L04: Evidence of Editing

Front Cover

Choosing the Main Cover Image:

Out of all the photos I took of Michael Hearne, I decided that these were the best two. They both show him looking happy, and give a general idea of what a TTRPG player looks like. However, the first image shows him to look a bit more serious, and I don't want this to come across as intimidating, so I opted for the second image as it shows him to be more happy and calm. Furthermore, it shows off his minifigure which further represents the conventions of TTRPG's.

Adding a Masthead Shadow:

Although I like the way the front cover is started to come together, I noticed that the masthead had begun to blend into the main cover Image, so I decided to add a shadow in order to make the masthead stand out a bit more. To do this, I double clicked on the masthead text layer to open the 'layer style menu, and then I enabled the 'drop shadow' option.

I adjusted the settings to try and make the drop shadow match the shadows in the main cover image so that it doesn't look out of place.

Creating the Main Puff:

This will be the main puff, and its purpose is to direct the readers attention to the main article of this magazine (Role-Play Games for beginners), as this section will feature and interview with a TTRPG expert, Elijah Mangnall.

With all of this considered, I began putting the puff together, using the shape of a hex grid map (which is commonly used in TTRPG's). I used the red colour as it connotes danger and excitement, and the yellow colour as it connotes treasure by denoting gold.

After this, I added the details about the article (including the title of the article, and the page number), as well as the logo of the shop that is mentioned throughout the article (Patriot Games). This shop is also where the photoshoots and interviews were held.

Creating the Barcode:

I wanted to keep the barcode on this magazine very simple. To do this, I created a white rectangle and added the barcode on top of it, to the left. 

I also added the date of release, the issue number, and the price next to this.

Creating the Compact Puffs:

I wanted these puffs to keep to the same theme as the main puff, so I decided to use the same colours, alternating between them. Furthermore, I wanted these to be simple and straight forward, so rather than adding any graphics to them, I simply added the titles of different articles.

Creating the 'Special Content Puff':

The purpose of this puff is to show the special/ limited content that can only be accessed through this issue of the magazine. I chose to make this puff look like a sticker that is peeling away to connote that the limited content is nearly gone.

To begin with, I created a circle using the shape tool, and cut the bottom left portion of it off, and pasted it onto a new layer.

To show that the sticker is 'bending upwards,' I added an inner shadow.

I then added satin in order to give the back of the sticker some texture, and to make the inner shadow more visible.

To make this effect more realistic, I added a grey/ silver colour overlay to the back of the sticker. And, to bring the inner shadow back into visibility more realistically, I added a gradient overlay.

Contents Page

Heading/ Page Title and Background:

I chose the background colour as it has a similar colour to parchment, furthermore, it is a more accessible colour to dyslexic people/ people with vision issues.

At the top of the page, I wanted to have the page title, 'Contents' very visible, this is why I chose the red colour. Furthermore, I wanted to include the masthead at the top of the page.

Even from the beginning of pre-production, I wanted this magazine to represent the community and communicative aspects of TTRPG's. In order to achieve this, I decided to run a photoshoot in which I took photos of people playing Dungeons and Dragons an put the best one at the top of the contents page.

Although, I realised that having the page go straight from image to plain colour didn't look great, so I added a gradient. Furthermore, the image made the masthead and title difficult to read, so I also added a black gradient to the top of the image.

Main Puff and Side Puffs:

In order to tease the articles, I decided to add some puffs, I wanted to keep the continuity by using the same design as the puffs on the front cover.

In the bottom puff, I used another photo of the TTRPG expert in order to show his significance to the magazine. Furthermore, unlike the front cover, this puff doesn't require any additional text in it, so I used the full Patriot Games logo.

As one of the main purposes of this magazine is to inform the audience of the benefits of playing TTRPG's, I wanted to capture a photo of a TTRPG player in their first session, looking happy. This would allow me to engage the audience more and make the magazine more effective in meeting its purpose.

Articles and Page Numbers:

As dice are the most well known convention of TTRPG, I decided that I would put the page numbers on the faces of dice. 

For the different sections of the contents page, I will be including the article name in a larger font, and then the article teaser text in a smaller text underneath this.

Double Page Spread

Making the Heading:

I wanted the heading to reflect the themes created throughout the rest of the magazine but still create uniquity. To do this, I used the polygon tool to create a polygon. I then set its colour to dark blue, and added a yellow stroke. For the heading text, I used the font, Typo Draft as this matches the Masthead. I set the heading text on the left to yellow to connote treasure (to show that this article is exclusive and special), and I set the text on the right side to red to conform to the previously established conventions of my magazine.

Creating Puff and Adding Page Numbers:

The next stage was creating a puff to go in the bottom right corner. The purpose of this puff was to advertise Patriot Games' Weekly TTRPG nights in the hopes of promoting the community aspects of TTRPGs. I had already made multiple puffs throughout this magazine, and I wanted to create continuity, so I used recreated one of the previous puffs and altered the dimensions to suit the size of the page. The only difference in this puff is the yellow divider. To create this, I colour picked the yellow from the outline of the puff, and used the line tool to draw the line.

In my contents page, I had already assigned the page numbers, and created the page numbers, so I simply copied them across and positioned them appropriately.

Subheadings and Page Content:

The subheadings were simple to add. I used the text tool to add the text, and then changed their colour to red and positioned them where I wanted them on the page.

The rest of the page content is just text.

Image of TTRPG Expert:

I took this photo on a plain background, so that it was simple to remove the background. To remove the background, I used the magic wand tool.

Image of people playing D&D:

It was important to make this image stand out as it connotes the community aspects of TTRPGs and shows that the TTRPG community is friendly and willing to help. So I added a yellow border as this connotes exclusivity.

Adding Final Touches:

I found that the blank space above the image of people playing D&D made the page look tacky and incomplete, so, in order to relate the the rest of the article. I added some beginner TTRPG products into that space.

L04: Client and Focus Group Feedback and Reflection

Survey:

Front Cover:

Contents Page:

Double Page Spread:

Focus Group Feedback:

Front Cover:

From a distance, is the front cover engaging to you?

The masthead colour makes it difficult to read. Could be white?

The 'Michael Hearne' text is in yellow despite all other text being in black.

The 'Michael Hearne' banner having a lower opacity looks out of place compared to the other puffs.

The black background makes Michaels outfit difficult to see.

The sticker fold up bit doesn't quite line up.

The barcode box is jarringly white.

What do you like about the front cover/ what is good about it?

the fact that Michael looks like he is having fun is engaging.

the masthead is engaging aside from the colour, seems trademarkable.

the layout is uncluttered.

What do you dislike about the front cover/ what is bad about it?

The compact puffs should be lower and smaller.

Have you got any feedback/changes for the front cover?

Contents Page:

What do you like about the contents page/ what is good about it?

The side puff is eye catching.

Having the model stick out over the puff looks good.

What do you dislike about the contents page/ what is bad about it?

Only one model having a shadow looks off.

Have you got any feedback for the contents page?

Page numbers need to be closer.

The apostrophe should be after the 's.' - This will be fixed in the body-copy blog

Quotes need apostrophes, Some full stops are missing - This will be fixed in the body-copy blog

'Fire Giant' needs capitalising.

Bottom fade needs moving down.

More image needs showing.

Incorrectly capitalised 'I'

Double Page Spread:

What do you like about the double page spread/ what is good about it?

The text is nicely oriented.

Nice Layout.

Nice to read.

nicely placed image of people - they look they are enjoying themselves.

What do you dislike about the double page spread/ what is bad about it?

Have you got any feedback for the double page spread?

Change it to 50-60 pounds, and 10-20 pounds

page numbers need to be closer together.

Could add BBEG to the key words.

take out the but

capitalise 'Tuesday'

should be 'of A welcoming nature.'

have a reread of the content, it should be more exciting. - its a story, use dice for probability, it is very social, anything is possible, reference to a dungeon master. - This will be fixed in the body-copy blog

Consistency issues with how Pg. is written.

Reflection on Feedback:

Through both the survey and the focus group, multiple issues were pointed out with the original ribbon design. They said that they liked the shape as it made it feel special and exclusive, but the text (which was originally in yellow) stood out for the wrong reasons. They stated that the text on the rest of the page was established as black, so it didn't make sense for this text to be yellow. Furthermore, they mentioned that the original ribbon design made Michael Hearne feel irrelevant. He was shown on the front cover, but the ribbon didn't indicate where in the magazine his relevance is. To fix this, I simply added a second ribbon below the first one and added the article name and page number to it.

Another change that my audience research suggested was the colour of the masthead. Multiple people mentioned that the original dark blue colour blended in with the background of the main cover image. One of the focus group members suggested the colour white, but I tested this out, and it was harsh on the eyes. So instead I colour matched it to the blue dice.

Although a very small and simple change, it was mentioned that the dice should be placed closer together to make the numbers look more connected.

L04: Exporting Final Magazine Pages

I have exported my pages as PNGs as they are high quality, lossless files meaning that it will not lose quality from being resized. I have also created a pdf version of my three pages so that they can all be seen together.

L04: Review of Assets

Front Cover

Masthead:

I wanted to use a sans serif font as they are more accessible and easier to read. I decided on this specific font as it is creative but still easily readable from a distance. Furthermore, this font features a square grid behind the letters, I felt that this added to the TTRPG genre as maps on square grids are common throughout TTRPGs. I chose to make the masthead text dark blue as the colour blue has connotations of stability and reliability.

The alternating dice denote the 6 different dice that are common throughout TTRPGs, I felt that this was an important feature to include as it would instantly tell the audience what the genre of the magazine was. Furthermore, I wanted to alternate the red and blue colours as, once again, blue connotes stability and reliability while red juxtaposes this completely by connoting the adventuring aspects and the aggressive nature of TTRPGs.

I overall like how this masthead came out, and I still like the creative decisions that I made. However, there are a few amendments that I would make. The first and most significant change I would make is changing the colour of the text. Although the colour of the text matches the colour of the blue dice, the text being this dark of a blue makes it difficult to read, and so it doesn't stand out as much as I would like. To fix this, I could make the blue a lighter blue (perhaps the same blue as the dice), or I could change it to a lighter colour like yellow. The second amendment I would make is how the colours of the dice alternate. Instead of how the alternate currently, I would make it so that the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th dice are blue and the 2nd and 5th dice are red. I believe that this would make the masthead more visually appealing.

Main Cover Image:

For my main cover image, I photographed Michael Hearne. He is a relatively new Dungeons and Dragons player. I wanted him to act as an ideal self (Carl Rogers) on the front cover. To do this, I specifically used a medium close-up at an eye-level angle as this shows the equality between Michael and the audience. Furthermore, I had Michael wear a more abstract shirt for this photoshoot as it connotes creativity. I also wanted him to look curious and excited in order to engage the audience.

Although I really like the feel that this image creates, it is not the highest quality image. The camera was slightly out of focus, focussing on his hand rather than his face. The camera was also at a bit of the angle, but I rotated the image in photoshop to fix this.

Ribbon:

This banner is designed in the shape of a ribbon to give connotations of exclusivity. I used the colours red and yellow to show continuity on the front cover. 

In hindsight, this banner isn't particularly relevant as it doesn't reference an article. If I was to change how I made this banner, I would add another, smaller but longer banner beneath this which states the title and page of the article. I would I also make the colours of this banner opposite to the big one (Yellow inside, Red outline).

Main Puff:

This is the main puff on the front cover, the shape of it is designed to be angular as I wanted it to denote the shape of dice. It is made with the red and yellow colours to show continuity on the front cover.

Although I do like the shape and colours of this puff, I wish I made the model (Elijah) bigger as he is the most important part of the article, and the size of his image should represent this.

Compact Puffs:

These puffs are designed to show the three small articles in the magazine, the shape of them is intended to denote the shape of dice and the colours red and yellow are chosen to show continuity.

I don't know why I made it this way, but the text isn't aligned and it makes this section look really messy. I would need to more careful about this in future.

Contents Page:

Masthead and Heading:

I like this asset for the same reasons that I stated for the masthead on the front cover. I wanted to include the heading 'Contents' to clearly indicate the presence of this page. I have gone with a red colour as it connotes importance. I believe that the contents page of a magazine (In accordance with magazine conventions) is important as it should contain a healthy amount of teasers for each of the articles, hopefully engaging the reader.

My problem with this asset however correlates with my issue with the masthead on the front cover. It doesn't stand out. The 'Contents' heading does, but the masthead doesn't. The black fade behind it makes it difficult to read. Although for the reader to be seeing this page, they will be holding the magazine close, I believe that this page would be more visually appealing if I fixed this. In my eyes, there are two possible ways to do this. I could either change the colour of the fade to a lighter colour, or I could change the colour of the masthead. Which option I go for should align with how I modify the masthead on the front cover in order to show continuity within the magazine.

Main Puff:

This puff is very similar to the one that I made for the front cover. I did this in order to show continuity. However, I did make some changes. The most obvious change is using the full Patriot Games logo. The reason I did this here is due to the teaser for this article being in a separate section just above this puff, therefore I did not need to include the teaser within the puff. Furthermore, I also added a picture of real dice which I took. I wanted to include these here to further the convention of the TTRPG Genre.

I don't particuarly have any issues with this asset, but if there is something I would change, it would be the page numbers. All other page numbers on the contents page are shown on dice faces. I don't know whether this would be a worthwhile change however as it would take up more space within the puff and make it look disorganised.

Side Puff:

This puff is very similar to the compact puffs on the front cover. The colours are chosen to further the creation of continuity.

The only amendment I would make to this asset is the colour of the text, 'The story of my first session.' as it goes against the established black front colour on the rest of this page.

Death of The Month Puff (Gravestone):

To begin with, I very much dislike this asset, while it does everything I intended it to (tease the content of the 'Death of the Month' section), it stands out in all the wrong ways and does not convey the same feel as the rest of the magazine. Furthermore, I find that the main grey gravestone colour is not complementary to the background colour of this page.

To fix this, I would completely scrap the gravestone idea and instead use a puff that is representative of the genre.

Main Image (People playing D&D):

In the photoshoot in which this was taken, I set the group of players up with a game and started taking photos. I did this as I wanted the photo to feel natural. Furthermore, I wanted the players to look genuinely intrigued and entertained as this would help to engage the reader. Although not considered at the time, this photo supports Earp and Katz (1999) theory that men have a pathological need for control and violence as Dungeons and Dragons is a game which contains fantasy violence, and the table is surrounded by males. I also think this photo is effective at conveying what Dungeons and Dragons and other TTRPGs are about as it breaks Henry Jenkins theory that we now live in a convergence culture.

I don't have any major issues with this image as it serves its purpose well. However, where the main focus of this image will be the game they are playing, the focus of the camera is on the players.

First Session Image:

This image intends to show a new TTRPG player having fun in their first game. I believe that this image encapsulates this well and suits its intention. The background of this image is removed on the contents page, so none of the background details are an issue. However, I do not like the outfit that he is wearing. I believe that the coat he is wearing makes the image look rushed.

Page Numbers:

I chose to have the page numbers for each article on the faces of dice in order to represent the TTRPG genre a dice are a common convention of TTRPGs.

The only change I would make to these assets are the '22' dice should be closer as they look as if they are separate. Putting them closer together would make them feel more connected.

Double Page Spread

Patriot Games Puff:

As this puff was going to be next to an image of Elijah Mangnall, I wanted it to be representative of the other puffs that he is featured on. Hence the shape and Colours. I have no complaints about this puff.

Heading:

As mentioned in L03: Following Codes and Conventions, I took inspiration for this heading from a double page spread in the magazine, 'Tabletop Gaming.' I used this specific shape as it is representative of the shapes used for the various puffs. For the heading text, I used the same font as I used for the masthead in order to show continuity. I don't think I would want to make any changes to this asset.

Elijah Mangnall Image:

I like this photo as it is high quality and makes Elijah look professional due to his outfit and facial expression. Furthermore, the eye-level angle creates a sense of equality between the reader and Elijah which makes the magazine seem less intimidating.

L04: Version Controls

 Front Page:

Contents Page:

Double Page Spread:

Prior to exporting the magazine pages, they were all saved as Photoshop Documents (PSDC). Although, I have exported my pages as PNGs as they are high quality, lossless files meaning that it will not lose quality from being resized. I have also created a pdf version of my three pages so that they can all be seen together.

L04: Subediting

In order to gain feedback on the articles, I sent the body copy to my client at SPH Publishing. After reviewing the article, they sent me the following subediting and feedback.

They also gave me some specific strengths and weaknesses of my magazine.

Based on the feedback I received from SPH Publishing, I will be making modifications and additions to this article to improve on it. To begin with, I will correct the literacy errors made as these make the article look unprofessional.  After that, I will be adding the introductory paragraphs to each section. In terms of the strengths, they reflect the intent of the magazine article, and therefore verify that this article is effective.