Below are my two final front and back covers for my magazine ‘Boys Will Be Boys’. I created both covers on Adobe Photoshop and they came from several experiments and drafts where I used a range of fonts and text design types as well as different layouts and graphic features. These drafts and experiments informed the production of these two final products as I crated my primary drafts and after reviewing these, I cam to the decision to create other experiments that use different fonts and layouts and from this process, I have managed to create the two covers below that, in hindsight, possess much better design features that my others as I learnt about the common conventions cover design from looking at the covers of magazines such as PUSH, i-D and Dazed.

Here are some examples of front and back covers from i-D and Dazed that show a similar layout and similar features to what I was going for in my front covers:

          

I realised from looking at the covers of professional fashion/music magazines that they use very simplistic design features and include, most of the it, a full bleed image as their background tin which they pl;ace the bold text design of the title of the magazine over accompanies by other minimal text which would often include on the cover only the issue number, issue name and company slogan/motto as well as the name of the cover star and potential mentions of the photographer/hair or makeup artist. However, because I have worked very independently and with models that decide what they wear and how they present themselves for the shoots we arranged, I didn’t need to include all of this. However, I have included, in the bottom left corner as a very last minute decision, small text which reads ‘all photography and words by Jude Luce’. I have put this in white an din font size 2 so that it is very small and requires the reader to get close to the cover in order to read it as it is not the most important piece of information but still felt as if it was necessary to include somewhere and did not know where to put it inside the magazine. Usually, magazine editors would name the photographer at the beginning of each segment which looks at a different artist or subject because they are many photographers that contribute to a large mass produced magazine but because this is an independent project, I have produced all visuals and so stated the my name as the photographer at the beginning.

I have used a pink font to connote a stereotype of females and then I have used a blue drop shadows to contrast this as it connotes a stereotype of boys and this assignment of colours has been the basis of gender for many years but it used to be other way around and girls were thought to wear blue and like blue things and boys – pink. I thought this was a suitable colour theme to have as the title because of the content of the magazine and the edition name.

Furthermore, I believe that the way I have set out my magazine covers i terms of texts and how it moves down the page in a chronological order aids the reading process for the audience. The main title – Boys Will Be Boys is at the top and it is the biggest sized font because of its importance to the whole product. Audience’s would read this first and then, naturally, their eyes would move down the page and they would read ‘issue one’ next as this is directly below the title but is in a different font colour to allude to the fact that it is not related in any way to the main title.

Next, the audience would read the text ‘the male’s gaze’ as this is next largest piece of text that is near the bottom of the page and would be read after the issue name. Finally, the audience would see the small text in the left corner and read it last most likely after naturally being drawn to the other larger texts which are read first. However, it does not matter when the text that states the photographers name is read.

Overall, I am very happy with these two covers as final ones ot use in the magazine as they get across a well constructed message of what the the magazine is and the images shown give the audience an insight into what is inside the magazine.

As well, when printed don the high quality photo paper that Bookwright offers, the colours will be enhanced and will look better than what they do on a digital screen. The texture of the paper as well will give the overall feel of the magazine when held that extra depth and aesthetic.

I have chosen to use the images that I have done on the magazine covers because they are two my best and favourite edits out of all my shoots because of their clarity and style. I really wanted to use a face-on portrait on the cover and the one I have used of Max in black and white is one of my best images all together and I think it works really well on the cover because of the tones that range from mid greys to mid blacks and it is too contrasted or harshly shadowed. His actual gaze into the the camera as well makes for a good cover photograph as he looks very emotive and expressive. Furthermore, the text on his jumper that is very bold and boxy matches and complements the text at the top even though it can’t really be seen.

The image on the back cover is also from the same shoot I did with Max and is an image of his shows he was wearing. He was wearing some classic Converse Chuck Taylor hit-tops in black but a pair that are from the Converse Comme De Garcon collection. I was et on getting some effective shots of these trainers as soon as I saw he was wearing them because they look really effective as the contrast between the black canvas and white sole works really well against the red heart. As well, the outfit that Max was wearing was very vintage and was very 80’s and looked a little like a classic biker look which worked really well in presenting a mischievous teen whose confidence is evident. He was wearing his Converse Comme De Garcon with a pair of rolled up blue straight fit vintage Levi’s and a tucked in long sleeve white t-shirt.

The page on the back cover that shows Max’s feet hanging out of something. The audience may notice that it is a trolley. The image complements the title and they coincide with each other because the image shows a male that is playing around and misbehaving a little bit as he sits in a trolley with his feet hanging out the end and this is often where the term ‘boys will be boys’ – when boys are being mischievous and doing risky and unruly things they shouldn’t be but can’t resit.

After experimenting with designs for the front cover and back cover using my initial idea of handwriting as the main text, I decided it would be sensible to experiment using other font types and layouts after reviewing my first attempt and coming to the conclusion that it did not look very eye-catching or bold due to a use of very fine handwriting that overlapped the image on the cover. All the features that I thought would come together to create an effective cover, instead clashed and created a muddled and jumbled cover full of a mix of graphic elements that did not really work and so for my other attempt I chose to adopt a more simplistic method of construction where I told myself ‘less is more’.

Using some of the same features as my previous attempts using handwriting, I managed to create the design below with input form my tutor in terms of font to use. I used the same background – a plain blue background with the grid patterned box as a backdrop for the same image that I also kept at the same proportion. Also, I kept the ‘issue one’ and price of the same design and in the same place. I only changed the font of the title of the magazine in this design to get an idea of what using a bolder font would look like and after creating this, I was at first quite skeptical about it because it was a big difference and didn’t think it was as creative as my first attempt where I was using handwriting and graphics related to males to create a fun title. For me, this title connoted a boring style – I was using quite fine and scribbly-looking font at the start to connote a playful, yet quite vulnerable tone for the magazine as a whole – the portraits I have taken and am including in the magazine show the models to be quite timid and vulnerable due to the facial expressions and a few body expression types and this was connoted in the primary title design. However, I soon become fond of the bold title after experimenting more with different fonts and layouts.

 

Because I have used quite a long title, I found it quite difficult to find a way to fit the whole title on the A4 page in a neat and tidy form so that it wasn’t too small or big or overlapping anything too much.

I still wanted to keep the use of a drop shadow or underline the title to make it stand out more and make it more noticeable as a main tittle. The use of a drop shadow made it stand it stand out more from the background but thus far I was using both a shadow and underline and decided it would be best if I chose one to include so the cover did not look too confused.

I was not happy with this design and so I moved on to creating another design that incorporated similar features but ti a different manner and the design below demonstrates this as I have removed all traces of handwritten text to simplify the look of the whole cover and I have changed the font of the main title as well as the colour to something more eye-catching against the new white background.

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The design below shows the more simple version of the above one with different design elements.

I have changed the font to Arial and changed it to a pink colour to make it stand out more against the white background. I have still kept the shadow and underline but I have removed one of these feature in my other designs as seen below. As well, to make the other text match the main text more, I have changed the font of the issue number and price of the magazine to the same as the main title and edition title. This creates an overall more consistent look that has some sort of theme and it looks less muddled, although I still was not happy with it and couldn’t quite understand why at this point.

I soon realised that the whole piece looked very jumbled and not very consistent because of the use of the small image in the corner and the grid patterned box. I then moved on to experimenting with a cover that used a whole image as it background and this improved the overall look immensely as soon as I altered this little feature.

Other fashion/music magazines that focus heavily on the photography of their subjects also use full bleed images as their covers such as i-D and Dazed and use the same cover on the back as on the front but with a different image, however with the same layout. I decided to do this as well as I felt it would provide extra consistency that I was after. It also means that my magazine can be recognised whether the magazine is facing down or the right way up.

Furthermore, I have also altered the edition name from ‘The Male Gaze’ to ‘The Male’s Gaze’. I realised that my magazine didn’t rally address the male gaze even though I had entitled the magazines issue as this. At the time, I didn’t really think much of it because I didn’t know too much about the actual concept and theory that has been explored by many artists in the form of photography or art as well as literary’s. I still wanted to make this the name of my magazine’s issue though as it was still relevant in some way as I planned to include the images form my shoot with Lucy in it. As well, I was using the male gaze as a bit of a spin off of the actual meaning and instead of using at its actual meaning that focuses on the concept that women are objects of male pleasure, I was playing on the words and instead using it as a way to express the view of a males gaze on anything – males looking at other males in a non-homosexual manner. However, I changed the title to ‘The Male’s Gaze’ to make it less direct that I am addressing the male gaze and instead I am focusing on the actual gaze of male’s and it’s ability to captivate an audience as well females and Lucy, in the middle of the magazine could be seen as an object of this but it is up to the audience’s interpretation to decide. This also connotes a view of both freedom and limitation and through using the idea of a male’s gaze, I can show how this can limiting but also a means of freedom for a man or  a boy to express his feeling through the power of a look but this can also be a limitation for the subject on the end of his ‘gaze’

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The edits below show the edits that I am most pleased with and which I will be using for my final front and back covers but with slight alterations which I will show in another blog post.

I have simplified it completely by using a full bleed image as the background, removing any worry of overlapping titles on image corners and I have removed the grid patterned box as this was creating an uncomfortable viewing experience for the audience who would struggle to concentrate on anything but the box.

 

I have simplified the title through removing the underline and using only a shadow and placed it at the top of the page in center where it is visible and out of the way of the photograph’s focal point. I have included the issue number underneath in the same font but in black and the edition name in smaller font in an area on the photo that is free and not taken up by details of the model’s face so it is easily read.

It is much more minimalist and effective design that I very happy with.

The image below shows the back cover which is exactly the the same bit instead, I have used a different image that is also quite simple itself as it includes a pair of feet and around this, is completely negative space that makes it perfect for me to place titles upon.

I have adjusted the position of the edition name so that it doesn’t overlap the dark shadows of the model’s socks if I was to keep it in the same place as the front cover.