Front cover title

With my masthead being a crucial part of my front cover I decided going for a simple look but with big bold writing. Firstly I got the font from www.urbanfonts.com and then I saved it into my area but before putting it on in design I put it on Photoshop to use all the effects I wanted. Using the rectangular marquee tool I cut out the title and put it onto a different page which is where all the new effects on the title took place. The effects were neon glow around the masthead with the brightness quite low, also I used graphic pen to emphasise the outline of “GRIME TIME”. All of this was done to create an effect a big and bold masthead to capture the readers attention.

This is an American based magazine which covers the genres R’N’B and Hip Hop. The title of this magazine is similar to in being bold and easy to notice however the differences include how big the title is with the “VIBE” masthead being considerably bigger than mine. Also the font is more formal than mine with mine aiming to be legible yet with a little graffiti hint. This is because I want to appeal to a variety of target audiences which include ages from 10-late 20’s and although I would please teenagers with hip graffiti art I may lose some of my target audience and that is why I went for the simple font with a hint of graffiti.

Front cover background

My idea for the front cover was to have a gradient background with me going for a simple one at first with half the front cover in black and the top half in white. I did this on Indesign and I found it quite boring and therefore I decided to do my background on Photoshop as it had a variety of different gradient options with me choosing the diamond gradient option coming from the bottom right hand corner. The diamond gradient effect was to appeal to a variety of target audiences without the typical grime fans and that is why I didn’t go for a colourful, vibrant background or a simple background with just white or black. Instead i put both of the colours together to create an effect that was simple yet not boring. The black rectangular box at the top is the space for my top strip and the tool is used for this was the rectangular tool.

The reason I chose Black and white is because of the clothing of my main image but also the reason I have the black coming in from the bottom right and corner with the right coming in from the left is because of the typical codes and conventions of a music magazine. This is the left third that is supposed to be the busier part of the magazine with a lead article and interesting information on this side as well.

Main image

The main image was an integral part of my magazine as it covered most of my front cover. I was using the main image to portray the look I was going for and intrigue further target audiences. The clothing in my main image is a suit a with a black tie and a trilby hat, originally I wanted a top hat for my main image however I changed my mind because a trilby hat seemed more convenient however the reason I chose the clothing is because I was contradicting the stereotype of grime clothing which includes a top brand jacket with a baseball cap and jeans which hang considerably low. However as I stated before I was going for a different, more sophisticated option to enhance my target audience with an older generation. Furthermore I the prop I used for the image which was a clock was intended to be integrated with the name of my magazine being called “Grime Time” but also the stereo type with not so much urban artists but Hip Hop artists not being afraid of flashing there bling which would normally consist of a big flashy Rolex type watch. Although the genre of my magazine is not Hip Hop there are similarities to grime and Hip Hop including the stereotypes and therefore I attempted to go for a look which would also appeal to Hip Hop fans.

The Clock

The clock is an original image I took of a normal clock and the purpose of the clock was because of the title of my magazine “Grime Time”. It is part of my logo and I thought it would be a humorous prop because of my title name so in simple terms it is a “play on words”. With feedback from my peers I recognised that I am breaking boundaries by doing this because of me using the play on word effect and also use of irony to get my unfamiliar magazine known around the U.K.

The effect I used on the clock was glowing edges with the brightness quite high and also the edge with and smoothness quite high as well this created an effect where it brightened up the clock instead of it being boring. Furthermore I would have needed the image of the clock to be black because it is in the top left hand corner where the gradient background is white and therefore the clock will stand out.

Construction of front cover

This is the beginning of my front cover coming together with my main image being the star attraction because of the size and the clothing. The clock is in the left hand corner because normally strap lines are normally in the corner at the top and also under the masthead. The masthead is big and bold however the difference between the two images above is a slightly larger image which is just about covering the bottom of the title but also the start of my lead article and text. I have decided to follow the codes and conventions of a music magazine by creating the left third as the busy side of the magazine with information that will entice my target audience. Furthermore I will point out that the left third is in white which lights up the left third which makes it brighter than any other part of the magazine. The difference between the second image and the third image is the white glow on the image to give the image an outline and more depth however another there is a considerable difference between the third and fourth image.

With feedback from my peers I was told that my magazine lacked creativity and colour because of just back and white which made it seem too boring. Therefore I thought I would need just 1 more colour to make my magazine more vibrant and attractive and that colour was light blue. I used the light blue colour to get an outer glow effect on the masthead to make it more noticeable, although the outer glow I used at first was too bright and over powered the bold black title I was looking for in my masthead. Therefore I used the Indesign effect bevel and emboss which darkened the glow and made it noticeable but not so much that you could barely see the black. With my masthead and my main image sorted I started working on the final bits and pieces on my front cover.

Final front cover Since I lost the rest of my screen shots with all the

developments in my magazine I will talk you through the steps I used to create my final piece.

My objective for my front cover was to challenge a few codes and conventions of a typical grime magazine, although there isn't many my other aim was to make my magazine a gateway for grime to become a mainstream genre of music.

The Main image is large which follows magazine conventions but the reason for this was because of my artist being known as a new global superstar but was only known around the Urban circuit I tried to challenge this and dress him up in sophisticated clothing and portray a different type of artist that would appeal to different ages and music fans. The three colours I applied on the front cover I maintained throughout the rest of the front cover and then further on into the magazine but the reason I chose these colours is because black and white compliment each other and also a range of colours work with these colours as well. Light blue is also a very popular colour with both male and female and therefore it should one again widen my target audience and contradict grime magazines only being for males. The cover lines are white because on the gradient background they are on the part which is black and that is the reason the font colour is white with a faint glow on it . My strap line Is in a graffiti