2. My Front Cover
• When I started my
first draft of my front
cover, I kept referring
to my layouts and
designs that I made
before hand so that I
could get things to
look exactly as I
wanted them.
3. Choosing The Cover Image
• I decided to edit my favourite photos and then
test them out by putting them on the cover
and seeing what I liked best. Here are the ones
I considered but didn’t pick.
5. My cover
• Here is a step by step showing of how I
created my cover
6. • First I moved the image
around until I felt it was
in the right position.
• I wanted there to be
enough space above
and below the image so
I could evenly spread
other information.
7. • I looked back at my
plan and I originally
wanted a slanted
banner across the
page to display
information.
• I also incorporated the
hint of light blue into
the banner.
8. • I then I put in the
information that I
used in my plan and
I’ve used Photoshop
to make the fonts
different.
• I also tilted the text
boxes to fit the
slanted banner.
9. • Next I did the band
logo which, again, I
tried to make just like
the one I had drawn.
• And the same with the
Exclusive Interview
sign which, at first, I
decided to place under
the banner.
10. • In my plan I had a small
section of dotted red to
put a bit more colour
into the page.
11. • I then made the
font look just like
my plan by
changing the width
and height of the
letters on
photoshop.
12. • I then added the
‘inside’ to fit with my
plan. I put a back drop
shadow effect to make
it stand out more.
• I decided to more the
Exclusive Interview
because it looked a bit
out of place at the
bottom.
13. • I then saw that there
was a space above the
Nimbus logo and
thought something
needs to be there so I
made a tagline for the
magazine.
14. • I then inserted 2 of my
own pictures of the
bands mentioned on
the cover. Other
pictures are often
seen on covers of
magazines so I think it
makes it look more
professional.
16. • Here I moved my main
pieces from the
Microsoft publisher
document to the
Photoshop document.
This gave me a starting
point but I wanted to
make it more
professional.
17. • I decided that the large
gaps in the picture
banner looked
unprofessional, so I
moved them to the side.
Then, to make it clear
what picture was what, I
put the words over the
top of the corresponding
pictures. This also meant
I had to change some of
the fonts slightly to
make them stand out
like using a shadow or
back drop.
18. • I then put in
another picture of
mine from a
concert and used
a glow and
transparency
effect on the fonts
I was putting over
the picture.
19. • My next problem
was that there were
gaps between the
pictures and banner
lines because I
couldn’t get the to
rotate all exactly the
same, so I thickened
the lines and moved
them in front of the
pictures.
20. • After looking at the banner again, I decided that I
didn’t like the thick banner because it looked slightly
unprofessional so I thinned them down.
• My next dilemma was that,
in my last draft, I put
information in different
places with different fonts
and it looked quite messy
and I got comments about
it so I tried a completely
different idea to make it
look neater and more
attractive.
21. • I started by moving the Nimbus sign to make
more room to pack more information onto my
cover.
• My aim was to attract customers and a way I
have seen this done is by using the same font
but different sizes, and use band/artist names
to attract fans.
22. • Here I added a
barcode, price and
date at the bottom
of my page.
• I think it is neater
when its smaller
and fits perfectly
into the gap at the
bottom.
23. • I managed to find
things that fit in
perfectly as I reduced
the font size.
• I think it makes it
look more inviting
and like the customer
is getting good value
for money.
24. Audience Feedback
• I conducted another piece of audience research and
asked people about my cover at this point as I was
happy with this finished draft.
• The audience feedback on my cover that said I should
make the picture smaller so that I could fit a main
cover line on my page.
• I decided that when I reduced the image size it looked
too insignificant and wouldn’t be eye-catching to an
audience. However I agreed that I needed a cover line
like a normal magazine and some feedback also said
that it was too text heavy at this point.
25. Solution
• When figuring out how to solve this problem I
thought it may be better if I changes the main
image all together allowing me space for my
main cover lines.
• The picture I decided on also includes
instruments which makes it even more
obvious that it is a music magazine.
26. • Another piece of feedback
suggested to me was that I
increase the size of my
masthead to make it more
important-looking on the
page.
• This meant I had to move
my ‘exclusive interview’ so
that it also had some
significance on the page.
• Also, moving it next to the
Nimbus logo makes it
more obvious that the
interview is of them.
27. • Following the
colour scheme, I
made the titles
bigger and brighter
with extra
information, in
smaller black font.
This draws the
reader in then
gives them the
information.
• I continued with
this theme and
then, gradually
with smaller
fonts, mentioned
more artists to
attract fans of
them to read the
magazine. I have
now got main
cover lines and
less text.
28. • I then inserted a plug as, in my
magazine research I often
found these on the cover
pages.
• The first magazine we looked
at was Kerrang and on this
cover, it had a plug.
• I thinned the blue
banner lines as I
think it makes them
look less tacky and
over whelming on
the page.
29.
30. Here are some other ways I have
edited pictures for my magazine.
