InDesign Magazine Double Paged Spread

To further my development of my InDesign skills I have created a magazine double page spread. I have used many techniques and rules in order to make the double page spread jump out and attract the attention of the customer.

The first rule that I applied to the magazine is the rule of three. Using the rule of three attracts the customer as consumers are always attracted to groups of three, and if I have this in my magazine it will attract attention. Placing three images together makes the magazine look attractive, using three images match the design of the magazine as the magazine features three columns on each page. Using three columns attract to customers who are in a socioeconomic group of B, C1 and C2 as columns of three make the magazine look like it is important.

Next I had to make sure the magazine double page spread has a 3D effect feel. Creating a 3D effect is essential as it makes the page look like it has life and jump out at the customer. If the page looked flat, the magazine would look boring and would not attract the customer. In order to make my page look 3D, I have added a drop shadow onto my images. This adds a 3D effect to the magazine as images look like they have been lifted from the page. I have also overlapped the images. This created a 3D effect as it makes the page look full of life as the page does not look flat.

I also added effects to my images. The effect that I used is called the Polaroid effect. This is when a white background is grouped with an image to make the image hold a boarder. Creating a Polaroid effect makes images jump out on the page, this an advantage as it will attract the customer. To do this I created a white box that was slightly larger than the image. I then changed the box colour to white and sent it to the back. Sending the image to the back makes the white box move behind the image, making a white boarder effect. I then grouped the objects together using (ctrl+G), by doing this it groups both the image and the boarder together so I can move the two objects in sync. After I grouped the images I then re-sized and arranged the images ready to be used in the magazine.

Furthermore, I used the rotation tool. I used the rotation tool to rotate images on my page. Rotating images in a certain direction gives the magazine a new feel. Rotating images to the right makes the feel of the reader move on and look to the right of the page. This is essential as there is more of the magazine on the right hand side. If the images were pointing to the left, the reader would be guided left, this is not good as the reader's attention should be focused with the flow of text, which is from left to right. Rotating images is an essential feature in magazine design as it adds character to the double page spread.

Another effect that I added to the double page spread was a background. Adding a subtle background is an advantage as it adds character to the page and also makes the page look 3D. Adding a subtle background attracts the customer as the magazine looks attractive and adds character. If I had not added a background into my magazine, the magazine would look plain and unattractive. Customers are not attracted to plain media, therefore I have to add features, such as a background to attract the target audience. To make a background I first looked on the internet for a suitable image, I then saved the image onto my computer. To insert the image into InDesign I went to file, and then place and moved the image to behind text to create a background.

As InDesign has not been created to edit and design media such as mastheads, I used Photoshop. I have used Photoshop to create my masthead "Disabilities and the Media" because Photoshop allows me to create a unique style font and add many effects to make the masthead attractive. To create my masthead I first opened Photoshop. I set the page up to an ideal size and made sure the background of the document was set to transparent. Setting the background to transparent allows me to use the masthead in another document without a white background around the text. I then added appropriate text and colour to the document. I cropped the image using the cropping tool to ensure space around the text is kept to a minimum. To ensure that the background stayed transparent, I saved the masthead as a PNG 24. Saving the image as a PNG 24 removes all background colour, ready to be used in my magazine.

As you can see from the screenshot above, I have created a ripped text effect in the article above. As you can see the 'ripped' paper has statistics about disability. To create the ripped paper effect, I first saved the paper image into Photoshop. I then selected an eraser brush that looked jagged and selected an appropriate brush size. I then went around the paper image and created a ripped style effect. I then exported the image and placed it into InDesign.

To ensure that my magazine looks professional, I ensured that the text within the article was sized 10. This is essential as size 10pt is not too small to read and is large enough to attract the customer. If I sized the text at 12pt, the text would not all fit inside the article.

The last effects that I used in the magazine was basic and advanced text wrapping. Basic text wrapping allows me to cut and edit text, for example text boxes. Advanced text wrapping allows me to shape text around images. Using these features make the article look attractive and meet the needs of the customer. If I had not applied basic and advanced text wrapping, the article would look boring and plain.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Person Speech

To further the investigations of media products I have been asked to research the three different narrative types. The three narrative types are 1st, 2nd and 3rd person. Having the ability to speak and write in different narrative types is an advantage as you can make your text effective. For example you would write in 1st person if you were writing an autobiography as you are talking about yourself and saying words such as I, I went, mine, I did. If you were writing in second person you would use language such as go, yours and you. This text would be used in instructions and directions. If you were writing in 3rd person you would use language such as him/her, they and them. You would use this language if you were talking about others.

An example of first person speech is,

"Today I went to the shop. There were many choices that I had to make. The first choice was to whether I wanted free range eggs or not. I didn’t know what the difference was at the time so I purchased free range. I then moved onto the tills, I needed to load all of my products onto the counter. To make a purchase I needed to find my wallet."

Here is an example of second person speech,

"Firstly you need to open the flour and mix well. Secondly you need to add 200ml of milk. Make sure you do not add semi skimmed milk as the output of the recipe will be affected. Furthermore you need to add one egg. Gently crack the egg against the bowl ensuring no shell falls into the mixture."

And finally here is an example of third person speech,

"You know them boys over there, they are so messy. They have ate their dinner but they haven’t cleared up their mess. They should get punished for what they have left behind."

All of the above narrative types are essential to take into consideration when producing a media text. If you want to write an article or a document on cars, you need to make sure you have selected the correct narrative format to use depending on the content and type of media. 

InDesign Skills Development

To further the development of my InDesign skills I was asked to create another InDesign document. I am going to create an article showing how disability is portrayed in the media. Firstly I needed to import the images that I am going to use for the article. To do this you click on the grey box with no cross located on the left hand side of the document. You then draw a box to import your image into. You then go to file and then place. You select your image and click import, this imports the image into your InDesign document ready to be used.

Once the images were imported I then needed to add a white boarder effect. I selected the grey box with the cross through the middle and drew a box around the image. I then changed the colour of the box to white. You should not see the image now that the box is white. If you can you need to rearrange your image. You then move the white box and click on the image and click send to front. This moves the image to the front of the page, therefore covering the white box. I then aligned the image on top of the white square to make the image have a white boarder effect. Once I had done this I then clicked on the black arrow tool and highlighted both the image and the white box. I then pressed Ctl+G. This groups both the image and the box and makes then become one. To create an effective white boarder I selected the image with the black arrow tool and navigated to the properties tool. I then clicked on FX and selected drop shadow. I changed the opacity to 40%. By doing this it created a shadow that is not too small and not to overpowering.

Now that I have created a white boarder and a drop shadow I needed to rotate the images to make them effective and look good on the page. To do this I selected the image with the black arrow tool and clicked on the rotate tool, located in the effects bar on the left hand side of the document. I then clicked on a corner of the image with the rotate tool enabled and rotated the image to how I wanted. I then placed the images that I imported on top of one another, as seen above to create a wavy style effect.

Another important feature is the masthead. To create a masthead I opened Photoshop. I set the document page size to a width of 300mm and a height of 150mm. I also changed the resolution to 150 pixels per inch and the background to transparent. Selecting a transparent background is essential as this removes all white background colour when inserted into InDesign. If I did not set the background to transparent, when I save the image there will be a white background behind the text.

Once I correctly set up the document I then clicked on the text option and clicked where I wanted the text to be. I then typed the text that I wanted and resized to fit on the page. To do this you double click on the text and navigate to the formatting options located at the top of the page. I then changed the text colour to white and red and created an outline. I also changed the stroke options of the text, and created a drop shadow. By doing this the text features a unique design that looks good and attractive.

The last thing to do was to crop the text. Cropping the text before saving is essential as it reduces empty space. To crop the text i clicked on the dashed box crop option and I drew a square around the text. This crops the image to the size that i need it.

After cropping I needed to save the text. I went to file then save as. I needed to select the correct format to save my text in and this was PNG 24. This saves the text as it is with no background. If I saved the text as a jpeg, the text would develop a white background. Once the text was saved I simply inserted the text into InDesign, ready to use for my deployment.

A large difference in InDesign is the use of a white and black arrow tool. Both tools have very different jobs. The black tool is called the "selection tool". It is used to select frames and bounding boxes. It can be used to crop down images and change their size. The white arrow is called the "direct selection tool". It is used to select content and editable objects within the frames. This can be used to select and edit images within frames in the InDesign document. If InDesign did not feature both arrows, it would be very difficult to edit content within InDesign as you would have to select multiple images and formatting options with the complication of one mouse.

InDesign Skills

The next project that we were asked to do was to create a sample product in InDesign. InDesign is an Adobe effects programme that allows you to create media products. As I am not familiar with the software we were taught some basics. 

We imported and placed images into the document. You cannot copy and paste an image into InDesign as you will have problems with the image further down the line. To insert an image into InDesign you click the grey square with the cross in the middle, this is located in the effects bar usually on the left hand side of the document. You then draw a box on the page and you navigate to file, and then place. You locate your image and then import. Once you have followed these steps, the image selected will be successfully placed into your InDesign document.  

We were also taught how to insert text. Including text in a document is very important, therefore it is essential to correctly import text into InDesign. To insert text into InDesign you click on the box down the side of the document that does not have a cross through. You create your text for example in a word document. You cannot create text in InDesign as the document will not format correctly. You then navigate to file, then place and find the text document and import. This imports the text into the selected area. If the imported text is too long to fit in the text box, you can click on the little red box located at the bottom right of the text box and drag it into the next text box. As shown above the text for the article is spread into multiple text boxes. Using this feature is essential as if the size of the text boxes is adjusted, the text adjusts too.

To also attract the target audience you need a bold masthead. To create a masthead you click on the text icon located in the menu bar on the right and side of the document. Then you click where you want your text to be and you can start typing. You can then double click on the text and use the formatting options to make the text unique. 

An article always needs an indication on where to start reading. This is called a drop cap. A drop cap is when the first letter of an article is over sized. As you can see from the image above I have created a drop cap. The drop cap is essential as it stands out and clearly shows where the article starts. To create a drop cap you highlight the first box of the article, you then click the properties tab and then create drop cap. 

Furthermore we investigated the use of strokes. I inserted a line into InDesign and I used the white arrow tool to create an effect on the line. I changed the width of the line, I changed the pattern of the line and I changed the stroke effects. Using these features allow me to create a product that will stand out and attract the customers eye.

Shutter Speed Investigations

The next assignment that we had to complete was shutter speed investigations. Photographers use shutter speeds to create a range of photos and effects. To create my own shutter speeds I used a professional camera. I took a range of speeds, these were all in TV mode and were 1/125 of a second which took a really slow picture, allowing you to catch lights and moving objects and a faster speed of 1/250, this allows the camera to capture a fast image. As you can see from the image above, I have taken a really slow image. I set the camera to 1/125, allowing me to capture the movements of a torch. This is a great image as it is attractive and very stylish. I needed to be in a dark room, this allowed me to capture the movements of the torch light. If I was in a bright room the camera would not be able to capture the light movements of the torch.

The second speed that we used was 1/250, this speed made the camera take an incredibly fast picture. This is useful when capturing slight movements of a moving object, the camera takes a 'freeze frame' of the object. Inside the camera the shutter speed changes depending on the speed used. The faster the speed, the quicker the shutter will open and close. The slower the speed used effects how slow the shutter opens and then closes. When the shutter speed is set to a low rate, the shutter of the camera stays open for a larger amount of time, therefore capturing a larger image. As you can see from the image above i have taken a fast shutter speed image. The camera has captured the movements of the subject jumping in the air. This image is unique as you can see the subject’s hair and clothing ‘still’ in mid air.