Table of Contents Development

In this PowerPoint you will find: -How I laid out my TOC page -How I edited the images on my TOC page

Hand Drawn Draft

I have looked up different music magazines table of contents page to see how many pages a typical music magazine would have. There seemed to be an average of 50 pages and some of those pages would be unmarked as the magazines have advertisements. I made the text be on the left side and the images be on the right side because this works with eye flow. Giving the title Table of Contents makes the purpose of this page clear to the reader. I want this page to look appropriate for the magazine and so have a black background with light fonts as that would look elegant and have a club like atmosphere which is perfect for this magazine. Every editorial pillar will have a lighter leading text under it and a page number to the left. There is no issue date or number, no pull quote, no DPS preview, no Photo credits, no subscription box and no editors note. Some of these features can be added in the future though.

To begin with I made a new document in A4 size so I could begin working on my Table of Contents page.

Unlike the other parts of my magazine, I did not start off with editing any images. Following my hand drawn draft, I made text layers and input the editorial pillars, the page numbers and the leading text. I made sure to use font families and colours that worked in with my house style. With the page titles, sub titles and page numbers, I made sure to give them the same spacing (48pt) so I could have them on different text layers but they would still go exactly where I wanted them to go in relation with each other. Making a group for the text layers also ensured I could move them as a unit so I could move them faster.

Title

Editorial pillars

Leading text and Page Numbers

On a new layer I used the pain bucket tool to make the entire canvas have a black background and then on another layer I used the brush tool with a green colour and different brush sizes to make the design shown below. This was part of my experimentation with filling in the empty space.

I used the plastic wrap and neon glow filters to create the effect of the circles you see below. I attempted other things like motion blur but they did not look good. I also decided to scrap this design as it did not fit in well with my magazine in favour of blurred lights as they would fit in with the party and nightclub mood of a dubstep magazine much better. I ended up not liking this effect so I did not use it.

The picture I used for another effect was from http://www.4freephotos.com/Blurred_lights-limagebc337fe54ea4e8213c19cecaa2ffefd8.html#.UycyJPnV8pA and at first I inserted the image at the bottom of the page, but once I added my images I decided to duplicate the lights and place them underneath each image through Ctrl + Copy and pasting. I also used the blur filter on the top two lights so they would have less focus than the bottom one and so they would not distract the user from the page information.

Once I inserted the three images, I used the clone, brush and blur tool in order to fix the images and make them look right for a professional magazine.

Table of Contents Page Before Feedback

Feedback

Dubstep has kind of a grungy feel to it, dark and technological and chaotic, and the pictures are so well-lit and conservative it kind of goes against the rest of the formatting so change the lighting / add a filter to the photos to fix this if you can. Also change the Table of Contents title from white to a light blue colour as it sticks out in a bad way.

In response to the feedback I quickly changed the font colour for the title from white to light blue.

I used the select tool on the images on a new layer so I could use the gradient tool without effecting the rest of the canvas. I wanted the gradient to be light blue and dark blue as that reflects the mood of a nightclub. I lowered the fill level on the layer to 43% so you could see the image underneath.

I then used the eraser tool so the person and the area within the vinyl so the image could have more contrast. I thought that the image was still lacking some depth and colour so I made a new layer, changing the previous one to Linear Light and the fill to 54%, and used the bucket tool to make the selection box completely orange and then used the Pin Light filter with 39% fill to create the pink and blue effect you can see below.

For the second image I used the select and gradient tool in a similar fashion on a new layer. I erased the area on the model so there could still be contrast within the image. I then changed the image to multiply with 68% fill to give the transparent effect below.

Yet again, to keep consistency with the other image, I made a new layer and filled it with orange and changed the filter to Pin Light with 65% fill to create the effect you see below. It is meant to represent the lighting you can see at a concert or a club akin to the previously edited image.

For the final image I copied the same methods as the previous two images by using the gradient tool on a new layer and setting it to Linear Burn and a 49% fill in order to get the effect you see below.

Then, for consistency and continuation of my house style, I used the bucket tool so I could make a new layer orange and then I used a Pin Light filter on 35% fill in order to create the effect you see below. With this, I have finished working on the feedback I was given for this piece.

This is what my TOC page looks like currently. I received feedback that my page does not follow all of the conventions of a TOC page and so I will go back and edit the magazine so it meets the conventions. To do this I will look at an example of a real life music magazine and use its methods to improve this one. Also, some of the things I should add are an issue number and date, an editors note and a subscription box so it meets the conventions more. I will also have to change the titles font family to Charlie Brown to suit the house style of the front cover that I have recently changed and improved.

I changed the title to say Dubstep Contents instead of Table of Contents as it looks better, reminds people of the magazines name and also was inspired by Kerrangs Contents page title. I also changed the titles font family to Charlie Brown M54 and changed the font size to 45pt. With the issue number and date I made the font Charlie Brown M54 and the font size 12pt. I set the date to 18th February 2014 because around that date was when the content is relevant as thats around the time when I researched everything so making the date 18th Feb 2014 makes whats written relevant. I also changed around the editorial pillars, page numbers, leading text and image so the page would look more dynamic. I also changed the font colour of the page numbers so they stand out more which is good for the reader.

I used the box selection and paint bucket tool to create light blue, blue and orange boxes for my Subscription Box and Editors Note. For the Subscription box I used the Charlie Brown M54 and Neuropol font families as this colour scheme and font style follows the house style of my magazine.

I used a picture that I have taken back in November 2013 that would have been used for my front cover. I then free transformed it and some text for the masthead, kicker, coverlines and a button so I could slant and minimise it so it could be a preview image of the next magazine on the Subscription Box.

For the Editors Note, I wrote a short section welcoming the reader and telling them what to expect in the magazine. This was written in Charlie Brown M54 size 12 font and was done in two layers so I could make the space for the icon like so. For the icon I used a picture that was taken back in November 2013 in the schools music studio. I cropped the image so it would just be the models face and put it next to the Editors Note so its clear the image represents the editor.

To get the Editors Note and Subscription boxes to blend into the magazine and so it could look nicer and slightly more professional, I used the Gaussian Blur filter on Photoshop. Once I was done with this, my TOC page is complete.

This is how my TOC looks like currently. I received feedback that my TOC page does not look professional and does not follow enough codes and conventions and so I will have to change the layout to make it better.

I gained inspiration from Kerrangs TOC page. To make my magazine look more professional, I have decided to make my layout similar to this one and have a lot of relevant images, have the editorial at the top and subscription box at the bottom, the editorial pillars at the right and the images with page references and numbers at the left.

First I used the gradient tool to make a attractive and dynamic background that mimics the lighting one can see at a club. I made the gradient round so it looks like a spotlight and I made the hue blue as that fits in with my house style.

I used two of these pictures because they are relevant to the editorial pillars and also give a visual link to the front cover and DPS which is good as it brings the magazine together and it makes sure that the readers expectations of the magazine are met after looking at the front cover. I added two more editorial pillars and leading texts in order to fit two of these images in and also changed around the page numbers to compensate for this addition.

Same picture thats in the DPS page because people will expect to see the same image there as the TOC page and also was used because it will give the DPS more importance.

I laid out my images like this on the left side of the page like Kerrangs TOC page. To visually link the images to the editorial pillars, I placed page numbers near the image and the same article name and leading text as the editorial pillar so the reader does not need to hunt for the page if they see an image they like. I made the font families, sizes and colours the same as the editorial pillar. The filters I included on the two images at the bottom match the house style of the other filtered images.

I placed the subscription box at the bottom of the page and the contents title at the top of the page to the right. I renamed the contents page from Dubstep contents to just Contents as it is more simple. I also included a pull quote that would would be able to find within the magazine and Ive also included a page number for the quote. You can see the inspiration for this layout from Kerrang! Magazine underneath my images.

Lastly, I edited and added more to my Editors Note to make it take up space. I used the same serif font as the Double Page Spread though I made the first words font family be Charlie Brown M54. In the Editors Note I introduced myself and spoke briefly about the magazine and about the holidays and the new year (as the issue is dated January 2014) and I made a signature with my wacom tablet to fit a professional level. I also changed the image to a selfie of me instead of another student as I was no longer rushing to finish the TOC and I could find a suitable photo of me this time around.

I received feedback to add editorial pillars such as music and interviews for my article headings and leading text. I was also told to change the backgrounds colour to make it lighter. I will also edit one of the pictures to make it up to date with my DPS page.

Thanks to the feedback I added the editorial pictures and edited the page numbers and such wherever appropriate on the relative images so they would fit together. I also used the same picture from my DPS in my TOC, also editing the article title and leading text to match the change.

To make the background lighter I used an orange filter that I typically use for my pictures in my magazine which links into the house style. This makes the background look lighter, dynamic and follows the feedback I was given.

I received feedback to change the dark blue text colour to white. This is an easy and quick fix.

FINAL TOC VERSION