Creating Double Page Spread

To create the double page spread for my magazine I used both

This is because I had to use Photoshop to manipulate the photo which I had taken , and increase the canvas size before placing it onto an InDesign document to create the spread. 

The photo which I chose to use for my double page spread was this to begin with ; 

I then used InDesign to put together the double page spread

Final Double Page Spread

Above you can see the final double page spread that I have created for my magazine. I have made some changes since the first draft to develop it further making it look more professional. As planned I used a drop shadow effect on the title of the article and after using it on that, I went on to use it on the pull quote which can be seen in the centre of the right hand page. This makes it a heavier visual weight to the centre of the page which stands out more, making the quote more noticed and attracting readers. I also used an underline feature on the sub title of "what to expect" as that also looked unfinished without  any added detail, especially when the drop shadow made the main title even more powerful and eye-catching, underlining the sub title created a better balance on the page. I also made the pull quote slightly bigger and moved it a tiny bit further down from the colour bar to remove some blank space. Changes I made to the article include making the text slightly heavy so it appeared bolder and easier to read. I also noticed some spelling and grammatically errors that I have now amended and orphans that I have removed. I ensured that all of the lines that created the border around the spread were perfectly straight and met in all of the correct places to give it a sleek finish. Finally I added a page number to the left hand page of the spread as that will make it much easier for the magazine to be followed through the contents page.

I like the way that the finished version of my double page spread is not overly complicated giving it a fresh look which fits well with the feel of my magazine. I also am happy with my decision that I made to clone the background of the image across the double page spread to give it a textured feel instead of editing it to be white.

Double Page Spread First Draft

This is the first draft that I have created of the double page spread of my magazine. I have tried to link it very specifically to the lady gaga double page spread that I researched in detail and I feel as if I have mostly met this effectively however have adapted some of the design to fit my own photo and ideas. I chose this photo for the spread as I feel it fits very well with the theme of powerful women that I portrayed on my front cover ( with the same model ). I very much like the pose and the models eye line as she can be seen looking into the distance making her seem mysterious.  In my research I found that if the model was stretching the entire width of the page so did the title to ensure that there was a balance on the page. To achieve a balance on my page I positioned the title of the spread to the right hand side of the page as the model is slightly to the left.  I think I have used visual weights well on this spread through the use of the colour bar at the top and centre of my page which is used in conjunction with a pull quote. I am happy with the overall layout and core features of the spread however there are some aspects of it that I will develop to ensure it looks professional and well finished.
As the second page of my spread is very text heavy , I will increase the weight of the writing so that is is easier to read and does not blend together. I have used lines to create the border for the spread and in points they are not perfectly straight or reaching the exact points making it look unprofessional and messy. This is something I must fix. I will also add a page number to the left hand page of the spread as this will make the magazine easier to follow through the contents page.  Finally I feel as if there is something missing on the large features such as the title, subtitle and pull quote, I will attempt to drop shadow these features to see if it improves their aesthetic appeal.

Double Page Spread Hand Drawn

When creating the had drawn designs for my double page spread I feel like I was the most specific with my initial ideas that I have been for all products. I had a very clear idea from the outset, after my initial research of different ways that I could approach the page of how I wanted mine to look. I knew that I wanted a whole page on the left of the spread that was dedicated to a photo of my model and the main title to be on that page with the article on the opposite page. I experimented with different ways that I could present a pull quote in the middle of the article and in my second lot of drawings, bottom images, show how I developed my ideas once I had chosen to use a square pull quote, to add in different elements such as bars of colour and a piece of writing within the border. Out of the two developed drawings I think the bottom one is the strongest and is what I will follow when creating the page.

Saffron Staz- Third Shoot

For my double page spread, I will be using the same model that I used on the front cover of my magazine to focus the article around. For this reason I have carried out a third photo shoot with this model so that I can improve some of the poses that I had already tried in earlier shoots and also try new ones.

I tried a few different outfits in this photo shoot to experiment with different looks for my model. However I found that the outfit that reflected the personality of empowerment that I am trying to portray through this model and connected article was the plain black , tight outfit that she wore for the front cover shoots. Similarly to this I experimented with different poses and positioning of the model as well as camera angles. However the ones which I feel worked the best and portray the best attitude is are shoots which I had improved from previous shoots with this model as oppose to the new stuff that I had tried. 

Further and Detailed Double Page Spread Research

My main focus now is on double page spreads that have the image on a page of there own. 

The whole of the left hand side is taken over by a  photo of the model which is being interviewed. It is a mid shot however does not look like this and seems more like a close up due to the dark background and clothing blending in together and her bright hair and skin sticking out closer to the camera.  I like that there is a whole page dedicated to a photo of the artist with none of the article on it as I think it is especially eye catching and makes it extremely clear who the article is about. I do not like the way that there is a dark colour background on one side of the page and a completely opposition bright white on the other page of the spread, I think this make it look more as if the photo is a poster that comes with the magazine and is not attached to the story.

The first thing which I notice about this double page spread is the fact that the image that takes up the whole page is an extreme close up. I don't like this for a double page spread and think that a mid shot suits it much better as it allows you to see more of the person you are reading the article about. However the expression that can clearly be seen on the models face in the close up reflects the attitude of the article which goes with it , this is something that I will concentrate when creating my double page spread. I also don't like the way that there is not a consistent colour that flows across both pages and I think this double page spread looks like it is a poster on one side of the page. I think that the small piece of writing which can be found on the left hand page which is underneath PINK is a good way to introduce the article which is coming.

Although there is a backdrop and features which have been added into this photo on the right hand side of the page I like that it is not a close up of the model and we as readers are able to see more of the model that we are about to be reading about and I think that makes the article seem more revealing which is appealing to an audience. I do not like the way that the text is laid out on the left hand side of this page and think that it does not make it appealing for the audience as it seems as if there is too much to be bothered to engage into.

Detailed Research 

Double Page Spread Initial Research

 I will be creating a double page spread for my magazine that will be based on the feature that I presented on the front cover. I will begin my research for this article by carrying out general research on some different ways double page spreads have been created in order to further my research into specifically what I wish to create.

 

I think that this is a spread which is all about the photo that can be seen on the single left hand side of the page. I like the way that it is an interesting pose which can be seem in the picture however I do not like the writing which is across the figure, however this may be because of the font which I really do not like. The border around the top of the page with a small piece of writing in is effective and makes the page look completed. I think that content of the article which is on its own page is laid out in a very boring fashion. It could be improved by having some larger letters or headlines on the page because at the moment I would not be interesting in reading it.

Although I will be using a female model on my double page spread, I think this is a very effective article. The way that the photo is on one page and the article content on the other  is a way of laying out the page which I really like however by having other feature such a the red boxes hanging over the page makes the article seem as one and not seperate pages. I think that is a feautre about this article which makes it particilarly good. A large headline on the page which is snappy and realted to the article is a good way to draw the reader in from simply looking at the picture to wanting to read the article. I think that having some larger quotes or letters at the start of the article would make it a bit better.

This is a differnt way of presenting the double page spread, the images used are in the middle of the page, aswell as there being more than one of the same model.

The photo which has been used on this article is a close up and I do not like that about it as I don't think that it is appropriate for the double page spread about a story .The name of the model that I will be talking about in the article will be 'Saffron Staz'. This large S that has been used in this double page spread is used for the beginning letter of the article however I think that it takes up too much space and creates a lot of blank around it. I think that this would also look effective if a large letter similar to this was used for the first character  of a headline or quote where the rest of the writing was also larger. I do not like the way that content has been laid out on the right hand side, it seems more as if this is a the introductory section to other pages on the article which will be to follow and is not an appropriate design for what I will be creating.

I very much like the interesting pose which has been used in this article however I think that there is a lot of blank space around the model making it look more like a poster. This could have been improved by having a quote, headline or something else related to the article on the page. Similarly to the one above, I like the use of the large letter on the page , it is a strong visual aid and very drawing for the eye of the reader. On this page not only is a C used for that but it is used constantly throughout in the small headline at the top and for the beginning of a paragraph as well. I like this consistency  within the page as it makes the spread all about the model in question. I don't like the photo which has been used on the left hand side of the page, it looks random and out of place due to how large it is and how close it is to the other photo of the model.  I like the way that this article is laid on in paragraphs apposed to the interview style that states the question and then the answer  I also think that by having a quote of the interview in a larger font size or different color is a good way to attract the reader to want to know what context it has been said in.

From this initial research I have been able to conclude that I feel the style of contents page that I like and would suit the magazine I am creating would be having a large image that takes up most of one page and the content of the article on the opposite page. The two examples that I like the most from this set of research are the top two that can be seen on this page. 

Creating Contents Page

When choosing which font to use for the text which would be on my page I experimented with a lot of different ones before choosing my final. Here is a sample of  small number of the font which I attempted.

Final Contents Page

I feel as if the contents page that I have created is the product that I have made the most progression with since the firdt draft. There are many aspects that I have chnaged about this product to improve it and make it in  line with real media products that I have researched such as Q and smash hits magazine. Many of the things that I have chaged about the page I have done in order to create more balance on the page and ensure that it does not look unequal as it did in my first draft. I swapped the postions of the contents listings and the two images which were previiously running down the centre of the page.I have also increased the size of these to images in thier new positios to mke them the same size as the chart bar. Another large change that I have made to the page is chnaging the header at the top of the page to a standard rectangular filled box instead of the two diagonal boxes. When initially researchig title heading desings I though this would be too boring therefore used a creative design however this did not look effective on my page in relation  to the other aspect that are on  the page which is why I have reverted to using a more simple design. To balance this I have inserted a colour filled box at the bottom of the page. I acheived the exact same colours in these two boxes by using the eyedropper tool on indesign.
I am pleased with the significant progress that I have made from  my first draft of my contents page and the final product. I like the clear colour scheme that I have used on this page and the way that there is cosistency coming through into this from my front cover. I have ensured that I have kept this colour scheme on the page through using the eyedropper tool on many occasions to achieve the exact same shades of a colour. I have also changed the photo numbered 31 to pick up more of the blues in the background lighting rather than the reds which can  be seen in my previous draft. This keeps consistancy through the colours that I have used on all the images on  this page. I a also very happy with the way that the chart bar has turned out in this final versions. I think that changing it from the top 10 to top 5 has made it look  lot less random on the page as it fits in as a similar size to other images that are close to it. I have also picked up a the swatch of blue which I have used for a gradient swatch as that is a colour which fits in with my page where as the black/grey previosuly looked too harsh.  I also like the way that my page is structured , all the cover stories together in one coloumn and the other stories in  another. As well as it it all lines up well with each other adn ther are no overhangs or orphans in my text making it look professional.

Contents First Draft

This is the first draft that I have created for my contents page and there are many things that I am not happy about and feel need to be changed to ensure my final product could be in line with real media products. Although initially when doing title font research I had the creative idea to challenge the inspiration that I got from my research and use diagonal boxes for the title and issue headings however when I have used this design with all of the other features and contents listings. This has made me realise that I should not challenge my research of real media products and in my final design for this aspect of the design/ I will return to using one of the other designs that I created which will be a simpler plain red filled box. I also do not think the overall layout of the page is balanced and working correctly. There is too much weight in the centre of the page which does not follow the rule of thirds. I will swap the positions of the features listing on the right hand side with the two images that are currently running down the centre of the page. I will do this and slightly increase the size of the two images with the intentions that it will add more balance to the structure of the page. I pleased with the way that the photos that I have used on this page have turned out and I like the variety that I have used as this was something that I found interesting in my research. Although I have included a variety of images they are still all relevant to the stories I have included in my chart music magazine, and I have made sure the readers know what story they are attached to by putting the page number of the story in the corner of the image; another technique that I found in my research. Although I like the chart bar that I have added onto the contents page I think that it is not visually correct, I think it could be improved by making it smaller, I will measure the size it should be in relation to the two images that will be above it in the next design. I also like the gradient fill as it represents songs doing well as they reach the top of the chart however I think that the black/white/grey swatch is too dark and harsh fro or the other colours that I have used on the page. I will attempt to pick up a lighter blue/grey shade from the image that is next to it, this will also create colour consistency on my page.

This is not the first draft of the contents page which I have created as previous to this  follow the design I had created by hand and realized this was not working at all.

Music Magazine Contents Font Research

I began the process of deciding on a tile font by being very random in my selection on the font list. For this I used adobe indesign.

However it wasclear that some of the fonts did not fit inwith the hosue style of my magazine and were not firm enough.

Out of all of them I picked 3 fonts which I though went with the style of my magazine and continued to delevlop them on a new page. I changed the characteristics of the font such as the length of the word, space between the letters, weight , and height of the letters all in order to create the best and most apporpriate font to be used for my contents page title.

I narrowed it down further to be between two fonts out of all of the ones that I had created in the development process. I finally experimented with putting them onto a design that could potentially be used as a header on my contents page.

I have chosen to use the sans serif font in my work as also I think the serif font I have develoepd is bold and fits the purpose, I have prefered a sans serif font on final contents pages throuhgout my research.

I will also use the header which is a slanted upwards shape which I was inspired by a billbaord content page which had a heading that was slighly angled. I prefer it with a border around the outside as it makes it stand out a lot more making it look finished.

I will make the red slightly darker as at the moment I think the colour I have used looks cheap and dosent fit with other reds I have used on the magazine.

Contents Hand Drawn

Above you can see the hand drawn designs that I created for my contents page. The image at the top is the initial ideas that I had on different ways that I could lay out my page containing all of the same features in different positions. These included a header at the top of the page, a chart bar, two small images and a large image. The designs which I created in the beginning were very simple. I went on to develop these , as can be seen in the bottom image, I had an idea which come as a result of deciding through my research that I would include a header at the top of the page. I experimented with different shapes I could make this header to make it more interesting and quirky than a simple rectangular shape.

The design that I feel is the best and I will attempt to duplicate will be the bottom right hand corner design as I feel it is my strongest.

Girl Band Second Shoot

I took a second set of photos of my 'girlband' that I would use on my contents page. This time I ensured that all of my models had their hair down and were wearing similar clothes( black - maroon - black - maroon) to make them look more like a group.  I also changed the order which they were standing in so that the model with a darker skin tone was nearerthe camera and light.

I stuck with the same location as it creates the edgy, upcoming feel that I wanted this group to portray under the article of 'Examples support act'.

Original Photo

Photo After Manipulation