Final contents page

For my final contents page I decided to put the pictures in a grouping at the top of the page, with the effect that is seen on the front cover to enable the two pages to flow and link together. It is also placed behind the masthead to ensure that is stood out and caught the reader's eye, the pattern also ensures that the contents page is balanced which was a big problem throughout my mock ups. The black box with holding the articles, is now slightly transparent, to ensure that the articles to stand out, but also to ensure that it didn't give a negative atmosphere, which a bold black can sometimes give to the reader. The articles are purple to ensure that they stand out on the page, engaging readers into the magazine as the articles are easily seen and will appeal to the target market. The pattern used on the bottom left hand corner also helps the two pages follow each other and and link together.

Contents mock ups

These are the mock ups I made for my contents page, these mock ups helped my design my final contents page.

From my draft I had a vague idea of what I wanted my contents page to look like. I knew I wanted the masthead to be different and original, I also knew I wanted my articles in a box to ensure that they stood out. But when designing the contents page and placing the design that was seen in my drafts, I felt that it didn't look as good as I initially thought. Therefore, to improve on this, the effects surrounding the images needed to be taken from the images to allow the background to be more dominant therefore maintaining the link between the colours on the front cover with the colours on the contents page. Like

the front cover this page was unbalanced, as lot was happening at the bottom of the page, but a lot of empty space is seen at the top.

I added more images to ensure that the contents appealed to my target market and put them in a grouping, that looked original and would catch the eye of the reader. However the articles still weren't drawing the eye of the reader and an unbalanced page was still being seen.

To try and resolve the issue of the unbalanced page I experimented with the layout of the page and instead of seeing the images in a group, I separated that and allowed them to frame the articles, that would be seen in the contents page, in the hope that it would balance the page and enthuses the article. However the page still had a lot of empty spaces that would have to be filled.

To try and resolve the page being unbalanced, I added the effect that is seen on the front cover that would not only help with an unbalanced page, but also help the contents page and the front cover to follow each other and link together. The effect also helped the masthead stand out and catch the eye of the reader, however the attention of the reader's eye was still not falling on the articles in the magazine, which is a great negative, as it discourages people to engage with the contents page and the magazine.

Final front cover

The front cover is fun and bold and will instantly catch the eye of my target market, due to the colours, images and style of the page. The logo at the top right hand cover ensures that it is visable, but doesn't take all the attention from the rest of the front cover. The effect has also been added under the masthead, to fill in empty spaces and ensures that the cover is balanced. The article on the right hand side, in the middle of the page, has also been moved off the image to ensure that it is the first thing that draws the reader to the magazine. The price has also been placed on the right hand side of the page with a shadowed effect, to ensure that the readers eye is drawn to it, engaging them into the magazine. The splash is also been changed from the mock up, to make sure that it catches the readers eye but doesn't take the effect from the image. The image used is effective due to where her eyes are looking, they are directly looking to the mast head which will move the readers eye and ensure that they recognise the name Reach, but the image also links to the splash as the "talent show is back".

Front cover mock ups

These are my mock ups and the stages I went though to get to my final piece.

I knew the title, slogan, pattern and colour scheme due to my draft front covers. I had selected the picture used on the front cover, as it reflects my splash on the magazine, which i decided would be about the talent show. I know that the headlines would be placed around the image, but I didn't like how much empty space there was and how the text looked quite boring, although the font was fun, it didn't stand out enough on the page therefore not drawing the readers eye and I also didn't like how the splash was going over the image.

On the second mock up, I decided to put a black outline around the masthead to ensure that it jumped out of the page and instantly draw the eye of the reader. I also moved the masthead more into the middle, as I believed that this would fill in some of the empty space. However there is still a lot of empty space that needs to be filled, as the front cover looks unbalanced. I also moved the splash off the image to ensure that it stood out, but I do not like how this looks as it makes the image look smaller than it actually is.

I added a school name to the magazine to enforce that the magazine is a school magazine, I also moved the mast head back to the left hand side as it left to much empty space around it. The slogan was moved to the right hand side to fill in empty space to try and balance out the magazine. I enlarged the image to ensure that it stood out and instantly caught the eye of the reader. I also added effects to the article, to help them draw the eye of the reader enticing them to the magazine. However although I didn't mind the splash going over the image I didn't like how the headlines were also covering it.

I added a effect to the front cover to try and even out the page, as the top of the page didn't have a lot of things on it and had quite a lot of empty spaces. However I still do not like how the headline if over the image. The cover also needs a logo and price. The empty space at the top is also still an issue.

pictures

These are the photographs that I took for the two pages I am creating. However as known, I will not be able to use all these images, due to them not following the colour scheme or as they will not be able to fit in with the rest of my magazine. Another reason may be that all faces may not be visable on some pictures, or the lighting or format may not be correct.

planning - colour scheme

The first part of planning I did was to come up with colour schemes that I thought would work well, (this is the last part of my planning as I had forgotten I had actually made). When looking at the colour schemes that I had produced, when looking at other school magazine front covers, I decided that the colour scheme that would work the best was the black, purple, blue and white as it is multi sex and could be used efficiently, to create the best front cover and contents. I also picked this colour scheme as I believed it work the best with the pictures that I would be applying to the two pages.

planning - contents drafts

When thinking of creating a contents page I wanted to ensure that it linked to the front cover which would allow the magazine to flow. Therefore, I knew that from my chosen colour scheme I was able to experiment with the design until I came to the ones that you can see. However, as I had an idea what I wanted my front cover to look like, I wanted to carry on with the pattern created at the bottom left hand corner to ensure that links could be made between the front cover and the contents page. I used to split text on the mast head as I thought that it would appeal to the target market and looked aesthetically pleasing. As seen from my planning I had decided to use the pattern seen around the pictures to fill in spare space but to also add a new effect to the contents page to ensure that it looked different from other contents pages. I didn't want the picture straight as I thought it would look too formal therefore used the skew tool on them, to add a slant on them. I also did this in the box that the articles would be seen as I believed that it would make the contents page look more aesthetically pleasing. The use of the black box will ensure that the eye is instantly drawn to the articles engaging people into the magazine, fulfilling the requirements of the contents page. However, after a lot of thought I believed that the last contents page worked the best as the colour use worked the best

and ensured that the magazine was uni sex.