Sunday, April 10, 2016

CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION



This is my creative critical reflection! I hope you all enjoy learning a bit more about the overall process...

Thank you so much to everyone who helped and kept me motivated...I had a blast and can't believe I was able to accomplish what I did.

-EMCxx

Saturday, April 9, 2016

FINAL PROJECT

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...

http://joom.ag/ytbQ








Thursday, April 7, 2016

DAY ELEVEN: THE END IS NEAR

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!

-EMCxx

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

DAY TEN: ALMOST DONE

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!

EMCxx



Monday, April 4, 2016

DAY NINE: Due Date (Winter) Is Coming...

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

Thursday, March 31, 2016

DAY EIGHT: Vivid brights and quiet stability...

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). 


Wednesday, March 30, 2016

DAY SEVEN: Less Sleeping, More Brainstorming

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.