Magazine Cover planning

For a section in my website, news, I have included a magazine article I designed on Photoshop. I wanted to include it for the launch of the new 'magazine' for Synergy. I chose to do this because it added more depth to my website - not only is it my website and channel launch, its also a magazine launch.

Heres where I started:

I then added this image on top, to create texture. 

(http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1367236 I have permission to use this image.)

I then added my logo as below. I decided that it was too much. The name wasn't large enough and it looked far too busy and cluttered. 

Heres my final magazine cover. I used the Skinny font like I did on my logo, included the colours in the ink and made it stand out. I included the content inside, more text and effects. I'm pleased with the final result. 

Final Logo

Heres my final logo:

Using the images I included before, and Adobe Photoshop CS5 I edited the three images together. Firstly, I put each image on a transparent background and took the previous white background away, leaving them free to layer. Then I placed them all onto a black canvas and resized, recolour and added little things such as contrast and brightness. I then added the text, I opted for something simple in the end. My background represents synergy, how the ink flows and merges together. I didn't want a busy font as it would become to much, therefore I chose the font 'Skinny' from dafont.com. I used it in white, so it stood out from the bold colours. I added a soft white background around the letters, then added a drop shadow to enhance it further. I finally merged all the layers together, and was finished.

Here, I have added it to KompoZer:

And this is what it will look like when you open the website. I really like how the colour stands out from the background, and the simplicity of the white. It's not too busy or too bold. 

Layout

On paper, I created a quick sketch of how I want my home page to look. I decided to keep it relatively clean and blank. I don't want to over-whelm anyone visiting my home page with over the top colour, too much writing/photos or links etc. I've come to this conclusion after the findings of my survey where I found people like simplistic clean sites.

I've decided to use 2 large photos with text relating to it, and 3 smaller photos which I hope to link to a page from my navigation bar. Below I have channel info which people can visit and at the bottom I want to include a button which takes you to the top. My background will remain white throughout and as you can see its pretty clear and easy to navigate, nor does it attack your eyes with too much photos or text, or colour. When I make my website I may change a few things, but I will keep all development on here.

Images used in my logo

For my logo I've found some great water & ink images off www.sxc.hu.  They are the following:

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/464536

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/464535

 

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/463926

As you can see I have permission to use these without asking, as its a free stock site. I checked the privacy and how I would be able to use these images and I have permission to use them any way I like, therefore I will place them in photoshop and fuse them together, editing brightness/contrast, colour, lightness etc to make my logo 'flow'.

All of them are 'standard restriction' this means:

"You may use the Image

• In digital format on websites, multimedia presentations, broadcast film and video, cell phones.
• In printed promotional materials, magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, flyers, CD/DVD covers, etc.
• Along with your corporate identity on business cards, letterhead, etc.
• To decorate your home, your office or any public place."

Logo Design Construction

Now I've got to the stage where I need to design my logo. I need to think of the 2 fundamental elements: font and and supporting images.

Font: I want the font to represent the word 'Synergy', therefore the letters need to flow and merge into each other, for example a swirly font. So far I will decide between the following...

Blessed Day.




Angelic War Font.

  Skinny.

As supporting images I have been looking around www.sxc.hu, www.google.com and www.flickr.com. I found a perfect image from an account on flickr but I need permission, so I have emailed the artists and will hopefully get a positive response. In the mean time I have found replacements from www.sxc.hu which I will play around with on photoshop.

Meaning behind the Name.

Synergy.
Synergy may be defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable.


A good example of synergy is Disney and McDonalds. McDonalds include a lot of Disney's new film characters as Happy Meal toys. This boosts money and popularity for both; if a child has just seen the latest Smurf film for example and his parents take him into McDonalds when they are hosting Smurf toys in their boxes, the child will ask for a Happy Meal and vise-vera. 


I chose the name Synergy for my website because, as I've implied at the top, it shows my website will work or function with everyone. It will imply that my website will appeal to everyone in some way and that it works well and care-free with other media such as television or magazines. It's also a media related term which I though appropriate. To me, it also sounds energetic as when you say it you hear Energy. In the design process I feel I will have a lot of fun creating the logo and the website will suit the name very well, so they will synergise with eachother :)

Name/Logo Design

Now I've chosen my name, I need a logo. For the moment I will be browsing font sites: dafont.com, urbanfonts.com, 1001freefonts.com and fontspace.com.

Here are some screenshots of the fonts I like:

This is Jellyka Delicious Cake from www.dafont.com. I really like this one as its energetic. 

This ones called Colleged, off www.dafont.com. Again I think this one has a lot of energy and also represents 'schools' as you find this font on hoodies etc.

This is Angelic War font off www.1001freefonts.com. I like how it looks messy but interesting.

I found this from www.fontspace.com, I chose it because I like how it works on the screenshot on the right hand side and with a bit of editing it could work for my site.

I found this on www.dafont.com and chose it because its bold and interesting, it captivates your attention and I like how it looks. I may decide to edit this further.

After looking through different fonts I will try and design my own on paper.