Ethan Stair - AICE Media Studies

 TOC Feedback and Final Revisions + Cover Issues     I recently got feedback on my table of contents (the photo above). The feedback was great, it highlighted what I did well, like the color scheme, however it failed when it came to the font and the photo in the bottom left corner. Most of the feedback focused on that. The font could be more tech-oriented while the photo's background didn't fit.  Step One: The Font and Images    "I do not have a saved draft of this TOC, I have to recreate it. I used the same draft on Canva, where I make the actual pages and covers, and because this was the first draft, and Canva has no way to access previous versions, which is why I have to make it again." Is what I thought at the start of this blog, however after further research, I found out Canva allows it, so I was able to reset the version and edit that Table of contents.      I looked in the sans-serif section on Canva for better fonts, a...

TOC Digital Mockups and Conventions     They're are two different styles of table of contents I would like to pursue. A more simple design, or a more original idea with the circular area to place the contents in.      For the both table of contents, I took my existing mock ups, and added the images and word content to it. I added two effects the to images however, a visual effect called trippy, and for the photo in the top right corner I also added an enhance effect to clean it up, I tried it also on the photo in the bottom left corner, however it ended up looking worse so I left it alone.       I tried to go with the biggest font sizes that fit within the area given while not looking too big. The font chosen was the font on the cover, which was chosen itself from looking through presets fonts and sizing in Canva (the program used to create the cover and Table of contents). The Colors schemes for each were chosen at random, I w...

  Images and Original Content     It's time to start taking pictures and written work for the table of contents.  This First thing I did was to take photos of gaming items like controllers and consoles just to have some generic photos that work well with anything. None of them had any specific plan and were taken and edited in a span of 15min.       I wanted a dumb/funny photo so I decided on a controller near toilet paper. It has a slight high angle, but not too much. This will more than likely be present in the two page spread as a opposed to the table of contents.      I looked around my house for items that I think would work well for one of the games mentioned in the final cover and found some roses. This photo will probably be present in the Table of Contents where one of the placeholder photos are at in the prototypes from the last blog.     I knew I needed at least one photo of a console so...

 Table of Contents and Analyses      Now that I've decided on the cover, its time to move on the table of contents. The photos in the  are not mine right now, just placeholders for when I do take mine      For the first iteration I wanted an abstract background that faded two photos behind it; this is so the photo requirement would be met in an interesting way. That's is one of the things I have never seen a magazine do, it's ashamed because it's a great way to put photos in tight spaces and be visually interesting way. It just feels a little empty, which could be solved with either more photos or changing the sizing and position.      For the second iteration, I shifted the positions and changed the color scheme. I still wanted an abstract background so I went with a red, flowy one. The formatting of this one is cool and does feel as empty, however it isn't as original as the first iteration. It still is cool though,...

Final Cover Choice and Edits     After several iterations, the final cover is here. The last blog covered the creation of the 3rd cover option, and comparisons of all three. In that blog, I stated the second cover looked the best and was the most  professional. I still stand by that, so it will be the final Cover. Why?     The photo is structured perfect (to my liking), has great use of  coloring, has the most content, and and awesome main image. The way the main image overlaps the masthead is perfect, better than in the first main image. This is the only cover to have a footer, the barcode also wasn't in the first. This magazine cover is the only I could imagine being on a shelf.  How Was This Cover Made?     This cover began with the base of the first cover I made in Canva. Once the Masthead was resized (that wasn't on purpose, but I think looks better) I started to add in the details. The games logo, selling line, these were chos...

 Cover Photo Editing and Selection     I need to design one more cover, so I'll start with the base I had last time and just swap the picture and change the logo color to match the image better (something I didn't mention in the previous two blogs)           Next I added the games logo, selling lines, and other advertisements along with the bar code. I also centered the Masthead of the magazine because I felt it would fit with the photo better. The main image dose not over lap the      I personally think the second one looks best, so I will more than likely use that one. For now, here are some comparisons between the magazine covers.     The first magazine used a photo from Metroid Dread, and was structed fairly well, however lacked a barcode and an optional footer, the second one had a footer and a barcode, but was a photo of Elden Ring, the third magazine lack the footer. The second one had Game of th...

 Cover Mockups and Element Choice          In the last blog I looked at the creation of a potential cover for the magazine. Using that one as a base, I created a second. This one is more streamlined and has more content.     I first worked off of what I started with for the last cover. I found a different photo and placed the games logo and line instantly.     Afterwards, I added all of the information on the previous cover, but better suited for the design on this one.     I then added a footer (which is new compared to the previous cover) with a barcode (I forgot to place a barcode on the last cover) which had more information on it and added a more professional aesthetic. "I forgot to place a barcode on the last cover"     The last cover is good in it's on way, however I vastly prefer the new one as it is more sleek. It's footer really adds to the new one, fonts were handled better on the second one....