Contents Page Survey

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Front Cover Survey

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For the last question, please specify which cover by writing "#1" or "#2"... You may navigate them here: http://nachmediacoursework.blogspot.com/2015/10/front-cover-mock-ups-evaluation.html

Contents Page Mock-ups + Evaluation

I tested how text would work with the images for the contents page. 

This image has good and vibrant colors, and the posture of the model is great because it's right in the middle. The photo has balance as well. However, there might too many colors going on because it's too distracting as there are different color in every area of the page, the darker colors would put too much weight on the page visually, leading the reader to read only the right side of the page because it's easier to see as opposed to the lighter colors (left). I also think that the design wouldn't be flat enough, so that means more emphasis is put on the image, and less about the actual features. 

The colors are relatively flat, so it's not too distracting. The image and layout are unconventional which is what my audience would expect. The text wrap is tight and effective, and there is visual balance in the page. There is space for social network information, and I could also add the editor's note at the top as well. 

I really like the use of perspective text and the model's pose, who is viewing a painting intently, but it's almost like the model is staring at the text. This sort of pose in an art gallery is expected and recognised by all those interested in art. However, it might be too predictable and plain, and there isn't a suitable place for the editor's note. 

Front Cover Mock-ups + Evaluation

I went through extensive exploration of the possibilities that I can go with the photos I took I planned to put on the front cover. Through evaluation, I noticed that any photo that has a painting as the background will always dominate the model in the photos, therefore I don't think I will use those. For now, I believe that with a few adjustments, #10 will be the ideal front cover for me.

Photoshoot

I have to various locations in order to get the photos for the magazine. I have taken over more than 50 photos, however I made a selection of the photos that I could potentially consider to include in the front cover, contents page and DPS. I will evaluate and comment on them on upcoming posts, but in this post I am including untouched, original photos. Once I have chosen the photos,  I will go in more in depth analysis. 

Front Covers 

These are images that I have taken at the art gallery. 

Contents Page

After I took the pictures, I thought that using photos as the basis of the contents page would be look much more interesting and innovative, which I think is important for an art magazine because I believe it is expected that the audience would typically expect the unconventional, and want an art magazine to be done just as creatively as the art itself that the magazine is featuring. So instead of my flat plans where the background would be plain white, I will use one of the following photos. 

Double Page Spread

I'm grouping the following photos into two loose selections as the images need to have some sort of unity between in order to create a cohesive and clear double page spread. Grouping them also makes it clear to me which images would be appropriate for a certain type of article/interview, and which are not. Note: I may add more photos to them. 

Group 1

This photo is black and white, but the rest is untouched. 

Group 2

These are my original photos that I have taken when I was in Paris. 

You can see my reflection in the image above, but if I plan to use this in the magazine I intend to use Photoshop to get rid of it. 

Pitch

Palette Magazine is an art magazine made for the average young (ages 17 - 24), articulate artist and "reformer" who is interested in various aspects of art. The target demographic is the ABC1 group. The magazine embraces the newest happenings in art with a recognition of what has happened in the past. It often features imaginative, thought-provoking articles, reviews, news and interviews (usually introducing a new and fresh artist). There is an emphasis on unconventional layouts along with stunning photography - the style of the magazine is modern with a nod to vintage in terms of visuals.
The example of a double page spread would be a narrative essay about the interviewer's experience and conversation with an artist as they discuss the artist's work and what they're bringing to the art scene that's different. Either a picture of the artist and/or their work will be featured on the spread.

Flat Plan for Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread

Front Cover

This is the flat plan for my front cover. I think that the main image should be of a person, perhaps a portrait of an artist because I think having a main visual point of interest would be the best thing for an art magazine. 

Contents Page

This is a rough plan of the contents page. It's quite basic and simple, but it is quite effective because it would also a lot of text. If I were to go with this plan, I would put the editor's note below the "Contents", and put a series of photos next to each other like a filmstrip. 

I developed the idea of the film strip a little more, so I came up with another idea for the contents page. I plan to insert images into the filmstrip, and the features/headings would be slightly slanted and diagonal to add some dynamic. 

Double Page Spread

I plan to have two columns of text with an alley separating them in-between. I wanted to include a pull quote (with text wrap) between the columns. The second page features a large image, with three other smaller images at the bottom. I also included page numbers.  

Fonts and Typography for Masthead

I experimented with different fonts for the masthead. There are 5 slides.




I decided that my magazine name is going to be "palette", because I like the way it's presented with the font.

Name of magazine

I still have yet to decide between two titles: "picturesque" and "palette". This will be decided on my next post.

Moodboard

I decided to create a moodboard in order to reflect the visual representations of what my reader is interested in. Therefore, I will create my magazine to be in a similar vein to my moodboard, visually. Some of the images I have chosen are mostly vintage things such as vinyls, film reels, polaroids, typewriters and stills from old movies, typical of what a young artsy person would enjoy. I chose stills from the 1986 David Lynch movie Blue Velvet because they can give a good example of the type of imagery my audience will find appealing - for instance the oversaturated roses have a stunning quality to them but like the still of the lady singing the blues, there is an underlying, sinister and noirish tone to it. This may help me with the photography for the magazine as I believe I will need to create visual intrigue with stunning aesthetics and an underlying message for my photos, to which I think will be what I required to cater to my specific audience. 

As I'm creating an art magazine, I also chose these images as it covers all the different forms of art - literature, film, painting, photography, even music. This is important because my survey results say that it is more preferable to have a balance of things. 

I decided to bring in vintage things into the moldboard solely because of the concept and less about the style it evoked. These objects are what my audience would appreciate more than the average person, however I included the word "youth" because as a reminder that my audience does still keep up with the modern world as well as technology.

Overall, this moodboard gives me an idea of the narrative structure of my magazine - also the fact that there isn't a whole lot on my moodboard, because I believe my audience is the type to not want too many distractions.  

Analysis of Double Page Spreads

Audience Profiling

Link: https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/fT3LYACfiLq/audience-profiling/#/