A presentation showcasing various experiments of editing software in the creation of a magazine cover and double-page spread.

1. Experiments
David Lee

2. Front Cover Process
• To demonstrate my understanding of the conventions used to create both a magazine cover and
double-page spread, I performed an experiment using Photoshop and InDesign (a software tool I have
not used in my work until very recently) to create both aspects of said magazine. As I was not bound
to replicate a pre-existing magazine, this allowed an extensive amount of freedom to create one of
my own for purely demonstrational purposes.
• The following tools and resources that were used to conduct this experiment are:
• Adobe Photoshop – The main and therefore most important element utilised for this experiment is
none other than Adobe Photoshop itself. Using a combination of both layers and text, each of the
elements that define a magazine are brought together harmoniously to create a singular product.
• Source image – The source image used to create the cover and, by extension, the main feature photo,
of this experimental magazine was that of a tree located in a nature reserve somewhere in Australia.
While I had originally intended to utilise images of different nature reserves for this purpose also, all
of them had been taken using the landscape format, rendering them unsuitable for use as a result.
Fortunately, however, as this image (pictured left) was formatted as a portrait, this made it
immediately suitable for my experiment’s requirements. Little to no alterations were made, save to
stretch the image out slightly.
• Sub-images – In order to create a sub-image or two that would link appropriately to the chosen
subject of my experiment, I immediately resolved to seek out images related to the topic of
conservation. These would subsequently be altered in PowerPoint in order to fit the conventions
expected in a magazine. The first, an image of St Nick’s Fields which appears to have been taken in the
style of a bird’s-eye view, has been altered to fit the shape of an oval, keeping the important subject
of the image (in this case, the nature reserve) at the centre while simultaneously omitting the
irrelevant elements from view. On the second, an unidentified figure (possibly a man or a woman) can
be seen litter-picking on a countryside path. I have structured this in the style of a square picture
frame to demonstrate the importance of litter-picking and how acts, however big or small they may
be, such as these can benefit the planet immensely.
• Colours – Across the entirety of the magazine, approximately three or four different colour schemes
are used to both cover certain aspects of the magazine and help them to stand out as much as
possible against the main source image’s backdrop. While I feel this worked in certain areas, there
were other areas, however, that I feel could be improved as certain elements of the text could be
perceived to be almost unreadable. The following colour schemes used for the text are: Brown
(rusted) for the dateline and masthead, yellow/orange, for the headline and kicker, purple for what is
(presumably) the anchorage and blue for the prices in both the UK and the US
• Fonts – Throughout the duration of this experiment, only one font was used to create the text that
dominates the entire front cover. While the colours ultimately helped to create a varied and diverse
approach to a different aspect across the magazine, it could likewise have benefitted from the use of
different fonts, such as Blackadder ITC or Calibri, with the size changed accordingly. Ultimately, the
singular font used to create the magazine’s text structure was Myriad Pro (Regular).

3. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
• While the subject of my final magazine will be radically different, I plan to
use a picture of a sculpture (yet to be decided) as the feature article
picture of my magazine, which will be linked to my double-page spread. To
ensure I get as much coverage as possible, I plan to take a number of
images of said sculpture from different angles. These will be captured at
either one of the following: Yorkshire Sculpture Park, York Art
Gallery/Museum Gardens and The Hepworth Wakefield. I will also capture
an image of the entrance to one of these buildings to serve as a potential
sub-image as well as to fully document my visit.
• Unlike this experiment, I will attempt to include a diverse range of fonts
and colour schemes in order to reflect the ever-changing and meticulous
nature of sculpting. If I felt compelled to make such an aesthetic choice, I
would be more than prepared to create the masthead using a rusted-
green type colour, harkening back to a number of Barbara Hepworth’s
statues, particularly Two Forms which is currently on display in St Ives,
Cornwall.

4. Double Page Process
• To further understand the workings and conventions of a double-page spread, an
experiment was undertaken on InDesign (see comment on slide 2 for reference) in which I
would ”write” an “article” and find pictures appropriate to my experiment’s chosen subject
to be interspersed across the two-page spread.
• The following tools and processes used in this experiment are:
• Lorem Ipsum generator – To save time in actually writing the article itself, I utilised an
online generator composed mainly of non-existent Latin phrases, categorised under the
collective title of Lorem Ipsum. Subsequently, these words were copy and pasted onto
InDesign, thereby allowing me to experiment with the text more freely and alter the
opening letters where needed.
• Nature Reserve images – To ensure the text was fully spread out in the style of a
conventional magazine such as BBC Wildlife or National Geographic (albeit in a slightly less
professional structure compared to both), I would find pictures of various nature reserves
across York and, by extension, the Yorkshire county, on Google Chrome and incorporate
them into the InDesign document, by using the ”Place” option on the drop-down menu. To
ensure that the pictures did not obscure the text, however, I changed the text wrap of the
document with the help of an anonymous source thereby allowing the text to seamlessly
correspond with the pictures. The images displayed throughout the spread are as follows:
Hob Moor, Moorlands Nature Reserve, Askham Bog (presumably ) and, of course, St Nick’s
Fields itself.
• Adobe InDesign – The most important piece and the main source of software used to
conduct this experiment was none other than Adobe InDesign itself. To make sure I would
get the suitable double-page spread I required for my experiments, three pages had to be
created: One for the magazine cover (which ultimately went unused, due to the cover
being created in Photoshop) and two for the main spread. While only one was ultimately
used to create the article, with help from the Lorem Ipsum generator, both prominently
feature images of various nature reserves across the length of the page

5. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
– I am planning to include images of sculptures by
various artists, such as Barbara Hepworth and
Henry Moore, and have them spread across the
entire length of the double-page spread. To
ensure that they do not obscure the text
whatsoever, I will alter the text wrap from “none”
to ”text wrap bounding box” thereby allowing the
text to move accordingly with the position of the
pictures.