Cover Page Development

 

After feedback from classmates on my previous designs, the above was the popular choice.  They liked the image and colour scheme and thought the banners and house style linked well with the genre. 
However, after asking for feedback from persons out of the classroom.  Issues and faults began to arise.  For Example, the "Exclusive" badge didn't really look like a sticker.  Instead It looked out of position and ill proportioned to the rest of the magazine front page. 
Another point raised was that the left hand side looked to open/bland compared with the right hand side.  Also, my previously design Masthead and its grey print appeared to sit in the background compared with the white and yellow text.  A finally criticism was that the magazine looked to linear or organised for my genre of dance music.

Therefore, I have taken these points and re-thought my design.  First of all, adding more text to the left and redesigning the artist's title, also adding sell and cover lines.  I have removed the exclusive badge and replaced it with something that looks more sticker/leaflet like.  This has text written on it, designed to draw the reader into the magazine through the point of some of the text being hidden off page to the right. 
I have then added another colour.  Having concluded that the majority of 2 colours looked to plain, I have added a 3rd contrasting colour of red.  This will link closer with my contents page.  As well as adding red, I have now made the banner stretch complete across the bottom of the page, with a "PLUS" icon added at the bottom left.  This draws the reader attention and may lead to them finding something extra they like. 
Removing the grey over my Masthead has lifted the Masthead "off" of the page and made it stand out.  This was an important added feature as all magazine must catch the eye of the consumer in order to look attractive and make a sale.
Finally, I have now angle features such as the sticker/leaflet on the left.  I have also added "Wacky" text on the right.  I have achieved this by setting each letter slightly off alignment from one another.  This took time but this has now addressed the issue of the magazine being to linear.  I feel that it now suits my genre more professionally and adaptively.