College Magazine: Software and Equipment

I decided to make my front cover and contents page on Adobe Photoshop as I used this software in previous school years and am familiar with it. Also, I felt that I could get the most realistic look using this. This software wasn't too hard to use as I am used to it but Photoshop is quite a complex software to use so it wasn't the easiest but in the end, I was pleased I had used it as the outcome came out looking more professional that it would've if I hadn't used some of the tools that it includes.

For this photo-shoot for my college magazine I used a regular digital camera. I got better quality photographs using this opposed to a camera phone. However, the pictures could've been better so next time I will use a digital slr to get a clearer image.

College Magazine: Finished Contents Page

This is my new, improved, finished contents page for my magazine.

 After realizing I needed to change the layout and add more photos, I produced this page. I'm very pleased with the outcome. I think the extra pictures improve the overall effect of the page a lot. The feedback I got from peers was that they thought I had used appropriate images and the liked the use of the logo.

College Magazine: Making The Contents Page

For my new version of the contents page, I started off by preparing the three photographs I wanted to put into my contents page. These were two models: one from the front cover and one to go along with a different sell line. The other is a picture of a Costa cup to go along with another sell line. I am using three pictures on this page as I've used one on the front cover and I need a minimum of 4 original images for my entire magazine. I chose to only go with the minimum amount as it is only a college magazine. For my music magazine I will use more to make it look more professional.

I started off by editing the picture of Robyn (from front cover) so that the models outfit looks different to the one on the front cover. I did this by coloring each piece of clothing. Such as the jeans, I made them from blue denim to grey denim. I then cropped the picture. For the picture of Rosie I edited her skin to look better and more flawless as magazines are known for doing this. I then cropped it. For the picture of the Costa cup, I simply cropped it.

These are the pictures before (top) and after (bottom):

I then started on my actual contents page. I began with a white background and then adding in the college logo (to give authenticity) and the masthead (CONTENTS). I also added the date underneath in smaller font. I used the same font for my text as I did and even the same colours - white with a black outline - for my front cover masthead in order to continue with the theme and make the contents connect to the front cover.

I then added in my two photographs of the models. I experimented with the positioning of these but ended up with having them diagonal for each other, leaving white space on one side in order to put the article teasers. I will leave the Costa picture until I have put the text in to add it in, in order to fit around the text as I don't want it to be big and dominant on the page.

The next step was putting in the article teasers. This stage needed the most experimenting with. I had to decide where to separate the text as to fit into two places. I decided to keep the text black as if not then there might be too much colour as both the pictures on the page are quite colourful. I put the text into the same font as the sell lines on the front cover in order to continue with the theme of the magazine.

I has left a space next to the sell line that goes with the Costa picture in order to fit it in. So the next step was doing so. This step was easy as all I had to do was insert a photo and make it smaller so it would fit into the space allocated.

I then needed to put in sell lines to go with the larger photos. I was inspired to add these on top of the images themselves so it would be clear that they go along with them and also I think it looks good. When I added the sell lines on top in the same black as the rest of the article teasers, it didn't show up very well. So, in order to make them visible to the audience, I put them in white and added a black outline like I had done for the title. Once I had done this, my contents page was finished.

 

College Magazine: Contents Page Considerations And Improvements

After finishing my contents page, I was informed by my peers that I hadn't included enough images: I had only used two instead of the required four images.  Also, I got feedback that having the model from the front cover, also dominating the contents page didn't look right. So in order to improve my magazine, I started again and added two more photographs and changed the layout.

College Magazine: Finished First Version Of Contents Page

This is my finished college magazine contents page:

When looking at other contents pages, I had a different idea on how mine would turn out from how it did turn out, but when looking  at the photographs I had to work with, a new idea became clear in my mind and the outcome is very similar. The only thing that changed was the extra colour but i'm pleased I have put it in as it gives the page an extra something. I am happy with the outcome, I stays true to the theme from the front cover. Fellow peers agree that both pages looks like they're from the same magazine, not only because they share the same model.

College Magazine: Making The First Version Of My Contents Page

I started off by editing the picture so that the models outfit looks different to the one on the front cover. I did this by coloring each piece of clothing. Such as the jeans, I made them from blue denim to grey denim.

Then I added the title and logo to the empty space above the model. I used the same font and colours as the front cover title to continue with the theme.

Then I added the article teasers I had previously thought up and added to my blog with their page numbers next to them on the left hand side. I decided to put a line in between the number and the text as I thought it made the overall look better. I put them in white because it went with the title and contrasted against the colored background. I added a slight black outer glow to the text however, as the white text on the white background didn't stand out enough.

Once looking at the page, it looked rather bare so like the front cover, I added in white lines between each teaser to separate them and fill up some space. I also added the date below the title to also fill up space and make the page look more realistic.

Then I experimented by adding a white box  for the 'On The Cover' article teaser as I was previously inspired to by the NME magazine.I  created a white box and then added the article teaser in black on top with a sub title 'On The Cover'. After doing this, I thought that it didn't look very professional and decided not to add this into the final page design.

I went back to the original design but thought that it still needed something extra so I tried to add more colour by putting the page numbers as red. I also did this because the white page numbers didn't stand out very much against the white background even with the outer glow.

I then made space so I could add more photos onto the page. I did this buy moving some of the text top the left so that I have the right amount of space for my photos.

I then added in the pictures beside the article teasers that went along with them and my page was complete.

College Magazine: Contents Page Article Teasers

Before I started to actually make my contents page, I thought it would be best to brainstorm ideas of what I want to put in there for my article teasers. First of all I thought of idea of what to put in:

NCS
Bullying
CV tips
Mocks and revision
High education
Springboard TV
Student savings
Renovations
Costa
Interview with Robyn quote

Then using these ideas I made them into actual teasers:


Hot drinks are hot property - Costa hype coasts through college
A springboard to success   -  Springboard TV is a roaring success
Spruce up your CV - top tips to stand out from the crowd
 Banishing the bullying - The college cracks down on bullies
Don't get mocked, revise!   - A guide to the upcoming mocks
Going higher on high education - Life after college at CWA
 The renovations are a towering success - Students share their thoughts
 Times are tough...but not for a student - student savings for those in the know
Why say "YES" to NCS? - Rewarding times of your life are closer than you think
"Coming to college was the best decision I've ever made." - Robyn tells us the high school lows and the college highs of her education.


These are the teasers I will put into my contents page. ^