Digital Cover Mockups
CONTENT CHOICES FOR THE COVER 02/02/2022
This post will be the beginning of my production of certain parts for my final product, starting with the cover. In the last post I made 5 different drafts of possible covers for my magazine where I experimented with different layouts, colors, and fonts. In the end I selected 2 drafts that I thought were the best and that I would now start to work on improving and making into mockups. This post will include both of my mockups and I will explain why I made decisions on font, color, and placement for all aspects of my magazine cover from the text to the main image. For your information I used the design tool Canvas for my mockups and I will explain what I did to my images using Canvas during this blog. For all of them I used the poster template and simply added my image to them and placed text boxes wherever necessary.
Digital Draft #1:
Digital Mockup #1:
Why:
Font: In this mockup, I only utilized 3 different fonts. These fonts were Alfa Slab One, Oswald, and knewave. The aforementioned fonts were the fonts closest to those fonts that I selected in blog #2 to be the best fonts for sports magazines. Alfa Slab One replaced Faltige as they are both bold slab serif fonts while Oswald replaced Impact since they look very similar and are both sans serif fonts. Last but not least, knewave is Canvas's counterpart to Rockster because they both look very similar to actual handwriting. Now that I finished with that, I am now going to explain why I chose each specific font and what meaning they create. For example, Alfa Slab One has a very heavy weight with small tails at the ends which gives it a sophisticated feel with the tails while conveying a sense of masculinity and power due to its boldness. I used it for all of my coverlines because I think it works best on medium sized font such as coverlines. Consequently, it helped draw attention to my coverlines and made them overall easier to read. Also by using it on all of my coverlines it created a sense of unison which is quite similar to that of a sports team. Next, I used Oswald only for the masthead that was also underlined. The combination of Oswald's perfectly straight lines and the underlines give the masthead a modern look and makes people see how important it is. Lastly, I used knewave for the smaller texts like the coverline descriptions and the magazine information. Knewave looks a lot like cursive handwriting that is slightly slanted which gives off a more relaxing and laid back vibe that relates to the feeling of playing sports with friends. I used it specifically for small writing because it is easy to read, it makes the content more relatable by being friendly, and it is very stylistic and makes the cover more distinct as well as less boring.
Color: I chose an analogous color scheme between red and yellow for this mockup mainly because I wanted a magazine that looked exciting, joyful, and powerful all at the same time and I learned that these two colors signify these meanings during my research for post #3. These colors appeared very sparingly because according to blog #4, using only a little bit of color makes the color pop more and become more distinct. This is especially true of the color red as it only appeared in the masthead which further cemented the message that the masthead is very important and powerful so it should be the center of attention. I then only used yellow for the supporting coverlines to make them appear fun and energetic so that more people are interested in reading them. For the rest of the cover it is either covered by the main image or is in neutral colors, in this case black and white. Not only do the neutral colors help place more of an emphasis on the parts that are red and yellow, they also, along with red, help connect the main image to the text as they share the same colors. In other words, the main image is wearing red, white, and black, so by using those colors the main image becomes more engaging and feels more together with the text which is essential for the success of a magazine. The yellow even symbolizes the strong sunlight that is also present in the main image. The neutral colors also of course add a level of formality and cleanliness to the magazine while keeping the friendly tone. To be more specific, black was used for the main coverline and the magazine information to place an importance on it and make it easier to read. Black is also on the edges of the cover acting as an outline which gives off a more professional tone and helps guide the reader's attention inwards. At the same time white was only used for the descriptions of coverlines in order to symbolize the goodness of the sport as well as the goodness of the magazine. Lastly, the colors contrast very well adding another level of life to the cover and making it more engaging.
Placement/Size: I decided to put my masthead in the center of the top third of the cover. Not to mention, I made the text the biggest in order to make the masthead the main attraction. In contrast, I learned in post #4 that the best place to put content is on the edges of the cover so I placed all of my coverlines and descriptions there so they are easily visible and the first thing, other than the masthead, to be seen. They are also medium sized to show the principle of hierarchy and explain what is the most important piece of content. The main image is very large and, for the most part, symmetrical with a slight lean towards the right but by doing so the image is right in the center connecting all of the pieces together as all of the content is related to it. Lastly, the smallest part is the magazine information and by putting it directly under the masthead it is a metaphor to how the masthead is more important than it. Before I forget, the barcode is in the bottom right hand corner and is medium sized so that the audience can clearly see the price of the magazine and see how affordable it is.
Image/Editing: I chose this image because it is framed in a mid shot which is at a respectful and professional distance from the viewer that automatically conveys that tone. The image also has a beautiful landscape that is visually appealing and captivating because it shows how realistic this magazine really is. The image is also related to the content because the star of the main image is one of the main focus points of the magazine and so is the trophy that he is holding since the magazine is a preview for this tournament. The image also perfectly exemplifies all of the key aspects of sports, fun, the outdoors, playing with friends, and of course winning in a very relatable way. Furthermore, there is a lot of negative space which makes the cover look more open and free.
Now, the original image looks like this:
As you can see, the tint was a bit too warm which caused the image to not look very clear. Also the text was not easy to read when the image was like this, so I decided to change the image slightly via Canvas and their amazing design tools. I first increased the saturation of the image up from 0 to 15 in order to make the image stand out more. Afterwards, I made the image more distinct and detailed by decreasing the blur from 0 to -50. Next, in order to balance the effect of those two adjustments and the original problem with warmth in a satisfying way I decreased the warmth from 0 to -100. Unfortunately, I still had a problem with the readability of the text so I decided to add a blue tint to the image so that the warm colors contrasted more with it so that the words became clearer and to simulate a calm and peaceful feeling for the magazine that also contrasts greatly with the energetic side of the magazine as well. Other than that, everything else stayed the same, including the crop and the rotation. And for the placement I simply used Canvas to help me line it up directly in the center while for the size I increased it evenly until there was just a little bit space left just for the outline.
Here's a picture of the settings that I applied:
Sketch #2:
Digital Mockup #2:
Changes: From my sketch to my mockup very little changes actually took place. This was especially surprising because the draft was handwritten while my mockup is digital. Before I begin I just wanted to mention that I will be using the information I typed in blog #5 to compare with the mockup as I couldn't add colors or fonts when handwriting something. First of all, all of my placement stayed the same with the exception of my main coverline and supporting coverline. Yet, they only switched spots as I planned for the supporting coverline to go under the main coverline and the pull quote but on my mockup the supporting coverline and its description were placed above the main coverline and the pull quote. The pull quote also did not have a puff around it on the sketch but I put one on the mockup. The cover was also supposed to have a monochromatic color scheme and a black background but my mockup has an analogous red, orange, yellow color scheme with an aqua gradient background. The last big difference was that in my draft all of the text was the same font but the actual color variation would differ. On the other hand, on my mockup there are 3 different types of fonts and the colors and size also vary in between each.
Why:
Font: Just like mockup #1, I once again used only 3 fonts and they're actually the exact same 3 that is used for mockup #1. This time however, I used Alfa Slab One only once, for my pull quote. I did this to symbolize the boldness and strength of what the statement actually meant and of the magazine as a whole. As aforementioned, this font works best when used on medium sized words so that's exactly what I did so that it is very easy to read. To rephrase it, Alfa Slab One would take up too much space and be a bit overwhelming if I used it for big text, while if I used it on small text, it would be very hard to read due to the thickness of the letters. I then used Oswald for the masthead and all of the smaller information like the descriptions, the page numbers, the magazine information, and of course the selling line. Through the common use of Oswald, a more modern and formal tone is set as the letters are perfectly straight and it is a pretty basic yet effective font. It also develops uniformity throughout the cover thanks to it being shown so much. The last font, knewave, only appeared in the coverlines. The fact that it looks like handwriting and that it is slanted counters the effect from Oswald and Alfa Slab One to create a mixture of sophistication and friendliness that is very attractive for the viewer. I especially applied this font for the coverlines in order to provide the reader with a more enjoyable and fun perspective on the stories while simultaneously reminding them of the level of formality that the magazine itself presents.
Color: As mentioned above, I used an analogous color scheme containing red, orange, and yellow/gold for this cover as well as an aqua gradient background. This background was able to harness contrasts very well with the color scheme itself and allows for all of the colors in addition to the main image to stand out and appear clearer than they would have without it. I used the color red for the masthead and the background of the puff that contains the pull quotes in order to show the power and passion that the quote and the magazine have for sports. Next, I used orange for all of the supporting coverlines to show the positive side of sports and of the magazine itself. The color orange was also very helpful in trying to appeal to a younger audience. The opposite can be said of the color yellow for this cover as I used a slightly darker version of the color yellow, more similar to gold, that conveys the theme that sports are for all ages, especially the older ones. Yellow was used only once which was for the main coverline and by doing so it made the main coverline more unique and placed a higher importance on it. The rest of the text was all in white including the pull quote, the description, the selling line, the magazine information, and the page numbers. Along with the lack of black, except for a little bit of the background, this made the cover more lighthearted in general. The white also symbolizes how the magazine has the purest intentions in everything they do and so does the main image whose quote is in white as well. Finally, the aqua background develops a feeling of balance and a connection to nature that is quite subtle but still evident and further improves the entire cover. Speaking of connections, the color I chose were, for the most part, present in the costume of the subject in the main image so it helped create a sense of unison between the entire cover.
Placement/Size: I ultimately selected the places and sizes of each aspect of the cover based on the principle of hierarchy. Therefore, I put all of the coverlines in the most visible section which are the edges of the magazine. The masthead of course can be found in its typical position in the center of the top third of the cover and part of the main image is actually placed over the masthead on the right side because the main image is at the rule of thirds. Staying with the masthead, you can find the selling line right under it signifying how it is deeply interconnected with it and is basically the identity of the magazine. Another essential part of the magazine can be found in the bottom left corner and it is called the barcode. The barcode is pretty small but still big enough to read and it is paired up with the magazine information that is located to its direct right. The last special part about this cover is located at the very top and by doing so you can visually see the important role that it plays in relation to the rest of the magazine. I'm talking about the mini TOC that is very useful due to the fact that it places an importance on the TOC and helps the audience browse the magazine more easily. This is very beneficial if you need assistance connecting your cover to the TOC and is why I mentioned it in blog #4. Now that the placement is done I will now briefly talk about their distinct sizes. Obviously the masthead is the biggest and is the first thing that people see but unlike the previous mockup, this one has the pull quote as the second biggest instead of the main coverline. This helps draw more attention to it because pull quotes give a sneak peek to content inside the magazine and can act as an advertisement for the exclusive interview with the main image star. After that comes the main coverline quickly followed by the supporting coverlines, all of which are medium sized to show how they support the principal part of the magazine itself. Then lastly comes the page numbers, selling line, and coverline description since they all share the same size while the magazine information is the smallest to show how it is not really necessary and is more of an added bonus for curious readers. The other 2 non-text aspects are the barcode and the main image. The barcode is the perfect size for it not to be in the way while still being present enough to be noticed while the main image takes up around 2/3 of the page in height and 1/2 if the page in width proving that is the main reason why the reader is reading this magazine.
Image/Editing: The image I chose is one that was taken during an actual match so by showing that the photo was taken live it becomes automatically more interesting. It is also framed in a full shot so that the viewer gets a life-like perspective of the main image and can more easily relate to it. Moreover, by eliminating the real life landscape and simply having a one color background, all of the focus shifts directly to the subject of the main image. The last noticeable thing about the main image is that it was placed on top of the masthead so that it feels more like a part of the magazine than it would have if it was not on top. This also slightly prioritizes the image over the masthead.
Now the original image looked like this:
It is quite obvious that the picture at first was way too thin and tall to fit correctly on a magazine cover so I cropped the image down until it was basically only the player with a little bit of background on either side. In my eyes the image was very distracting and not very appealing.
I then wanted there to be no background so that all eyes would be on the player. Canva thankfully has a very useful tool called background remover and all I did was click on the image and apply the tool so that the background disappeared.
Afterwards, I needed to add a background that would help contrast with my analogous color scheme of warm colors so I chose an aqua gradient background so that not only would the colors contrast but the main image would too.
Next, I started testing out how this would all look like when text was added and I wanted the main image to be more on the right side so that the text was on the left since that is the conventional setup. So, I simply flipped the image horizontally using Canva and put him on the right side. I also thought that the black would look better on the top so that the TOC would be more visible, thus I flipped the background vertically as well.
Lastly, once I started to add text and I started to adjust the size of the picture, I realized that the image did not stand out as much as I would like it to and that the overall quality was not very detailed so I decided to decrease the blur from 0 to -25 and increase the clarity from 0 to 25. I also thought it would look more stylized if I moved the main image forward so that part of the main image was over the masthead so I used the positioning tool from Canvas to move the image's position forward slightly. The image also now looks a lot more realistic.
Conclusion: To recapitulate, both of my mockups are mostly conventional with certain aspects being present that break tradition. For instance, in mockup #1 the background is a real life landscape while most of the time it is a neutral background or a background with a shallow focus so that the audience's attention is solely on the main image as I found out in my very first blog. The masthead is also underlined which is not very common for sports magazines not to mention that the magazine information is usually found next to the barcode so that all of the legal information is next to one another. As a result, it is no surprise that mockup #1 is the more simple of the two as it breaks the least amount of conventions and has the least amount of content. It also required less work on editing the image as shown above. Yet, out of the two mockup #2 definitely breaks conventions more as it includes a selling line which are surprisingly uncommon in sports magazines. What's more, the magazine has its barcode on the opposite side and instead of a neutral background a cool color gradient background is used. Although coverlines are obviously conventional, them being placed in a mini TOC of contents is very unique and breaks the tradition a lot. Consequently, I consider mockup #2 to be the more fun and energetic of the 2 especially with the pull quote and puff which are also slightly unconventional but have begun to grow in popularity so I personally believe they are not actually untraditional components of my cover. Overall, I really like both of them but I like mockup #1 better because it feels simpler and more visually appealing since I did not really like how the main image for mockup #2 came out. It's okay but it's not the best. Though in general I really enjoy how I laid out my covers because they have enough negative space to not feel too cramped.
Tools and Resources Utilized:
- https://www.canva.com/.
- Rodriguez, Daniel. Daniel Rodriguez - AICE Media Studies, Blogger, 27 Jan. 2022, https://danielrodriguez111106.blogspot.com/.
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