With all three of these front covers I wanted to use the same image and the same text style so that the only aspect changing would be the position of both the image and the text, all of which were inspired by the layout of ‘The Gentlewoman’. Sticking to this image and text helped to link to ‘The Gentlewoman’ magazine well as a lot of their images are in black and white and they heavily focus on coloured text to make it stand out against the black and white image.
With the first front cover idea I wanted to use a white border around the image as well as have the text separate rather than overlapping. I like this technique as it looks very minimalistic yet there is still a high focus on the image. Also, it is not too overpowering as a first image, but I feel as though for a front cover the image should encompass the page for a more powerful look. Although this layout most links to ‘The Gentlewoman’ as they use a title above and text below the image, leaving empty space around it, which I have similarly done here.
With this second design I wanted to go a lot bigger and use the whole page to apply a very intense feel to the first page. I feel this is also very effective as this is the only image which uses a girl, the reason being is I wanted to show contrast. Therefore, I feel as though this layout is most powerful and effective as it demonstrates that and makes the viewer want to continue. Also, I have seen that ‘The Gentlewoman’ overlaps their vivid writing over some images which I incorporated here. I like the way this looks as it joins the two together. Although I feel as though the writing gets lost in the image slightly.
Finally, this final layout combines the two above images by making the image as big as possible whilst also leaving a slight white area at the bottom for the writing to be inserted, allowing for a break up in the design. I also enjoy the way that the text is slightly overlaid as it helps the page stay joined as one, but allows for more of the image to be seen. Overall, I feel as though this is my favourite layout out of the three for the front cover as it still allows for a bold entrance to the magazine spread, whilst applying some break in between.
Caitlin Smith 