week 30: Completed Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Today I have completed my Magazine Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread for my student magazine, these images below show my final colour versions of my magazine pages. I also had some problems today related to the image which I was going to use on my student magazine, the second image down shows my magazine front cover which I was going to use as my final front cover. Although, when I printed the front cover with this image of the group of students the image quality was not very good, as the original image itself was affected by the sunlight and this affected the image with the sunlight within it and once I printed the image it was not very clear. Therefore I tried to resolve this problem by changing the contrast of the image, but this still didn't improve the image quality, so I decided to go back to my original image of the two students and I decided to include the group image at the bottom of the front cover. I chose this front cover as the image quality was much clearer and I could also include a smaller version of the group image which showed both genders, which is who the student magazine needs to appeal to. My final front cover is also responding to the feedback I was given last week, I have enlarged the image and from the clients opinion I have kept the image of the students at the bottom of the cover and I therefore believe my final front cover will appeal to students and also parents as this is the response from my clients feedback.



Final Magazine Front Cover



Image which was not the best Quality
to use for my Final Front Cover

This is my final contents page, which I have changed in response to feedback and I have included the title down the side of the contents page as this is still clear and can be read, I believed this was more creative and interesting to read and I also think that this contents page links well with the front cover, as I have tried to keep a continuous theme through the different pages.

Final Contents Page

Below shows my final double page spread, I have finished my double page spread today and I have included the feedback from the client and students from yesterday and the change in the colour of the writing helps the text stand out and is clearer and I have also included the block colour behind the '5 Steps to Applying for University' which is eye catching.



Final Double Page Spread



Overall I am very happy with my Final Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread as I have carried out a lot of research from the beginning of the assignment into the elements surrounding magazines and I have created a original and unique front cover, contents page and double page spread, I have gained feedback from the target audience on their opinion on my final pages and I can therefore see how I could improve if I were to repeat this project.

Week 30: Contents Page and Double Page Spread Progress

Today I have continued to complete my double page spread, I have also been given feedback from both the client and the target audience of students about my double page spread, I have nearly completed my double page spread today and I have had feedback from a student about her view on my double page spread. The changes which I have made today to my article is that I have changed the colour of the article writing to black, as from a students feedback they said that there was too much red within the article, which I did believe was true and the black text breaks the article up and I think this does work better. I also received feedback from the client and he said he liked the layout which I had with the images in the centre of the double page, I was also shown how to make the quality of my photos better, by using the Curves in Photoshop tool to create a well balanced colour image, the screenshot below shows the curve which is commonly used when using this tool to edit and enhance an image within Photoshop.




Curves Tool in Photoshop

 

This image below shows my nearly completed double page spread, I have changed the layout and included the main article on student life on the first page, with the second page I have added the interview to the left and an additional box at the bottom of the page with 5 Steps to Applying for University. I think the layout of my double page spread is now clear and eye catching and included an article and contents which will appeal to both students and parents and potential advertisers, I think I have now completed my double page spread and I will ask my primary target audience of students tomorrow to complete a questionnaire for feedback on how I could potentially improve my magazine pages if I were to repeat this project.

Double Page Spread

 I have now completed my Contents Page for my student magazine, I have changed the title within the contents page, I have decided to place the title down the left hand side of the page and I changed the opacity of the font to make it faded, I thought having the title at the side of the page is because I thought this is more eye catching. I have also added an introduction message into the magazine which tells the reader what it within the issue and I have also added the website at the bottom of the page, and I have done the same on my double page spread in the corners of the pages.

Tomorrow I will ask my target audience to fill out a questionnaire on my 3 different magazine pages and I can therefore see their feedback and see whether the pages do appeal to them as the target audience.



Contents Page



Week 29: Responding to Feedback

Today in lesson I was given feedback on my Magazine Pages, this has helped me in improving my student magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread.
Front Cover
The feedback on my front cover which I have taken on board and have started to add this feedback into my final front cover:
Layout: I was given feedback on the layout of my front cover first and this was because the cover which I had created had a white band at the top of the magazine with the masthead and the features within the magazine. The reason why I had the features at the top of the cover is because I thought the image was being covered by the features and I believed this layout looked more imaginative. From my feedback on this layout I have therefore enlarged the main image on the cover, I believe this does work well as it is larger and emphasises the point and clearly shows this is a student magazine. I have also used the band which I had across the page, but from feedback I have slightly slanted and rotated them so this looks more visually appealing and eye catching for the target audience, I have used one of these bands at the top of the cover, with the Issue Number and Issue Date and I have also used two along the bottom of the cover with the contents of the magazine included within them. I believe this layout is eye catching and creative as the contents text is not over the image, but is still clear of what is included within the magazine, this image below also shows that I have enlarged the image and this definitely emphasises that this is a student magazine.
Masthead: I also received feedback on the masthead I had created for my student magazine, I was struggling with creating an eye catching and creative masthead with the name of my student magazine, Students United, therefore Simon gave me feedback and helped me in coming up with a new masthead, a point which was mentioned was that my first final masthead was not clear as the writing could not be read properly. Therefore I created a new masthead using the same colour scheme but made it more creative, by having the S and U sideways facing each other with the name Students United in the middle is much clearer and eye catching.
Colours: Another aspect which was mentioned was that I had used too much red within the magazine front cover, I do think I used too many shades of red within the front cover, and I have therefore kept the colour scheme to two shades of red and white, as this looks clean and the colours help each other stand out on the cover.




Responding to Feedback: Front Cover


 I have also created an alternative front cover for my student magazine and I have changed the image on the cover, and I believe this image works well, as does my other front cover, but this image shows both genders and a group of students which represents student life well. I hope to ask my target audience next week which cover appeals to them as a student, within this alternative cover I have kept the layout of the text and features the same.




Responding to Feedback: Alternative Front Cover



Contents Page

I also received feedback on my contents page the feature which was commented on was the fact that I did not need the masthead for the magazine at the top of the contents page, therefore I have taken the masthead away and I have put the title of Contents at the top, I can therefore place an image related to one of the contents within the magazine at the top with the main image. This image below shows my contents page after feedback and I will be placing an image in the red box at the top of the page.



Responding to Feedback: Contents Page



From the feedback I have been given on my magazine pages has really helped me in realising what makes a good student magazine and how I can make the layout creative to appeal to the target audience and that I have been given feedback from the client, to what they expect for the brief and that with the feedback I am hopefully full filling the brief for them. I therefore hope to carry on completing my student magazine and continue to respond to my feedback for the deadline next Friday, 8th April.

Week 29: Update on Magazine Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Today I have been continuing creating my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread for my student magazine, the images below show my magazine pages so far, for my front cover I have included the image of two students , as this clearly shows the fact that this magazine is a student magazine and that it shows how good student life is. Another image I have also included within this front cover is an image of a group of students as this shows the different genders and the different social groups within student life and this also represents the same message of student life, I have faded this image as I wanted to create the effect that this is a separate image and that it is another image representing student life. I have included the features within the magazine at the top of the magazine front cover as these are then not placed over the image and therefore the image can be seen clearly.

Front Cover

At the beginning of the week I decided to change the layout of my Contents Page, this is because from my research into existing magazine contents pages the most eye catching contents pages had each of the magazines contents under headings, such as News, Features and Regulars. Therefore I rearranged my layout and also from my analyses of magazine contents pages I found the layout was eye catching and the images were clear and that the contents layout was based around the images. I have therefore included a main image at the top of the contents page and have included other various images related to the features within the magazine and I have placed the different features under certain sections within the headings such as 'Features', this then makes it easier to read and find the feature you want to read in the magazine. For this design of the contents page I will ask for feedback from the target audience and ask how they think I can improve the contents page.



Contents Page

 Below shows my progress within making a double page spread for my student magazine, this shows how from my initial sketch I have kept to this sketch and included the main feature in the middle of the double page spread of the title in the centre with images related to the article of student life around the title. The images which I have placed on this double page spread represent student life and are clearly related to the article, within the article I have discussed student social life, education and issues surrounding students. I have also included an interview with a student about the topics I have discussed in the article and I am also writing some advice for students on what to do after college and university, their next steps for the future.
Today I have also been shown how to create columns and guidelines for text within the double page spread, this will prevent the text going off the page, therefore I will need to ensure the double page spread I am creating has the same sized columns next to each other so this looks professional.

Double Page Spread





Week 29: Contents Page Analysis and Front Page Analysis

I have analysed different Magazine Front Covers, Contents Pages and Double Page Spreads to help inspire me and help me in creating my own student magazine pages, within analysing these I looked at the colour scheme, layout, images and features.

Front Cover Analysis'

I analysed two different magazine front covers which I believe are the magazines which the target audience for my student magazine would read these magazines were NME and Vogue.

Vogue Magazine

Within this magazine front cover I analysed the image and the colour scheme as this cover featured Cheryl Cole and the colour scheme of the pastel colours worked really well with the image, as the colours which were used were pastel colours such as pinks, yellows and oranges linked in well with the image because the clothes which Cheryl is wearing is a pastel yellow. These colours work well together and the issue cover is eye catching because the whole magazine cover is linked together because of the image and the font colours.

Vogue Magazine Front Cover

NME Magazine

This is a magazine which I believe appeals more to the audience of males, as the colours used are colours which are bold and would appeal to males more than females, as the colours of the black and red work well with the theme of the issue and the font is very bold and eye catching for the main theme within this issue. The layout of this magazine appealed to me as they clearly stated the main theme for this issue, the albums of 2011 and this feature takes up the whole of the front cover and stands out, I liked the layout of the image over the main title as I think the image of the different artists is well placed on the front cover.

NME Front Cover

Contents Page Analysis'

Heat Magazine

I analysed the contents page of Heat magazine as this is a layout which I wanted to adapt for my contents page, as within this contents page they featured the main stories within the magazine and did not state every single feature within the magazine. Therefore this showed how they featured the main stories which would interest the reader and they featured these around the side of the page, under the main headings of On the Cover, 'News and Stuff', 'Features', 'Starstyle' and 'TV & Reviews', as this is a clear way of searching for a feature which you want to read about. Therefore the layout of this contents page is eye catching and clear, as they have featured an image of one of the main stories over half of the page with the contents around the left of the image to the bottom of the contents page, which is a layout which I have adapted for the design of my own contents page. I have also stated how the contents page links in with the front cover of the Heat Magazine.

Existing Heat Magazine Contents Page

Heat Magazine Front Cover

OK! Magazine

OK! Magazine has a similar layout to Heat magazine as they put their features into different sections, their sections included News, Features, Fashionista and Regulars, this showed every feature within the magazine, unlike Heat Magazine as they only highlighted some of the features. Also, the contents page linked in with the front cover, as the colour scheme which is used within the contents page is continued from the font cover, as they use the colours of red and yellow on the front page and this is used within the contents page, which shows how the two are clearly linked with each other. This contents page also featured an editors word, where she introduced the issue and explained what was within this issue the reader is about to read, also, within the contents some are highlighted in red, this is because they are featured on the front cover and this clearly shows the features on the front cover within the contents page. To me this contents page looked more like it would appeal to the older audience than teenagers as it is very formal, whereas students like to see a creative and interesting contents page to look at within a magazine.

OK! Magazine Contents Page

OK! Magazine Front Cover

Through analysing these contents pages and front covers I have learnt about how they are laid out to appeal to the reader and I have taken some of these elements on board, as I have used the Headings within my contents page with the features underneath them, I have also learnt how the contents pages and front covers link together.

Week 29: Magazine Front Cover Layout and Progress of Double Page Spread

Magazine Front Cover Layout

I have carried out completing my Student Magazine Front cover today and I have decided to change the layout slightly, as I believed the layout which I initially had with the main image as the background and the features simply placed in a simple font over the top of the image. The reason why I decided to change the layout is because I believed that with the image I had I could change the layout to make it more appealing to the audience of students and that I didn't have to just place the features within the magazine over top the image like other magazines, therefore I decided to make the front cover clear but original, I have kept my original masthead in the top corner of the magazine, as I was happy that this would appeal to the target audience because of its meaning of the fact that this font is used for iPod and will therefore be recognised strongly by the target audience.

I gained feedback from my target audience of a student about the layout and I was happy that they agreed that the front cover needed to be more eye catching and creative. Therefore I decided to make the image smaller which also bought the image back to its original size so it did not look stretched, I made a space at the top of the magazine for the masthead to be placed and also I decided to have the contents of the magazine at the top which made it unique as most magazines feature their contents on the image between the middle and bottom of the magazine and I believe this looks more unique to have the features at the top.

Another reason why I placed the contents at the top is because the contents were being placed over top the image and covering up the image which did not make the magazine front cover clear, I also duplicated the different contents at the top of the page and changed the opacity of the text so it look eye catching and creative as though the contents text was being shadowed. I also placed a band across to separate the image and the masthead, and this works well as it includes the issue number, website and issue date, the main image is the same image on my original front cover design, but I have adjusted the contrast and tone of the image to make it stand out, I also placed another original image over this image as it shows what student life is about and the two images work well together. I will also need to create my masthead in Illustrator as this will better quality as it is a Vector Image which is the graphic which most magazines use on their front cover for their masthead.




Old, Original Front Cover






















Sketch of New Layout



New Magazine Front Cover Layout in Photoshop

 

















Double Page Spread
I have also been working on my Double Page Spread Article, my double page spread article is focusing on Student Life, I have completed the article and I am in the process of putting my article together with the images and the article itself. I have researched into the font size and font which is used on articles and I have found out that an article average font size is 8-10, therefore I have used the font size of 10 but I have found that my article does not fit the whole of the double page, therefore I need to complete the article, some ideas which I have had to complete the article is to include a mini interview with student about student life and the issues I have discussed within the article. Below shows an image of my double page spread so far and I have used the layout shown on my initial sketch, of the images placed in the middle of the double page with the title, as this is eye catching and interesting to read. Next I will complete the article as this is a problem I will need to overcome to be able to complete the double page spread on student life.

Double Page Spread in Photoshop

I now also need to gain feedback from a wider target audience of both students and parents on my front cover, contents page and double page spread, and also the client, as I am making the product for the client so it needs to be to their standards as I am creating a new magazine idea for them and for the target audience.



Week 29: New Masthead Design and New Contents Page Layout

I have created a new masthead for my magazine front cover, I have decided to change the font which I am using for the masthead, as I believe the new font which I have chosen reflects the magazine type clearly and can be related to the target audience of the magazine more. The reason why I have chosen to create a Masthead which looks more like a logo is because this is creative and eye catching for the audience. The font I have decided to use now is Myriad Pro, which is a font which is clear and bold and will appeal to the target audience the reason I believe it does relate to the magazine and has a clear justification is because:
The font Myriad Pro was designed for the Adobe systems, which shows it can be recognised by most people who have seen the Adobe Systems. Also, the main reason why I believe this font is suitable is because the font is most well known for its use with Apple Inc, and is used as the iPod font and this is well recognised by everyone who is interested and owns an iPod. I believe that this font will be eye catching to the target audience of Students because this is the audience who will own an iPod and recognise the font. This shows that the font which I will feature on my front cover is relevant to the target audience and is a clear font which they will recognise.



New Contents Page Layout

I have researched into existing Contents Pages and I may reconsider the layout of my Student Magazine Contents Page, I hope to gain feedback on my contents page I have created first to see whether I should change the layout. As I researched into existing contents pages such as Heat Magazine and OK! Magazine, from analysing these different contents pages I have gained different ideas for the layout of my magazine contents page. I have decided to create an original layout combining features from the layouts of these magazines, as both these magazines have contents pages which are laid out with headings for the different features within the magazine, which is an element I am going to feature on my magazine contents page, as I believe this is a clear way for the reader to see what is exactly in the magazine. Below shows an image of my sketch for my new contents page layout .



Sketch of New Contents Page Layout



Week 29: Update of Creating my Magazine Pages

The progress of creating my Student Magazine, Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread, I am meeting my deadlines on my production schedule and have completed all of the research which I need to carry out to be able to create my own magazine pages for this assignment. The research which I have carried out so far is Primary Research, of creating a questionnaire for my target audience to complete in relation to what they believe makes a good student magazine, research into existing student magazines and similar products, research into graphic trends for 2011. I have also completed a report on graphic file formats for Photoshop and Illustrator and Research into the Typography and Magazine Conventions with different effects, created for typography within Adobe Illustrator. I have completed contents page and front cover analysis' on existing magazines, research into existing double page spreads, the target audience of my student magazine, budget and health and safety considerations. By completing the research stage I was able to complete my initial ideas and sketches with the layout of my pages and this included the name of my magazine, the colour scheme, the features which I will include within my magazine and the font I would use for my magazine.
I then was able to consider the images which I wanted to use within my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread, as I had sketched my pages I was able to see how many and what type of images I would need for my magazine pages, I considered the 4 different pages for my magazine and I have generated my own images for my magazine, therefore they are all original images. The images which I have taken includes an image for my front cover, student related images for my double page spread on Student Life, Different Images for the features on my Contents Page including images for Careers Advice, The Main Article Image, Travel and Film and Music Reviews, some of the images I have taken are shown below. I have started to create my final front cover and contents page and worked from my sketches for the designs, I am hoping to complete these two pages and then work on my article for my double page spread as I now have all the images I need to created my magazine pages.

Creating My Magazine Front Cover

Since Friday I have started to create my final student magazine front cover, I have worked from my sketches to create my magazine front cover I have used the images which are shown above within my pages and on the front cover I have used the main image of the two students laughing as I believed this showed student life clearly, and showed how good student life is. Below shows the initial sketch which I have worked from and I have continued with the colour scheme of red, the image below my sketch shows the first stages of my final front cover, which is in the same layout as my sketch, I am still working on the front cover and are hoping to continue with the simple but effective layout for the student magazine.



Initial Sketch of Student Magazine



My Own Student Magazine Design

Week 28: Creative Mastheads for my Student Magazine

Today I have learnt about the importance of fonts within magazines and Graphic Design, we have been introduced into the fact that I now have to research into the font which I would be using for my masthead on my magazine front cover. On Wednesday I changed my font to a font within Photoshop which I believed would make the masthead more original, although the font I chose was Blue Highway Condensed Font, and the history behind this font was that it is used for road signs and does not send the right message for a student magazine, therefore I decided to change my font. The meaning behind the font is very important as if someone did look into the font which I had featured for my masthead and the meaning was not related to students as this is the magazine I am creating it would not make sense and is not linked in any way to students.
Justification of Font Chosen
Therefore I decided to research into my initial font idea which was the font of Dream Orphans, although the meaning behind this font was that it is a casual and homemade, which is not the message which I believe should be related to a student magazine which I am creating, therefore I found an extra font which had been adapted from Dream Orphans and is Dream Orphanage. The history behind this font is that it has been used within professional works and compared to Dream Orphans, this font is a lot more professional and bolder font, which I believe is a valid reason as to why this font is suitable as it is used within professional works such as magazines and graphic design. This font was from dafont.com, as these are free fonts and this does not break any copyright, therefore I am able to download the font as it is free and use it within my work, so I can then put the font into Illustrator to create a Vector Graphic which is better quality than a graphic within Photoshop.

Creating Masthead and Potential Logo
As I was using a free and existing font I wanted to still make the masthead unique and original, I have been shown how to create an original masthead on Wednesday with the different effects such as the different coloured text being overlapped to create an effect. Today I was shown how to make my Masthead unique and not just two words spread across the top of the magazine, therefore I had experimented with different designs with the font Dream Orphanage, below shows my different designs and I will continue to create different and possible designs for my masthead, but these are the mastheads which I have created so far for my magazine Students United. My favourite design is the S hanging onto the U, as this is an abbreviation of my magazine name and shows creativity, it is simple but effective for a masthead and logo.

Designs for my Magazine Masthead

I will continue to design my masthead and possibly find a font which clearly shows the meaning of Students, but I believe that the font I have and the designs I have created will appeal to students and that the meaning of Dream Orphanage is clear and that it is used within Professional works. I can therefore put the skills and knowledge I have gained from the Photoshop workshop on Wednesday with the skills I have learnt today to create my own, original masthead.

Week 28: Sketches for my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Below shows my initial sketches in colour for my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread, these sketches show clearly how I plan to lay out my page for my student magazine.

Front Cover: This shows the main title at the top to the left hand side, with the website underneath the main title, the main image of a student in the centre which will become the background of front cover, with the header for the main article featured over top the image, the features shown on the front cover will also be placed over top the image. The colour scheme of the magazine is Red, as I am using different shades of red within the magazine.



Sketch of Front Cover


Contents Page: This sketch shows the layout of my contents page and shows the main features within the magazine and there are images at the side of each feature and these images will have the page numbers for the feature at the bottom of the images. The reason why I decided to feature images alongside the features is because this is the layout which is used on the iPod touch and is how magazines are seen on there, with an image related to the story, therefore students will be familiar with the layout.


Sketch of Contents Page


Double Page Spread: For my double page spread I am featuring an article on student life, I have decided to create a double page spread which is unusual and not just an article with a few images placed in between the text to break it up. Therefore I have decided to place the title in the middle of the double page spread and have images related to student life placed around this title, and the article itself written around the feature within the middle. I believe this is different and would appeal to students as the main title is within the middle of the page which is not usually seen within normal articles.

Sketch of Double Page Spread

Week 28: Images for my Student Magazine

I have started to consider the images which I will be using within my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread, I will be using original images for my magazine pages, I have captured some images already and I am using some images which I have taken in the past related to student life. I have taken images for my front cover and it will be featuring a student and it will show different words related to student life, these will be creative words, with some words being backwards, some being smaller, the reason why I want to use different words within different styles is because I believe this will represent student life for the front cover and make the cover appealing to the audience. The images which will be included within my Contents Page are images which are related to the features within the magazine, I have already taken some images for the contents page, I have also included some images which I have taken in the past, as they are still my images I am able to use them within the magazine pages, for example for the travel section on the contents page I am featuring an image of Disney Land as this shows a destination and is related to travel.
I still need to complete taking my images, as I am creating an article on student life I need many different images related to student life and some of the images I have already are of students, students studying, events such as concerts, at work, partying and an image of chichester college. As I believe all these images are related to student life and with the magazine article having the title in the middle of the double page spread with all the different images around the title and with the title this shows what the images are showing clearly. By the end of the week I hope to have taken all my images, but for now I am able to work with the images I have got as these are the most important images, for my front cover and contents page, as for the article I can place boxes where the images will go to be able to edit and add the images in when I have taken them.

Week 28: Magazine Front Covers Analysis

Before I start to create my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread for a new student magazine I have to carry out research into the way in which a good magazine pages are created, I have started to analyse different front cover magazines and this will therefore help me in what features are vital to be included within a magazine front cover. I have deconstructed two existing student magazines and I have analysed a magazine front cover and a contents page, within the front cover I have stated the colours, the fonts, the layout of the features, the features included, images and textures used. This has helped me in understanding the layout of magazine front covers and how they can appeal to the target audience of students, I have also seen how they use different fonts to show different features within the magazine, and how they have used a different font and enlarged the text for the main story is by the main image. From analysing this front cover I can now go into more depth about the magazine front covers and start to consider conventions for my own magazine, this includes:

• How may layers I will use within my magazine and how many are used within existing magazines.
• How the image can be used for the background and that the other features on the magazine can be placed over or under parts of the main image, I will also be able to get ideas from existing magazine front covers to see how they have laid out their image with the rest of the magazine front cover.
• The title for my magazine will need to be a Vector Graphic as this is better quality, as within most magazines they use vector graphics as these have better quality than raster graphics.
• The title within some existing magazines I have briefly looked at had the image over the font which shows that some magazines are so well known they do not need to have their title showing completely and that the image can over power the magazine. This could be a layout idea I could consider but I believe within a student magazine which is a new magazine the title needs to be clear to the target audience to be able to recognise it within the first few issues.
• Images at an angle: Existing magazines also use the effect of putting images with effects at an angle which is effective as this gives the front cover an 'edge' and makes it more interesting to look at. 

Contents Page
I also analysed a Contents Page from a Student Magazine and I have looked at the layout of the Contents Page and how they lay out certain features within the contents, such as images, the contents and page numbers and editors comments. I will also be researching into the conventions used within creating a contents page in more depth during the week, as this will also help me in understanding what 'makes' a contents page and how it will be creative and appealing to the target audience of students.


Contents Page and Front Cover Analysis


















I will now research in magazine front covers and contents page the different points I have explained above in more detail and research into the different features I need to consider when I create my magazine pages.

Week 27: Pitch Completed

Today I presented my pitch and this included all the information which I needed to represent my own initial and unique Idea for my magazine, this included my colour scheme, my chosen font and title, my sketches of my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread, an explanation on my double page spread story and my market research results from my questionnaire on my target audience. I believe that I delivered all the required information and contents within my pitch for the client, as I explained to them what I believe my magazine will show and what it will look like and how it would appeal to the target audience. If I were to make an improvement to my pitch I would have liked to have been more confident as when I was reading out my pitch my speech was not clear, therefore I would hope to gain more confidence for my pitch to be vocally clear.
Now that I have completed my pitch, I may have to make changes to my magazine idea, as the client will be able to discuss any changes which I may need to make to my magazine idea, if I do need to make changes I would make them next week so I can start to create my magazine products. I will create a new production schedule showing the deadlines which I will need to make for the production stage in creating my magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread, as next week I can start creating my magazine idea.

Week 27: Initial Ideas: Sketches, Font and Colour Scheme

I have been creating my pitch for my idea for a new student magazine, creating the front cover, double page spread and contents page, I have included a lot of information on my idea for my student magazine, this includes the colour scheme, font and name, mood board and sketches of my initial idea.

I have firstly shown my mood board for my colour scheme of red, which shows the different shades of red and also shows the types of fonts which I could consider using for my student magazine, them being bold and in the colour of red. Within this mood board it also shows the colour white, this is because I wanted to use this colour with the Red as they work well together and help each other stand out, also my target audience thought that these colours work well together within a student magazine. Also within this mood board shows the features which would be included within my student magazine and would appeal to students, including music, events, competitions, fashion and career news.  



My Colour Scheme Mood Board





I have also decided on the font which I will use for my Student Magazine name, as my name for the magazine is Students United, I have considered different styles for my title for my magazine and I have decided on the font from dafont.com called dream orphans, this is a font which I believe is bold and looks 'sophisticated' for a student magazine but at the same time will appeal to the target audience of students. I have also added colour to this font and by using the block colour behind the main font I believe helps the font stand out and become bolder from the rest of the front cover. This could be the colours which I may use, although the Honeysuckle colour which is in 'trend' I believe is too feminine and therefore I believe the image which shows the use of the red background with the white writing works really well and stands out clearly.

Although, this is not my own original font therefore I will need to create my own masthead for my final magazine front cover, therefore I hope to keep a similar font and find a similar font in Photoshop to create my original image.

Chosen Font for Title of Magazine: Dream Orphans from dafont.com





Colour Scheme added to Chosen Font

Sketches of Front Cover and Contents Page

These are my initial sketches of my contents page and front cover, this shows the layout of the pages.

Front Cover Sketch

Contents Page Sketch

 I now need to concentrate on completing my double page spread sketch, so I therefore have an idea of how I want the pages to be laid out to be eye catching.

Week 27: Project Update and Research into Colour Schemes and Graphic Design Trends

I have completed part of my  production schedule up to this date and the tasks which I have completed on my Production Schedule are the Skills Profile, Contingency Plan, Mood board, Market Research of a Questionnaire for my Target Audience, Research into Existing Student Magazines and I have started to complete my write up of research into the trends within Graphic Design, I have also started to sketch my initial idea for my Student Magazine.

Initial Ideas Mood Board showing existing magazines, features and colour schemes

I have researched into the 'trends' within graphic design for 2011 and this includes the colour schemes, typography and layout for graphic design, which could relate to my new student magazine.

Colour Schemes
I researched into the different colour schemes which are in trend within print and graphic design for 2011 and this gave me inspiration for the colours which I can consider and choose for my student magazine, the colours which are in trend are pale but bright colours, therefore I had in mind the colour scheme of red for my student magazine and I found a shade of red which is in trend and this colour is a really light shade of red called Honeysuckle. I will use 3 different shades of red within my magazine as these are colours which will work well with each other and as pale colours are in trend for graphic design I will use lighter colours as these are colours which will therefore appeal to my audience through the student magazine.



Colour Scheme











Layout

I also researched into the layout of magazines, how they appear on devices such as the iPad and iPod Touch, as websites appear different on these devices as they do on the Internet or within a hard copy of the magazine. Therefore by researching into these different layouts on the iPad this has gave me information on how students may be viewing the magazines via these different devices and therefore I could get inspiration from these websites, such as the image below which shows a magazine on the iPod and this shows the magazine on the iPod touch and shows an image related to the story which is featured. This layout may therefore appeal to the target audience of students and this is a layout which I am considering for my Contents Page, of have an image related to each feature beside the contents on the page, as this is what the target audience are used to.



Layout of a Magazine Website on an iPod Touch



Typography

I have also learnt about Typography over the past week, as I have been introduced to Typography as Modern Font is known as Sans Serif and Old Fashioned font is known as Serif Font, as every font falls into these two categories of Serif and Sans Serif. I have also researched into the fonts within graphic design and how creative they are, as this shows how you can incoporate patterns into the font and how you can create a font within a certain subject. Every font represents a meaning and within creating a magazine front cover, double page spread and contents page I need to choose the fonts which will appeal to the target audience and will catch their attention.