DEVELOPING THE MAGAZINE COVER

Manipulation of the original Image

Due to the position of my masthead, I photographed the student with her hair to the right so that she can be seen fully. The student is smiling to give a positive representation of students at the Sixth Form.

I rotated and cropped the image to fit my magazine and then I used basic effects (brightness/contrasts, levels etc.). I also used editing tools such as the dodge and burn tools, for highlights and red eye; and ‘spot healing’ brush to even out her skin.

Adding Masthead and HeadlineAs outlined in the previous slide, the Masthead fits into the cover without covering the student’s head. Due to a new term, I used the headline “FRESH START” to appeal to new students as to invite them into the college community. I didn’t use a puff below the masthead because there are no other competitive magazines within the college community, therefore a puff is not needed for persuasion of the reader. I did however make “free magazine!” red so that it is more obvious that the magazine is free to students. I added drop shadows to the text so that it contrasted more with the background.

Adding cover lines, a flash and an Image

The cover lines on the left have the appealing key words in red so the audience are drawn to these particular words. The flash in the top right corner is large and yellow to make it more eye-catching. This flash is appealing to students because it is for a competition to win money, which is something all students would want. I added a second Image of another student looking stressed to accompany the cover line about applying for University. I used a student of another gender and ethnicity so that there is no bias towards a particular type of student.

Drop ShadowsTo make all the text on the cover stand out against the background, I added drop shadows or outer glows – depending on the colour of the background – to make it clearer. I also used drop shadow on the flash to make it look like it is 3D or stuck on the magazine. Without the drop shadow the text would lose emphasis and clarity.