Self Assessment
It is incredibly important to assess any work you have carried out, this makes it a lot easier to see where improvements are needed. The only way improve you work thoroughly is to critique it until you can see exactly what needs changing. Self assessing my first draft of my front cover will make it easier for me to create my final piece as I can look back on my previous work and see what is and what is not best to do. By following the strict criteria on the blog, I hope to create a magazine which is unique so that it attracts my target audience. In order to finalise my magazine to the best of my ability, I shall follow instructions and feedback given by my teacher. Here is my first draft of my front cover page:
- My masthead design is proportioned adequately to fit around my background image. The colours coincide with my chosen genre of indie. The typeface I have used for my masthead is big and bold, making it easy to see. The overlapping of the font is unique and will stand out more to my target audience. On the other hand, my chosen typeface is not suitable for my magazine culture.
- By placing the image of my model in the centre of my front cover, it takes up the whole page – this leaves spacing around the edges to add information of what the magazine is about, but also what is inside. The borders along the edge of the magazine decreases the size of the image making the model photograph less visible to see.
- Using different DTP has allowed me to make a front cover which stands out. I had antecedent knowledge which I put to use through Photoshop and InDesign. I edited the image of my model through photoshop, making the photo brighter, increasing contrast etc. InDesign aided me when creating my magazine – allowing me to create a front cover in a particular way, examples of this include, bold masthead designs, pugs, and inserting barcodes.
- The colour palette of neutral colours, reflects my genre of Indie well to my target audience. Indie is a genre that is favoured by middle aged people – these people would like a magazine cover which resembles indie culture.
- I used a couple of different fonts: no more than three as this would make the front cover overcrowded and hectic.
- ‘Mes en Scene’ that I used in my front cover gives off a peaceful and relaxed feel because of the pose the model is portraying. Indie culture like neutral and brighter colours; many people from the indie culture like bright eye shadow which is why I replicated the idea on my magazine front cover.
- I chosen certain language phrases such as “exclusive 1-to-1 interview”, “a chance to win 6 VIP tickets”, and “a prestigious interview…Nirvana”, these certain types of language features are useful to entice the reader into the magazine and is appropriate for my target audience. I have used the word “exclusive” which will make the reader feel privileged reading the article, as if they are reading something no one else knows.
- Conventional design features are essential in magazines, I have many on my magazine front cover, for example, masthead designs, a barcode, price of the magazine, issue date, and a main cover star – Aimee Regnard.
- I believe I have used InDesign and Photoshop in productive ways, I used Photoshop to cut out my main cover star using select and mask and inserting the image on a plain, white background. I used InDesign to create my magazine and use conventional features to make my magazine realistic.
Personal self assessment:
- I have used Neutral colours to go with my chosen genre of Indie. I would like my magazine to be of a natural style – by doing so, this will coincide with my target audience’s preferences.
- By using a varied range of colours (bright, neutral and bold themes), throughout the front cover, it puts the magazine with a better chance of success due to the eye-catching fonts and colours used.
- I haven’t used more than three different fonts within my front cover. This puts my magazine at an advantage because it inhibits the magazine looking both ‘messy’ and ‘rushed.
Teacher targets:
- To use fonts and type faces that relate more with my genre
- Prepare a lot more for the shoot itself regarding makeup, hair style, and clothing which suits my chosen genre of indie
- Be more creative with my style of magazine (carry out more extensive research)
- Next time I would like to use the black background in the studio rather than the white studio background just as a result of personal preference
- Design a more creative masthead for my front cover
- I will also design an album cover for a magazine using one of my photos from my shoot to add to my front cover.
- sharpen the image
- masthead nearer the top – can overlap the background boxes
- too many pugs….
- overuse of the Hollywood font?
- put the barcode and price on the RHS
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