Let's Get Technical

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.

I really appreciated the simplistic design of this template and think it is the one I can work the best with. Things I will have to change about the cover is the font for my masthead and, obviously, the cover photo. In the place of the photograph of the building, I will insert the shot that I like the most after completing my cover shoot. This design allows the photo to be the focus of the cover and very little room for distracting cover lines. The minimalism behind the template design allows me to take risks and go all out with my photo which I look forward to. However, I think I will add one or two cover lines right underneath the masthead and at the very bottom of the cover on the white border where the black text is shown above.  Because of the design, these cover lines will allow me to say a little more about my magazine without taking away from the photo. 

This is how the template organized the first two pages of the magazine. I decided this is where I would put my table of contents, as labeled above. The middle picture will be replaced by another picture from my own personal shoot, likely featuring the same model from the cover. Again, I like the simplistic design of this spread and think it could work well to help me experiment with cool photos and fonts, which are more distracting. I will likely change the bordering colors from the coolness of the mint green, to more bold colors like red or yellow or a brighter blue. This changes the tone of the spread from calm to more in-your-face, attracting my younger audience. 

I had to add an extra two pages to the theme myself, so for my double spread, I will have to make it from scratch. It will be interesting not having the template to guide me, but I think I can do it. This allows me to have more freedom with the placement of the text boxes and pictures, and forces me to be much more creative. I am up for the challenge. 

This last page came with the template. Although I initially didn't even consider including a back page, I really like the effect of this one. It brings the whole spread together and is a nice way to end the magazine. Thus, I think I will add this to my project, and design an extra back page to tie everything together. I like the continuation of the cover photo, so I may also utilize that strategy. An idea is to photograph the front and back of the same model in the same location so that the cover can feature the front view and the back page can feature the view from behind. I think that would be a cool and funky way to conclude everything and bring everything together. 

This was all I worked on so far, but I will continue playing around with the program to get used to it. It was pretty easy to navigate, especially given my experience with programs like InDesign, but I still need to learn a lot. Hopefully, I can get the hang of it pretty quickly.