Evaluation q7 - music magazine

1. How domastheadsof your final productdiffertothe school magazine (pre-lim),whateffectsand
layouthave youusedand why?
Thisis the mastheadIhave usedfor my magazine finishedfrontcover;incontrastto the school
magazine isthattheyare usingdifferentsoftware.The firstimage withthe vertical textillustrates
the balance of the wordson topof eachother.It isnot professional oreffective.However,in
comparisontomy secondexample isa substantial improvementintermsof layout,design and
positioning.The mastheadstandsoutfromthe page significantlytoputacross the brandrecognition
of the magazine.The fontIusedfor mypre-limwassansserif andlookedsoftersmalleranddidn’t
have the desirededge Iwaslookingfor.Incontrastto my serif fontformy full frontcoverhas been
made boldto expressthe dominatingeffectthe mastheadshouldhave.Ihave usedthe effectof
stroke to emphasise thiseffectonthe frontcover.I have alsoaddeda tagline toput an extraedge
on the masthead.
The variationbetweenthe twocoverimagesisasignificantcontrast.Thisismainlybecause of the
locationof the photographand the attitude beingportrayed.Withthe preliminaryitisobviousit
was takenwitha more contemporarysettingandcolourscomparedtothe more urbanisedlook and
coloursof the frontcover.Alsothere isa lack of natural lightfromthe school magcomparedto the
warm colourand vibrancyof the real mag cover.Anotheraspectto the image isthe positioningof
the model inbothof these images.The aimof the preliminarywastohave an image of a normal
pupil fromthe school to portraythe story inthe magazine,andwiththe image notbeingmuch
focuseditwouldnotbe suitable forthe minimaliststyleof myfrontcover. In contrastthe front
coverimage neededtoportraythe attitude of the genre andbe focusedbecause of the importance
of the image onthistype of mag cover.Theyare fillingupmostof the page to geta connectionwith
the audience;theyare alsoslightlyangledtocreate more interestingperspective of the character.
Lookingat the two tasksyoucan see Ihave changedmy mindinwhat designIwantedtouse for my
contentspage.OriginallyIwantedtouse twoimagesto portraythe coverlinesbut insteadendedup
using3 images thatI puteffectsoninstead.The preliminarydoesn’thave the rightlayoutstructure
or magazine conventionsandsoI made thisa prioritywhenthinkingof mymaincontentspage.By
usingthe fadesonthe image andadjustingthe opacityof it,itmade the whole contentslookmore
professional.AswellasthisI triedtofocuson the layoutof the coverlinesonthe page more thanin
the preliminarywiththe design.Idecidedtoaddgraphicsto make the page more vibrantand
attractive to the eye andby doingitmade the magazine have amore organisedfeel toit.
The use of fontson myfront coverdiffersmassivelyfromthe onesusedonmypreliminary.Thisis
evidentinthe preliminarywhenIusedbasicsansserif fontinsteadattemptingtoexploreandfinda
betterfontreflectingthe magazine.IncomparisonIusedaserif inmyreal magazine frontcover
whichallowedme tokeepaconsistenthouse style,Ialsousedthissame fontandstylingforthe
masthead.Anotheraspectonthe frontcoverwas I changedwasin the sense of capital letters.I
decidedtouse all capital lettersonthe coverlinesandmainstoryon my real one to emphasise the
storiesevenmore.Incomparisononthe pre-limtheyquite blandandweren’teasyonthe eye for
the readers.The coloursof the fontsbetweenthe twomagazinesIhave changedbecause Idecided
to go witha more traditional house style onthe real magazine thatIknow works(red,black,white).
Thisin contrastto the pre-limwhenIusedmainlyyellow andblue whichmade the whole magazine
looksveryunprofessionaltosaythe least.The differenceof mycontentspage andpre-limcontents
page is substantial.Ihave usedmore stylishfontsonthe eye throughdafonttohelpthe page stand
out more for whatit is.Incomparisonthe pre-limwastooblandinthe sense of the textbecause it
was juststandardMicrosofttextwithno character tooit. My contentlaidoutdifferentlyfromthe
preliminarybecause Irecognisedthe conventionsneededtomake a goodcontentspage suchthe

2. organisationof it.Thisissaidof the imagesbecause the original ideawastohave two images
relatingtothe storiesonofferbutinsteadIwentfor 3 to imagesincrease appealtothe magazine.I
didthisso I couldclearlyportraythe genre of the magazine throughthe modelsattitudeinthe
image.Alsothe inclusionof the mastheadbehindthe imageactingasif was onthe wall,expressesa
goodattemptat brand recognition.
Overall Ihave learntfrommy Courseworktobe able touse a range of software programstoproduce
and presentmyworkinmany differentways.Thiswill thenhelpinthe future inbeingabletonow
use these programsefficiently.AlsoIlearnthow muchit takesto produce a magazine covertocover
for the bigmediacompaniesthatdistribute thousandsof these magazinesaroundthe world.