Contents Page Construction
Here you can see my original flat plan and also my revised ones. I thought my original plan was too conventional for my indie genre magazine, and it may look boring. Out of my two revised flat plans on the left I prefer the top one, as I think the other one would look too messy and un-neat. I plan on using hexagonal shapes within my design, as this is unconventional to present information and will make my magazine look different from others therefore drawing in my indie audience. I also plan on putting text on the page that isn’t in these shapes.
Whilst browsing Issuu (an online publishing site), I came across this within a magazine. This is what initially inspired me to use my hexagonal shapes as I thought it looked aesthetically pleasing, and worked well combined with the pastel colours.
The column lines on the page helped me to lay out my shapes in a fitting way.
Here, you can see where I have begun to construct my shapes in the format of my page. I referred to my screen shot of the other magazine page for reference. Although I have used the same shapes, I have got them the other way round, making my magazine a little different. I am also trying out the colours I may use too – pink and blue to continue my pink colour theme throughout.
Opposite is my developed design, and I got some feedback from someone within my target market, making the feedback valid and useful. I have taken her criticism on board and will develop my design further.
Opposite you can now see my design developing further. I have included my magazine logo in the corner to help tie the magazine together. I am also playing around with how I might place my shapes in order for them to be aesthetically pleasing. Also, adding a header helps me envision what my final design may look like, although I don’t think I’ll be using that font.
Here you can now see the development of my articles. I have decided to use the same font I used for my cover lines on my front cover as I think it ties in with the whole magazine showing continuity and will therefor appeal to my audience. I have experimented with where I may place the page number for the article, as I want it to be easily seen by the reader so they can easily flick to the specific page. I prefer the layout where the number is above the writing as I think it creates a flow and helps follow the shape of the hexagon. At the moment it isn’t obvious what the title of the article is, and to overcome this I will make the description below in a smaller font, so my reader will be able to differentiate between the two.
Here is a screenshot of my design developing even further. I have re-placed the design of my hexagons, as I now think I am going to place them in columns so they will be easily separated and read by the reader, rather than being in an arrow shape as previously. I have decided to make all of the shapes pink to fit in with my spot colour throughout the design of my magazine and also showing that my magazine is predominantly aimed at girls.
I am also going to place the issue number with the magazine logo, as this could be a regular feature throughout each monthly publication. I have also added in a few more articles and I think they look attractive and neat. As well as adding in these articles, I have also added in 3 photos, I’m not entirely sure if these are the images I will be using in my final product, but they give me an idea of what they would look like in the final product. At the moment there are many things still missing such as folios and other articles than can be easily added.
I have finished placing my hexagonal shapes, and I decided to have 4 columns, as it will be easier for the reader to digest. I have also placed two headings – ‘feature articles’ and ‘regular articles’ making a clear divide with the help of the photos to separate the two different parts of the magazine. I have also placed the images that I want to include within my design, helping me create a clear image of what my final product will look like. I have also added in a gradient effect at the bottom of the page as at the moment it is looking quote empty, although I’m not sure I’ll keep that there once I fill the space with text etc.
Here are the four images I have chosen for my contents page, you can see why I have chosen these in a previous post, but overall I am currently happy with the aesthetics of the page.
Here, I experimented with putting an outer glow onto my shapes. I wanted to create more depth for the page, but overall, I didn’t like the effect. It didn’t give the crisp, clean edges that I wanted from my design, so I decided not to include this feature.
I have decided to include social media buttons, as I think this will appeal greatly to my younger target market that often use these social media sites as a mean of finding out information. Including these within my magazine shows its modern and wants to connect with many different social groups. I found the image on Google, and then edited it on Photoshop, so it was completely black. I have done this so it would conform to my monochrome and pink colour scheme. I placed them at the bottom right of the page, and they look similar to tabs. Also adding in the website address above lets the reader connect this with the buttons knowing what to search online.
Here, I was trying to decide which style of signature I should put at the bottom of my editor note – as this is a common feature you see throughout many magazines. I decided to use the bottom text as I felt it was well defined and would stand out well on the page. I also added some credits below so people would know who I was; this is also a common feature of magazines. I have also included an arrow showing the reader where the main feature article is so they can find it Making my editors note in a different font makes it stand out well, it is also in the same font as my interview, therefor tying the magazine house style together.
easily – putting it at the bottom near blank space means that it would be more noticeable. I have also added in two pink lines to frame the page. I have taken this idea from my front cover and have carried it through to show continuity. One last think I have added was the folio and also an ‘X’ above the social buttons to fill the space and also look aesthetically pleasing.