Main Task: 9-10th December 2010

Today I started the front cover of my music magazine using InDesign. I started with the masthead of my magazine which is called "Jah Rastafari." I have chosen this because it is a term regularly used by many reggae artists. I have chosen to use red, gold and green as colours for my masthead because they are colours which are associated with reggae. This will be my theme all through the magazine from the contents page to the double page spread.

I played around with different fonts that I thought it would suit the magazine. I found a font called Ravie and decided to use it as the main font for the magazine because it looks like it has a quirky look to it and belive that it goes well with the type of style that Reggae has.

I also have manipulated my photo so on Photoshop by deleting the background. I have also added some light to the image because there was a little bit too much shadow. I then transfered the picture the InDesign so that I could start my front cover properly I have also started to add some text to the front cover. To finish my front cover, i have to choose a background colour that will contrast with my photo and add some colour to my cover lines.

I will try to design the front cover to attract the audience because of the cover lines that are on the cover. When the audience see the artists that are on the cover, they will be able to relate to it because the artists named are well known. this will then draw them towards the magazine and want to buy it.

Main Task Reggae Music Magazine Planning .26th November 2010.

Today I looked at different reggae magazine front covers and found a magazine called United Reggae which is an international online magazine that reviews the latest news in reggae music and the reggae artits.


This is the online  magazine's logo
The target audience for my magazine is both men and women who like to listen to reggae music or read about the latest reggae artists.

I have researched 2 magazines that i have tried to base my magazine around. The magazines that I have chosen have similar features to each other. For example, the text font is fairly similar and easy to read. Also, there is only one main image on the front cover which is what i have tried to emulate for my magazine. I have also found out that the colours that have been used are not too loud. i.e. too many bright colours. All of the colours contrast with each other well.



Melissa Johnson Blog Preliminary Task

This is the front cover of my magazine. The magazine is written by the students for the other students in the school so certain fonts that have been included in this magazine are supposed to look as though teenagers have chosen it. The different shades of blue work well with the rich shade of red. I analysed different school front covers so that I had idea about what features the magazine is presumed to have. Instead of having boxes within the text, I should have just made it look like I have placed it on the magazine cover. I could have also created a logo in Photoshop to verify that I have learnt how to use the program. The image of the student could have been different as I could have taken the picture of the student smiling so that it coincides with the anchor line.

·         POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM PEERS: -There is a strong central image.

                                      - The magazine looks appealing to young students as the font of                                     the title of the magazine looks quite funky

                                       -The design is quite clear to read and understand.

·         NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM PEERS: -The text in the boxes look to formal for the magazine which is supposed to be                                                                                                                                    aimed at students.

                                         -The background of the central image could have been cut out so that the main focus is on the student.

http://www.google.co.uk/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewisspain/3681391118/

This is where I got my first choice of photo that I was going to use on the front cover but I decided to use one of my own and take my own picture with cameras that are provided in the college.

This is the contents page of my magazine. The font and colour contrast with the front cover to make it look like they are from the same magazine. The text is quite basic maybe a little too basic as it is supposed to look like it has been produced by the students of the school. I should also have included a logo on this page.

·         POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM PEERS: -Text, colour and style are consistent and contrasts to the front cover.

·         NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM PEERS: -Layout of the magazine is too straightforward.

                                        -The text could be changed to suit the teenage audience.

                                        -There could be different shapes and approaches to the text and picture.

I used Paintcans for the mast head because I think that it looks quite unique from all the other fonts on the software and it also looks as if students have chosen this font because it looks quite spontaneous and the way that the edges of the text look quite rough. The red stands out so that it can appeal to the audience as it is the first thing that they see on the front cover. The drop shadow effect makes the font look like it jumps out of the page. This may have a negative effect as students may not like the colour of the text of the drop shadow effect as they may prefer a plain looking font.

I have used Times New Roman for the main text because it is quite straightforward to read and is quite common with magazines. This may not be a good font to use because of the simplicity of it. Students who read this magazine may think that the magazine is boring and might not appeal to them.

In Photoshop, I learnt how to manipulate photos so that they can look different from the original photo. Although, there is no evidence to prove that I have learnt how to do this. This could be by using a main image and transporting it onto a different background. To improve my skills in this program, I need to show that I know how to use it and also use the program a bit more to develop my work.

In InDesign, I’ve learnt how to add text to the photo that I have manipulated. Below is how I used this program to create my magazine front cover and my contents page. I think that I need to spend more time working on this program to further my skills so that I can create different effects for my work.