College Magazine Front Cover

This is my mock up of a front cover of a college magazine. I have decided to go with a red and yellow colour scheme because these are the colours on Cardinal Heenan's logo, also because red and yellow are eye catching colours. The design that I have went for is a circular shape in the middle of the page to place my main image, I have done this because I thought that this looks like a professional layout.

The masthead is THP (The Heenan Press) and is in the top left corner of the page. The yellow font also stands out on the red background to make the magazine more attractive. Underneath the masthead i have included the school's motto, this is because this is an important statement of what the school stands for so I felt it was important to include this. In the bottom left corner of the magazine I have included the school's logo so the magazine can be identified as being a product from Cardinal Heenan.

The headline is red and shown across the image in the middle of the cover, I decided to change the font of the headline so then it is easier to recognise this as the headline and it also stood out more than yellow on the image. The font is also smaller than the mastheads so it can not be mistaken for the masthead.

The anchorage text below the headline is in yellow font again so it is not mistaken as the headline, I have also decided to include a puff because this is makes the magazine look more eye catching because the red text is standing out in the yellow circle. The date the magazine was created is in the top right corner of the magazine in a yellow strip so it stands out, this is a pug.

Positives of Photoshop

After analysing the mental and physical effects of enhancing the features of models on Photoshop, I have now created a short Prezi presentation on the positives of Photoshop. Please take the time to watch my presentation.

Effect of Photoshop on Women

Effect of Photoshop on Women

Photoshop is used to alter the looks of models that pose on the front of magazines, this means that they can alter them to the point where there body looks "un natural."

This has led to thousands of women aspiring to look like the model when the model herself does not have that figure and it has just been altered in photoshop. This shows that Photoshop is being used to make women look like what they are not and this is damaging for women's self esteem.

Effects on women:

• Starve themselves to get the figure of the model
• Lowered self esteem because society expects women to look like the models
• Depression because they are trying to have the model figure but failing

Because of the way that Photoshop alters models to have near impossible figures, this has led society to believe that this is the way that all women should look. This means that men and women are more judgemental towards how women look. This applies to all women but this is more likely to take place in young women.

I have embedded here a video that shows how models are altered by Photoshop to look more photogenic and look more beautiful than they actually are.

This video shows the steps required to make the models look the way that they do and shows what they do to alter women isn't even noticeable.

Learning Photoshop - Crack and Peel effect

The crack and peel effect is where you take an image of a person and then make it look like that there is skin is cracked and peeling off. This effect can be used to make it look like someone has come back from the dead, so this can be applied to artists that have "come back from the dead" and released a new single or album after a long time. I have learnt this effect so I have more knowledge of Photoshop when it comes to producing my own music magazine.

Crack and peel effect used on Eminem.

As you can see here I have used Eminem to test out the crack and peel effect, his skin looks like it is cracked as well as his hand; I can successfully say I know how to fully do the crack and peel effect.

Photoshop: 50 Cent & Susan Boyle merge

So I can develop my Photoshop skills, I have been asked to merge images of both 50 Cent and Susan Boyle that can be used on the front cover of a music magazine. The image that I have produced has been displayed to the right. I am going to analyse both the positives and negatives of this collaboration.

Positives:

• Shows artists from two different genres coming together
• Experimenting with new methods of using Photoshop
• Gives me a better understanding between professional and amateur images
• Gives me a better understanding on how to successfully manipulate two images for my music magazine

Negatives:

• Image looks amateur because of the difference in size of the two images
• If this was done both artists would lose fans of the target audience due to the difference in genre
• Unrealistic that the two artists would agree to a collaboration
• Artists will not want to associate with each other because they represent different genres

Learning Photoshop - Colour Effect

The colour splash effect is where you take an image and then you change the colour of the image to make it look like the colour is splashed on the screen. I put the image on a paper texture background so it creates the effect that the image has been painted on to the page.

This is the effect used on 50 cent. This can be used on my music magazine because I can use the colours to blend into the magazines colour scheme and integrate this into the house style.

Cardinal Bulletin Analysis

I have been asked to analyse the Cardinal Bulletin which is Cardinal Heenan's newsletter, I am going to look at the features of the newsletter that make it attractive and engaging with the target audience and also to point out selected improvements. This will help me understand key features which make this newsletter successful which I can apply to my own music magazine.

School newsletter

The masthead is the first feature that stands out on the page because of the way it is presented. It has been done to look like there is snow on top of the text, this helps the reader to understand that this newsletter has been released in winter and makes the newsletter more engaging. Secondly "bulletin" is in a different colour and italic which makes it different to the first word of the masthead, I think this has been done because the word "cardinal" is displayed in the same colour as the name of the school, so bulletin being displayed differently helps people who don't know understand that this is just the name of the newsletter not the school as well.

Secondly the "Head's Message" down the left side of the newsletter this lets the reader know that the headteacher plays an active role in the school and is involved in what the school does. Also the pictures of the students also emphasizes that the school take pride in their students achievements and that the students are proud of what they can do for the school. Also the black text on the red background makes it stand out more than the other text on the page.

The headline is bold, above the images and this is done so the reader understands that this will be the main topic in the newsletter.

Example of another newsletter

Improvements

The improvements that I would make for this newsletter are:

• I think that the house style of the newsletter is too plain, because it's not an exciting choice of colour scheme and if this was on a shelve in a shop, wouldn't stand out compared to other newsletters.
• The "Head's Message" is not engaging enough for the target audience, because there is too much text. I would start the article off with a drop capital, break up the text more and maybe display another image to make it more eye catching.
• The headline is not eye catching enough because it is only bold black text above the story, I would change it completely by making it bigger, change the colour and by changing the font to make it more attractive.
• Also the title for the second article "Christmas Concert" looks too childish because it is just white with a black outline word art. To make this more engaging I would change the colour of the word art and make it a bit more bigger.

VIBE and Q Front Covers - Comparison

After annotating both VIBE and Q magazines I have know gained a better understanding on what the expectations of a professional music magazine front cover are. The analysis of both magazines has helped me understand what is needed for when I create my own music magazine, from this I can now clearly identify the similarities and differences between the magazines.

Similarities:

Q front cover

• Both have big and bold mastheads which are the biggest text on the page to emphasize this is the masthead which is the most important feature of the magazine regarding identifying the genre of the magazine.
• They both display their content around the main image on the front cover.
• The main image is largely displayed in the middle of the front cover to show the audience that this will be the particular issue's main focus.
• Both magazines contain sell lines which are used to reveal the other content of the magazine.
• They both have the same colour background (white) which is an important feature of the house style.



VIBE front cover

• Both magazines contain buzz words which are used to attract the reader to the magazine.

Differences:

• The masthead on Q magazine is in the top left corner of the magazine which means it also can be referred as a pug, while the VIBE masthead is stretched across the front cover above the main image.
• Q magazine has a slogan "discover great music" while VIBE magazine doesn't have a slogan. 
• The headline on VIBE is smaller than the headline on Q magazine because it is congested next to the main image, whilst the Q headline is displayed in a banner across the bottom of the front cover.
• Q has a puff on the top right corner of the front cover.
• Q has pugs on both the top corners of the front cover.
• The colour scheme of the VIBE magazine is white, blue and pink whilst the Q colour scheme is red, white, black and gold and this what is the difference between the magazines regarding house style.

Magazine Front Cover Annotation: Q

I have annotated another front cover of a magazine, this time the magazine is Q and I have chosen to annotate a band of another genre. I have created another short prezi presentation analyzing the front cover of the magazine, please take the time to watch my presentation.

Magazine Terminology

Magazine Terminology

In order to fully be able to analyse two magazine covers from different genres I need to know all the magazine terminology to do this. I am know going to go through all the terminology I need to know. The reason my first annotation is before this post is because i was absent one lesson.

Copy - This is the main text on the front cover.

Strap line - This is a memorable and catchy phrase that is recognisably associated with the brand.

Buzz words - Short, engaging words used to attract the target audience, examples of this are "wow" and "exclusive."

House Style - A magazines distinctive house style which is unique to the magazine.

Pugs - These can be the price of the magazine, the logo or a promotional offer; they are placed at the top left and right corners of the page which are known as the "ears."

Banner - This is text that is on a coloured background to stand out.

Puffs - Promoting features inside the magazine in colourful boxes.

Slogan - The magazines motto.

Masthead - The title of the magazine.

Caption - Small description of the image on the front cover is.

Headline - The magazine's main story.

Sell lines - Text on the front cover that helps sell the magazine to the audience.

Anchorage text - This is text that helps describe the meaning an image.

As you can see here this music magazine has the following:

• Masthead (NME)
• Pugs (Logo)
• Headline (Arctic Monkeys)
• Sell Lines (The 10 best punk bands)
• Anchorage text (On the third album that changed them)