DAY ONE: It's just the beginning...

Today marks the beginning of a crazy stressful 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