Planning for Front Cover

PLANNING FOR MY FRONT COVER

These images include a lot of experimental work on my front cover pages. In the first I tried using different layers in red, green and blue colours to create a 3D effect which I thought looked edgy and therefore draws in teenagers who find this aesthetically pleasing.

In the third image you can see that I have attempted a shadow like effect with Ombre in the background and using lines to draw attention to the middle image. I did like how this turned out however I found it to be too 'loud' for a front cover. I also found the image goes against typical front cover conventions-there are two people instead of one and no direct address to the camera. The experiment helped me learn more about photoshop and I may use the image in a front cover page as I was pleased with the outcome.

In the second to last image of the two girls I experimented with different hues rather than just basic black and white or colour images to make my magazine stand out from other typical teenage magazines. I did this to try and match the edgy aesthetic created in my audience mood board.

In the last image of the swimming pool, I was happy with the layout of my product and ready to start building on cover lines of the magazine. However, after some though I decided that the image, whilst strong, colourful and involving a model looking directly at the camera, was not meeting the needs of my primary audience. The swimming pool and pastel, summery colour scheme is not grungy nor unisex enough to fit this magazine, so I did not use this image in my front cover.

The second image was my favourite although because he is smoking in the picture it would be inappropriate for usage in my coursework, but the overall format and colour scheme I really enjoyed. I found the T shirt he is wearing works with the edgy, grungy aspect of the magazine but the fact he is smoking and not looking at the camera means it does not work for a front cover-having studied the media theoretical framework and typical conventions of magazines, I have been able to identify what makes a good front cover and selling point for a magazine. This image was not strong enough.

For the title I copied and pasted the same capital text and put one behind the other and slightly to one side to add a shadow like effect, giving more depth to the magazine. I found all caps and an acronym rather than a full word added to the grunge vibe I was going for with the magazine.