Double page spread for music magazine - evaluation

After receiving feedback for my double page spread, I have realised that my double page spread works well as a whole although it could do with some improvements. One thing I really like about this page are the backgrounds I enabled for either side of the pages. The background on the left is the same gradient which I used for the front cover and the background on the right is an image of some old, torn paper. I think that the torn paper effect is very effective for this page in particular as Edge is a very rural person who is getting old. This effect also shows his wildside and how different he is compared to other artists. On the other side of the page, I inserted a red guitar which I edited in Photoshop to make slightly transparrent and with a watermark effect. This is a good feature of the double page spread because it includes an image related to rock which is behind the text and doesn't overpower the page. The final feature I like is the editing I did on my eyes. I one eye green. This easy yet effective effect shows passion in Edge's emotion and how much of a rock star he is. It also matches the conventions of other rock stars who have appeared in magazines with emphasised veins, big eyes, edited teeth etc. Although the double page spread looked like a rock magazine article, it still could have been improved. The image for example was slightly blury when I took it due to poor lighting. It is too late to adjust this now however if I was given the chance to create the double page spread at a later date, I would definitely take the picture again and re-import it. Here is an image of the double page spread:

As you can see, I added in the CD album at the bottom after some feedback I recieved from my teacher saying that "there is too much dead space at the bottom right hand corner of the page". This is why the album is not shown in the step-by-step process as I inserted it in afterwards. Additionally, I put the text on the right page into columns which I think looks a lot better as the magazine is more conventional of other magazines in its genre.

Feedback for double page spread of music magazine

Within this post, I will include a video of someone looking at my double page spread and telling me what works well and what doesn't work so well. I wanted to use a wide range of multimedia while carrying out this piece of coursework so I filmed the following video on my iPad 2, edited it with windows movie maker and then uploaded it using blogger. Here is the video: http://youtu.be/9iB-z8oD7gk

In depth analysis of album cover - double page spread

Within this post, I will be explaining how I created the album cover which was used on my double page spread. Here is an image of the album cover:

Using my Photoshop skills, I managed to edit and merge different images/layers together in order to create the album cover for my double page spread. The main image (spaceman) was taken from Google and edited in order to make it look relevant and appealing. The first editing step I did was the merging of the spaceman and the guitar on his back. I thought that the spaceman on his own wasn't really linked to rock music therefore a prop had to be included. Then I created the title : Edge The Final Note. I also did this in Photoshop as there is a large range of fonts which have unique styles. After applying the title, I chose a grey/green colour as this linked well with the main image itself. Finally, I created the CD. This was done by drawing a circle and then layering it so that it looked as if it was coming out of the CD cover. I then used the quick selection tool in order to select the shape and put a space scene inside of it. This was a very effective way of creating the album as it didn't look like it had been edited.

Double page spread step-by-step editing process

In this post, I will be demonstrating the steps I carried out in order to create my double page spread. For this, I used Adobe Photoshop CS5.5 as this held the sufficient tools I needed in order to make my double page spread look bold and appealing. Here are the steps I took:

1. First I chose the correct page size (international paper x2) and applied it to the document. This made sure that the size was two A4 pieces of paper which were merged together to make a double page spread.

2. I then created a background to the document. The gave the right hand page an old paper effect so that the article looked old-school and original. On the left hand side, I gave the bottom of the page a black/white gradient and then inserted a guitar with about 45% transparency so that it looked watermarked.

3. Next I created the title for the page. I used Dafont to create the style and then I edited it slightly to match the style for the magazine. I also created some page numbers at the bottom with some additional clip art. I chose stars and rockets so that the page was eyecatching and had a homemade effect.

4. After that, I wrote the information to go into the main body. This included the introduction about Edge and the type of career he does. This was done so that the reader was introduced the topic in a subtle way.

5. Then I added in the main image of myself. I used a variety of different effects including: colour overlays, blur, sharpen and others in order to make my image stand out. Additionally, I croped the image so that I didn't take up too much of the page. I also used the paintbrush tool to make my eyes different colours: green and red.

6. Finally, I wrote the rest of the information for the double page spread. I used a red font for the questions and the standard black font for the answers. I also wrapped the information on the left around my head and made the last question lay underneath my head. I did this because it contained secret information which the reader wasn't actually supposed to know about. This made my double page spread far more interesting with a twist.

Photos used for double page spread

Within this blog post, I will show you the photo I took which I included on my double page spread. There were a few different angles and shots I experimented with as I wasn't sure how my face would sit on the page, however I finally came up with a choice which matched the correct criteria. Here is the image I took for my double page spread:

This is the image I decided to use. It is a mid-angled shot which enables the reader to see the way I am positioned and the expression of my face. I purposly put one eye up and the other down so that it gave the image a slightly retro effect with a custom style. Additionally, this enabled me to change the eye colours in the final product with ease. This image was taken by myself with a tri-pod as I wanted to reinforce the skills I had learnt from angles and shots in previous media lessons. I then 'photoshoped' this image so that the background was minimised and did the nessassary editing needed to make the picture look proffessional.

Music magazine double page spread mock-up

In this post is the double page spread mock-up for my music magazine. I decided to use Photoshop when creating this as I wanted it to look proffessional and easy to understand. This also allowed me to make changes if I made any mistakes or decided that one feature looked better than the original. Here is the mock-up for my music magazine double page spread:

My double page spread style model

For my double page spread I have chosen a style model to emulate so that my D.P.S looks as professional as possible. As my magazine lies in the genre of rock, I have decided to use a double page spread from a rock magazine. This is because they match all of the conventions my magazine consists of and they feature similar artisits to the ones I want to feature within my magazine. Here is an image of my style models double page spread: ------------------------------------------>

There are certain features I like about this double page spread. The first feature I like is the graphology. I think that the main image of the women in the middle makes the DPS look appealing and effective. I think that my magazine would greatly benfefit if I emualted this style as it would make my double page spread look unique and professional. Additionally, I like the font which has been used throughout the pages. It is the standard font of a computer generated message which is good because it is clear and easy to read. Finally, I like the colour scheme. Blue is very bold and eyecatching which is why it would work well with the important information within my magazine. I am thinking of doing an interview style double page spread which is why I think that a red font would work better for the questions and a black font for the answers would work very well.

I also like how the text wraps around the image; but only slightly. I think for my double page spread, I will have an image similar to the one shown in this style model but with text wrapped around it on the left. The right text will then be 'columnised' so that the page is clear and easy to read. 

Contents page for music magazine - evaluation

To summarise, my contents page has been a success and judging from the feedback I recieved on Facebook, it looks like it could be a real contents page which would be sold in most magazine shops around the country. In my opinion, I think that the contents page works well considering the difficulty of creating something original yet unique. It still includes all of the conventional features like taglines, issue number, date and a title, however there are specific conventions which it challenges and many of the features included benefit from this. Like the front cover, I decided to use the transparrent box effect for the title of each article as it makes it stand out and look appealing to the reader. Ease of navigation is also increased as the spacing between each piece of text is appropriate. On this page, I went for a certain colour scheme for the rest of the pages to follow. This was: blue, red and white. Ironically these are the colours of the Union Jack which adds a 'homely' feel towards the magazine. These colours also blend very well with each other and don't look out of place when put side by side. One feature which links with this is the red stamp in the bottom left hand corner of the page. I included this so that it gave the page a 'real' appeal and that it looked like it was very experienced. This also worked well with the editors section which I wrote as it 'tied up the loose ends' and made that section of the page look more presentable. Finally, I should mention the main image at the top of the page. This could be seen as the most detailed image in the whole of the magazine as I had to take two different pictures and then merge them together. One of me on a stool and one of a guitar hero guitar I own. I then put these into the landscape and manipulated myself onto the bench so that it looked like I was actually there. This did not challenge my Photoshop skills however it is a very effective technique and helps to increase the verismilitude of an image. Additionally, I used a colour replacement tool to make the sky and mountains grey and make the grass a more vibrant green. I did this because I thought that it added depth to the image and made it look much more appealing. Here is an image of the contents page:

Feedback for contents page for music magazine

Within this post, I will state the feedback I recieved for the contents page of my music magazine. To generate the comments for this particular page, I used facebook with an embedded image of the page. I decided to do it this way compared to surveymonkey as I didn't want my friends to think that the post was spam. I recieved 3 comments which were: "it's perfect", "it looks really professional however the main image takes up too much of the page" and "I can see it in an official magazine but the colours are too vivid". I studied these comments and used them to my advantage so that I could improve my contents page. I agreed that the main image took up too much of the page so I croped it to the right and added a subheading box on the left. This organised my page and made it look far less cluttered and dominating. In terms of the colours, I decided to change the transparrency so that the colours weren't too overwhelming. Additionally, I used a far 'cooler' colour temprature so that the colour scheme worked effectivly.