Creating / Designing Product

Creating / Designing Product

When creating my magazine cover I had to make sure that I had as many conventions as possible.I was able to practice on Photoshop before I had to create my real cover which meant that I knew how to use most of the tools and that I was confident to use the software. When creating my final cover I didn't always stick to my plans as it was hard to because sometimes I wanted to change things, so my final cover doesn't look exactly like my plan. However, I still think it looks similar and I think I have stuck to my plan as much as I could. Here is how I had created my final magazine cover;

Firstly, I had to open up 'Adobe Photoshop CS6' and when I had created a new page, I had to open up a photo and to do this I had to click on 'File' then 'Open' and then I had to choose the image I wanted from my documents. When I had found the photo I wanted to use I clicked on it and then this appeared on my screen;  

   

Secondly, when this image appeared I then wanted to crop it as it wasn't really a medium close up but it was close to one. So to do this I had to click on the crop tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and then I was able to get rid of any parts of the photo that I wanted to. Here is what the image looked like when I had cropped it;

Next, when I finally moved my image onto a blank page I then wanted to get rid of the background so that I could put a different background in (the new background I put in was the same as the background from the original photo but I just want to be able to show that I know how to get rid of a background and replace it with a new one). To get rid of the background I had to click on the fourth tool on the tool bar on the left hand side so that I would be able to draw around the part of the image I wanted, I then drew around the part that I wanted and then deleted the background. When doing this I also had to zoom in on my image to make sure that I had got rid of every part of the background on the image. Plus, I made a duplicate of this image when I had finished editing it so that if I made a big mistake I would be able to start from before I made that mistake. This is what my image looked like when I had done that;

Furthermore, when I got the part of the image I wanted on it's own I then needed to add a background to it and to do this I had to click on 'File' then 'Open' and then I had to choose the image I wanted from my documents. Once I clicked on the image I wanted, it then appeared on my screen and I then had to drag it to the document I wanted and when this had happened I then put my background layer behind my main image layer and then this is what appeared on my screen;  

On top of that, I then wanted to add my Mast Head and to do this I had to click on the text tool on the tool bar on the left hand side and I then had to write the Mast Head that I wanted. I was also able to change the font and size of the image so that it would look the way I wanted it to look. Also, to edit the title I clicked on 'Layer' then 'Layer Style' and then I was able to choose different effects, the effects I chose for the Mast Head were 'Contour', 'Inner Glow' and 'Drop Shadow'. Using these made the Mast Head stand out more so people would be able to see it more easily. Here is what it looked like when I had put it on; 

When I had created my Mast Head I then wanted to make my feature stories, again to do this I had to click on the text tool and then I had to draw a box so that I was able to put text in. I made all the titles of the story the same colour, font and also size (except from the quote because I wanted to create a 'Pull Quote' which is an enlarged quote). All of these titles have the same effects which are 'Drop Shadow' and 'Stroke'. I used these so that they would be easier to see on the cover. The stories under each title all are the same colour, size and all have the same font, they also all have the same effects which are 'Drop Shadow', 'Stroke' and 'Inner Glow'. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done this; 

After, I then wanted to create a skyline and again to do this I had to click on the text tool and then draw a text box and then I was able to write the text I wanted into it. I was also able to change the font, colour and size of the text. I only used one effect on this text and that was 'Outer Glow'. I used this effect because it made the text easier to read so that people would be able to see it. This is what my cover looked like when I had done that;

I then wanted to add a strapline that would have the date, issue number and website on. Again, to do this I had to click on the text tool, draw a text box and write in the text I wanted. The effects I used on these pieces of text was 'Gradient Overlay' and 'Outer Glow'. I used these because they made the text stand out and also they changed the colour a bit so it looked different from the other text so that people would see it. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done that; 

After I had created my strapline I then wanted to create a footer and to do this I had to click on the text tool, then I had to draw a text box and write in the text that I wanted. I used two different effects on my footer and they were 'Inner Glow' and 'Outer Glow'. I used these because it made it easier to see the footer because if there were no effects then you wouldn't be able to see the text very well. This is what my cover looked like what I had added my footer;

Now that my cover is actually looking like a magazine cover I needed to add a barcode to it so that people would be able to purchase it. To do this I had to find an image of a barcode online and then I had to save the image. Once I had done that I then had to go back onto Photoshop and click on 'File' then 'Open' and then I had to find the image of the barcode that I got online. Once I had done that I then put the image of the barcode in the bottom right hand corner of the cover. Here is what my cover looked like once I had done that;

After that I then had to add the price of the magazine so that people would know how much it would cost. When doing this I firstly created a rectangular shape, that I was able to get from the tool bar on the left hand side and I made this shape the same colour as my Mast Head, I then moved the shape next to my barcode. Once I had done that, I then wanted to add the price so to do this I had to click on the text tool and then I was able to type out the price that I wanted the magazine to be. I then rotated the text and put it on top of the shape which was next to the barcode. Here is what it looked like when I had done that;

Lastly, I then needed to add my plug and to do this I had to click on the shapes on the tool bar on the left hand side and then I was able to choose from a variety of different shapes. When I had chosen my shape I was then able to change the colour and also the colour of the outer line. I then had to add text to the plug and to do this I had to click on the text tool and then I was able to write the text I wanted. Here is what my cover looked like when I had done this;

When I finished my cover I realized that there were quite a few things that had changed since I did my plan. For example, The plug is in a different place and it is also a different shape, my house colour has changed, originally I was planning to do Black, Blue and Orange but I did Purple, Light Orange and White instead. Overall, I think my cover turned out well and although it isn't exactly like my plan it is very similar to it.