Double Page Spread Development

Here, I have added my grey background which includes two different shades of grey which again I have used as a gradient.

I have also added my image for my DPS. I took this in an outside location to get the correct lighting knowing that I wanted it in a black and white effect. I believe the grey gradient of the background and the black and white effect added to the image contrast very nicely.
It also allows my magazine to keep a common convention of colour throughout.


Here, I have added my main headline which I believe stands-out very effectively on this primarily black and grey page. The font I chose was one called the 'Big Caslon' which I believe shows a sophisticated style to this DPS.

I have also added a cover line below the main headline introducing my artist and what the article I'm preparing to write is about.

Here is my DPS final design. Overall, I am very happy with the outcome. I wanted this page to show a sense of sophistication and professionalism which I believe I have accomplished. I love the colour palette I have used on this page. The dark, secondary colours links to my idea of having a sophisticated look, which I believe this page does. The font also allows this page to inherit a sophisticated style which links to my primary target audience which involves and older aged audience. 

DPS Text

"I WANNA DO SOMETHING MEAN!” SAID BRYSON. It was after after the 2015 Grammys; he hadn’t been up for any awards the night before, but that didn’t stop him “celebrating”. He showed up at Hollywood studio hung over and “pissed off”, in the words of Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, his ‘collabeartor’ that day - moaning about the way his friends were talking about him based on what they’d read in the tabloids. “My friends all read all the gossip shit in the newspapers, and most of them are like, ‘I heard your new album has has a bad review by blah blah’, and I’ve never met these people before”, he told ROLLING STONE last year. “It’s and absolute disgrace and ultimately just a load of bullshit.” * “They were all trying to stir shit up about me”, he says. Bryson however - still recovering from his Grammy partying - coudn’t hit his frequent high notes, still managed to nail his vocal performance in one take.  

Bryson then went on to tell us about his record breaking album, ‘Unbreakable’. “It’s weird how my life has escalated so quickly in this industry. I started off busking in the town of Manchester, and now I’m at massive events such as the Grammys receiving awards for my work as an artist, it’s just incredible.” Bryson who grew up in the more rural areas of Manchester talked about how his family struggled financially and how sometimes he would have to busk in order to get a decent meal. “We struggled massively financially as a family. I had one brother and sister growing up with just our mum to rely on. When I got to about 13, I used to stay out late busking in order to help feed my family a decent meal. It was really hard to cope with.” However, Bryson feels that his recent Grammy win is a new stepping-stone in his career as a artist. “I feel now I can support the rest of my family. I’ve recently been able to buy my mum a new house in London which is really special because we can both support each other now that we live in the same area. That’s why winning this Grammy is a massive achievement, not only for me but for my family as well. I’m very blessed.”

Contents Page Development

This is the first development stage of my contents page. I have added the background colour and the big A which represents my masthead name, Amplify.
I got the idea of using the first letter of my masthead from the contents page from the magazine Vibe.

Next, I will look at adding my headline and main image to start to develop my contents page even further.

This image shows my next development stages for my contents page. I have added my main headline which I have shown using a turquoise colour. I initially had my headline in a grey-ish colour, however I felt I needed to change it because it didn't fit my colourful pop magazine genre.

My main image on my contents page was taken in the photo shoot. I didn't feel the natural background of the canvas in the photo shoot contrasted very effectively with the rest of the colours on my contents page. To remove the background from my image, I took it into Photoshop and used the magic wand tool to remove the background. I then transferred it into my contents page. I feel the image now looks more professional in front of my dark background.


This next image shows my cover lines which I have now added to my contents page. I took some inspiration from Vibes contents page to ultimately choose my final cover lines of my contents page. I have also shown the text in a range of different sizes and colours. I have used a total of three different colours on my cover lines. I believe the contrast of colours gives my cover line text more of a professional feel. Also, I feel the colours I have chosen links to the typical pop magazine conventions.

Front Cover Development

Here, you can see the two contrasting colours I was intending to use for my background. I wanted to initially create a background which involved two dark colours, such as black and dark-grey which I have used here, and to turn it into a gradient.
I did try out a a red contrast to see if using brighter, primary colours would be more suitable for my front cover. However, I am happy with the gradient I have chosen because of that professional feel it gives.

Here is some further development of my magazine. I have now added my main image to the front cover and also my chosen masthead. I like this image because I believe it relates to the pop genre in how my models dressed, the facial expression she's giving to the reader and the positioning she brings to make her stand-out on my front cover.
Also, the dark background colours and my grey masthead all relate to the clothes she's wearing, creating an effective convention on the front cover of my magazine.

I got this masthead design from urbanfonts.com. I like the simple but modern style it brings to my front cover. I wanted to try and copy the style of font Billboard use for their masthead, that simple but appealing font which allows their magazine to create a clear convention throughout each issue.
Overall, I am happy with my masthead and I believe, like the main image, it fits the genre of my magazine very effectively.

Here is my final design for my magazine front cover. Overall, I am very happy with the outcome. I took some design features from this Billboard front cover. I wanted to recreate their front covers' colour palette which was very appealing to me. The dark colours used on their front cover was a aim I wanted to create for my magazines front cover. I believe the background colour and the masthead colour on Billboards front cover matched each other very effectively. Also, I wanted to relate the colours shown on my front cover to the clothes my model was wearing. This allowed me to create an effective colour scheme and a professional feel in relating all the colours together.

I also took some inspiration in how Billboard had laid-out their cover lines. I was a bit concerned about doing my cover lines at first because I didn't really know how to position them. But I believe the way Billboard had done it was exactly how I wanted to recreate it for my magazine. I didn't want the cover lines taking up to much space. From looking at previous research into the different pop magazines and their typical designs based on their target audience allowed me to understand the older the age-group, the less content was necessary to be shown.

I believe my magazine has a professional looking feel which will ultimately intrigue my target audience in wanting to read this magazine based on the design I have created.


I have altered a few aspects on my magazine front cover. I have changed the colour of my masthead from a dark grey to a turquoise colour. I felt this change was needed to allow myself to follow some of the common conventions of pop magazines including the bright colour palette you normally associate with pop music magazines. I have also used this turquoise colour for my main cover lines. I feel this effect creates a nice contrast of colours which also gives my magazine another professional element. This effect is also a common convention of certain pop magazines such as Billboard. I have took some ideas from this Billboard front cover featuring Justin Bieber. I wanted to recreate the way Billboard used their colours to create an effective contrast to implement a professional feel to what is a simple colour scheme.

Another aspect which I have changed on my front cover is the positioning of my cover lines. I have now positioned them across of my model. I have made the 'Women Of The Year' cover line stand-out and I have also made the 'Lily Mae' cover line in a bigger font also.
I have also took away one of my cover lines and replaced it with one also inspired by this Billboard front cover featuring Justin Bieber. I also changed the cover line saying '50 most powerful female executives' to '50 most powerful female artists'. I believe this allows my magazine to link to music related cover lines more effectively to my target audience.

Another piece of information I have added to my front cover is the date and website name which I have placed vertically under the 'y' of my masthead Amplify. I believe having this information positioned in this style adds to the professional feel I believe my magazine brings. As you can see on Billboards front cover, they also have information under the last letter of their masthead. This shows how I have followed typical conventions from magazines such as Billboard who have also used this positioning style.

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