D.C Publication Cover Designs.

I initially started by selecting one of my chosen young, celebrities and experimenting with the photograph by placing it in different areas of the composition. I chose this initially as I felt that it represented the cover girl aesthetic that is common across most women's magazines. I looked at this design idea using photos from all four of the girls.

After experimenting with the single images I found it hard to pick which one would be best to represent the magazines brand. I also thought it would be more fitting to include multiple images of all the celebrities to form a group, this links a lot better with the 'clique' concept. I divided the composition up into strips and applied each photo into them, I really like the cropped effect this gives as I feel it gives a much more interesting and engaging aesthetic. I desaturated the images as I felt the colours didn't fit together and distracted from the concept.

As I was a lot happier with this idea, I continued to develop it further. Another strip has been added to the composition and I plan for it to be mirrored, this allows the reader to become part of the cover and therefore part of the group or 'clique'. Once this layout had been decided I looked into how the magazine name could be placed onto the layout. I chose a crisp, sans serif typeface to give a contemporary feel. My favourite positioning is where goes across the whole width as I think it reflects the look of an actual magazine the best. I also like how it overlaps the images and the mirrored strip.

Finally I decided to experiment with colour of the images as I felt that even though the black and white was striking it didn't have the aesthetic look I was looking for. I first looked at a more pastel colour scheme that had a very elegant and classic feel. I liked this look but felt that it wasn't as suitable for the younger target audience I am working with. This is when I changed it up to have a more neon colour scheme, I think this has a lot greater shelf appeal and will really stand out amongst other magazines. I think pink is the best choice as it hints to the femininity issues that will be discussed in the content. Lastly I added additional text to interest the reader. 'Could you make the cut?' relates to the reader becoming part of this celebrity clan and also hints towards how the strips of the composition are 'cutting' the images.