Changes!

After looking over all that I've worked on so far, I decided to change my table of contents as it didn't turn out as good as I thought it had the potential of. 

The first issue I noticed was the picture. The content in the picture was only a small portion of it. To solve this problem, I cropped the picture I originally used into a square. The square picture contained all of the content and looked better with the layout I changed it to. I also added a page number to go along with the picture so that if the reader likes the picture and wants to know where it came from they can go to that page.

Since there wasn't a lot of information in my original table of contents other than the main articles, I knew I needed to add more information as the table of contents should be informative and allow the reader to easily navigate throughout the entire magazine. I did this by adding sections to help organize all of the information I wanted to present in the table of contents. The first section is called "The Latest." This is the main articles that will be presented and change every issue. I called the second section  "On The Menu" to show the reader all of the recopies in the magazine. Since this is a healthy cooking magazines, recipes to make are very important and should be able to be sound without difficulty. The third and last section is entitled "Always Included." This section will be in every issue and include what's in every issue that's the same as other issues. I added lines in between each section to show the distinction between each one and separate them with organization.

The last thing I did was add pictures that I had previously taken of food that I have made in the past to the "On The Menu" and "Always Included" sections. These will show other pictures of various things that will be included in the magazine. I also put page numbers on the pictures so the reader can easily identify where the pictures and information to go along with it are. 

When first viewing a magazine, my target audience is looking for the best variety of information they can get. Since this is a new magazine, I thought the best way to do this was by making a long magazine for them.  

Working on the Double Page Spread

When working on my double page spread, I chose to put the ingredients and directions to make the recipes in a different font that would allow me to bold the title. 

I decided to add an explanation point to emphasize the title of the main article. I made sure to change it on my cover and in my table of contents as well. 

For the title of each of the ingredients, I chose to highlight the name of the recipe with a color that related to it. I used navy blue for the acaí bowl to highlight the blueberries, a cream-yellowish color for the peanut butter granola apple bites to highlight the granola on the apples, and green for the avocado toast to highlight the avocado. 

I chose to use three columns when writing my article with information on the health benefits of eating breakfast. I used the research I previously did to write the article. I included a little description under the title of what the article was going to be about. I also put the name of the author who write the article under the description.

I decided to add a star to each of the recipes to show how healthy each of the recipes I decided to include are. I made the star in the same color that I highlighted the title of each of the recipes with.

Once again, I made this as well as the rest of my magazine on Canva. I am happy with how it has been working for me. I really like how there are grids and alignments when I am placing texts and objects onto a page.

For the ingredients and how to make each recipe, I made the title of each bold so the reader can see where one starts. I also put them shaped around the main image. For example, for the acaí bowl, I put it on the counter top where there was white space. For the peanut butter granola apple bites, I put it on the cutting board where there was plain red space. For the avocado toast, I also put it on the counter top where there was once again white space. I made sure that the font was easily legible so anyone can read and remake the recipe. I also made sure my directions were in the step-by-step format(best way according to my previous research) and thorough so they're easy to follow. I also had the text of the avocado toast wrap around the image to create a stylistic look. 

Here's what I have so far.

Working on the Table of Contents

I decided to make my table of contents one page because I felt as though I only needed to include the main articles. If the reader wanted to see what else the magazine had to offer, they can flip though and look if they had time to browse. If not, they can look at the main articles and see where they are from the table of contents. 

When previously looking at layouts for table of contents' on Canva, I liked one (picture below) that had the left side with information and the right with little things that together made one great picture. When making my big picture, I didn't spread out all of the little things as well as I should have, hence why the top and bottom is plain countertop. Even though it could have looked better, it still works. 

I kept as well as changed some things from the layout I chose to use. I liked how it said "your guide to issue No. 1" so I added that to my table of contents. I also liked how the page numbers were big and then the title of the article was below with a little description telling the reader what it will be about when they flipped to the page it was on. I didn't include the website of the magazine as it would be too cluttered in the bottom corner of the page with the font thatI chose to use. I changed the font to go with the same one I'm using throughout the magazine, except the one used for the masthead. Lastly, I changed the articles and made my own descriptions for each of them. 

Here's what I have so far. 

Second Peer Review

In class this week, I did another peer review with my classmates Daniela, Mariana, and Elizabeth. They were different than the ones from my last peer review session so we could all share new ideas.

Daniela is doing a film opening about a girl running away with her boyfriend. The beginning of the film is going to start with her planning and packing her escape. After that, there is going to be a school scene of her and her boyfriend talking about where they are going to go. The beginning of the film will end with her and her boyfriend getting into the car and turning it on right before they leave. Daniela asked us how we can help her make the girl look edgy. We told her that she can wear all black and use colored hair extensions to give her the look Daniela wants. She also wanted ideas on how she can put her credits in an artistic way. We suggested that she can put it on a mirror in black sharpie or red lipstick.

Mariana is also doing a film opening will an intense story. It’s going to be about a girl growing up in a low income family. Her dad abused and then killed the girls mother. Following, he abuses her and she ends up killing him. She gets sent to death row and right before she dies, she gets interviewed by people working at the jail. The beginning of the movie will be of the interview and starting the process before death. She started filming but has had some troubles so she’s planning to finish filming this upcoming week. She told us how her dad is an actor and has helped her tremendously.

Elizabeth is doing a travel magazine for Miami. She has visited various places and took pictures at all of them. She showed us the template she is going to use and told us that the name of her magazine is going to be SEEKER. She wants the magazine to be simple in writing with a lot of pictures to look at. She asked us what she should do for her double page spread and we told her that she should show how there’s a lot to do in Miami so it can be for everyone. She can portray this by saying that for the art lovers there’s Wynwood walls, for the nature lovers there’s beaches, for the food lovers there’s many restaurants, etc.

I told my group that I am doing a healthy food magazine entitled Cook It Up. I then explained how my double page spread was going to be about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. I showed them layouts that I’m going to use and they thought it fit my magazine well. I shared mine asked for their thoughts on what I should make and include recipes for. We all agreed that I should keep my three recipes as planned with the açaí bowl as the cover.

This session was very helpful and I’m glad that I had to chance to do it.

Editing

Editing is very important to the magazine making process. It allows me to make sure that what I am making will appeal to my target audience and make them want to keep reading it. 

I edited the pictures once I uploaded them to Canva. When editing, I made sure to look back at my research to remember how to get my pictures to look the best they can. To do this, I played with the brightness, contrast, saturation, tint, vignette, blur, and X-Process. I edited them once I put them onto the page so that I could see what looked best in relation to where the image was placed. 

I also realized that I never added page numbers to my magazine so I did so when editing. I was also planning on putting the website with the page number but decided on not doing so as it would be too much information in one little corner of the page. I put all of the page numbers in the bottom right corner of every page. 

I decided that the order I wanted my recipes to be in for my double-page spreads and main article was the acaí bowl first so the reader could recognize it from the cover page, then the avocado toast, and last the peanut butter and granola apples. When placing the pictures in the order I wanted them in, I had to flip the picture of the apples horizontally so I would have room on the left side of them for the ingredients and directions of the recipe. 

After rethinking the distribution of my magazine, I want it to be featured on websites that have free magazines as well as being on its own website and displayed in supermarkets as it is a food magazine. I think that having it on websites that have free magazines will get a lot of online viewers who may not have seen it otherwise. When browsing magazines online, my target audience looks at many at once to stay up to date on all information. When they look at free magazine websites, they will see my magazine featured and click on it as soon as they see it.

Working on the Cover

After deciding to make my cover image of the acaí bowl that I made, I created and added cover lines to my cover. They include 4 Essential Spices, Guilt-Free Brownies, How To Beat Cravings, and 10 One Skillet Meals. I used numbers to catch the eye of my target audience. I made sure they all had to do with eating healthy before adding them to my cover. I then put the masthead and date of my magazine onto the page. Under that, I put the title of my main article with a little description with the page number that it starts on as well. Between the main article title and the other cover lines I put a little line to show the separation between them. Since I took a picture of the acaí bowl in the right third of the screen, it was perfect for me to put all of my cover lines on the left side of the cover. After that, I played around with fonts and colors of fonts to see which looked best. I decided on mixing white and black fonts throughout the cover. 

I wanted something unique to be on the cover and what I used for this was a big star. In the star, I wrote "Are you looking for a new way to start your morning?" I made the star navy blue to bring out the blue in the blueberries that are a topping on the acaí bowl. I made my masthead white to show the reader the connection between that and what's in the white bowl. I also made the title of the main article yellow to go with the banana in the bowl as well as the morning color. 

I decided to make the issue date of my magazine in June because that is when berries are in season so the cover photo of the blended berries can be made with the fruit of the season when the magazine is issued. 

When working on my cover, I decided to not include a selling line as it would be cluttered and make it look unorganized. I wanted my cover to be simple and to the point so it wasn't the slightest bit confusing to the reader. Since my target audience is ages 25 to 40, people in that age range want to get their information as clearly and quickly as possible. 

Here's what I have so far. 

Cooking and Taking Pictures

Finally! This week, I got to cook all of the recipes for my main article as well as take pictures of everything that I made. Although I thought about trying new recipes for my magazine, I ended up making breakfast meals that I have made and loved in the past so I knew how to make all of the recipes that I made this week. Before starting to cook, I made sure that each of the recipes had unique health benefits that could set them out from any other breakfast as I am making a healthy food magazine. When taking pictures, I made sure to take more than one so I could see which one looked the best. I also kept a notepad where I was cooking to keep track of everything I did. These were the techniques I used that I learned from my previous research.

The first thing I made was the acaí bowl. I started out by laying all of my ingredients to make it. They included a bowl, a blender, frozen berries, honey, acaí puree, a banana, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and coconut flakes. After that, I started making the masterpiece. I blended the frozen berries, honey, and acaí puree together until it was thick and well blended. The machine that I used to make it was a Nutri Bullet blender but any type of blender would work as well. I used a bowl to put the blend in before putting the toppings on it. The toppings I used were sliced bananas, raspberries, blackberries, coconut flakes, and blueberries. When I took out the coconut flakes, they were a little bigger than I expected so I crushed them up before putting them on top of the acaí blend. I put the toppings in a row to make them pleasing to the human eye and look mouth-watering. I then put berries, coconut flakes, and a spoon outside of the bowl so the background of the picture was not plain. Lastly, I took pictures of the final product.

The second thing that I made was the peanut butter and granola apples. I was planning on putting a chocolate drizzle on top but the chocolate that I was going to use was coming out of the bottle too fast so the drizzle would not have looked like one if I included it. I first took out a cutting board, apples(green-granny smith and red-gala), creamy peanut butter, and plain granola. Crunchy peanut butter could have also worked, it would have just been harder to spread onto the apples. The color of the apples doesn't matter either, the cook can choose whichever they prefer. I chose to include a variety to show that they both work. I sliced the apples, spread creamy peanut butter on it, and sprinkled granola on it. At first, my aim for the sprinkle was off so the granola that went onto the cutting board I ended up picking up with my hands and sticking it to the peanut butter. I then arranged the apples onto the cutting board in a formation that looked neat and organized before taking pictures. 

The third thing that I made was the avocado toast. When I took out all of the ingredients, they included a pan, two pieces of multigrain bread, two eggs, a tomato, an avocado, and everything but the bagel seasoning. Since there was a recall on California avocados, I made sure that the one I bought was not from there. I cooked the two eggs over-easy(one after the other so they didn't get stuck to each other), cut the tomato into slices, and laid out the bread on the plate. I then mushed the avocado onto the bread until it had the consistency of a smear. After that, I put the sliced tomatoes and the egg onto the bread with the egg on top of the tomato. The last thing I did was sprinkle the everything but the bagel seasoning on top. I put the carton of eggs, half of an avocado, and a tomato behind the plate so the background had texture to it. I then took pictures of the final product.

For the table of contents picture, I decided to use healthy things I had in my house to lay out and take a picture of. First, I used a dipping dish to put olive oil and vinegar into and green and black olives around. Next, I cut zucchini and peppers to also be put into the picture. After that, I took triscuit crackers and put them into a cluster. Lastly, I took the picture for my table of contents. I made sure that it was a vertical picture so that it could be on one side of the page if I decided to make my table of contents one page or be split into two pages if I decided to make my table of contents two pages. 

After making all of the recipes and taking pictures of all of them, I have decided that the acaí bowl would be the perfect cover image. It is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and can draw attention to my target audience. 

Working on the Main Article

For the title of the main article, I thought of morning sayings and the first one that popped into my head was rise and shine. I then looked up words that rhymed with shine and found a perfect one - dine! As a result, the title of my article is going to be called Rise and Dine!

For the article itself, I searched "Why is breakfast so important?" on Google. There were many websites to help me with my research but I narrowed it down to stick on using information from four of them(which I cited below). From them, I learned that breakfast increases your energy throughout the day, improves your brain power, reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, starts your metabolism helping maintain body weight, and gives you vitamins and nutrients. When I write my article, I'll elaborate on each of these but this was great research to base my article off of. I plan on including specific vitamins and nutrients that each of my breakfasts in every recipe that I provide to show how beneficial and healthy they are.

To get ideas for healthy breakfasts, I looked on pinterest for "healthy breakfast recipes". After spending a lot of time on the website and thinking about recipes I have made and loved myself, I decided on three breakfasts to go along with my article. They include an acai bowl, apples with peanut butter, granola, and a chocolate drizzle, and avocado and egg toast. When making and taking pictures of them, I will make sure they have a well put-together presentation that's pleasing to the senses. I love working on this magazine and can't wait to keep going!

Resources:

“Pinterest.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/.

“Breakfast Benefits: Energy, Weight Control, and More.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/food-recipes/breakfast-lose-weight#1.

“The Science Behind Breakfast.” Rush University Medical Center, www.rush.edu/health-wellness/discover-health/why-you-should-eat-breakfast.

Up, Shake Up Your Wake. “Why Is Breakfast Important? Shake Up Your Wake Up, www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/why-is-breakfast-important.

“Why Is Breakfast So Important?” Travel To Wellness, 27 Oct. 2017, www.traveltowellness.com/why-breakfast-is-so-important/.

How to take pictures of food

I am going to take the images for my magazine on my iPhone 8 Plus. The camera is a duel 12-megapixel camera on the rear side on the phone, which is where I'm going to be taking the pictures from(instead of using the front camera). Moreover, I did research so that when I take pictures next week, I know more about how to take the best pictures of food. Here's what I learned:

- Shoot in natural light, outdoors or indoors, for the best color.
- Take control of the shadows, it can make or break the image.
- Use a neutral background so that the color of the food pops. 
- Shooting from above is often the best choice, especially when the food is arranged on a plate or bowl.
- Arrange the food neatly - presentation is everything.
- Decorate the scene to create a story with the image.
- Keep it simple but expose for the highlights.
- Enhance the colors with editing. (I will use an app on my phone to edit the pictures before uploading them to the computer to format them on my magazine.)
- Choose the right surface to place your food on. 
- Take pictures from several angles so you can decide which looks better.
- Use a grid setting when taking the picture to ensure the focus is where you want it to be.

To be completely honest, I was planning on taking pictures this weekend but there was a leak in my house and it became a mess. As a result, my production process has to be delayed. I bought a few ingredients for it (as you can see in the picture below) but I am going to have to wait until next week until I have a clean kitchen to cook in. I can't wait to make it and then eat it after I'm done!

Resources:

“13 Tips For Beautiful & Tempting IPhone Food Photography.” IPhone Photography School, 13 Feb. 2019, iphonephotographyschool.com/food/.

Fantozzi, Joanna. “A Food Stylist Reveals 10 Tricks That Will Take Your Food Photos to the next Level.” INSIDER, INSIDER, 25 Aug. 2017, www.thisisinsider.com/how-to-take-better-food-photos-2017-8.

“Food Photography 101: How to Take Perfect Pictures of Your Food - Product Photography.” Shopify, 31 Aug. 2017, www.shopify.com/blog/food-photography-tips.

How to write a food magazine article

I am going to use this research to write my magazine article to the best of my ability.

The food talked about should be sensual so that the reader can understand what I am talking about. For example, my readers should be able to smell the apple pie, feel the fuzzy down of a peach, see the vibrant colors of the spices, hear the bite, and taste the sweet and sour from my description.

Limiting the use of adjectives can be a great help. If writing is strong enough, there is no need to use unnecessary words like delicious. Instead, trying to use metaphors or similes can do the work of the adjectives and interest readers at the same time. Avoiding generic terms allows the author to get straight to the point. Using words such as satin-smooth or buttery is a good way to be descriptive if using an adjective is needed.

The act of cooking should be an action movie. It's important to tell the reader what happens while you are preparing the food. A great way to ensure that this will happen is by keeping a notepad right next to where you are cooking. That is an easy way to write down notes of things that happen in the process of making the food. As for recipes, they should be written in the standard format using step-by-step instructions. Thoroughly test it to make sure that the recipe you are putting in the magazine actually works. When testing it, use a scale to get accurate measurements. In the steps, explain exactly how every ingredient is used - including how an ingredient was cut sing both the size and shape is one way to do this. When listing the ingredients, do so in the order they are called for in the directions.

Resources:

Holland, Bill. “How To Write A Food Article.” Owlcation, 18 May 2016, owlcation.com/academia/Six-Types-of-Food-Writing-Articles.

Kirchner, Bharti, et al. “Food Writing between Bites.” The Writer, 21 Oct. 2018, www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/nonfiction/food-writing-bites/.

Sina, et al. “Secrets of Writing Recipes for Big Food Magazines.” Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food, 21 Sept. 2015, diannej.com/2013/secrets-of-writing-recipes-for-big-food-magazines/.

Final Plans

After taking a lot of time to think and browsing many magazines on issuu(such as Glutten Free & More, Cooking Light, Eating Well, Thrive, Healthy Food, and The Cooking) to choose what my main article will be about, I have finally reached a decision. I knew that I wanted to include recipes in my article but I didn't know how to incorporate them together. I was also trying to get away from the usual interview from a cook in a lot of cooking magazine's main articles. Before coming to a conclusion, I made sure that what I was going to be writing about, I would have interest in. Therefore, I have decided to make my main article about breakfast in this issue. 

Ever since I was a little kid, my mom would always make me eat breakfast as it is "the most important meal of the day" as she would say. As I grew up, I learned from what she would say to me all the time and started enjoy breakfast more and more. Currently, I can't go on with my day without it. Even though I am in high school, she would still say her famous line every once in a while if she didn't see me eating breakfast at the same time as her. One morning this week, I was really full from what I had eaten the night before and was about to leave for school with a breakfast I packed to eat a little later than my usual time. My mom didn't see what I packed so she told me her famous line once again. When she said that, a light bulb went off in my head and I knew exactly what my main article was going to be about. 

I plan on making my main article about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I also want to include recipes I enjoy that are easy and delicious to make. I'm pretty sure that I am going to make my double-page spread an extra two pages because with what I want to include, it would be very squished to fit onto one page. I'm excited to gather my research and keep working on this project.

Resources:

“Digital Publishing Platform for Magazines, Catalogs, and More.” Issuu, issuu.com/.

Peer Review

This week, I had a peer review session with my classmates - Isabelle, Ben, and Arianna. 

Isabelle explained to us how she is going to do her baking magazine. She emphasized how she loves baking in her free time so that influenced her decision to do that type of magazine. We talked about how when she bakes, she should take pictures of the various processes she goes through to get to her final product. She can use these, as well as her final product, as pictures in her magazine. 

Ben talked to us about the drama film opening he is going to make. It's going to be about kids that go into the forest, get lost, and something happens to them. We realized that there wasn't much to his story-line so we brainstormed to try and help him think of ways to make it more interesting. I thought that he should make a reason for the kids to go into the forest so an example I suggested was for them to go on a camping trip alone for the first time. He thought it was a great idea and wrote it down for future reference. 

Arianna told us about the film opening she was designing that started out with a fight scene in a parking lot that led the main character to be hospitalized. It was hard to understand at first but once she explained how cars were going to be parked with crowds around the fight, it made a lot more sense to me. She was also planning to have the main character wake up in a hospital room to set up the story-line for the rest of them film.

I told the group that I was going to create a healthy food magazine. I explained how I loved eating healthy and that was my motive for choosing to make this type of magazine. I asked for ideas of what to do with my double-page spread. I was thinking of doing an article that went along with a recipe that the reader can try on their own. They gave me suggestions such as an interview with questions and answers relating to the type of food that the recipe was in. I will take their feedback into consideration in making my final decisions. 

This peer review session was very productive and I'm happy we all got to help each other with our projects. 

What to remember when laying out my Double-Page Spread!

Layout is important for the organization of the article to ensure that it is easy to read and pleasing to the eye. I made myself a checklist that I will look back on to remind and help me with my double-page spread. 

I got inspiration by looking at the images of two double-page spreads. For example, the fonts in "Arctic Tundra" go along well with each other while the rules were broken in "What's On This August." 

For the layout of my double-page spread, I am going to:
1. Use a grid from Canva and add information into it to make it my own. I will use the grid-lines to ensure that there is order on my page. 
2. Choose my font pairings. I am going to ensure that the fonts that I choose work well with each other and is easily legible. 
3. Align my type. Using the grid-lines will help the reader's eyes follow and the consume the type as it'll be neatly aligned. 
4. Get the reader's attention. Pull quotes are a great way to do this using the points that really stood out in the article. It will possess both the general tone and content of the article. 
5. Make the information on the page important. Ensure that the most important pieces of information, such as headings, titles, images, captions, etc. stand out more than the rest of the article. 
6. Design my images. The image, placement, style, and scale of images play a huge role in engaging the audience. 
7. Make a relationship between the images and the text. A great way to do this is by having a "conversation" between the two. Maybe consider integrating the type onto or on top of my feature image. 
8. Know the rules and break them. Doing something out of the ordinary is always a great way to catch the reader's eye.
9. Read it through. It has to make sense the entire way through - printing it out and reading it on paper is an idea on how to do this. 
10. Ensure the voice fits the article. It has to be one that correlates with what's being talked about. For example, if the article is about parenting, the writing should be informal as if the writer is a mom and is talking to who is reading it as if they are giving them advice on how to do it. 

Resources:

Inspirational and Attractive Magazine Page Layouts.” Onextrapixel, 8 July 2013, onextrapixel.com/inspirational-and-attractive-magazine-page-layouts/.

“A Designer's Checklist for Designing Awesome Multi-Page Layouts: 15 Must Know Tips – Learn.” About Canva, Canva, 7 Jan. 2019, www.canva.com/learn/multi-page-layout/.

Images make a big difference!

Images are very important in magazines as they let the audience have a visual to go along with what they are reading. They get the reader's attention and tell a story, even better than any written block of text can communicate. A variety of images are displayed throughout magazines so that everyone can find a picture they like whether it’s on the cover, in the table of contents, in an article, or on the back. Images allow the audience to connect with what they are reading as they are seeing things that happen in real life.

Images help get the audience engaged so they want to read on and see what goes along with it. If it’s a picture that goes along with an article, this gets people to read the article that accompanies it.

Images convey a message in a quick manner. For example, if a reader sees a picture of a famous family cooking together, they know a lot of information such as the who, what, and where without reading a single word of the article that goes along with it.

Images improves understanding and nonverbal communication. Photographically strong bonds are dynamic, emotional, and timeless. With 93% of all human communication being non-verbal, combining visual elements with well-written text is an excellent way for marketers to capture the imagination of their target audience.

Images increase engagement by creating a favorable perception for the audience.  Humans are conditioned to make snap judgments, sometimes on a subconscious level. A professional appearance, including a well-taken photograph displaying a product or service in context, builds trust.

Images drive sales.  There is a direct link between utilizing high-quality images in marketing and the growth of sales. Photographs help consumers visualize themselves using a product or service and allows them to imagine it improving their life in some way.

Since I am a visual person, I love seeing things to go along with what I am reading, analyzing, etc. I am going to include images in my magazine as that would be what I would want to see if I was reading it. To be honest, I don't think I've ever fully read a magazine article the whole way through if it didn't have pictures on it. I get bored easily and keep flipping pages to find ones that have pictures. Especially in food magazines, the way information is presented plays a big role in attracting the target audience. For example, I’d rather look at an article with a picture of a freshly made meal over one that’s just text with no pictures.

Here is a brainstorming list I made of some pictures that I can include in my magazine. I used the food pyramid as inspiration to keep me on the healthy track.

- Acai bowl

- Salad

- Smoothie

- Eggs

- Salmon

- Fruit

- Wrap

- Chicken Bowl

- Vegetables

I'll decide on what pictures I will use when I figure out what will go best with the story and cover I will make.

Resources:

“10 Reasons Why Photography Is Crucial In Modern Marketing.” Digitalist Magazine, Digitalist Magazine, www.digitalistmag.com/customer-experience/2016/10/03/10-reasons-why-photography-is-crucial-in-modern-marketing-04526510.


“The Importance of Pictures in Your Stories.” Public Relations Sydney, 26 May 2015, publicrelationssydney.com.au/the-importance-of-pictures-in-your-stories-2/.

What to remember when laying out my Table of Contents!

Once again, it's important that the layout of the Table of Contents is arranged in a way that flows and is easy for the reader to understand. 

I got inspiration from magazines I looked through online and at home. Two that helped me a lot in making my checklist I inserted below. For example, the first one uses three columns which is why I made number 4 and the second one uses top-view photography which is why I made number 6.

Here's the checklist I made to help me keep details in mind when I make my Table of Contents:
1. Use a gradient and a grid. This will keep the page neat and organized so the reader can use this to navigate throughout the entire magazine. 
2. Feature photography. Sorry that this is very cliquish, but a picture can really say a thousand words.
3. Separate the different parts of the magazine. For example, the what's always included part should not be combined with what always in every issue. 
4. Use columns so that it is not difficult to use. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to dig up information from a cluttered page.
5. Include descriptions. This will give the reader a glimpse of what they can read about if they flip to the page with the main article.  
6. Top view photography. It has been very popular this year and it is a great way to take pictures of food.
7. Put the page numbers into design elements. This is out of the norm but will catch the readers eye very fast. 
8. Make sure it's easy to navigate through. The use of an organized layout combined with page numbers that stick out from the rest of the text will give the audience an easy page to use as a map for the rest of the magazine. 
9. Highlight important content. This will get the reader to focus on one article that the designer wants them to. 
10. Use color wisely. Be certain on the meaning of color when it is used. For example, don't use dark colors if you want the meaning to be about happiness which is normally portrayed in brighter colors.

Resources:

“Designing the Perfect Table of Contents: 50 Examples to Show You How – Learn.” About Canva, Canva, 28 Oct. 2018, www.canva.com/learn/table-of-contents-design/.

“10 Reasons to Use Color.” Understanding Graphics 10 Reasons to Use Color Comments, understandinggraphics.com/design/10-reasons-to-use-color/.

Table Of Contents Research

The table of contents includes story titles with page numbers covering the whole publication. It's found in the front of the publication so it can be used to find any story or part of the magazine in the rest of the publication. Putting a small description of each story is optional but common in several magazines. It lets the reader know the location of the "always included" section. Most table of contents are more than one page for longer publications so that the reader can look for what article they want to read an easily be able to navigate to it. Shorter publications use a one page table of contents as all of their information is not a lot and can fit in a small amount of space. Many genres split up the two or more page table of contents with an advertisement. Columns aid in presenting the information clearly. Page numbers can be highlighted and or circled for as an easy to read format. The main article should still be bigger than the others even in the table of contents so it's easily recognizable. 

I am going to include most of the elements about the Table of Contents that I did research on. The only one that I’m not going to include is a description for each story because I don’t think it’ll benefit my cooking magazine. The titles will be descriptive enough to let the reader know what they are going to get into. 

This is an example of how the titles of the stories and page numbers that go along with it are displayed. It also has the main story bigger than the rest of them.

Resources:

Bear, Jacci Howard. “Design a Table of Contents or TOC for Books and Magazines.” Lifewire, Lifewire, 28 Feb. 2019, www.lifewire.com/table-of-contents-basics-1077580.

Davis, Jeff. “Teach Word Users the Six Benefits of a Table of Contents.” TechRepublic, www.techrepublic.com/article/teach-word-users-the-six-benefits-of-a-table-of-contents/.

Double Page Spread Research

Double-page spreads are used for the main story or stories in a magazine, depending on the length of the magazine. If they are created online, like how I am going to do mine, using grids and columns for the entire layout is essential for organization. That will ensure that the pictures will not impede on the navigation of the text. Sidebars can be used to enhance the story. Text is usually left-aligned so that it's location can be read naturally. Titles of stories and sections of them are in a larger font compared to the rest of the story. Some magazines choose to have the introduction in a larger font than the rest of the story but a smaller font than the title to have it stand out a little. All content included must contribute to the purpose of the story. The title should be enticing to the target audience so they want to learn more. It's important to include a byline so that the reader knows who wrote the story. The feature image should be visually enticing to the reader. Text on images can give more information about them or highlight an element of it. Some magazines choose to repeat an important sentence from the story in between the rest of the text in a space where it can be emphasized using a different colored and bigger font. The page number and title of the story should be included in the corner of the page, depending on where it is in the rest of the magazine. It should be in the same place as the others so readers can easily look through it to find what they want to look at.  My double-page spread will include all of the elements that I did research on. 

This is an example of how some quotes can be emphasized within a story.

This shows how the title is bigger than the rest of the text, the pictures have captions, and there's a description of what the story will be about.

Resources:

Nikola. “Magazine Spreads – Good and Bad Practices.” Magazine Designing, 4 May 2013, www.magazinedesigning.com/magazine-spreads-good-bad-practices/.