I have been asked to create a catchy, stylish and modern front cover that is aimed at teen girls.

Identify

1. Introduction

I have been asked to help update a fashion magazine called Estrella by Mrs J. Usher. She has been running the magazine for just under two years. She has been disappointed with the sales which are not really moving. I have been asked to create a catchy, stylish and modern front cover that is aimed at teen girls. This magazine is based in London at the address, 10 Florence Rd, Haringey, London N4 and will only be sold in London for the next year, however if I can help enough their and sales go up then it shall spread.

2. Who is the 'real' user?

I am working for Mrs J. Usher. She is the owner and the editor in chief of the magazine so every idea and decision goes past her first. She is connected to the problem the most since she is the owner and needs to pay all her employees, but to do this she needs the money which she isn’t getting.

3. What is the current problem?

The current problem is that the cover is not appealing to a wide enough audience, just young teenagers, and Mrs Usher would like to make it more mature and as catchy enough and so it attracts as many people as possible. She needs me to come up with new ideas and designs which will help them with the magazine later. I am going to create a more sophisticated design for the front cover so the rest of the team can use it as a template for the rest of the magazines. The inside ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

3. What is the current problem?

4. What are the different ways the problem can be solved?

The different ways to change the style of the front cover I’ll need software to edit the picture I take. To do this I will need one of the following;

Adobe Photoshop CS3
Adobe Illustrator CS3
Adobe InDesign CS3
Paint

5. What is the best way to solve the problem and why?

Out of my selection of choices I will firstly use Photoshop to import my photograph. I will continue to use Photoshop to edit my photograph to make sure it is in a good quality and relevant. I will the move it to InDesign so I can insert the appropriate text needed. I believe these are the best two programs to use to for this type of project. However the rest of the team may use Adobe Illustrator CS3 if they wish for it is not bad, but not Paint. I am strongly against them using Paint because it has no good use of photo editing software and is altogether childish and simple.

6. User requirements.

Ms J Usher wants her magazine front cover to include:

A light main photo picture that has a central focus point of a model.

A plain backdrop
A model wearing the main fashion outfit that week
Flattering lighting, doesn’t wash model out

The name at the top in the stylised font in either black or white depending on background image.
All text to be

Spelt correctly
In appropriate sizes
In same font but changing between bold, italic and underlined
Focused around the main articles inside and varying in font size to match the importance of it

7. Objectives.

Based on the user requirements I will aim to:

Take a photograph

Fit it so the size of A4 paper
Make sure the background doesn’t distract the readers eye, but also not bore it
A model in the centre in a fashionable dress
Picture not pixelated

Change saturation and hue to create good colours on both background and model
Keep logo at the top of the page, on top of a black strip
All text to be

Spelt correctly
In appropriate sizes
In same font but changing between bold, italic and underlined
Focused around the main articles inside and varying in font size to match the importance of it

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

danielbeal

2nd of Mar 2012

Quality of writing

The writing style is quite formal, and thus is professional. However the student does use two different types of bullet points. The student uses a square type bullet point, and further down the report there use a circle type bullet point. This is a little messy, and should remain the same though-out the report. I would suggest the circle type bullet points.

Level of analysis

The student states that there are going to use Photoshop to edit their image, however the report doesn't state why. The report colour include 'I'll be using Photoshop, as the software allows me to edit/alter the image with ease. Adobe Photoshop has a number of tools that I'll use, such as the 'Clone Stamp Tool', which will remove some areas of the image which are poor quality. This should improve the image, and thus improve their sales figure's.' The above is an example of what the student could include within the report. The above should be written on all the software packages. This includes Photoshop and Indesign, as these are the two suggested software programs that the student will use.

Response to question

In summary, the report is quite good. The report states the current issues of the magazine, and the suggested improvements that the student will undertake. However the report is lacking the reasons to why the student will use some software packages, such as Photoshop and InDesign. The Introduction of the report is clear and sets out the aim of the project. In addition, the student understands the magazine issues and aims at resolving these by creating a front cover to recover from the loss making operation. The report states 'Fit it so the size of A4 paper'. Since the student is using Photoshop, there may state the pixels that this will be. This will show the examiner that there are both thinking about the image size in terms of paper and pixels used in Photoshop.

Did you find this review helpful? Join our team of reviewers and help other students learn