First attempt at front cover and contents page

                

                                 Evaluation for front cover

This is the feedback I received from my teacher for my first draft of my front cover, when looking at what went well the editing of my image by adding the tattoos was done very well, I know this as it appears and realistic and can identify a clear link between this image and the image of Eminem that I'm trying to imitate. The image is also successful as the tattoos, chains, clothing conform to the stereotypes and representations of hip hop and rap therefore my target audience could easily identify it is a hip hop and rap magazine. The masthead I used is also successful as it appears as powerful and eye catching which links in with my questionnaire results of being one of the largest and most important things upon the page and again links in with the representations of rap which is power. Now looking at what I found difficult would be editing the image, this is because it required skill and failure making the correct tattoo look realistic on the cover although with aiding from peers and teachers, I was able to do it fairly well. Another area that I found difficulty in was creating enough cover lines, this is because I was short on space and I did not allocate everything accurately. Now by looking at the feedback from my teacher, I need too space away my text and masthead away from the sides. This is because in real magazines you can identify that they leave a small area from the page all the way around when using text. The next advice was too close up my headings, by this I mean to reduce the gap between each line so that text appears tighter, this ensures that text is not all over the place and reduces wasted space. Another bit of advice I received was too leave an area around my masthead, this is because most mastheads leave a graphic area around it and the other elements surround it. The last bit of advice was to reduce the size of the barcode, this is because when you look at existing covers you can identify that the barcode is usually very small therefore this would help make my magazine cover appear realistic alongside other front covers.

This is the feedback i recieved from a peer for my first attempt at my contents page, when considering what went well, the idea of the masthead 'the Top-Side' taken from the masthead 'the A-Side' was a good recreation of an existing magazine. This is a good thing as it allows me to follow the conventions from current magazines which will appeal to the target audience as my magazine appears more like a real rap and hip hop magazine. The image i used was effective as it was an medium shot with high key lighting, the use of the high key lighting creates a sense of importance about the person on the cover. This also relates back to my results from my questionnaire of creating my image to be one of the most significent elements on the page therefore i am linking it more with the target audience.Now looking at what i found difficult would be the layout of my contents page, this is because when i analysed a range of rap contents page they all illustrated a variety of conventions which were all different therefore i found this a challenge. Now the changes i will make, firstly it was to allign all numbers, text and headings, this is because it would make the page appear more organised as a contents page. Next was to add more text as there was not enough text on the page compared to contents pages i analysed, this would also make my page appear more like a contens page. The last change was to try implement a new background in which i will try use a black brick wall as i feel it will follow the conventions better.