Preliminary Task: The Final Magazine Cover

Detailed Explanation of Magazine Cover.

Step 1:  This was the picture I selected as my magazine cover. First I constructed  the magazine cover with the same background but it was very dull and boring. Then I decided to make a new one. I selected the same image. Next I selected the image with the lasso tool and made a copy of that layer. I also used the Bright and Contrast tool in photoshop to enhance the quality of the image.

Step 2: After making the copy of that layer I went to the hue and saturation tool in image and changed the background. In the hue and saturation tool I used the the three elements hue, saturation and lightness and came up with this background color. I liked this background as it would enhance the black color worn by the girl in the image. Also the shadow would also help the image to stand out.

Step 3: After setting my background problem I selected the copy of the image and put it on the layer in which I corrected my background. 

Step 4: Then I used the text box and chose the font ' Engravers MT' which I had selected previously and also shown in previous posts. I chose the 'red' color for the masthead because it's a nice contrast with black and it appeared good on the prevailing background and because it stands out. I kept the strip color 'dark purple' and used a different font 'copperplate Gothic bold' to differentiate it with the masthead. Both the masthead and strip were given the 'drop shadow' style in Layer styles to blend it the way magazines headings and sub-headings are. The 1A1 logo was kept white as to make it clearly visible portraying it a school magazine. The 'drop shadow' style was also used.

Step 5: Then I arranged the cover lines and chose different size, font and color tones for my cover lines. In the cover lines of 'Sports Day! Are you Ready!' I used the font 'Lucida Sans Unicode' and gave a sharp look to the text and gave it a shadowy look. I kept the 'Sports Day!' heading larger to make it more eye catching and even in 'Are you Ready!' I kept 'Ready' a little bigger than 'Are you.' This was to give it a look of the magazine.

In the cover line of 'Concert Bonfire....' I increased the font size through ascending order. I kept the color tone of this cover line darker then the cover line discussed above. The font ' Eras Bold ITC' was used with strong text and shadowy look because many important and breathtaking school  events were discussed and this made all the events inspiring to attend. 'Don't Miss It! was kept largest among all to reflect the thrill of all events.      

Next the cover line 'Lighter side.....' was written by using the font 'Hebo Std' as it is a lighter font not like the strong fonts used earlier but a crispy look was given to make it interesting. Here I used the 'inner glow' style of text in layer styles to give it a lighter look. The size of 'Exclusive Interview was kept large to make it fascinating to read.

For the cover line of 'South Africa..' the font 'Ravie' was used. This was because Africa is known for it's 'Jungle Adventure' and fun associated with it. This font used with crispy look really symbolized the fun and adventure of 'South Africa.' 'Coming Soon' was kept bigger to make it prominent.   

Step 6: The pug or puff was necessary to complete my magazine. I used the polygon tool in the main tool bar. Next I went to the polygon options tool in the above tool bar and selected the star shape along with smooth corners. I kept approximately 26 sides and chose the pink color (Toyo 0038) in the Toyo 94 Color Finder. The pink color actually suited the background and because of it's lightness stand out very well. The font 'Ravie' was used to connote excitement and inspire the target audience to read the magazine. The reason why I used the yellow color for the font is to match it with the background. 

Discovering the Sizes of Magazine Covers

COMMON MAGAZINE SIZES:

There are two standard sizes for magazines.

Standard Size:

8 3/8" x 10 7/8"
is an economical and common magazine page size. 


Digest Size:

5 3/8" x 8 3/8


With that being said, magazine sizes often vary from these two standard
sizes. Over sized and under sized magazines can be produced and their
cost per square inch is almost always higher. As the size of the print run
increases, the cost per unit for the magazine will decrease.

(Magazines are usually done in page increments of 8 starting with a minimum of
16 pages signatures. It is most cost effective to create your layouts in multiples of
16 (16, 32, 48, etc) because the printer’s form is often 16 pages at a time, 32 pages
if the magazine is digest size.

PAPER WEIGHT:
Standard magazine paper weight can range anywhere from 45# to 100#
weight with an average of 50# – 60#. Often the paper stock is coated
stock, with a sheen.

BINDERY:
Saddle Stitched
Sewn or stapled through the gutter. This process is good for magazines
with fewer signatures/pages.

Perfect Bind: 
To perfect bind magazines means to glue bind them in the spine like a
paperback book. You can print your files in 16 page signature booklets
and when binding, group your signatures, shave off the spine edge, add
glue on the spine and attach the cover by wrapping it around the spine.
(For this process you must create a separate In Design file for the cover—this file
would be for the 4 pages and the spine which makes up the front cover. When
working with the printer on a project like this they might give you this specification
which might look something like this: 48 pages plus cover.)

SAMPLING OF MAGAZINE SIZES:

People Magazine
Entertainment Weekly
Money Magazine
Fortune Magazine
7 7⁄8” x 10 7⁄16” Final Trim Size

Discover Magazine
Scientific American Magazine
8” x 10 1⁄2” Final Trim Size

Martha Stewart Living
9” x 10 13⁄16” Final Trim Size

Print Magazine
8 7/8” x 12” Final Trim Size

Rolling Stone Magazine
Magazines published by Condé Nast:
WIRED
GQ
Traveler
Bon Appétit
Vogue
8” x 10 7⁄8” Final Trim Size

Nylon Magazine
9” x 10 3⁄4” Final Trim Size

Architectural Digest
8 3⁄8” x 10 7⁄8” Final Trim Size

Preliminary Task: The Final Mock Up

Final Mock Up

Exploring Adobe Photoshop

About Adobe Photoshop:
Adobe Photoshop CS is a popular image editing software that provides a work environment consistent of adobe illustrator, Adobe In Design, Adobe Image Ready and other products in Adobe Creative Suite.

Preliminary Task- Photography

Selecting the final photograph

Taking photographs of a magazine was a difficult task. Firstly, I took pictures indoor and deciding upon the background was a really difficult task. I wanted a simple background which actually suited the clothes of the model which I had thought of. Then the hindrance came from the light. It was hard creating a soft light that made the model stand out. For that I used different lights and experimented by using the flash light and trying different aperture. Then I dressed my model accordingly keeping the background in mind which was pink and in some light brown. I made my model wear a black quote in some images a black hat differentiate it from the casual wear. Lastly, I took a number of images with different poses and finally selected one of them. Below are some pictures I took indoor:

 


I also took some portraits for my magazine outdoor in school. In this I just had to decide upon the background as pictures I took was in uniform and the way I had to use the light. Few images are uploaded below.

The One I selected:

The reason I selected this image was because of the different pose. I really liked the face expression and the eyes are directly contacting with the audience. It feels as if it is asking a question such as, Are you interested? The background and shadow are two elements of concern but they can always be countered in adobe photoshop.

Resolution, Image Size and Color Mode

Resolution: It refers to the number of pixels in a full size image. There are two types of images; High-Res and Low-Res. An image with high-res contains more information then an image with with low-res. However, the information is lost in the conversion, the reverse is not true. If we increase the resolution of low-res image it will become fuzzy.  

Screen Resolution: It is close to 72 pixels per inch if we are working with graphics to be viewed only on screen. 72 should be fine. For the printed work as in case we are working on magazine 300 resolution is the accepted res for the images which need to be printed. 

Image Size: It is also expressed in pixels. It deals with the actual number of pixels depending how tall and wide the image is. Fro example by plugging the height in the Vertical Image it will automatically detect the width and hence it's resolution. 

Color Mode: It refers to the type of color one will be using in the image. CMYK and RGB are the most important to be familiar with.

1. CMYK: This is the setting for images that will be printed to paper. The letter refers to the four channels of color used to create every color available: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black(K).  
2.  RGB: Refers to the three channels of color modes suitable to be viewed on we: Red, Green and Blue. 

Preliminary Task - Inspiration

These are the samples of  magazine cover and content page. I have selected magazines in view of  the shape of my front cover design such as U shape and some according to our task- to construct a school magazine. Looking forward to it!