Resubmission

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Analysing area for improvement -

• Firstly, there is no border on the main image. This leads to the background image and the main image fighting for the viewer's attention. I believe that if I added a border then it may help to distinguish between the main image and the background.

• The background - I believe that the background photo that I have chosen is too eye catching. This further distracts the viewer's attention. One possible way to fix this may be to lower the opacity. However, when I lowered the opacity on the image, I still found it to be too distracting. I then decided to change tack, and chose a different image from my photoshoot.

• The text - I believe that the text is too bold, meaning that it is hard to read. In addition to this, the ‘Cover Stories’ storyline (on the bottom left) looks scrunched up, while the ‘Also in this Issue’ storyline (on the bottom right) looks out of place.  

What I changed -

After assessing my previous work, and finding faults with it, I decided to recreate my contents page.

• Main image - I changed the main image on the article page. I feel that the new image is better because it has a direct mode of address, which will help connect to the audience. In the photo, the model is confident, in a contemporary yet eye catching pose.
• Border around main - when adding the border, I found that it did indeed help the main image to pop out of the page. It also further helped to separate the main image from the background, creating a more streamlined approach for the viewer.
• Background - firstly I tried to lower the opacity of the background image. However, I found this to still be too distracting on the eye. Instead I opted to change the image. Taking into account the rule of thirds, I resized the image, changing it to make it less distracting. This is because the background image is meant to subliminally communicate with the audience. The background image also goes a long way in helping to promote a strong house style in addition to creating and maintaining a strong brand image.
• Text swap - I swapped the two columns of text (‘Also in this issue’ and ‘Cover Stories’) around. I also made the text smaller, which made it easier to read. The smaller text helps create the overall look and make it look more professional. In addition to this it also makes it neater and more visually appealing.

Creating the changes -

First I used my old design as a template. This is because I was happy with the basic layout, therefore I did not want to make any drastic changes. I also chose to keep the same colour scheme.  

Then I went and looked at the pictures from the photoshoot. I wanted to chose two photos which would complement each other nicely to create a strong house style. When choosing the photos I also took into consideration which pictures I had used for my front cover as well as my article page. This is because I wanted my images to be similar enough to each other

to help strike the fine balance between creating a strong house style and brand identity, by using the same style of photography. However I did not want to the photos to be too similar to each other, as this would decrease the high brow aesthetics of the magazine.

In the end I settled for these two photos.

The photo on the left I decided to use for the background image. The slight upwards tilt on the camera angle connotes a powerful and confident individual. I cropped it so that it would fit into the correct image ratio. I also used the opacity tool to change the opacity of the image, reducing it to around 28%. This made the image less eye catching and therefore more appropriate for the background.

For the image on the right, I first fixed the lighting. To do this I used the Curves adjustment tool to change the RGB balance. I increased the brightness of the shadows of her face, as well as reducing the contrast between the highlights and shadows of the image. I then cropped the image, making sure that it was the correct aspect ratio to fit nicely into my original page. I then proceeded to add the border by using the stroke option around that image. I changed the depth of the stroke to 3 pixels. I changed the colour to gold, to be in keeping with the house style. In a new layer I added the text over the top. I used the level and emboss tool to help make the text stand out. I also changed the font, so that it would be easier to read.

Lastly, I switched the locations of the two columns of text (‘Also in this issue’ and ‘Cover Stories’). I changed the font size, making the font smaller. I also made the font narrower, resulting in a more professional and cleaner look.