Construction of Cover Page

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I first put the photograph into Photoshop and decided to use the entire photograph as the background and incorporate the features of my magazine onto the picture. I decided I would edit the wall part of the image later on though, as it could look much better. I added the title which was pre-made from earlier on in the task and a bar code which I found from Google. Before doing this, I edited the photograph slightly and airbrushed the model, slightly enhancing the overall image of the photograph. Other than that though, there were no further edits as I wanted it to appear more natural. The placement and layout of the features have stuck to the standard conventions of a rock magazine so far.

I then went on to create a white but semi transparent box to put text on and frame it – I did this by reducing the opacity of the box. I added ‘PLUS!’ information showing which extra bands will be featured inside the magazine – all of the band names I had to create, which was quite a time consuming process. I stuck to the theme of white, black and red here, reinforcing the rock/alternative style of the magazine. This is a typical placement for an information banner as they’re usually displayed at the bottom of magazines of all genres. I included red lightning symbols in between each artist name to separate them clearly.

I then added the main article information in a black/nearly transparent box with a bold white font – again, this was done by reducing the opacity of the box. I put this text at a slanted angle as I thought it’d make it look more appealing/interesting than it being straight - I’d also seen this a lot on magazines. This is placed on top of the model’s body, indicating that he is the ‘Logan Hendrix’ that is being talked about, ensuring that it all ties in together. I made the word ‘YOUR’ in capitals to attract readers and personalise it.

I added an issue number and the date underneath the title (which is typical of a magazine). I then added further articles beside the main one, promoting the bands inside that are ‘Peaceful Rockets’ and ‘Dream Apocalypse’, informing readers that there will be a look at their success stories and how they were ‘back in the day’. I have continued to stick to the white, black and red theme throughout this just to ensure that it’s blatantly obvious how it’s a rock/alternative magazine. The articles also fill space as I wanted very little of the background to be showing unless its the artist or guitar.

I then added a circle shape with a black background and white outline, as I thought the shape would look interesting and appealing to the audience as it captures their attention. I then included text inside it advertising the UK’s biggest festival guide – which is something I thought readers of this genre of magazine would be interested in. I then added text informing that there are 5 free posters inside – this is slanted as I wanted the magazine to have a slightly disorganised look to it as I’ve found that this is what typically is found of rock magazines. However, I would still like it to be clear to read. At this point, I think the wall makes the picture look quite boring so I decide to edit the background.

This is the final version of my magazine cover and will be the one used. I edited the background from the wall and replaced it with an image of red lightning – the image was originally green, but I changed it to make it more appropriate for the theme of my magazine. I think this works as it doesn’t look too crowded but makes it look interesting and catches the viewers eye – it contrasts well with the black and white too. I changed the opacity of the black circle here too, as I thought it looked more appealing this way.