Lük

Here is a link to the magazine on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y23XZP6N-74Cl9DvonD0o19cwnIJ1485/view?usp=sharing

Here is a link to my CCR on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mRGthwMhYx8

Here is a link to my CCR on google drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ffRlp2DCTF8LpgOsfoI3eKgVAk3NTvqZ/view?usp=sharing

       The final version of Lük Magazine proved to be everything I hoped and more. As a modern Avante-Garde publication that addressed young adults through a more realistic appeal, I believe the elements of the publication worked together nicely to showcase looks that are unique, yet can still be casually worn by my target audience. 
       Although Luk aims to stand out in the crowd of fashion magazines, it does still adhere to some conventions. For example, like many in the genre, my magazine is very much visually based. The photos of my magazine are the center of the publication, being the main focus of all my pages from cover to cover. On the front cover, the photo is the main attention grabber utilized to draw readers in and establish the tone of the rest of the publication, a commonality in my genre. However, I challenged the genre convention of including multiple cover lines. Instead, I took inspiration from my main influence Paper Magazine and only included one cover line at the bottom of the page. Through research of Paper, I found this layout provided a clean look and kept the reader’s attention focused on the cover photo, not leaving room for any distractions or creating a cluttered look.
Inside the magazine, I followed genre conventions of implementing a photo into the layout of my table of contents and using the interview layout for my double page spread, which many fashion publications lean towards to avoid wordy articles. This allowed more insight into the fashion choices of the cover model. However, I strayed slightly from the norm by implementing my photos into the interview, rather than separating the two. I felt that this created a more cohesive look and broke up the block of text with visual stimuli. I returned to genre conventions by including an addition double page spread composed entirely of photos from the shoot that showcase the main attraction of the magazine which is my model’s outfits and where they are from. This inclusion was to keep my publication focused on fashion, and emphasize that the publication was a fashion magazine rather than a magazine that happened to include fashion advice. As for the table of contents, I stayed true to the unconventional essence of my brand by rotating the main page numbers at a 180-degree angle. This worked because I only included the page numbers of the main spreads on the table of contents, so even with the eccentric layout, the numbers were still legible. This aspect, combined with the photo in the middle of the page, made the table of contents visually attractive as well as informative.
My inclusion of a back cover was a decision I made in efforts to tie the publication together in a natural way. I believe the use of the same cover model in the same clothes, just the back of her, was an innovative idea for a back cover that I could repeat as a recurring segment. One weakness in this spread is that Joanne, my cover model, is not in the same exact position as she was in the front cover. I believe this would have elevated the concept and provided maximum continuity. However, I failed to think ahead during my photo shoot and take shots of Joanne from the back in the same positions. In future issues, I would have the front and back cover be essentially the same photo, just different perspectives.
I am particularly proud of the visual content of the publication despite my change in setting. Even though I was apprehensive about my change in location for my photo shoot in the beginning, I believe this alteration paid off as well. When realistically considering shooting in a big city, I predict that the surroundings may have actually been too much going on, and drowned out the model. Thus, I think it was for the better that we switched settings at the last moment, and brought the production right to my house. This was a challenge for me, as I had to find places that were not too bland or inappropriate for the publication. Ultimately, I found a fair balance of blank backgrounds like my garage door and visually-appealing backgrounds like the street.  
Through my magazine, I aimed to address the social issue of lack of representation within the fashion industry and the outdated archetype of teen style. My use of an African American model, Joanne, shows diversity in the fashion industry that is not highlighted often and points out that anyone of any race can have a good sense of style. Both Joanne’s skin and body type show a different type of model not often shown on runways or on front covers. Furthermore, her bold sense of style challenges the misconception that all teens dress alike in the same monotonous manner. The use of loud patterns and colors show that anyone can make a fashion statement at any age. Joanne’s youth also showcases the bold fashion choices of young adults between the ages of 15 and 18, something not highlighted often as most high-fashion looks are shown on models in their mid to upper twenties.
My product engages with audiences by urging them to dress outside the box and reconsider taking bolder fashion choices. Through technological convergence techniques like the social media hashtag #lukatme readers can share their bold fashion looks and ask the writers for fashion advice. The publication utilizes their social media presence to stay in touch with their readers and find out exactly what their audience wants to read about and to expand their experience from off the page, providing them with a place to continue the discussion and overall synergy in the publication’s branding.
Luk would be distributed as a quarterly print publication, with each issue correlating with the four seasons. In between the print publication releases, web content like articles, interview videos and behind the scenes footage from photo shoots will also be uploaded on Lukmag.com, referenced on the back cover of the magazine, to maintain a healthy following and stay active.
My production skills improved monumentally, especially in the photography realm. I had to learn how to capture the best shots of my model in the best format that fitted my spread. Thus, I had to learn basics about camera lighting and set design and how mise-en-scene aspects like wardrobe could be best highlighted on camera. I was extremely surprised at the quality of my photos and how I was able to edit them to make the colors pop. I also improved in my layout skills. Although I had some experience in laying out, I learned new ways to make text and images fit together to look aesthetically pleasing. I developed new skills in visually attractive design by carefully choosing aspects like font and spacing. The main technology I utilized was the iPhone 10 and the iPhone 7 Plus which I used to take pictures and edit pictures respectively. Because of my familiarity with the iPhone, the photography process was not too difficult since I already knew the gadgets and their functions. However, I would have liked to use more professional equipment. This was a challenge for me since I do not own a more advanced camera, and had to depend on others for their contributions. Another option for my cover model had a camera and offered to let me use it if I chose her for the model, but ultimately, I chose a model that would better fit my publication and sacrficed the use of an actual camera. Although this was a setback, I think the pictures still came out nicely with the IPhone and I am confident that I made the correct selection in model choice. Especially given Joanne's contribution to the mise-en-scene of the publication with her wardrobe. This legitimized the fashion aspect of my magazine and elevated its look with her unique fashion choices. Thus, the sacrfice was one that worked out just fine.
Through the VSCO app, I was able to alter the coloring of my pictures so they looked more editorial and visually appealing. On my laptop, I used the Joomag website to design my magazine. WIth their layout template, I was able to add my own text boxes to design the page exactly how I intended. Because this was a new platform for me, there was a learning curve in mastering the software but eventually, I got the hang of it.
Overall, I am very proud with the end result of my publication and believe it showcases exactly the bold and carefree vibe that I was hoping to convey with Luk magazine. My target audience is young adults between the ages of 16 and 25, thus the bold colors and fashion statements appeal to their urge to stay on top of trends while maintaining a sense of individuality.

Here is a link to the document version of this written reflection: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_H0s7ah8axcDWLmjuGsY44KM7zVdVyavW_4bkrNMiL4/edit?usp=sharing

For the double page spread, I knew I wanted to include both text and visual aids. I decided to take the conventional approach for fashion magazines and stage and interview with my cover model, Joanne. Luckily, Joanne is a rising Youtuber so I could talk about a little more than just her fashion. Thus, the main content of my double page spread is a mock interview with Joanne, presuming that I had asked her questions during her covershoot.

For laying out the actual page, I decided to put the pictures on the spread first and then fit the text around the images. This was definitely the right choice since it prevented me from writing too much or too little, and not having to cut off any pictures. The interview itself wasn't that long, to retain the emphasis on the images and to not have too many words crammed into the space of the page.

Instead of changing the entire background of this spread, since when I did so it looked like too much was going on, I instead played with the color of the title font and byline, and the intitials signaling who was speaking in the interview. Again, like the table of contents, I drew directly for the pictures on this page for the colors I used using the color of Joanne's shirt and her actual skin. With the color dropper tool, I was able to use these colors throughout the whole spread which I think added a much needed pop of color.

For the font of the title, I used the same David Elika font I utilzized for my masthead on the front page, which adds some continuity. For my regular articles in the magazine, I would probably not use this font but since the two page spread is special, I think it added a nice touch. The font of the byline was called Mighty Brush, which is what I utilized for the Table of Contents, also ensuring a level of consistency. The font of the text is Times New Roman because I though this was a nice standard and the easiest to read. I didn't want to use a special font for the body of the article because I thought that would look like too much going on, and overall way too distracting.

I did implement a pull-out quote to break up the monotony of the text on the right side. With this blurb from the interview, I used the same David Elika font from the title and colored it purple to make it stand out but still go with theme of the page.


After finishing this double spread, I reflected on the pages of fashion magazines, like Paper, that I had reserached and realized that many magazines contain pages of just the models to showcase the photoshoot that is an integral part of the publication. Because I could not simply make pictures my double page spread, I decided to add two extra pages to show more of the photoshoot and make the publication more closely resemble an actual fashion magazine. I picked two of my favorite pictures of the outfits that were not utilized for the main double-page spread, so it would not come across as redundant. I also included on the side the name of the model and where the items of clothing are from since this is what many fashion magazines do as well.

Here's how it looks:

Next, I worked on the table of contents. Luckily the pic I chose for the contents page fit perfectly in the layout I already set up. I had to move a few blurbs a few spaces to accommodate the picture, but besides a few minor spacing adjustments, it was a perfect fit. For my center picture, I decided to choose this picture of Joanne in the street since it was taken in the horizontal orientation rather than vertical, and her sitting down position complements the landscape layout of the page.



I did change the background color of blue to something more natural to fit my photo better. I decided that some color looked better than no color at all, so it was just a matter of what color. After playing around with a few neutral colors that I personally liked by themselves, but did not fit the tone of the page, I decided to go directly to the picture for inspiration. First, I used the color dropper tool available on Joomag to try to change the background color to the green of Joanne's pants. This, however, was all too dark and not aesthetically pleasing at all. So next, I moved to the black of her tank top, but it was incredibly hard to read any words with this color. I even tried putting the color dropper on Joanne's skin to try to get a golden brown, but even that didn't fit. Finally, I found the perfect color in the color of the concrete of my road. By changing the background color of the pages to the same color of the background of the photo, the picture seamlessly blends into the page and looks wonderfully cohesive.

Everything else, I left the same as the previous Table of Contents layout I showed you in my previous blog post. Here's the final product:

Now that I am satisfied with the final version of my pictures, I can get to work with laying them out on the spreads. Because I already have a general idea of how I want everything to look, for the most part I just have to insert the photos into the template I already created on Joomag. First, I started with the cover. Here is what I had before:

After my shoot, the next step in the process is to get the pictures ready for the page. Overall, we took around 200 pictures, and I have just finished narrowing them down to around 20. I know, it was a process. Surprisingly, however, that was just the first step. The next step is editing the photos.

For this part of the process, I decided to use the photo editing app VSCO. This is an app I use regularly when editing my own pictures for Instagram, and so I wanted to use it because I am already familiar with the platform. The app is easy to use and can be operated on my phone. There are no fancy gadgets that I wouldn't even know how to use, and this also prevents me from editing my photos too much. Photoshop is a controversial topic in the model industry as many publications retouch photos to make unrealistic body types even more unattainable. I do not want to feed into this toxicity of furthering unrealistic body standards through photoshop so, with VSCO, I only retouched the coloring of the photos, not Joanne's actual body.

In editing my photos, I pretty much used the same process. First I picked the filter C1, which is a personal favorite of mine because it adds a chromatic look. Then I turned the filter down from level 10 to around level 5, so that it looked more natural. Then I went to the saturation and upped the saturation levels of the pictures to around level 1. This added a little more color that the chromatic filter may have stripped away and highlighted the natural light that was already in the photos. Next, I retouched the tone and the highlights of my photo to showcase more details of the picture and make hidden aspects more visible. Finally, I played with the white balance to add more blue and pink hues just because I like the way it looks. Here's a video I made of my editing process by recording my screen:


On the left is the original picture and on the right is the retouched version. I wanted to make the new changes subtle but not pointless. As you can see, I added to the color definition, especially the pink undertones.




















Again, with the edits, the natural colors of the pictures are able to pop and elevate the entire look of the shots entirely. Especially in this photo, where Joanne was not in the direct sunlight, the saturation adds a layer of light that was there in the other shots.























A cool thing about editing these pictures was the ability to elevate the color green in post-production. The color was already there in Joanne's pants and the trees in the background, but by increasing the saturation and leveling out the tones, the greens were able to harmonize and bring the whole picture together.

Overall, post-production effects went very well and I am happy with how the final products turned out. Now, the next step is to get these masterpieces on a page and lay out the final workings of my vision.

Today was the official climax to all my planning! Joanne came over to my house earlier this morning and we got right to work. I told Joanne to bring three outfits for diversity in our shots and so that we would have plenty of content to work with. Of course, Joanne brought four.

The first outfit Joanne changed into was a wonderful cheeta-print shirt with cut-outs and mom jeans with rips. I know, what a way to start the shoot out. Unfortunately, Joanne forgot to bring her camera, but I was able to use her IPhone X, which I believe did the job just fine. Because of the crazy patterns of her shirt, I didn't want a noisy background that would overwhelm readers. Thus, I chose to shoot her first in front of my garage door which is plain off-white backgrround. I had something like this in mind for my cover because Paper Magazine often shoots on a plain colored background.

These shots came out great. Joanne was very comfortable in front of the camera and was not afraid to loosen up and have fun. We played music during the shoot to relax the both of us and not forget to have a good time. I mostly did mid-shots and close-ups as I had this location in mind for my cover, and I don't neccessarilly need a full-body shot for my cover. I was very happy with how these beginning shots came out as the colors of the cheetah print and the off-white background complement each other perfectly and the blue of her denim adds a pop color. Since I don't want to spoil my cover shot, below is one of the shots that I don't plan on using for my cover just to show an idea of what the shots were looking like. As you can see, my plan of exploiting the natural light worked perfectly and added an extra glow to my model.

Okay so plot twist. Previously, I had set my mind on the theme of my first edition as being "Balling on a Budget." The issue would revolve around hacks and tricks for producing high fashion looks without breaking the bank. In my previous mock cover, as seen below, you can see that the few cover lines on my cover were about cost-efficient ways to look good. As much as I loved this theme, I was forced to reconsider when planning the logistics of my actual cover photo shoot.



When I location scouted before, I was thinking of a realistic set using my natural surroundings in some big city, whether that be Miami or Fort Lauderdale. While this would have made for a wonderful editorial cover shoot, it proved to not be so easily attainable after all. As hinted at in my previous rendetion of "Weston's Next Top Model," I ultimately decided to choose Joanne as my cover model. While she has the clothing items and the look for a perfect cover, to make the shoot happen the way I had previously intended it to, she would have had to make the 40-minute trek with me downtown. This wasn't a problem for me, but for Joanne, she was less able to leave town so easily because of transportation issues and parental restrictions. Thus, in order to accomadate to who I believe is the perfect model for this shoot, I would have to think a little closer to home.

Ultimately, I decided to take this mindset to heart and use my house as our shooting location. It was the easiest for the both of us to get to and it served as an inspiration for my brand new theme. I decided to shift the theme of first edition to another topic completely. Introducing the "Girl Next Door" issue.

The basis of this issue will now be how to bring high fashion into the reader's own communities. By introducing Joanne, clad in extravagant outfits, as this girl-next-door persona, it normalizes the presense of avant garde looks in places one wouldn't expect. I want to showcase the contrast between a casual neighborhood and high fashion, and show that the two can in fact exist in the same plane.

Thus, by shooting in my neighborhood I can show that you can still be the girl next door and take risks with what you wear, one does not have to pick one over the other. The closer setting that I am more familiar with also gives me more freedom to play around more and take some risks with the shots I take. Overall, I am excited about the unexpected change and am anxious to see what will come out of it.

So I went back to my table of contents to figure out how I could make some of that white space disappear. I really liked the design of the text, so I knew I didn't want to take anything away. But maybe I could add something to give it a little more life and personality.

The first thing that came to mind was to add some photos to complement the text. A little visual stimulus is usually the perfect fix; however, I didn't have a whole lot of space to work with. Rather than free space next to my different article blurbs where I could have potentially added a picture to go along with the article, most of my empty space was lumped together in a general mass in the middle of the spread.


After panicking for just a second, I realized that this was perhaps the most ideal place for me to have space to work with. I thought back to the second example in my table of contents research and remembered that they placed a photo of their model straight in the middle of their table of contents. This photo was split between the two pages, which works when you have a double page spread like me because they are meant to be read together anyways. So, I started considering the prospect of adding a picture from my photo shoot onto the table of contents. Given the space provided, it would have to be a horizontal picture that is not as extravagant as the cover photo but still fits the theme of the issue.

I added the same place-holder picture I used for the cover to the spread just to see what it would look like since I'm not conducting my photo shoot until later this week. Here's how it looks:

Okay, so I started laying out my table of contents and I am pretty satisfied at the product so far. I took inspiration from the first example listed in my previous post, where the orientation of the layout was flipped sideways. As I said before, I like this design choice because it shows that my magazine doesn't take itself too seriously and is not afraid to bend genre conventions a bit. It shows a sort of quirkiness that proves my publication is not like the others.

Furthermore, in my beginning design, I stayed true to my word and made it mainly text-based. Something about the text-based table of contents just looks cleaner to me. When you add the extra elements of photos and captions, it looks all too cluttered and cramped and not professional at all. At least when I tried it, the photos didn't fit with the text and it looked as if they were just randomly placed there. It didn't look good with my design at all and so for now, I favor the look of the contents without any photos at all.

Today I took a break from cover design and switched gears towards my table of contents spread. I wanted to figure out just how I wanted to lay this out exactly. I decided to opt for a double spread table of contents because after looking at examples of other tables of contents, I noticed that single page spreads looked like too much was going on. It was as if so much was information was being crammed into one page, and it didn't look good. Especially since I'm favoring a rather minimalistic design for my magazine, I figured I would need all the space I needed to design an uncluttered table of contents. 

Today at lunch my friend Joanne discussed how she is planning on filming her AICE Media A Level project during our upcoming spring break. I was surprised because I had not previously known that she had taken this course, and thus, flooded her with questions on how her AS experience was. It turns out she also did a magazine for her portfolio project and was full of tips on how to ensure I produce the best possible end result. For example, she agreed that Joomag was probably my best bet for designing my spread because it will allow me the most creative flexibility. She also gave me tips like taking as many photos as possible during my photo shoot because you never know which pick will look the best on my spread.

Halfway through the conversation, I was hit with a wonderful idea: what if I used Joanne as my cover model! I talked over the pros of this choice with Joanne and she seemed down to pose for my photo shoot. Not only has she already agreed, which is the first step, but she can also offer worthwhile advice with the production process, which will really come in handy during my shoot. She also offered her camera for me to use to shoot her, so that crosses off another item that I would have to worry about acquiring. I think the guidance that Joanne could provide in the shooting and production process is definitely worth taking advantage of, especially since I am working independently and could really use the extra feedback and set of hands.

       



While my other candidate, Juliana, also has some experience since she also took the AS course last year and produced a magazine, at the end of the day it comes down to my representation goals. As stated in my previous blog posts, I want to represent diversity through my magazine and break industry norms of only showcasing models with the same physical traits. While Juliana also contains knowledge, Joanne showcases more diversity. As a black woman, Joanne is represented less in the modeling industry. Models are rarely seen with Joanne's dark skin and thick lips, features that deserve to be represented just as much as anyone else's. I think Joanne's look is much more unique and represents the message of diversity that I aim to spread with my magazine. Thus, when it comes down to the two, I think Joanne does more for black representation.

    

Furthermore, when discussing the practicality of this shoot, Joanne mentioned her eccentric wardrobe. As a follower of fashion herself, she said she has kept up to date with some trends of the fashion world. She described some funky clothing pieces like a snakeskin dress and a shirt composed of feathers that I think sound really photograph-able and could help construct some awesome looks. This eliminates the necessity of me building my model's wardrobe from scratch, and even if I still decided to go forward with my plan of thrifting some memorable pieces, I at least now have a starting point. Joanne's addition of her trendy wardrobe makes her a valuable asset in my shoot and makes me more confident in my upcoming shoot since I know the model will already have some cool pieces to work with.

This weekend, I returned to joomag to get some more of my cover page spread laid out. Although I tried laying out some of it at school, I remembered that the font that I wanted was downloaded onto my laptop at home, so it was hard to really visualize my cover when the font was off. I realized in this process that fonts play such an integral role in magazine designs, especially in the cover design. Because I didn't have the font I wanted, I couldn't really design any of my cover without it looking all wrong and nothing like I envisioned in my head.

Thus, once I got home, I was able to really get to work. First, I downloaded the David Elika font from Dafont.com and placed it into the Joomag programming. Thankfully, this application allowed that option of downloading fonts, so I am definitely happy that I decided to stick with Joomag. Immediately after downloading the font, I felt a lot more confident about the look of the cover. I am loving the look of the text and its ability to stand out on my rather simplistic design. As I presumed, the font does not allow me to add the accent marks above the "U" in my masthead of "Lük" but I was able to fix this by adding another textbox above the 'U" and typing two periods into it. This adds the illusion of an accent mark and allows me to keep this font without sacrficing the foregin affect.

Next, I had to decide what I wanted to do about cover lines. For a moment, I considered having multiple coverlines framing the main picture, but upon referencing a Paper magazine cover again, I decided to follow their minimalist lead and just have text at the top and the bottom of the cover. So, with the masthead at the top of the frame, at the bottom I included a brief cover line to sum up what the them of my issue is going to be, which is price-effective ways to stay trendy. I think this was enough text for the cover, and did a fine job at giving my audience a glimpse of what could be found inside of the magazine. Although I had more thoughts for what more articles could be about, I decided to save those blurbs for my table of contents to keep my cover looking as least cluttered as possible. Once I insert the actual cover photo, if there is enough empty space in the background of the photo, I may reconsider this choice and add another coverline. But for now, I am satisfied with just the one.

At the very bottom of the magazine, I decided to add the price and edition of my magizie rather than at the top with my masthead. I did this because the top of the cover was getting too crowded, and I didn't want it to look like I was cramming everything in at the top. At the bottom, it fits more naturally and completes the full cover spread more.

At the top, right underneath the masthead, I decided to add my slogan which is "get the lük everyone's talking about" because I belive it is an essential part of my magaizne brand that gives off the essence of what my publication is all about. This deviates from genre conventions as many fashion magazine don't typically include a slogan on their cover, but I thought it was an integral part of what my magzine represented and fits my cover quite well.

I also mimicked Paper magazine's design of implementing a white border around my cover photo because I think that adds a crisper look and allows you to see the full photo more. When the photo is the entirety of the cover page, I think it actually makes it harder for readers to see the entirety of the photo, especially the quirky details I want to include into mine. It comes across as more distracting and messy when the photo is stretched to fit the entire page, in my opinion, and so I thought the white border brought it all together nicely.

So remember how I said it looked like Canva was going to be my go-to programming choice for my magazine production? Well about that. . .

In class on Friday, we reviewed past student's reflections on their projects. One of the students noted that she utilized and Canva, and to my shock, did not like the platform at all. Although she said she learned to love it in the end, she said that in the beginning it was diffucult for her to use because it had limited features and made it harder for her to add what she wanted. She also noted that Canva's design does not allow a two-page spread to show both pages side by side. This was tough for her to design a spread that connected and flowed seamlessly. She even mentioned that at one point, the program deleted all of her work!

All this to say, Canva was not her first choice, and the only reason she chose it over Joomag was because she had problems accessing it at home. I, on the other hand, have no issues accessing Joomag and even though this student said she learned the trade of Canva eventually, would not like to take the chance. If I am able to access the more technical and detalied programming, then I think I should take advantage of that opportunity. Something about listening to this student's reflection came off as a warning to me, like some strange force urging me to reconsider my initial instinct and look to Joomag instead.

Additionally, when looking at that student's final result, I could notice some of the less technical detauls that she said Canva lacked. For example, the font didn't seem as professional and clean-cut as the ones on Joomag, perhaps because Canva forces you to use their fonts instead of allowing you to upload some of your own. Furthurmore, because she said she could not design her two-page spread side by side, the pages did not line up completely, and came across as disjointed and slightly messy. If I can help it, I would like to avoid these flaws as best as I can, and I think the first step in doing that may just be to use Joomag.

Upon revisting Joomag, I took a quick look at some of the tutorials that they offered on their website and realized that the site is not nearly as scary as I initially thought. Although there are a lot of buttons and features, they have a help center that I can reference for nearly any concern. I also discovered that the template's features are a lot more adaptable than I originally thought, meaning that I can change more aspects than I presumed. This means I can implement some of the designs that I admired from Canva's template, onto my design on Joomag, allowing me to have the best of both worlds.

Thus, after much consideration, I've made a final decision to go with Joomag. I am confident that this program will leave me with the best possible product and will make the final version of the magazine look much more clean-cut and professionalism. Yes, it may take a little more work to learn the tips and tricks of this program, but I am up for the challenge!

So today, I decided to try out the other magazine creation platform that was suggested to me, Canva

Immediately upon entering the site, I was struck by how easy it was to navigate, even more so than Juumag. I made an account and then was giving the ability to roam free around the site and see what it was really about.

After searching the 'Magazine' section of the site, which was slightly difficult since the site creates everything from business cards to brochures, I was drawn to the template section. I decided after looking at Juumag's that it would be best to utilize a template in my magazine creation because I think it would make the process a whole lot easier.

Canva does have less of a selection of templates, but I find that their style more correlates to what I was looking for in a magazine. The template I liked the most was the one titled 'Pastel'. Here's a glimpse of it below.

This is almost exactly what I was looking for in a magazine cover. The cover features a centered masthead and minimal cover lines which is what I was looking for. Unlike with the other site, I can more easily see myself inserting my information into this template rather than drastically moving stuff around and inserting new text boxes. This cover is basically exactly what I was looking for and I can already envision my cover photo in the place of the one already there. I even was able to quicly insert my magazine title to make the preview look more official.

Today, I started getting more serious about actually organizing the layout of my magazine. In class, I started thinking about the logistics of what platform I would use to put the spread together. I had it narrowed the online application I would use down to two websites, Canva and Joomag, based on the applications that previous students had used. Because I had used neither of them before, I was unfamiliar with both programs and so they were both relatively fair game. Thus, it was up to me to test them both out and figure out which one I would eventually use.

I started with Joomag. My teacher offered those completing the magazine portfolio a subscription to the program, so I took the opportunity to sign up under her class. Upon entering the website, I will say that this application focuses a lot on the technical aspects of the magazine products. It allows you to basically construct the whole spread from the beginning, letting the user add everything from the first text box to the last line. Luckily, the application has a tutorial built in, so I could get brief synopsis of how to organize everything, that I could later come back to when I forget how to add a picture or type a cover line.

Another favorable thing this site offers is various magazine templates. The programming builds in designs for magazine varying from cooking to (you guessed it) fashion. Upon browsing the templates, I decided it would be best for me to start off with a template it and change that to adapt to my visual preferences. I actually did not end up selecting the 'Fashion' template, because it was very traditional in its design and featured too many cover lines for my liking. Because I want to go for a very much so visual-forward cover with the picture basically composing the whole page, I chose a different template. The template I chose is called 'Metropolitan' and can be seen below.

While I was not able to go down to the Miami Art and Design District this weekend, I was able to scout a local location. Although I was almost sure that I do not want to shoot my magazine cover close to home, I just wanted to double check before I committed to using extra gas and resources to get downtown. If I were going to shoot locally, I figured I would exploit the natural environment of Weston and shoot at a park, since we are abundant in those settings. Thus, I headed to Peace Mound Park on Indian Trace to look at some possible shooting locations.

The first thing that I noticed when I entered the park was that there was not a lot of dynamic details to the environment. While other parks in the town have large hills or intricate paths, this park only seems to have one real nature trail and no noticeable hills. This is a drawback for me, because if I did decide to shoot outside at a park, I would want to take advantage of this unique setting and experiment with high angles with some sort of hill to utilize for a higher perspective. I figured the hills would add more intrigue to my shots, but since this park did not have any hills, I fear that any shots taken here would not be interesting enough to the eye.

Another concern is the playground in the middle of the park which both minimizes the open space I could use and adds the extra factor of curious children who could interrupt the flow of my shoot. I do not really want to shoot in front of an audience out of fear of getting distracted or wandering eyes making my model nervous. Thus, the more secluded my location is, the better. A possible solution to this problem is finding out the hours where there are little to no people at the park, particularly not a lot of children. For example, if we went during my senior privilege hour when many elementary schools are still in session,  we should be able to have relative privacy.

An aspect of the park I really enjoyed is the lake. As seen in the pictures I have included, there is a short bridge that overlooks a lake at the park. This could be a really cool location for shooting and add some contrast between the land and the water. The only concern for this particular spot is that I noticed many ducks crowding around this area (as seen below). Not only do I have a strong dislike of ducks and would like to avoid their presence at any cost, but I also do not want them to interfere in my photos. Thus, if I could figure out a way to get some shots with the lake included, but without the ducks, that could be a really nice location.


Another positive of shooting outside at the park is that there is plenty of natural light. Personally, I prefer natural light in photos and this guarantees that my location will not be too dimly lit. The only concern with natural light is that it could cause my model to sweat, but perhaps we can come prepared with blotting paper and miniature fans. My optimal location would have plenty of natural light, and the park definitely checks that box so that is a plus.

Okay so I've discussed my project with my classmates, and they've given me some pretty useful feedback.

First off, everyone in the group really liked my magazine name. . . after I explained it to them. This may pose a slight problem since I won't be around to explain my title to every possible consumer, but hey, maybe they'll catch on quicker than the people in my group. Their eventual reaction solidified my love for the title, so that is something I'm definitely keeping.

The group also appreciated my goal to create cool, out-of-the-box looks for my magazine. We discussed how many teen style lookbooks are monotonous, and portray teen style in the same basic, unexciting manner. However, we agreed that in this day in age, teen style can be quite avant-garde, especially given the rather recent spike in people our age who have gained an interest in the fashion world and invested in pieces like Yeezies or Supreme paraphernalia.

When I told them I wanted to do fun looks, but on a budget, they suggested shopping for pieces of my wardrobe at Goodwill or the Salvation Army. This would help me save on my budget for the production plus, as they were quick to note, "vintage is in." Thus, I think I will stop by my local thrift stores and see if I can find anything that sparks my inspiration, and that I can build a whole look around for my cover. Isabella, my classmate, mentioned that sometimes when she thrifts, she finds the best items in the men's section. So, when I visit the thrift stores, I have to remember to not shy away from the men's section.

Another notable takeaway from the meeting was suggestions for locations for my cover shoot. Callie, another one of my classmates, suggested going to the Miami Art District. I was thinking Wynwood or downtown Fort Lauderdale before, but I was apprehensive of not finding unique locations at these places that people visit often. Thus, the suggestion was super refreshing since I had not even thought about going there. I am happy to hear of a place that I don't hear too many people talk of often so my cover setting has the potential of being new and exotic, and not something that is on the feeds of all of my classmate's Instagram home pages. As soon as I can, I plan on making my way down there to check out some sites and see if I can shoot my cover there. A concern is the distance, but I do not think that I want to shoot anywhere in Weston because of the lack of ideal artistic settings that I am looking for so I would have to travel anyways.

When explaining my want for showcasing diversity through my cover page, I got many affirmations by my classmates who were also tired of seeing the same old representation when it comes to models portrayed by the media. Thus, I think it is very important that I stick with utilizing a model of color who challenges the industry norms.

Overall, I think the meeting went very well and gave me confidence that I am on the right track. I really benefited from saying my ideas out loud, and getting feedback and an audience's reaction. I enjoyed this so much so, that I will probably continue to check in with my peers to test my ideas on a new pair of ears.