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How about my magazine cover?

irmongoose

irmongoose

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Dec 3, 2001
2,864
7
Sometimes Tokyo, sometimes California
After almost two years of video video video I decided I'd try some graphic design. So I took the idea from CrackedButter in this thread and made a Mac magazine. So... just wanted to know what you people think.

coverpage.jpg





irmongoose
 
Nice

Its nice, but it looks like....well...to much like a page "out of the magazine".

You should put IRMONGOOSE on top of the magazine in bold underlined print. And there shouldnt be that "Download Safari" thing. You should put like "Apple updates Safari" or something.

Looks cool though.
 
Nice

Its nice, but it looks like....well...to much like a page "out of the magazine".

You need to dis-clutter the mid section. Just looking at it there are too many letters. Or, change the font and color of the text. That works on MacWorld :)
Looks cool though.
 
Keep the layouts coming guys - it makes my job justified (I am a graphic designer). I do apologize, but the two covers (crackedbutter and irmongoose) are pretty sad. Just like someone before me said - it is supposed to grab your attention and invoke a feeling. None of those two do that, other than: "there is something wrong here".

By posting, I hope you know you opened yourself to criticism. ;)

If you need constructive feedback:

1. What is the concept for the cover? If you just show what Apple's offering is in pro apps, that's not enough. If you show how Apple's offer is much better than the competition and you can illustrate it, you have a concept. For example (and this is a bad quickie): A big FCP 4 box squashing a bunch of well known pro video software boxes. A cheesy tag line - The Final and Definitive Cut. Voila.

2. the masthead is not anchored. It looks like the other type, just larger. The issue date is not that important, much, much smaller and not stretched. The relationship of the "1" and the title are unbalanced.

3. Bad type - you need a primary and secondary font, and use them consistently, etc.

A for effort.
 
Hehe thanks guys, just needed some input so I know how much I have to work on this area of the arts... guess the one question I really want to ask is: do I have the potential? If I ever fail I want to have a backup plan...

Oh and sorry, zarathustra, I don't understand what you mean by 'the masthead is not anchored'...



irmongoose
 
to me it feels a bit cluttered for a cover i mean i think your providing too much information and that gives it a I have to cram all of this in feel which is a little bit unprofessional.
 
I have to agree with all the others that is looks like an ad from inside. What you need to do is have 1 image as the cover and the other things are side stories.

So if you wanted to show the 3 new video apps available, make it one story instead of 3.

Looks good, otherwise.

D
 
To add to the constructive critisim posted above, I think you need to make better use of visual alignment and contrast. What I mean is you must either make elements that are close together perfectly line up, or make them markedly seperate. What is adding to the clutter people are commenting on is the fact that there are a lot of elements that are maybe a few mm off from perfect alignment - it's throwing off our eyes when we scan the page.

For example, in the lower quarter of the page, you have two headlines in black, and that blue bar. The baseline of the "Rumer Shrumer" headline should rest at exactly the same vertical position as the bottom of the blue bar. And the "Safari Updated" headline's left edge should be in perfect alignment with the left edge of the blue bar. Right now, these elements are mildly off-alignment, which looks sloppy. If you don't intend for elements to align, then make the differences more pronounced.

The comments posted here about the main point of interest, et cetera, is related to contrast. If you blur your eyes (by squinting) and stare at the page, nothing immediately jumps out at you. It's all a wash of grey. One suggestion would be to focus on one product shot, say, Final Cut Pro and make it very big. Then make the other two products smaller, and put them below FCP.

In all, I think it's a good start that shows promise. Other suggestions: keep in mind who your audience is, and what they want in a magazine. Also be mindful of the purpose of any magazine cover, which is to make your magazine stand out from the others on a crowded newsstand. If you are serious about pursuing this as a source of revenue, I suggest as an excercise going to a local newsstand and taking a picture of the rack. Then, in Photoshop, insert your cover design in various spots among the other magazines. Can you see it? Does it stand out? Grab your attention as a potential reader? The bottom line for any successful graphic designer: does what you produce meet the needs of your audience, and your client?

Best of luck, and keep these designs coming!
 
after seeing many high tech magazines, how could some of you criticise imongoose's cover as being too cluttered?

now if it were playboy, time, or sports illustrated, then you may have a point

but go down to the newsstand and look in the techie section...many are really cluttered on the cover...it goes with the territory

and look at high tech books, too...they are cluttered and often use clashing colors
 
jefhatfield, I totally agree that most computer magazines are cluttered. But that doesn't make them examples of good design. Sure, we the Mac and graphic design community could advise imongoose to stick to the status quo... but then we'd also have to tell him to switch to Windows. :)
 
My reference was the May issue of MacAddict. Could any of you look at it and tell me if it's cluttered? If not, then I would know it was my mistake. If it is, though, that tells me I should use another reference.

Thanks.



irmongoose
 
Originally posted by jkojima
jefhatfield, I totally agree that most computer magazines are cluttered. But that doesn't make them examples of good design. Sure, we the Mac and graphic design community could advise imongoose to stick to the status quo... but then we'd also have to tell him to switch to Windows. :)
Click to expand...

i think techies want to see the stats and numbers up front and what is in the mag

but in a photographic monthly magazine cover or art news magazine cover, then the focus is on the cover design

i don't think an esoteric, sparse, but beautifully well designed tech mag would cut it...it would get passed over by the target audience
 
looking at it again, the bottom row could be shrunk down in size, while one of the middle pieces can be made larger while the other middle pieces are made smaller

i guess a good thing could be to have a main feature article and make that piece the largest in the center or slightly off center
 
A minor point about the words, not the design: I don't think the word Apple should be in front of Shake 3. Is it there to make the text wide enough? All three are new Apple products, so calling one Apple and not the other two is odd.
 
The blue box needs to be aligned to the text directly under it.
It is a bit to the right, but I see no major mistakes. Quite nice. :)
 
and to think all this time i thought your name was ironmongoose.

the color scheme is cool. i'd just take the three graphics (software boxes), pick one to be larger/in front, have the other two flank it, and enlarge so it's 65-70% the cover. a subheadline and small copy underneath, and make the barcode/secondary story smaller, less graphic intensive. i did like what you did with the barcode.

we should make this a contest. anyone agree?
 
Doctor Q: Yeah the only reason I put Apple in there was because without it it wouldn' tbe wide enough.

scem0: Again, alignment. Seems like I really need to work on this.

trebblekicked: Hehe, seems many people mistook my name as ironmongoose... hope this helps clarify it! :)

And a big THANK YOU to everyone!



irmongoose
 
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