The document summarizes the process of designing a double-page magazine spread. It describes altering the document dimensions to double the width, adding guidelines and consistency elements from other pages. An main image was created by combining two photos - a forest background and an edited model photo pasted on top. Text elements like the title, caption and article were then added. Minor tweaks were made to enhance the overall design.

1. Development Diary
Double-page Spread

2. Unlike the front cover and the contents page, the dimensions of the double-page spread had to
be altered slightly as the width would equal to double the amount, so, when I opened a new
blank document I kept the length the same, but doubled the width to 420mm.
Along with the ruler tool which I used for the previous two
documents, I also used the line tool to draw a thin line
exactly down the centre of the page as a guide for myself to
indicate where the fold would normally be in a magazine.
None of my featured text should be place along this
guideline as in a real scenario, the audience would not be
able to read what it says properly.
Like I did with my contents page, I used the eyedropper tool and the
bucket tool to select the colour of the background I used for the
contents page and apply it to the double-page spread for consistency.
The magazine would look unprofessional if each page was a completely
different colour. I also replicated the information I placed
on my contents page, using the text tool
again. However, as I want the audience to
I then went back to use the line be able to interact more with the
tool again, this time in black, to magazine, I included the addresses of the
draw in the two lines on the magazine’s Twitter and Facebook pages at
page like on my contents page to the bottom as this particular article
position the gutter spaces. It required comments and questions from
also added continuity and the readers.
consistency to my overall
magazine design.

3. After the main layout was applied, I couldn’t add anything else to the page until I had put the
main image in, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to gauge where the rest of the features
such as the body copy and the by-line would go. Like my mock-up design, I wanted an image
that would stretch across the entire width of the double-page spread. To do so with the
images that I had, I had to duplicate the layer and rotate it to make it seem like one long
image, otherwise, simply stretching the image made it look all disproportional.
Also, because of the weather I was unable to do a photo-shoot with my model in the field
like I had planned, so I created my main image using two different images.
I opened the background image (the field/forest) in a new document on Photoshop. I then
duplicated it and flipped the image and placed both layers side-by-side.
I then flattened all the layers in the document and then using the crop tool I cut out just the
image from the background.
I then opened my chosen image from my photo-shoot with my model in a new document. I
chose an image with my model sitting down to make the final image look more realistic.

4. Like all of the other photos I have used in my magazine, I
changed the levels and the curves to enhance the image’s
quality.
I then used the magnetic lasso tool to select around the main image, cutting away the
background. Where I would normally have then used the mask tool to neaten the selection, my
personal version of Photoshop was too old to have that feature, so I used a soft eraser brush
neaten up the edges of my selection.
I then copied the selected image and pasted it onto the previous image of the forest background. I
then flipped the layer so that my model was sitting in the corner of the image facing the inside of
the page rather than the page’s edges.

5. Before I could merge the layers into one final image, I applied a simple drop shadow behind just
the layer with my model in to make the image look more realistic.
Once I was happy
with the image
overall, I merged
the layers into one
final image.
To give the image a summery glow to it, I
applied a lens flare to the image to add to the
verisimilitude of the overall feel of the image.
Realistically, on a sunny day, the lens flare
would have been produced naturally.
This technique allows you to apply a variety of different
types of lens flares to the image, experimenting with
position and the brightness. I made it quite bright to
enhance the ‘sunniness’ of the image and I also placed it
just above the trees to give the effect of the sun
appearing just above them.
I also applied the same photo
filter to the image like I had done
with all of the other images in my
magazine to continue the summer
effect that I wanted to portray.

6. I then saved my image as a separate document, then pasted the image back into my double-
page spread document. Now that the image was in place, I could apply the text to the sections I
had planned in my skeleton. I started with the title, using the same font, Rainfall, as both the
titles in my contents page and my front cover, to ensure consistency. I made the first word of the
title big, placing it with the top line cutting straight through the middle again, but to emphasise
on the word ‘Robyn’ I made it a lot bigger, overlapping with the image slightly to ensure it was
the first thing readers would notice.I then decided that the image was
too bold and distracting on the
page, so I decreased the opacity of
the layer to reduce the saturation
slightly.
Then, using both the rectangle and the ellipse shape
tools, I drew a black rectangle for the image’s
caption, and a black circle for a small fact box. I then
reduced the opacity of both shapes so that you could
just see the image behind it. The fact box was new to
my design as I felt that I wanted to give an exact
reading to the audience as to what songs my artist
would play in a gig, which links to the content in my
body copy. Then, to add to the continuity, I used both
the text tool and the line tool to add in the content to
both shapes, using a white font instead to contrast
with the darkness of the shapes and make reading the
text easier.

7. Still on the text tool, I used a white Rainfall font to write the stand first
and the by line, on the far right-hand-side of the image. I used the same
technique of the line tool to separate the stand first from the by line. I
chose to place both pieces of information on top of the image so that I
had more room underneath the image for the body copy. The stand first
has to entice the audience to read the full article, so I tried to keep it
quite short whilst also giving the readers a hint as to what they can read
about. Now that the top half of the page was complete, I decided
that the image looked to plain and wasn’t interesting
enough. I decided to take another image from the photo
shoot and layer it underneath the text, but reduce the
opacity so you could still see the original image. I opened
the image, used the magic wand tool to quickly remove
the majority of the image’s background, and then I
lowered the opacity of the layer.

8. I then set to writing the main article for the page. I used Microsoft Word to write out the article
first, as this allowed me to check the spelling and grammar properly before pasting it into the
magazine. Then, I began to draw out text boxes on the double-page spread, opting
for three thin columns on each side of the middle parting, because this is
what magazines typically use in the industry. I wanted to use a completely
different font for the body copy, unlike in my mock-ups when I used the
same font for my coverlines. Most magazines have a maximum of three
different fonts throughout the entire magazine, which is why I was
allowed to introduce a new font at this stage in the production process.
To make reading easy, I chose a very simple font, and most magazines use a serif font. I chose a
font called Apple Garamond for the body copy, and kept it to size 11, as this is usually the
maximum size a magazine will use for their body copy. I also used black as this stood out well
from my pale background. I then began to copy the text from the Word document in sections
into my double-page spread.
Once the body copy was in
place, I used the shift key to
move the first four lines across
a bit more, to make room for
the drop cap. Making a Just past half-way in the body copy, I
separate text box, I changed then moved the lines down a few to
the font size, making it big make room for the pull quote. The pull
enough for a single letter to fill quote was going to be a short snippet
the space. of some of the speech present in the
body copy.

9. Using the same font I used for the stand first and the title, I
drew a separate text box in the space for the pull
quote, writing a short phrase that would entice the readers
into reading the full article, but would not give away too much
information. To make the pull quote stand out all the more, I
wrote the snippet of text inside a pair of brackets, as they gave
a nice, interesting frame around the text.
The last feature I had to put in was the end blob, and the information to go
with it. To create the end blob, I drew a small black square using the
rectangular shape tool, and then on a new layer directly above it, I used a
text box to write two small arrow symbols inside. I then applied a simple
drop shadow to the symbol to make it appear as if it was coming out of the
page.
Then, just underneath where the body copy finished, I
added a few small sentences to elaborate on the text
and to summarise the story. I also used this to talk to
the audience directly and to tell them that they can read
more about the feature artist, Robyn, on the following
pages, like I had planned in my flat plan. For these
pieces of information, I kept the font style the same, but
made it bold to make it stand out from the rest of the
text.