Final Table Of Contents

As mentioned before, I needed to revaluate my table of content. It lacked pages, appropriate images, page numbers for the images, and the sizing was too big. Seeing that I only gave myself 3 days to work on the table of content, I shouldn't be surprised it didn't excel my expectations.

Now that I have given myself more time to generate story titles and I've been given feedback on how to move forward, my table of content is finally complete.

Seeing that I needed more stories and pages, I made the decision to thin out the black and white spacers. A member of the group meeting suggest that a description for each title would be appreciated. At first I didn't really think descriptions would be necessary and there was no room to put them in after the thinning, yet as shown above, there was, after all, some room. Although I do believe that the text cluster the page more than I would normally like it to, the title's do require a caption to express the intent of the magazine.
The text and style of the layout was not the only thing redone. I finally was able to fill out the pictures on the left side of the table of content! The toughest part was associating an image with the "Family vs. Individualism" story (page 85). I was between a family portrait or the image seen in the page. The deciding factor was that a majority of the family members would not be clearly visible, due to the fact that the framing would obstruct the view, removing all meaning to the picture.
Overall, I believe that my table of content is differently unique and informative. It maintains true to the image of Stagger and of myself. I'm glad I had the opportunity to re-examine the table of content before having to turn it in.



One point to my past planner self. Zero for my panicked future self.

Layout

Knowing that writing isn't my strong suit, I encouraged the completion of the two page spread by starting to put together the layout.
In learning about the different elements of a magazine, the most important thing to keep in mind is to have your text flow. One wants to avoid overwhelming the readers with too much information, therefore the occasional break of images avoids this issue. Furthermore, grids for text is the best way to guide the readers, so that each column break transitions them to the next column with no confusion.
Since Stagger maintains a photojournalistic genre, images are a must for the the two page spread.

I know that I will be working with the "My New Identity" story, therefore my text will consist of personal re-encounterments of the subject's experience. I'm thinking either interview style or personal story/telling. I'll decide soon.
Keeping you updated!

Advertisement

Magazines are FILLED with advertisements, it wouldn't be right to not include an advertisement appropriate for Stagger. Not only that, but since the story I am generating for the project requires 3 pages, an advertisement fits perfectly to make my magazine flip book complete.
Since my magazine is about people and diversity, some sort of traveling advertisement would work best.

After many hours of research I've pinpointed Airlines as a mean for advertisement:

• It is a service industry, meaning it is selling an experience rather than a product. Similar to the Stagger magazine, rather than show casing specific products, Stagger display's the experience and expertise of individuals. 
• According to the Journal of Business Case Studies, the four main matters airlines must respond to are "Intangibility", "Inconsistency", "Inseparability", and "Inventory". Those are the 4 issues I'll have in mind when forming the advertisement. 
• Additionally, there are many "psychological underpinnings" which one must keep in mind when constructing an advertisement. An airline ad such as American Airline’s, formats an advertisement with personal and casual language structures which forms a connection between the customer and the establishment. The simplicity, yet elegant advertisement is the role model for what I want my advertisement to look at. 
• The target audience for most airline companies are young adults as they the largest age group who fly's constantly. Hence many airline's pushy nature to get flyers to buy in on one of their mile reward programs when they are just forming their credit score. 

Respectfully, Stagger represents a voice for individuals who are just getting their footing, therefore a new and small airline company is perfect for Stagger. Not only that, but the "family business" and personal connection to the audience goes well with the Stagger image.
Time to get to it!

Citations:
> (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2018, from http://www.marketing-schools.org/consumer-psychology/marketing-airlines.html
> Tibrewala, R. K. (2011). Case Study: Eco-Jet Airlines. Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS),5(6), 67. doi:10.19030/jbcs.v5i6.4734
> American Airlines Postcards. (2018, March 20). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from http://wahsonline.com/2017/02/20/postcard-corner/
> (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/targeted-marketing.html

Picture Perfect

I was able to get a hold of one model before they were whisked away to vacation with their families and friends, Iniya. As I said before, I've only known her for a few months, and only through school, therefore, I thought the whole experience was going to be an awkward one. After picking her up and then a short drive to the community park, I was already sweating bullets. I had a set idea of what I wanted the pictures to look like, but I didn't what to put Iniya in an uncomfortable position in which I wouldn't capture the raw emotion I craved.
However, the whole shoot went amazingly. Instead of me coaching her, Iniya's friendly vibes aided to calm me down. She was amazing, owning the camera and thinking throughly on each pose she presented to me. She was not even a little bit scared of the camera straight up in her face. She glowed. I am so impressed with her.
I was able to collect more than 70 pictures, but I've narrowed it down to 40 pictures. This is a lot, I know, but their were so many positions that I couldn't leave out! Yet one picture stood out the most to me.

Since the style of my magazine consist of black and white, the shadow on her face ties to the theme. I was experimenting with editing, and filters, but overall I think the original image is better. You can’t forget the essential part of tightening the image with a crop.

The Ongoing Struggle

Time to find a new font, again. I find that Pinterest overwhelms me with so many possibilities that I forget the focus of my magazine, there for I will be keeping it simple. Apple has plenty of fonts built into my mac computer, each font family holds variation as well, bold, underlined, shadow, italic, etc. I carved out a 2 hour block to search freely for at least 5 finalist. This is what I came back with:

Based on the idea of my black and white style, my Masthead will maintain that style. I believe that with this, my table of contents is matching my cover page. (yay) After consulting 3 other peers, I went with choice number 2. Simple is better. I came into this project with a simple idea, but I somehow lost face of that. But no more!
Simplicity is the path.

P.S. I've been working on the Table of Contents. It's been frustrating to have each page match in exactly the same position so when put next to each other, the two pages that consist the Table of Contents would match, yet it has significantly improved. Check in soon for the final product.

Too much Information

It's time to get started with the cover page, but where to begin? Layout seems like the safest bet.

Popular female fashion magazine include Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Fashion. These magazine promote many coverlines highlighting various stories, but in my opinion, I think it clusters the cover with an too much information.

Relating to the ASOS magazine I've mentioned before, the cover image holds the most focus of the whole page. Not only that, but their cover is not so flashy or vividly colored which doesn’t take away from the image itself. The elements all work together as if they could all be found in the world in which the cover image was taken.
However an aspect of the cover page above which really makes it stand out is the the model's facial expression. I plan to use this as an example to harvest the model for my cover so they are able to capture the audience's attention... to be something they just can't ignore. I imagine many professionals study for years in order to master this skill, but I will only have about 2 weeks to grasp it.
Wish me luck!

Citations:

>Lawrence, M. (1970, January 01). New Fashion City. Retrieved February 28, 2018, from http://new-fashion-city.blogspot.com/
>Roberts, K., Mackelden, A., Holmes, S., Shneid, R., Tang, E., Saujani, R., . . . Associated Press. (n.d.). Elle. Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://www.elle.com/
>Perle, L., Beck, L., Zaucha, A., Kamphausen, K., Urquhart, T., Hsieh, C., . . . Associated Press. (n.d.). Cosmopolitan. Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://www.cosmopolitan.com/
>Female. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://fashionmagazine.com/tag/female/

Reevaluate

After the group meeting in class, I left with a lot of changes: font, genre, color, table of contents, and basically anything I thought I was going to do.
Not that the ideas and suggestions the group provided me weren’t amazing, I do find that this group meeting has made me revaluate EVERYTHING. Rather than be more interested and passionate to keep me going, I left class discouraged.
Seeing that I haven't taken pictures, hence far behind schedule, the stress levels has risen. I feel so unprepared. I don't know if it is magazine related or just other things and assessments around me that has caused me to unfocus.
Thank the gods for spring break i'm I right? I am not sure if it's the optimistic side of me or the desperation, I believe that after this break, I'll be able to come out of the break with pictures, a cover page, and an some form of advertisement for my magazine. I'm thinking traveling agency, but I'm not sure how to portray said agency.
In other words, my break from work will be no break. Here is a list of what I will make sure I complete:

• New font for "Stagger": The one I have now is too curvy. It takes away from the seriousness of the topic and genre. 
• Genre: I feel like I lack all the elements of what makes a fashion magazine, which isn't necessary a bad thing. I never intended to make a "fashion" magazine. Nonetheless, I need to reflect the layout of a full photojournalistic magazine. 
• Table of Content: I NEED MORE STORIES! I mean I knew that from the beginning, but I need a variety. I've lost inspiration and "topics" in which a magazine like "Stagger" would include. A detail the group meeting inspired was to include the page number of the story which is linked to the pictures on the Table of Content page. The large black and white dividers will have to become smaller in order to fit more stories, as well as some text to detail what the title represents. There are a lot of quirks which need fixing for the table of content to be complete. They aren't necessary difficult, rather they are specific and therefore fragile. The placement and sizing if every aspect is very specific so that the two pages will align with each other. 

Overall, I feel overwhelmed, but I think this stress will pay off at the end. In terms of the schedule, I can take pictures and edit for each aspect of the project accordingly. For example, when it's time to work on the two page spreed, I can designate some time to edit and take pictures for the said pages.
I really hope this huge delay won't hinder the quality of magazine I hope to produce. Wish me luck.