Masthead Effects

I wanted my masthead to be unique so firstly I downloaded a font from dafonts.com (see other post). I then added some effects using the "Effects" option from the "Object" menu. I added a drop shadow, inner shadow and a bevel and emboss to make my masthead more visually attractive to my audience. 

Cover Image Over Masthead

I decided that I wanted the head of my model to overlap the masthead. I had seen this used in several magazines such as Vibe and The Source who share my target audience.


Firstly, using the magnetic lasso tool in Photoshop, I copied the outline of my model onto a transparent canvas. I added my original image onto an InDesign page and added the title. Once I did this, I placed my Photoshopped image over the original image. This made it seem like it was a single image where the masthead is sandwiched between my model's head and the background.

Downloaded Fonts

Using the website www.dafont.com, I downloaded several unique font designs. I wanted my magazine to have an "urban" feel due to it's genre, hip-hop/rap, being originated from the urban environment. I felt there were not enough sufficient choices within InDesign so, using the search bar, I found a few fonts that fit the genre of my magazine. Once I downloaded them, I installed them into my Font Book (pictured above) which allows me to incorporate them into my magazine.

Clipping Path

Part of my main image overlaps into the next page; which is intentional. I wanted the text from my article to wrap around my model's left shoulder to give a nice presentation. To do this I used the "Clipping Path" tool.
I selected my image and went onto the "Object" menu, here I selected "Clipping Path" then "Options". A box appeared, shown in the above screen shot, which detected the edges of my model within the image itself. It then allowed me to alter the length of the gap between the edge and the text; I will show my text in my final draft of my double page spread.

Photoshop Background

When I first took the pictures, I tried to have a simple background which I could easily alter in Photoshop if I needed to. I intended to use my original image without alterations but soon decided that a normal white background would give my double page spread a more professional vibe.


I opened my original image in Photoshop and used the Magic Wand Tool to highlight the background without cutting through my model. Once it was highlighted, I used the Paint Bucket Tool to add the white. This will make it easier to keep a consistent colour scheme in my double page spread.

First Images

These are the first images I have gathered for the potential cover and double spread of my magazine. In all of them, my model is facing the camera, this is making direct address with my intended readers on the cover and will make my magazine more appealing to my audience. 

My intention for my double page spread was to gather images that could take up the whole of one page; with the article all on the other page. This is a potential layout I am thinking about incorporating in my magazine.

Double Page Spread Example

Above is the first screen shot of the example for the double page spread of my music magazine. The first thing I did was alter the margins so that the bottom and outside margins were larger than the top and inside ones. I then added three columns on each page to fit my writing. After, I placed an image which took up the entire left page; this layout had been incorporated in other music magazines and so I used it. Once my image was placed I created an appropriate headline on the top of the right page which took up around a third of it; I made sure my title and font was related to my image in someway. After adding text under my title, page numbers in the corners and text boxes in the columns, I added "Placeholder Text" from the "Type" menu so I could see how the text would be arranged.

I then placed a second image into an ellipse frame tool and placed it within my text.  Using the "Text Wrap" from the "Window" menu, I arranged the text so that it wrapped around the shape of my image. I did this to make the layout and presentation more attractive.

Looking at my finished page I am happy with the turnout. When I start my actual spread, I will try and use tools such as the "Eyedropper Tool" to keep a consistency in the colour scheme.