K U L T U R E M A G A Z I N E P R O C E S S B O O K
This is the process book for my mock magazine cover. For this magazine, I decided to create my own publication based on my personal brand, KrystalKulture. Instead of continuing with the name, I chose to shorten it, and name the magazine Kulture. Kulture is a magazine based on the fashion, art, entertainment, and music aspect of street culture.
When beginning my research, I knew I wanted to create a magazine cover that was based on the artsy and street culture. I also knew that I wanted to create something crisp, with high contrast and evoked an edgy image. I chose an image of model Tian Yi from Elle Vietnam for the cover because she has a significant following via social media due to her street style.
For my second picture, I chose to use an image of television static to try and add a pop of color. I was inspired by the artists of the punk culture in the 1980’s, such as Jack Goldstein and Robert Longo when trying to come up with the cover design. I wanted my cover to have high contrast and a digital quality to give it a creative and modern feel.
I merged the images of the television static and Tian Yi editorial together and began playing with the different layer effects on Photoshop. I decided to layer the static on top of my main image and apply the “Color Dodge� layer style. I then layered my main image on top with an opacity of 67% to give a bit of a blurred effect. Lastly, I chopped up pieces of the original picture and layered them on top to give it a distorted look.
After deciding on the cover picture, I then began sampling different fonts for the cover title. I mainly tried out thicker, more impactful fonts because I wanted something that would be seen, command attention, and fit the overall aesthetic of what the magazine is based on. I ended up choosing the bottom right font, Russian Regular.
Since my background is black and white with high contrast, I wanted to change the font color from black to something that would stand out. I always thought gold accented black and white very well, so I chose to make my font have a gold, glittery effect. I messed around with different variations of gold glitter to see what complimented the cover the best.
After testing the gold glitter effect, I realized I liked the gold fill, but not the glitter texture in the text. So, instead of using a glitter texture for the clipping mask, I chose to try a smooth gold leaf texture. I liked this texture better because it achieved the color I was looking for and had a smooth gradating texture. This gold leaf texture has a more subtle feel and adds a pop of color.
I added the gold-leafed text on top of the already-compiled cover art. Though it looked complete to me at this point, I felt it needed a little tweaking to get everyhting just right.
I wanted to add another element to the cover that could add interest, but not overpower what was already done. I chose this simple black and white geometric print to add to the composition because I thought it stayed true to the aesthetic and added a new dimension to the cover.
This is my final cover image. After adding in the geometric print, I added a barcode, issue number and volume, and publication month. I changed the layer setting on the television static from “Color Dodge” to “Color,” as it gave a more sublte and polished effect.