Building the Poster

Below are the screen shots of my first attempt at building the poster. Personally I think I can improve on the design as it lacks the overall professional feel, and I will try on improving it in my next attempt. 

I began by opening a blank A4 size document on Photoshop CS5.5.

I then traced around a map of cornwall and scanned it into my document. Since it was a traced image the inside was not filled, therefore allowing the background to be seen through it. I used the fill tool to fill the image with white, therefore creating the illusion that it was a solid object and not a single line. I chose to place the image in the top right hand corner because I felt that the object looked like a lightning bolt coming down, and it also allows room for text to be placed underneath. 

I used brushes to create different effects of clouds to give the poster depth, though I was not happy with the bottom left one, since I felt it made the poster look too 'corny' and unprofessional. Going with my idea that the drawn Cornwall image looked like a lightning bolt I darkened the brush image to connote a thundercloud. Going on my previous idea I chose to edit out the lower brush mark, and I feel that now my poster is starting to take on a professional and sleek feel. I have room now to add my masthead and any other information.

I added a text layer onto my poster, though it wasn't my masthead. This is allowing me to gain a general idea of how my poster could be laid out and what it will look like with text on the page. The black and white brushes and text now makes me feel like colour is the next step to improve my product. However, I feel that by adding the wrong colour it could break the poster rather than make it.

I also added a tag line, which I feel sums up my newspaper. This will be in the middle of the poster as the eye is drawn to this area first. 

I began by adding colour to the white background, and I first chose purple because it connotes royalty. It also could be said to be an unusual colour for a common convention for a newspaper. I personally felt that a block colour would ruin the poster, therefore I used the gradient tool. After reflecting back on this I feel that it does not work for my product.

I then moved onto a green gradient because I feel that it contrasts the dark colours of the clouds nicely. I changed the opacity so that it fades, and then laid the gradients on top of each other to create the lines seen below. 

Overall I feel that this is not the best layout for my poster. I am happy with the top half; I need to find a colour that works with the dramatic brush effect. I also feel that I should add words inside of Cornwall that has links to my paper; either text taken out of my stories, or words describing my product. I also need to add my real masthead and change the font for the tag line.