2. Week 1
• We have spent the week looking at inspirations for our final project, as a chance to brainstorm initial ideas but also to find
a solid style and path we can take the project down.
• I looked at various graphic designers and there work such Neville Brody and the face magazine, various photographers
from different eras and scenes and finally I looked at the artist behind the famous Santa Cruz skateboards art style.
• Doing this to kick off the project really helped me decide on where I was taking my magazine, looking at a lot of work from
the early 90s and how everything was changing at this time in design. The experimental styles and page layouts caught my
eye and the whole idea of pushing the conventions appeals to me, but also many of the designers I looked into share
common interests in music and the media with myself.
• I also looked at photography from the 70s during the Z-boys rise to fame in the skating world, the way the photos
showcase such raw talent but also implemented the lifestyle and personality of the various skaters just through what he
captured I found cool. When I make my own product I would like to try and include imagery that resembles an older
period.
• After looking at these people we were asked to make a proposal for the project based around what we had been looking
at, using the people as inspiration towards what we want to make. I think that my proposal turned out really good and
actually seemed to be easier and far more detailed this project over any, I think it comes down to the amount of people I
looked at and the fact some of the various peoples work really hit me after I looked at it.
• I believe that this part of the project is really helpful and helps you vision what you may want before even putting it to
paper.
3. Week 3
• We have started research for our final major project, looking at primary and
secondary research as a way to collect what necessary information we might
need or want. I started my research looking at various existing products, picking
apart what they have used and then why they may use that e.g an article on
women will generally use san-serif headers due to its femininity and floral like
styles.
• I looked at various projects that use a similar style or look that I will be aiming for,
or at magazines that will include similar content and photography. I looked at the
face magazine first, the face magazine has a certain 90s style to it but also has
shown to be very experimental and non-conventional when it comes to the
layout, type, photography and image placement.
• I then looked at Thrasher and RIDE BMX Magazine, I am looking at making a
magazine based around BMX and the community that is formed around these
such sports. Therefore these magazines, were perfect for what content and
photography I can try to include within my own project when I begin production.
4. Week 4 problem solving
• This week we have been looking at what possible problems that we may face in our project, and how we would tackle these
problems or prevent. I have broke the issues I could face into two category's including what technical and practical problems I may
face, and then the theoretical issues.
• As I go on with my project I will make sure to keep going back to my problems and add any issues that may actually crop up, and
then also show how I have solved these with evidence.
• If issues to arise that I haven’t prepared for I wont be too worried, as I believe I am quite good with pleasured situations and can
usually find a solution or alternative. Also so far I have not changed any aspects of my project due to this, however looking at
problems and experimenting has given me some ideas on what I can include, such as trying to create an image using David
Hockneys joiner style.
• What potential issues have you faced?
• I have came across various issues that may pop up in my project, such as losing any work in terms of my photography or running
out of space. Also I will be relying on other people as models, so if they either let me down or don’t suit the style I'm going for it
could prove problematic.
• What have or will you do to tackle the potential issues?
• When I do go out taking pictures I will make sure that I always carry around a spare SD card and make sure the camera is always
charged to the max.
• If I face problems with my models I will bring clothes with me that I believe will match the look I am aiming for, and if anyone lets
me down I will make sure I have other models so I always have at least one person with me and can actually get something done.
5. Week 5
• This week we have been planning for our final project,
when planning there are several aspects that I have tried
to cover. Intense Planning ahead of the project makes
things a lot easier, it gives you a starting point and an idea
before you even start production.
• For this project I started the planning by looking into my
photography and planning places to go when to go and
what will be required for the shoot, this helps when it
comes to shooting as I will already have the locations
ready and have an idea of what to do at the locations.
Planning that also helped me look into the costing of the
project particularly in the travel costs, I have made a table
of what costs I will face and the final cost for the project.
• I wrote a plan out for what I will include in the mag e.g.
articles, adverts and such, and also made a running order
for the magazine. Looking at the number of pages and
where they will go and the cost of printing.
• then finally I looked into colors and fonts that I liked and
thought would suit my project, I chose them by
referencing back to my research. This also helps ahead of
time so when it comes to making the pages I can just look
back at the PowerPoint and choose through the fonts or
color schemes I have already.
6. Week 6
• This week we started our production for our
final project, to start my project I decided to
write out one of my articles for the magazine.
I chose to start my production with a written
element as it allows me to get on with the
visuals once done, also the articles are the
most content within my magazine and
focusing on them from the start allows me to
spend as much time as needed on it.
• I wrote my article up on Microsoft Word, then
using InDesign I laid the complete text into
columns that you typically see in conventional
magazines, using the rulers and guides given
to help and make it look professional.
• However I also spent the back end of this
week putting the article together and
choosing and editing images, basing my colour
scheme around the photos I chose.
7. Week 7
• Continuing my production I faced my first potential issue,
as I didn’t get to take the photos I had planned at the
weekend this meant I was left in a position where I wasn’t
entirely sure on what production I could have done.
• However I looked back at my planning and what aspects I
could continue without the photos, which led me to
spend my week making several advertisement pages for
the magazine using illustrations and taking a couple
images within college.
• I started by making a VANS shoe advert, I went down to
the college car park and took several images of my friend
Kieran in a pair of green vans. I chose the car park as it’s a
location which you wouldn’t know was in college unless I
told you but also is correlating with the style of
photography ill be using and is typically seen in skate
magazines.
• Then on Photoshop changed the levels of the image and
made an ad page using the colour of his shoes as the
primary colour, and mixing in some illustration and fonts
that worked well with the page.
• I then began making an advert for a local skate shop in
Leeds known as welcome using only illustration this time,
I drew an image of a man doing a superman on a bmx.
• I duplicated the layer twice making each layer one solid
colour, then moved the each slightly apart from one
another, creating an effect similar to the 3d effect.
8. • This week we have been carrying on with the production for our project, after
making the bulk of the adverts and all my illustration I have been concentrating
on my photography and editing.
• This week I have made a child BMX advert using my younger sister as the model,
it was very handy that she has a “WE THE PEOPLE” kids BMX. The advert uses
lots of softer light pastille colours, I chose these due to the model being a 5 year
old girl, adding illustration over the pictures and basing the colour scheme
around the colours seen on the photo.
• I have also made a couple of poster pages, using one image to span over either 1
or 2 pages. Not editing it too much and keeping it pretty simple using the image
as the main focus for the page, adding a quote or brand logo as a water mark.
• To create this poster, I used the skew effect on the text so I could form it freely to
line up with the garage door, then with the text and logo I used the overlay effect
to make the multiple layers on the font.
• The work I have done this week is key to the type of magazine I am making, and
if I was to change what I had done I would maybe try and get images that I took
purposely for a poster. I have also learnt some new tools and techniques on
Photoshop this week, I learnt how to skew a block of text so you can transform it
more freely, but also that you can add colour to the noise filter to give it a more
digital style.
9. Week 9
This week I have been making several posters for my project, I
did not have any pictures yet so continued to use illustration to
complete the posters.
I wanted to make a poster that advertises a band and chose an
artist more mainstream known as Rejjie Snow, starting by
drawing a rider and then tracing round a ramp.
Using the layer options I duplicated the layers and overlaid them
to make it look the way it does, since I had drawn the images in
a purple colour I made the back black so it would stand out.
Using dafont I added in suitable text that follows a 70s
psychedelic look typically seen on Jimi Hendrix style posters
called “truckin”.
Once I hade completed the page I wanted to add more as I
found it to look plain and boring with far too much blank space,
to fill in these gaps I drew several images that correlate with the
psychedelic look including a shroom, rocket then lots of abstract
faces.
10. • Another poster I created in this week is
this Santa Cruz inspired poster, looking
back at my research at several images of
the head artist for the company.
• I started by drawing the man inspired by
my own stepdad, again using lots of
colours to make it trippy I made the
flower like rainbow pattern and added in
the faded colours in the back ground.
• At this point it looked good but didn’t
really have any meaning, I chose to add
the explosion of bikes and frames as the
man was pointing and it all just came
together. To finalize the poster I added
noise just as I had on all the other pages
to give it a gritty look.
11. Week 10
This week I am making the contents page for
the project, I am doing this now rather then
at the start as it allows me to know what to
include in it since everything's all done.
I started the page by creating several texts
that say words associated with the sport,
then using the layer tools I overlayed the
texts over copies to create the shadow that
each piece of font has. After this I drew
round three images of people using a red
and blue pen so it follows the scheme of the
page and placed them on the page cutting
around the fonts so they were not visible
inside the people.
To finish the page I simply just added the
box for the headings and titles of the various
pages.
However I have left lots of blank space here
and believe it will be best to add more and
improve this if I will have time at the end.
