Peer Review & Changes

Yesterday in class we met up in groups to do some peer critiques. I'm very glad we did so because I was pretty lost prior to this & I can really say they gave me some direction. They gave me some great advice and I think I too, was helpful to them. My classmates aided me in reducing my cover choices to the following two:

The reason why these two beat the others is because of the human touch to them. My peers helped me realize that although this is a travel magazine & scenery is of the utmost importance, it's important to show something human in order to establish a connection. This will allow the viewer to see themselves at the scene & it will be more engaging to them, as they will feel more of a need to visit and explore.  Keep in mind that the cover lines on the bottom & the title are just default at the moment and not a stylistic choice. Also, the pictures shown aren't edited to their          perfection yet, & these images are just a VERY rough draft. 

Another plus to these pictures is the colors. As you can see in these options, as well as the past options, I am trying to work with fresh, light colors - a lot of blues & greens. This is not done mindlessly... In "10 Brilliant Color Psychology Infographics," I learned a lot about how color can affect & influence the reader. 

For example, I found that green & blue's positive moods include strength, health, peace & trust. This seemed perfect to me... how else would you want to feel on a trip? In my opinion, all of these feelings tie into empowerment, which is exactly what I want to awaken in my readers. Like I said before, in this magazine, I want my audience to feel strong. My goal is to create a sense of extremeness & adventure, it'll be fun & relaxing & everything euphoric so it completely calls their names.

On the negative side, green also symbolizes envy, which I still find effective. This could inspire envy in a reader, but an envy of the kind that makes them want to be in the photographer's shoes.

I also realized the importance of color in one of the informercials that says "people make a subconscious judgment about a product in less than 90 seconds of viewing, and a majority of these people base that assessment on color alone. In fact, almost 85% of consumers cite color as the primary reason they buy a particular product, and 80% of people believe color increases brand recognition." 

My cover lines will contrast whichever cover image I choose so that they're easy to read & stand out to the reader, which I will begin working on today.

Check back soon :)

Explorin' Canva

In my last post I mentioned how I was going to try out Canva, I now report to you that I LOVE it. 10/10, highly recommend. I was really worried about how I was going to make my title page look neat since like I mentioned before, I'm not too tech-savvy, but this platform is so user-friendly while still offering a great variety of layouts and ideas. I also pretty much finished gathering all my pictures, something that excites me but also makes me a little nervous... I have no problem with having to use my own pictures, I just wish I could take some specifically for this project. Seeing as I won't be traveling for these couple weeks, I have to rely solely on what I've taken on past journeys. This will be a challenge because I have to work with the pictures that I've taken for no apparent reason (other than for personal memoirs), and it would be so much easier if I could take certain pictures the way I want in according to my ideas. It's alright, though. That's on me for choosing this topic.. I still think it'll be fun to put together anyway.

With that being said, I've begun my constructing my title page. I know that in my last post I showed a whole layout I had in mine, but reading the article "Creative Layout Ideas From 50 Beautiful Print and Digital Photo Collages," I think my ideas have taken a turn. I like how the titles look more on the top of the page rather than the bottom. 

I started designing my cover page and as of right now I am choosing what my background will be.... this part is vital to the magazine, for it is the first thing the consumer will see. I am aiming for something colorful, that'll look fun & enticing. I am stopping for a while because the platform is giving me trouble uploading more pictures (not fun & I really hope I fix this soon today). As of now these are my options: 

I will keep you guys posted :)