Peer Audience Feedback

COVER

For my cover I have received a lot of positive feedback, which I will take into account when designing my final piece. Firstly I have been praised a lot for my successful use of colour palette. The blue/back/white ‘draw attention’ immediately and the boldness of the masthead has the same effect as well which is something I should definitely take into account when designing my final piece. On the other hand there are aspects that I can improve on my cover. For example I should ‘consider moving the text body’ and also make the image fit better so it is a higher resolution. Doing this would insure the magazine has a more professional, sharp look which is important.

CONTENTS

My contents page was what I was most happy with in my draft; I put the most detail into the layout in this page to make a conventional complete look. I received a lot of positive feedback about the ‘style and layout’ of the page, looking ‘very professional’ and a lot of text. However I was advised to use a web address to make the magazine appear more authentic, this is good feedback because a lot of magazine use this feature to attract a bigger online following as well. Along with this I was advised to change information in the text, some of it was false information, which isn’t useful.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

I feel there is room for a lot of improvement on my double page spread so I was intrigued to see the improvements I was suggested along with the positives. A positive of the pages where that the image looks good with the blue/white/black colour palette again and it ‘creates continuity’ along with this the bold lines I have used under the title ‘The Everything’ is good because it grabs the readers attention well. Some negatives in my double page spread where that the article and text was crammed in because of the sizing of my picture, this has made me think that I need to use a portrait image so it fits better and allows more room for text to look professional. Along with this I have left a lot of free space on the magazine that could be filled with useful information, however I want to keep the page looking minimalistic.

Overall I am happy with my feedback I have received for both positives and improvements which is important for me to take into account.

Cover Draft

This is my final draft cover of my magazine. I like the overall look of my cover, the image is very eye catchy, I didn’t spend much time taking my photos so the clothing and overall look doesn’t 100% fit the genre, so in my actual cover I will have a lot more time to make it perfect. I am planning on using a black and white image for my main cover; this is because it adds to the simplistic look of the cover. It also allows for my fonts to stand out well in contrast. I like the fonts I have used; the masthead is very clear and the colour allows it to stand out and be easily noticed. My colour scheme I have used is white black and blue, the two neutral colours allow the blue to really stand out, especially with the black and white photo. For my final piece i will spend a lot more time on the actual photo and getting it perfect, this way the whole clothing will suit the genre as well as the surroundings.

For my final piece i am looking at keeping the same look with a black and white image because it looks simplistic and allows my text to stand out well, however i will try using colour because it will add more interest and enthusiasm to the cover. Furthermore i will spend time on my actual image making it sharper with a better overall fit to the cover. Along with this i will make sure the models expressions and body language matches the look i want.

Magazine Drafts

DRAFT COVER

DRAFT CONTENTS

DRAFT DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

These are a few mock drafts for each of my pages. I haven't used my own photos for these drafts because i want to get an idea of the style of the image i use and how it contrasts/compliments my overall layout. I am not completely happy with any of these because they are drafts and ideas. For my final pieces i would want to change these a lot and put more effort in to give a sharp and professional look.

Cover Analysis - GQ

Even though this magazine isnt a music magazine i decided to do an analysis on it because i liked the style and feel of it.

The mast head is a very iconic magazine title GQ, the fact that the main photo is highly positioned over the logo adds emphasis to the size of the magazine, people still know the logo even with half of it missing, the unique conventional blue and red master head fits the whole colour scheme of the cover, including other binary opposite colours black and white. The cover can instantly be seen to be targeted at men due to the shot of Beyoncé on the front. She is only wearing a little blue crop top and small red pants, which go with the logo of GQ.  This image instantly grabs the attention of any male looking at the magazine rack because Beyoncé is such an iconic figure in the music industry, and she is very good looking. Because so much of her body is revealing this can make some of the audience believe there will be better photos inside the magazine and lure them into buying it. The sexual pose of Beyoncé instantly enters the male gaze and the fact she has limited clothes of and her figure is basically fully showing adds emphasis to this. The image is a very successful technique to luring people in.

The shot seems to be a low angle shot, as if she is looking down on the audience, this can suggest that because of her looks she can be over powering to the man which makes them want to buy the issue. This is something useful to think about.

The simplistic white background allows the main image to stand out significantly, which draws a lot of attention to the cover. The unique colour scheme is used in the cover lines to emphasis and show significance on certain names. For example this is down with Beyoncé, Kate Upton, Megan Fox and Mila Kunis. This affect catches the target audience’s eye a lot better because the colour will allow it to stand out from the rest of the text.

The use of fonts on the cover are good, the use of rhetorical questions on the front page can easily persuade the customer to buy it to see what really happened. The font used for the cover lines is bold and sharp, which compliments the sharp pixel image of Beyoncé. In the top left corner there is a cover line that starts with gentleman, this instantly suggests the target audience of the magazine, which compliments the photo used because both of them can lure a gentleman into purchasing this edition.