Progress on Front Cover

This is my Front Cover first draft in progress. I completed this and then asked for feedback. One thing that was complimented was the colour scheme matching the clothes, and also the font. However there was also some areas of improvements suggested. 
Firstly I was advised to put the masthead and the banner behind the image, however I disagreed with this. I felt that because it's the first issue of a BRAND NEW magazine, it's vital that the masthead is bold and stands out to readers. It is a good suggestion having it behind the image, however the reader needs to see the name of the magazine and if it's placed behind, all they will be reading is 'Sa'. Further down the line of selling the magazine would be a more appropriate time to put the masthead behind the image as the magazine would've become more known and recognisable to readers. Another piece of advice I was given related to the masthead is that it needs to be bolder. The font is too soft and doesn't go so well with the cover as a whole. Therefore in my final first draft I used the same font, however I spelt 'Sample' in capital letters. I prefer it this way because it fits in so much better with the other fonts, and it also relates to it being a first magazine. With it being more bold, the masthead will be unmissable!
Another area of improvement that was advised was the cover line fonts on the left side of the page which I was unsure about already. I thought that because it's a different colour and on a different colour background, it caused them to look less bold than the ones in black. However when I came to fix this, what I realised was that I had used the same font, but with a lower boldness than the ones in black. I also pulled them out more horizontally to match the black cover lines on the right side. This has improved the look of my magazine and made me more symmetrical.
I had split my magazine in three sections. The first being the masthead, face of image, and the black cover lines. The second being the 'This months hottest' and the third being the 'EVE T' circle and the orange cover lines. I was advised to bring the & sign on top of the 'EVE T' circle. However I felt that by doing this, it reduces the 'bold' and 'most important part of the magazine' effect that I wanted. If I keep it behind the circle it pushes the 'EVE T' to the front, making it clear that this is who the image is of and this is what you must read inside! By putting the circle behind the & it reduces the effect I wanted.
I was also advised to move the bar code off the jacket, which I have, and also to move the issue number to below the banner, which I also have done. This makes it clearer that this is a first issue and it also makes it more easy for the reader to know the date of the magazine.
Finally, my image. I'm really pleased with my image and it's exactly the pose and look that I wanted! I think it's perfect as a front cover image. It's not to 'catalogue' or 'seductive' in terms of the Trevor Millum poses. It portrays her as dominant, glamorous (choice of clothing and subtle make up and hair), and also has attitude which is EXACTLY how I have wanted my artist to come across from the start. Also the colour scheme goes well with her clothes and also adds to the effect that I wanted to come across with the front cover. I'm really happy with the effect because I wanted the main characteristics to come across in the front cover as it's what the reader looks at first. It's like a first impression so I wanted to create these effects so that the reader gets a generalisation of what she's like prior to reading the article. The image also helps with this as she's leaning forward as though she wants to speak to the reader, which makes them more involved and also helps them to like the artist before reading about her. If the image was too false or 'catalogue' like for example, it would damage the readers impression and make it harder for them to come up with an assumption.