The front cover

In this week I am planning on creating my cover using the image of me and my friend Alice. I have chosen this picture because I though I would base my magazine on student party's. This is a good image to use because at the time me and my friend were having a party to begin with.

I have decided to do my layout like this because most common magazines have a layout similar to mine. As it says on the banner/headline/masthead it shall say "Student life". I'm not sure what text style I shall use because I have no idea what ones are available, however I will make sure that the writing is hybrid. To do this I will find a text style that has a range of colours that stands out.
My main headline by the side of my picture will be called "The after life of the party". I have given it this name because it, makes you feel curious in wondering what the topic is on about, is it complaining about partying, giving advice, or in support I might name this as an exclusive but I'm not too sure it will be very good for this topic.










This is my first front cover that I have created, Ive chosen a basic colour scheme because I didn't want to over crowd the page so that you would get distracted by the different font range and writing. I think I'm going to do a few more, using the same image to see what I think is the best.




This is my second cover that I have created. I think this one was lot better than the first because it feels more lively most likely because of the add of colour, but I still feel like it's missing something. I'm a little annoyed that my pictures has'nt come out that well and that the captions are a too small to read.
However I happy to the fact that its a suitable image and that the main story based around the picture is easy to read.
I have decided that this will be my final idea but it will have some more information such as the price.















This was my third go at changing the cover. In this cover I wanted to make it seem less crowded so by doing this I change the title to now be portrait, I also wanted to get more of the picture involved. This does not seem as good as the other pictures. I just wanted to see what it would look like and see what other people thought.

I have found some images that will be good for my front cover and have chosen various ones to compare to:

The first image, is of me and my friend Alice. This image was not really planned for this magazine. How ever I thought it was good for my magazine cover. I felt it was a good choice because it shows students having fun and a good laugh and is eye catching. However the contrast doesn't work very well and he fact the camera was loose made the image look a bit blurry.

I think this image would'nt be that great because you can see my friend Ryan in the back of the shot. Also you would have to stretch it.

Next week I am planning on doing a photo shoot, with the help of some friends to get the perfect shot. Again I will research other magazines and discuss with people what they think is appropriate.
So far this week I have sorted my blog, discussed names and ideas for what is already out there, and research magazines.
My tasks for next week are to finish my sections of blogs add in images, come up with a name, get my photo done. This weekend get my doodles out and attempt on a front cover that will posted when completed.
I will post various pictures of students in medium close ups, and decide what will be added. Again I will research the most common things on the headings, and use this to my standards.

Week 1-Research

In the first week as I said I was going to do research on teenage/student magazines. I have done a bit of this in lesson time and will research some more online.

The magazine I was given to study was called "E.C.T" (Education. Training. Careers.). When I first had a look at the cover I didn't notice the little heading, just the part saying "ETC". To be honest I thought the name was made to suggest there's a point to everything but sometimes it take too long to explain so its to take a short cut. The cover has various colourful cartoon characters, the main subject of this weeks issue was on alcohol.
The main topic/title was sentenced 'Alcohol' the font is merged very well into the background and was the only part (apart from the background) that wasn't colourful. I felt the reason they did this was because they know what the target audience are like and want to warn them about the danger of drinking, but it uses comical characters to make it seem fun and not nagging.
Another reason I think the magazine has little cartoon characters on the front page is because if you use images of the target audience (Teenagers) in a drunk state, then people will get the wrong impression and think its all related to drinking and where all the best local.

What I will do in the 4 weeks

So to being with I have been set a task to create the front cover of a new student magazine and the contense page. Anyway so I now have 4 weeks of prep time to organise this so here is what I am planning to do.


Week 1: RESEARCH! To help see what the Target audience is into, what is already out there. I will also start to think of various designs, the name and what will attract the target audience.

Week 2: Gather information for a questionnaire, topics that I should advertise on the front cover. Photo shoots and decide what sort of image I want for the front cover. (I have to remember that the picture must be in a medium close up)

Week 3: Start drafting for my final idea, until I think I have a break through.

Week 4: THE FINAL WEEK. Finish my final idea, and check over and over again, such as my spellings and have I kept up to date with my blog. Also write and evaluation giving my thought and ideas and just why I have done things to a certain standard.

So that is my plan I have a feeling I can keep on track with all this. I really can't wait to get started. Please drop a comment if you like giving advice on what I could do to improve E.G.polls on what the magazine name should be.