Media Music Magazine Evaluation - Question 1

Contents Page Step-by-Step

   

Here I started by making different layers to make certain layers on top of others in the correct order. I then changed the text "I'm back!" to be on two different lines so that the 'BOLD" font stood out more but also so that the rest of the text was all on the same line and not separated. 

After I had finished with the top half of my contents page I decided that the bottom half needed to be eye catching and colourful and so I chose the bold colour of neon green as it stands out and text is still visible when layered on top. In addition I also added social media contacts so that the readers could keep up to date and follow us for more news!

 However, after a while I got tired of the green and whilst looking at other magazines of all genres I found that using such big chunks of bold colours would not be professional and so I got rid of that and many little spots of a range of colours and sizes to fill the white space in random positions.

 I also added more photos to make my magazine look like more of a pop magazine however to do this I also had to move around the the layers again in the column on the right. 

Here I used this column to switch layers and add new ones too. Making sure that everything was is the correct area as a common mistake I made was having some of the spots or dots in front of the page numbers which made them unseen. The main story of Vanessa consists of 7 layers in total which needed to be in the correct order so the everything was seen.

The image displayed on the right is the box that I used to change the space/spacing/size of the text used in all three pages made for this project. Overall I used over three different types font that were all sans serif and mostly all text was coloured black. I found that this was strange in comparison to professional music magazines as they use a range of coloured fonts in different sizes and styles.

Front Cover Step-by-Step

I realised that many magazines use buttons or stars on their front covers and I thought this would be a good idea to use. So I grabbed an image off of google and removed the background using the quick selection tool which makes the image transferable onto any background.

I then drew up some guidelines to help me find the centre of the page by going to 'view' > 'new guide' > 'horizontal' > 'ok' and repeated this for the 'vertical' line. Secondly, I 'clicked' the 'ellipse tool' and changed the shape to 'path' and selected the centre of the circle. I had to change the size of the text circle multiple times to find the right size. As well as with the size of the text. Once selecting the text tool I placed it over the text path to show a wavy line before typing out the text I wanted.

 Once I had edited the photo, I selected the image I wanted to use, using the 'quick selection tool' to highlight the part of the image I wanted.

When that was cut out, I placed the image on a new page.

After I had finished writing out all the headlines I concluded that this layout and the colour scheme was way too formal which would not appeal to the target audience.

 And so I decided to start all over again by changing fonts, colours including the position of layers.

 I continued to change the colour of the background including the changing of colours behind the text to make it stand out and make it bolder. But some parts of the text did not sit properly and so I moved them around until it looked correct.

 I found out how to use shapes by watching YouTube Tutorials and created stars making the magazine look more decorative and 'teen' like to appeal to young teenagers.

After shifting a lot of text and buttons I created new sections, completing the finishing touches and checking that all the fundamentals such as barcodes, issue number and prices were included.

DPS Step-by-Step

Through out making my music magazine project I have taken screenshots of my progress throughout the journey of developing my skills on photoshop as I have changed the image and look of my DPS over the period I have made these pages.

To make the Masthead go behind the top of Vanessa's head I had to select the pen tool and highlight the part that I wanted to be behind and add it to a new layer as the picture is all one background. Once this was done I then moved the part selected over the masthead in line with the rest of the picture so that you could not realise a difference.

Here I made the title look a bit 3D with the effect of a shadow by moving the cursor around to create a shadow or glow effect called drop shadow.

Using the clone stamp tool I removed parts of the imported picture frame I found off Google to remove any watermarks left by the person who uploaded it and closed the gaps that showed a distance between the picture and frame.

One thing that I found challenging was trying to aline the text on either sides and the enlarger quote. Using a ruler to measure the width I soon found out they were not equally which I changed immediately.

I also used tools such as 'set the leading' and 'set the tracking for the selected character' to change the length of the lines and distance between the lines as well to make them equal but also professional.

I decided that my Double Page Spread (DPS) still looked rather boring and so I decided to make the first letter much larger than the rest highlighting it with a yellow spot. I believe that this is what started to bring my DPS to life and look more professional and not as formal as it is for young teenagers. 

Front Cover Final

Here is my final Front Cover upload as I have edited all the little conventional parts such as which layers should be in front of each other, in the interest of making my project look better and more professional. I have swapped the headlines, banners and buttons around multiple times to ensure that they will fit best around the main image so that the front cover does not look cluttered or messy.

Contents Page Final

Here is my Final contents page. I have changed the layout, design and colours many times since I have first started to which I think looks more like a professional magazine now, than all the previous drafts before. Since the last draft I have made pictures bigger, and social media advertisements smaller. I like the spots of changing colours and sizes to make the page look more full and colourful as well as more appealing for younger children and teenagers.

DPS Final

This is my final edit as I feel like this is very professional looking of a pop magazine. Since my last dps draft I have added more colour, adding picture frames, logos, and page numbers. This makes the article more appealing for a younger audience and not as formal or serious as a newspaper.