25. Final magazine pages :: LO4

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Article for Double Page Spread

Title Page

24. Drafts of magazine :: LO4

12

3

After receiving my feedback for Dweller magazine, the inspiration i was taking was for the GQ magazine. Unfortunately the style, and masthead name wouldn't allow me to get it to this standard - so instead i decided to change the name to S11, the sheffield postcode (working as the magazine is sheffield based). I then proceeded to look at examples of GQ magazine which allowed a complete overhaul of the front page to take place.

I pastiched GQ for the masthead design. It used the overlaying text to create something iconic but small. The S11 uses three layers. The S base layer with black drop shadow. The white 11 with drop shadow, then another S with transparency overlaying the initial S and 11 which gives the impression of transparency. Finally i added 'SHEFFIELD' in black over the final 11 which finalised the masthead.
I then proceeded to edit the model. I used the pen tool with refine edge to cut out the model, then some editing techniques (editing post) to give a better look. The 'TIM vs SHEFFIELD' text is pastiched off another GQ magazine. It uses a standard text layer with a drop shadow, then is transformed using CMD + T and CMD to use perspective warp to create a 3D effect. All the rest was very self explanatory. I used different size and colour of text along with left/centre/right alignment to position the text correctly.

After taking a more in depth look into GQ magazine, i saw how 'shiny' their models were, this is mainly due to the model being photographed in front of studio lights. Unfortunately i wasn't able to use studio lights so hence i went to photoshop to try and add it artificially. Firstly to simulate this i passed the model's face through a colour overlay. This allowed me to give the model more of a golden look.

I then applied levels to the model to brighten the whites and lower the shades. This worked but i still couldn't achieve the glossy look of GQ.

I then proceeded to use RGB Curves in photoshop to add the final level of gloss to my model. I also added another banner (shown below) which added an additional convention to my Front cover.

CONTENTS PAGE DRAFTS:

I started off the document by marking out all positions with rules. This included element positions and margins. Once done i was left with an empty page. I proceeded to use a logical organisation method to prioritise bigger content first then smaller content later on.

I started off by creating an empty rectangle of which i applied a red stroke too. I maintained the red colour from the front page to keep a consistant house style. From that i added a placeholder object to which i could apply the photograph later on. After that i included an extended red box underneath the rectangle, for a article preview to go later on.

I then proceeded to add the current masthead to the contents page, positioned using rulers and margins. This at the time used an image layer which was exported in photoshop and then imported into indesign.

Following this i proceeded to add all the image placeholders for later on. This included using margins, rulers and placeholder objects to position square blocks of which the images would take up. This took a while as the images has to be equidistant from the margin and each other but also had to be square.

The next item i designed was the three bar background for the contents text to be put over. This was simply three different rectangles of same height and width, using three different colours from the housestyle.

I then added the three bar background, contents text and article information on the left hand side of the placeholder images. Although the article area looks transparent, it actually uses a bevel and emboss texture imported from photoshop earlier on. I also added a thick line down the left hand side for later use.

I finished off my contents page by replacing the old 'Dweller' masthead with the new 'S11'. I then added the text and images to the appropriate places on the contents page to create the final page. I kept a consistent two fonts throughout the page, being Rams01 and Helvetica Neue. These fonts maintained a consistent house style but also allows text to be read clearly.

After receiving some more feedback, i noticed my contents page did not have enough page numbers for a contents page. Therefore i added the page numbers into the titles of each article intro, and made sure all article photographs had a page number assigned to them. 

I changed my left hand article to add more page numbers. This created more of the 'contents page' rather than having text like before.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD DRAFTS:

I started off my Double page spread using an edited image of my model 'Tim Fresher' which you can see how i edited in a previous post. I then created a quote using inDesigns text tool, changing the size of the quotes on separate layers to being bigger than the text. This is a pull quote. Finally i bolded some key words.

I then added three layers to my double page spread of which created the 'SHEFFIELD VS TIM'. The three layers meant i had better positioning ability. I also used the colour changer tool to text to make it a different colour. 

Finally i added the introduction to the article which follows the double page spread. I used rulers to position this in line with the pull quote.

I changed the size of my text for my heading to accommodate more room on my double page spread. This gives the impression of more space being taken and also connotes a bigger 'battle' between 'Sheffield & Tim'

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD DRAFTS (Part 2):

To create the article i begun by creating rulers separating the four columns evenly. Then i added the image placeholders. I set two to be square and one to be a large rectangle. This meant in editing later it was easier as i knew two were square. After doing that i placed my first text layer then added all my article to this one text layer. I formatted the text appropriately (e.g bold titles) then made it take one column. Using the red plus icon all text that couldn't be displayed in that area i could create another layer for. This made it a lot easier to manoeuvre the text throughout the double page spread equally. I then applied a margin to the text of 5mm which created a nicer style of text formatting. 

Following that i added all the images into place to complete the article section of the double page spread.

TITLE PAGE DRAFT:

I started off my Title page by importing all the photos i would be using into a photoshop document, and setting the background to a dark grey.

Next i selected the image in 'Sheffield centre' to be my background image. I moved this behind the dark grey layer then changed the opacity of the dark grey layer to be ~81%. This allowed the image to be visible still but more dark.

With the three remaining photographs i added a drop shadow, which made them stand out a bit more. 

Here i paste the drop shadow styling onto all three photographs so i don't have to remember the settings each time.

I apply a white stroke of 43px to the images, to make them look like they have been framed. This stage shows the transition as they start to look like printed off retro photographs.

I use CMD + T to transform the images to different sizes and rotations. I also move them on top of one another making it look like a pile of photographs. 

I group all three photographs and use CMD + T (transform) to make them proportionally smaller. 

I start adding facts and figures above the photograph in Photoshop. This allows more precise control and acts as a pull quote from the main article. 

Here is use vertical scaling on the text to make the text appear closer than its default setting. I colour all the text yellow and white to keep a consistent house style.

I now head over to inDesign where i add the VISIT SHEFFIELD title. I split the title into two different layers to allow for more control, and change the colours to yellow and white accordingly.

I then select the photographs as a separate layer and use object > wrap object to get the edges of the images as a clipping path.

 I change the text layer to allow for wrapping and this allows the text to wrap around the photo stack, finishing the page.

Finally i change the enlarged W of 'Welcome' to become a 'drop-cap'. This allowed the text to flow around it like a normal magazine.