Masthead & Header

In order to make sure my magazine is created to the highest quality possible, I need to make sure that my masthead and header stand out and look good. 

They are both important so I would download special fonts into Photoshop to enhance them. Then I will be able to add effects to them in order to improve them further. 

For example I used the expand - modify tool to create an outline around my text. First I wrote my text and made sure it was to a size I liked. Next I went to the 'Select' screen and 'Loaded Selection' and then clicked ok to the next option. This brought up a dotted line around my text that could be moved to create space that could be filled with colour.

I then went to 'Select', 'Modify' and then 'Expand'. I decided to expand the outline by 10 pixels. This created space between the dotted line and the text. I was then able to find a colour I liked and used the paint bucket tool to fill in this gap. It filled in the whole outline which I then switched the organisation of the layers to make sure the original black outline of the text was in front of the colour. This gave the effect that the text was outlined in colour. 

Since I will be creating my front cover in Photoshop I won't have a problem with a white box surrounding the text if I export it. However if I want to modify a header for my double page spread, I will need a way to do this properly. Therefore I will be making sure when I save the image I will click 'Save for web' and make sure the preset is 'PNG - 24' and the transparent box is ticked. This means when I place the image into In Design, there will be no white outline to the text, it will be transparent and look much more professional for my magazine. 

Planning An Introduction

There are many different techniques to start your article that vary depending on the topic and audience of the piece. 


One is the anecdote intro, which is uses a short account of some interesting humorous experience to get the reader interested. 
For example:

Ever not able to start a new book because you're still stuck in the story-land of the last one? Happens to us at 'Books R Us' all the time, we all get so invested we can't stop worrying about the characters well after the last page has turned? But why do we find them so alluring?



Another way to start off an article is the quote intro, using an outstanding phrase from someone mentioned in the article or something relating to the topic. 
For example:

"They help me get away from the real world". Books are more than just a hobby, they are a release from everyday life. When you get stressed or sad, they will always be there for you. 

Language Development

Writing in first and second person whilst using colloquial and youth language makes writing feel a lot more informal which can sometimes benefit the audience. They are more likely to relate to the subject and take on board what is saying; less likely to loose interest if the text is on a similar level to they way they communicate. 
For example:

Heard the new crack? Books are class! They are so mint whether they're about making Katniss Everdeen's bait or yellin' YOLO on a night out to the club. Mostly lasses like reading with a lot of boys finding them 'canny boring', but we know better. Aren't they brill? When everythin's too much, ya can just curl up with a novel and get lost in the banter from another world. Another good thing - you'll never get wrong from your parents if you read all the time! Not like if all you do is watch telly. You'll have such swag, much reem.








However when writing in a more formal tone using the third person narrative, this would more likely to be aimed at an older audience (whether this is older teens or adults). Also they are more likely to be aimed at those in a higher socioeconomic group such as ABC1 who are more educated and prefer a different writing style. Longer sentences would also be used to make it a slower pace and pack more interesting information in.
For example:


Young adults fiction has become increasingly popular among teenagers throughout the last few decades. More and more writers are aiming their work at the youth instead of focusing their efforts on adult audiences. It has shown as in a recent survey it came out that 77.7% of young people say they read at least one extra book per month for personal pleasure outside of their school curriculum; nearly a quarter (24.5%) say they read 5 or more per month for themselves. There must be some allure for so many teenagers to spend their hard-earned money on literature. Could it be they hold the answers they seek? An escape from their troubled lives? Or even a place to seek companionship? Many of them seem to think so.







After writing both of these pieces I have come to realise I will need to find a suitable middle ground when creating my own article. My audience is still teenagers who will need to be kept interested and not alienated by too formal writing. However, the first writing style is much too juvenile and uneducated for my intended audience. These people will be well-read and are used to dealing with more complicated writing. I will need to show both of these elements in my writing. 

Brushes and Font Downloads

Over Christmas I downloaded several different brushes and fonts in order to create a festive themed 'CD' cover. This was to show my ability in being able to gather these different tools and use them differently within Photoshop.

I already had a brushes folder from when I completed the Halloween project; this task could be seen as a refresher of some of the skills I learnt during that time. 

Opening up Photoshop, I created a new document that was 12cm x 12cm. I made sure the resolution was 300 pixels per inch to create my product to its optimal potential. 

I then used the gradient tool in order to create the effect of the yellow 'star' in the corner of the page. I didn't want a block of colour; I wanted it to blend into the background. 

Next I went to the site www.brusheezy.com to find some Christmas brushes to use in my product. I selected the Brushed page and then typed in Christmas to see what tools would come up. 

I found several sets that I liked and thought were appropriate (as well as being compatible with my version of Photoshop) for my project and I used the same procedure to download them all. I downloaded them and saved them in my brushes folder in order to keep them all in the same place. I extracted the files by clicking the brush tool on Photoshop, then going to Settings > Load Brushes. I then individually selected each set of my brushes and uploaded them to my program. 

Next I went to www.dafont.com in order to find a font to use on my cover for the headline. I narrowed the results by looking in the holidays section and chose the one I liked best. I made sure I had set up a fonts folder and downloaded my font into it. 

I installed the font onto Photoshop and used it when typing the title for my Christmas CD. I also changed the size and colour in order for it to fit on the page and look properly in its place. 

In Design

First I created a new A4 document with three pages and three columns on each. Once it opened I changed the view so I was not working on the master copy.

I then used the rectangle tool to create boxes inside my columns. I made three roughly the same size in each of my columns. I then clicked on the view menu, then Grids/Guides and selected Baseline Grid so I could see whether m boxes were level or not. I wanted them to be the same size and this view meant I could line them up with the grid so they were all the same size; this also helped make the product look more professional.

Once all my boxes were complete, I clicked the 'T' tool (for text) and clicked inside each of my boxes so they would let my type into them. Linking the boxes together was my next task; this would make the text flow much easier and look more like a real magazine. I did this clicking on the black arrow tool and then located the little white box in the corners to link hem all together. I then clicked this and then the adjoining box - therefore linking them; I repeated this for the third box. 

Then I found a document and copy and pasted the text into the first box, and it flowed through to all three; showing the boxes had been successfully linked. 

I then created a title for my 'article' on the magazine, in order for it to look more realistic and professional. First I created another text box at the top of the piece and then added text to it. I wanted to make sure the title stood out on the page so I changed the font type and size, made it bold and changed the colour etc.

Next I added an image by clicking on File and then Place menu. After finding my image I added it to the document. Then I used different tools such as crop and resize in order for it to fit into place on the page. I placed it inside a frame and made sure that I used the option 'Fit Content to Frame' in order for it to look good on the page. Then I created another rectangle and filled it in white in order to create a polaroid effect. I placed it behind my image before using the Drop Shadow and Stroke tools in order for the image to look more 3D and stand out on the double page spread.

I also wanted an image in the middle of my piece and I did this by creating a frame first where I wanted the image to be placed. Next I went to file and then place in order to find the correct image I wanted to use on my page. After placing my image into the frame I used the 'circle' grab tool in the middle in order to move the image to fit perfectly inside the frame. I then used the black arrow tool to right click on the frame so I could select the option to make the text flow around the frame - and therefore the image. 

Cross Processing

I wanted to adjust the levels of different colours (mainly blue, green and red) in some of my photographs so I used the Curves tool on Photoshop in order to do so. 

First I opened up one of my images in Photoshop and saved the file in a different name in order to not work on the original copy of the photograph. 

Then I clicked on the Layer menu (located at the top of the program) and added a New Adjustment Layer and selected Curves. 

A chart then appeared so I could manually change the colour tones within the image. I first chose to edit the green section and moved the curve so it was lower down at the bottom of the curve but went higher nearest the top.

Next I chose to edit the blue section and I chose to take out a lot of this colour and moved the curve below the original line and a 'U' shape. 

Finally I chose to edit the red, adjusting the Curve so that it was a slight 'S' shape.

I then repeated this process (varying it slightly on some for different results) on different images in order to create different results.



Blue:
Before                                                                         












After

Green:
Before

 After

Red:
Before

After