Drafting Text/ Page Layouts

Front Cover

Once I had the image, I put it into Publisher and added my masthead:

However, once added to the background, the tagline was illegible. I put the whole masthead into Fireworks, and added a white background, so the writing could be read. I cut around it to make it more presentable. I decided to break the traditional front cover rules and position my masthead on the top right instead of the left. My magazine is quite alternative and different, so this decision shows just how different it is.

I also added the name of my main band; Infernal. I chose this name as a lot of existing goth bands have names such as Curse, Damned etc. So I found a synonym of these words, and Infernal stuck out from the rest. I thought this suited my band quite well.

I placed the issue number, price and date inside one of the gravestones. Before, my eyes kept being drawn to the empty space on the stone. This was perfect, as I needed somewhere to put these conventions.

I added a banner at the bottom, still sticking with the black, white and purple theme. I chose to advertise free iTunes downloads, for the primary reason that this is a music magazine. This also represents how technology has developed; many people don't listen to CD's anymore. Especially teenagers.

I then found a barcode off the internet and added it in the bottom right, as this seemed the place where space needed to be filled. I then added names of some artists. I made up the names, purely because I wanted every single image in my magazine to be my own. I didn't want to use pictures of other bands from the internet, so I made my own, so I could use completely original images. I typed "gothic names" into Google, and looked at a number of sites. I added these to my cover, and put them in a mix of white and black. I didn't want too much of one colour, so this evened it out a bit. I added the name of the website to the banner, and completed my magazine cover. This is my final image:

Contents

I  started working in Publisher. The first thing I wanted to do was to write the credits. I looked back at one of the magazines from last year and looked at their credits:

I used some of the same job titles to help me out. I placed my credits on the right hand side of the page, sticking to the black and white colour scheme from the front cover. I took a screen-shot of my front cover, and added that to the top of the page. I then added a banner at the bottom, using this space to include details about the magazine; where to buy it from, the website, phone number and email address. To fill more space, I framed the whole page:

I then started working on the actual contents of the magazine. I decided to have three categories; On the Cover, Features, Win and Live. For each category, I included a number of possible stories with their page numbers in front. I put the stories in chronological order for each section, so it would be easier for the readers to find what they're looking for. Again, I stuck to the original colour scheme, this time using purple instead of white. I placed it on the left side of the page.

I then added 4 images, each relating to a different story in my magazine. I added the page numbers to each picture, and for the main image, I added the artists' name.

Feature

I started by choosing the main image that I manipulated earlier:

I was satisfied that this image could be used in my feature.

I put the image in the centre of the two pages, and added the band's logo on the left-hand side of the page. I chose "Up close and personal with Infernal" as my title as it was quite catchy due to the rhyme. I wrote a little introduction, and put that underneath. I then wrote a short introduction to the interview:

I then completed the interview, seperating it into columns. I stuck to my original plan of using chatty, informal language to make it seem friendlier.

Once this was done, I noticed there was a lot of blank space, and the right-hand page looked quite cramped. I added pull-quotes into my interview, to break up the writing:

There was still a lot of blank space. I decided to put a purple border around the interview, to make it seem more interesting:

Finally, I added the page numbers, byline, and writing into the top and bottom bars, with website information, band information, competitions etc. This made it look a lot better, while also looking quite professional: