Process of Learning the Magazine Conventions
It was very easy for me to understand the magazine conventions, as I've always been interested in graphic designing so I have some knowledge.
The conventions I already knew were the barcode, dateline, and strip. The ones I didn't know, however, were the puff, coverline, masthead, and feature article.
I'm really happy to have learned these new terms. The terminology and practice will be very extremely helpful for when I do my portfolio.
Process of Creating my Magazine Cover
My genre of choice for my magazine was fashion, specifically women's fashion.
My Finished Magazine Cover:
As you can see, the cover image was of two female mannequins with similar type of clothing. The aesthetic being portrayed is of summer vibes.
My magazine cover conveys the genre of women's fashion by bringing up new fashion trends as well as fashion advice, beauty advice, and lifestyle advice as well.
The magazine conventions used were the barcode, dateline, puff, masthead, and coverlines. It contributes to the effectiveness by the uniqueness of the coverlines' placements.
Challenges and Successes
In the creation of the magazine cover, I had a few challenges.
When I began working on the cover, I struggled with the placement of the cover image. The blue lines confused me, but luckily Ms. Acosta helped me.
A success I had was figuring out how the create the circular puff, all on my own. I didn't need help until much later, when I had accidentally deleted the original puff (as pictured above) and I forgot how to do it again.
Another success was the way I perfectly created the masthead. I had no idea how to create the shadow effect on text yet, so instead I used my prior knowledge of photo editing to create the shadow effect manually.
Eventually, I was getting the hang of using InDesign. And as pictured below, I was getting close to my final result.
An important take away, and what I will do next with what I have learned, is that I will make sure to use the text effects the program gives next time.
I will also make sure to use CTRL + Z constantly whenever I make mistakes and I have to undo them.
Using This Knowledge for the Portfolio Project
I will be using the knowledge I've learned from this magazine cover conventions project with creating my end-of-the-year magazine.
I will make sure the portfolio appears aesthetically pleasing with a simple masthead, no shadow effect being involved.
I will also make sure that the coverline text/phrases don't repeat, as it would look tacky and unprofessional.
