Aims:

• To finish creating the front cover
• To make adaptions if needed
• reference all skills developed

During this project of creating a front cover, I was able to develop skills through a range of different aspects within production for example I have gained skills for working with photoshop and online platforms to create inspiration and ideas to help me further my understanding and achievement of the project.

⬇️This is the finished Front cover, it has a significant house style which is relevant to the whole project and is able to represent more than just genre, it also has a range of different topic areas that have been targeted this makes it more attractable for a larger audience and ultimately helps to become more popular and well known in the magazine industry.

Aims:

Get feedback

Edit the front cover

Feedback:

• Use only 2 colours on the front cover in terms of editing.
• Make the cover line font similar for most of them
• Make it seem more unique and not overly basic

Firstly, based of the feedback I knew I needed to make changes. For my first change it involved the Masthead, I decided that I was going to layout of the project. I started by getting the 2 main colours of the models outfit and use them as the colours to represent the house style of the piece, for this i made 2 large lines in a light shade of blue and placed them on the outside, followed by 2 smaller lines of black on the inside to even it out. I then adjusted the barcode and found a smaller more reasonable barcode which i put in the same spot, this gave me more room to work with and helped to make the front cover look neater. And finally I changed the colour of the link to black so that it was visible on the light blue background.

Furthermore, I adapted the Mastheads so that is was visible to buyers, I did this by adding black to the ‘L’ and the ‘E’ so that they stood out and didn’t blend in the with the background. This also looked more even as there is a better split of the colours.

Next I had to add back the cover lines for this cover line I made the writing more central and added it to the left of the model in the same place as it was in the other front cover.

For the cover line I used BERLIN SANS FB DEMI font and made it bold so it stood out this was the same for the line above the cover line.

Then, I added back one of the other cover lines under the models left arm. For this cover line I changed the font and size and the location.

On this cover line I changed to the font – Franklin Gothic medium. I also increased the size of the number so that it really stands out, also the use of an odd number reinforces that uniqueness and the idea of it standing out compared to other magazines which would use the conventional and easier on the eye even numbers.

Next, I added the 3rd cover line, This is placed below the previous one and covers both the lines which is different to the previous ones which have only covered the outside blue line. this cover line also shows more unique attributes in terms of underlined words and CAPS, more specifically on the ‘HIS‘.

In my opinion, I felt as though I needed to really target this idea of positive masculinity and men’s fashion in the magazine industry which happens to be why the main target comes with the underlined and CAPS of ‘HIS’. On this cover line I have used the same font as the one on top right left of the page (under the models right arm). Font: BERLIN SANS FB DEMI. This cover line includes the main aim of the cover and then a smaller debrief of writing to give a little bit of extra info on the cover line and what the buyer should expect with the purchase.

This is the same for my last cover line, I have added a smaller debrief under the cover to help the buyer. Overall between the four cover lines I have used an even split of cover which have a small debrief below and cover lines which don’t.

This cover line has the same font; it also has an imperative at the beginning of the sentence telling the reader to ‘do it his way…’ this will make them feel quite self centred and willing to follow in the footsteps of someone who has become successful and achieved what they wanted in life.

This is how the final product came out after hours of adaption, feedback and effort and I would say that there is evidence of a clear house style, and an understanding for the viewer/buyer to fully grasp what they are buying and knowing if what they have is a good buy or not.

Aims:

To add cover lines

Design the Front cover.

Firstly, I had to come up with a cover li8ne which was relatable to the genre of the magazine but also unique and stylish, something which would stick out from the others. “37 of the best streetwear brands” (photo below) . I used an odd number as it stood out more and would help to attract an audience quicker.

For this first cover line I added a drop shadow to make it bulge and almost pop out of the page as though it was communicating with the buyer. For the drop shadow I used:

Distance: 10 pixels

Spread: 39%

Size: 13 pixels

This made the cover line stand out a bit more and ultimately helped with the final production of the piece.

I used the Bradley Hand ITC font as i felt it had the most unique look and was able to help me create a more fashionable and unique product.

Below is the Photo of the front cover with the first cover line added. It has potential and shows a uniqueness which can be relatable to my target audience of men’s fashion. the cover line also links well with the colour and house style of the front cover, the black linking really nicely to the  black round neck jumper.

next i needed to add a company link to the bottom of the page so that people viewing/buying the product could be alerted to the website where they would be able to view the product virtually.

As shown by the photo below. I experimented with a few different effects to see which one would turn out the best and so that I could decide how well the link would work in comparison to the rest of the design.

Firstly, I had a look at the link without ay effects and I felt as though it was very bare and didn’t really stick out enough. I then added the bevel and emboss; I thought it looked good but needed more to really stand out and look appealing to show its uniqueness

Next, I chose to just use the drop shadow this one stood out more than the bevel and emboss but still looked very bare and though something was missing, so I combined the 2 effects to create the top link which has a combination of unique aspects and stand out qualities which help to make the product different to others within the same category.

The image below is a photo of the whole front cover with the first cover line and link to the website.

Moving on, below we have the next design element to the front cover. I decided to add a line of colour to add to the colour of the baggy jeans which the model is wearing however with a bit of feedback and re-consideration we decided against it in the end choose to not use that colour line as it doesn’t really work with the house style but for the moment we will keep it there as it helps with the creation of the next cover lines.

Also on this design element I had to add a barcode to help the buyers purchase the product. The barcode in the image above is too big for the front cover and eventually gets changed into a smaller more productive and sellable barcode.

My next addition to the front cover was a line which is there to help layout the rest of the cover lines and at the time was able to help with the design as it looked neat and unique which worked perfectly with the production of this front cover.

This is my next cover line. During the making process of this cover line, I used bold letters and a different font so that I was able to reinforce the unique aspects of men’s fashion within the magazine and so that I was able to make sure my audience were aware of my ideas and representations behind the ideas.

Below is how the cover line fitted in with the front cover and how it lined up in comparison to the rest of the front cover, I feel as though it has connotations of bold and powerful and therefore represents and foreshadows other ideas of men being powerful in society as well as understanding the world around them.

Finally the introduction of the last cover line. This cover line is all about perspective and I wanted to make the reader interested about the magazine with the cover line of someone else’s perspective. I felt as though this really signified the idea that we are with someone else and that we understand how “London” is because of him. I also want to note that the “HIM” is underlined and bold. This was incorporated to build a positive image on positive masculinity and to make men seem powerful in society, which helps to target the audience of men’s fashion.

Based on how the cover line has been added to the front cover I feel as though it adds the final details to the men’s fashion magazine and helps to fully target the idea of positive masculinity and everyone being unique in their own way. This would need some adaptation in the future but is a strong start for the main project of creating a front cover.

Aims:

To begin my front cover.

To choose a good photo from the photoshoot.

firstly, I had to select a photo, so I scanned through my photoshoot and eventually came to the conclusion that I would the one where my model has got his hands on his hat and facing diagonally left of the camera. I felt as though this photo had potential and was going to help me create a good Front cover.

Initially the lighting affected the outcome of the picture and made the decision harder when it came to choosing a photo.

In order to make the photo more clear and not have the shadow in the background I decided to put the original photo into photoshop and then cut out the image using the quick selection brush tool which i used to outline the model before pasting them onto a clean white background so that the image look neater and more pleasing on the eye. (image below is how the photo came out after using the quick selection brush tool).

I then had to decide on a name. I came up with LUXE as I felt it had strong representations of a well mannered and stylish person so i tried to make it as relatable as my target audience as I could, the audience buying the magazine would be able to improve and develop as characters into becoming this type of stereotypical person.

Moving on, when it came to publishing a stylish heading I needed to make some changes, I went with the drop shadow so that it popped out and is attention seeking to the naked eye.

Facts:

Distance 15 pixels

Spread 24%

Size 24 pixels

these gave it an extra touch and a more appealing feel compared to the photo above.

FINAL HEADING WITH DROP SHADOW APPLIED.

THIS IS HOW THE TITLE TURNED OUT IN COMPARISON TO THE REST OF THE START UP OF THE FRONT COVER.

Finally to finish off designing the beginning of the front cover I had to add a date/month which it would be published and a year.

for this i used the same effects – drop shadow, however, I changed it up a bit and made them a little less standout however still veyr visible and stand out enough for the buyers/audience to see when it was published.

Distance – 10 pixels

Spread – 39%

Size – 34 pixels

⬇️

THIS IS HOW THE START IF HTE FRONT COVER TURNED OUT.

I feel as though the colour scheme really works with the photo. more specifically the collar of my models shirt matching with the title and date.

This start should help me to develop the front cover further and eventually create a sellable Front Cover.

Aims:

To develop your production skills in relation to taking photos

To direct the model/s in a set time

To critically reflect upon your ability to link researching and planning to production work