CCR

Link to CCR:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxbp9vfA4Fw

Yours Truly,
Sof

FINAL PRODUCT!

My friends,

I have finally finished!

Enjoy,

Sof

Article pt. 2

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I ran into a couple problems with my article design. The most important being, it was not cohesive with my partner's... Of course it pained me to continue working on the two page spread when I thought I was just about done with mine, but you gotta do what you gotta do! 

In order to make my two-page spread look more cohesive with my partners, I did a couple things.

1) Changed the color scheme

2) Added the page number to the bottom left, and made the number bigger

3) I also made the background consistent, and attempted to make it lighter, but it was really hard to get the same color because I used an "infographic" layout, which is like a column, for the Q&A page, so I had to take screenshots of different things to format it in a way that would look good with the first page.

FOR INSTANCE:

I'm sure there may have been an easier way to do this, and center my text, but I just didn't know how. Therefore, after I arranged it how I wanted, I ended up smoothing the edges of each screenshot so it came out to look like one picture, and it came out like the final product above. Also, in attempt to make it lighter, I went on Lightroom and played around with the settings, but other than that, there wasn't much I could do.

That's about it...

I'm gonna show my partner in class tomorrow and hopefully I'll be done with it:)

Take Care,

Sof

Finally got to working on my article

Heyyyy guys,

I finished my article! As I stated prior, I did a two-page spread featuring my cover model, Candela Rivero, on fitness. Originally, I said I was going to do 32 ways, but there's no way... So I went to my cover page and changed it to 12. Additionally, I may have to play around with the text on the first page to see how it breaks when I put the two pages together because I don't want anything to get cut out. Also, In order to get the two pages the same size, I may put the turquoise cover reads column on the first page as well or I might play with the scaling of the second page by increasing the width and decreasing the height to make the two pages even. I'm not sure how, but I'm sure I'll figure it out....

I made the following edit on Canva!


Also, I just wanted to clarify that the background picture for the second page is a picture I took at Hollywood beach. The effect on the picture looks weird by itself, but I needed to play around with the contrast, exposure, and hue for it to look nicely besides the grey background on the first page.



Almost done!!

Final product coming soon!

With Best Wishes,

Sof

Requested Edit

Hey guys,

Last class we had group meetings to get some final critiques before the component is DUE. Yes, due. How exciting. During the group meeting I got input on various thing....

First and foremost...

My classmates believed that the white text on my cover was slightly difficult to read. Frankly speaking, I like my old cover more than this one, but I believe that the contrast and dark background (which I focused on in this edit to make the white stand out) would make it much easier to read from afar if one was glimpsing at the aisle to purchase the magazine. Therefore, I am going to stick with this one.

I changed the issue date to March rather than April (which is Raquel's issue)!!! My bad 😅😅

Secondly....

Referencing one of my previous posts, I stated that I believed the red font paired with the red lipstick was indicative that my idea of promoting Rashawn's red lipstick would be understood. Previously, I had a red tube of lipstick on the left, however, I later learned that the Ad looked much clearer without it. Therefore, JUST IN CASE, I added the words "velvet matte" on the top left of the Ad to emphasize the purpose. The grey color does not take away from the model or the cool art direction, as well as, it looks nicely against the black background. Therefore, I believe it works well with what I am trying to convey to the readers.

Lastly...

This has to be my favorite part of the whole magazine, and now that I fixed the "V" in Vance, it is complete. I am not touching it. 10/10

Tomorrow I'm finishing my magazine. I have already started a draft for my CCR which I will post when it is done. Hope you all enjoy seeing the progress I am making.

Best Regards,
Sof

Updates

Hey Guys,

So I have a couple of things to show you. First and foremost, refer back to my previous post for a reminder on how I was planning to do my table of contents. Also, I used flipsnack.com to help me make the two page spread (it worked relatively better).

Now, compare the old TOC to the following...

First page of TOC

2nd page of TOC

Why'd I change it? After many discussions with my partner, Raquel, we came to the conclusion that this format is much nicer and clean than the one I previously designed. Therefore, I started from scratch and got to work!

Additionally, I made a video to try to keep you guys updated and give my blog a little more personality, but the file was too big SOOOO here's a shorter one that I sent to my friends that I think will post, and I'll just explain it.

Also, check out this link....

Ok so, my cover page is more or less the same as you last saw it. The only difference is

that I changed the spacing of the letters a bit in attempt to make the "How One

Woman..." not blend in as much with the leaves in the background. I also made it the

same font as the other two cover lines, because I sent it in a group chat and they told

me it looks strange to have ONE cover line a different font since there aren't too many, but I don't think it helped much. Either way, I like my cover. It's sexy, it's clean.. I dig it.

So for this I changed the format of the Ad. Specifically, I took out the lipstick and the words on the top right of the page that said "Limited Edition". At first, it was to make the picture fit on the page; however, I really like how clean it looks. The art direction that I was going for was to create a sense of elegance for older woman, but a sexy, contemporary feel as well. Nevertheless, I feel like the bold, red lips stand out, and the brand's bold, red title indicates that the following is an advertisement, specifically for makeup. However, just in case, I included an article "Rashawn's Velvet Matte" under the beauty section in my table of contents for clarification. In addition, I feel like the table of contents came out very clean and its white background contrasts well with the Ad on the previous page.

I am concerned about 2 things on this spread. 1) I had the same problem with the scaling of the picture with the Vance ad and it cut out part of the "V" which is not good. Secondly, I was concerned that the "..." and the "once" in confidence is going to be hard to read when the page folds over. Yet, if you checked out the link one can argue that this is how the magazine would look like if the magazine was folded. I am going to have to ask around anyways and try to fix these issues; I have not come up with a better idea than try to play around with the apps I have for this project and pray it works out. Also, I gave the magazine a "shadow" element which made the Vance Ad lighter, but I feel like it enhances the model's face, and I am a total fan. Lastly, I believe like the second table of contents page was very cohesive with the first page, and that the white background contrasts well with the Vance add much like the other spread above, as well as, its clean format is attractive.

I am close to finishing my magazine and will soon begin the other components of the project. Excited to see the final result.

Also, just noticed I have to change the issue month to March instead of April, whoops! Will do so now...

Keeping You Posted,
Sofi

#SHOOK

LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING...

So today I was going to put Berkshire together so I could get a visual image of what the magazine would look like. I'm a super visual person, so I wanted to see how it was coming together, compare color schemes, etc. BUT NOOOOOOO! I literally just spent the past two hours on 6 different apps attempting to do the following and it doesn't work. I am #SHOOK. I got so annoyed to the point where I began doodling the background in to make the pictures even, but I needed the lines to be perfectly symmetrical and after an hour of drawing (Without saving my work) my phone, which I was using for Pixlr, just died on me. In addition, my wifi isn't working (tried uploading a gif to lighten the mood, but it didn't load so there ya have it).

Summary:

I'm not having it:))))) I'll try again tomorrow. Need to step away from this project before I rip my hair out. Thanks for reading my mini rant, you da best!

TO-DO LIST:

- Figure out how to put together magazine so it looks like a two-page spread 

- Write article

- CCR

- Reflection

Yours truly,

Sof

Table of Contents

Hello people,

Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday. I took a break from the article (until tomorrow) and created my table of contents. There are a few alterations as to what I had in mind. Compare the following:

So, originally I was going format the table of contents as headlines in one color on the top with VARIOUS cover lines following the topic of relevancy. I loved this format. I kept it; I wanted to keep it simple. However, I chose a color scheme of predominate whites, blacks, and pinks in comparison to the one above. In addition, the layout is relatively different. Take a look....

Sooo as you can see, the format is quite distinct in some senses. In addition, the table of contents would be 2 pages rather than 1 (Ad, TOC, Ad, TOC).

I saw that Raquel posted a design while I was working on this post, so I changed to background color from pink to black, and tried to incorporate some of her themes so we could agree on a happy medium on Tuesday when we have class together, so this might change a bit!

Other than that, farewell!

With love,
Sof
❤❤❤✌✌✌

Pics for article

Helloooo everyone!!

I just came back from Mexico💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻! ‘Twas sooo much fun.

Back to work. I shot some pics of my model, Candela, yesterday for my article “32 Ways To Get Your Spring Break Bod”. To do the following I placed some props amongst a green background attempting for the magazine article to look cohesive with the cover. To get the high-key lighting I wanted we used a special lamp that Cande happened to have in her room. The following lighting gives Candela a warm, confident, and inviting look. The whole point of this article is to give the readers a more personal relationship with the cover model but in a casual vibe or setting. Therefore, the set design for the photo is rather simple and includes very basic props, so it doesn’t take away from the photos main focus, Cande.

This is what it came too:


Behind the scenes!!

Pic chosen for the article

I feel like the picture I chose has a cute set design. The books and typewriter give it a professional, yet artsy, feel. In addition, I used the Rule of Thirds concept to draw focus to the model's smile to emphasize her inviting nature.

As you can see in the photo above, her smile is purposely placed at an intersecting point which is a natural point of focus for the eyes. The following allows the readers to interact with the picture more naturally since their attention innately is directed to the upper-right third of the picture. Because the article is in a Q&A format, the whole idea is for the readers to feel natural, or as if they are having a conversation with the model, hence the positioning of the picture helps stray from awkwardness, improving its aesthetic.

I am trying to keep it clean and simple! Updates to come...

Best Regards,
Sof

Update!!!

Hey, so I updated my cover :)

I made my own barcode using a free online barcode in seconds

A couple posts ago I have said that I needed to make my own one and revise my final draft for my magazine cover, therefore, I got to work!

This is what I came up with...

Before

Barcode I made with generator!

NEW & IMPROVED COVER

As you can see I did a couple of things :) I got rid of the yellow circle because I felt it took away one's focus from the model, etc. In addition, I made the caption under the "180" shorter and Bigger to give it a cleaner look. As I said prior, I made and finished the new barcode. Lastly, I repositioned the cover lines a bit, but not much.

All in all, I think the NEW AND IMPROVED COVER has a cleaner look and I am very satisfied with the result.  With that being said, it's spring break and I'm going to MEXICOOO MIS AMIGOS!

 Fiestaaaa!!!Fiesta!!!!!

Hasta la vista chicos,

Sof!

Second Ad edit

Hey,

so check out my second Ad.

Original

I edited the red lipstick on because I originally wanted to do a perfume Ad, but I wanted to stick with the makeup theme.

I used Pixlr's "doodle" option to draw in the black background. I'm sure there are other methods of doing this, but I liked the app and familiarized myself with many of the tools, so I just stuck with it.

This is an effect on Pixlr. I liked it because of the fact that it is totally different from any advertisement you have seen.

Orignal picture of lipstick on my countertop. Victoria Secret's "velvet matte". 

Used Pixlr once more to draw in black background and enhance color.

Used Color Pop to bring out the colors
Got rid of "Victoria Secret" and replaced it with my made-up brand name, Rashawn
Added text on Pixlr
Used the "double exposure" option on Pixlr to add the lipstick as another layer

I feel as if the Ad is missing something or that something is not right. I tried hundreds of fonts and could not come up as to why I have this feeling of incompletion. However, I think it is creative, clean, and unique (which are all common aspects of lipstick ads); therefore, I am satisfied with the progress I am making but will continue to aspire to reach a sense of satisfaction prior to finishing my publication. I shall keep you all informed :)

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Best Wishes,

Sof