Choosing my cover image

I decided on my cover image very early on in the project, just after my 'Rays' shoot. I knew that I wanted to pick my favourite image from all of my shoots to be on the cover, however really fell in love with this particular image as I feel the colour scheme and general feel accurately represent the look that I want to create for Beauty Noted. The cover image is important as it will also be the image that I use on all of my promotion for the magazine, that will represent and be associated with the brand. I love the almost abstract quality to this image and the softness of the fabrics and different textures that are incorporated. I also really like the fact it doesn't just look like a standard beauty shot and that the makeup and hair isn't the main focus, all of the elements combine to create an outcome that looks minimal, soft and gentle. Picking this image early also allowed for me to start working on the promotion of the magazine to start building a brand and following earlier in the project.

'Seasonal Update' Second Shoot Results

Despite Sharon and Anna telling me not to worry about reshooting if I really didn't have time and to just play around with editing instead, I re-shot my 'Seasonal Update' look today. I managed to get the same model that I used the first time, which I was pleased about as she was great to work with and had lovely skin.

I wanted to create the same glowy, luminous, rosy base that I did in the previous shoot, but without the use of flowers or the overly bridal hair. I perfected my models skin with a luminous base and concealed any blemishes and then went on to use the same products as before on the base (outlined in this post). I did have to adapt the foundation slightly as my model had just been on holiday and was very tanned and uneven in some parts. As it's not discussed in the article, I didn't want hair to be feature in this look at all, so simply scraped it back into a smooth high pony.

  

  

  

On the last shoot, I was pleased with how the lighting perfected my models skin, but felt the bright lights and white background felt very much like a commercial set up and made the images look as though they should be part of a perfume advert. I worked with Cher again for this shoot, so discussed with her in advance that I wanted to play around with colour gels. Some colour gels can look very 'neon' and bright but I thought if used on a very low light could create a lovely soft pink glow on the skin. We tried out this set up, but I felt like most of the images were too red and especially with my models tan, almost made her look sun burnt. Eventually we moved the pink tinted lamp to low on the floor, just to create a nice glow across the chest which I think worked better (Images below).

This is the image I will be using in my 'Seasonal Beauty' article. I like the poise of the face and think it is a flattering angle on her neck and collarbones. I really didn't like the hair for this shoot as I felt it looked quite cheap, so have cropped the image closely so that the radiance of the skin is the main focus. Although I am unhappy with this shoot as a whole, I am pleased I managed to get an image to use that doesn't feature the flowers!

However, I really don't love these images and I am disappointed as it feels like a waste of time to do a shoot and not feel proud of what I have created. Luckily I only need one for my 'Seasonal Beauty' article as I have supplemented it with product shots and the shoot I did of the hands using the pressed flowers. I did manage to get an image of my model holding one of the tools I discuss in my 'How To: Prep Your Skin for a Big Event' article, which is also something I needed and was very quick to create, so overall the day wasn't unsuccessful. I think I should have potentially chosen a different model, or totally rethought the theme, but as the look is following the look that is discussed in the article, I didn't have much freedom to change the makeup.

Using Instagram to Promote Beauty Noted

As highlighted by the findings of my focus group, social media is an extremely important marketing tool and should not be overlooked. As Beauty Noted is very image based project, I decided that Instagram would be the most effective platform to use to promote the magazine. A recent survey showed that 91.9% of consumers voted that Instagram was their favourite platform for working with influences and connecting with brands. I personally use Instagram to follow a lot of blogs and small magazines, so wanted to create something similar for Beauty Noted. As with my whole project, I wanted the Instagram to have a very coherent style and theme, to fit with the marketing of the rest of the project. I have posted snippets of the articles, along with general inspiration or design based pictures as well as some of my favourite images from the shoots so that viewers can get an idea for the general feel and content of the magazine. In order to market Beauty Noted as effectively as I could, I did some research into the best times of day to post. I found out that between 7PM and 9PM is generally the most effective time post as most users aren't at work. I tried to always post between these times to achieve maximum engagement with my followers. I also looked into relevant hashtags and looked at the Instagrams of other small magazines to see which they used. By using similar hastags, I already know that the audience I am reaching has an interest in magazines of this kind and therefore may want to follow Beauty Noted.


Morrison, K. and Morrison, K. (2017). Instagram Dominates Influencer Marketing (Report). [online] Adweek.com. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/instagram-dominates-influencer-marketing-report/ [Accessed 5 May 2017].

Later Blog. (2017). The Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2017 - Later Blog. [online] Available at: https://later.com/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/ [Accessed 5 May 2017].

Using Abobe Illustrator to Create Vector Images

To add to the page design in an unintrusive way, I wanted to create shapes (like those seen above) in Adobe Illustrator to overlay or underlay photographs. Having never used the programme before, I went to one of John's lessons and he taught me the very basics. I expanded my knowledge by watching several Youtube tutorials in order to help me achieve my desired result.

This was my first trial, I used the pen tool to trace over an image that I found online. We just selected a random image for the trial while I got used to using the programme.

To create my final outcome, I used this image of one of the products in the photograph and traced over it with the pen tool. I wanted to create a really 'sketchlike' drawing, as seen in my inspiration images, I added in extra lines of a shorter length to give it a rougher appearance. Below is my final outcome for the page. I transferred the vector to photoshop and overlaid it on itself several times, enhansing the sketch like appearance. I chose to underlay it as opposed to overlaying it as I felt this approach was more subtle yet still effective. 

Image Credit: 

https://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/346669/byredo/gypsy-water-eau-de-parfum---bergamot---pine-needles--50ml

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/perfume-bottles-black-sketch-hand-drawn-308115038

http://imgbuddy.com/chanel-perfume-bottle-drawing.asp

Website Design

I will be creating a website on which readers can read Beauty Noted. The idea was initially to have the magazine as a PDF, downloadable from the website but after my decision to switch and use ISSUU instead, the website will now mostly be a way to host the magazine. I was initially unsure what to host my website on, as I don't need a lot of sections or a complicated design as the only thing on the site will be basic information, contact info and the magazine itself. At first I began to experiment with WIX, but found it didn't give me the freedom I needed with the layout. I discussed this with Anna in a tutorial and she suggested Squarespace, as it has a number of very minimal, customisable layouts to choose from. I knew I wanted an image (my cover image) to be the main focus of the page, with simple links to contact information, general information and the Beauty Noted Instagram page. Squarespace didn't have the exact font I used for the cover page as an option, so I researched similar fonts and found that Nunito was very similar to Avenir Light, so this is what I have used for all the headings and writing on the site to give a coherent look and feel. To ensure that the site is professional and fitting with the Beauty Noted brand, I bought a domain name and added it to the site.

I really like the image based, minimal theme of the site and feel it is fitting and appropriate, providing Beauty Noted with a base for information, where the latest issue can be viewed and readers can get contact or find the Instagram page.  In the future, I would consider adding bonus content to the website, like behind the scenes blog posts about the production of the issue.

Meeting with Jennifer 25/04/17 and further design development

I went to Jennifer's drop in today to show her my project so far and get another opinion on the design and content. After looking over the magazine on Issuu, she pointed out a few minor changes to be made.

Firstly, we discussed the text on both 'Skin Shield' and 'Rays'. I had made the text on the first page of both articles quite large in contrast to the rest of the article, I initially did this as I wanted the title and article introduction to stand out. However, reflecting on Jennifer's feedback I can see that it looks a little strange and out of proportion with the rest of the article. I think that using smaller text throughout will give a more refined look to the piece so this is a change that I will tweak the design and text size to give a more uniform look throughout the magazine. (examples below)

After reading my articles, Jennifer suggested that in some of the more in-depth articles about skincare, readers may benefit from some validation, e.g the name of a professional who has offered their opinion on the topic or the name of the organisation who's research I have used to gather my information. 

The last thing we talked about were my images for 'Bloom'.  As mentioned in my post evaluating these shoot images, I'm not fully happy with the result of this shoot. Although I really like the makeup, the model is wearing coloured contacts (which she refused to take out) and I feel like this is quite distracting from the rest of the shoot as this looks so out of place. I'm planning to play around with editing the eyes in photoshop to darken them slightly so they look less unnatural as the whole ethos of Beauty Noted is focused on natural, wearable beauty. Another issue is that all of my images for this shoot are quite similar, with very little variation in the makeup or hair. As these images are only to accompany a short article about nails and lips, I may only use two images (one for lips and one for nails) instead of making it into a full editorial to keep the magazine from being repetitive or boring. 

Meeting with Elizabeth 25/04/17

I managed to have a meeting with Elizabeth today which I found extremely beneficial. Before today, no one has actually read through all of the articles I have written for Beauty Noted, but thankfully Elizabeth had a spare 15 minutes to give me her feedback. After reading my work, she told me that my style of writing was very nice and seemed really pleased with my images. We went over the layout of the 'Seasonal Update' pages together as I have been struggling to make them flow. She said that although she really loved my product shot image as double page spread, to stand alone I needed to add more copy to the captions. This wasn't really an option without repeating myself and taking up too much space over the image so with her feedback in mind I made the decision to change the image to a smaller size so that it would fit on one side of the page with the copy. This decision has really helped the magazine flow better and the article look more complete and like the different elements belong on the page together. One other element she picked up on was that this image (seen below) from my 'Rays' shoot is quite heavily retouched. I explained that I wanted it to look this way as I want a ethereal blur over the images (similar to the colour) and for the skin to look waxy and abstract. However, I think at the moment it is sitting somewhere between normal retouching and being heavily retouched enough to make a statement, so I think I will actually retouch it further to produce the desired effect.

Tutorial with Sharon feedback

I went to see Sharon today to show her how my project is progressing now I've begun to put the pages together. I've been feeling very stressed about getting everything done in time for the deadline as all of the graphic design and photoshop elements are taking so much longer than I ever expected them to. I really wanted to discuss my 'Seasonal Update' shoot, which I posted about previously, as Sharon previously suggested over email that I reshoot with a different concept, but I haven't yet been able to find a model to work with and with deadline getting closer I wanted to know what she thinks is best to do if I don't get an opportunity to reshoot. After looking over the article, she told me that if I don't have time to reshoot, to just get clever with editing and somehow find a way to make the flowers appear less bold and harsh on her skin.

Shooting the Abstract Imagery

When considering the design of beauty noted, I knew I wanted to include abstract imagery of plants, paint smudges and illustrations, to supplement the editorials and overall enhance the design of the magazine but knew I didn't want to use stock images, as it takes away the originality of the magazine, and I want to feel that I have created as much as I can myself. So, I spent a day experimenting with oil points and various different plants to see what I could create.

PAINT

I often use different brush tools on photoshop to create paint smudges as I love the effect it creates, but wanted to try to shoot some of my own for the magazine. I chose oil paint for the thick consistency and buildable consistency and mixed up a few colours from white, down to a dark nude and blush pink. I played around with different shapes, using a spatula to smudge the paint onto a piece of card. One thing that I wish that I had tried was the white paint on a darker background, but overall I'm pleased with how this went and will definitely be using the images to supplement some of the blanker pages in the magazine, for example the contents page or editors note!

PLANTS

 I really wanted to shoot with eucalyptus as I love the pale green colour of the leaves and delicate shape of the leaves. However, I couldn't initially get hold of eucalyptus so took these of some tiny white blossoms instead. Although they are nice images they didn't create the lovely green colour that I was hoping for, so I will save them for use as extra content on the Beauty Noted Instagram.

I managed to get hold of some Eucalyptus and mixed in some of the blossoms to create a spring like feel. I really wanted the images to have a soft focus effect and look almost abstract and blurred, so used a very low aperture to shoot these images. I simply used a white wall as a backdrop and placed the plants quite far from the wall to give a nice depth to the image. I'm happy with the way these turned out and will use them as part of my page design for the 'Seasonal Update' article. 

Product Shoots

After being unhappy with my 'Seasonal Update' shoot, I came up with the idea to take still life product shots of the products discussed in the article. I also decided to do this for 'The Beauty Insider' and 'The Guides: How to prep your skin for a big event'. I wanted the images to look simple, yet interesting and to tie in with the theme of the article.

For the 'Seasonal Update' shoot, I wanted to capture the products so they looked fresh and springlike. To do this I used white tissue paper to surround them and added a few of the blossoms I had used on on the nails into to help keep a coherent theme to the article. I love the colour scheme of this photograph and feel it is an accurate representation of the message that the article is trying to give about Spring beauty. 

I shot this image for the 'The Guides: How to Prep Your Skin For A Big Event'. I really like the pink & green colour scheme of this shot and the shadows that are made by the backdrop as this gives the image depth. To create the backdrop, I took some nude pink fabric and a white flannel and placed them inside of a box. 

I'm really happy with the result of these images and am pleased that through my dissatisfaction with my initial shoot I have been inspired and thought of the idea to include product shots as I feel being able to see the products that are mentioned connects the reader with the magazine and allows them to visualise in greater detail. 

Seasonal Update Spring Nail Art Hand Shoot

After being unhappy with the results of my 'seasonal update shoot' and unsure if I'll get a chance to reshoot with a model and photographer, I wanted to create another image to support the article, that I could achieve without the need to rely on collaborations with others. I wanted to include the pressed flowers but in a far more subtle way than the original shoot. I experimented at home with the idea of sticking the pressed flowers onto the nails and topping with a transparent, glossy, pink tinted nail varnish to give a jelly like effect. Below are the images of my tests on the nails. I tried three different techniques before deciding on the final process.

For the first, I layered the flowers over a pale pink nail varnish, then added the flowers and topped with a top coat. I really like the way this looks, however the result is far too opaque for the outcome I am creating.

Next, I tried using a pale pink jelly polish over the nail, then applying the flowers and topping with another layer of the pink jelly polish. This didn't work out so well as the polish clumped around the flowers, looking messy and unprofessional.

Finally, I began this with the same pale pink jelly polish, then applied the flowers and topped with a clear top coat. This was my favourite outcome of the three as the pink colour showed through, but there was no clumping around the flowers.

I used my friend Becky as a model here, as she has delicate, dainty hands and I knew she would be reliable, which was important to me due to the timing. I actually found shooting hands very hard, as finding a position where the nails were visible, but the hands looked elegant and attractive was very difficult. These are some of my favourite images from the shoot.

I think the most effective image is the first. The hands are positioned nicely, with the nails in clear view and I love how the lighting causes the back of the arm and underside of the the hand to be in shadow. To create this, I lit this image from the front and the right-hand side, but not from the back of left hand side. I also really like the bottom right image, but unfortunately, this image isn't of a useable quality. I think the ISO was accidentally set quite high which has caused a grainy quality to the photo. While this is annoying as it would have been better to have options to choose from, I still prefer the first image and you can see the nails far clearer. I think that in combination with the product shots these images will help to supplement my 'Seasonal Update' article and incorporate the flowers in a way that is far more subtle and pretty. 

Promoting Beauty Noted Using Postcards

As I won't be printing the magazine, I want to have something physical that I can use to promote the magazine and display the images beautifully. I considered business cards, but thought that would be unusual for a magazine, so went with the idea of a promotional postcard with the basic information and social handles written on it. The larger size also allows an image to be displayed better. I used Vistaprint to get the cards made and chose my cover image to go on there as that is the image that I am using as the header on everything (Instagram, website etc) and keep a consistent feel to the brand. I wasn't sure if I wanted them portrait or landscape so ordered both to have a look in person. Below is an image of the initial postcards.

I'm really happy with the way the image looks on the front and know I definitely prefer the portrait style where you can see the models face visibly! I took the cards to my tutorial with Anna and she liked the idea of using them to promote the magazine, but suggested that it would be nice to have a variation on the images and maybe to print them in a smaller size. What I have decided to do is keep the larger postcards as general info cards and get two more images printed for the two main editorial stories - 'Rays' and 'Skin Shield'. On these, I will include the title of the article and the first line or two, sort of as a teaser for the main article and they will say 'read full article' on beautynoted.co.uk or something along those lines.

The cards arrived from Vistaprint and I am really happy with them. I love the variation in images and how the main promo card is larger than the more specific article ones. They will be a great way of promoting Beauty Noted when at events or somewhere like graduate fashion week for example as I can just hand them out and the simple design gives readers an idea of the general aesthetic of the magazine, with monochrome writing and eye catching images.

Font Choices

When considering the design of the magazine, choosing the fonts I use is a very impactful decision. I want to keep the number of fonts I use limited, as this will give a streamlined and coherent theme to the magazine. I will pick one font to use for the majority of the text written in the articles, one for the cover font and for promotional purposes and one as an accent font.

TITLE FONT

I want the font for the title to be simple, minimal and elegant. I did initially play around with the idea of having using capitol letters, but I like the gentle effect that lower case letters create. I really like the look of the 'Avenir' font and there are a lot of options for boldness and spacing to create different looks. Avenir Light is definitely my favourite out of the three, it finds a good middle ground between the super bold Avenir Black which I think looks almost childish and unprofessional. I do also like Avenir Ultra Light, but as my cover page will be quite pale in colour and I want the font to be white, it does need to be slightly bolder than this to show up and grab the readers attention, especially as this font will also be used on my promotional material.

Avenir Light

Avenir Black

Avenir Roman

Avenir Ultra Light

TEXT FONT

When considering which font to use for the main bulk of the writing, I did some research into the fonts that other similar magazines used. I found out that Kinfolk - a design focused magazine uses Adobe Casion. I love the typically editorial look to this font, it is readable and professional but still looks a little stylish. 

Colour Palette

The colour palette for Beauty Noted is crucial as this is one of the main factors in ensuring a refined and coherent design throughout the magazine and supporting elements. I have chosen a colour palette of three prominent colours in the design of the magazine (besides black and white) and two highlight shades. For the base shades, I have chosen a flesh tone, a blush pink and a pale grey. The first two colours are very nude, soft, feminine and flesh-toned. The pale grey shade adds a third monochromate tone to the palette and is useful for darker writing or borders, without the harshness of using black. The two highlight shades which pop up within the magazine are a Kale Green, seen in the images of plants that I photographed and a deep, rich Wine. This is present in the makeup for my 'Bloom' shoot. I can refer back to these shades when assembling my page layout to keep me on track with the design.

 

Image Refs:

http://pretty-pictures-solve-everything.tumblr.com/?og=1
http://colormepantone.tumblr.com/post/31783437891
http://www.burlapandsilk.com/blog/pantones-spring-2017-color-trend-forecast/
http://pantoneproject.tumblr.com/post/41357618810/blush-f6c6b2-7520-c
http://pantoneproject.tumblr.com/post/47350121056/wine-8b184b-7420-c