VideoChat Peer Review

(This was supposed to be posted before)
Keith and Kiahni wanted to do a group call to critique and help each other out, so they both critiqued mine. I asked for 3 points of advice/feedback.

1.  The Masthead looks really good but the last half of it blends in with the background. It's too thin and you could've "made it pop more."

2. They both loved the double-page spread especially "the background behind the photos" and the format of the quotes. In Keith's eyes, "I popped off!"

3. Kiahni thinks that the words in the table of contents seem "jumbled up too much" and Keith thinks that there is a lot of "underutilized space".

CCR

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aefeLNTOH4c

Final Projects

I have finally finished my final projects! I am actually so in love and happy with how they turned out. Although the exams are canceled due to the virus, I still wanted to finish off strong.

Cover

Table Of Contents

Double Page Spread

Creating My Double Page Spread

Creating my double page spread was probably the hardest part for me. I wanted to create something simple but not plain, something with little splashes of color here and there. Starting out with two blank pages made it very difficult for me to come up with any layout designs, so I decided to first start on placing the picture(s). I already made up my mind that the pictures would take up a whole page, and I chose the left side because, in the table of contents, the dominant picture was on the right side.

I wanted to incorporate the transparent box, as I did in the table of contents, but I made this one have a slight hue of pink. I think this color compliments both mine and my sister's outfits. I tried messing around with the page to try and add another picture. I tried formatting the two pictures in different sizes and places on the page, but it ended up looking too cluttered. I also wanted to maximize the prominence of the quotes by creating their own spaces, but I could not fit one with both pictures.


I then started working on the right page of the spread. I wanted to implement color in a way that is not too overwhelming, so I started off with a colored box where the title would be placed. I then created two columns (I think you would call it?), so I know where the article will be placed.

I made my sister describe her experiences and used one of her quotes, and one of mine to implement both parts of the article. I used the quotes that stood out to me and placed it in the bottom third of the page. I then played around with the size and fonts of the title, eventually using Didot, as it gives an elegant look. I wanted to somehow incorporate our names somewhere on the page, besides in the text. Putting in around the pictures just made it look like another quote when I wanted our names to stand out. I shifted the two columns of text down and put out names bordering the colored box. I put a font that contrasted the "boxed" look of the Didot font, which added some element and made it have a dainty look. Even so, I thought the page looked too plain, so I created a box with a faint color and placed it on the text in a way that didn't make it look too distracting.

Updated T.O.C

So I had totally forgotten a major element in my table of contents, now realizing why I felt uneasy about the "finished" project. In my original layout plan, I was to create a box that opened at the top that had the words "Table of Contents" in it (DUH!)

With this being said, I changed a couple of things. In the original layout, the colored transparent box stopped at the beginning of the background transparent border. I did not include this in the recent one I had finished. In the image below, you can see I moved the opaque box to the transparent background border, as well.

Creating the boxed table of contents was simple. I used the line tool to build the perimeters of the transparent borders and created a text box inside. I had to change the horizontal spacing between the letters so it could fit the box. I changed it to -80. 

Following this fix, I edited a couple of other things. I changed the "Features" title. I felt like it didn't belong there, that it was just slapped on. I mimicked the "Table of Contents" box and put a miniature box over it, creating a miniature title. I also changed the font of "Femení". I think keeping it at the 'Didot' font made it look too formal when I was going for a look in between modern and formal. 

Creating My Cover

For some reason, the picture is blurry here.

Creating my cover wasn't really difficult, at all to be honest. I created my cover lines to fit the theme of the magazine. The only main issue was trying to fit the descriptions in each of the three areas. I didn't really have to edit the photo in any way, and I wasn't able to anyway even if I did want to because I don't know how to use PhotoShop. I didn't see anything wrong with the picture, so it's fine.

You can see here that I changed up the fonts for some of the cover lines. For the mainline, "The Women", I undid the italicizing and made it bold. I also made the description under bigger, made it bold, and tool up three lines under. For the very left line, I changed the title to be white and also made it in regular caps. I also made the description under pink, to be able to be read against the background. I kept the middle line as it is, but changed the description color from pink to white to pop against my dress. Other than that, everything else is basically the same.

Creating My T.O.C

I followed the original layout for my table of contents, shown in an earlier post. I loved the modern and simple look that incorporated different boxed dimensions and the common design of placing lines. I used my friend Jazlyn as the table of contents photo. I originally did want to use one of the group photos, since we did many poses and they turned out beautifully.

As you can see, the group picture has a horizontal layout. I don't think this fits with the way the layout is set, it just looks like it doesn't belong.



Replacing the picture with my friend looked a lot better, and I also added a transparent background, as I followed the layout. I made it big enough to fit the imaginary borders of the "FEMENÍ" and the end of the right side of the page. I also placed it in the middle, with a slight placement of thirds, as I really like the look of the (slight) uneven spacing.                       

I changed the color of the solid box because I felt like I was already using similar colors of pink/coral. This is a more light, cool-toned pink/almost magenta. I think this fits the green in the picture, as it reminds me of a light purple lily flower.

I tried to incorporate more of the photos into the right side of the page. I personally don't think that it fits well, especially with the title in the left side of that page. I think that with two pictures, it still looked empty but with three it looked too cluttered. I think that one main picture will fill up the page with an amount of space that looks right.

Fitting the features was probably the most difficult part of setting up. I had to rearrange the order of the features many times since they all occupy different numbers of lines. I also had to change the spacing of the page numbers multiple times to correspond to the feature.

Editing Photos

This is where I go in detail about how and where I edited my photos. I edited most of the photos from the photoshoot on Word, with the software's photo editing tools already listed in the menu bar. I have used it to edit many photos in years past, and it is simple to use.

For my feature page, I used a photo of me and my sister. I really liked the look of a transparent background boxed under the main photo. I did this with my picture and in InDesign, I blew up the transparent picture. I then cropped the opaque original picture and placed it on top of the transparent one in a way to create an even space between the two.

For the picture of Jazlyn for my table of contents, it took slightly longer to edit. The original photo had a really broad glare and washed out her features. I know Word has different settings to edit the brightness and contrast. I lowered the brightness 40% and brightened it to 20%. I felt like after I cropped the picture, you would be able to concentrate on her face. 

I didn't really edit the cover photo, I just cropped it so it can be focused more on the girls. I tried to make the background more blurry to put more focus on the girls, but it was literally doing nothing. Either I suck at PhotoShop or it just doesn't like me. Even though I failed at PhotoShop, the picture was beautiful and I don't think it needs further editing.  

Coming up with Cover lines/T.O.C Features

Cover Lines

I wanted to take my time and really put effort into creating my cover lines and features, as it is very important for the message of female empowerment and diversity. I want a mix of serious issues and somewhat light topics that all women can relate to. I first started with the cover lines, since these are going to be a part of the table of contents features anyway. I got help from my mom, as she has a love for journalism and writing. She helped me come up with ideas that speak to women from different backgrounds.

For the first main cover line, it deals with the cover picture so I wanted to include the different lives these women might live and lead. I wanted to uncover hidden truths without giving away its entity, that's why I decided not to use "Compelling pieces". For the second one, a lot of my Latino/Hispanic friends use this phrase, and I also have heard it frequently used in the show "Jane the Virgin". I love how perfect this show uses this phrase since the show is based around a matriarchal family. I wanted the sub line to emphasize unwinding using healthy ways. For the third cover line, I noticed that it is very difficult for women to find specific vivid colors to change up their makeup but suits their skin color at the same time. I think that this can literally change and increase your self-esteem and make you "Full of Life".

T.O.C Features

These features will be broad in terms of seriousness, but all of them comply with the relation to women. I wanted different types of articles that range from personal experiences to tips and advice for specific scenarios. 

I wanted to incorporate different languages and their phrases, such as Spanish. My friend/model Kiahni is of Puerto Rican descent so I wanted to incorporate her heritage somewhere. So that I don't make a mistake, I asked her how I should word it grammatically and what she would like if I were to write a feature on her.

As for the rest of the features, I wanted to include all of my models at least once and something that could contribute to their story. I included a couple of fashion tips, relaxation advice, and even parenting advice for women who are mothers. I hope these properly reflect the different topics that address women every day and possible struggles. 

A CRISIS

A major issue has come up with the progression of my project:  THE CORONA VIRUS. The COVID-19 Virus has made it so that all after school activities and field trips be canceled. As you can see in the image below, Mr. Springer (our principal) has restricted our time after school until 3:15, which is barely anything. For this project, I usually have to stay after school to layout and design, and eventually, edit the CCR. This is terrible timing for my magazine, considering we only have 2 class days to work on them and I spend most of my time after school. 

Luckily my friend Keith let me and my friend Kiahni know in our group chat we have that he has emailed our principal. We do not have the software we need (InDesign and Final Cut Pro) to finish our components. Hopefully, Mr. Springer understands our concerns and allows us to stay or somehow provide us with the software. 

Table of Contents REVAMPED

I had finally chosen a picture to replace the filler photo for my table of contents. I know that I wouldn't have placed other pictures in the table of contents because it would have made it look too busy. Since I don't know how to use a lot of features on InDesign, I did the same thing I did for my practice layout. I copied the same picture and made one transparent, then cropped the opaque original picture. The original picture had a weird glare and was too bright, so I just fixed it on Word. 

I chose this photo because I love the simplicity of the photo since I usually go for minimalist designs. I think the tree trunk and the background emphasizes the nature I was trying to capture but showcases the Jazlyn, the model. With the wind surprisingly in my favor (for once), I think the little fly-aways of her hair give it a care-free and mystical feel to it. 

              

                                                                                                                   

I placed the image in place of the filler image, but I thought something didn't fit the theme. I really loved the peach text box on the layout, but I don't think it suits this picture. I felt the peach was too bright and took away from the picture. I really like the light blush pink as it is simple and so cute, but adds some element to it. I could not successfully put the text box under the transparent box, so I will have to adjust that. 

Original Color

Cute blush pink

Check-In/Progress

I have about five future blog posts, and two of them will be done by the end of this week. This week, I will be editig my cover photo and placing the masthead/cover lines. I will also make a post on the day of the photoshoot and details on that.

We thought it would have been a good idea to check in with our classmates and their progress in their projects. I went to Keith since we both are doing magazines and are informed on each others projects. He thinks that the picture overall is good, but there are slight issues. I do agree that Jazlyn is slouched and there are a few different facial expressions. I was already planning to crop out a lot of it for the cover page. I did notice that we all ended up coordinating and matching tones, which is perfect for my color palette.

InDesign Table of Contents Layout

This is my confirmed base layout for my table of contents. I wanted a modern and sharp look that compliments my contemporary taste. The peach color will change according to the pictures and what color looks best against it. I laid out the base on Word, easily creating boxed shapes and lines. For the main picture, I blew the picture up and made it less opaque. According to that, I copy and pasted that same picture, increased the opacity to 100% and cropped where I wanted the main focus to be. I didn't know how to do this on InDesign so I would have to create it on Word then transfer it onto InDesign.                                                                                                                                                             

On the right page, I experimented with the colored box to either border or overlap the picture. I ended up choosing it to overlap, as it creates some dimension. I also did the same thing with the box on the top left corner, sort of creating a geometric look. I positioned the picture and the masthead title on the two sides of the one-thirds, so they can stand out. I did use a similar format on the left page, but I sliced the colored box and white space in half, instead.

When I researched many female empowerment tables of contents, the range of features I saw was 10-13 features, so I will most likely have the number in that range. I will have a separate day/blog post to come up with cover line/feature titles.

PhotoShoot Location

For the location of my photoshoot, I decided to go to Moriakmi Park in Delray, which is a 40 min to 1-hour drive from my place. Getting my friends to get to the place was difficult, I had to pick up and drop off three of my friends who lived in opposite directions, but it was really fun and absolutely worth it. Morikami is an area and museum that is surrounded by Japanese arts and culture. It has beautiful bamboo trees, flowers, and fountains with a vast staircase courtyard. The green was perfect and what I had in mind for a nature background.

Admission to actually enter the museum and gardens was $15, but we didn't really want to spend that much. We decided to tour the perimeters of the park and see where we could take the photos. The outside was already so beautiful, I wonder how the rest of the park looks like, but that would have to be for next time. An interesting part of the day we took photos was that we ended up taking pictures on International Women's Day, which played out perfectly for the theme of my magazine.

Our friend Keith also came along since Kiahni, also one of my models was one of his. We decided we could both help each other by taking photos, and he is very skilled at it. Together he and I created the exact positions and different ideas for photos, and he was the one who primarily took the actual photos. I also ended up becoming one of his models for his cover page, which I am very excited to see. 

Another slight annoying but hilarious situation was the weather/wind. I was worried the photos wouldn't have turned out good because it was gloomy and it ended up raining a little before we left. The wind kept messing up my hijab and was "flying away" which was funny, and the girls' hairs kept getting in the way. Despite those circumstances, the pictures turned out better than I expected.

InDesign Cover Layout

This is my confirmed layout for my cover page. For the masthead, I inserted spaces in between each letter to fill up the top row where mastheads are usually placed. The cover lines will not be final until I have my pictures were taken, which will be most likely be shot this weekend. Depending on the overall color scheme and patterns, the pink may change into another color in the palette. This is definitely not my picture, as I have used it as an example on this blog before but it is a very similar look I'm going for. I will make sure to have more background/solid colored area in the bottom half of the picture so the cover lines can be legible.

                                                               I found the color option in InDesign a little bit tricky to use at first. I had used InDesign when I was in the yearbook class freshman year, so figuring out how to work it wasn't too hard. I got used to it shortly after. I remember that Mrs. Harwell does keep a color swatch pamphlet so I chose a color similar to that from my original layout. 

Timeline

This is my timeline for the remaining magazine process. I might switch some days or combine some blog/design days since layout days will most likely end this week. I want to start taking photos ASAP so I am not certain about the timing. I am not sure about my spring break plans, whether I'm going out of town or what.