Final design of my front cover

This is the final design of my front cover, i have kept it quite simple whilst still including necessary information such as the name of the magazine, sub headings, a bar code, the price, a banner and a quotation which links to the photograph of Katie. I want the photograph and the name of the magazine to grab the attention of the target audience first, then the quote and the sub headings so that audience will then have a taste of whats inside the magazine. I kept the background of the banner white so that the red writting would stand out on the page and entice the potential buyer. The banner is important because the buyer might buy the magazine on impulse purely because of the chance to win tickets to V Festival and also if they don't then they will at least have a free CD and poster so they won't be dissopointed. All in all i think less is more because most people buy magazines on impulse, plus they might also be in a rush they don't want to have to stop and have to take in lots of information. If one piece of information on the page grabs their attention that interests them then the magazine is sold.

This is my final design for my contents page, i have now included the issue number and date on the magazine as well as the name of the magazine and a photo of the editor. I have adjusted the words at the bottom of the page so that they are now aligned. I like the fact that i have kept this page quite simple because the simpler the page is the better it looks. Although the contents page looks quite simple and looks like there might not be much in the magazine, it leeds the audience to believe that there is another contents page just as in Q magazine. In Q there is one contents page like mine then another one a few pages on, i think this makes the information for the audience easier to digest. I want the buyer of this magazine to be drawn to the list of contents and the large image of Katie. The image of Katie speaks for itself as the buyer will have already seen a quotation from her on the front cover that would have grabbed their attention in the first place and made them want to read on. The contents set against a white background with the page numbers in red makes the words look as though they are coming out of the page. I have used the same font for "contents" and for the list of contents and the editors letter to give the magazine a sense of style and professionalism. I have kept the font of the name of the magazine the same as on the front page to show that the magazine has a recognisable style. This is the key piece to have in any magazine as if the buyer wanted to get this magazine again then they would easily be able to recognise it. Her fingers which are in a rock pose are pointing to the letter from the editor which encourages the reader to look at the letter and states its importance. This is one of the reasons why i decided to have this as my final contents page and not the one of her with red hair looking in to the camera. I felt it was important to keep the page quite simple but still ultimately grab the audiences attention. The writing is also easier to read against the the wall as opposed to the yellowish background.

Final double page spread

This is my completed double page spread: i have adjusted the colour of the writting on parts of the page so that the writting is clear and easy to read. I have added the name of the magazine on the top right hand corner of the page aswell as the date and page number in the bottom left hand corner of the page. The columns are neat and clear and the same font has been used throughout the page for the interview. The heading and the sub heading are in the same font as the title of the magazine, this is to show that the magazine has a clear design throughout. I have written who the article and images are by at the start of the interview as i have seen this in other magazines and know that this makes the magazine look professional. I have edited the photograph by increasing the contrast and light to make the colours in the photograph stand out. Her red hair and stipy top are very eye catching so if someone was flicking through this magazine in a shop they would stop at this page just because of the photo.

On the contents page you can see that the writting at the bottom of the page hasn't been aligned properly and therefore doesn't look very neat. There isn't a picture of the editor which would make it look more professional and a issue number and date haven't been included neither the name of the magazine. "CONTENTS" at the top of the page is too small, there is too much blank space around it and it looks out of place in the centre. The front cover is incomplete: there isn't a bar code or price on the page, the writting at the bottom is hard to read because of the colour its in. There isn't much information on the page to say what the magazine incluideds and therefore the targeted audience would probably not be interested in this magazine because people buy magazines on impulse most of the time and there is nothing on the magazine that draws them in apart from the image. The blank space where the wall is could be used for a list of bands and possibly festivals to draw the readers attention to the magazine.

Contents page - draft

Here is another draft of my contents page, i think the photograph is very striking and makes the audience feel close and intimate with the artist as she is looking straight in to the camera and ultimately at the person reading the magazine. However the yellowish background doesn't fit with my colour theme of red and black, i also feel that the front cover image is very similar to this one because they are both looking straight in to the camera and i wanted to show some contrast by capturing the artist holding different poses.

Draft for my contents page

This is my first draft for my contents page as you can see there are various problems with the layout: the letter from the editor is too small and you can't really see it let alone read it. There are different fonts of writting on the page which make the magazine look untidy. One font would be suitable as professional magazines stick to one font to make the magazine look presentable and clear. There are two photographs of the same person which overlap each other and look altogether out of place. The photograph below this is the same as the front cover and needs to be changed. "CONTENTS" is presented too far to the left and needs to be bought back across to the right slightly to make it in line with the photographs. There needs to be more contents headings so that they meet with the bottom of the photograph.

This is my first draft for my double page spread: the problem with this layout is the headline is too low down and the sub heading cuts across her forehead which isn't very pleasing to the eye. The pages are missing a date, page numbers, the name of the photographer and writter and the email address of the magazine. The quote is hard to read because the writting is too dark in some places, altogether the layout needs some tweaking before it can begin to look professional.

front cover draft

This is my first draft for my front cover: i like the enlarged image as it draws in people's attention. However the banner across the page obscures her face and looks out of place, the strapline is too dark and therefore very hard to read as is the email address across the bottom of the page. The lure is partially obscured by the colour of the writting which is a big problem as this will be one of the main reasons why someone may buy the magazine. If they can't see what they will be reading about the chances are they won't buy the magazine. It is important therefore that i make all the text clear and easy to read throughout my magazine.