Official Cover Story Topic/ Future Plans

Hey guys!

I have been thinking of a cover story for a few days now and I have officially decided I want to write it about. I thought about each of my top 3 options: an Açaí bowl, a spinach wrap, or a greek salad. I have chosen to write about.... an Açaí bowl. I feel like not many people know what it is or have never tried it before, but you can find the mix in any supermarket. In my opinion, I think it is the best food to talk about in my magazine because it has no GMOs, is Gluten Free, Vegan Free, and Organic. They are super customizable meaning anyone can add their favorite fruits and topping on top. I plan to start my article with some background information about where Açaí seeds come from because knowing where your food is coming from is very important. Then, I plan to explain the process of how to make one. This process will include steps on how to make your very own bowl and all the fun and yummy toppings that can be added on afterwards. The great things about this item is that it can be eaten at anytime of thee day. It is easy to make and very healthy.

So now that I know what I am writing about, I need to start coming up with a cover story draft. I also need to start buying the ingredients and tools that will help me take my photos. I am planning on taking a trip to Walmart where I can look for a ring light and props that I can include in the background of my pictures for example a mason jar, a wooden spoon, or just other cooking items O find. l need to also visit Publix where I can find all the ingredients I need to make the Açaí bowl. I also most likely will make a few of the foods that will be pictured in my magazine and just stage the ones that may be too complicated to make like a spinach wrap.

I used this link to find a few potential ring light but think it would be best to just go into the store and look at them in person.
https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/ring-lights

At Publix, I will need to get: 

Açaí mix

fruits (strawberries, blueberries, etc.)

dry topping (granola, coconut flakes, etc.)

many vegetables

nutritious pancake of muffin mix

I should have a few basic ingredients at home like eggs and flour.

I am planning to go within the next few days so stay on the look out for my next post to see what I find at the stores!

Table of Contents Draft

Hey guys!

I finished a draft of my potential table of contents and here it is:

With my table of contents, I wanted it to be simple but informative. I included the page number, title, and a brief description for the featured articles in my magazine. I wanted to keep everything organized and presented the numbers in chronological order. I only included 4 pictures because I wanted the main focus to be on the text hence why the text is in the middle of the page and the pictures are off to the side. I am most likely going to include colorful and appealing pictures to entice my target audience. I want the pictures to represent the different types of meals we consume :breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I also wanted to include an image of a drink because I plan to share many smoothies and protein shake recipes. The font is medium size so my audience and read everything clearly and also so everything can fit in the 2 pages. The stories I included are all about how to eat healthier. They are not the official stories but are great ideas I could use.

Now that I have a draft for my table of contents, I need to come up with a cover story. I am not sure what I want to write about so I am going to keep thinking about topics but in the meantime, I am going to research how to take good pictures. My magazine has to have a minimum of four pictures but I expect to include more.

I conducted some research and all the sources pretty much said I need to have these 4 components when photographing good:

Plating- the arrangement of food.

Lighting- the type of light necessary to bring out the best features of the food

Composition- the angle and frame of the shot

Editing- touch-ups to enhance the photos

I know I am going to need a good lighting source. I am thinking of buying a ring light to help the colors of the food pop. I also need to decide if I am going to make the actual food or if I want to purchase it from somewhere and just stage it. I am not sure yet if I want to take the pictures on my iPhone 7 or if I want to use an actual camera.

I am going to do some research and hopefully after will be able to gain some clarity and let you all know what I find and decide to do in my next post so look out for it!  

Updated Cover Draft

Hey guys!

I am currently working on my table of contents but I wanted to update you all a little. A few days ago, my teacher divided my class up into groups again and had another group discussion. We all talked about how we were all doing on our projects and gave each other critiques about what we can improve on. This group discussion was extremely helpful. Soon I am going to have to take pictures of food for my magazine, so someone in my group already started that process and gave me some tips and tricks to make sure I get the best angles and lighting to make the food appear appealing. One thing they did say was that you can never have too many pictures so I should take a lot. All group members tried helping me decide on a cover story but I am still unsure what I want to make my cover story and write my double-page spread about.

I also shared some ideas with my teacher about my cover page and cover story and she was not able to tell me too much but she did tell me that the cover picture has to cover the entire page so I did fix that and here is the fixed example of one of my potential cover images.





I am now going to continue with my table of contents. I am not sure what images I want to include but some stories I want to include are:

• Different healthy recipes

• The healthy lifestyle

• Great substituting foods

• Weird but good food combinations

• Less than 25 minutes recipes

• Colorful healthy meals

• Secrets to saving time and money

Look out for my next post to see my potential table of content layout.

Cover Stories

Hey guys!

I have been working extremely hard around my busy schedule to make sure this project is at the best of it's ability. I still am unsure about which picture I want to use as my cover image but I did come up with some cover stories that I placed on the left of each picture.

Here is what it looks like:

For my cover stories, I wanted to use a clear font and choose to separate each story with a bold line to keep things organized. I am not entirely sure what I want my cover story to be about so the order may slightly change. I used the numbering technique to attract my target audience by using the wording top 5 and less than 25. I used the same font color as my masthead to try and create a sense of consistency and a theme.

I am now going to take a break from the cover and create a table of contents for my magazine so look out for my next post!

Official Masthead

Hey guys!

I have decided on a masthead design and it is this one!

Now I want to replace the picture above with actual food items I am interested in placing there and writing about as my cover story. I did also modify the masthead a little because the masthead is supposed to be all the way at the top of the magazine and big enough that people can see it. I kept the font the same but did change the layout of the words.

Here are my potential cover food images:

An Açaí Bowl

A Spinach Wrap

A Greek Salad

So as you can see, I am still unsure about which healthy item I want to feature on the cover of my magazine, but all these items are extremely healthy and are great replacements for the normal unhealthy foods we eat daily. They all appear very colorful and and appealing.

I am now going to research and create some other stories I can include on my cover and share those images with you all in my next post so look out for it!

Cover Draft

Hey guys!

So I have done more research and I discovered this website with the help of my teacher called Canva. This website allows you to design multiple print styles. They have a design layout called Magazine Cover which is what I have been using to design my cover. The website also gives you a variety of color schemes that all mesh well together which is also what I have been using to ensure the colors on my magazine don't clash. Here is an example of the different color schemes they provide:

This website has made designing the cover seamless and fun. They offer a variety of options making it hard to decide on a cover but I just have to think about which cover would work best for my magazine. Canva allows you to edit everything ranging from font to color to size and just makes it simple and easy to create anything. I have finally designed some potential magazine covers and here they are:

So as you all can see I know I want to have a white simple background and my main cover picture on the bottom right side of the magazine. I am not completely sure how I want to present my masthead whether it is underlined or plain or in a box, but I do know I want to have it written in a dark green colored text. On the left side of the image I want to present the cover stories I plan on having in my magazine. The images included in the examples are not the actual ones I plan on using but just act as an example.

I am going to pick a cover layout and start designing it more in depth so look out for my next post!

Wait... Color Matters

Hey guys!

So while I was in the middle of creating my masthead, I noticed I need to find a color palette filled with colors that wont clash. I went on to Google and researched some color palettes that reminded me of healthy foods and here they are:

These color schemes are different but all do incorporate the overall same theme which is healthy foods. When you look at these colors they remind someone of fruits and vegetables which is the main source to eating healthy. I want to make my masthead a color that pops so when my specific audience sees the magazine they instantly want to pick it up and read it. I want to make sure the color of my masthead flows with the colors I use on my cover page. I think it is very important to include a variety of colors but make sure they mesh well. Usually when I first pick up a magazine, I notice the colors used which also gives me some sort of idea of what the magazine's tone is going to be  

These are some examples but I will keep looking for more! Look out for my next post where I will show you all which color scheme I choose and some ideas I have for my masthead!