Final Billboard

Overall I am really pleased with how my final billboard has turned out, the feedback that I was given has really helped my thoughts on the print & inspired my ideas throughout. After changing the background again to one of my own images, I really like how it looks and fits in with the rest if my billboard. I really wanted to create a simple yet effective and professional looking billboard and  I believe I have achieved my goal. After retrieving feedback saying to add more information on my billboard and make it clear what the the product is advertising I came up with a slogan for my magazine which I now plan on using on all of my products. I really like the final colour scheme of my billboard and how it fits in well with the style of the background and strong main image. I believe that I have followed typical conventions of a billboard and my inspirational texts & research has helped me with this because it has given me ideas as well as thoughts on how to make something my own but still following conventions of other media products. I have also now added text stating that it is a one off Vintage edition and after retrieving feedback saying that my web address wasn't very clear and visible I have messed around and experimented with different style fonts as well as making it in lowercase and I am now satisfied with the outcome as it is very clear and stands out.

Development

After choosing backgrounds for my billboard off googles images and using them to experiment with I went out and picked a sample piece of wallpaper from B&Q that is very similar to the 3rd billboard that I created. Because of copy right and having to use your own images I could not use google images and therefore this will be the new background on my billboard. I plan on editing the wallpaper once I scan it onto my computer, like the other background I found on google images I plan on changing it slightly to look more of a pale blue colour. I really like this wallpaper and I think it will work well on my billboard as it is vintage looking.

Billboard 2nd Draft

After retrieving more feedback for my second billboard draft I have many more ideas on how to make my billboard look more professional. The background has worked well and my feedback agree with that because it stands out a lot more and fits in with the whole vintage theme. My peers have suggested adding more information on my billboard, my aim was to keep my product simple because the idea was to use my billboard as a 'teaser' to attract my audience to the website and magazine to find out more. However I do agree it is too plain therefore I now plan on adding another slogan however in a better place compared to last time. I also have an idea to suggest that it is a magazine product being advertised and show that this edition is a one off Vintage edition. One of my peers have suggested adding a logo to my billboard, however I disagree with this idea because my masthead is acting as a logo as it is what my reader will see and recognise on all of my products. Finally my classmates have suggested changing the font of my website link, I agree with this idea as it doesn't really stand out as well as the other text on my billboard. 

Experimenting

  After retrieving my peer feedback I have started experimenting with different backgrounds and layouts of my billboard. Researching vintage backgrounds on google images I found 3 different styles that I liked and experimented with them along with my billboard, I really like the background on the 3rd billboard because the styles fits in really well with my vintage theme and it also looks the most professional. I also experimented with different layouts and colours. Although I really do like the colour green for my masthead, on my billboard it stands out better in black, therefore I plan on using my masthead in black for the billboard however on my other products using it in the pastel green. I also prefer where i have placed the website now and how I have taken the slogan off as it was covering too much of the image. I have used the same text Riesling for my masthead however on the 3rd billboard I have typed it in lowercase as I believe it looks more professional and it doesn't go on the models hair or face. After experimenting with different styles and creating 3 new billboards I have decided to use the 3rd billboard and now receive more peer feedback to help me improve more. 

Peer feedback on Billboard

After creating my first billboard draft I received some peer feedback off some other students in my class, and I found their thoughts and ideas very useful. The main concern for my billboard and suggestion towards my product was adding a background behind the main image to make it not as plain. I like the thought of using a background on my billboard therefore this is something that I will experiment with and test out with different types of Vintage backgrounds. As well as that some of my feed back suggested sticking to one colour, which is something that I agree with and what I said in my evaluation of the first draft because there is a lot of colour. 

Billboard First Draft

To create my Billboard I used Adobe Photoshop, in my opinion it has turned out well, I really like the main image as it is strong and fits in with the vintage theme. Similar to the Marc Jacobs billboard that I looked at for inspirational texts, my image fills the whole space and even goes off the page, I like this effect because it shows that it is a strong main image and I am also following typical conventions that are used in other fashion related billboards. After experimenting with colour, I chose to use all 3 colours on my billboard, I like the pastel green on my masthead because it stands out however I think I have used too many colours therefore I plan to go back to my billboard and tone it down slightly as this is just a first draft. For more ideas and thoughts I would like to get some feedback off my peers to find out if there is anything else to improve on my billboard. 

Experimenting with Colour

For the colour scheme of my magazine I have chose pastel colours that stand out and experimented with them in different tones. Because my magazine has a vintage theme, pastel colours will suit the style a lot more then extremely bright colours or dull colours. As well as these colours, white, black and possibly grey will be seen on my magazine because I would like some plain, neutral colours to break up the pastels and create a contrast. I think the pastel green colour will work well on my masthead because out of the three colours it is brighter and bolder therefore it will stand out and appeal more to my target audience.

Experimenting with Font

The masthead for my magazine will need to appear on my billboard advertisement and magazine website as well as my front cover, therefore using the website www.dafont.com I searched for different fonts that I thought would be suitable for my magazine, and after looking at all the many different styles of fonts I chose 4 that in my opinion would look interesting and stand out on my magazine front cover as well as the ancillary tasks. I do like all 4 fonts however no.4 which is font Riesling stands out the most to me and in my opinion it will fit in perfectly with the style that I am hoping to achieve. It is a Vintage looking text and with the right colour scheme I think it will stand out on my front cover and other products. 

Masthead

In my opinion the masthead is one of the main parts to my product because it is how my target audience will recognise my magazine, website & billboard. In a way the masthead acts as a logo as it is seen on every product to do with the magazine, it is the title, the company name. I found it hard deciding on a name that was different and stood out from other fashion magazines, I eventually choose 4 different names that I thought would appeal to my target audience and fit in with the style of my magazine, they were - Chic, Rare, Trend & Attitude. Because my magazine is a regional fashion magazine I want something that is going to fit in with unique style that I am hoping to achieve, and because my theme is a one off Vintage edition the name Rare stood out the most out of my 4 options. With all of this in mind I have decided to use the name Rare as my masthead because I think it will appeal to my young readers and stand out on shop shelves, as well as look good on a website and billboard. 

Time Management

Website Flat Plan & Rationale

Website Rationale
I will be creating a website on the internet program wix, where I will chose a website template that I believe will fit my ideas and style of magazine. I plan on making three website pages that all link together and show different stories that will either be shown in my magazine or linked to it in some way. I have already taken some images of the main story that I plan on using in my magazine, now I need to take some of the littler stories that will be shown on my ‘Hot Topics’ page. My 3 pages will consist of a Home page which will be used as a ‘enter’ page to get into the actual site, a ‘Hot Topics’ page that will show exclusive stories to the website as well as stories that will be shown in my magazine. The final page that I would like to create is a ‘Fashion’ page, I plan on taking images of clothes on a model and then editing them in Photoshop, I would like to show them in a slideshow and give information on the clothing for my audience. I will be looking at websites such as Vogue, Grazia & Company for different ideas and inspirations to create my own website, one of a typical website conventions is a site map therefore I will create a site map and show it on every page so the viewer has an idea where everything on my magazine is. My website will also show my masthead, as that is the key to having my target audience recognise my products, it will be shown big & bold as it would be on an actual magazine, it is obviously the website name and again acts as the logo of my products. 

Billboard Flat Plan & Rationale

Billboard Rationale 
Creating a billboard is one part of my ancillary task, and to do so I am going to use Adobe Photoshop. I would like my billboard to be simple yet effective, I don’t want the page to be crammed full with unnecessary information, but with what my target audience needs to know. In my opinion a billboard is like a teaser, and because I am also making a website for my magazine and then the actual magazine there is no need to fill the billboard with a lot of information. I plan on using a strong image that will take up the full space of the page, possibly in black & white to fit in with the vintage one off theme. The masthead of my magazine will also appear on the billboard because it is what my target audience will recognise, it acts as a logo. Linking my website and billboard together I will put the web address for my website on the billboard so my target audience will then be able to find out more information. And finally a slogan will also be used on my billboard to attract my target audience, this is a typical convention that is seen on billboards and other media prints. I would also like to experiment with different vintage looking backgrounds, possibly flowers or wallpaper patterns to make it interesting and different. 

Billboard Reconstruction

Part of my ancillary task includes making a billboard advertisement for my magazine, to help give me ideas of different designs and show me what goes on a billboard advertisement I have looked at many different fashion related billboards. After choosing a specific billboard that I liked the look of and in my opinion it is a similar style to what I want my own billboard print to look like, I created a reconstruction of the original print using Adobe Photoshop. The main part of the billboard is the image, therefore I had to try and take an image that would be recognisable and very similar to the original image on the actual billboard for the company FOREVER21, using a female model I picked out some of my own clothing that would work well and look like the original and then posed her in a similar way. On photoshop I edited the image to the best I could and I am pleased with the results however it could be better if I had used a softer tool around the model to make her blend into the background but it does look like the original and because of this I believe that my reconstruction of the billboard turned out well and is recognisable as a billboard. 

Possible Images

Photo shoot Planning

List of Resources & Time Management

- Clothing, modernised outfits that show a vintage theme, shift dresses, lace, denim etc.

- Bright coloured make-up.

- Camera

- Lighting sources

I will begin taking photographs on the 8th of October, showing a variation of different vintage style outfits. Once they are taken I will begin editing & experimenting with them for my tasks. Once I have done this I will be up to date & on target with creating the ancillary tasks & reconstructing a media product.

Image Recce

Photo shoot location

My first initial thoughts on a photo shoot location were Seaburn beach, in my opinion I thought this would be an interesting background for my images, however after looking through vogue front covers and the imagery they use, I decided a plain background would work better because the main focus stays on the model and the clothing that she is wearing. I have now decided to take my images in my house in a studio like space where there will be lighting similar to studio lighting. In my opinion this will work better because it is more fashion related, as well as the fact that I will not need to rely on the weather.

Image Consent & Photo shoot Planning

Billboard Deconstructions (inspirational texts)

Time Management

Get consent from chosen model to take photographs for ancillary tasks and possibly main task. Plan outfits and decide on make-up and hair styles. Hopefully images taken in a weeks time along with consent letter. Plan Mise-en-scene, location, costume, shot types, lighting etc. 

Website Deconstructions (inspirational texts)