SantaSusanaHighSchool

TheMakingsofaMagazine
20152016SeniorProject

JillianPolancic
English12CP
Mrs.Bradley
20November2015

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Originality

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FormyseniorprojecttwootherstudentsandIwillbecreatingamagazinefor
SantaSusanatodemonstratethedifferentacademiesavailableatourschool.This
projectwillallowmetocertifyinGraphicsandPublications.Ialreadyunderstandthe
essentialelementsoftheAdobeprogramsPhotoshop,Illustrator,andInDesign
however,Ihaveneverputthoseskillstogethertocreateatangibleproduct.Thisproject
requiresmetotakethesebeginningskillstoanadvancedlevel.Inaddition,Iwill
developnewskillsthatIhavenopriorexperiencein,includingjournalism,marketing,
anddistributingprocesses.Ihavenevercollaboratedwithothersonagraphicdesignor
writtenproject.Thisisprovidingreallifeexperienceinthefield,bycreatingamagazine,
andbyteachingmehowtoputmypersonalcreativedesiresasidetoproduceaproduct
thattheclient,Ms.Mayea,wants.
AtwistonthisprojectisthatIamcollaboratingwithotherstoproducethis
product.Workingindependentlyondesignprojectsisverydifferentthancollaborating.
Sincecollaborationisamajoraspectofanycareerinthegraphicdesignindustry,like
mostcreativefieldsthisprojectwillprovideahandsonopportunitytobuildtheseskills.
Thisvaluableskillwillaidinmyfuturecareerendeavours.Therearebothadvantages
anddisadvantageswhencollaboratingforthisproject,asisthenatureofworkingwith
others.Somemajoradvantagesarethatgroupshavemoreinformationthanan
individualandwillstimulatecreativityforeachother(Burke).Somedisadvantagesare
thatonepersonmaydominatethediscussionandtakethepositionoftheleader
insteadofhavingequalpoweramongthegroup(Burke).Therearealwayscreative
differencesbetweenpartnersthatmaycausetensionbetweenthemembersandslow

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downtheprocess.Workinginagrouptakesmoretimethanworkingindividually,the
timespenttalkingandanalyzingproblemsusuallyresultsinbettersolutions(Burke).As
forme,workinginagrouponthisprojectwastherightdecisionbasedonthedifferent
aspectsoftheprojectandtheneedtohavecohesiveness.Workingingroupshavean
advantagewhencollaboratingonpreworkandbrainstormingbecausethereare
multiplecreativeideasandconceptsthatcanbuildoneachother.
Themostimportantcomponentofgraphicdesignistheprework.Preworkis
sketching,thumbnailing,moodboarding,andcreatingflowcharts.Sketchingoutyour
ideasanddoingthumbnailscanbeeasilyoverlookedwhendoingaproject,butthe
advantagesofdrawingoutyourideasisworththeextratimeandeffort.Puttingyour
ideasonpaperhelpsyourbraingothroughitsthoughtprocessfromstarttoend,and
buildontheinitialbasicideatocreatesomethingoriginal.Mostimportantly,itsavesyou
timebecauseifyougointoaprojectbeforeyoucreateasolidconcept,countlesshours
canbewastedproducingaproductthatisnotwhattheclientordesignerneeds.By
sittingdownwithmypartnerstodrawoutandtalkthroughideasforthelayoutsoneach
page,wewereabletocomeupwithourvisionandthemeforourmagazine.Taking
organizedpreworkthumbnailsandwritingandpresentingittotheclientiscriticaltothe
processtomakesuretheworklinesupwiththeirvisionandagainsavetime.Asa
designerthenumberonepriorityistomeettheobjectivesoftheclient.Inanyindustrya
certainamountofprofessionalismisexpected.Asagraphicdesignerverbal,aswellas
visualcommunicationskillsareessentialwhencreatingaproductforsomeoneelse
(
GraphicDesign
).Checkinginwithyourclientandshowingthemyourprogressis

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alwaysvaluablesothattheycanhaveinputduringtheprocesstoachievethedesired
finalproduct.
IndesignisanAdobesoftwareusedtodesignalargegroupofartboards,or
pages.Indesignisalsousedforpagesandlayoutsthatgointomakingmagazinesand
books.IhavebeginnerskillsinIndesign,butIhavenotusedittoportraymyreal
creativeideasforanactualproduct.IhavecreatedalayoutinclassusingIndesignasa
wayoflearningtheprogrambutIhavenotcreatedmultiplecohesivepageswithreal
informationandphotos.WhencreatingaprofessionalmagazinelayoutinIndesignitis
requiredtocreateagridthatisusedonallthepagestokeepconsistencyinthepage
layoutandto[provide]aframeworkforpositioningcontent(
Coster
).Thisalsowill
leadaviewer'seyeacrossaspread,creatingwhatdesignerscallmovementwhich
createsasenseofunityacrossbothpagesinaspread(Rodriguez).Anothergoodtip
whencreatingalayoutistouseanimagewithalotof'empty'space"tokeepagood
balancebetweenthetextandthepictures(
Coster
).Puttingthesethingstogetherwill
createthedesiredfinishedproduct.
Althoughthemajorityofthemagazinewillbephotosandgraphicelements,there
willbeawritingcomponenttoitaswell.ThisissomethingcompletelynewtomeasI
amnotawriter,andhaveneverwrittenmagazinearticles.AccordingtoProfessorPeter
P.Jacobi,anywriterneedstomakesuretheyanswerafewkeyquestions...who,
what,where,when,whyandhowthroughoutthecourseoftheirarticletoproperly
informthereaderonwhatthearticleisabout(Jacobi).Healsobelievesthatwriters
needtobepassionateabouttheirsubjectsinordertobringarticlestolifethrough

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vividwriting(Jacobi).Whenwritinganarticleforamagazinethefactsshouldbewritten
inanentertainingwaytokeepthereader'sattention.Thecarefulblendingofthetwo
elementsispartofthecraftofwriting(Jacobi).
Alargepartofgraphicdesignistypography.Typographyisdefinedastheartof
arrangingtypetomaketextlookappealingwhendisplayed.Typographyandfontsare
easilyoverlookedbuttheystronglyaffecthowpeoplereacttoadocument(Douglas).
Fontandtypographychoicesarewhatgivesadocumentpersonality.Thetypography
choicesmadearejustasimportantastheuseofgraphics,colorandimages
(Douglas).Therearetwotypesoffonts,serifandsansserif.Serifaretypicallyfoundin
textbookswithalittledetailattheendoftheletterstrokes(
TypographyinGraphic
Design
).Sanserifsdonothavetheextradetailsattheendandaremorecasualand
contemporary(
TypographyinGraphicDesign
).Themaingoaloftypographyistomake
thetextvisuallypleasingwhichiswhycontrastisafundamentalprincipleindesign
(Rodriguez).Creatingcontrastcanbedonemultiplewaysuchassize,weightand
proportions(Rodriguez).Themostcommonwaytohavecontrastisbyusingtwoor
morefontsinonelayout.Oneruleofthumbistousesansseriffontsforheadlinesand
seriffontsforbodycopy(Rodriguez).Thereareafewfontsthathavedevelopeda
stigmaamongdesignersandshouldbeavoidedsuchasComicSans,CurlzMT,and
Papyrus(Rodriguez).ThegotofontformostdesignersisHelveticabecauseitisboth
legibleatsmallsizesandsuitableasaheadlinefontandisalegiblebutattractive
captionfont(Rodriguez).

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IllustratorandPhotoshopareakeyaspecttocreatingamagazine.Althoughthey
arenotthemainprogramusedtocreatethelayouts,theyareusedtocreatethekey
elementsoneachpage.Photoshopisusedforeditingandtouchingupimages.This
programisgoingtobevitalformyprojectasthemagazineisgoingtobemostlyphoto
based.Whenarrangingphotosofpeopleinamagazineit'simportanttomakesurethat
thepictureisreflectedinawaytomakesurethattheperson'sbodyisreadingintothe
centerofthepage,notfacingtheedges.Thereasonbeingthatwhentheelementson
eachpagearefacingeachother,itcreatesamoreunifiedappearancethroughoutthe
layout.
Illustratorhasasmallerbutequallyimportantroleinthemakingofmymagazine.
Illustratoristypicallyusedtocreatevectorimages.Iwillbeusingillustratortoadd
detailsandinterestingvisualstothephotossuchasgeometricshapes.Geometric
shapesandlinesareseenmoreandmoreinmoderngraphicdesign,becauseitgives
anydesignacleanminimalistlook.
Thefirstthingpeopleseeofamagazineisitscoveritisimperativethatitgrabs
theattentionoftheaudience.Thecoversetsthebarfortherestofthecontent.Astrong
coversignifiesagoodqualitymagazine,whileaweakcovermakesapotentialreader
glanceoveritwithoutasinglethought.Itistruethatpeoplejudgeabookbyitscover
regardlessofwhatthefamousphrasewarnsagainst.Agoodcovershouldforcea
potentialbuyertomakeadecisiontobuyamagazine(
Nikola
).Somewaystomakea
coverpopifyouareusingamodel,istohavethecovermodelshouldlookstraightinto
thecamerawhichdrawsyouinwiththeeyecontact(
Nikola
).Also,thecoverhastobe

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almostasynopsisofthecontentoftheentiremagazine,soitshouldfollowthesame
overalltheme.
Thisprojectispreparingmeforwhatitwouldbeliketoworkinthisindustryby
collaboratingwithothers,overcomingissuesastheyoccur,andseeingexactlywhatis
requiredtocreateaprofessionalproduct.Thisreallifeexperienceispricelessandis
extremelyvaluableformyfuture.Thisprojectrequiredalotofplanning,discipline,and
communication.PlanningwithmypartnersandMs.Mayea,disciplinewithgettingthe
workdoneinanefficientway,andcommunicationwitheveryoneinvolved.Theseare
valuableskillstodevelopwithwhateverfieldofworkIendupchoosinginthefuture.

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WorkCited
Burke,Alison."GroupWork:HowtoUseGroupsEffectively."(n.d.):n.pag.
TheJournal
ofEffectiveTeaching
.Web.2Nov.2015.
Coster
,
Otto
."HowtoCreateaProfessionalMagazineLayoutTuts+Design&
IllustrationTutorial."
Design&IllustrationTuts+
.N.p.,28Sept.2011.Web.02
Nov.2015.
Douglas,JuliaBarrick."TheImportanceofTypographyinGraphicDesign."
FortisBlog
.
N.p.,10Dec.2013.Web.02Nov.2015.
"GraphicDesign."
GraphicDesign
.N.p.,n.d.Web.02Nov.2015.
Jacobi,Peter.
TheMagazineArticle:Howtothinkit,planit,writeit
.IndianaUniversity
Press,1991.
Nikola."55BestTipsforaSuccessfulMagazineCover."
MagazineDesigning
.N.p.,18
Feb.2014.Web.02Nov.2015.
Rodriguez,Keilani."WhatMakesGoodMagazineLayouts?"
PrintDesign
.N.p.,2011.
Web.02Nov.2015.
"TypographyinGraphicDesign."
TypographyinGraphicDesign
.N.p.,n.d.Web.02
Nov.2015.

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AnnotatedBibliography
Burke,Alison."GroupWork:HowtoUseGroupsEffectively."(n.d.):n.pag.
TheJournal
ofEffectiveTeaching
.Web.2Nov.2015.
Coster
,Otto."HowtoCreateaProfessionalMagazineLayoutTuts+Design&
IllustrationTutorial."
Design&IllustrationTuts+
.N.p.,28Sept.2011.Web.02
Nov.2015.
"DesignTips,Education,Resources&DesignerAdvice|
Print
Magazine."
Print
Magazine
.N.p.,n.d.Web.17Sept.2015.
Thiswebsitegivesyounumerousamountsoftutorialsandinstructionongraphic
design,andhowtocreatesomethinglikeamagazine.Thisworkistoteachyou
tipsandtricksingraphicdesign.Itisdirecttopeopleinterestedingraphics.The
informationisrelevant.Thewebsitehasvideotutorials.Allofthetutorialsare
basedoffofthedesigner'sopinion.
Douglas,JuliaBarrick."TheImportanceofTypographyinGraphicDesign."
FortisBlog
.
N.p.,10Dec.2013.Web.02Nov.2015.
Evening,Martin.
TheAdobePhotoshopLightroom5Book:TheCompleteGuidefor
Photographers
.PearsonEducation,2013.
Thisisaguideonbasicphotoshopskills.Itteachesyouallofthetoolsandhow
toproperlyusethem.Thewebsite'stargetaudiencearephotographers.The
informationisrelevant.Therearenospecialfeatures.Theyaremoregeared
towardMacusersintheirinstructions.

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French,Nigel."AdobeInDesignCC."
MakeaMagazineCover
.N.p.,31May2013.
Web.17Sept.2015.
Thissiteisabouthowtomakeacoverpageforamagazine.Theyteachyou
howtodothisusingindesign.Itisdirecttopeopleinterestedingraphics.The
informationisrelevant.Thewebsitehasvideotutorials.Allofthetutorialsare
basedoffofthedesigner'sopinion.
"GraphicDesign."
GraphicDesign
.N.p.,n.d.Web.02Nov.2015.
Green,Andrew."AdobeInDesign."
InDesignMagazineDoublePageSpreadTutorial
1209
.N.p.,Oct.2009.Web.17Sept.2015.
Thissiteisastepbystepguideforadoublepagespread.Itwalksyouthrough
indesigntoshowyouhowtocreatethislayout.Inspiringdesignersaretheir
targetaudience.Theinformationisrelevant.Therearenospecialfeatures.They
aremoregearedtowardMacusersintheirinstructions.
Hildreth,Charles."ShootingwithNaturalLight."
PhotographyLife
.N.p.,23Feb.2014.
Web.17Sept.2015.
Thissiteisabouthowtophotographywithnaturallight.Theyteachyouhowto
usethemostofyourlightingusingcertaincamerafunctions.Thewebsite's
targetaudiencearephotographers.Theinformationisrelevant.Thereareno
specialfeatures.Theexplanationsareverydetailedandhelpful.
Hughes,Kerrie."TypographyRulesandTermsThatEveryDesignerMustKnow."
Typography
RulesandTerms
.FuturePlc,Apr.2014.Web.17Sept.2015.

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Thiswebsiteteachesyouabouttypography.Itgoesovertherulesof
typographyandhowtoproperlyuseit.Theaudienceforthissitewouldbe
inspiringgraphicdesigners.Theinformationisrelevant.Therearenospecial
features.Noneoftheinformationarefacts,justaprofessionalsopinion.
Jacobi,Peter.
TheMagazineArticle:Howtothinkit,planit,writeit
.IndianaUniversity
Press,1991.
Thiswebsiteisaguidetowritingformagazinearticles.Thepagegoesthrough
thewritingprocessstepbystep.Thisbookisforpeoplewhoareinterestedin
journalismorwritingarticlesingeneral.Theinformationseemsrelevant.There
arenospecialfeatures.Thispageiswrittenentirelyfromtheauthor'sopinion.
Joseph,Cole."HowtoPhotographPeople10TipsGuaranteedtoImproveYour
Photos!"
Cole'sClassroom
.N.p.,16Dec.2012.Web.17Sept.2015.
Thissiteteachesyouhowtophotographpeople.Theyexplainallofthecamera
settingsandhowtousethem.Thewebsite'stargetaudiencearephotographers.
Theinformationisrelevant.Therearenospecialfeatures.Theexplanationsare
verystronganddetailed.
Meggs,PhilipB.
Typeandimage:Thelanguageofgraphicdesign
.JohnWiley&Sons,
1992.
Thiswebsitetalksaboutthetheoryofgraphicdesign.Thepagetalksaboutallof
thebasicsofgraphicdesign.Inspiringdesignersaretheirtargetaudience.The
informationisrelevant.Therearenospecialfeatures.Thisdocumentisvery
opinionbasedasthereisnohardfactsaboutdesignpreferences.

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Nikola."55BestTipsforaSuccessfulMagazineCover."
MagazineDesigning
.N.p.,18
Feb.2014.Web.02Nov.2015.
Panic,Mike."ABeginnersGuideto
Candid
PeoplePhotography."
LightStalking
.N.p.,
20Jan.2011.Web.17Sept.2015.
Thissiteisaboutcandidphotography.Theyexplainthelogicandtechnique
behindeachcandidphoto.Thewebsite'stargetaudiencearephotographers.
Theinformationisrelevant.Therearenospecialfeatures.Theexplanationsare
verydetailedandhelpful.
Rodriguez,Keilani."WhatMakesGoodMagazineLayouts?"
PrintDesign
.N.p.,2011.
Web.02Nov.2015.
"TypographyinGraphicDesign."
TypographyinGraphicDesign
.N.p.,n.d.Web.02
Nov.2015.