Final content page and double spread article designs

1. INDIEFASHION
MAGAZINE
PRODUCTION
FINAL CONTENT PAGE
AND DOUBLE SPREAD
ARTICLE DESIGNS
BY ILLYA BOYKO

2. BREAKDOWN
OFTHEFINAL
CONTENTPAGE

3. I created a photoshop document of the same exact
size as for the front cover and the same grid with
bleedmarks is present to keep the designs consis-
tent from page to page. I have pasted four photos,
which I chose earlier. Each one of them is going to il-
lustrate an article in my magazine. The background
is plain white once again, because as much as I like
designing interesting stuff, I still think that two
most important features of a fashion magazine are
photos and text and I do not want them to get lost
because of colorful or backrounds filled with pat-
terns.
I colorgraded and edited pictures tolook more
consistent with each other and a bit more ret-
ro by applying a slight Halftone Effect to them
and playing with brightness and contrast. Then I
made the layout look logical - there is a certain hi-
erarchy now - the biggest picture represents the
most important and interesting article. To make
it look less plain and more appealing, I have creat-
ed a rectabgle, rounded one corner of it, placed it
behind the biggest photo and created a clipping
mask, so that the photo will be cropped by the
boundaries of the shape.

4. I decided to make the main image a tad bit smaller to fit the de-
scriptive text about the article. Then, I have added a few ele-
ments: placed the title, colored the first letters in other col-
ors, which is a constant feature of my magazine and extended
the lower dash of the letter “E” to place the “contents” in it.
This is a step that I rarely see in other magazines, so I thought
it would help to interest people to read further into the maga-
zine. I have also added a small, hand-drawn icon of a smiling sun,
which I am planning to add throughout the pages of the mag-
zine to make it look more friendly and positive. And, as a divid-
ed between the title and the actual content of the page, I am
using a pattern made out of smiley faces, which I drew., which
I created in light blue color, so it would not stand out, but still
separate the parts of the page.
This was an interesting step, in which
I took a screenshot of what I had so
far and placed it into illustrator for
the purpose of creating a textbox
which will go around the curved part
of the image by adding more anchor
points to the text box and making it
fit the image. I then added the title
of the article, the page number and a
short description of it.

5. In this step, I pasted the curved text-
box back into photoshop and you can
see that it goes around the photo
nicely. I then added a short editor’s
letter to greet the readers and tell
them a bit about the magazine and
what they will find here.
As my final step, I pasted the pattern which
I mentioned before between the photos to
separate them and added page number/ar-
ticle title duos below each photo, so read-
ers would know where to find the said arti-
cles. I also added a thin, light blue line beside
the editor’s letter to separate the photo
from the letter. Page number is colored in
one of the brand colors, placed by the stan-
dards, but I added the zero before three be-
cause most magazines do not do it, so it is
one more distinctive feature of this mag.

6. Denotation/connotation
The use of blue, red and yellow colors in text
represents the youth, kindness and playful-
ness of the magazine whilst honoring the clas-
sic features of 80s and 90s posters and flyers.
The connotations on the main image are sup-
posed to interest the audience, whose atten-
tion caught the plug on the front cover.
Use of text
Font sizes are different between different ele-
ments, but still are connected. The upper part
of the page has each weight of font in the same
size, whilst the lower part has smaller sizes due
to those articles being not as important. The
text next to the main image is done so that it
perfectly follows the curve of the image.
Main image
It features a spoonful of turmeric, which will let
readers know, that the main article with instruc-
tions for a natural tie-dye process is easy to
replicate at home with common household items.
It purposely does not show the final result to
intrigue the readers to get to the article them-
selves and find out how it will look!
Main image
It features a spoonful of turmeric, which will let
readers know, that the main article with instruc-
tions for a natural tie-dye process is easy to
replicate at home with common household items.
It purposely does not show the final result to
intrigue the readers to get to the article them-
selves and find out how it will look!
Selling line
The top of the content page does not feature
the date, magazine name or issue number due to
them have already been displayed on the front
cover and it is wiser to locate another informa-
tion there, such as the “In This Issue” phrase
with “contents” incorporated in it. It gives the
reader an immediate idea on what is going to be
presented on this page.
Direct mode
The image from the same photoshoot as on the
front cover features a model making eye contact
with a camera, therefore with the reader, this
way encouraging them to find out more and read
the article.
Editor’s letter
It is a great way to greet the first-time readers
and tell them a bit about the magazine and what
they will wind here.

7. BREAKDOWN
OFTHEFINAL
DOUBLEPAGE
SPREADARTICLE

8. I started out by creating a photoshop document double the
width of the previous one, so I would have two pages fit in
one document. I then placed the title of the artcile, previous-
ly turned every letter in different direction for it to match the
tie-dye aesthetic, which is something fun and hand-done. I then
added a rounded star with a smiley face in it and text around it,
which informs the reader that this craft will not take up much
of their time. And, as usual, added the pattern in light blue color
to divide the title and the actual content of the page.
Then, I added the ingredients and first
two steps with pictures illustrating the
steps. I edited the photos to make them
look more consistent with each other and
a little bit retro, which my target audience
appreciates a lot. To mimic the aesthetic
of fan-zines and other give my magazine
more of an artsy, more eclectic feel to it,
the elements are sometimes rotated by
a few degrees and I also added arrows to
link the steps to the pictures.

9. I felt like there was a lot of
blank space between the ar-
ticle and a photo so I decid-
ed to place a little plug in it.
I went into adobe illustator,
created an oval, applied zig-
zag effect to it, rounded
the corners and put some
hand-rotated text inside,
which will encourage the
reader to carry on with the
craft and make the magazine
more friendly.
Then I placed
the plug into the
photoshop doc-
ument and it all
seems in place
now. I also slight-
ly rotated it for
the reasons I
outlined earlier.

10. To make the reader really interested
in this double spread article, and for
something to catch their eye I cut
out the long sleeve, duplicated it and
slightly missplaced it outside of the
original image border to create an il-
lusion as if it slid out of the picture.
My finishing touches were creating the fi-
nal three steps and properly adjusting the
text boxes, editing the pictures and aligning
the bits of the article with each other. Also
added arrows to match the pictures with
the steps.

12. Images
Images are quitean essential feature of this article,
since they are supposed to illustrate the steps to suc-
cesfully complete the craft. Hence why they were
carefully chosen and edited to look consistent be-
tween each other. For them not to get boring to the
reader, I edited the last one in a rather unusual fashion,
meaning that I cut out the t-shirt to slide out of the
image which gives the article an interesting feel.
Language
It is neutral whilst having bits of informal, modern and
appealing to younger audiences language. Some bits of
the text are supportive and friendle to better commu-
nicate the message of the magazine. All these combina-
tions result in perfect appeal to the target audience.
Text
It was carefully measured out for all the text boxes to
fit together perfectly and be of identical font size and
weight. It corresponds to the images and is additional-
ly linked to them with hand-drawn arrows. It is usually
aligned left to make it readable and legible for every-
body. Some first letters are colored in different color
as a new take on the mgazine design convention, where
the first letter is larger, whereas in the case of this
magazine it is just colored differently to make it more
fun and playful.
Features
This double spread has a few plugs in it. They are here
to entartain, catch attention and encourage readers
to actually go ahead and tie de their garments. It also
has a few features of the brand pattern as dividers be-
tween important blocks of content.