amongst my other pages. This makes it so that the reader will not get bored of seeing the same colour scheme reused on every page, but to also create a brand as the house style is consistent. The brand is created furthermore through the use of my masthead being boldly displayed in the centre of the page. This helps to connote the genres strength and magazines reliability overall.
As the special feature is the primary draw of my magazine page, I made sure to make it stand out amongst the other articles by highlighting it in white. This allows my contents page to better fulfil its purpose as its advertising my articles in a way that's interesting, whilst also making the most important one stand out. This is because most readers will be flicking onto the contents page for a few seconds so that they can easily find the special feature, so it being easier to see greatly benefits the reader and satisfaction for using my magazine increases, making it more likely that they would recommend the magazine to a friend.
The photo taken for my front cover is a medium shot of my model, this is to allow my audience to more easily recognise the outfit my model is wearing as smart casual business wear. This is so that it's easy for my target audience browsing magazines to instantly recognise that the magazine is targeting them and makes them more likely to pick it up. This is similar to my example of Forbes magazine, which uses the same mid shot of their model so that its easy to recognise that he is wearing a suit, so the genre is better conveyed to the audience in the minimal visual imagery. My model is facing the camera and smiling. This is because the business genre can feel threatening to any newcomers who I want to target, and I wanted to create a strong reliable impression for the Chamber, as they are here to help their members grow and want to appear friendly so that people are more likely to join them.
This is slightly different to Forbes, as their model, whilst smiling, is looking off into the distance. This was so that they could create a more stoic impression of the model being wise and knowledgeable so that people are more likely to pick up the magazine as they rust the information will be viable.
The layouts of the magazine pages are similar in that they both use similar features to grab audience attention. Both use puffs and banners as they are a typical convention for all magazines. This is because they are effective at creating a dynamic, interesting layout that doesn't bore the reader and gets them to divide and switch their attention across the page. However, one difference between our magazine pages is that Forbes uses very small text to create a clean, minimal look that connotes the genres prestige, whereas my page uses much larger cover lines so that I can grab the readers attention much easier.
I kept to 3 different house style colours (white, light blue and yellow). I made sure to evenly distribute these throughout the page so that the page doesn't look imbalanced. This is important as I wanted to make sure the p[age still has that strong formal style that the genre is known for.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD:
The photos I took of my models for my DPS are both mid shots. This is because it helps to capture them in natural, yet formal poses. This is so that the photos were much easier to integrate into the overall page design, having it look like they fit in to the office environment behind them whilst also standing out and creating a powerful impression on the reader. The poses/composition of the models are that they are both facing slightly sideways. This is so that, when edited together, they look as if they're standing back to back-
creating the impression that they are part of a unified company that support each other and can support the reader if they join The Chambers membership programme.
The layout of magazine is similar to my example of a real business magazine in that they both use a large image of the features topic to draw the reader in. As well as this, the text is then placed on the next page in columns, this creates a slick formal design that makes the information seem very credible as it is displayed in a way that makes the info look reliable. Using this similar layout design allows me to follow codes and conventions of a business magazine so that my double page spread is effective at targeting my audience and keeping their interest.
PHOTOS I WILL USE FOR MY MAGAZINE PAGES:
FRONT COVER- Photo of Building:
Originally this photo for the front cover was going to be the main cover image. This was to create the impression of entering the workspace connoting the reader opening the magazine. However the major downfall which made this photo not suitable for the main cover image was that the office building was not tall enough to cover the length of the page and was too wide to the point that it left no room for main cover lines, drawing away attention from the subject of the photo. This made me alter my plan and use it as a background image for the page (similarly to my double page spread). The weakness of this being that, although still slightly there, it took away my original intent on making the reader feel as if they were entering the office building. One strength of this photo however is that i took it on a sunny day, with no cars parked infant of the office. This created high-key lighting and a clear, non shaded image, this makes it much more suitable for a background image.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD- Photo of the office:
On my original double page spread design, the fact that the office is empty in this image would be a negative feature, however it is very effective here as the photo was changed to be edited as a background to the page, with photos of people edited over it. The fact nobody is in the office stops the double page spread design from becoming too overcrowded and cluttered, also drawing less attention away from the subject of the page. This photo uses the rule of thirds and negative space well to allow the photos of the models to seamlessly fit into the overall page design.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD/FRONT COVER- Model photos:
The photos of my models for the double page spread/front page are very effective for my magazine. Firstly, i ensured the colour scheme of the photos aligned with my magazine pages. I asked the models ahead of time to wear their usual smart-casual outfits but with a plain colour scheme of white and/or blue so that any brighter colours wouldn't contrast with the pages colour scheme. I also asked them to wear their lanyards so the images give a strong formal impression and make it look like they're in the workplace. These costume choices all help to align with the business genre and fall in line with its conventions. The white/grey outfits with small highlights of blue made it easy to fit the photos in with the blue colour scheme pages so that the magazine has a stronger visual identity. The blue is also important in creating a relaxed formal impression on the reader in contrast to a more aggressive/excitatory colour red. It was also important that i took theses photos in a well lit area so that there wouldn't be any unwanted shadows ruining the photos, this made the pages look a higher quality. The photos are also very relevant to the page as the article is about an interview with one of the models. One negative aspect of theses photos is that i don't have a larger variety of people/poses to separate the front cover image from the double page spread, making the design look repetitive.
CONTENTS PAGE- Photo of Lounge Area:
One strength of the photo of the lounge is that it directly involves the magazine colour scheme in the visuals of the image, making it very easy to integrate into the design and allowing me to introduce a darker shade of blue to the page to add a wider variety in the colour scheme and give the page its own style from the others. I took this photo especially for the contents page as it gives the impression of a waiting room, which depicts the reader as they are awaiting direction to the right page. One improvement i could make to the photo is to populate it, this would make the magazine seem more social and active and give it more of a positive work environment vibe.
GRAPHICS AND SHAPES
DPS- Graphics and Shapes: Gradient Rectangle
One shape that works really well in my contents page design is the gradient rectangle i used at the bottom of the page. Although it isn't one viewers will immediately notice as a feature, it helps to make the editors note stand out, make it much more readable and balance the page well. Not being as noticeable as other features is an important part of this feature, which it does well as to not draw any attention away from the text layered on top of the shape/ the rest of the page.
The black colour is used to make the white text stand out and make the shape look like a shadow for the text to stand on. This helps the page conform to the conventions of business magazines as the editors note is often at the bottom of the page and visually distinctive from the contents list which is a common feature of editors notes as to not draw attention away from the contents. One negative aspect of this shape is that it blends together the blue rectangle with the beige floor of the image, which is the exact opposite of the split page design is supposed to look like, however its effects aren't too noticeable to the point where it takes away from the page and its important for the editors note text to be readable.
CONTENTS- Graphics and Shapes: page number graphic
This graphic is very suitable for my magazine and contents page. One strength of the feature is that it conforms to magazine conventions as readers often like to flick through magazine pages to find the article they want. This slick formal design makes it easy for readers to quickly find the page they are looking for, as it tells them the page number, content of the page and it's placed in the top corner so readers flicking through have an easy time reading it. It also has strong brand recognition as it features the brand name on the top bar in yellow, drawing attention to the brand and feature overall. The introduction of the different colour rectangle also helps to make the overall feature more visually appealing to look at, whilst keeping it easy to read as the important information is in black. The all capitol letters, colour scheme and strong/formal design all help to appeal to the genre conventions of business.
FRONT COVER- Graphics and Shapes: Masthead
This masthead design works very well at connoting my magazine genre (business). It's large, strong and formal, creating a dependable impression on the audience. The name 'Suit' also works very well as it's short and reminds people of the genre, making them instantly recognise the magazine as business. 'Suit' also being a short word means that i can make it very large and visible on the page, further connoting the genre and attracting my target audience. The word 'magazine' also introduces the blue colour scheme to the masthead, which is commonly associated with the genre and gives a relaxing, yet formal, impression. However, one downside of the masthead is that the font itself isn't very recognisable, reducing brand recognition and not creating a strong identity.
BODY COPY
My body copy is effective at targeting my audience as it primarily focuses on my interview segment with The Sheffield Chamber Of Commerce. This is because I know that this is the content my audience are most interested in, so giving out helpful information straight from the source in a teacher to pupil model allows them to be reassured that what they are reading is what they want to know. As well as this, I asked somewhat personal questions in my interview that allow for my interviewee to relate their answer back to the chamber. This makes it so that the body copy flows like a conversation, making it a relaxed and enjoyable read as it feels like the reader is talking directly to my interviewee. This allows me to deliver on my advertising as I used the interviewee on my front cover as a main cover image. Creating the impression that the reader is talking directly to her in my body copy makes my main cover image justifiable as I advertised her as the face of The Chamber.
Here are the sizes I will be using to set up my magazine pages in InDesign and Photoshop. I have used these sizes was they are best at conforming to my magazine genre. As well as this, these sizes are used my business magazine media pack, this is because it's commonly used within the genre as it's eye-catching and large enough so that any small text will be easier to read for the older target audience.
These are screenshots of me setting up Photoshop and InDesign:
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