Sunday, 27 January 2013
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Magazine Pitch (25 words)
Make your own slide show at Animoto.
Monday, 21 January 2013
Examples of Double Page Spreads

This double page spread from Kerrang! magazine caught my attention because of its simplistic yet bold design. The minimal layout - an image filling one page and the article filling the other - is made to stand out more due to the bright yellow font. The colour scheme of grey/black and white is used in most magazines, but the fact that yellow has been added to this fits in with the rock genre and makes the page seem more striking.

This double page spread from Rolling Stone magazine caught my attention because of its minimal layout. An image is spread across both pages, which is not always common amongst magazines, and there is very little body to the story. The headline is a pun and plays on the film 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', but has been altered to read 'Benjamin Lee' to drive the reader's focus towards the featured artist. The image is very colourful, and so the black and white text is very fitting because it is readable and doesn't add any excessive colour which may make the spread seem too busy.
This double page spread from NME magazine caught my attention because of its bold colour scheme and sectioned layout. Split into three sections - the main image on one page and two columns of text filling half of the other, making up the article, and the black section separate from this, raising other bands to the reader's attention - this spread is very packed in but still clear to read. The header 'The Teenagers' is spread over the two pages, so as to indicate which parts are connected to the article, and stands out due to the bold typography and contrasting colours (blue and black). The colour scheme is predominantly black, white and blue, which is similar to the Kerrang! article, in order to create a 'stern' look about it, fitting in with the genre, once again.

This other double page spread from Kerrang! magazine caught my attention because of the matching colour scheme which runs throughout. The dark background allows for the red and purple headers to stand out, although the main body of the article is written in white so that it is easier to read. The colour of Tyson Ritter's clothes mirrors this palette choice, and the article is spread across both pages this time, with the main image in the middle. Four black and white images have also been added with red borders, in order to stand out and create an interesting layout.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Magazine Layout Glossary
Here’s a glossary of magazine and newspaper layout terms – taken from a variety of sources by Mr Smith.
There are some terms that practitioners
disagree on – ‘masthead’, for example. So there are two contradicting
definitions of this, and one or two other terms. Some contain advice and
opinions that you may disagree with. Take your
pick.
Alley: the space between columns within a
page. Not to be confused with the gutter, which is the combination of the inside
margins of two facing pages.
Ascender: in typography, the parts of
lowercase letters that rise above the x-height of the font, e.g. b, d, f, h, k,
I, and t. See descender for headline implications of
these
Angle: The approach or focus of a story.
This is sometimes known as the peg.
Banner: The title of a periodical, which
appears on the cover of the magazine and on the first page of the newsletter. It
contains the name of the publication and serial information, date, volume,
number. Bleed: when the image is printed to the very edge of the
page.
Block quote: A long quotation - four or more
lines - within body text, that is set apart in order to clearly distinguish the
author’s words from the words that the author is
quoting.
Body or body copy: (typesetting) the main text of the
work but not including headlines.
Boost:
picture boost (usually front page) pic promoting a feature or story in
later pages
Strap boost: as above, but with a strapline, not
a picture
Buried lede: when the main point of the story is
hidden away deep in the text. It should come first.
Byline: A journalist's name at the beginning
of a story.
Callout: An explanatory label for an
illustration, often drawn with a leader line pointing to a part of the
illustration.
Caption: An identification (title) for an
illustration, usually a brief phrase. The caption should also support the other
content.
Centre of visual interest
(CVI): The prominent
item on a page usually a headline, picture or
graphic.
Column: A regular feature often on a specific
topic, written by the same person who is known as a
columnist.
Column gutter: The space between columns of
type.
Copy: Main text of a
story.
Cropping: the elimination of parts of a
photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping
allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the
space.
Cross head: a heading set in the body of the
text used to break it into easily readable
sections.
Cross head: A few words used to break up large
amounts of text, normally taken from the main text. Typically used in
interviews.
Cutlines: Explanatory text, usually full
sentences, that provides information about illustrations. Cutlines are sometimes
called captions or legends.
Deck: Part of the headline which summarises
the story. Also known as deck copy or bank.
Deck: a headline is made up of decks, each
set in the same style and size of type. A
multi deck heading is one with several headings each different from the next and
should not be confused with the number of lines a heading has. A four line
heading is not the same as a four deck heading.
Descender: letters that descend below a
line (q,p,g, j) Ascenders and descenders
can create unused space in large headlines.... that is one reason why tabloid
front page headlines use capitals... there are no ascenders or descenders in
caps, so the lines can be crammed more closely together by adjusting the leading
and therefore make better use of the space and add to the
impact)
Discretionary hyphen: A hyphen that will occur only if the
word appears at the end of a line, not if the word appears in the middle of a
line.
Double page spread: magazine design layout that spans
across two pages. Usually, the design editor will arrange to spread the layout
across the centre pages of the magazine, so as to ensure that the design lines
up properly.
Drop cap:
a large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line
or lines of text below.
Drop shadow: Drop shadows are those shadows
dropping below text or images which gives the illusion of shadows from lighting
and gives a 3D effect to the object.
Editorialise: To write in an opinionated
way.
Feature: A longer, more in-depth
article.
Facing pages: In a double-sided document, the two
pages that appear as a spread when the publication is
opened.
Filler: extra material used to complete a
column or page, usually of little importance.
Flatplan: A page plan that shows where the
articles and adverts are laid out.
Flush left:
copy aligned along the left margin.
Flush right:
copy aligned along the right margin.
Golden ratio: the rule devised to give proportions
of height to width when laying out text and illustrations to produce the most
optically pleasing result. Traditionally a ratio of 1 to
1.6.
Grid: A layout grid is the non-printing
set of guidlines that designers use to align images and text in a document
layout.
Grip-and-grin: A photograph of no inherent interest
in which a notable and an obscure person shake hands at an occasion of supposed
significance.
Headline: The main title of the article. Should
be in present or future tense to add to urgency. Must fit the space provided. If
it doesn’t, you are using the wrong words.
House style : A publication's guide to style,
spelling and use of grammar, designed to help journalists write and present in a
consistent way for their target audience.
Justify: (typesetting) the alignment of text
along a margin or both margins. This is achieved by adjusting the spacing
between the words and characters as necessary so that each line of text finishes
at the same point.
Kerning: Adjustment of horizontal space
between two written characters.
Kicker: The first sentence or first few words
of a story's lead, set in a font size larger than the body text of the
story.
Lead or Leading: (typesetting) Space added between
lines of type to space out text and provide visual separation of the lines.
Measured in points or fractions thereof. Named after the strips of lead that
used to be inserted between lines of metal type.
Leader: An article that shows the opinion of
a newspaper.
Leader: A line of dots or dashes to lead the
eye across the page to separated copy.
Leading: Adjustment of vertical space between
two lines.
Lede: The phonetic spelling of lead, the
beginning, usually the first paragraph, of an article. The importance of getting
the main point of the story in the first sentence is regularly stressed to young
journalists by editors. Don’t bury the lede. When we were taught to write
stories at school we were urged to save the best for the climax. In journalism,
get the climax in first, then give the context.
Masthead: Main title section and name at the
front of a publication.
Masthead: Magazine term referring to the
printed list, usually on the editorial page of a newspaper or magazine, that
lists the contributors. Typically this would include the owners, publishers,
editors, designers and production team. The masthead is often mistakenly used in
reference to the flag or nameplate, which actually refers to the designed logo
of the publication.
Negative space (or white
space): the area of page without text, image or other
elements
Noise: A noisy image or noisy scan is one
where there are random or extra pixels that have degraded the image quality.
Noise in a graphics image can be generated at the scanning stage, by
artificially enlarging an image by interpolating the pixels, or by
over-sharpening a digital photograph. Noise can sometimes also be found in
photographs taken by some cheaper digital
cameras.
Orphan: First line of a paragraph appearing
on the last line of a column of text. Normally
avoided.
Overline: introductory headline in smaller
text size above the main headline
Pull quote: A brief phrase (not necessarily an
actual quotation) from the body text, enlarged and set off from the text with
rules, a box, and/or a screen. It is from a part of the text set previously, and
is set in the middle of a paragraph, to add emphasis and
interest. A
quote or exerpt from an article that is used as display text on the same page to
entice the reader, highlight a topic or break up
linearity
Pull-out quote: Selected quote from a story
highlighted next to the main text. Often used in
interviews.
Puff piece: A news story with editorialised,
complimentary statements.
Recto: Right-hand
page.
Rivers: a river is a typographic term for the
ugly white gaps that can occur in justified columns of type, when there is too
much space between words on concurrent lines of text. Rivers are especially
common in narrow columns of text, where the type size is relatively large.
Rivers are best avoided by either setting the type as ragged, increasing the
width of the columns, decreasing the point size of the text, or by using a
condensed typeface. An often overlooked method of avoiding rivers, is the
careful use of hyphenation and justification settings in page layout programs
such as QuarkXpress or InDesign.
Running head: A title or heading that runs along
the top of a printed publication, usually a
magazine.
Sell: Short sentence promoting an article,
often pulling out a quote or a interesting
sentence.
Serif and Sans serif: Plain font type with or without
(sans) lines perpendicular to the ends of
characters.
Set flush: text set at the full width of the
column with no indentation
Splash: Main front page
story.
Standfirst: Lines of text after the headline that
gives more information about the article, or about the
author.
Standfirst: will usually be written by the
sub-editor and is normally around 40-50 words in length. Any longer and it
defeats its purpose, any shorter and it becomes difficult to get the necessary
information in. Its purpose is to give some background information about the
writer of the article, or to give some context to the contents of the article.
Usually, it is presented in typesize larger than the story text, but much
smaller than the headline.
Strapline: Similar to a subhead or standfirst,
but used more as a marketing term.
Subhead: A smaller one-line headline for a
story.
Subhead: A secondary phrase usually following
a headline. Display line(s) of lesser size and importance than the main
headline(s).
Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in
the story used as a headline
Tag line: a short memorable line of cover text
that sums up the tone of the publication (Loaded Mag has: For men who should
know better)
Tombstoning: In page layout, to put articles side
by side so that the headlines are adjacent. The phenomenon is also referred to
as bumping heads.
Top heads: Headlines at the top of a
column.
Widow: Last line of paragraph appearing on
the first line of a column of text.
Widow: In a page layout, short last lines
of paragraphs - usually unacceptable when separated from the rest of the
paragraph by a column break, and always unacceptable when separated by a page
break.
Wob: White text on a black or other
coloured background
Friday, 18 January 2013
Preliminary Task: Photoshop (college magazine)
The final cover I created for my preliminary college magazine:
The layout of the cover is much the same as my flat plan idea, although I decided to leave out some of the text I had planned, because I thought this would make the cover look too cluttered and would take away from the simplistic example I was going for.
I decided to use a quirky, yet simple and readable font, so as to appeal to the target audience, and, also due to the genre of the magazine, I placed an image of a student central to the piece.
I chose the colour scheme - red, white and black - so as to keep in tune with what was most common, as I thought this would be my safest bet to begin with. Although, my model was standing in front of a grey background when I took this photo, and so I decided to keep this as an extra colour tone, as I thought it pulled away from the common look slightly but still looked professional. Due to what the model is wearing, however, I don't think the colours I have used for certain pieces of texts are suitable and clear, and so this is something I can learn from and will have to be aware of in the future.
I decided to use a quirky, yet simple and readable font, so as to appeal to the target audience, and, also due to the genre of the magazine, I placed an image of a student central to the piece.
I chose the colour scheme - red, white and black - so as to keep in tune with what was most common, as I thought this would be my safest bet to begin with. Although, my model was standing in front of a grey background when I took this photo, and so I decided to keep this as an extra colour tone, as I thought it pulled away from the common look slightly but still looked professional. Due to what the model is wearing, however, I don't think the colours I have used for certain pieces of texts are suitable and clear, and so this is something I can learn from and will have to be aware of in the future.
The final contents page I created for my preliminary college magazine:
The layout of the contents page is a lot different to what my first ideas were, as you can see from my flat plan. This was mainly due to the fact that I had not taken enough photos to begin with, and so I could not go through with what I originally had planned. I feel that the contents page does not look too different from its front cover, however, and is once again simple in its layout, and so this was not a complete loss. Next time, I would place the text differently, as it is obscuring the image from the reader's view slightly, but due to my lack of Photoshop skills at present, I had to use this photo for the background of the whole page, and so there was not much room to place the text accordingly.
I kept the colour scheme the same, which I think works well, but some of the text is barely visible, as before, and so I would have to think more clearly about this next time.
I kept the colour scheme the same, which I think works well, but some of the text is barely visible, as before, and so I would have to think more clearly about this next time.
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