BRIEF
Build a magazine layout based on the style of an existing magazine or one of your own invention. Your layout must be your own design, but it can be styled to be placed in a magazine that currently exists or you can create a fictional magazine that will have your layout within it.
PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS
Two facing pages (spread) at 8.25" x 10.75" (portrait oriented), two sets, one spread for each rough layout
Margins set to .5" inches for the top, bottom, and outside, inside will be set to 0.75"
Document bleed settings to 0.125"
Body copy in linked text boxes, it will be made entirely of placeholder text, the final body copy needs to be 500-900 words
2-6 word headline of your own creation that fits the style and images used
The article must have three images total. One must be a subject removed from background or in an ellipse/circular frame
The article should use the color theme eyedropper to establish a color palette
DRAFTS
For my roughs I decided I wanted to design my layout based off of the Bon Appétit magazine. I researched spreads and tried to match the style that they would go for in their magazine while also keeping in mind the requirements for the project.
FIRST CRITIQUE
For the preliminary in-class critique, both spreads were well received. The first spread was the one I gravitated to the most. Some suggestions from the class were to maybe make the images that have been masked out to be a little bit bigger. I also brought up how there might be contrast issues with the first spread since the background shape color is vibrant but, since it's a magazine and going to be read close up, my instructor and other students said it was still legible for the distance is was going to be read it. They suggested that increasing the weight of the font by a step might help with my concerns.
PROGRESS
For the progress phase of the project, we used any feedback we received from the first critique to make any updates to the color scheme, imagery, and other layout elements to continue evolving the design.
Additional Requirements added in to this phase of the project:
Drop cap
Pull quote
Byline
Parent pages
Text wrapping for cutout images
FINAL CRITIQUE
For the last critique, my project was almost complete but there were some minor suggestions on what to change from my instructor. Some suggestions were to reduce the text size from 12pt if I was not meeting the word count for the project, increasing the sizes of the cutout images, and increasing the weight and size of the pull quote. While it wasn't necessary I also wanted to use an actual article that I found online rather than just use lorem ipsum text so that I can see how it would look like if it were using real content.
FINAL WORK & MOCKUPS
All that was left to do for the final portion of the project was to make the final adjustments based off the last critique and further refine the design to create a professional looking layout. While it wasn't necessary for the project, I also wanted to create a concept magazine cover to pair with the spread and some mockups to see how they would look in person.
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