For this task, we were given a magazine cover and we had to recreate it on Indesign. Indesign is an application that you can use to create things such as posters, brochures, magazines etc. We had to learn how to use it and get used to all of the different tools that help create your work. I also had to identify some of the conventional features that this magazine had and made sure I included everything in my mock-up front page. Some of these features were the masthead, cover lines, bar code, main cover star and a plug. These things help us identify it as a magazine and gives us an insight into the topics, as well as using plugs to interest the audience and giving them another reason to buy it.
When it comes to reflecting on my mock-up cover, I can name two things I did well, and two things I could improve on. I personally think I got the fonts fairly similar which helps it look professional. I found the sizing quite easy, so it came out accurate which helped me keep the layout similar to the original. For things I could improve on, I could not find the original picture of the cover star, so had to use another similar one. This was a slight disadvantage as it does make a big difference with layout and overall look. It was also tricky and took a long time to get the masthead right as I was not fully familiar with the tools on Indesign, so I need to make sure I fully understand them next time to avoid wasting time. And I also did not keep everything inside the border so I need to remember that for next time.
This task will be extremely helpful in the future as it has given me experience in creating a front cover and I further understand the different design conventions needed to make a magazine. I have a better idea of how to lay out these features and what is more effective. When it comes to creating my own cover, I will be able to try out different layouts and texts to see what looks best.
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