This document provides a comparison of the preliminary products created by the author for a college magazine assignment versus the final products created for an indie music magazine. For the preliminary products, elements like the masthead, main image, color scheme, plug, fonts, layout, and lack of skyline/footer were basic and unconventional. The final products showed more sophisticated and professional design choices across all elements that better represented the target audience and genre. These included a simpler masthead, improved main image with lighting and posing, coordinated color scheme, more appealing plug placement and design, varied yet cohesive fonts, balanced layout, and addition of a header to grab attention.

1. Convention PreliminaryProducts Final Products Justification/Development
Masthead Positionedinthe toplefthand
side of the page,whichis fairly
conventional. The fontwastaken
froma fontgeneratorwebsiteon
the internetandfroma distance
the complexityof itsappearance
may make the mastheadhardto
read.
Mastheadwas createdthrough
Photoshop.Usesconventional
typographyandcolourscheme for
the genre.It’spositionedtothe top
of the screenhowevertakesupthe
entire widthof the page.
My mastheadonmyfinal front
coverwas more sophisticated.It
betterrepresenteditstarget
audience andalsousedthe
contrastingcoloursof blackand
white insteadof the brightyellow
seeninthe college magazine
masthead.
Main Image No directmode of address
established,inconsistencywithin
the lightinganduninteresting
pose.Little editingwithinthe
colourshoweverpartsof the
image have beenremovedinan
attemptto make the background
lesscomplicated.The mainimage
takesup the whole page,andacts
as the backgroundfor the entire
frontcover.
Establishesdirectmode of address
withthe readersthroughdirecteye
contact. Lightingisconsistent
throughoutthe photo,andthe
increasedcontrastmeansthe main
image reallystands outfromthe
white background.Significant
adaptationshave beenmade
withinPhotoshop,withchangedof
colour,saturationandbrightness
as well asthe improved
complexionthatthe coverstar
displays.Interestingpose whichis
lessformulaic.
The main image onmy frontcover
looksformore professional,and
standsout meaningreadersare
more likelytobuythe magazine.I
learntthat eye contactwas
essential ingrabbingthe reader’s
attention.A seriouspose suitedthe
genre of my magazine andthe
pose itself wasslightlymore
interestingthanthatshownon the
college magazine.Bothre
examplesof mediumclose up
shots.
Colourscheme There appearsto be no
coordinatedcolourscheme.The
backgroundisdesaturatedand
displaysasepiatone.The feature
storiesare a varietyof colours
and do notmatch togetherinan
organisedorcreative way.Bright
coloursprobablysuitedforthe
target audience asitwasa
college magazine.
Black,white,pink,yellow andblue
are seenthroughoutmyproducts.
Althoughthese coloursmaynotbe
totallyconventional,theywork
togetherina waythat makesthe
contentvisuallyinterestingwhilst
alsomaintainingaprofessional
appeal,andnot lookinglikea
children’smagazine.The black,
white andredusedwithinthe
mastheaditself are very
representative of the indierock
genre.
I feel the coloursusedinmyfinal
productsworktogetherwell and
that the inclusionof acolour
scheme throughoutthe three
productsis vital.The yellow maybe
consideredmore of amasculine
colourwiththe pinkbeing
consideredmore of afeminine
colour.However,mymagazine
usesan array of coloursas it
choosestoavoidthe traditional
colours associatedwithmasculinity
and femininityasmytarget
demographicisyoungand
therefore perhapsmore open
mindedtocreative freedom.
Plug Large oval shape positioned
unconventionallyinthe bottom
leftof the magazine.Un-
necessarilylarge andsomewhat
uninterestingwithaboringuse of
colours.
Placedtowardsthe topleftof the
screen,lessintrusive of the
backgroundand more appropriate
size andshape.The colourslinkin
withothersonthe page and the
textismore appealingwithbright
outline andstroke effects.The
visual appearance of the
typographyismore interesting
withchangesinthe size and font.
The plugis far more effectiveon
my final frontcoveranddoesn’t
lookout of place withthe restof
the magazinesfeatures.Ilearnt
that a plughas to be catchy and
therefore drasticallyimprovedthe
wayin whichisdesignedthem
frommy preliminarytasktomy
final products.

2. Fonts The fontson my frontcoverare
all the same,but capitalisation is
usedinattemptto highlight
certainwords,howeveritisused
inan irrational mannerand
doesn’tseemeffective.
UsingPhotoshop,myfonts are
more visuallyappealingtothe
reader.The fontsare consistent
throughoutthe frontcover,
althoughmaybe emboldenedor
editeddifferentlytocreate a more
visuallyinterestingcomposition.
The size and lookof the fontson
my initial tasklookedverysimilar
throughoutthe whole page.
However,myfinal frontcover
displaysdifferentsizesandspacing
gradientstomake the more
importantfeaturesstandoutina
subtle way.
Layout Extremelybasicwithvery
conventional featuressucha
skyline andheadermissing
completely.Coverfeaturesdown
one side withthe otherside
lookingverybare.
Layout isorganisedandfollowsa
structure withcontentsurrounding
the mainimage,without
obstructingittoo much.Textis
made to fill the space onthe cover,
and cohesivelylinkswiththe main
image to create a visuallyintriguing
composition.Contentisheavy,
howeverthe page doesnotfeel
overcrowded.
The front coverof mypreliminary
college magazine wasfartoobasic
and manywouldargue itis barely
recognisable asajustifiable
magazine frontcover.IknewI had
to make my musicmagazine cover
far more contentfocused,however
I feel Iachievedagoodbalance
betweenbeingtoobasicandtoo
complex.
Skyline and
footer
My preliminary magazinefront
coverdisplayedneitheraskyline
nor footer.Thisledtoa verybasic
cover,and ledtoa verypoor
qualityfinish.
My musicmagazine coverdisplays
a header.The colourof the header
contraststhe backgroundand
makesthe headerstandout.The
headercontainscontentwhichis
heavilyiconicof the indie genre,
helpingtoestablishanareaof
interestforthe readersandgrab
people’s attention.
My preliminary taskshowedno
headeror footer. Thismeantthe
coverwas visuallylessappealing.
On the otherhand,my music
magazine displaysaheader
specificallytoserve the purpose of
grabbingthe reader’sattention
and drawingfocusto the restof
the magazine.Idecidednotto
include footerinmymagazine
because the informationthe footer
wouldcontainwasdisplayedina
differentformonthe page.
However,myprelimamrytaskhad
no alternative toeitherof the
features.
Secondary
Images
My preliminarytaskshowedno
otherimagesonthe front cover
page.
My musicmagazine alsoshowed
no otherphotographyonits front
cover.
Thiswas a consciousdecision,
especiallyformymusicmagazine,
as I tookinspirationfrom
magazinessuchas Q where the
mainimage isthe onlyimage.This
placesmore emphasisonthe main
image.

3. Background The main image isspreadacross
the entirelyof the page,meaning
the backgroundinthe medium
close upof the coverstar iswhat
makesup the backgroundof the
magazine.Ifeltthiswascreative
as the time,howeverthe
complexityof the background
make the texthard to readand
perhaps made the whole
magazine lookslightly
amateurish.
The backgroundfor my magazine
was totallywhite.Thiscontrasted
withthe colourful textandalsothe
brightblue colourpresentinthe
mainimage.
Conventionally,afrontcoverof a
magazine displaysamediumclose
up photowhichisplacedona plain
background.Therefore,Ifeelthe
backgroundof my musicmagazine
frontcover wasmore conventional,
and allowedmymainimage to
standout more.
Photography
Props No propswhere usedinanyof
the photographsI tookto use for
my preliminary task.Iwas
unaware of the effectivenessof
themat the time.
No propswhere usedonmyfront
cover,howeveraguitarwas used
on mydouble page spread.A guitar
representsthe genre of music,and
isa commonprop seenthroughout
existingproductswithinthe Indie
rock genre.
Priorto creatingmy music
magazine,Idecidedtoresearchthe
use of propswithinexisting
magazinesof the same genre. Ifelt
thiswouldmake mymagazine
more attractive to my target
audience.
Camera The photoswere takenfrommy
phone at the time whichwasan
iPhone 5.
The photosfor my double page
spreadwhere takenwithmynewer
phone,the iPhone 6s.
Afterconcludingthata physical
camera wasproblematicandless
convenient,Iestablishedmy
iPhone tookgoodenoughquality
photosto use for myfinal media
products.ObviouslyasIupgraded
my phone model,the qualityof the
imageswentupslightly.
Sharpness The image was outof focusand
noticeablyblurry.
The imagesseeninmyproducts
are all infocusand not blurry.This
ledto a more professional looking
magazine.
The advancements inhardware
helpedthe sharpnessof myphotos
improve;howeverI became more
patientwhentakingthe photosfor
my final products,andtherefore
the consistencyof themimproved
greatly.
Framing The image was a mediumclose
up withthe modelsshoulders
beingcutoff at the bottomof the
page.
My image forthe frontcover was
alsoa mediumclose up.Thiswas
conventional of manymusic
magazines.
The image on my final frontcover
was muchlarger,and filledthe
space more effectivelywhen
comparedto the mainimage on
the front coverof the college
magazine.
Mise-En-Scene
Costume The magazine model waswearing
a white t shirtand a leather
jacket. Little emphasiswasplaced
uponthe costume inthe
preliminarytaskdue tothe
editingwhichdidn’tmake itstand
out.The costume alsohaslimited
visibilitywithverylittleof it
actuallyshownof the frontcover.
My final frontcovermakesthe
costume almostunrecognisable,
withthe editingmakingthe
clothingpurelyblack.Onthe other
hand,my otherproductssuch as
contentspage and DPSshow many
examplesof conventional clothing
such a denimjacketsandleather
jackets.
I feltthe clothingchoiceshadtobe
thoughtaboutgreatlybefore the
creationof my products.In my
opinion,the clothinghadtobe
representative of the genre and
currentartist – there was a distinct
lack of emphasisinmypreliminary
tasks.

4. Hair The hair of myfemale model in
my firstcoverwasn’tgivenany
thought.
The hair of mycover star isone
whichisreasonablycommonin
today’sworld.Thismakesthe main
image more relatable tomyyoung
demographicasyoungadultsand
teenagersare mostlikelyveryup
to date withcurrent fashion
trends.My coverstar also had
facial hair,helpinghimfulfil the
male stereotype of ruff andrugged.
Whenchoosingmymodelsformy
products,I realisedIneededa
range of haircutsinorder to
representcurrentartists,wholike
to lookunique inordertogain
publicityandappeardifferentfrom
otherartists.The hair of an
individualonmycontentspage
was made deliberatelymessyto
reflectthe pose he wasup taking;
hishair wasmessy,perhaps
alludingtoa more confrontational
personality. Thiswasalsohintedat
inthe correspondingtext.
Facial
Expressions
The model wassmilingandalso
had hereyesclosed.Thisdidn’t
make for a professionappeal,but
the smile wassomewhat
representative of college life,asa
college magazine wouldwant to
promote college assomewhere
enjoyable.
The cover star wasveryseriousand
displayedanalmostomniscient
look.Thiswasmore relatable to
the target audience,whoviewrock
and roll as a serioussubject.
I found,whenresearchingexisting
indie rock magazines,thatfacial
expressionswhereveryoftenlight
heartedandmore serious.Thisis
how in mytransitiontosmiley
model toserious,somewhat
arrogant lookingmodel.