Working On The Double Page Spread

Since deciding that my double page spread is going to be about what to wear to prom, I've been doing some research to get more educated on the subject. I plan on discussing various aspects of prom dresses, including different lengths, designs, and colors. On the topic of color, I decided to do some research on color psychology to get a better understand of what each color signifies. This is a subject that we discussed in class, so I already had some prior knowledge about it. I got the majority of my additional research from this website. The website explains what traits are associated with each color. I plan on using this information as part of my guide on what dress to wear depending on someone’s individual characteristics.

I’ve also taken some pictures of different prom dresses to go along with the article. Obtaining these pictures was surprisingly not a difficult process. Some of my friends had been planning to go prom dress shopping for a while, so I simply saw the opportunity to get pictures for my magazine and went with them. I made sure to take pictures of a variety of different colored dresses, because I want to use them in the section where I talk about color psychology.

The next step was to add these images into my magazine. Before I could do that, however, I had to edit them. I have never used a photoshop program before, so I looked online for a simple tool that would help me to crop my pictures, fix the coloring, etc. I found this website, which had all of the features I needed to edit my pictures and was extremely easy to use. Let me give you an example of an image that I edited using this website:

After

Before

          I also did a bit of color-correcting to make the dress appear more green. This si because when I took the picture it didn't capture the color very well; it turned out more blue than green. 

          I repeated the process above for all of the pictures of the prom dresses. I now have to incorporate these images into my layout; i'll let you know when I do!


Citations

"Photo Editor | BeFunky: Free Online Photo Editing and Collage Maker." BeFunky. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2017. 

"The Ultimate Guide to Color Meanings." Color Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Clothing Choices

          Since the primary focus of my magazine is going to be fashion, the majority of the images in it will consist of people and clothing. A few of my friends have already agreed to model for my images, so that is taken care of. The next task at hand was to figure out the type of clothing that I wanted them to wear.

          I had already decided that the main topic for my magazine issue would revolve around spring, so I decided that the majority of the clothing would consist of spring colors and styles. The website Modcloth helped me develop a better understanding of what types of clothing constituted being associated with spring. As I browsed through their collection of spring apparel, I found some characteristics that most of them had in common. The first was that almost all of them were in some vibrant color. The colors that I found to be most common were pink, blue, black, and green. I also found that most of the clothing items in this category were dresses.

          Using this knowledge, I asked my friends to accumulate any clothing they have that meet these characteristics. These are some of the items that they found:

I plan on using all of these throughout my magazine, specifically on my cover page. 

              I also have some non-dress clothing items such as shirts that I will use in my magazine (pictured below).

          I will keep you updated on which clothing items will definitely appear in my magazine, as well as the final edited pictures of the models wearing the clothes. 

Citations

"Spring Dresses." Spring Dresses | ModCloth. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Making Progress (Cover Page)

          Once I had finished played around with the website a bit, I started to layout the cover page. I'm pleased with how it looks so far, however I am not completely sure if all of what I have laid out is here to stay. One aspect that is pending is the masthead. I was having trouble coming up with the brand name, so I just put Trendy to be my placeholder for now. It might stay, it might not. Before I delve too deeply into analyzing my work so far, let me show you what I have done so far:

          You probably noticed that a big part of the cover page is missing - the main cover image. I'm working on it. I have plans to go and take pictures for my magazine tomorrow, so hopefully that will work out. But for now, I have a good idea of how the rest of the cover page will look. As you can see, my main color scheme is black/gray. I chose to make the main cover line a different color than the other cover lines because the focus of this issue will be spring, and the color green accentuates that. One thing that I am sure will stay is the font of the masthead. I think it is perfect for the type of magazine that I am trying to create. It's not too formal- instead it brings upon a sense of creativity and individuality. I've also added some essential elements that a cover page should have; such as a dateline, price, and barcode in the bottom left corner. I've incorporated both numbers and lists into my cover lines to add appeal. I've also added a selling line located right above the masthead. This is subject to change as well, but for now I like it- it is short and to the point.

          I am constantly doing subtle changes to the cover page such as spacing and font size, trying to ensure that it looks as organized and professional as possible. 

Images

"My Project – Magazine by Angela Lalovic." – Magazine by Angela Lalovic. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

Layout Software (Canva)

          I have finally found the perfect program to use for laying out the pages of my magazine: Canva. Unlike other programs that I have tested such as Scribus, Canva allows you to do all your work through their website without needing to download an application. When I first began using it, I found it to be beginner friendly, having a format that was extremely simple to navigate (shown below).

          It has many great features embedded in the website that will definitely help me when deigning my magazine. Some of these include grid lines, frames, and unique fonts. It also has hundreds of different layouts to look through and edit, which have helped me immensely in finding similar examples of what I would like to achieve through my cover page. Pictured below are some of the features that I have mentioned above. 

                                       

          I wanted to introduce the website and all its features before beginning to post my progress because they will play an integral role in the entire production process going forward. 

Citations

"New to Canva? Sign Up!" Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software – Canva. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017. 

Scribus. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Images

"My Project – Magazine by Angela Lalovic." – Magazine by Angela Lalovic. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

Double - Page Spread Layout

          After doing research on double page spreads last week, I began working on creating my own. You can view my previous post on double-page spreads here. There, I talked about the different elements that I do and do not want to be part of my design. I explained how I don't want it to be overly simplistic and boring; rather I want it to have many interesting components to it. Here is what I came up with:

          I plan on adding many more elements to it once I become familiar with the design software that I will be using, but for right now this is a good place to start. I definitely want to include some of the quotation bubbles I drew here in the final product. I think they are more unique than simply adding a pull-out quote beside the text. 

Citations

Lalovic, Angela. "Double-Page Spread Inspiration." Double-Page Spread Inspiration. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. 

Table of Contents Layout

          Before showing you the rough draft of my table of contents, I would like to discuss the research that I did to help me with some of my ideas. Once again, most of the inspiration I got was from Pinterest. This is the site that I've found has the biggest assortment of creative and innovative ideas and projects. After browsing through many posts, I found a few that I like (shown below).

         




          I like how this table of contents is simple yet appealing. The flowers on the left give a variety of color to the page, but not too much to be overwhelming. I also like how there is a short summary of each article below each respective title. This is something that I would like to incorporate into my magazine.

          I like how this table of contents has a picture to go with almost every article featured in the magazine. The picture adds visual interest as well as easy access to find the article that the picture is associated with by printing the page number next to it.  This table of contents also has a short summary of each article below the titles.






          I imagine my table of contents to have more resemblance to the second image. I want it to be simple but interesting, with an assortment of colors throughout. Using this second image as my main source of inspiration, I sketched a picture of what I imagine my table of contents to look like:

          In addition to having pictures for each article and a small description, I've added a small box on the right hand side titled "In Every Issue". This is pretty self-explanatory; there will be five or so topics that will be featured in every issue of the magazine. I'm not yet sure what these topics will consist of, but I will figure that out later and update you on it. 

Citations

"Pinterest." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

Images 

Group, Think Big Design. "Graphic Design Ideas." Pinterest. N.p., 12 July 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

"Magazine Table of Contents Examples." Www. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. 

Coverlines and Layout Planning

          On Wednesday I began brainstorming ideas for cover lines that will be featured on my magazine. From what I learned in class, consumers love seeing numbers and lists in cover lines. This is probably due to the fact that they look more simplistic and attractive than cover lines that are longer and more wordy. Knowing this, I plan on incorporating these tactics into my own cover lines.

          I began looking online and through magazines I found at home to get some inspiration. I found this website to be helpful in giving me some ideas. All of the magazine cover pages listed on this website have a least one cover line with a number in it, further implicating that they are preferred by consumers. Below are some of the magazine covers featured on the website.

          After doing research, I did a rough sketch of what the cover page of my magazine would look like. I have incorporated numbers as well as lists into the cover lines. I still have not decided what my magazine will be called, so I wrote "masthead" in place of the actual title for now. However, there are some characteristics of the cover page that I am almost certain will end up on the final product. Firstly, I want the masthead to be located across the top of the page. The font is going to be slightly slanted and wavy, all in capital letters. The main cover line will be right next to the main cover image, taking up the majority of the page. Additional cover lines will be located at the very bottom of the page in varying colors and font sizes. Below is the sketch I made of my cover page.

          Obviously everything I have drawn is still prone to change. Once I actually begin laying out my pages on the computer, I may come up with a design that is more visually engaging and interesting. I will let you know of any changes that occur once I begin the process of laying out everything next week. Until then, I must still come up with a rough draft of my table of contents and double page spread. These will be the topics that my next few posts will consist of. 

Citations/ Images 
Nikola. "55 Best Tips for a Successful Magazine Cover." Magazine Designing. N.p., 19 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.