The first three photos from the gallery below show my exploration of a good cover photo. I settled on the one in the middle as it fits the aesthetic I am aiming for. I have edited it in LightRoom in order to bring out the pink and blue tones. The first one seemed a little unprofessional (I did prepare less for it, and there were factors that I could not really influence in the way I wished). I also tried a more exposed version of the water bottle picture, but, in my opinion, it did not turn out as well as the other one.
The fourth photo is how I envisioned the contents spread - on the left page there is a CD cover I designed to be used as a 'featured artist' reference.I added coloured squares behind it in order to create contrast and a more 'complete' edit, but I did not like it very much - it looked a bit bland and unprofessional on the page. Therefore, I chose to only use a photo of a featured artist, edited in PhotoShop (I did not place it in this gallery - but stay tuned for the final product!).
The fifth and sixth photos are options for the double spread. I really liked all photos I took, but on the first options the photos looked a bit too similar, and then I aimed for something different: the photo of me. I chose this one for multiple reasons: beside the fact that it matches my concept very well, the white background made it easy to layer up text and lines over it (look at the 7th photo). I really enjoy the different fonts and how they unite the editorial, as well as the colour palette and the overall composition of the double spread. I still need to add details about the editorial somewhere on the double spread.
While thinking of graphic design, I aimed to try my best in order to communicate visually the subjects and messages present in this BONBON issue - I did that with the help of the knowledge that I have accumulated through the analysis of modern arts & culture magazines, as well as the readership profile. To be specific, I created different combinations of compositions, layered text over/under photos, used multiple fonts and sizes on the same double spread, added paintbrush strokes, added frames around photos and pages, changed the colour scheme from page to page in order to create a compelling final product, and so on. By creating pages that go well together in order to form a complete magazine, I have laid the foundation to a good reader-product connection by bonding with potential customers who have an appreciation for beauty and aesthetics combined with semantics and connotative elements.
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