Cover Finalizing

Cover Finalizing

By: Sharmeen Shivji

After getting all the pictures from my cover model I am finally ready to finalize my cover. I already made a cover layout which I have shared before but now I can put in the final picture and background color. 

For the background picture I was having a hard time deciding since I needed a color that would work well with the cover and then in my double page spread.

I knew I wanted some form of a blue or green since that went along with my color scheme and worked well with his outfit. However, none of these were working for me, something just constantly looked off. 

After not being able to find a color for the background I was just about to give up until I realized that I already have a color chosen. The color I was going to use on the cover would be the same in the double page spread, and I already chose a color for that. So after realizing that, my work was almost done.

These are the backgrounds I chose:

Then, I just had to organize the cover article titles on the side. I tried many different variations like moving all the titles to one side, changing the font, color, and finally I was able to get the perfect layout which is:

Even though I thought I was done with the cover, I decided to go back to my cover analysis and see what the other covers looked like. I realized that even though they had a clear background, the background was elevated somehow. Whether it was patterned or spotlighted, it has something to give it a little umph. But I still couldn't figure out how to do that to my cover.

Then while working on my next blog post which sneak peek: is feedback review. One of the reviews was to change the background into something relating to shoes. At first, I was like no way that I was going to do that, but I ended up giving it try because the more I looked at it I realized something was a little off. Like it just didn't give off enough magazine vibes. 

While deciding what show background to use I decided to go with an actual picture of my cover model's shoe store which I visited the day I took his pictures. I thought it was the perfect idea since it gave a little insight on who the cover model was and it is actually his store. I blurred the background and it looks so much better. Like 100 times better and more professional. 

Here are the before and after:

I also changed the color of the cover titles because the black was blending too much into the background. I then tried white and then it all just came together. 

I am FINALLY done with the cover, getting the pictures of my cover model made my process of finishing the magazine way faster, and I can't wait to share my final product with you! Here is the finalized cover: