I CHANGED MY MIND

March 27, 2017

When I was sitting in class today, I realized that the deadline for this project is very soon and I need to start working harder and faster. I was looking at my table of contents, messed around with it, and realized how ugly it was. I needed to start fresh and new. It’s a little late to be thinking this, but I know it will look significantly better if I do this. Better now than never.

I deleted the entire page and opened up a new document. 

I’m making my table of contents via Pages, which is a word processing software on my computer. I’m more skilled with this program and it allows me to use any fonts I want, so it’s crucial I use this. 

So, I began again. I looked up newer, fresher, cleaner fonts through 1001fonts.com (I’m trying something other than dafont.com) I’m able to download these for free and use them for my personal use without being copy-writed. I utilized Pinterest and another website that had 50 different table of contents ideas (which was super helpful) for more inspiration and found much cuter and sleeker ideas than I had found before. I also fully scratched out my original idea of listing the articles since that’s way too boring for my genre’s audience. I’m going for minimalistic, yet creative, and somewhat colorful. I also referred back to this photo (below), which I had found in a previous time researching. I’m going to go with the photo idea, but really make it my own since my audience tends to enjoy more of the “fun” paired with sleek, rather than just pure, plain, and sleek. 

Also, I decided that having a monthly issue of my magazine may be a great idea since I can coordinate every color and photo with that season/month. I decided to go with July since the Cambridge exam near July and that specific month looked best printed in the font I choose (lol). Also, summer magazines tend to be very bright and happy, which is exactly what I would wan my first issue to highlight. I’ve completed the first half of the spread for the table of contents… take a look. Keep in mind: all of the photos used are not mine and are only there for inspiration and will be replaced as soon as I take my pictures. 

I’m attempting to give this “July” issue a very beachy, relaxing, soft, and sleek vibes. I know that is what my audience is into, so naturally, I’m going to continue with that in mind.

Now that everything is changed, that means different photos are going to be taken. Luckily, I’m meeting with Cayla and Carly on Wednesday, so that shouldn't be an issue taking a few more (crossing my fingers everything goes as planned). 

Well, I’m going to continue making this TOC. My goal for the next blog post, if for the finished TOC to be shown. I got this!

-Sami <3

Some Citations:

*"Designing the Perfect Table of Contents: 50 Examples to Show You How." Design School. N.p., 06 Jan. 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

*"New & Fresh Fonts." 1001 Fonts · Free Fonts Baby! N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

* Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

MORE TIME NEEDED

March 24, 2017

     Welcome back to my blog!! I’m still diligently working on my table of contents. I feel like this is taking way longer than I intended, but it’s true that the best work comes from working long and hard.      I’m currently laying out this page. I’m keeping it very clean and white with touches of pink and a crisp font. Here’s a photo of what I have so far:

The only thing is, I want to add texture to my table of contents. I don’t want it to look bring and bland, I need something that can lay partly underneath some of the words and a portion of the photo that is going on the other side. Also, I’m going to cut my photo on a slant to add to the page and make this set of pages more on the graphic and edited side. My intentions to make my table of contents stand out as compared to other magazines in vey important to me. I do not want mine to resemble any other magazine. I want it to be unique and with this addition, I think I will accomplish this. I haven't seen any other fashion/lifestyle magazine that mimicked this style. 

Editing the photo that goes on this page is also extremely important. I need to make sure that it is very bright and whitely based. I researched ways to edit photos and add shadows to enhance the subject of the photo and I am able to watch a video of how to do that. Since I have access to Photoshop in my Yearbook class, I am at an advantage as I can use that software to complete my editing. While I'm at home, I'll have to use PicMonkey, since I don't have any other way to edit photos. This would allow me to brighten the photo, adjust the contrast, deepen the sharpness and other things to make this photo appropriate for the audience. I also want to make the opening pages of the magazine the most intriguing since this is the first impression they are given to my magazine and what to expect. I need to impress my readers and make them want to purchase it again!

     I’m cutting it short here since I want to continue to improve my table of contents, but I’ll keep an update of my progress as I continue going on! Have a great day.

-Sami <3

Some Citations:
* "Previewing Shadows and Reflections." Photoshop.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
* "PicMonkey's Photo Editor | Free Online Image Editing." PicMonkey. N.p., 15 June 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

TABLE OF WHAT?

March 22, 2017

     Now that my outline for the table of contents in finished, I need to make the article titles and the page numbers. The majority of each magazine uses the table to contents to focus on the main articles that are the strongest and most exciting to read. Since typically lifestyle/fashion magazines have up to 200 pages, I want to make sure that only the best articles and pages are featured under each category. My target audience is intending on reading only the most interesting parts of my magazine, so I’ll make sure they know which page to turn to see those. I also really want to include a large photo on the right side of the table of contents since I read in an article "The most visible area at that point is the outer part of the right page."

     Under “Beauty,” I want to have articles focused around different makeup and beauty hacks. I also want to have a spread based on the the trendy makeup, the least expensive makeup or drugstore finds, beauty dupes, Instagram make up looks put to the test, etc. My main focus is to make my audience, the late teens to young adults to want to read my magazine and look forward to reading it.

     Under “Health is Wealth,” I want to emphasize the importance of eating healthy and making your body feel right. I‘m going to have articles that include fast food made healthy, easy recipes that taste good, something on trendy food like acai bowls and green juice, most expensive food from restaurants around the world, etc.

     Under “Style,” I want to have a bunch of pages that relate to less expensive outfits, trendy outfits, prices of different clothes and where they are from, celebrity outfits with less money look alikes, etc. Each of these articles under this category is specifically important since this is where the “fashion” comes into play with the fashion/lifestyle genre. Since my target audience is going to be expecting high end quality content from my magazine all relating to the trendy fashion going on, I needed to step up my content, especially for this category.

     The next section is “Gossip.” This is a newer category not always incorporated into fashion/lifestyle magazines. I want to have this in my issue since my audience is around the same age for the gossip magazine genre; so I thought it would be a great idea to include that into my magazine to have them buy my magazine and never the gossip since mine has it all. I’m going to include news about celebrities such as scandal, relationships, new movies, celebrity drama, etc.

     The section called “Life” will include mostly home decor and room decorating with cute furniture and decorations found at stores such as Urban Outfitters and Anthropology, DIYs, exercise tips and tricks, useful things to just have, how to organize your life, something with clean work environment equals happy life, etc. 

     And last but not least, my favorite section is “Self Love.” This is going to focus on relaxation, ways to treat yourself, how to pamper yourself, ways to take time for yourself, yoga poses, spirituality decoded, monthly horoscopes, powerful women (power in numbers), etc. This is the overall message that I want my entire magazine to reflect and my readers to remember. It is very important to me to showcase this part of my magazine since women need to know their importance and power they have in the world. 

     I’m working so hard on this project and I’m so excited to show you my finished product of the table of contents soon! 

-Sami <3

Some Citations:
* Nikola. "Magazine Spreads – Good and Bad Practices." Magazine Designing. N.p., 04 May 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

THINGS DON'T ALWAYS GO AS PLANNED

March 20, 2017

     Saturday came along and I was ready to take my photos for not only my double page spread, but also my cover. Unfortunately, the girls cancelled last minute. In most of these cases I wouldn't know what to do and get very stressed out. However, something amazing came out of them not being able to make it: Plan B… I can come up with more ideas and make my double page spread stronger than it would have been before. 

     Initially, I wanted to do take the photo against a white wall. But after really thinking about the photos and having to account in the lighting, I realized, the quality of these photos may not be the best. I quite worried. However, I found this amazing website that gives you tips on how to take photos on a smartphone and make them look as high quality as possible. I'm not as worried anymore, but I'm still changing up my plan. I’m going to purchase a roll of white paper and very light pink paper and use them as a backdrop in the downstairs area of my house where I get the best lightning. There is so much more space in that area and that would give me much more of an opportunity to breathe, stay calm, and take quality photos. 

     Let’s talk props: My overall aesthetic I’m aiming for with my photos is a very beachy vibe - relating to the outfits and hair - but at the same time, I want to have a very clean and classy look to keep the positive attention from my audience. I want my models to wear a bunch of different outfits so I can be sure that they completely match my vision for my magazine. 

Here are some outfit inspiration photos along with my vision for what I want the girls to be wearing:

*off the shoulder shirt with jean frayed shorts

*beachy flowy short dress *round sunglasses

*floppy hat

     So now, I’m really shooting for next Wednesday, March 29 in the afternoon to take these photos. Although it really sucks that it didn't go as I planned, I really gained from this experience  and it allowed my to expand my thoughts and intentions on this project. 

-Sami <3

Some Citations:
* "How To Take The Perfect Photo." How to Take Perfect Photos - An Interactive Guide from Shutterfly. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

WHAT'S NEXT?

March 17, 2017

Oh my gosh!! Tomorrow is the photoshoot! I’m so excited since all of it is planned out and I’m able to actually have a physical part of my project done! I’m constantly thinking about this magazine and I’m really excited to make the table of contents, so I was thinking about starting earlier than I had anticipated because why not?

Aesthetically, I want my table of contents to be very sleek and represent a true fashion/lifestyle magazine by either using a double page spread or just the left or right side, opposite to a picture. For my magazine, I’m going to use a double page spread, half photo, half table of contents.

For the photo, I want to include a picture of Cayla or Carly, the models of my magazine, probably laughing or doing something more candid. I want the page to have a white background to achieve that sleek fashion look, along with the photo being very colorful, just simple. 

Since one of the most trendy fashion items right now are fashion glasses, I want my model wearing those, while showcasing her outfit. She will probably wear an off the shoulder top and look very mysterious. Or will that be my cover… OK I HAVE AN IDEA!!!

I’m going to use a similar photo with a different pose for the cover and the table of contents to give it a more clean and uniform-se look.

As far as fonts go, specifically for the table of contents, I want something very thin and tall; however, I want to have a contrasting font to make really cute and appealing headlines for each of the important articles. I went to dafont.com and found a few that stuck out to me.

*Champagne & Limousines

*Leon

I also need to think about the content that is going to be into the “table of contents.” I’m going to have different categories, as I had mentioned in previous blog posts to represent the full extent of fashion/lifestyle and allow my reader to have everything she/he would ever want to read (regarding fashion/lifestyle) right in that magazine. In addition to the categories, I also want to come up with a cute title of them so it isn't just the boring, typical “fashion”. The following categories will be used in my table of contents followed by their cuter name:

*Health - Health is Wealth

*Fashion - Style 

*Make Up - Beauty

*Everyday Life - Life 

*Loving Who You Are - Self Love

*Celebrity News - Gossip 

I also mentioned in a previous blog how I wanted to add in two categories that I particularly never have seen in fashion/lifestyle magazines… “Self Love” and “Gossip.” Specifically for the message my magazine is trying to promote about loving yourself and empowering who you are, living to your full potential, really fits those categories. 

Each category will have 3-4 articles listed underneath. As I have read about magazines, some include a quick synopsis of the article under each title, however, others just give the title followed by the page number. For mine, I wanted to keep that tradition alive, but add a twist. Instead of writing the article synopsis, I’m wrote a synopsis of the category which basically sums of the content in that portion of the magazine. Here are a few examples of what I came up with:

*Self Love: Live everyday like it’s the last and empower who you are

*Health is Wealth: Satisfy cravings while living the ideal lifestyle

*Beauty: Have fun with make up, you are beautiful

*Life: Have fun with life; it isn't always serious

*Gossip: Let’s take tabloids to the next level

*Style: Dress the trend and love how you look

I’m beyond excited for this table of contents!!! I’ll keep you updated with the progress on the page layout!

-Sami <3

Some Citations:

*Nikola. "Structure of the Magazine." Magazine Designing. N.p., 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

*"Basic Sans Serif Fonts." Basic Sans Serif Fonts. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.

*Friedman, Vitaly. "Table of Contents: Creative Examples – Smashing Magazine." Smashing Magazine. N.p., 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 17 Mar. 2017

PLAN YO LIFE

March 16, 2017

     This is the week that I am going to take the photos for my magazine! This is going to take a lot of planning since I only want to take photos for each section once a day. I don't want take multiple days for each section, so I need to fully plan it out and write all my ideas down. 

So here’s the plan:

Saturday: Double page spread and cover

        -take photos of Cayla and Carly in the daytime, to achieve prime lighting. 

        * I researched about tricks to taking the best photos on an iPhone, since that’s the resource I have and found out that using a outdoor lighting can be the best option. I think I’m going to set up my room into a “photoshoot area.” Since my room is white and I want to achieve that crisp, white, and clean look, I think this location will work very well. I have a window right next to a white wall so I’ll make sure to choose the best time, probably around noon, when the sun is fully out. I will also need a reflector. As I read, these are beneficial to “enhance your photographs by simply bouncing natural light.” Hopefully I can borrow that from someone!

       -the photos of Cayla and Carly will include a photo of them:

      -sitting side by side with messy wavy hair and light, natural makeup, straight faces and laughing; two person shot, mid shot

       -individual photos of Carly and Cayla laughing; touching their hair, natural makeup, looking at each other 

      -individual photos of Carly and Cayla straight face; touching their hair, natural makeup, looking at each other 

       -close up photos of makeup for the second half of the double page spread:

       -I want to include texture onto my double page spread. I have a fur rug, so I want to use that as a background to achieve texture within the page. That usually guides the eyes of beauty gurus.

        -hoola bronzer, highlighter palettes, brushes

       -lipstick swatches on arm

       -lipstick kiss mark on white paper (I plan on photoshopping it, cutting it out, and placing it near the make up section of the page)

Here are some inspiration photos that I may use for my photoshoot.

Sunday: edit photos and start getting ideas of the layout process

Overall, I just really want to accomplish parts of my project on different days so I don’t cram it all in at the end. With this mindset I have with this project and the passion I have for fashion/lifestyle magazines, I know I will create a very well thought out and trendy magazine!

-Sami <3

Some Citations:

* Bosley, John, and About John BosleyJohn Bosley Is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in San Francisco Who Loves Creating Authentic, Emotional Images with His Clients. He Has a Soft Spot for Functional Antiques. You Might See Him Writing with a Fountain Pen from His Collec. "How to Use a Reflector." Photography Life. N.p., 11 June 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

* Elise, Lola, and About Lola EliseLola Elise Is a Professional Wedding and Portrait Photographer Based out of Denver, Colorado. She Is the Co-author of Photography Life and Author of the Lola Elise Website. Read More about Lola Here. "How to Plan a Photo Shoot." Photography Life. N.p., 01 Mar. 2017. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

NAMES UPON NAMES

March 14, 2017

Figuring out a title for my magazine is definitely one of the most difficult tasks within this project. My ultimate goal for a title is something very sophisticated, sleek, short, and simple. With something alone those lines, my magazine would come across not only unique, but very interesting. Many fashion magazines use one word titles, so I was thinking of going the same route; however, when I researched about strategies of naming a magazine and the different aspects that make a name of a magazine intriguing, I found this:

*Puns are really good since they make the reader laugh and think

*Alliteration 

*Baby names are a good name

*Thesaurus words related to the genre of your magazine

After reading all about that, I came up with a few ideas:

Rosie: This comes from the word “rose” which, as a we all know, is such a delicate flower. The meaning behind my magazine is all about loving yourself and giving yourself everything it needs to stay happy and healthy. Since the “rose” is the flower of love and affection, I want my readers to be reminded how much love and compassion is put into this magazine, which will rub off on them. Also, the symbolism behind the word “rosie” relates to the color pink. Pink is very symbolic of unconditional love, which is exactly what they should be giving themselves. I really want the readers of my magazine to know the power they each have and the love they can and should fill themselves with. 

Zeal: This is a synonym for love and it means to have passion for something. As I mentioned before, the whole reason meaning behind the magazine is to remind and promote self love through women. The word “Zeal” is not only unique, but it also covers the exact message I want in a title.

I’m really not sure what I want to choose, but I’m really leaning more towards “Rosie” since, in my opinion, the message behind it stronger and the way it sounds is sweeter.

The final title will be revealed in the next few blogs!!! Stay tuned!

-Sami <3

Some Citations:

*"What's in a Name? How to Make Your Magazine Title Stand Out." Flipboard. N.p., 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

*"Rosie: Meaning of Name Rosie at BabyNames.com." BabyNames.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

*"The Color Pink." Empowered By Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

*"Zeal." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.