My Updated Magazine Cover Analysis

For this task, we had to create a new magazine cover based on what we had learned for magazine theory. This task required us to update and improve our previous design based on what we have learned in the last week. The new magazine cover features more theory to appeal to its target audience. Like the last cover, it features all the magazine requirements which include a masthead, a skyline, two cover lines, a serif and sans serif font and a barcode. All these requirements are used in different ways to attract readers. This is the original design for my new cover; the new cover follows many features from the other cover however I have had to change some parts of it to follow the media theory

Firstly, the new cover follows the ‘left third’ rule instead of the ‘right third’ rule. The last cover only followed the right third rule because the main image took up most of the space on the left; therefore I didn’t want to cover the image with text. However I’ve changed that now and the new cover follows the more traditional left third rule.  The magazine uses this magazine rule in case the magazine is covered on display, all the relevant information will still be on show to the reader even though the main image is covered

Next, the masthead. I’ve changed the title of the magazine from ‘Harlow College’ to ‘Harlow College Magazine’, this has been done to differentiate the magazine from other similar magazines and to make it more memorable to the reader. Like many traditional magazine mastheads, the title is the biggest piece of text on the cover therefore it is the text the appeal to the reader the most. When a reader sees the cover, they will see the masthead first because it is the boldest text on display. The masthead is written in a serif font to make it appear more important and relevant than the information beneath it. In addition it is written in a red font to contrast against the white background, this makes the masthead look like it is bolder an d it will appeal more to the reader.

Unlike the last cover, I have included a cover line for this magazine. The cover line says ‘your monthly magazine for Harlow college news’, the cover line informs the reader that this is where they will find exclusive articles for the college. This makes the magazine appear more important to the reader, it also makes the magazine appear to be more unique and enticing to read. This text is written in a sans serif font so that it doesn’t take any attention away from the masthead; in addition the cover line is written in a black font to make it look less significant than the masthead

Like the last magazine, this cover contains a main article. Both magazines feature the same main story which states ‘Graphic Designer in the making’, I didn’t feel like I had to change the main article title because the language already appeals enough to the reader and there is nothing more to add otherwise it would over-complicate the title. The main article is written in a sans serif font, the same font as the masthead, to signify its importance however; I have made the main article title smaller than the masthead because the masthead needs to be the largest text on the screen. Like most common magazine covers, the main article is written in a smaller font than the masthead so nothing appears to be more important than the masthead. However, like the masthead, the main article is written in the same colour to follow the theme of the magazine. It also makes the article contrast against the background to demonstrate its importance.

the colours on this cover are very neutral therefore it can appeal to different genders, my cover has used mostly red and white. this has been done to not exclude one gender and can appeal to different audiences. if the cover was blue, it would mostly appeal to a male target audiunce, the same can be said if the cover was pink.

Finally, to improve the last cover I added a puff to the updated magazine. The puff says ‘exclusive Harlow college poster inside’, the word ‘exclusive’ has been used to demonstrate to the reader that this magazine contains content that can’t be found anywhere else. This makes the magazine appear to be significant. The inclusion of a gift in a magazine can attract a wider target audience.

In conclusion, I have followed more theory to update my magazine cover. It includes all the relevant details to create a professional looking and modern cover. The cover includes enough articles to attract an audience and it follows the left third rule so the information can still be shown even if it is covered.

from this task, I have learned the basic tools used to create a simple cover on Photoshop. It has taught me how to open and create an A4 page as the basis of a magazine cover. in addition, I have learned how to add images and transform their size and their angle. this task also educated me in adding text and using a variety of text on one cover

 My magazine cover took a lot of inspiration from this cover, there were several media elements that I incorporated from this magazine into my own. firstly, the use of simple colours. both magazines use limited colours to create a simple and modern magazine cover also, both covers use the same colours: red, black and white. furthermore, both covers add a puff which includes additional information, the puff makes the text inside it more apparent to the reader. finally, the headline titles are written in red while the additional information is written in black. the red highlights the text and captivates the audiences attention. the black is less important information