F M P P roposa l F rom S emeste r 1 Research, Development & Positioning Brief one and two was the starting point in realising who I am, what I want to do, and my interests. I established that I inspired to work in the publishing industry, such as magazines. I identified my strengths, weaknesses and passions, which I then tested out in Brief 3. I have approached this action research brief with an active attitude, to explore the area that originated from the context of digital cultures. This approach is illustrated in the experimental work shown previously in my semester 1 portfolio. This presented my tests I had applied to a range of techniques and processes, such as illustration, digital and manual photography, collage, adding text to imagery, photomanipulation, merging images and book binding. Alongside this I visited all of the lectures held by the tutors, I visited the British library, British museum, exhibitions, such as Georgie Meadows: stitched drawings in the Wellcome Collection, I attended the ‘Book As Artefact Talk’, workshops, such as Mette Ambeck on book binding and the writing workshop by Pat Francis, I went to the small publishers book fair and researched using literature sources found in books, the media and the Internet. This wide range of resources used as a research and experimental technique meant I have explored in great depth to help propose the idea for my final major project. It has allowed me to fully discover the area surrounding gender representation in society today and I have found new avenues I had never thought of before.
From my experimentation I realised I am not a strong illustrator, so I feel the best tool for me to use is photography to create my imagery, as that is the skill I have studied at A-level and had the most effective results from. There was a vast amount of different techniques I could do with my photographs after taking the imagery including, sewing, merging, adding hints of colour, ripping, flip book movement and negatives as imagery, so I feel there is a lot of material to work with. I believe all of these techniques in some way can be implemented in the creation of the final FMP. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: I have proposed two ideas that could be used in the process of helping me to create my FMP. Both are linking, but one is more specific and one is more generalised. Both I intend to be a thought provoking publication. Ever since seeing Mike’s work on the dementia campaign, it made me think about designing for a reason. I feel designing with meaning, is most powerful. Over these next three pages I have created a detailed description and reasoning for the ideas I am proposing, to help create my Final Major Project.
BELOW IS THE PLAN OF THE FIRST IDEA: This is aimed to raise awareness and help highlight the current issues from living in a now ‘airbrushed’ society. It is not about changing the use of it; it is about making sure everyone, especially teenagers, are aware of what Photoshop can do and not to look at the imagery as real. To see what you want to see, not what your told to see.
HOW? It is a box containing four publications, which is aimed to be a confidential resource that men can read for awareness and support regarding the affects of the idealistic imagery being projected in society today. I visualise three of the publications being produced professionally and the packaging and one of the publications would be hand-made. WHO? It is specifically targeted at young, adolescent men to convey the message to talk, in order to prevent disastrous consequences and raise awareness of areas of support.
WHY? The idea derived from further looking into the Campaign Against Living Miserably. It stated how men are three times more at risk of suicide than women and 75% of suicides are men. It provides a confidential, anonymous place to contact, as some men find it hard to talk about their feelings, problems and worries. It stated on the ‘The Body Beautiful’ program, ‘80% of men aren’t happy with their appearance’, yet it is always women that campaigns and awareness is targeted at, never men. This was reiterated in my finding from the google searches I undertook. Even though information and statistics suggest how males are just as vulnerable as females, there is no awareness aimed at them, which is why I believe a publication is needed.
BELOW IS THE PLAN OF THE SECOND IDEA: It is aimed to be an educational and thought provoking publication showing gender roles in society and our preconceptions of them. It will explore the past and the present clichĂŠs of men and women, including raising awareness of current issues in society and highlight campaigns that are established to help them.
HOW?
WHY?
I created two different designs in response to this idea. One was in the format of a multi- readable book (shown above, on the left hand side of the plan) that if read one way will explore the gender transition for females and if read the other will illustrate this for men. I foresee this publication to be created in InDesign and then professionally printed. The other format was two concertina books, packaged in a box layout to make a complete set (shown above, on the right side). Both books show the evolution of gender roles in society through imagery and text, one specifically on women and the other on men. From my experience of making a concertina book from brief two, it will have to be created by hand as it is not a conventional book.
After looking at men and how gender preconceptions of them have changed; evolving with the legalization of homosexuality and men being allowed to show a more feminine side, with some men being just as conscientious of their looks as women. It is now accepted that men, if they want to, can wear makeup and have as much beauty products as women. What I became interested in, from looking into this subject area, is the explorations into gender roles in society and our preconceptions of them now contrasted with past generations. I had looked specifically at men, in terms of our airbrushed culture and men today are still not considered with awareness campaigns. This could be due to the fact that society believes these issues should not affect men, but actually they are just as vulnerable.
WHO? It is aimed at young adolescents, to educate them about the society they live in and the historic background of how we have evolved to present day. It is a photography-based publication, which is an appealing way to represent facts and information for that age group.
Considering these thoughts this idea is intended to be a simple educational publication that is an easy read, while gaining knowledge, information and raising questions about society today. It will show historic and current topics that are fundamental to our society, including the current issues seen in the media, such as our airbrushed culture, binge drinking and equal opportunities.
LOGISTICS:
BELOW IS THE CONSIDERED TIME REQUIREMENTS:
I made a record of how long the different processes had taken me to complete after I had finished them, so I could collate this information to highlight the time required for different techniques. I created a table showing these results, shown right. The table shows the consideration for how long a hand-made book can take, which I found out from taking part in Mette’s workshop. If I was to have it professionally printed, from past experience, I still need to leave around two weeks to make sure it is printed and delivered to me in enough time. I have also researched companies that can print it: Blurb Fast Print Print resources Imex print services Love online print
PROCESS
Photo-shoot
Manual Film Developing and Printing Photoshop Alterations, such as applying hints of colour, adding text and airbrushing the image. Merging In the Darkroom Using Photoshop
INFORMATION
TIME
Conditions: Has to be during the day when using the makeshift photo studio at home.
2-3 hours
Per Film
Up to 4 hours
Per image
On average 30 minutes
Per image to be developed Per image to be created
On average 15 minutes On average 10 minutes
Per image
On average 20 minutes
After creating and printing out the image.
5 minutes
The whole film
1 hour
Based on making a 20 paged hard cover handmade book
On average 5 hours
Research, design and the creation of the PDF:
Over 12 days
Professionally printed at staples:
5 minutes
Research, design and the creation of PDF:
Over 10 days
Hand made, so this includes printing and the making of the concertina book:
1 day
Photo shoot, design and the creation of PDF:
Over 7 days
Hand made, so includes printing and glue-binding together:
1 day
Using 36 stills 9fps to create a 4 second animation.
Photo-shoot was 2 hours combined with making it, the process took 2 and a half hours.
Spiderwize The book Printing Company
Stitching
Printwize Pen Press Publishing Print on Demand Worldwide
Collage / ripping
Manuals2go Booksurge I have created an initial projection of a time line, estimating where I should be at specific points next semester for my FMP. This was based on how long my tested publications had taken me and is displayed at the bottom of this page. REFLECTIVE SUMMARY OF SEMESTER 1: I feel I have produced an in-depth body of work reflecting my journey to realising an intention for my Final Major Project, with the consideration of aims, objectives and logistics. I believe I have gained knowledge of the contemporary professional context surrounding the publishing industry, which I envisage working in. Relating to this area of interest, I tested out and made publications, where I established it was what I wanted to produce for my FMP. I have tested out a range of skills, processes and techniques, which have allowed me to determine time allowances needed for them and an idea for the content of my publication. I finally want to acknowledge my appreciation for the help provided by my third year tutors, which have inspired me to create ideas and progress forward with this semester.
Scanning in the Negatives from film
Book Binding
Making Publications Learnt from Brief 1 (Based on a 10 paged publication)
Learnt from Brief 2 (Based on a hand made concertina book)
Learnt from the negative book (Based on a 36 paged publication)
Stop Frame animation
BELOW IS THE PROJECTED TIME LINE FOR SEMESTER 2:
D eve loped P roposa l F eedbac k & r evisiting fmp p r oposa l I was pleased with the positive and constructive feedback I received from my Research, Development & Positioning portfolio, shown below. I believe I displayed a honest, detailed and in-depth reflection of my journey. This was both on my blog and in my final portfolio, which I aimed to continue to produce through this final semester. My experimental and active research approach allowed me to construct a plan for my FMP proposal. I created two ideas, which both reflect the ‘language of beauty’, and the influence of selfimage for men and females. My next step was to choose a specific route I wish to take this semester. To help with the selection process I sketched out some initial thoughts and ideas (pictured central over this double page spread). I definitely knew that the content would be photographic imagery, as I felt it expresses my ideas best and there are also a lot of techniques I can further apply to them to produce interesting and unique images.
M aga z ine pub l ication idea My Final Major Project idea has developed on from my two concepts outlined in my semester one proposal. It is to create a publication that looks from the outside
(front and back cover) as a magazine, using the normal layout constraints and the appearance of one, however inside reveals the truth instead of the visual lies of Photoshop imagery. The content will merge the ideas from both concepts in the proposal, reflecting the language of beauty and the influence of self-image for male’s and female’s, with the differing gender representations from past to present. From looking at design, fashion and prestigious magazines, a common format I have noticed is the dominant use of imagery, with the text working with the images. Therefore I will base my design on a similar structure. Shown right is my initial sketched ideas of the design and layout of the publication.
P r ojected schedu l e fo r semeste r 2 I created a detailed timetable for this last unit. It allows me to keep focused, on track, and stick to my deadline’s. This ensures the magazine publication, along side the unit hand in, will be completed on time.
It was also a great method to make me realise the amount of work that is needed to be done in the short space of time, which when it is visually worked out through the timetable makes me motivated and work hard to stay on task.
U ne x pected T e r r ito r ies Ta l k s From going to the Unexpected Territories Talks I learnt about design, skills needed, ideas, and advice from listening to other people that have already experienced the journey I have ahead of me. Below are the synopses of what I learnt from each talk. James Jarvis’s talk was interesting to see his differentiating style of his commercial work from his personal illustrations. James stated most of the companies that commission him opt for the polished, neat version. He therefore likes to use his freer style in his personal time and creates comic strip dialogues and instagram’s daily with it. Scott King stated the three important things to consider before designing are the subject, medium and context. Scott, unlike others, initially considers the context, so he visualises where and why he is creating something first. I thought it was interesting to hear his perspective of the magazine industry, as he was an art director on the magazines i-D and Sleazenation, and feels they are bound by advertisement. When I look at magazines it is remarkable to see how much content is advertisement, and it is normally a lot! John Maclean, Bafta award winner with ‘Pitch Black Heist’, talked about his progression from studying art to music to filmmaking; learning that his first films were made with just a nokia mobile, which allowed him to develop fundamental skills before using professional equipment. John’s ethos to improve by reading to gain knowledge and
F u rthe r Resea rch I have been to talks, exhibitions, visits, read books, magazines and online research, all to help me progress further with my Final Major Project.
practically doing the skill, allowed him over eight years to progress into a brilliant writer as well as a filmmaker. For inspiration, he stated to ‘always be open to ideas’, not just by being on the computer or putting pen to paper, but to use your interests, go to exhibitions, talks and general day to life, are all ways to stimulate creativity. He believed ‘when you find out what you enjoy then its easy to do it’ and always to remember ‘the power of editing!’ Bother’s, Jody and Luke, set up their company HudsonPowell in 2005. It was great to hear about their transition from education to learning the Graphic Design practice through working in the Industry. They summarise the design practice, as to solve a brief and to come up with a solution. Their vast range in skills allows them to do a variety of projects using all different types of medium, and from knowing lots of people with different skill sets, if they have idea they want to do but don’t have the technical ability, they can get help from others. David Cross made a transition from graduating in Graphic Design into working in the ‘Art world’. He described how it was hard to move into this area, however through doing various jobs he is now highly recognised in the art field. Like in design he still always considers his audience, and he finds inspiration from books he reads. I thought it was interesting when he talked about text not having to support the image, it can create a whole new meaning and bring a new level to it, which is something I will think about in my publication. Shown right and below are my more detailed notes.
V isit To M agma Magma was the trigger for my inspiration and direction for my development for my FMP. This bookshop is now a place that I will be visiting regularly, but I will have to take a restricted amount of money, as I wanted to buy everything. It was full of books, magazines, gadgets, and games, all tailored to a creative thinker. The whole right side of the shop was stacked with inspiring magazines, which was exactly what I needed and was looking for. I was in there for ages looking at a range of magazines and books and the staff just leave you to it. I particularly examined the layout, composition, typography and imagery used in the magazines, which triggered ideas for my FMP idea.
Garage magazine struck me aesthetically and the unique large size made it stand out. The other attraction was it contained photographs by Patrick Demarchelier of the artist photographer Cindy Sherman, who I looked at last semester in regards to my photography work. The subject matter, entitled Vanity, also linked with my project. The cover photo is a statement about the ‘mutability of modern identity’, which is an aspect I am looking at myself. The issue, is inspired by Vanity Fair and depicts generic models wearing masks. When looking at the images they are visually creepy, but they are striking and grab my attention to look at and interpret them, thus achieving their intention.
The Creative Review contained articles of interest including: ‘Women in Graphic Design: A new book tackles the gender imbalance in the design industry’, ‘The London Centre for Book Arts is a great new resource’, ‘Magazine opt for a simpler approach’, and an article on Ken Garland, who has sixty years of structure and substance as a graphic designer; it also used interesting typography for the title and layout to gain inspiration.
This article about The London Centre for Book Arts was interesting to learn it is an open access resource centre for people of all abilities interested in the production of artists’ books and printed matter. The Centre’s mission is to keep book-making skills alive, by offering expertise and teaching in bookbinding, letterpress printing, paper making, and related disciplines. It also offers studio space and equipment rental to members working in the book arts.
I nspi r ationa l M aga z ines After visiting Magma I saw a new range of magazines, along with some familiar ones. Listed below are the magazines that help inspire and guide me to create my publication: Garage Elephant Disegno Wrap IDN (International Design Network) Juxtapoz Creative Review Wallpaper Computer Arts Collection 1883 Wire Dazed Vogue Fashion For Me Flow GQ
Shown right is an inspirational mood board I created using existing magazine imagery.
V isit to boo k a rt boo k shop Bookart is a lovely quaint bookshop, which was definitely worth a visit. It allowed me to see a range of publications from some best-known artist presses and publishers of artists’ books, which helped me gain inspiration for layouts and typography. I found out that you can take books to sell, as well as discovering that the shop holds discussions, exhibitions, lectures, book launches, and educational activities there. While I was there they had displayed the International Artists’ Stamps and Envelopes created by Dawn Redwood, who is an internationally renowned mail artist. It was fascinating to see her collection of stamps and envelopes that she has gathered over the years. All miniature artworks in themselves. From visiting the shop it demonstrates the enjoyment you can receive from looking at ‘physical’ publications and collections, reiterating why the virtual e-Books have not and wont take over. Shown below is photographs I took from my visit.
D esign and Layout r esea r ch Once I knew I wanted to proceed with the idea to create a magazine I researched further into design, layout and typography. I read a series of books including: ‘Design and Layout: Understanding and Using Graphics’ by David Dabner, ‘Good Design’ by Terry Marks and Matthew Porter, ‘magCulture: new magazine design’ by Jeremy Leslie, and ‘Magazine Design’ by Ronald Walker. Highlighted over the next two double page spreads is imagery of key texts that was of interest and helpful.
This left hand page shows a continuation of the research following the previous page.
D esign P r actice Resea r ch Alongside researching for my FMP, I have also investigated the design industry that I hope to get into when I leave University. ‘Graphic Design: A User’s Manual’ by Adrian Shaughnessy was an insightful book containing extensive knowledge on working in the complex, ever-shifting world of Graphic Design. The layout is easy to read, which was set out in an A-Z style and written in a realistic and conversational way. I gained advice on the fundamental topics and issues that face designers and it covered everything from kerning to presenting, from budgeting to dealing with rejection, from annual reports to interface design. ‘Production for Graphic Designers’ by Alan Pipes was an interesting read on the history of Graphic Design, typography, print production and printing processes, including on-demand colour printing. After researching about my future I have updated my CV and created a page ready for my next step after University.
N atu r a l histo ry museum I visited the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. The Natural History Museum annually holds the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition exhibit. I went there for inspiration and to look at the power of photographs, as I am creating a photography based publication. When seeing these remarkable photographs of wildlife in large format, they are truly amazing. The detail, quality and story that can be drawn from the images make them striking. The aim of the exhibit is to promote the discovery, understanding, and responsible enjoyment of the natural world. The competition is in its 49th year and being short listed allows emerging and established talents to have a chance to be hailed Wildlife Photographer of the Year. I purchased the annual publication, as well as being a great photography book that tells the story behind the photographs; it is also an inspiration for the layout for a photography-based publication.
O n l ine Resea r ch I have used online resources, as well as literature, to increase my knowledge and skills surrounding the design for a magazine publication. Online access provides a vast amount of information from video tutorials to instructive diagrams, which help me gain inspiration for my own piece. Below shows two screen grabs from helpful website (http:// vector.tutsplus.com and http://www.blurb.co.uk).
E x pe r imenting with C ove r D esigns After researching and looking at existing magazines it gave me inspiration for experimenting into the style and layout of my magazine. After reflecting on my inspirational mood board of existing magazine covers, I then created my own front and back designs.
E x pe r iment one Initially, like the Garage Magazine, I experimented with having a cream background and one focal image. The name of the magazine is Hashtag to reflect the modern culture in society today. The hashtag symbol (#) is used on social network sites as a form of communication. Originating from Twitter, it is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet, which in turn categorises messages. Hashtagged words can become very popular, which then develop into trending topics. Thus with the content of my magazine being current and of popular interest, spelling the iconic symbol is an appropriate, meaningful name. Along with the name of the magazine, there is a single title ‘Language of Beauty’ to summarise the content inside. From looking at existing back covers of magazines, it is always an image, which are usually an advert displayed on the back. Therefore using my photographs I created my own adverts. I chose the make-up brand Mac to be the logo for my image to illustrate that men wearing make-up is seen as expectable in today’s society, differing from previous generations.
E x pe r iment T wo The other potential name was UNREAL, having an aesthetical distinction between the UN and the REAL. It is representing the digitalised world of today, where imagery is manipulated, and left society with a blurred division between what is real and what isn’t. I stayed with the similar style, but changed the design to black and white with just a hint of colour, rather than the cream, which I prefer. The back cover displays a pose that would be typically seen in an advert, however the faint text overlaying the image says ‘pure vain’, to infer the narcissistic nature of adverts.
E x pe r iment th r ee Developing on from the previous two designs I took what I liked from both of them to generate a new design. Using the initial name and the style of typography from UNREAL, I generated a title that can be read as HASHTAG (this time including the symbol within it) or as HAS-A-TAG. The definition of tag is a label attached to someone or something for identification or other information. In society today everyone gets ‘tagged’ and grouped as something, for example for style: chav, indie; hair colour: blonde, ginger; jobs: designer, photographer. Whether it’s a label of a social aspect or more of a fact of what you do, such as education or work place, everybody is categorised. Therefore the name hashtag, in accordance with representing modern communication, also it reflects the attitude of labelling people, which has been the case over many centuries, such as the class system. The back cover advert is to play with the Dove brand for their well-publicised ‘real beauty’ campaign, which was found to have used airbrushing on their ‘natural, real beauty models’. The use of my photograph of Louise heavily made up, in an edgy, rebellious style, was to contradict there usual clean cut images, which look less real than a model in extreme make-up.
E x pe r iment fou r This last experimentation was keeping with the style previously, but trying the central photograph to be of my dad instead. I like that it is an image is of a more mature man, which works and contrasts with the title ‘Language of Beauty’. The back cover is a simple advert using the brand Jean Paul Gaultter, as that is the make of the aftershave he is holding. This design is to simulate a real magazine, as I want the outside covers to be aesthetically realistic, and inside will
It was interesting to see how a Marks and Spencer’s campaign that was aimed to target ‘every women’, with the intention to try and break the stereotypical thin, tall looking models, has been criticised for only showing one curvy model. Therefore when a campaign states it is going to represent the ‘real’, like the Dove campaign, M&S should have done what they set out to do. Instead of using slightly larger professional models, which still look perfectly shaped, they should use ordinary, everyday people. This would be a refreshing campaign and one which people would much rather see.
Resea r ch I nto campaigns Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is my chosen organisation targeted at men, which I have permission to feature within my magazine, now I want to chose a suitable campaign that helps women in a similar way to CALM. The imagery below and following onto the next page are the selection of campaigns I researched into.
B ody gossip : the C hosen campaign to get in contact with Body Gossip is a positive body image campaign that is working to banish body shame, ‘encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves and rock their very own brand of gorgeous’. The campaign invites people to write something about their body and send it to them. They then pick a selection of the pieces to be performed in live events by their celebrity cast, made into short films for the YouTube channel. They aim to teach self esteem to teenagers all over the UK, run University projects nationwide, and pioneer a healthy, celebratory attitude towards diverse beauty ideals. One of their methods, to help promote their message and campaign, is through publishing a book, entitled Body Gossip by Ruth Rogers, shown right. They have used over 300 of the written pieces sent to them and performed by celebrities in their first Body Gossip publication and feel it has been a success. This proves that a publication is a proven useful mechanism for promoting awareness and my magazine concept will be a fresh, original design.
E mai l to body gossip I emailed Ruth Roger and Natasha Devon, who I discovered were the co-founder’s of Body Gossip, to see if I could write an article about their campaign in my magazine. It was a positive response, so I therefore have gained confirmation from Body Gossip and CALM enabling me to write about both their campaigns in my publication. Displayed on the next page is my email with Ruth Rogers’s response.
I nitia l thumbnai l s k etches From my research into existing magazines, in addition with looking at design books and online material, it gave me the inspiration and technical understanding to start producing my magazine publication. My first step was drawing a thumbnail plan of the initial magazine, which was created as a test design and to run a test print.
T est P dfs and test p r int I created a preliminary design in InDesign with the imagery I envisaged using and placeholder text to visually work out a layout. I then created a 24-paged version to not only test out the style and layout, but also the printing process using Blurb. I always upload my publications to Issuu.com to make an e-Book. This allows me to see the book, and in this case magazine, working as it is meant to. I progressed further from my previous magazine design making a 32-paged magazine. I therefore used this developed piece to test out Issuu’s printing services, which use Peecho Printer’s, to compare and contrast which printer to use in the future.
W hat I l ea r nt f r om my test p r ints It was very beneficial sending a test print of my work in progress magazine, it not only allowed me to find out the time allowance for delivery, but also it highlighted some design mistakes. I now realise I need to allocate for the loss of space the binding in the middle creates and therefore consider text and images that run across both pages. I also feel the body text being 12pt and the page numbers 8pt look too big, therefore will decrease both of them in size by 2pt. I am happy with the aesthetics and quality of the printing, and from viewing it in a three-dimensional perspective allows me to visualise the final publication.
C ompa r ing T he p r inting companys to chose the best p r inte r s to use in the futu r e In conclusion, from assessing all the elements, printing from Issuu.com (that use’s Peecho Printing) is overall the best quality, price and delivery time. The fundamental criterion that Blurb unfortunately did not provide in my test print was perfect quality. There was white marks where the ink had been rubbed off, which might have been created from excess glue, and the pages were thinner, which were easy to crease and some images could be seen through. Therefore for any further test prints and for the final publication’s I will use Peecho Printing by Issuu.
Shown top left is the 24 page magazine printed by Blurb. On the lips shown in the top double page spread image highlights a white mark and below shows the easily creased pages.
CRITERIA
BLURB
ISSUU
Delivery Time
9 days
6 days
Printing Quality
A few unwanted marks inside.
Perfect
Paper Quality
Glossy and of good quality, but thinner pages inside means some imagery can be seen through the pages.
Glossy, with slight less shine than the Blurb cover, but very high quality and thicker pages inside.
Colour
Good quality, but doesn’t match the colour on screen with some images.
Great quality, sharp colours and matches the on screen colour.
£11.99 (For a 24 page Magazine)
£7.77 (For a 32 page Magazine)
Link: http://katrina.gdnm. org/2013/02/19/first-magazinedesign-testing-blurb/
Shown bottom left is the 32 page magazine printed through Issuu. com, which provided a perfect service and the printer’s that I will use for the future.
Link: http://katrina.gdnm. org/2013/03/04/furtherdevelopment-on-publication/
Cost
On this page it shows my first ideas of how I could layout the magazine and the content to be included.
I deas to p r og r ess fu rthe r After reflecting on my initial test design and looking at it in a three-dimensional form, it allowed me to think how I could progress further. What I should change, what I should keep, thinking about why I am designing it the way I am and to devise a detailed structure to work for further developments. Shown right are my ideas and thoughts I had on reflection.
Shown across the bottom right double page spread are example articles that highlight the high proportion of adverts used in magazines. Reference: http://answers. yahoo.com/question/ index?qid=1006042015447
Shown right is changes and new ideas I want to implement in my new test design.
Reference (left image): Morrish, John. (2003). Magazine Editing: How to develop and manage a successful publication. London: Routledge.
Reference (right image): http:// articles.washingtonpost.com/201208 -28/lifestyle/35492211_1_ magazines-vogue-media-industrynewsletter.
S uppo rting wo r k Further photography experiments to support existing imagery to make the content of my magazine publication.
P hotog r aphy E x pe r iments I envisaged including imagery in my magazine that demonstrates how cameras can lie and trick the viewer. These are to support my images that I created by photocopying the negatives from my manual film camera, which represent the truest and purest form of imagery, as they are the image before any alterations or manipulations.
A dding T e x t To I mages To enable the photographs to deliver a message within my magazine, I wanted to experiment with adding appropriate test to the images. I investigated writing small sentences that when a word is crossed out it represents a new message. This would be revealing the truth. I felt this worked well and created interesting imagery. These experiments are shown over this double page spread.
E x pe r imenting on P r evious wo r k I used my acetate image of my made-up face to experiment overlaying and ripping into photographs and objects. I like the effect of the peeling back acetate sheet, as if it is revealing a hidden layer, but the others I think the original photographs have a better effect without being re-worked. This experimental work is shown over this double page spread and continues onto the next left hand page.
M a k e - up wipe e x pe r iment An idea came to me when I was taking my make-up off after a night out. The trace of colour left on the wipe made me think about what I had put on my face. It also left interesting patterns without even realising it. I then thought I could photograph some of my used make-up wipes and try merging the texture with my male photographs. This was to represent how men use make-up now to boost confidence and as a mask, similarly to women.
fu rthe r e x p l o r ing ma k eup idea After experimenting with merging the makeup wipe imagery with photographs, I realised the used makeup wipe in itself could be powerful on its own. It represents what is behind the beauty cosmetics and evidence of what is being applied to hide and mask a face. Therefore I developed on this idea and started to keep my used makeup wipes over 3 weeks. I then photographed them is a series of ways: focused on one, piled up, and from a micro perspective. I plan to use these images and experiment with adding text to feature in the magazine.
I dea of having a p r oduct page After the reflection on my test magazine design, and from researching the content seen in magazines, as shown previously, I want to explore the idea of having a product page. A lot of magazines feature double page spreads promoting beauty products, but instead of using full-page adverts, they have a range displayed together (illustrated below).
I want to take this concept and put my own angle on the traditional product page. Instead of showcasing the perfect, newest products, it will feature the old, used cosmetics and beauty tools; giving a realistic perspective of these everyday products marketed to entice society to purchase. Therefore I have photographed a range of beauty products using a plain white background to have the items as the focal point, shown over the next two double page spreads. I will then select the strongest images to be used in a product page.
F ina l O utcomes My predicted outcomes and my progression for now until the final submission.
P l an fo r imp r oved maga z ine Using the points and ideas I came up with when I reflected on my initial test designs, combined with my further practical experiments, I have created a thumbnail plan of my developed magazine idea. This will act as a blueprint for my next stages in creating my magazine and brings me closer to the final idea of how I envisage my publication to look. Content I want to include: 1) Fake adverts 2) Editorial Pages (subjects and campaign information) 3) Product Page 4) Photographic piece (Negative Truth) 5) Inspirational Quotes
Rough version shown right (will change for the final submission).
FUTURE PL ANS Exhibition Ideas For the exhibition I would like to display a few copies of my magazine publication, so if people wish they may purchase a copy. The size is 22 x 29 cm and I envisage them being displayed in a contemporary stand, such as the one shown below. The magazine is entitled HAS#TAG to reflects our modern form of communication, along with highlighting that society is bound by labels. Aesthetically from the outside it follows the normal constraints of a magazine, however inside it reveals the truth instead of the visual lies of Photoshop
My sketched vision on how it will look:
imagery. The content reflects the language of beauty and the influence of self-image for male’s and female’s, with the differing gender representations from past to present. I also have confirmation from Body Gossip and CALM enabling me to write and promote their campaigns in my publication. I want to help out in anyway needed for this exhibition and think it is a perfect way to finish my University experience. After attending the meeting on Tuesday 12th March I am excited to get involved and to be a part of a great exhibition.
W hat is ne x t ? My next step now is to use my thumbnail plan to create the first completed magazine design, which I can then sent off for a test print using Issuu.com to check font size, image layout and the overall aesthetics of the publication. I then will reflect on what works and what needs improving, which will help produce the final copy. I am also in the process of preparing my Viva Voce, which will help me practice my presentation skills and gain feedback with my progress so far. This will allow me to obtain a perspective of what I need to keep doing, or improve on, over this last month before the final hand in.
B ib l iog r aphy Baines, Phil and Haslam, Andrew. (2005). Type and Typography. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Dabner, David. (2003). Design and Layout: Understanding and Using Graphics. London: BT Batsford.
Leslie, Jeremy. (2003). magCulture: new magazine design. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Macario, Joyce. (2009). Graphic Design Essentials: Skills, Software and Creative Solutions. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Marks, Terry and Porter, Matthew. (2009). Good Design. USA: Rockport Publishers.
Morrish, John. (2003). Magazine Editing: How to develop and manage a successful publication. London: Routledge.
Pipes, Alan. (2001). Production for Graphic Designers. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Shaughnessy, Adrian. (2005). ‘How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul’. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Shaughnessy, Adrian. (2009). Graphic Design: A User’s Manual. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Walker, Ronald. (1992). Magazine Design. London: Blueprint.
E x hibitions and visits The Natural History Museum (Visited 17.02.13) Magma (Visited 11.02.13) Bookartbookshop (Visited 13.02.13)
W E B og r aphy National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation. (2012). Love Your Body Day. At: http://loveyourbody. nowfoundation.org (Accessed 15.02.13).
Swinson, Jo. (2013). About the Campaign for Body Confidence. At: http://campaignforbodyconfidence. wordpress.com/about/ (Accessed 24.02.13).
Allwalks.org. (2013). Who are all walks? At: http://www.allwalks.org/2012/05/who-are-all-walks/ (Accessed 24.02.13).
YMCA. (2012). Body confidence - not just an issue for women. http://www.ymca.co.uk/bodyimage/campaign/ men (Accessed 24.02.13).
The Society Monologues. (2013). Body Gossip, tell everyone. http://www.bodygossip.org (Accessed 24.02.13).
We are the real deal. (2013). About: we are the real deal. http://wearetherealdeal.com (Accessed 24.02.13).
Adios Barbie. (2013). The body image site for everybody. http://www.adiosbarbie.com (Accessed 24.02.13).
Blurb. (2013). How to Layout and Design Your Next Book Like a Pro. http://www.blurb.co.uk/layout-designwebinar (Accessed 18.02.13).
Vector Tuts. (2013). How to Create a Professional Magazine Layout. At: http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/ designing/how-to-create-a-professional-magazine-layout/ (Accessed 18.02.13). Martel, Ned. (2012). Vogue’s September issue: Boosting the spirit and economy in one fell swoop. At: http:// articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-28/lifestyle/35492211_1_magazines-vogue-media-industry-newsletter (Accessed 09.03.13).
U ne x pected T e r r ito r ies Ta l k s James Jarvis (Visited 31.01.13) Scott King (Visited 07.02.13) John Mclean (Visited 14.02.13) Hudson-Powell (Visited 28.02.13) David Cross (Visited 07.03.13)