Creation of Masthead

 I will be using Adobe Illustrator to create the pages for my newspaper. I am able to use the tabloid setup on the program which allows me to scale the features on the page more easily.

Before creating the draft for my masthead, I looked at other examples of mastheads, including the local papers. I found that the sizes ranged on average between 18cm – 25cm, the average being around 21cm. This made it a lot easier towards creating it on the page and being aware of where I will be placing the puff, the images, etc.

Choosing the font meant I had to find one that was formal enough that it fit the idea and style of a newspaper, but not so much so that it came across as a higher brow paper like The Times. Local newspapers use serif fonts usually to keep the traditional feel of them intact and make the audience feel that the paper is reliable, as it doesn’t change. The red colour is usually a sign of the paper’s political stance (labour in the case of red). The area that I live in is predominately Labour so it is more fitting with the target audience. Also it is a bold colour that will catch the eye and it is more acceptable too as it is a primary colour and most widely used amongst newspapers.

The text around the main title I used sans serif text in bold. The main title is supposed to give the feeling of never changing/traditionalist, whilst the information around it is built upon constant change, as the date of the paper is never the same and the inclusion of a web address tells the audience that the newspaper is still trying to keep up with the times whilst not sacrificing anything.