The document describes the process taken to design the front cover of a magazine. It involved editing a photograph of an artist to be the central image, and then adding various design elements around it like the magazine title, artist name, upcoming single details. Background textures and colors were adjusted to improve visibility and fit the rock/pop theme. Conventions from other magazines were followed to create a professional looking cover design that would appeal to readers.

2. This was the edited photograph
that I decided to use for my front
cover design.
I chose to use this photograph as I
feel that it fit in with the pop-rock
theme of my magazine, as the
image is quite dark and almost
gothic-like. I also liked the
positioning of the artist within the
image; Scarlett’s face is centred in
the centre of the image, and
there is some room above her
which is good as It would be an
ideal area to place the title.
However, I disliked the way that
the artist’s hair colour blended in
with the background, so I decided
to edit the colour of the
background later on to make her
more distinguished against the
background.

3. My first step was to add my
chosen title to the image. I
decided to follow standard
magazine conventions and place
the title in the centre at the top
of the page. This is because I feel
that it will be easier for the
audience to quickly identify the
name of the magazine. I also
positioned it so that the title
stretched the width of the cover.
This was so that the cover would
appear more symmetrical and
organised. Concerning the colour,
I decided to make the title white
so that it contrasts effectively
against the dark coloured
background. Furthermore, as a
play on the words ‘A Venue’, I
changed the first letter to blue,
which I feel also added a design
element to the front cover.

4. My next step was to incorporate
the name of the artist into the
front cover design. I added
‘Scarlett’, and positioned it in a
central fashion, following the
standard conventions of a music
magazine. I feel that this placing is
beneficial as it makes the name of
the artist in the central image
known immediately, and is more
accessible to readers to
understand who the artist is. I
chose the colour scarlet to use for
the name, as it coincided with her
name. However, the contrast
between ‘Scarlett’ and the
background image was not ideal,
and so I added a Gaussian blur of
white behind the artist’s name.
This allowed it to stand out more,
and become bolder and more
eye-catching.

5. My next step in creating the
design for my front cover was to
incorporate some sort of story
and reason as to why the artist is
featured on the cover. For this, I
decided to base it with the artist
releasing an upcoming debut
single. I chose the title ‘Violet
Sky’, as it is an inspiration from
the lyrics from the band ‘In This
Moment’. I chose the colour
purple for the single title, as it
collaborated effectively with the
artist’s clothing and matched the
word ‘Violet’. I decided to add a
white band behind the writing to
increase contrast between the
writing and the background, as
they are of similar colours. I felt
that this also made the writing
more distinct and noticeable.

6. To make my front cover look more
professional, I decided to create a
single cover for the artist. I made
the image in Photoshop, and
transferred the image to my front
cover design. I confirmed that
the single name matched the
single cover, and placed it
alongside the title to display the
connection between the two. I
also decided to include a phrase;
‘Everyone has fallen for her voice’,
to highlight the artist’s new found
fame and to project to the
readers that her voice is desirable
in the music industry. I also added
a rhetorical question, ‘Will you?’,
as an incentive for the audience
to pursue and read the magazine.
Again, I chose black for this
writing, as it stood out against the
artist’s light coloured top.

7. I decided to include a features bar
at the bottom of my magazine. I
gained this idea from researching
several other magazine designs
across a number of genres, and I
discovered that this was a typical
feature associated with mainly rock
magazine’s, such as Kerrang!. I
added a black bar with a lowered
opacity so that the background
image was still slightly visible. Next,
I added ‘PLUS!’ and a range of
artist names to display other artists
that are included in the magazine.
This is beneficial for magazines, as
readers may be more inclined to
purchase a magazine if they know a
range of artists who are included
inside. I chose the main colours
blue and purple, to reflect the
colour scheme of the magazine.

8. I decided to add another
conventional feature to the
cover of my magazine by
including a posters
advertisement. I decided to
place it near the bottom of the
magazine, so that it doesn’t
draw attention away from the
main article but is still
noticeable by readers. I included
an example of an included
poster, and a bold eye-catching
circle to show that they are
posters. Again, i chose the
colour blue to go with the
theme of my magazine, and
used a contrasting black to
match the rock-pop genre of my
magazine.

9. Next, I included a barcode.
Barcode’s are essential on the
cover of a magazine, as readers
and potential customers will be
interested in the price as it may
determine whether or not they
purchase the magazine. I decided
to include the price of the
magazine and the issue number,
as I found that this information is
usually included on the barcode
of a magazine. I also situated it at
the bottom of the magazine, as
this is a standard convention of
music magazines, and by
following the conventions, the
audience will most likely know
where to look to find out the
price.

10. My next step in the progression of
my cover design was to include a
main phrase, detailing the main
theme of the issue. I chose to base
the issue on ‘the most exciting
upcoming female artists 2012’, as I
felt that this was a suitable theme
for a rock-pop magazine. It also
coincided with the artists that I
decided to photograph, and so
aided in the progression of my
magazine. I changed the design of
the word ‘Exciting’, as I felt that this
was a central word that would
benefit from being emphasised. I
also made the word ‘Female’ blue,
to match the colour scheme of my
magazine. I chose to capitalise all
the words in this phrase, as it would
help highlight that this was the
central subject that the magazine is
based on.

11. Next, I added some minor articles
onto the front of my magazine. I
chose to base these articles on
some bands and artists that are
featured within the magazine. I
chose the colour scheme of blue
and white, to follow the spectrum
of my cover design, and to
effectively contrast them against
the dark coloured background. I
capitalised the titles of each of
the articles, to further distinguish
them against the sub-text. Also, I
situated them to the right of my
magazine to balance out the
symmetrical pattern of my cover
design.

12. I decided that the background of
my front cover design was too
dark and plain for a stereotypical
rock-pop magazine. However, I
liked the contrast between the
background and the artist’s face,
as I feel that her features were
highlighted against the dark back-
drop. Therefore, I added a
photograph of a nebula to the
background of my cover in
Photoshop. I added an overlay
layer of blue to the image, to
blend the colours in a more
sophisticated fashion to
collaborate with my magazine. I
felt that the use of the nebula
added an interesting design to
the background, and it also fit in
with the theme of the artist’s
single – Violet sky.

13. The next step I took was to add a
scratch design to the background
of my image. This was because I
felt that the background of the
image was still too plain and
uninteresting for a rock-pop
magazine. Therefore, I
incorporated this scratch design
to add a different texture to the
background of my front cover
design. This also added a slight
grunge aspect to my magazine. I
added it to Photoshop and
changed the blend ding mode to
overlay and reduced the opacity
slightly. However, the nebula
background of the image did not
stand out as much as I would
have liked.

14. This the final image of my front
cover design. To combat the fact
that the nebula image did not
stand out sufficiently, I changed
its blending mode to vivid light.
This emphasised the colouring of
the stars, and enhanced the tone
of them so that they stood out
more against the scratch theme.
Also, I decided to change the
colour of the scratches image, as I
felt that it lacked colour
compared to the rest of the front
cover. To do this, I created an
overlay layer of a purple/blue
colour, and reduced its opacity to
a suitable amount. I felt that by
doing this, the background stood
out more and added a rock-pop
element to the front cover whilst
ensuring not to draw attention
away from the artist’s face.