The document describes the process of designing a magazine cover. It outlines how the author set guidelines by examining an existing magazine cover to determine text sizing and placement. An image was selected of an artist who would be the main subject. Texts were added to the cover, including the magazine title with shadowing and capitals to make it stand out. Color coding was used to represent different artists in the subtitles. Additional details like a barcode and release date were included to make the cover look realistic.

1. Process in making
the magazine cover.
Sophie Moody

2. Setting up guidelines.
Before starting on the actual design of my magazine, I first picked a cover of an actual
magazine so that I could use this as my baseline to creating my own one. I used borderlines to
outline how the texts were set up and how they were sized so mine could be done similarly
without making any mistakes. By adding borderlines also enabled me to keep all my text
boxes in line with each other so they didn’t overlap or looked disorganized. The image also
gave me inspiration into how I would place my image so that there is a large focus on the
subject and the texts did not cover the image of the artist.

3. Setting up the cover.
For the magazine cover I had taken a picture of someone who would present an artist
which would be the main subject for the music magazine.
To make sure there was a focus on the person, I managed to get a portrait of the ‘artist’
while also leaving managable spaces ( at the top and the sides) so that I could place the
title and the sub-titles on.

4. Adding the main
texts/effects.
When writing up my magazine title and sub-title I wanted to exaggerate the texts by adding definition
using a shadowing effect and capitals. Firstly I had used a shaded grey colour as the base (which will act
as a shadow) ; then placed a white text slightly over it to present the actual message. This makes the
text come out more and gives the title a more complex look rather than just a basic font. The capitals
outline each letter so that the title is the first thing a viewer notices.

5. Adding the contents of
the magazine.
In my next stages of creating my magazine I came up with a series of different sub-titles
which will represent the main topics. One of my ideas to make these topics more
relatable to the viewers was to add colour to the artists name which relates to their
identity. For example Ed Sheeran and the colour orange. (Orange represents his album
colour and his hair) therefore viewers will make the association between the two and
know which artist I am referring to. I also wrote in white as it was part of my colour
scheme and doesn’t overdo my cover with too many colours.

6. Furthermore the sub-titles
were written in capitals so
that they are bolder and
clearer to see what they
are saying. It also adds
more definition to the
texts without adding in
large amounts of effects.
This is where the
colour was added
to the name of
the artist.

7. More sub-titles

8. Adding detail.
To make my magazine look more realistic I had added a
picture of a barcode; this would contain all the relevant
information needed when someone buys the magazine.
I chose the bottom right corner and a small size for this
as it is not meant to have a large focus on it and doesn’t
take up a large area of space.

9. The main subject.
To bring focus to the artist in the picture I have added a caption which adds
more depth to who it is and why they are including in the magazine. As it is
a main topic I used the shadowing affect on the caption to exaggerate
what it says so it is one of the first things a person sees. It was also written
in capitals as I want to make what is said clear to the readers as it is an
important piece of information regarding what is included in the magazine.
I made the text a rhetorical question as it questions who it is and
captivated the readers into looking into the subject even more.

10. Final details.
In these pictures I had added the release date of the magazine which
is a main component when selling magazines. I also added a sub-caption
to the one directed at the artist as it gives more depth to
what the contents hold. This in comparison to the caption in capitals
does not have the shadowing affect; this is because it is not as
important and only continues on from what was said previously.