Preliminary: Contents Page Layout Sketch

 

Unlike my cover page I wanted my contents page to be minimalistic in its layout. I arranged 4 images pertaining to gardening to the left of the page and kept the information on the right. I formatted the contents into columns with their corresponding page number beside of it with the title "Table of Contents" at the top to make it neater and easier to reader. Below is the finishes product:

Preliminary: Gardening Magazine Cover Page

 

Preliminary: Cover Page Layout Sketch

 

There was a lot of ideas running wild through out my head as I brain stormed my preliminary magazine. After hours of visualizing I found a picture that seemed to almost call out to me and began sketching some ideas I had for my cover page. For one I wanted a name that was a mouthful but yet rolls off the tongue and get straight to the point, so I came up with, Gardening Galore. Now that I had a mast head I came up with some cover and tag lines that I felt were appropriate to gardening genre. Since my main image had bright colors I decided to do a summer gardening edition with summer décor, and easy and quick gardening tips.  After all this my sketch was a little too plain for my liking so I added a slogan at the bottom and a circular element to side to fill space and add depth. Below is my finished product. 

Preliminary: Photos

          

Preliminary Magazine Analysis

Genre Mind Map

 

Below is my genre mind map of black magazines in the chart I analyzed and compared the conventions and styles of the various sub-genre of black magazines. I plan on referencing back to this chart as I am formatting my magazine.

Inspiration Board

Below are pictures that I am using as inspiration for my magazine. There is a variety of camera angles, props, hairstyles, and lightings that sparked my interests and may potentially influence my decisions when I begin planning and executing photography for my cover and contents page. 

Planning for Costume and Props

 

Costume and props are crucial components of any photograph as it is used as a medium for conveying an aesthetic, a message, a time period, or an emotion. Therefore the props and costumes used in the photographs throughout my magazine are strategically chosen to displays what ever message or aesthetic I decide. So, far I am torn between a monochromatic brown theme to convey a feeling of warmth and simplicity or a bright, floral theme to showcase a fun and playful aesthetic. Below are magazines and photos from my inspiration board that includes props and costumes that I would like to incorporate into my magazine. 

Jewelry:  Includes hair accessories, necklaces, and earing that enhances the model's outfit, hairstyle, or makeup. Minimal jewelry are worn by the models in black hair and beauty magazines as the focus of the main image is usually the model's hairstyle and makeup. 

Things I am looking for:          - Hair jewels and head band

                                    - Gold hoops/ Pearls earrings 

                                     - Thin, layered gold necklaces                                                                             

                    

                                                                     

Costumes: A particular style of clothing that belong to time period or a country, or just simply to convey an emotion 

Things I am looking for:                - Light toned colors     

                                           - Simple, but appealing pieces

                                           - Dresses/ off the shoulder tops 

                                           - Ruffles 

     

Hair: A particular style, cut, or arrangement of ones hair, whether it be extensions are their real hair. 

Things I am looking for:                           - Low cuts

                                                      - Dyed hair 

                                                      - Extensions 

                                                      - Braids 

                                                      - Afros

                      

                                

Props:  A moveable object that is used to add to the scenography of the photograph.

Things I am looking for:         - Flowers of different colors and types

                                    - Rhinestones 

               

Masthead Analysis and Design

 

 

In the Black Beauty and Hair magazine the masthead is written in large, bolded letters to draw the attention of the reader. The masthead is typically white, but the color fluctuates regularly depending on the color scheme of the magazine. This magazine's masthead just like Ebony and Jet are written in a professional, formal font that is easy to read and in all uppercase letters so that it stands out amongst everything else on the cover page. 

 

Ebony magazine's mast head is typically written in white with a red background, but on occasion leans on the more creative side as is seen in the picture on the left This red and white contrast is eye catching, while the designs on the right demands the attention of the reader given its deviation from normalcy.  

      

Similar to Ebony's masthead Jet magazine's masthead is written in red and white, with a white background and red words. Jet's fonts has evolved over the years the more playful one on the left being the older version and the plainer one being the newer one on the right. Regardless of these changes the masthead has maintained legibility. 

 

The masthead for my magazine will follow these conventions. I will use a standard font like Arial or Times New Roman so that my masthead remain legible and will be written in the common red and white contrast, or in another color depending on the color scheme I choose. Black magazines shares the following masthead conventions:

• Bold, letters
• Variation of upper case or lower case letter
• Variations of colors but typically a white, red, or black color scheme 
• Plain, legible font

Below are my rough drafts:

Color Scheme Analysis

Below are analysis I did of the color schemes of black hair and beauty magazine covers. 

Sources:

 http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo126/theybf/April%202014/ENCVR0514_Erykah_zpsf5ad6eee.jpg

https://covers.magazinecloner.com/covers/166919.jpg

https://media.glamour.com/photos/5a81cfe30eeb602a7824543f/master/w_1280,c_limit/al030118cover.jpg

https://www.bellanaijastyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Halima-Aden-Is-Pretty-In-Pink-On-The-Cover-Of-Essence-Magazines-January-2020-Issue.jpg

My Color Scheme

Market Research Analysis

The Verdict Is In

 

Below are the results from the survey I conducted amongst my peers.