1. Development Diary
Front cover
I started my Front cover by choosing the image that I would use from those
that I had taken in my photo shoot. The image below is the original image.
From here I flipped the image horizontally
using Photoshop so that the image could
be positioned better on the page, the
model was facing the majority of the
coverlines and it ensured that the image
was similar to the one that I used for my
mock up.
This screen print to the right shows the
steps that I took to flip the image so
that it cold be positioned better on the
page.
This is what the original image
looked like once it had been flipped
horizontally. I had also edited this
image so that it was a bit brighter
than the original as I felt that it
shows some of the detail of the
image more clearly. To do this, I
adjusted the brightness using
Photoshop.
2. I then placed the title of my magazine and the slogan onto the page. I chose
this position, as it is a genre convention to place the title at the top of the
page. I also feel that it will enable readers to be able to see and read the title
once the magazines have been stacked on the shelves in shops. I created my
title on Dafont.com, which allows you to select a font of your choice and
create works using this font. I print screened the final image and copied and
pasted it into Photoshop. From here I used the magic ant tool to select the
letters and cut it from one document to my front cover.
This shows the screen print that I took from dafont. The second screen print
shows that I have copied and pasted the image into the document and have
used the magic wand tool to select the letters that I want to keep.
This screen print shows the title and slogan in place on the front cover. I
created the slogan using the text tool feature that is on Photoshop.
3. I then began to create the coverlines for the front cover.
I decided to place the corresponding Coverline to the
double page spread at the top of the page as this is the
area that will be noticed first and will be seen on shelves
in shops when stacked which will draw some reader‟s
attention.
I chose to place the coverlines down the left hand side of
the page, as again they will be able to be seen when
stacked on shelves in shops. This will help to persuade
some people to buy the magazine due to being able to
see what the main features of this issue is; if a particular
article grabs their attention, they will be more likely to
buy the magazine.
I used two different colours for the Coverline to help the
readers to distinguish between the title and the
descriptor, and to make some features such as the „10‟
on the bottom coverline stand out. I chose pink and
white give the feminine touch to the magazine that I was
trying to achieve as I have a higher ratio of women as
my target audience. I also feel they work well as they
provide contrast to the background.
I then placed the
barcode, price, issue
date and strapline at
the bottom of the
page.
I chose to position the strapline at the bottom of the page instead of the top
as I wanted the title and slogan to be the main focus for the top of the page. I
also believe that due to having extra coverlines in my strapline, they may be
seen as less important than the other coverlines therefore by placing them at
the bottom, they will not be noticed until the potential reader picks up the
magazine. I chose to place the barcode in the bottom right hand corner along
with the price and the issue number and date as this is a convention of
magazines. I also believe that by placing it in a corner, it will allow readers to
be able to quickly find the price.
Finally I placed the insert for my magazine along the right
hand side of the page as I felt that I needed a feature on
this side. I feel that it works well as it has plenty of space
around it, which will allow readers to easily spot it.
4. This is my final front cover for my magazine. I feel that the main image works
well with the cover lines as she is facing them, however, she is in a position
where adequate space around them has been provided, as well as allowing the
image to have „breathing space‟. I feel that the pink and white stand out on
the green background due to the high contrast between them. This ensures
that the cover lines can be read from a distance which is applicable and
necessary when the magazine is placed on a shelve in a shop as readers will
be able to be attracted to the magazine from a distance. I feel that the pink
reinforces the feminine feel to the magazine that I was trying to achieve.
5. Contents Page
I started my contents page by firstly creating the „I‟ for the logo of the
magazine, which appears in the top left hand corner. I created the title of my
magazine on Dafont.co.uk which is a
website that allows you to type words in a
font of your choice. I chose „Inpregnable‟ as
my typography as I felt that it suited the
target audience and genre of my magazine. I then cropped the image above
so that it contained only the „I‟ which I needed for the logo that I placed at the
top of my contents page as readers tend to notice features on the top half of
the page and the corners of the page.
I then inserted the rest of the
text for the title of the page
as well as inserting the date
and an issue number to allow the readers to know the date and number of the
current issue that they‟re reading.
I decided to make the font for the names of the 5 listing at the top of the page
bigger as well as including an image as these articles will link to the coverlines
on the front cover, which will be what attract the audience, as well as
convincing them to
buy the magazine
meaning that readers
will want to quickly
locate where about in
the magazine these
articles are; therefore I
have placed these at
the top of the page
with an image to
attract the readers
attention. Due to not
yet having taken the
photos for my contents page, I inserted boxes in the size and position of the
images that I will insert after. However, I also included the page number, a
place for the name of the article and room for the descriptors of these articles
to ensure that I had left enough space on the page for them as well as
ensuring they would be in proportion with the rest of the features included on
the page. I feel that by having large and bold page numbers for the top 5
articles, it makes them stand out to the reader so that they take notice of
them.
6. I then inserted a shape with pink fill to form the
background of the text box for my editor‟s word. I
included the logo of the magazine again at the top of the
box to re-enforce branding of the magazine and to
continue with the theme of using the logo followed by the
title and then a line underneath. I adjusted the weight of
the line so that it was slightly thinner than the line under
the title of the page due to it underlining a smaller font in
a smaller space.
I then started to create the listings for my
magazine. I decided to group the listings
under „regulars‟ which arearticles that will
appear in every issue, or „In this week‟s issue‟
which includes articles that are only present
in this specific issue. I felt this was necessary
because it allows readers to easily locate the
article they are looking for. I chose to make
the listings capitalised, in a larger font and in
pink to allow the reader to easily spot the
listings on the page as well as allowing them
to differentiate between the descriptors
which are in black, sentence case and a
smaller font. I also feel that readers will only
read the listings to see what the overall topic
is about and will then only go on to read the
descriptor if that particular listing has caught
their interest and appeals to their particular interests.
This is the particular setting that I used for my
listings.
This is the particular
setting that I used for
the descriptors.
7. I then got to this stage of
creating my contents page.
Once I had taken the photos for my magazine, I edited them and placed them
into position on my contents page. I chose to have quite highly contrasted
images as this was the chosen style from my questionnaire. I feel that this
style also allows for the image to stand out more and for the detail in them to
be seen more clearly.
8. This is my completed contents page. I chose to only have 3 images on my
contents page as I felt there were too many for the size space. I decided that I
would replace these images with a staff box as this too is a feature of
magazines, which I fill will fit due to this being the first edition of the
magazine. I continued the pink box with line and “I” so that the branding of
the magazine was consistent and so that the page looked balanced.
9. Double Page Spread
I started by placing a box where I wanted
one of the images to be positioned. I chose
the left hand side of the first page as I felt
that it acted as a border to the article as well
as being in a position that the reader will
easily notice it.
I decided to use an “L” that was the height of
the page as my drop cap as I felt it provided
variety from the standard drop cap that most
magazines use. I feel that is also draws the
readers attention to this part of the page
which is where the article starts. I also feel
that it works well with the image and the
body copy as it acts as a break between the
two.
To do this, I increased the size of the font to so that it
was significantly larger than the rest of the text on
the page to ensure that it stood out.
In terms of the title, the drop cap work for both the body copy and the title of
the article. I chose to use the name of the artist as the title as I feel that
readers who are just flicking through the magazine will easily be able to tell
whom the article is about. Morkes and Neilson stated that from their research,
they found that 79% of people only skim read the page. This reinforces my
choice of location for the drop cap and choice of the title of the article as they
are in a position where they can easily be seen and noticed when scanning the
page.
I then started on the columns for
my page. I decided to have 3
columns on the page, as this is a
convention for magazines. I feel
that it ensures that the text isn‟t too
dense and allows readers to easily
follow it. It also allows the reader to
have a good idea of the text
direction, as typically in magazines,
where one column ends, it will
continue at the top of the next.
I chose to place the second image
at the top of this page as again it
can easily been seen and noticed by
the reader when flicking through. I
feel that it will grab the reader‟s
attention for this reason.
10. I decided to place my pull quote about half
way down within the middle column on the
second page as it allows for the reader to
find out the most dramatic part of the story
which when read whilst the reader is flicking
through, it will persuade them to read the
article due to wanting to know more about
the pull quote. I feel that this was a good
place within the article for the pull quote, as
it will help the readers to remain focused on the article and persuade them to
continue reading. I decided to place the lines and quote marks around the
quote as if eel it makes it stand out from the rest of the body copy and clearly
symbolizes to the reader that it is a quote from the article.
I included a gutter
along the bottom of
my page to allow
space for the page
number and the date
of the issue. I felt that
this contextualizes the
piece by giving it a
date stamp so that the
reader knows what date of issue they are reading, or when the magazine was
released if they were to read it back at a later date. I feel that the bottom of
the page was the best position for this as it can clearly be seen and due to it
being in one of the corners, it is the typical place for people to look for page
numbers etc as this is a genre convention for magazines.
I also included an end blob at the bottom right hand corner to symbolize that
it is the end of the article so that the reader doesn‟t turn over the page
expecting there to be more on this article. I chose to use the „I‟ from the
magazines logo as again it continues with the branding of the magazine as
well as sticking with conventions as I have used this „I” elsewhere through the
magazine, for example, on the editors word box and the staff box.
In terms of my stand first, I felt that by including
a rhetorical question, it would persuade the
reader to read the article to fin out the answer. I
decided to make the font different and larger for
this so that it stood pout from the rest of the
page. By using different colours for her name, it
makes it easy for the reader to spot her name,
which will give the reader some indication as to
who the article is about. I also placed the Byline underneath this as it instantly
tells the reader who has written the article before they have started reading it.
I feel this I s a better place than at the end of the article as by then, the
reader may have had enough of reading and not read the byline. By making
„words‟ in pink, it again draws the reader‟s attention to this area, which
increases chances of this being read.
11. This is my completed double page spread. I decided to make the text in the
columns justified as I feel that it makes the overall appearance of the page
tidier and makes the guttering in-
between each column clearer. This is also
a genre convention of magazines so I
chose to adopt this format.
To do this, I used the paragraph format
tools on Photoshop.
I included captions on the images to tell the audience whom they were taken
by, and give a brief description of what is happening in the photo. By giving
the name of the photographer, it allows them to be given credit for their work.