Front Cover Design

For my front cover I copied the magazine XXL, I asked my too friends Anthony and Ali to take on the roles of being Soulja Boy and 50 Cent as you can see above. I used my camera to capure this image and I edited the picture on my laptop to give it a more profesional affect. I aslo drew a Superman symbol on Anthony similaur to where Soulja Boy has one just to give it that little umph, i also used some gold chains and a red flat cap to capture the essence of hip-hop, the image above is not the one i decided to use in the end, but below is the images i took, some edited and some not.

This link shows you my photos for my Front Cover design, http://www.flickr.com/photos/61217461@N07/sets/72157626388361662/
I edited and took all my own images at home.

 As you can see in some images there is a lamp on the right, I used Photoshop to get remove the lamp in the background, making it more proffesional, I did this by using a stamp tool.

I also made sure the background was white by moving up the brightness and by making sure that the wall they were standing in front of was also white. I uploaded my chosen image into Photoshop and selected the pen tool so I could save the image of them into a separate layer which I could use in Indesign. Once I had saved the layer and opened it into Indesign I used the rectangle frame tool and placed the layer within it and positioned it so that there would be enough room for my masthead and headlines.

For my masthead I had to do something small and catchy like XXL, so instead I used the same look but changed the masthead to SWAG, which is a popular word used in America, it means the way you dress and having respect from people which fits perfectly with the genre i choose, hip-hop. I used the font true stories and placed it over a box that I created with the rectangle frame tool which I filled in red similar to XXL.

In the right hand corner of my Front Cover there is a barcode, to get the barcode I croped it off of another magazine and used the rectangle frame tool in Indesign and placed it within the box, I then had to fit the content to frame.

Here is my final Front Cover Desgin ...



Double Page Spread design

For my Double page spread I decided to copy the following image, I copied ths image becuase it was simple and I thought that it would link in well with the design of my other two pages. I used a black and white image of Anthony which I edited myself, I opened it into Indesign and used the rectangle frame tool and placed my image within the box, then fitting it to frame. On the left hand page is my interview which I had prepared with Anthony, I used the Font  stencil to get a simalur style title, I also used the colour red to give it that clear link.

 The image below is the double page spread which I decided to link mine too:

My interview with Anthony i wrote down notes and exapanded on them in my interview, Anthony actually records his own music but not to the level that we talk about. I took loads of my own images of them recording and just having fun so that it gives a range of images, some serious, some fun.

This link shows my images for the Double Page Spread,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61217461@N07/sets/72157626397447874/

my double page spread...

Looking back at your peliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at the preliminary task I definitely think I have progressed and learnt so much more about the forms and conventions of magazines. For the preliminary task we where only given a short amount of time to complete our front covers and contents pages for our college magazine, this was hard to get it to the level that I wanted it to be because I had never used the programmes Photoshop and Indesign which meant I did not no how to use any of the features, so I had to learn quickly and was not able to create some of the effects I would have liked to, which made it hard to create a professional looking product. My main image was very random and basically taken on the spot, I did not have much time to capture the image I was hoping for which made my front cover look unprofessional. The fonts I used where very basic and where not very nice to look at, I wanted my magazine to be modern and classy but i definitely did not have the skills to do this.

From doing this preliminary task I have without a doubt learnt a lot of skills that I needed to make my magazine look more professional as possible and to have that classy and modern look I wanted to create.I found that getting a good high quality image was a very important factor to front cover as this s the main part of the magazine that attracts the consumer, if you have a tacky image that does not really link to the genre of your magazine it is likely to not be very successful, therefore the main image must be eye catching and bold to grab peoples interest. Another important factor is the title, I learnt this because I was not happy with the font on my preliminary task, I wanted my magazine to be modern and classy. The masthead is very important as this is how most people will remember the magazine name, which means that it must be easy on the eye to look at and re-memorable so that people will not forget it and it relates to the genre, this is also the magazines logo, so you must make the masthead aesthetically pleasing to attract as manyconsumers as possible.

Contents Page

The image below is an XXL contents page, as you can see its very simple and modern with hardly any text. The reason i wanted to copy this particular contents page is because the artist on the right is Nicki Minaj who is a new hip-hop artist and is very popular at the moment.

I asked my friend Natasha if she would pose like Nicki for my own contents page. I used a black skirt, belt and top similar to hers to get the clear link. I used my own cannon camera to capture my images, I also searched on YouTube to find a Nicki Minaj based makeup video which i used on Natasha, I searched other images of Nicki Minaj so that i could get a wide range of poses to choose from, I also edited a lot of my pictures so that i had a wide range to choose from, the link below shows my own images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61217461@N07/sets/72157626263263825/

Once I had chosen my main image for my contents page I uploaded it into Photoshop and selected the pen tool so that I could select around the edge of my image, allowing me to save it into its own layer. I then opened Indesign and opened a rectangle frame tool and placed the layer image of Natasha within the box allowing me to place her into the right place, i wanted to keep her in the third column on the right so i could fit the text in neatly.

I edited my image of Natasha on my laptop at home, i basically moved the colour temperature up and the brightness to give her that airbrushed look, i also turned up the contrast to give it an edgy and sharp result.

For my head mast 'contents' I wanted to copy the original magazine XXL and create the mirrored effect. To create this I used a similar font in Indesign and adjusted the letters so they sat on top of each other as you can see below, to create the mirrored design i had to upload the text into Photoshop and flip the writing, once I did this i saved the back to front image into it's own layer and turned the gradient down making it identical to the contents page I copied.
                                                

Once I had saved the mirrored image into its own layer and in a jpeg format i opened the rectangle frame tool in Indesign and placed the layer within the box which then allowed me to move the image to wherever it looked best.



For the information on the contents page i used the font, Lucinda Calligraphy which looked very similar to the magazine i was copying. i adjusted the width and length of the letters making it just right. In the right hand corner there is a text box which tell you where and how much the outfit Natasha is wearing, this is to create the whole magazine effect.

The image below is my Final Result ...

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Yes, I have definitely learnt a lot about the following programmes: Photoshop and Indesign, before starting this coursework I had never used either of these programs before, so they were both very new too me. At the start I struggled a lot with using these programmes, I found that I did not understand fully how to use most of the features on both programs so I could not do the things I wanted to do which was frustrating. It all seemed very complicated because we where using Apple Mac's instead of the normal computers that I am you'st to.

After a few lessons went by and with the help of others in the my class that new how to use both programs I gradually began to pick up the skills quite quickly, I soon started to understand how to use the different features within the programme and could make my magazine look how I wanted it to. I took all my own images at home and made sure each of the backgrounds were white making it easier for myself to edit the pictures. After I had taken my images, I choose the best ones from the bunch and edited them on my laptop at home, for example making the contrast darker, turning the brightness up etc, I was comfortable using my own editing programmes at home.

Photoshop allowed me to remove any marks or objects on the wall, for example for my front cover image there was a lamp on the wall behind the models, I used the stamp tool which allowed me to select a patch of the background and basically colour over the lamp, as you can see in the image below.

 The stamp tool helped me to create an overall more professional image which I wanted. I also learnt how to place images into a rectangle frame text box which was used a lot in the programme Indesign. I also used text boxes for my headlines and headmast for my front cover design. To give my front cover a more professional look I edited the headlines on the left hand side by adding a shadow to the writing.

For my contents page I wanted to copy the exact design of the headmast, I did this by writing out the text "contents" I then dropped the opacity and uploaded it into Photoshop and used the free transform tool and changed the direction of text I then saved this as a layer and posted it into indesign, the images below show the original writing and he effect I created.

Also with Indesign  I learnt how to layout my cover and found out how to use layers in the creation of ym product such as using a different layer for my image and my masthead to allow me to edit them separatly. I also was taught how to use transparency in colours which helped me to create a more professional look, I got taught how to change the gradient of the background and how to feather it also.

Who would be the audience for your media product and how wold you attract them,?

The audience for my magazine "SWAG" is for people who are involved or enjoy the more modern side of hip-hop, as my magazine is specific to the more modern side, which is shown through the artists I have Incorporated in my magazine for example, Soulja Boy, 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj. As you can see for my magazine I used new artists which are new to the hip-hop scene, which I believe will appeal to the more younger generation. I think my magazine appeals to both genders, one of the reasons is because of the colour scheme I used red, white and back which are neutral colours and appeal to both genders.

As you can see from the image above both of my models are male and this may be seen as only focused on on gender, but for my contents page I used a female model to balance any gender issues out, which attracts a wider a larger audience.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

XXL magazine was founded by former Source staffers and Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own hip-hop music and culture magazine using the model developed by the founders of The Source. Datwon Thomas resigned from XXL and executive editor Vanessa Satten was named the new Editor-in-Chief. In December 2006, XXL took over the struggling Hip-Hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch (another publication owned by Harris Publications), re-branding it as "XXL Presents Scratch Magazine". Scratch shut down in September 2007. Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the XXL brand, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy and Shade 45. XXL has released other exclusive projects such as tour programs, mixtapes and DVDs. XXL also maintains a popular website, which provides daily hip-hop news, original content and content from the magazine. Harris Publications is based in New York and publishes over 75 titles such as:

• XXL
• Antenna
• Juicy
• Rides
• King
• Combat Handguns
• Special Weapons for Military & Police
• Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement
• Tactical Knives
• Tactical Weapons
• Guns of the Old West
• New Pioneer
• PC How-To Guide
• Quilt
• Quick Quilts
• Quilt Almanac
• Romantic Country
• Mopar Action
• Drag Racing Action
• Dog News
• Who's Who in Baseball
• Small Business Opportunities
• Start Your Own Business
• Harris Farmers' Almanac'
• Exercise & Health
• Men's Workout
• Bridal Star Hairstyles
• Celebrity Hairstyles

The website that Harris Publications publishes is XXLMAG.com which is the website version of XXL magazine, it is very successful hip-hop website, it posts exclusive mix-tapes, interviews and pictures. It is said that XXL is the number one hip-hop magazine but only publishes 10 issues a year. XXL magazine is also well known for its rating system for different albums from "S" to "XXL". This magazine is aimed towards people that listen to hip-hop/rap music and follow the hip-hop culture, mainly the younger generation, it is very similar to its The Source magazine but has not been around for as long, therefore it isn't as popular with the older generation.

The Source Magazine

The Source Magazine was found in 1988 and was originally a newsletter and eventually progressed into a full magazine, it was the second longest running magazine behind the UK magazine "hip-hop connection.  The Source magazine is very highly regarded within the hip-hop culture and community, it has even been talked about as being "the hip-hop bible" The magazine is remembered for it's rating system of one to five Mics and a few albums have succeeded and got full five mics such as Nas Illmatic and Jay Z's The Blueprint.


The Source magazine will mainly target the fans of hip-hop and rap music because the audience of this publication is based around the genre of this music. This magazine is mainly targeted towards the younger generation as hip-hop and rap music has been very successful, on the other hand hip-hop music has been around for a long time and may attract some of the older generation as well.

Harris Publications may distribute my media product because it links with the same genre of two of there most successful magazines, for example "XXL" and "The Source" these both are based on the genre of "hip-hop" and have been a success on behalf of Harris Publications, my magazine also links with the forms and conventions of both magazines.