Short, Sweet, and Simple

As promised today’s post is going to be short. Yesterday, we had our second peer review. So I started explaining my project to my peers and they really liked my idea for my two-page spread. They also recommended that when I interview the people for my story, I include pictures of their style for when they were younger. I didn’t think I was allowed to do this because they wouldn’t be my original pictures. But, when I asked my teacher she said I could use them but I can’t include them as part of my five original pictures required. Something else I asked their advice on was what to make my cover image and one of my peers recommended I take a close up picture of a girl, and then have that picture be half a regular face and the other half be of graphic design like the one below (I know I already showed you this picture but I really liked the type of graphics they use here). I liked this idea because my cover story is about change and most of the stories on my table of contents are about change. So I think if I use this as my cover it would be a good representation of the contents of the magazine. After that, I should them what I have been doing for my table of contents and they liked it a lot. My peers, also really liked how I wanted to add an editor’s letter. Other than that they thought that I was on the right track.

All there is to know about the cover

As promised earlier this week this post is going to help explain the ideas going around my head as to what I want to do for my cover. So first is first, the title. As previously mentioned, I decided to call my magazine #MUSE (F.Y.I. I am not 100% sure if I want to use only caps lock but when I mention the title I will write it out in caps lock for consistency). I decided to go with this title because I thought it was the most original of all of the title options. But as I started to research what muse means, I was happily surprised to find out that one of its definitions is a goddess that inspires a creative artist. I liked this because I think many people usually don’t realize that fashion is a type of art, and one of the goals of this magazine is to explore this concept and break away from the stereotypes that people think of when someone mentions fashion. But muse, along with a majority of the other words in the English dictionary, have various meanings and one of the other meanings muse has is to gaze meditatively or wonderingly. And this is how I want my readers to be; I want them to question the world and make their own conclusions about things and not be restricted by stereotypes. But muse isn’t the only part of my title; I also used the hashtag and I wanted to use the hashtag to appeal to the younger audience reading the magazine. Although my target audience is 16-30 year-old women, I believe even the higher end of the spectrum can relate to the hashtag (I mean my mom is 47 and she looooves hashtags).

The next part that I want to explain of my cover is the color scheme. As I began to research color psychology and looking at all the colors, I realized that all the color palettes that I like where accented neutral color palettes (an accented neutral color palette is to use neutral colors such as black, white, and grey and then add a pop of color such as red, purple, blue). And then it hit me I want every issue of my magazine to have an accented neutral color scheme but each issue would have a different accent color. But for the one I am creating here I don’t know the exact color I want to but here are some of the colors I am leaning towards:

As you can see I’m looking for colors that are very bright, and vibrant to help them pop. I also chose these colors because this magazine would be the April issue which is at the beginning of spring and spring is known for its bright colors.

Next, I want to talk about the font I want to use. So I know want my font to be very simple and clean because my plan for the cover image is to add graphics. I don’t want an elaborate font because I don’t want a cluttered cover. I’m unsure if I want it to be very straight and symmetrical or if I want it to be curved but still simple and classy. I think the way I’ll decide what font I want to use depends if I make my title in all caps or all lower case letters. I believe that if it’s in all caps, I would prefer a straight symmetrical font, yet if I choose lower case then I want a more curved font.

Now the biggest part of the cover, the cover image. Once I finally decided what I wanted my two page spread to be I knew that I didn’t want that to be on my cover. So, I’m kinda stuck on what exactly I want my image to be. All I know is that I do want to combine graphics somewhere with the image.

And lastly, the cover lines. So, what I decided is that I don’t want to add any extra cover lines. The only cover line I would add would be of my cover story but I am still debating this since my two-page spread isn't the cover image. Although I might add one because most magazines have at least one cover line corresponding to the cover image. Anyways that pretty much explains my cover,  until next time

(P.S. sorry for the two long posts in a row I’ll try for the next one to be shorter)

The fog is starting to clear up

Well, we’re in week three of this project (holy shit!!!!!). I know I wish I could stop time too but sadly we can not. So how about I gave you an overview of how my day went yesterday so you can understand how I am currently feeling. Let’s start at the very beginning, I woke up at 6:00 a.m, like any regular weekday, if only I knew the set of cards the universe had in store for me that day I would have easily stayed sleeping. Anyways I got to school and went to my first hour, I have study hall so I decided to work on this project and I thought everything was running smoothly. I was testing different programs, such as Canva and Joomag, primarily for my table of contents, trying to get a feel for how I wanted to approach everything. I was actually quite proud of myself because I thought I was ahead of the game (keep in mind I was oblivious to the fact that we only had two more weeks for this project, I could have sworn we had three more weeks). Anyways, during my second hour, my teacher starts handing out a test on Catch-22. To say the test was brutal is an understatement, so that instantly changed my mood. So now we're in third hour suddenly not feeling very content with myself, we start working on our projects; and I was pleased because I really enjoy doing this project; it kinda feels like a stress ball, except for yesterday. Yesterday, it was quite the opposite, because I started asking my peers what they have done and all them seemed far more advanced than me, or they at least had a game plan. I felt like I had nothing done as if I suddenly had the weight of the world on my shoulders. But, my day doesn’t end there. No, the universe really hated me yesterday because from there I went to APUSH to take another test (hip-hip-hooray). So, I finished the test in 40-45 minutes and the rest of the period we were supposed to work on a worksheet we had to print out... well, I might have forgotten to. So, instead, I decided to take out my computer and to continue working on my project. Except, I don’t know why but yesterday as I was looking at my computer screen and seeing everything I wanted to accomplish by the end of this week, I became anxious. So I closed it down and went with the classic pen and paper routine. And I told myself OK there’s no more time to waste, it’s time for me to put my big girl pants on and finally, start making choices (because completing this project I noticed that I am a bit indecisive). So, below is a bit of my planning that I made yesterday:

So the outline above may be a little messy so here’s a breakdown for you:

• Well first is first I have finally picked my title!!!! (Drum roll please) And the title is …… #MUSE
• The next part is titles for stories that I want to add to my table of contents. I did this mostly just for clarity
• Below that, I have a section where I write what could be my story. Well, cross that I have already changed my story (I know, I know I’m very indecisive). So anyways, my new story is how we change our fashion taste as we grew up. So, my plan for this is to have one page explaining why and how our styles change. The following page I want to include two to four interviews with people of various ages.
• I also wrote a section of what I want to do for my cover page. Here I included a possible layout and other ideas I am tossing around in my head (later this week I hope to write a post solely on my cover page where I want to include the type of font I want to use, the color scheme, etc.)
• Below that, I wrote about how I want to include an editor’s note and the message I want to let across with this note.
• Next, to this, I wrote about the possible ad I want to include. I wrote that I might want my ad to be of canvas bags because I see them making a comeback, but I’m not sure yet if I want this to be my ad (I know my indecisiveness is a real issue).

Anyways, after I wrote this down I felt like a relief come over me because I might not be as advanced as my classmates I at least have a plan (I’m the girl with a plan :)).

Layout Research

Well, the end is nearing and I am pretty sure I know what I want to write about as my cover story so now I have to work on my table of contents and my cover. So since I wanted to include different graphic designs with my cover image so I decided to look up different tutorials on how to create graphic designs. I found two really good tutorials to teach me on how to create graphics. But I also have a friend who takes classes on graphic designs so I want to ask her for help and advice.

I also have been thinking and research at different fashion magazines to decide how I want to create my table of contents and I decided that most fashion magazines use the first page for an ad, the second page is the first page of the table of contents than the back is the second page of the table of contents and the next page is something like an editor’s note or an editor’s monthly picks and than the two page spread. I like this format but I’m not 100% sure what I want to do for the editor page. I want my table of contents to be very simple and minimalists. I don’t want to include many pictures I think that if I do I would want to include at most three pictures but I am leaning more toward one picture. If I include a picture I would want it to be in the middle and have the text of the table contents surrounding it. Here are some examples:

       

Double Exposure Effect Photoshop Tutorial. (2015, May 26). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbf-QXCCXgM

B. (n.d.). Editorial | Harper's Bazaar Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.behance.net/gallery/32516619/Editorial-Harpers-Bazaar-Magazine

Graphic design tutorial for beginners | How to learn Graphic design. (2015, September 09). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGJX9qT9hmk

Harper's Bazaar. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://kellymillington.com/harpers-bazaar/pq9c7nhqvs5kg5vj3wnk4qvftdqs98

Enlightened

I have never felt more inspired before!!!!! To fully understand why I feel like I have been rebirthed. We have to start from the beginning. So, remember earlier this week I wrote about how my peers were trying to give me ideas for my cover story. Well, I decided I was going to research some more and in the midst of all my research, it hit me. When I first embarked on this journey I knew that I wanted my two page spread to be something meaningful, I wanted to write about how fashion influences society. Because many times I think fashion is undervalued, and many people don’t realize the hold it has on us. So, I decided to go to Google and type in the search engine box how fashion influences society and a series of articles appeared and I felt inspired. Specifically with this one article that talked about trends and how trends influence us. I also found four other articles that relate to one another that I want to use as inspiration for my article. The only roadblock that I see if I decided to write this article is how and what pictures to include that would go with the article.

Cultural Influences On Trend Forecasting. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://www.intothefashion.com/2010/01/cultural-influences-on-trend.html

Fashion Trends' Impact on Society. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.notjustalabel.com/editorial/fashion-trends%E2%80%99-impact-society

Gibbs, S. (2013, September 13). Editd aims to spot the trends the fashion world doesn't. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/13/editd-fashion-trends-big-data

Influence in Fashion. (2014, March). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.1843magazine.com/content/lifestyle/rebecca-willis/influence-fashion

Lalovic, I. (2013, December 04). Fashion Designer's impact on Modern Society. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://wsimag.com/fashion/6387-fashion-designers-impact-on-modern-society

Ideas are flowing

We are on week two of my portfolio project; I know time is flying by. Anyways, remember last week when I wrote about how I had no idea what I was going to write about in my two page spread. Well, yesterday my teacher split my class into four groups and my peers and I started presenting our projects to each other and we asked each other for advice on any conflicts we might have. So I explained the concept for my magazine and I asked them if they had any ideas for the two page spread. Luckily, they all were able to help me out and here are some of the ideas they have come up with:

• Explain how fashion trends are always making comebacks.
• Show how we dress can influence how we act.

I thought that these two ideas were different and unique stories I could write for my cover story. But for me to truly to stick to an idea I want to further my research and ensure I write the best story I can. So, keep tuned so I can finally tell you guys what story i decided to write about.

Perplexed is an Understatement

Hello, my fellow readers. So I have come across a road block. I have absolutely NO IDEA what I’m going to do as my two page spread!!!!!! All I do is try to come up with possible stories but I can’t think of anything, so seeing that I can’t come up with anything I have been asking everyone to see if someone can help me. But nothing zip, zero. So I decided that I was going to look into different magazines to see if a lightbulb turns on.

One article that I found was from i-D magazine where they talk about a documentary of a certain designer. This is becoming more and more popular, although not many people know about them. So, I thought a possible two page spread could be to research into them and explain them and bring awareness to them.

Another article I saw that sparked my attention was one called five fashion films that broke the mold. This differs from the documentary movies because it talks about how the costuming of the actors had influenced the fashion world.

A trend I saw is how fashion is being incorporated into the technological world. For example, there was an article of how Chanel came out with emojis, similarly to how Karl Lagerfeld; a designer for his own brand, Chanel, and Fendi; came out with emojis. There was also another article on V magazine that talks about how Gucci is incorporating memes into their marketing campaign. This shows how the fashion industry is embracing how technological this generation has become. Here are some examples of the memes Gucci used:

 

Overall, I found that many of the articles are very opinionated. I think this cleared some things up for me; although I’m still not quite sure what I am going to write about in my two page spread. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share with you guys what I finally decided to write about soon. Well, until next time!

At last, we have chanel emojis | read. (2017, March 09). Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/at-last-we-have-chanel-emojis

Defebaugh, W. (2017, March 17). Gucci Created a Series of Memes for Its New Collection of Watches. Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://vmagazine.com/article/gucci-created-series-fashion-memes-new-collection-watches/

Fashion. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/topic/fashion/page/1

Filter. (2015, May 27). Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://vmagazine.com/filters/fashion/

Five fashion films that broke the mold | read. (2017, March 07). Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/five-fashion-films-that-broke-the-mold

Watch joe mckenna's beautiful film about fashion master azzedine alaïa | read. (2017, March 14). Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/watch-joe-mckennas-beautiful-film-about-fashion-master-azzedine-alaa

Progress

Today I decided I was going to tackle a component of my portfolio project that I still haven’t talked about, and that is the table of contents. So I looked up tips to create my table of contents and I came upon an article where they listed the top 50 tips to complete a table of contents. Here are some of my favorites:

1. To use a gradient
2.Combine type and photography
3.Use a bold typeface
4.Play with alignment
5.Foreshadow content

 I think that I can make some sort of combination of these tips and make my dream table of contents. As I researched different fashion magazines I noticed that most of them have a one page table of contents, and on the next page it’s usually an editor’s note. I also learned that the first two pages of magazines are typically ads, and the next page or two is the table of contents. This means that other than the cover page, this your first impression to your readers. So your cover page should establish the tone and mood you want to create with your magazine. 

 I also know that with my table of contents I would like to include some images but I don’t want all pages to have an image to not overcrowd the page. I would only include images on the important stories. If I don’t include images than I would change the font sizes to show how some stories are more important than others. 

 Here are some examples I want to use as inspiration:

Brochures : in Editorial Design. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2017, from http://designspiration.net/image/1517003423784/

Designing the Perfect Table of Contents: 50 Examples to Show You How. (2016, January 06). Retrieved March 16, 2017, from https://designschool.canva.com/blog/table-of-contents-design/

Friedman, V. (2017, March 15). Table of Contents: Creative Examples – Smashing Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/07/table-of-contents-creative-and-beautiful-examples/

B. (n.d.). Reanimate Film Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from https://www.behance.net/gallery/3899913/Reanimate-Film-Magazine

Table of Contents Design: 30 Excellent Examples from Around the Web. (2017, January 27). Retrieved March 16, 2017, from http://allfreedesigns.com/table-of-contents-design-examples/

Yum. Gluten Free Magazine March 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2017, from https://issuu.com/yum.glutenfreemagazine/docs/ygf_mar__14/5

HELP!!!

Can you believe that it has been a week since I started this project, I know time is flying(ahh)!!!! So, last night I was trying to figure out what was my next step, and I realized that part of the reason why I feel so lost is that I haven’t gone into depth in my research for my genre. So, as a way to clarify my thoughts I researched, researched, and researched some more. Part of my research was to figure out fashion magazine’s target audience and I found that most magazines have a target audience of 20-40 year old women, but I also found that some magazines are trying to lower their target audience because research has shown that younger people are more likely to buy a magazine than the older generation. I also found that many high end magazines would have their target audience be higher income people, but again this is something many fashion magazines are trying to change. They are realizing that there is a higher market if they lower their target audience to middle class, this allows them to increase their market.  After this research I decided that the best target audience for my magazine would be 16-30 year old women, primarily middle class. I think I can use this research as a guide for my magazine, specifically for my two page spread.

Voltolina, V. (2009, January 20). Fashion Magazines' New Target Audience: 'Recessionistas' Retrieved March 14, 2017, from http://www.foliomag.com/fashion-magazines-new-target-audience-recessionistas/

Vogue, Tatler and other high-end women's magazines target teen market. (2013, August 30). Retrieved March 07, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/aug/30/womens-magazines-teen-market

And the decision is...

GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT!!! I have finally chosen what genre I want to do for my magazine. Yes I know it was about time. Anyways the genre I choose is…… FASHION! After so much research, I realized is I just had to go with what my gut was telling me to do and that was to choose fashion as my genre so I decided to finally pull the trigger and make it official. So now what? More research, I know the research is never ending but have no fear this time the research is different. This time I decided that I had to research how to make a magazine. So that’s exactly what I did. Here are some tutorials I found of different softwares I can use when designing my magazine. Attached are two of the most useful videos I found. I also noticed that the two main softwares used when designing a magazine are Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. They each have their pros and cons but I believe that Adobe InDesign is the software that better fits my needs. Well, I guess it's time for me to get back to my research until next time.

P. (2014, July 17). How to Create a Stunning Magazine Cover in Photoshop. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aAP1-hoEHk

S. (2015, June 15). How to Design a Magazine in Indesign CC Tutorial. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF8DjE0KlPk

Decisions, Decisions

Today is day three and I still don’t know what genre I want to do (the anxiety levels are high). The one conclusion I did make is that I don’t want to do an interior design magazine; I want to do either a fashion or a cooking magazine. As a method to finally decide what magazine I want to do. I have indulged myself endlessly in research, luckily the research has become more like a hobby than actually work. Anyways, some of the conclusions I have made based on my research is that I want to incorporate graphic designs into my cover, possible with the mast head or the cover image depending on the genre I end up choosing. In the fashion magazines, I have researched I noticed they are incorporating graphics mainly through the cover image. In cooking magazines, it’s seen the least but when they are used they are primarily used with the masthead or the cover lines. Here are some examples of how magazine covers are incorporating graphic designs:

              

I decided the best way for me to finally chose my genre is to look up a magazine brand in each of my genres and truly analyze it. So, for my cooking magazine, I decided that magazine brand that best captures the essence and the mood that I want to create is Crumbs. When researching this magazine I learned they are a magazine that focuses on local cuisine. It recommends local restaurants, food markets, chefs, etc. They have various magazines that each focus on the cuisine of a different area. This is a characteristic I would like to explore if I do the cooking magazine because I believe it's a new and unique take on cooking magazines. I also learned that  Crumbs is a free magazine which can be found in local restaurants and food markets. Additionally,  Crumbs usually uses one food item as their cover image, instead of an actual plate. They do this because the rest of the issue typically focuses on this food item whether it be where are the best places to buy it, or the best recipes incorporating this food. The cover also uses unique fonts and changes fonts within different issues. In general, Crumbs tries to break away from conventional culinary magazines.

The magazine I decided to research and analyze for the fashion genre is i-D magazine. This magazine is focused on fashion overall but primarily focuses on how fashion affects our culture. This is something I might want to explore if I do a magazine within the fashion genre because I have noticed that fashion whether we like it or not is constantly affecting us and how we live. They also mention how every issue of their magazine has a wink, in a way, this is there selling line. This is another characteristic I would like to explore, even if I don’t do a fashion magazine. The cover of their magazines all have models, as their cover image but their images aren’t the typical cover images they all have a unique take on them whether they be in odd poses or they incorporate graphics to help make their images stand out. They have few cover lines, typically they only one which corresponds to the cover image. Overall i-D magazine tries to break conventional fashion magazine stereotypes.

Overall I believe that no matter what genre I choose I can use the analysis I have gathered from these magazines, in my own magazine. Well, I guess it’s back to research for me and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to tell you what I finally choose as my genre.

About. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/about

About Crumbs Magazine: food and drink in Bristol, Bath and the South West. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://www.crumbsmag.com/pages/about-crumbs/

BBC - Press Office - BBC Magazines to launch Easy Food. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2004/04_april/easy_food.shtml

Fashion. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/topic/fashion

Food Magazine Target Audience. (2013, September 26). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://li9275.wordpress.com/research/food-magazine-target-audience/

Stockists. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://www.crumbsmag.com/pages/stockists

The First Step

Today, March 7, I officially start my portfolio project. To say I’m a nervous wreck is an understatement but I’m also quite excited. I believe that this project can be the start of something great, at least I hope so. A couple months back we had to pick if we wanted to do a film opening or a magazine issue; I knew straight away that I was going to choose the magazine issue because I love fashion and design and I think that with the magazine it will help me explore my passion. But, now comes the difficult part: choosing the genre (Breathe in, Breathe out). So, when I chose to do the magazine I was 100% certain I wanted to do a Fashion magazine. But now as I am doing research and looking at other examples I realize the choice isn’t so black and white; it’s actually quite gray. I’ve realized that I might want to do one of three options: a cooking magazine, an interior design magazine, or a fashion magazine. I have been using Pinterest as a way to gather inspiration and better explore the endless options I have in front of me but after looking at thousands of pictures I think these are the four main pictures that I want to use as my inspiration.

        

            

The four pictures that I chose each represent one of the three genres that I might want to do. They also capture the type of mood I want to create which is edgy and artsy, but also modern and contemporary. As I dive deeper into my research hopefully this choice becomes more black and white and less gray.

Fonts, Logos & Icons from GraphicRiver. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://graphicriver.net/

Galleries - Interview Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.interviewmagazine.com/galleries/

Modeillustrationen, Mode Collagen, Mode Skizzen. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://hermineonwalk.de/

Prosto Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://issuu.com/prostovkusno