Spread Format/Planning

     This blog will be about the 2-page spread that I will be creating for my magazine. Included in this blog will be some of the mock-ups I have made for the spread, along with analyzation of why they are good or bad. In the end, I will decide which to most likely use.

Mock-ups

       This is the first mock-up I made for my 2-page spread. This magazine spread has a very simple yet compacted layout. The title of the spread is at the center of the left page, just above the start of text and in the main image, in complete lowercase and bolded lettering other than the starting letter of each word; this spread 's title is in a light grey color, using the same font, so as to maintain the simplicity of the rest of the article. In terms of mise-en-scene, a solid white color is used in the background of the magazine spread to draw attention to the main dish; this main dish also matches in color with the heading, blending the two perfectly (explained in my Color Theory blog). As can be seen, the very light-colored tones of the image contrast with the title. Direct address is used on the dishes in the main images, which tend to be shot in close-ups, better engaging the audience with the spread. The main dish is shown not only in the top half of the page, but a smaller version 0f the Mousse has been included as well just under the stand first. Overall, this spread contains about 3-4 main colors, contrasting the background color with the color of the main image/images and text. The text is placed into two side-columns, not thrown about the page, keeping it very organized and simple. Lastly, the beginning of this spread includes a stand first, which provides the readers with a short introduction to the contents of the article.

    This is the second mock-up I made for my 2-page spread. This magazine spread has a very simple yet compacted layout. The title of the spread is at the center of the left page, just above the start of text and in the main image, in complete lowercase and bolded lettering other than the starting letter of each word; this spread's title is in a light grey color, using the same font, so as to maintain the simplicity of the rest of the article. In terms of mise-en-scene, a solid white color is used in the background of the magazine spread to draw attention to the main dish; this main dish also matches in color with the heading, blending the two perfectly (explained in my Color Theory blog). As can be seen, the very light-colored tones of the image contrast with the title. Direct address is used on the dishes in the main images, which tend to be shot in close-ups, better engaging the audience with the spread. The main dish is shown not only in the top half of the page, but a smaller version 0f the Mousse has been included as well in between the two columns. While this may look cool, the negative is that due to formatting on the site used it cannot be columned in that area, creating a very messy/disorganized look. Overall, this spread contains about 3-4 main colors, contrasting the background color with the color of the main image/images and text. The text is placed into two side-columns, not thrown about the page, keeping it very organized and simple. A pull quote has been included in the color green with bright red boxed lines around it in order to separate from the rest of the text while still blending in color; it is next to the recipe ingredients, just under the stand first. This pull quote "pulls" the reader's attention towards the text so as to give them a break from all the small words, while also drawing interest. Lastly, the beginning of this spread includes a stand first, which provides the readers with a short introduction to the contents of the article.

    This is the third mock-up I made for my 2-page spread. This magazine spread has a very simple yet compacted layout. The title of the spread is at the center of the left page, just above the start of text and in the main image, in complete lowercase and bolded lettering other than the starting letter of each word; this spread's title is in a light grey color, using the same font, so as to maintain the simplicity of the rest of the article. In terms of mise-en-scene, a solid white color is used in the background of the magazine spread to draw attention to the main dish; this main dish also matches in color with the heading, blending the two perfectly (explained in my Color Theory blog). As can be seen, the very light-colored tones of the image contrast with the title. Direct address is used on the dishes in the main images, which tend to be shot in close-ups, better engaging the audience with the spread. The main dish is shown not only in the top half of the page, but a smaller version 0f the Mousse has been included as well in the bottom corner of the right page alongside a pull quote above it. This pull quote "pulls" the reader's attention towards the text so as to give them a break from all the small words, while also drawing interest. While this may look cool, the negative is that the image and pull quote don't fit very well and, because of this layout, leave a blank patch in the left page, creating a very messy/disorganized look. Overall, this spread contains about 3-4 main colors, contrasting the background color with the color of the main image/images and text. The text is placed into organized paragraphs; however, the formatting of paragraphs is very compacted within the page making it a bit of an eye sore. Lastly, the beginning of this spread includes a stand first, which provides the readers with a short introduction to the contents of the article.

Conclusion

    In conclusion, I will most likely be using the first or second mock-up. This is because both of these mock-ups look very well done and organized, while the third looks compacted/disorganized and leaves a lot of blank space on one page. However, if I use the first, I would like to include a pull quote in the text, and if I use the second, I would like to switch the pull quote and image.