Mid-Way NEA Peer Review

 Mid-Way NEA Peer Review

COVERS

These are the covers I have created so far, I believe both the images to be very striking and powerful and I'm happy with how they look within a magazine composition. I think my covers fit the mental health theme very well through relevant coverlines and the bold typography. The consistent, modern house style and pop culture references will appeal to my young adult audience. To improve I will refine spacing and alignment for a possibly clearer layout.

Contents

At this stage, I have prioritised composition , so page numbers and article titles are not yet included. I have selected additional images that work well with my mental health theme, although I worry the two contents pages look too similar. The images are also concentrated in the middle of the page but I am unsure whether this suits my magazines layout.

Website

My Website

My website is incomplete but it is already developing the strong stylised, alternative aesthetic I want for my mental health magazine. I want to establish a base of images and text first before introducing movement, animations and interactive featured to make the website more engaging and visually exciting.

 

MORE NEA PHOTOS

For my NEA, I look some photographs of my male friend to represent men’s mental health. His serious and moody facial expressions create a slightly dark and emotional atmosphere. The direct eye contact makes the image feel personal and allows the audience to focus on his emotions. The simple background keep the attention on him, while the close framing makes the photograph feel intimate. I could link this image to an article about men’s mental health and how men may struggle to express or communicate their emotions. His Jamaican heritage also fosters a sense of inclusivity and suggests mental health and race do in fact intersect.

 

MORE NEA IMAGES

For my NEA, I have taken a series of portrait photos of my friend to represent emotions and personal experiences. This image focuses closely on her facial expression and uses natural lighting to create a personal and reflective mood. The contrast between the bright wall and her beautiful deep skin tone, enhancing her natural glow. She is looking at the camera with a calm, thoughtful expression. As a black woman, I can connect the photographs to articles exploring the relationship between race, identity and mental health. The images will help make the magazine feel more personal and visually communicate the emotional themes discussed in the article.

PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO FOR NEA

Here are some photos I have taken for my women’s health magazine front cover, for the mental health edition. I took many photos and the one on the left is the one I find particularly emotive and striking. Her direct address is powerful and intense and the greyscale colour pallet I have further experimented with is particularly ‘moody’ and effective. The empty background contributes to the authentic magazine look, allowing for room to add cover lines without looking busy. 

I then experimented with layering and selected two images. I turned the opacity down on one and put it on top of the full opacity one. This was a convention seen often in mental health inspired photos. I like this effect and it will probably be one I use for the contents page rather than front cover as it may be too busy and the effect will be lost. 

   

These are some of the many images I chose, I ensured I got a range of angles and expressions so I had enough content for the inside pages and a successful cover.