Step by Step Contents

Bethany Harvey

Step 1Drawing

Drafts

Before I started to develop my magazine and taking any images, I did 2 layouts in which I would like my contents page to have. I drew these layouts, considering my target audience because I wanted it to be clear enough to read as well a looking appealing to the audience. However, I wanted the contents to be full of information as this is the next page the consumers look at.I also looked at similar music magazines who have the same target audience as my magazine does, e.g. Q. From looking at other magazine layouts I saw that the full they are and wanted to make mine fuller to make it stand out more to the audience. Therefore, at this point I was trying to decide if one page was enough as none of the magazines I looked at had 2 pages for their contents.

Step 2 Computer Based Drafts

After I designed my hand-drawn layout, I produced the layout on the computer of my preferred layout that I will be using for my magazine, so it becomes more clearer and I can use this as a guide for when I start producing my magazine contents page.I decided to use this one, because I wanted to make the contents appealing but informative, so that it attracts the target audience enough so that they want to buy the magazine.

The fonts I have chosen to use are basic and easy to read. They also follow on from the front cover so there isn’t to much variation that the audience get confused. I used the same text from the front cover title “Rock On!” for the contents title. This is so the magazine has a flow and the consumer can compare them.

The colours are simple and don’t clash with the background or with each other. The colour scheme is continued within the contents page so the magazine can be noticed from any page within. Also, I created a small logo for the title “Rock On!” and just used- “R!” I thought this would be more effective than using bullet points.

The sizes are in order of importance, starting from the title being the biggest so it stands out the most. After that, the text will be near enough all the same size, besides the page number as this will be slightly smaller.

I have had the writing on either side and then images down the middle because I thought this would look different and effective.

Step 3 – First Draft

After collecting some images, creating the title and deciding on a layout for my magazine, I produced a quick draft to see if all the fonts, colours, images and the layout all work out. However, as I was producing the contents page I saw that just like the front cover, the original colour scheme I had chosen wasn’t working out very well, therefore I changed the colour scheme to match the front cover. However, as you can see it didn’t work as well as I expected as many factors on the draft are out of proportion and the colours don’t match.. Therefore myself and fellow classmates come up with things I needed to change;

• Images were to small• Not all the text would fit on, as well as the images• The editor’s section needs to be more creative• To much information on the page, the consumer may get bored• Lacks creativity• The cover artist isn’t in the contents (no images etc.)

After collecting the negatives, I decided to do a second draft and change what needed to be changed.

Step 4 – Second Draft

After producing my second draft as shown, I still wasn’t satisfied. After looking at the bullet points on what needed to be changed, I planned out what needed to be done.

I decided to put less information on the page and make the images a little bit bigger, even though everything would still not fit on the page properly. I added another image of the cover artist and placed it on the contents page. I took out the editors section, but after looking in other magazines I realised that most magazines have an editors section. To be a little more creative I highlighted the red on the cover band to make them stand out more and be a little more creative,

For my next draft magazine I will be changing;

• The amount of information on the page• Have a double page contents to fit everything I require on the page• Make the images of the other bands a lot bigger so they stand out more and possibly edit the images to look more creative and appealing• Add more images to the page• Put the editors section back in, just make it more appealing• Possibly have a red border line at the top to make it more colourful and bring out the red in the magazine

Step 5 – Final DraftFor this draft I made all the changes I said I would from the previous draft (2) and also some other minor changes, i.e. Having an issue number.

As you can see from the previous draft there are a number of changes that have made me extremely pleased with this one, that no more drafts will be needed. I have added the red border line, so it can bring out the red in the magazine. I have altered the cover bands name and made it so it matched the contents page title and also moved their image so it slightly overlaps the contents title- therefore it’s not as ‘neat’. I have made the other bands images bigger and also edited them to make them more appealing. I have spaced out the information across 2 pages and put the editors section back in with a few minor changes, such as adding my image there and my name.

The images on the page also contain the number page that they are on within the magazine, which makes it a lot quicker for the target audience to read, if they don’t feel like looking through the contents. I have also added some other images of the cover band which vary, to show that a photo shoot took place and they did different things. I prefer this contents page to the drafts as its more clearer, simple but informative at the same time.

ConclusionIn conclusion, it took me 3 attempts to get the right contents page that I was 100% pleased with. I used Macromedia Fireworks, Quark Express and Photoshop to produce this magazine. I feel it helped that I come up with a favourite layout even though my final magazine cover didn’t quite match, however working from the layout guide helped me see where everything could go and where itmay look better. I think I have progressed excessively from the first draft and that is down to researching other magazine and getting some more ideas for my magazine and simply finding ways in which it helped the magazine looked more appealing to my target audience.

The colours in the end became more of a red, black and white theme and I feel this is because the magazine looks better when it has a colour theme, rather than loads of different colours as it makes the magazine more recognisable to the audience as well showing the type of magazine by using the colour red.

The sizes were a lot bigger than I anticipated at the start, but after seeing the sizes on the magazine I realised that my predictions were wrong and the title, band name and slogan need to be bigger, as well as different colours.

The images I used were better in the second and final draft as I didn’t costume the actors in the right ‘rock’ way for the magazine. However, after I spent the night taking new ones they became a lot better and I colour coded it by getting them to wear red so they blend in with the magazine. Making them black and white and just having their red piece of clothing in colour, I feel made an effect that I couldn’t find any other magazine doing, therefore I thought it was diverse and unique.

Finally, I feel the last draft was the best and therefore I didn’t make any more as I was fully satisfied and overall, I was very happy with my final contents page and I feel I have satisfied all my target audiences needs and the magazine front cover is appealing enough to attract the target market.