2-Page Spread: Final Mock-Up and Elaboration

After creating the three format plans for the two-page spread in the previous blog, I narrowed down my selection to only one spread draft to continue with. The selection of this option was based on multiple elements including the sophistication, colors, simplicity, uniqueness, etc. In this blog, the process of editing the image and creating the design, including why certain elements were chosen, will be discussed. It is extremely crucial to have a clear understanding of how and why each design was made in order to create the best final spread possible. 

Final Choice:

The spread below was the chosen one for multiple reasons including its color scheme and overall layout. I used Canva to create the whole spread from scratch in which I made a 17x11 custom design and worked around from there. The image and the article itself get the right balance of representation on the 2-page spread. Its color scheme aligns with the fashion conventions very well as the white represents fanciness and the black represents boldness. The designer in the article is very bold and fancy with her lifestyle in which she lives which gives an amazing representation of women in the fashion world. The left page of the spread compacts the content very well in which it has a bold and interesting title with well-aligned columns of information right below. The fonts used here are all serif because they give off a modern and elegant look to the text being read in there. The black and white color scheme won over the colorful one because not only is it bold, but fashion magazines don not usually use a lot of colors at once so having a B&W theme is very unique. Overall and when put together, the elements and designs used here all have a very elegant look to them and make for a great fashion spread. 

For the left page of the spread, the design is very simple yet very impactful. The way that it is set up follows almost every major convention of the spread. For instance, the title of the article is bigger than the rest of the text and centered on that page. The font used was used because of its modern and fashionable design that makes it align with the fashion genre very well. The line right below that is the overview of the article. This is like the hook that can persuade the reader to keep reading the article.  Under that is the byline which is necessary in order to credit the individual who wrote it for their work. Then, right below are two columns of text containing the actual content of the article. In almost every magazine, articles are written in columns and not essay-style so that they do not get uninteresting and appear long when seen. The color of all the text is black simply because it does not distract or pop too much while also being distinguished from the white background. The page numbers are placed on the bottom near the spine of the magazine. This allows for the reader to tell the pages apart by looking in one area hence how close they are. The one for the right page is black and the one for the right is white so that they do not blend in with their backgrounds. The overall color scheme is black and white for this one which is mainly because the black and white modeling pictures give off a vintage and aesthetic look. Therefore, the final design will have a unique-looking scheme to it which is exactly what you need. The placement of the text is from the biggest to the smallest text size and also by importance. The title is clearly more important than the rest then we have the headline and then the byline leading us to the actual text. The placement gives it a very organized and put-together look which is again, very much needed. 

In the other two drafts that were previously created, they have very outgoing designs that basically took the major attention of the spread leading to the text being ignored and left unnoticed. However, this spread has just the right balance between the design and text. In addition, the huge designs led to a lack of information that I was able to include in the spread. This design, however, is very put together and its elements fit together just right. It also has the right balance between following the conventions and being sophisticated from them compared to the other two which did not give off a fashion vibe. As a result, this was the option that I leaned towards and decided to proceed with. 

Image and its Editing:

For editing the image, I used the Picsart app due to the variety of filters that it offers for the image. I first chose this image because it went very well with the boldness of the title and text in the article which aligns with the bold expression of the young model in the image. I decided to change its color to black and white for the same reason stated above-- it is a modern and elegant color scheme in fashion magazines. Below, you can see the very simple process I went through to create the final product. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion and to sum up the above, the final spread I chose was chosen for multiple reasons including its color scheme, modern and elegant look, and image choice. While the other two designs broke many of the fashion conventions, this one balanced it out very well. It has the right amount of uniqueness and simplicity which is what gives it its modern look. The research I conducted previously as well as the process I went through helped me gain knowledge and experience on creating the perfect final spread. While I had to tweak some minor elements, that process only made it better and more fancy. This design is my final product for my magazine's two-page spread in which is also aligns with the cover and table of contents.