'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Step 6

I then added a full white background to the cover. I chose white as I believe that it compliments the colours of the model's outfit and the masthead better than any other colour; it makes them stand out as much as possible.

'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Step 5

After careful consideration, I decided to change the size and placement of the masthead and also slightly increased the size of the model image. I have decided to use this layout instead as many covers of magazines like Vibe use this same design, the model's head placed in front of the masthead.

'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Step 4

The next step was very simple. There is a small glint on each eye in the original image. I thought that this was an interesting feature of the image and it should be more exposed. Therefore, I again used the brush tool on Photoshop and added a tiny white layer over the top of each glint.

'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Step 3

I noticed that the eyes of my model looked very dark because of the shadow. I contemplated whether or not to keep it that way to keep that layer of mystery and darkness intact. However, I decided to brighten the eyes to make the model more noticeable. I used the brush tool on Photoshop to do this. I painted this part of the eye white to make them stand out. I used separate layers for each eye, so I was able to adjust each eye to my preference. In the end, I settled on lowering the opacity to 17%, as the eyes were way too bright at 100 and didn't match the feel of the image.

'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Step 2

The first thing I added to this front cover was the masthead, 'Flow'. I have chosen this font because it incorporates joined-up writing; the word flows from one letter to another.

Music Magazine Front Cover Step 1

This is the original image that I am using for my front cover. I used the Smudge tool on Photoshop to make some of the edges smoother. No other editing has been used at this point.

'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Flat Plan

'Flow' Magazine Front Cover Introduction

Traditionally, the first step to creating an issue of a magazine is to determine the style of front cover you want to use. The front cover is used as a tool to entice consumers who have never read the magazine to give it a try, while for existing readers it is used to maintain their interest in terms of what the magazine has to offer. My front cover will try and execute that by being jam-packed full of content and colour.

'Flow' Magazine Pitch

'Flow' Magazine Reader Profile

The reader of 'Flow' magazine is a 24 year old fan who enjoys keeping up to date with friends and his favourite artists on several social media platforms. He enjoys a wide selection of different music genres, but his definite favourite genres are hip-hop and R&B. They prefer nothing better than relaxing in their house listening to their extended playlist after an 8-hour work shift. The readers of my magazine have good musical knowledge, and if they are not reading the magazine, they are looking for a gig to enjoy.

NME Magazine Reader Profile

The average reader of NME is in their early 20's, fast-moving at the cutting edge of current media culture and development. 69% of the readers of NME are male, with 52% working full-time and 29% still studying.. The total readership spends roughly £326million pounds on audio equipment per year, typically going to live music events (gigs) and other live shows as part of their spare time. The standard reader also spends around 9 hours per week on the Internet. In addition to this, the reader finds clothes and images important to their image; 71% of readers think it's important to look well dressed, with 45% spending a lot of money on clothes.

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