Using Baseline Shift For Quote Marks

 Firstly I highlighted the quote marks which I wanted to make bigger so they stand out and too tell everyone that it's a quote. I'd seen this in several magazine articles and think it makes the quote look a lot more powerful.

 I then went to the 'Style' drop down menu and chose the Baseline shift option.

 I chose to change the font pt to 120 and then changed the base line shift to -40. This allows the quote marks to be bigger without making the text box bigger which is helpful when working to a grid system.

This is the final image with the quote marks made bigger and in line using baseline shift. I found this really helpful and I think it made my magazine look more professional. 

Basic Sketches

These are some basic sketches of ideas for a front cover, contents page and double page spread. 

 This is my front cover sketch. It features a main image of two people. I tried to keep the writing (coverlines, Headline and strapline etc) all quite small so the front cover didn't look crowded. I also included a puff in the right hand side, however I have not decided whether this will fit in with the overall look of my magazine yet.

This is the contents page sketch. It features several small pictures that relate to the different articles underneath. I haven't decided how many pictures I will actually use, however I want them to have an overlapping effect like on the Company Fashion Edit contents pages. Underneath these Images is the main contents page area and underneath that is a note from the editor. Right at the bottom of the page I will have the Name of magazine, issue date and website.

Finally, this is a basic sketch of my double page spread. I chose to use the second mock up I did on quark as my main idea. 

Brainstorm

This is a 'brainstorm' I created when trying the decide on the name of my music magazine.

Music Magazine Front Cover Anaylsis;

This is a typical front cover of music magazine 'NME'. The masthead/ name logo is the same on every issue and part of the brand identity of NME. It is bold and stands out on the page and also instantly recognisable. In this issue the puff underneath the masthead of 'New Music Express' is covered by the cover image, however as this is also in the same writing and in the same place on every magazine you recognise that it is there even when it's partly covered. The main cover image is of the two people mentioned in the headline and generally in NME the main cover image is the band that headlines in the magazine and the main double page spread is written about. The main colours on this page are red, white and black however these colours can change from issue to issue. I think that keeping to just three colours gives the magazine a more proffesional appearance and also makes it a lot more tidy. The main headline is written over the image and so you atomatically think that the two are related. There is also several different fonts used on the front of this magazine, generally on the strapline and headline however I think this works well.

Editing My Front Cover Photo On Photoshop;

To edit my photo I'm using for my front cover of my magazine, I used photoshop. I took my photo's against a white studio background and used the 'beauty' setting on my camera which already gave the photos a photoshopped look, however I needed to do some basic editing.

First I opened the photo I wanted to edit on Photoshop.

I then cropped the image so that it has more of the white/cream background and so the two people are in the middle of the frame.

This is my final image. It now has white space at the top of the pciture so I can fit in my Masthead. I may also edit it more by adding some more white space around the outsides however, this will depend on what mastheads and text I use.

Mock Up of a Double Page Spread.

These are very basic mock ups for what my double page spread will be based on, made on Quark Xpress.

 This mock up features the title at the top of the page. On this mock up its 100pt however, I would make this bigger or smaller depending on what my headline would be. I would probably also change the font to a more exciting and bold one. I used 2 columns of text with a quote in the middle of the two. Again I could change the font and size depending on what my text actually says. On the second page there is a large picture with 6 smaller pictures underneath and another quote text. They are quite messily laid out but I think this gives it a more relaxed appearance rather than it being really neat and tidy which would probably appeal more to the teenage audience I am trying to appeal to.

 Again this mock up has the masthead or title at the top of the page and same as above I would probably change the text to make it stand out. There is one column of text along the left hand size with three very small columns underneath which fits with the 4 grid. There is a large picture above this which goes over both pages and then 6 smaller pictures underneath with a quote above them. I really like this layout as I think it makes the page look less daunting as there is less text, I think the big picture spreading over both pages is also a good effect as it makes both pages link.

This mock up has a whole page picture on the left with a title only reaching across the right hand side. This means that my title would have to be shorter, however this could be more eye catching. It then follows the 3 grid, with three columns of text, the last one with 2 pictures and a quote underneath. I also made it look a bit less regimental by putting another picture in between the first two columns of text and break it up.

Contents Page.

This is my final contents page of my College Magazine, again made on Microsoft Publisher.

I decided to use a blue green text mixed with a black text. I decided to alternate the two colours in the mast head as I think this gave it a different look. I again used the text 'Tahoma' to make it tie in with my front cover. I then changed the writing to 'Century Gothic' to give my contents a different look. I carried on with the black and greeny blue text throughout my contents page so that it gave it a neater look rather than using lots of different colours. I decided to use two columns for my contents, with one having a main image on college in it as you can see above. I then decided to copy some of the fashion magazines i'd seen and use three images to cut off the list of pages from the editorial note. I think doing this breaks up my text a bit and makes it look less like all writing. I decided to include a 'Note From The Editior' as I think this personalises the magazine a bit more and gives more information about what goes on behind the scenes. At the very bottom of the page I also decided to write the name of the magazine, issue number and email address as I think this would help if someone was just seeing the contents page. It also lets people know how they can get involved in the making of the magazine.

The three smaller images I decided to use are of students and one of the college as I think this breaks them up a bit and shows students around college more. I didn't edit them as, as with my front cover image I wanted them to look natural rather than overly photo shopped.

I think i'd improve this by using a more coloured background as I think the blank one looks a quite plain.

Final Front Cover- College Magazine.

This is my final front cover for my college magazine that I made on Microsoft Publisher.

I am very happy with the way it has turned out. I did not edit my image at all as I don't think I could have done much to make it look better. I also wanted my picture to look natural rather than photoshopped. I thought that this natural look would appeal to other students as they did not think the person on the cover was fake but more like them, almost as though it could be them on the cover. I also wanted to use a background that was colourful to contrast with Zofia's dark hair and pale skin. For my masthead I used a white, simple rounded text called 'Tahoma'. This is commonly used in peoples coursework etc however I didn't want the masthead to look to complicated or showy as I wanted to stick with something a lot more simple. I decided to use white as it showed up best on the colourful background and stands out at the top of the page where as some colours I tried such as Red and Black just blended in. The colour white also has some connotations such as being simple and pure which I think fits in with the laid back style I wanted my magazine to convey. I used white text for my coverlines as I thought that would stand out more against the colourful background and dark hair. I wanted to match my coverline text with my masthead as I think this makes the front cover look more proffesional and less busy and also make the whole magazine match together. I wanted my front cover to be simple rather than very overcrowded so I only used one cover image and tried to space my cover lines out around the front cover.

I decided to make my headline 'Heating Crisis!!' as this is quite sharp and striking and also current to the moment. This is also slightly bigger text than the rest of my coverlines so you know it is the headline. I postitioned my strapline directly underneath my headline as then you know that it relates to the headline rather than it being another coverline. I used the strapline 'students tell us whether it's unfair some get a week off' as I think this tells the students what the main feature is really about and gets the students attention by saying that it's there opinions.

I put my barcode in the traditional place of the bottom left hand corner with the price and issue number/ date above this in very small white text as I don't want the price to be the main issue of the magazine.

Overall i'm pleased with the front cover of this magazine as I think it looks like I wanted in the fact it's simple and has a college student on the front. I also like the fact that the white writing stands out against the background and that the cover image is still natural rather than photoshopped.

If I was to do this project again I would try taking this medium shot photo against some different backgrounds as I think if I could find a main photo with a plain background this would work better as i'd be able to use a different coloured text without it blending into the background. I also think that i'd use a different font for my mast head, although nothing very complicated as this would take the laid back and simple look I was looking for out of my magazine.