1. When exploring the different types of media for my Final Major Project, I chose to create a
magazine. The reasons why I chose this particular format was to allow me to incorporate
photography in to it, rather than just doing a shoot and the edited photos being my final end
product. I felt that a magazine would the best way to demonstrate my skills and what I can do
creatively on Photoshop, as well as editing portrait photos. By combining the two formats, I am
making it more interesting for myself and also learning new things on the way.
The magazine itself will be based on fashion, and will include a front cover, a contents page and a
double page spread article based on a familiar popstar, who has just launched her own clothing line.
I decided to create a fashion magazine because as a young teenage girl, I’m interested in clothes,
styles and I love reading about current fashion trends for the season. As a reader, it draws
inspiration and you start trying new things on the high street and you discover what you like and
don’t like.
Like current fashion magazines that are already out there in the shops, my magazine will mirror
them in the layout of the front cover. The first thing you see when you lookat a magazine is the
Masthead, because it is the largest piece of font on the page and is positioned at the very top. When
researching different types of fonts to use for my masthead, I wanted mine to be elegant and not
too bold. Using too bold a font would ruin my magazine for me personally. The other main focus
point of the front cover will be the cover image and main cover line. This particular story could be
the difference to whether a magazine sells or not and how well it sells. To immediately take you to
that story, some magazines have the page number it will be on next to the image or main cover line
text. I want to make sure it stands out as this is what I look for when I want to purchase a magazine
myself. Other aspects of the front cover include the cover lines, which are little articles or
information on a fashion or beauty related subject. These fill your magazine up to keep it interesting.
From knowing what the main cover line, I now know as the audience what the big story inside is
based on. There are types of people who flick to first page and want to look through the contents
first to see what else the magazine is offering. Yet there are people who look at the page number
next to the image or text, and instantly read that story first. This shows what different people look
for in magazines as they may not be generally interested in the main story.
There isn’t much you can change about the way you layout a contents page but what you can do is
customise it and make it your own. I want to have a list of everything else I’m offering in this great
fashion magazine, but I don’t want to lose much focus from the main cover line about the popstar.
So to avoid doing this, I want to use one of the photos I took of the artist and incorporate that
somewhere on the page and have a reference back to it saying ‘This is where you can find us talking
to…’ or something along those lines.
My demographic audience for my magazine is teenage females and young female adults. I feel that
this is the best audience because as a young female myself, I know this is what interests me. To
make it appeal older adult women, this is where fashion and current trends of the season apply. I
don’t want young girls and women to feel like they have to dress a certain way or have the best
expensive fashion, but to explore different styles and experiment with the fashion that is out there
on the high street. The content of my magazine will be interesting, and it will make them want to
read the stories that are in it, and see what inspiration arises from it. In my own opinion, when I
have read some fashion magazines, there is content that lets the audience write in, and hear their

2. thoughts on certain feature lines they have had. Reading those makes you realise that some people
don’t really bother with how they look, but one story could change how they see themselves, and
these are the needs for my target audience. They want a magazine article to hit them in the face and
inspire positive changes in their lives.
The pre-production of the magazine is based on research, styles and influences. These are going to
give me the inspiration I need to know how I want my pages to look. I’ll start by researching and
comparing two current fashion magazines and exploring the different qualities that are in each. This
not only helps me when I come to crating my own, but it helps me understand why they are there.
The logo is very important and this is the next research step. You want it to stand out but look neat
and pretty. All this research will be placed in to Microsoft word documents and PowerPoint’s to
demonstrate my research. For the production of my magazine, I need to create photography of the
main cover line artist to feature on all pages of my magazine. For this I will use a Nikon photography
camera and I take a variety of shots, and choose the best 4, which I can then edit on Adobe
Photoshop. I need the editing of the photos to reflect the layout I will be using.
As I’m writing a double page spread, I need to plan and prepare a question and answer piece about
the pop star and her new clothing range that has launched. First I can make a rough draft and then
perfect over the time of production. Everything that I’m producing all comes down to the main focus
of the magazine which is the article. When this is done I can start piecing my magazine together
page by page, ensuring the layout, audience needs and expectations are all met and perfected.