Magazine advert reflection

How did you use your research into magazine adverts to start planning your own?

A magazine advert of James Morrison as well as Plan B was analysed prior to planning. This was of great significance as it provided a deeper understanding of the components and conventions of an advert which aims to promote an album of the pop genre. The analysis therefore extended my knowledge as well as inspiring me to involve a few elements such as a black background, dominant iconography that would appeal to the audience and most importantly, an image of the artist. Following the analysis, a first draft design was created.

What are your ideas and inspirations behind your paper design? A paper design was created prior to the development of a magazine advert in order to aid in decision making regarding the layout and the components that were to be involved. The paper design consists of an image of the artist, the artist name, a song which is most recognisable by the target audience as well as the caption 'Debut album out now' which provides the consumers of the album with information regarding its release. The advert is therefore informational as well as promotional due to presenting the audience with the most significant elements of ad advert. The iconography seen in the bottom right corner involves burning cards which is a re-occurring motif throughout the music video and so it is highly significant. It provides varied connotations which individuals may depict as pain felt by the artist or danger which he may have been presented with. This encourages them to complete their understanding by purchasing the album and gaining a deeper insight into the artist. The image of the artist is a close up of the artist's face which allows the audience to view the artist's facial expression which may potentially infer an emotion. The colours aren't clear as the paper design is a simplistic design which needs to be evolved upon in order to successfully appeal to and target the audience. It does however give an overview of what the magazine advert will look like. 

How will this help with creating it on Photoshop?

Having created an initial design, the process of creating a magazine advert was made easier. The design was transferred onto an A4 template on Photoshop. As I was clear as to what elements would be involved, the task was less time consuming. I did not spend useful time on decision making but simply creating the advert. The planning of the advert was therefore significant in assisting the formation of the advert on Photoshop. 

After the initial design was created, Photoshop was used in order to achieve the desired effect. The images displayed below are the initial designs. The main focus of the advert is the artist himself which is a convention of promotional media and follows the conventions of the pop genre.

A midshot of the artist has been used so that his facial expression is visible as well as the costume and iconography i.e. the guitar. The guitar illustrates the artist's talent and therefore presents him as a talented artist. The costume conveys the ordinary aspect of the artist as stated by Richard Dyer's stardom theory. Burning cards have also been used due to being significant iconography. The typography presents the artist, his album and places emphasis on one song which the majority of the target audience would be aware of. An effect has also been used to create a smoke like effect in order to bend the fire into the background. The colours that have been used are primarily black and white however the fire is in colour which emphasises its impact and is likely to infer varied connotations to the audience i.e. the pain the artist is feeling.