DTP and Indesign – mock up magazine cover | Media Studies 2018

Serena will take us all through the basics of:

PHOTOSHOP – how to cut out an image and ‘improve’ it (find your poster image to practise on).
INDESIGN – how to create a poster template, place a photo, add text, change colours etc.

You will be allocated a specific edition of the iconic music magazine, NME (New Musical Express).
The aim is to recreate the layout and to recap on the main conventional design features of a magazine cover.
Using Indesign – recreate/copy the cover you have been allocated.
Each of you will create your own version but you can work with your partner in terms of sharing ideas for fonts etc.
You do not need to find the exact photo – any one with a similar grouping of performers or artist will do or in fact you can add in a box with a cross through it if you really can’t find one that will do.
The main aim is that you have some fun with Indesign – find the right fonts, play with the sizing, kerning etc and do your best to lay out the cover with a conventional layout.
Here are some suggestions for cover photos – see the first slide for caveats on what you will and won’t be able to do with them but it might save you time trawling the web.

Reflect on how you did – find 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses.
Set yourself some targets by finding @ 3 self help YouTube tutorials for any aspects of Indesign that you struggled with and embed the videos in your self assessment post. Make sure you watch them in full this weekend in preparation for your own album poster design next week.
You may amend your draft 1, but it is important that you spend time exporting as a JPEG and a PDF, uploading to your blog.
- Remember to introduce the content (your mock-up front page)
- Reflect on what you have learnt
- Link in the online tutorials that will help you improve your use of Indesign next week.

Here are some examples from last year:

Media Studies 2018 – 2020