The document describes the process of designing a magazine cover in 5 stages. At each stage, the designer makes refinements based on feedback and research. By stage 5, additional sell lines and graphics are added to make the cover more visually appealing and informative for the target audience. The final design prominently features an upcoming independent film as the main story, with additional articles on popular franchises and an exclusive competition.

1. ILLICIT OBSESSION
MAGAZINE COVER
THE PROCESS
Georgina Gilbey
A2 Media Studies

2. ORIGINAL IMAGES USED
Character: Anon Character: Connor Character: Alice

3. STAGE 1
At the first stage I had decided on my main image,
masthead, main sell line and other small basic
details. I used a slightly different image of Anon as
I wanted to show the prop gun to communicate the
theme of crime and match the main sell line’s
tagline (“Inside the realm of British cult crime”).
The name of my magazine is ‘Cinematic’. I chose
this because it clearly communicates the genre of
the magazine to the target audience whilst
sounding sophisticated.
I also added the issue number and date, choosing
October 2017 as this is the month in which Illicit
Obsession is due to be released.

4. STAGE 2
I then showed the design as it was at stage 1 to a friend
who recommended that I brighten up the image of Alice so
she wasn’t fading into the background as much. I did so
and added my first three additional sell lines. I researched
upcoming films in 2017 and found Thor: Ragnarok and
Blade Runner 2047 (plus Suicide Squad 2, although it is
expected in 2018).
Rather than simply having these titles on the page, I
decided to add some tag lines to clarify the focus of the
articles and give the target audience a better idea of what
kind of content they can expect. For instance, the tag line
for Suicide Squad 2 is “The next franchise fated to flop?”,
a rhetorical question that both invites the reader in and
shows that the magazine isn’t only featuring mainstream
band-wagon like subjects and instead engages in debate
(this also justifies featuring a small independent film such
as Illicit Obsession in the main sell line).

5. STAGE 3
I changed the secondary font to a more
condensed style (‘Gill Sans MT Condensed’) so I
would have more space for extra sell lines and
graphics such as the circle on the left. I added a
sell line on the left about the upcoming film The
Snowman which stars Michael Fassbender (this
would get attention from more mainstream
audiences as he is a high-profile actor).
I made a circular graphic above the sell lines as
they are usually used to advertise an exclusive
to the target audience, a technique I saw
frequently during my magazine research. In
terms of design, I chose the colour red for the
graphic and used my primary and secondary
fonts so I could create a consistent house style.

6. STAGE 4
I made more sell lines for the right of the cover to
even up the layout and make the page more ‘busy’,
as it implies to the audience that it is good value for
money because there is so much content. I changed
the circular graphic slightly by changing the fonts
and sizing because I decided the font effects I
initially chose didn’t match the rest of the page.
After this, I added a skyline banner that promotes a
competition to win entrance to the 2017 Justice
League film premiere in Denmark, as this can act as
another USP (Unique Selling Point) to persuade the
target audience to purchase this magazine.
Finally, I added the barcode and price (£2.99) in the
bottom-right corner.

7. STAGE 5
Lastly, I changed the size of the
main sell line slightly as I thought
it needed to be more prominent
and eye-catching. I also increased
the size of the circular graphic and
moved the additional sell lines on
the left nearer the bottom of the
cover to make everything more
equally spaced. It was at this point
that, after getting some feedback
from fellow Media Studies
students and my group, I decided
the magazine cover was complete.