Muisc Magazine Cover Construction

For constructing my magazine front cover I used the image that majority of my audience feedback liked the best. I used Photoshop as the software to construct my magazine. This is my first draft...

I took my main image and began to alter her lips and eyes, as these are the features that I wanted within the image to stand out. I did this by simply using a magic wand tool with the shift key to highlight all the area around her lips I wanted to make more vibrant. I then used the same tool for the eyes and made the contrast and brightness a little lighter to make the whites of the models eyes stand out. 

I then went online and searched for LDC Fonts, I was able to find the font I wanted and using the command, alt and 4 key I screen grabbed it and put it straight onto Photoshop. I then altered the colour, out glow and noise of the font and placed it using the move tool top the top right corner of the magazine. I also added in small lines in the form of a heart beat to correlate with my slogan - 'it's all about the beat' behind the red text.

I then added in two barcodes for the magazine which i placed on the bottom right hand corner (smart device code) and the other vertical on the left hand side. I then looked at the LCD Font i used for my masthead and incorporated that into my slogan. I altered the text slightly by using the magic wand tool and the key shift to highlight all and use the FX option to make the text have a slight  outer glow to make it stand out from the image behind. 

I then got more fonts from online and manipulated them to be different colours and set them all around the image. I then decided to make the masthead the whole way across the top of the cover and also add in some social media icons for marketing the magazine. I then continued to get different fonts and add them in. I wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome of my magazine as it did not have the professional seamless look I was going for.    

I then undertook more audience feedback by asking my fellow media classmates on their thoughts. The majority said the image was great however the crazy use of bright colours were distracting and different use of fonts was slightly tacky and childish. I then went back to Photoshop and began re-editing my whole cover design. I decided to go with my feedback and stick to four main colours - white, red, black and grey.

  Second draft of my magazine front cover...

For re-drafting my second cover page, It was much simpler as I only had a few things to change. I decided to make a change within the font of the mast head, I did this because the new font i have chosen 'rexland' is far more professional and slick looking compared to the robot like LCD font I originally chose. I also changed the entire colour scheme to be based on white, red, black and grey. This will help achieve the seamless look I desire for the magazine. 

I kept the same ima but made it larger so it would fit the whole A4 cover page. I then added in my new masthead font and made the text go across the whole page. This draft I also added in a skyline, I received feedback from my target audience that this would grab their attention more if it were stacked in a shop therefore it only seemed appropriate to add one in. I stuck with the 'heartbeat' theme as I believe it correlates well with my masthead title and the slogan. 

I then began to add in more text to fill up my magazine cover. I decided to keep the font of my slogan in the LCD font as in some aspects I wanted to keep to my original plans. I then added in boxes behind my cover lines, I think it makes the text easier to see and more eye catching, I liked this feature as I was inspired by a cover created by Q magazine who also made use of the coloured text boxes. I then added in my barcodes and social media icons on the bottom left hand side vertically standing as I didn't want to follow the normal codes and conventions of having the barcode plain and horizontal at the bottom right hand corner.  

This was my end result. 

Audience Feedback interview

After I gathered my results I devised a questionnaire for to interview my friend Anna on what she thought of the images chosen. These were the answers I received... 


Out of all of the choices for Cover, Contents and Double Page Spread images which would you choose?
Personally I really like cover page one as the model is looking directly into the readers eyes, it's really good... It kinda draws me in more. I also love cover three, its so different and the colouring of the black and white with the dash of colour is really clever! I would also choose contents two as the long shot shows us what type of genre the artist is into. And I really like DPS 2 as it shows the artist at work which is always something a fan wants to see; there fav artists making music!!


Do you think the quality of the images are good?
Yes, they are excellent!


What would you rate all the images out of 10?
A solid 8, as there could have been more experimentation even though you did use a range from long shots at high angles to mid and close ups, it would have been interesting to see what a low angled shot would look like.

Overall thoughts? Anything quick to add?
I really like these photographs and I think they are different and quirkey! I also like the pose of when the girl is lying down listening to the music as it gives a really cool, chilled out vibe which is appealing for someone my age (17). But I think more artists should be included like on the contents page just to make it a bit more interesting.

Main Images for Pulse Magazine

From my audience feedback I was able to receive 8 responses from my fellow classmates who have a deep understanding of music magazines and their conventions. In the end the most popular chose was Cover image 1, Contents image 2 and Double Page image 3. Personally I am not sure on these choices as these are quite normal conventions for any magazine whereas I wanted to create something different, however it was great to find out what people thought of my images. 

Photograph Feedback - Padlet

Created with Padlet

I was able to gather audience feedback by using the online system of Padlet - a easy way to create and collaborate. After shooting and editing my images I put up a selection which I personally liked and asked my target audience of young people to choose which one they preferred.I was then able to post this Padlet onto my personal Facebook page to get a wider audience response.

Photoshoot Plan - Cover, Contents and DPS

Inspiration for main images within my magazine

By researching online I came across these images, I really love the way they are filtered black and white with the splash of colour, i really hope to include this feature for my images within my music magazine.

Flat Plans for my music magazine

 For creating my ideas fro the cover, contents and dps I personally wanted to hand draw my ideas, I believe that over a computer I could not portray these ideas over electronically and thought it would be easier to understand if I did it myself. I have drawn quick sketches to illustrate what I would like my magazine to have as a house style and USP.

Cover Page - The magazine will be called "Pulse" followed by the slogan "It's all about the beat" which has clever connotation of heartbeat but also beasts within music. The masthead will be placed at the top left hand corner in keeping with normal conventions of a magazine. It will be in futuristic font called LCD and another typeface called Urban DJ, this font is quirky and cool which will give a fresh vibe to a never before seen brand which will instantly be locked in the readers mind when they see it on shop shelves. I will add one main image to the cover page of a female artist.  I will shoot her as a close up looking directly into the camera on a white backdrop and the image will be filtered to be black and white, however the artists lips will be altered to be in colour to make certain elements of the image standout.  I will only add one puff, one cover line and one main pull quote as I don't want my readers to be overwhelmed with information on the front. I want my USP to be plain simple to give a vibe of tidy, contemporary and laid back which will suit my target audience. All other text used within the cover will have standard Times New Roman typeface to not over complicate things however they will be put in different colours to make them stand out from the black and white main image.

Contents Page - My contents page will be correlating with my cover page due to the same colouring of text and same typefaces. I wanted my magazine to have some different elements which did not follow the 'norm' when it comes to magazine however I did try and stay close to the usual codes and conventions of magazines as I feel they have a more polished look which I want to achieve within this magazine. Page numbers and sub titles will be scattered throughout the contents as I do want to put a lot more information on this page as the cover is quite bare, images will also be anchored to give visual understanding to the feature. However there will be one large main image on the right hand side of my feature artist which again will be in black and white with splashes of colour. I want this to be my unique house style that readers will find to recognise. The font for the title of "PULSE - CONTENTS" will be in Virtual DJ font and then simply Times New Roman. All other text that follows or anchors will be in Times new Roman but maybe with bold on the first word to make it stand out.

Double Page Spread - Although quite simplistic here my double page spread will be simplistic, chic and very easy to follow. My main colours I will be using is Grey, Coral Red and a colour which is Blue Violet based. The start will be a pull quote and the contents will be an interview and throughout the question and answer session I will have the question either in bold font or perhaps a different colour to again make it easy for my reader to differentiate question from answer. The main image will take up around 60% of the first page, it will be of the artist again in black and white with elements of colour as I want this to be a running theme for the artist and my magazine house style.