Here you have it folks: my final edition of 'Apex'! I'm blown away by how much I was able to accomplish because it's tough when you're given a task that has you create something from scratch. I hope people can view this magazine as a sophisticated, yet edgy and modern fashion magazine that is visually pleasing and enjoyable to read. And a very special shoutout to Emma for allowing me to interview her and learn more about her fantastic blog. Without further ado, welcome to Apex...
I can't believe it. It's been quite a hectic journey, but looking back at it now, I've learned so much and I don't regret any part of this experience. Not only did it force me to try new things and push myself to work even harder, but it made me aware of my own potential. I can say with 100% honesty that I had so much fun putting on my very own "production" and working with Emma. I learned that it's tough to be committed to something and keep a schedule, but if it's something you love, it's easy peesy lemon squeezy.
APEX will be published first thing on Saturday and I can't wait to show my friends and get their feedback. I'm so proud of this accomplishment and it's made me want to continue this issue and possibly bring out more. I'll never know what the future may hold for me career-wise, but this has given me a new perspective on Print.
So cheers to what I hope is a success! Thank you all for coming along with me on this adventure and witnessing the highs and lows. Until next time!
It's always exciting when you go through the roller coaster of emotions: nervousness, anxiousness, anger, frustration, sadness, and then relief from getting the results you've been working for. Well, at least that's how I feel. I am officially done with 4/5 of my pages and I'm still working on editing the cover image to make sure it is absolutely perfect and makes a statement. Today I met with Emma and interviewed her, which was a lot more fun than I thought. I realized she's so much more talented and creative than most people know and I consider myself very lucky for getting to witness her grown into a big-time blogger.
Details are definitely crucial at this point, which is why I decided to take my time with the cover and make sure it's what I originally envisioned in my head. I will insert a preview of the pages below and make sure to keep you guys posted on the official last day, which is tomorrow. The next task is to put the pieces together. Wish me luck!
Hello beautiful people! Only 6 days until I have to finalize this bad boy. I've been very productive over the weekend and today as I have finally completed my two-page spread story and the table of contents. All that is left to do is take the picture for the cover page and a cool "Editor's Picks" page that is continued on the table of contents. My idea for that in light of fashion week having recently ended, I wanted to include a personal touch to this edition by having a page for the Editor (aka me) to list and describe all the favorite things from the season and upcoming trends. I want it to be really raw and sort of "messy" so I'm going to be placing all my images and swatches and such on a white construction paper, taking a picture of it and then editing it with a font that looks like handwriting. The project is really coming together and I'm excited to present it to the audience soon. For now, I will leave you with an image of my table of contents since I know it can be quite confusing to process...
Obviously, Kendall will not be on my cover page, but I decided to display an image I thought would most represent the pose and makeup look and background for my cover page. I love the color coordination of the lipstick with the font color and I'm going to try my best to achieve that with mine. As for the index, I wanted it to be simple yet elegant. The pink shows the spring vibe of the issue but the black shows the sophistication I hope to embody.
I'm confident that I'm going in the right direction, as for layout and style and I hope to accomplish the image in my head...See ya soon!
EMCxx
Today I decided to focus on the color pallete I want to use in my magazine. I looked through Pantone to see what the Top 10 Spring Colors are for 2016 and was pleasantly to find this rusty, mustard yellow and lilac grey. These, along with the rose quartz, are my favorite colors which I think would go perfectly for that quirky yet sophisticated vibe. It is very reminiscent of the first layout from my last blogpost and would tie it together very nicely. Obviously, pastels are HUGE for spring, along with florals *cue Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada...Florals for spring? Groundbreaking*
Anyways, I think the page is super awesome and amazing for those designers looking for some new colors to work with.
Also to update on what I'm doing as far as my cover and double page spread, my lovely blogger friend runs a fashion Instagram page and soon to be website called ModBlond and I think it's will be really interesting to talk with someone who's going through the whole process of being a fresh-face among the professionals. I'll be able to ask what are her tips for people who want to do what she does and her inspiration and also personal questions so the audience gets to know her funny and charismatic personality that I know very well. Plus with her being such a close friend, I'll be able to easily schedule a photo shoot with her and plan a lunch date/interview to keep things casual and simple. She also happens to be my friend who is helping me style the model of my front cover. I plan on doing the interview and pictures with my friend this weekend and see when I can work with the model for my cover page. So far, everything is working out perfectly and all that's left to do is pick up a camera and wait until my lights from Amazon arrive (quick shoutout to Amazon Prime).
I was gonna make this a special blogpost by instead linking below my very first vlog but I couldn't contain my laughter just sitting alone on my bed talking to a camera, which further makes me question how Youtubers do this stuff...
ANYWAY, I've been putting together a bunch of examples of covers and table of contents pages side by side so I can see which sort of tone/ color scheme I want to go for. Honestly, for any of you out there who are reading this and need any sort of inspiration, do yourself a favor and download Pinterest. I've now become an avid Pinterester (let's pretend that's a real thing) and always find myself scrolling for hours while occasionally stopping to screenshot the things that catch my eye. Sorry for this tangent I just really need to express my love for that app in some way.
So for this first combination, I really dig the simplicity of it and the uniform color scheme of pink details on a shirt and on the face of the model followed by the same pink coloring the huge block letters that make the content title. Instead of the black background though, I would instead stick with white to match the paleness of the cover page. Also, I would be using the same font for the masthead and 'contents' title to stick with the modern and sleek vibe. As for the several cover lines in the example above, I would merely include a catchy phrase introducing the model centered below her face, followed by possibly the designs she's wearing. One think I do really enjoy about it is the masthead centered over her forehead, bringing attention to the name of the magazine.
For this option, I picked these two because they are serious without being too serious. The use of lower case letters really gives it the appeal that would most fit with my ideal target audience, which is females 16-25. It also reminds me a lot of tumblr blogs way back when which would go for the pastel , non-try-hard aesthetic. I do really like the white as it makes it more spacious and puts more attention on the images, which is something really important to me as I'm going to be taking them all myself. The only problem with this table of contents layout is that I'm going to need at least 12 different topics under fashion to make the page look less empty and bland if I decide to go this route. This coverage in particular is absolutely stunning because of the simplicity of it and I think it would be absolutely doable with the right lighting equipment, (which reminds me I need to take a look at amazon because lighting is so expensive). Overall, the vividness of the images would be the main focus if I were to do this layout.
My final "mock" layout is one that is more serious and grungy. I do love the black theme as black is such an edgy and very dramatic shade which gives so much more depth to an image, as seen in the cover page example. The extreme close-up shows the models beautiful face, yet the filter used overtop is almost hazy and grainy, bringing attention to the cover line in the dead middle. I think this would work very well if I want to do something super high fashion and serious, but this would be harder for me as it would require me only using dark colors and shadowy filters. I do love the flow of closeups that these two would offer, showing the raw emotion of the model just by having the profile of her face showing. The large font emphasizes the drama of it all and this is also a potential option to keep in mind.
So, scratch out all the hours of planning I spent thinking my piece was going one way. Complications happen and its important to ALWAYS have a backup. It was way too coincidental that my teacher assigned us an article to review about Time Management on Long Term Projects because I was running into many obstacles and panicking about what I could do to organize myself. The article was extremely helpful and I've picked up a couple of good habits which will benefit me in the long run. My favorite of the tips are:
Focus on the main goal and gain a full understanding of what you want to achieve
Gather the materials and equipment you'll need to follow through with your goal
Plan out a work schedule to remain on task at all times
Honestly, long term projects are scary and when you're given what seems like all the time in the world, it's almost impossible to remain productive and not leave everything until last minute. With the deadline being a couple of weeks away, I quickly slapped some sense back in myself and got down to business.
Sadly, I was not granted an interview with the previous designer I mentioned, which not only caused me to stress because I had no Plan B, but it also made me upset because I was truly interested in his work and wanted to really delve deep into his creative mindset. But hey, that's the fashion business for you. Not everyone is going to make themselves available, so it's imperative to brush it off and keep moving forward. My very good friend, who worked as an intern backstage at a Nicolas Felizola show, is helping me to set up a possible interview with him, but because its not guaranteed, I decided to take a different approach and interview his assistant. I'm very much interested in the day in the life of a famous fashion designer's assistant, as it is a job most people don't associate with the designing process. I think I could model 24 Hours with Alexa Chung (mentioned in a previous blogpost) and make it really fun and different from a stiff, boring interview that provides the same content one can simply google.
As for the cover page, if I don't manage to meet with Nicola Felizola, I can go a different route and make the two page spread story different from the cover image. Lucky for me, one of my classmates happens to be a model who has even been featured in one of Daddy Yankee's music videos. She's who I think would be perfect for the edgy and modern look I want the cover to have.
Tomorrow I am going to meet with her and ask if she'd be interested. Wish me luck!
Today has been quite a lovely day. I got to sleep in, step out into the beautifully hot Florida weather, and take time to research different questions to ask my fellow designer.
I really want to stray away from "basic" questions and try to do something more creative to provide actual content for viewers rather than answers they can find from any other source.
I took a look at Olivier Rousteing's interview with British Vogue for further inspiration. I chose to emulate this one because of how the questions flowed effortlessly and were more open-ended questions. "Describe the people you dress", "Is your perspective of fashion ever affected by your age?", "If you had a theme song, what would it be?", "Do you believe being active in social media is key to becoming successful?" are some of the questions I would love to ask, besides the necessary background info.
Huffington Post followed a similar format by first describing the setting (in this case, Catherine Litke's store) and then the questions. "When did you know you wanted to be a fashion designer?", "Is there a face to your brand?", "How do you balance creativity with commerce?", "Who inspires you most?", "Walk me through your creative process".
I really enjoy Vogue's take on interviews by doing dialogue-heavy interviews with big designers. It not only gives the designers a chance to take full control of the interview but it shows the thought process behind their decisions and shows their passion.
I'm also seriously intrigued by Vogue's quick fire 73 questions with some of fashion's most iconic people, such as this one with Victoria Beckham while she's running through her store. This type of "challenge" if you will is more fun as it gives the person less time to think and more of an instinct response.
"What's your biggest goal for 2015?", "If you could do a duet with any person, who would it be?", "If you could tell your 13-year-old-self something, what would it be?", "What's your favorite color?", "If your life was a movie, what would the title be?"
I think I'm leaning more towards the quick-fire questions just because of how surprising and quirky they are.
I've been feeling a tad uninspired and unmotivated today to be honest. With spring break right around the corner, I know it's dangerous to continue my lazy ways because there is A LOT of work to be done. Today in class, I had the chance of meeting with my teacher to go over my progress. I'm glad I'm on the right track as far as research and idea wise, but I'm lost as to what the next step is. She suggested I email the fashion designer, which is a little frightening because how do you ask someone successful to give you the time of day for a school project? Luckily, my classmate who is good friends with the designer was able to contact him and schedule to meet later this week (I'm trying my very hardest to contain my excitement and nervousness)
Since then, I've been messing around on Canva to create a general layout for the main cover page. I like the idea of modernism and muted neon colors so I came up with this split image followed by a space for a simple cover line and the edition number in the corner.
For the posing of the model (me in this case), I want it to be fresh and not making direct contact with the camera. I think its much cooler and creative than the typical closed-mouth, smoldering-eyes look.
As for the title, I've chosen to go with APEX because it is short and not a typical name for a fashion magazine. I think it goes with the overall eclectic theme I'm trying to achieve.
The next step is to research interview questions and try to ask very bold and overall different questions. I hate the overused questions like "Who's your biggest inspiration?" or "What are your next plans?". It's going to be tricky, but the key is to stand out and aim for something out there.
I've suddenly become aware of my surroundings and I finally understood what they meant by 'Life imitates art.' Usually, my morning consists of my parents fighting with me to get up because I have separation anxiety with my bed, and today was no exception. I was dragged out of bed (literally) and told we were having brunch at a restaurant in Las Olas. To be honest, I was already set because brunch is the best meal of the day, but I didn't know how inspiring a hotel restaurant could really be. It was called 'Steak 954' and if you happen to be in the area, do yourself a HUGE favor and have their Vanilla French Toast smothered in Dulce de Leche. Excuse me while I clean the drool.
Besides the amazing food, the hotel is the epitome of modern chic. Everything from the neon lights above the elevator to the abstract fountain screamed luxe. Obviously, I couldn't NOT capture these elements so I uploaded a couple of PHHHOTO's.
Although nothing was exactly similar in the hotel, it all came together and followed the same contemporary theme and I was all for it. This was what brought me to decide on a contemporary yet eccentric theme; something never done before in the world of fashion.
As soon as I got home, I created two main sketches for the cover page, including two different mastheads. I don't know whether I want a title thats iconic and only one word, such as APEX or something more casual and quirky like The Frow. I also jotted down some general notes for colors and some pros and cons to the different layouts.
I also went back to my Pinterest page and pinned some of the really helpful articles I've been reading about how to make the cover page stand out. My favorite has to be Canva blog post by Rebecca Gross, in which she studies 50 of the best design techniques known to print history. Tip #1 is to make the issue title overlay the cover image, but what I love most about the Little White Lie's cover is that the cover title never seems to make the image less important and it adds a lot of dimension to the cover.
Also, check out this incredible two-page layout Alexa Chung did with Harpers Bazaar. Not only is the layout unique in the sense that the article follows the outline of her image, but the concept of a '24 hours with...' is extremely cool and I don't think it's ever been done before. I think this is the kind of route I want to go for my possible interviewer with my designer.
So far, I'm chuffed with how I've managed to dedicate an entire hour each day to researching, planning, and sketching. The next step is to start playing around with different design programs and find which one is best for me. And this is my cue to sign off because the pizza delivery guy has just rang the door bell!xx
As the title suggests, I had a brain blast this morning (if you are a true 90s kid you would have caught that Jimmy Neutron reference). I am 110% confident that I want to do a fashion magazine. The feeling is scary, knowing what you want to do and not being able to turn back, but fashion is something I'm constantly involved in and exposed to, so it made sense to just bite the bullet and do something I truly love.
Since I figured out my genre(which was when I woke up randomly at 4:30 in the morning), I can limit my research to all things fashion and beauty. As my sugar high died down from downing a Iced Chai Tea Latte this morning, I suddenly started to panic because what on Earth am I going to do for the cover image!!?!?!?! Sadly, I don't know a Jenner or Delevingne to be my model. So I started thinking and thinking until I decided to ask my teacher because I was fresh out of ideas. She suggested putting an up-and-coming designer on the cover, maybe even a major designer situated in South Florida.
Fast forward to 6th period, when my teacher put us in groups to evaluate each other's progress and give input. When I presented my ideas and thought process, I was happy that my classmates really enjoyed my overall blog layout and aspirations for a more edgy and eccentric magazine. That's when one classmate (shoutout that classmate) told me he was friends with Armanie Smith, the designer behind Astrum Studios based in Miami whose clothes have been worn by artists such as Rita Ora and Post Malone! He even gave me his number to contact him and arrange to meet up and do an interview.
I can't tell you how excited I am now. There are so many ideas I have running through my mind. And the Astrum line is, for lack of better terms, sick. It reminds me of Golf Wang and Odd Future, created run by Tyler the Creator, and they are truly unique and very sporty chic pieces I could see easily at Urban Outfitters.
Hopefully everything will workout and I can start planning my interview questions, the photo shoot session with models wearing Astrium, and everything can fall into place. Now it's time to put together a rough draft of what I want the magazine layout to be and coming up with a title. Until next time!!
Today marks the
beginning of a crazystressful extraordinary journey that is the
Final Portfolio project. I’m a bit nervous, as it is one of the biggest and
longest projects I’ve ever had to do. But nervous is good, right? It gets the
creative juices flowing in the brain (hopefully).
I decided a while
back that I was going to go the print route and create my very own magazine.
Right then and there, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to work with
something I love, which is writing and graphic designing. Up until now, I was
convinced I would do a fashion magazine, as it a topic I am a fan of and would
love to explore in greater detail. But, I’m now trying to get to the nitty
gritty and decide for once what genre to do out of the hundreds of
possibilities.
To better
organize my thoughts, I’ve compiled a list of genres I am interested in:
Fashion
Food
Music (I thought it would be really interesting to have the two-page spread
be an interview with one of the hip bands from school and one of the cover
lines could be more tech based...also it’s a very broad topic that can cover a
variety of subjects and it would be cool to see a convergence with smartphones
and other apps...plus there aren't any real big music magazines)
I also chose to
do a little digging on Pinterest (guilty pleasure) and came across one of the
most magnificent front pages I had ever seen from Harper Bazaar’s March 2015 issue. (I shall insert because everyone deserves to have this image engraved in their mind forever)
Not only is the shot INCREDIBLE with the combination of a dark, mesmerizing aqua blue from the water and the gold of the magazine title and the itsy bitsy bikini adorning Rhi Rhi's beautiful body, but the simplicity of the main cover line with the seriously hilarious "Killer Fashion" (I can't help a really bad/good pun).
Simple and classic is definitely the look I want for my magazine, but I also would like it to stand out in stores compared to the other fashion magazines. I'm thinking of incorporating really cool graphics to give it that artsy vibe. I've been drawing major inspiration from really edgy and cool magazines such as V Magazine and PAPER Magazine, as well as online food bloggers like Foodie Crush. Heidi, who runs the quirky blog, has a really simple yet cute layout that uses really vivid photography to capture the readers attention and make them want to devour a fudge brownie cookie all at the same time. She also runs her own online magazine using Issu which could be a good option for a music or fashion magazine.
I think I'll try the "bubble bath method" and see if I can finally decide what genre I'm going to commit to. Cross your fingers when I make the BIG reveal tomorrow!! -EMC
