Table of Contents Details

     Now that I know what to do with my table of contents, it's time to deal with details. I would like my entire table of contents over the course of two pages. I'm expecting to make the font large and easy to read, this way specific words and titles will stand out to the readers. I'm utilizing tricks that many magazine creators use in order to attract attention to specific things. Some tricks include font and colors. My text coloration will probably correspond with the picture which it's paired with. An example is blue text paired with an image of the sky or the ocean. This way, everything will be organized and more appealing to the reader's eyes.

Writers Block

     Recently I've been having a bunch of good ideas come to me based around my magazine project, but this week has been different. Today, I was trying to brainstorm different ideas for my blog and for my magazine, but I couldn't grasp any. I traveled to quiet and serene places, hoping that maybe I'd get at least one idea, but it was no use. I have no idea why my mind was so blank regarding this today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have more luck. I'm going over every idea that I've already created, hopefully to refresh my memory on what needs to be done and what I've already created.

Final Cover Page

     Today I officially started my cover page, since I already had all of my ideas sketched out. I went on canva.com and tried a bunch of different styles. It was pretty difficult to find fonts and layout that I liked, but I managed. I thought it would take at least three hours to make the cover page alone, but with Canva's useful abundance of materials, I was able to complete the task at a much fasted rate. 

     I enjoyed using Canva so much, that I was completely absorbed. I didn't even glance at the clock once. Using this website allowed way for my creativity and organization to flourish within this project. However, my biggest flaw of being a perfectionist also took a role in the creation of my cover page. 

     If every minor detail didn't appear perfect while i was making the page, I would've redone it all. The most time consuming part, therefore, was making sure that the words were all aligned. In the end, however, I was quite satisfied with my product. I have also grown a new respect for those who design magazine covers for a living, since it's very tedious work.  

Layout

     Now since the page count for my table of contents is prepared, I'm ready to move onto the next step, which is layout. I didn't even know where to begin with this part. Every layout which I saw was completely different from the last.

     As shown in these images, there are countless ways to create a table of contents. First, you have to choose a feeling to convey. Some send the message of 'elegance' while others send that of 'fun' and 'adventurous'. I personally, what to convey a message of both intellect and adventurous.
     To do this, my font will be bold and easy to read, and my images will vary from activities such as hang gliding to images of historical and massive buildings, such as the Taj Mahal. My plan is to have around five images surrounding the text. I will have about 6 key, bolded articles while the others are just present due to obligation.
     The six articles will each be very different from the last. The purpose of this will be to remain within the broad spectrum of travel. I'm hoping that my magazine can appeal to world travelers around the world!

Pages

     After researching a bunch of different travel magazines, I realized that creating a table of contents would be harder than expected. There are many aspects regarding a table of contents, and I didn't realize before how difficult it would be to actually decide on ideas.
     For starters, how many pages I will need in my magazine. Some magazines which I observed had about 50 pages, while others had around 80. I decided on including a little over 70 pages in my magazine. This way, it won't be too few pages to lack information, but also not too many to sound incredibly redundant. To display the 70 pages, I'm trying to create a two page spread table of contents. This way it could look neat and organized, rather than having everything crammed in a small space.
     

How to Make a Magazine

     Now since I have a solid plan of what I want on my cover page, it's time to start designing it. It took me a long time to figure out how to design an actual magazine cover. I spent what felt like hours just surfing the web on the process of virtually creating a magazine cover. After what must've been the 20th website, I came across Canva. 

     Canva is a website that helps you create anything ranging from brochures to business cards. Surely enough, a magazine cover was one of the many templates offered. For about 30 minutes, I played around on Canva. I experimented with different fonts, images, spacing, and more. It was unexpectedly really fun to do. Finding Canva just made me about 100 times more excited to create my magazine!!

Q & A

     Despite not being sure of which topic to choose, I wanted to brainstorm common questions and answers to attract new and old travelers. Since I haven't settled on this topic being the main one for my two page spread, I didn't come up with 20 exact questions, instead I've come up with four, which are displayed below.
1) Q: What should I do if my baggage is delayed at the airport?
    A: Rather than stressing out and searching hopelessly for luggage that you won't find, it's easiest to       go seek help. Each specific airline is required to have a 'service desk' for situations like this. The best thing to do is to seek someone from your airline's desk and file a 'missing baggage report'. By doing so, the airline will search all locations for your bags and then send them over to your hotel, house, or other location when found.

2) Q: When traveling to a different country, how do I know if the water is drinkable?
    A: Before going to a new country, it's vital to know whether or not their drinking water is harmful to our immune systems. The best thing to do is to research everything you can about the topic. If you're checking online, make sure you visit various sources, so you know the response is more accurate.

3) Q: How far in advance should I make flight reservations?
    A: It depends on where your destination is. Flights are always cheaper at least two weeks in advance. If you're planning a large trip, it may be easiest to book a flight one or two months prior. If you're planning a small trip, your flight could be reserved a few weeks before your imagined departure.

4) Q: What's the first thing I should do if my flight is cancelled?
    A: If your flight is cancelled, you should always go to the ticket counter before anything else. There, you can discuss any options you may have regarding the flight. At times, you'll be placed on a flight at a later time, but at other times you may have to wait a day or two before flying out, which can be stressful.

Topics!

     Now that I've come up with a solid plan of my cover page's appearance, I have to start brainstorming different topics to hint at on the coverage. My goal is to have one main topic, which will be paired with the cover picture, and two to three 'subtopics'. After doing research, I decided I wanted at least one topic to contain numbers. Since my magazine applies to the whole world, I decided to make a topic: "Top 10 Must See Places".  It would be ranked from worst to best: United States, Italy, France, Australia, Argentina, Japan, UK, Germany, Canada, Norway. With each country name, I could do a brief description on the country and what is so great about it, also a picture of each country's unique landscape. As of now, I'm planning on this being my main article.

     For one of my subtopics, I was thinking of creating a 'How To Travel Guide'. Here, I can supply common traveller questions and specific questions to each one. This could help, especially new, travelers decide what they want to do while traveling. Common questions could include "How do I find the right hotel?" and "How can I find traditional activities within a touristy city?" I can answer these questions by using my past experience, as well as my parents' opinions, since they're both travel agents as a side job. In my opinion, the article would be best if around 20 questions were answered. This way, the reader will surely be supplied with enough information to ease their curiosity, but the number of questions won't be high enough for them to start sounding repetitive.

     A second subtopic could be 'Why Italy?' Here, I can write an article on why tourists should make sure they visit Italy. Within the persuasive article, readers can find statistics about the country as well as information such as: culture, food, and activities. The article could be started by an introduction to the country along with a brief history of its past and founding. It would be my goal to persuade readers to hop on a plane and fly over to Italy after they read my article.

Cover Page

     Today I decided to start planning my magazine's cover page. As said in my other posts, I'm planning on creating a blue or green color scheme with natural pictures. Due to this, the color of my font would probably look best if it were basic, like a black  or white. I'm planning on placing the title of my magazine on the top center of the page.
     After figuring out my font and colors, I tried to come up with a clever title for my magazine. At first, I had writer's block. It seemed that every good title was already taken, such as 'Wanderlust', 'Get Lost' and 'Travel'.

     As I kept brainstorming titles, I came up with "The Explorer". At first, I thought it was to basic, and probably too common of an idea, but as I analyzed other magazines, I found out that the title was perfect. It gave my magazine a sense of adventure, which could also be conveyed through the bright images and large, bold font.
     In class, I remember my teacher saying that magazines are often able to draw people's attention if they contain numbers on the cover page, like the three shown above. In order to incorporate numbers into my cover page, I'm planning on writing either "Top 10 places to visit" or "The 12 best spots." Even though I have that part figured out, I'm still trying to decide on what I want the other 'previews' to write. Since I want my magazine to be broadly around the world, my previews will each be from entirely different countries, or with completely different ideas.  

Group Meet!!

     Today I met with my group to share insight on all of our projects. My group members were Adi Ben-Dayan, Azhar Ali, Brian Kaye, and Nicolas Yanez. Three of us are planning on making on making a magazine while the other two group members are making a film opening.
     Azhar and Adi are both creating magazines for their projects, which made it really interesting to see what the group would say about their ideas. Add is doing a fitness magazine and already has a lot planned for it. Her ideas are really good and creative! Azhar, on the other hand, is planning on creating a travel magazine. He wants to create something traditional to a specific place. His ideas are also amazing.
     We started off with reading each others blogs. They were all pretty good. I realized that I need to start adding a lot more pictures to my blog as I continue to write. By doing so, my blog will not only be prettier, but also more organized.
     I'm also trying to write more each time I blog. Most of my group members had a lot more writing on their blogs, so I've learned to do the same. In order to write more, I can go more into depth within each post.
     Overall, I believe that our group meet has helped me better understand what I want to do regarding my magazine. It was really beneficial to everyone, and I can't wait to apply all of my new ideas to my magazine.

Pictures

     After my last post, I decided to work with the blues and greens of nature for my magazine. If used correctly, my color choice can resemble a sense of both serenity and fun. With such a range of emotions which follow my desired colors, there are many themes that I can use. However, every theme starts with a picture.
     Now that my colors have been chosen, I must put them together by using pictures. This starts the question of 'which picture to use?' At first, I wanted to use an image of a landscape filled with bright flowers. By doing so, the viewer's excitement can flourish.
     A different route that I can take can be a picture of the beach. With a little bit of editing, the sand can appear perfect and soft while the water and sky each contains an array of diverse blue and bold hues.

Color Schemes

     Today I decided to start planning how my blog should look. The first step was to decide on color schemes, specifically for the cover page. The color scheme affects the entirety of the cover page in a magazine. Different colors and shades are able to convey different messages as well as attracting different readers.
     The first color scheme that I thought about consisted of pastel purple hues. The combination of blue, pink and purple is able to enhance the image taken from an airplane, but they also create a sense of relaxation. This color combination uses it's serenity factor in order to sooth the reader and encourage calm readers to pick up this magazine.

     The next combination of colors that I thought about using consists of many browns. The darker 'neutral' colors are put together to create a sense of antiquity. The colors make things appear old and historically important. By having that trend on the cover page of my magazine, I could be able to persuade the readers of the significance and beauty of the subject.

     A third color combination consists of blues and bright colors. These colors put together can often resemble a sense of 'fun' and energy. By seeing a picture, such as the beach on a sunny day, the reader's mood can be lifted to instant joy. This color scheme can appeal to a more energetic target audience. 

My Decision

After much consideration, I decided to create a magazine based on travel. Once I decided on the topic, I researched characteristics on it. I came to the realization that travel magazines are often best when supplied with an abundance of details and personal experiences. This made the genre appeal to me even more, considering the fact that I travel a lot. Travel magazines typically discuss an array of topics, such as restaurants, sights, animals, and more. Each topic should be described or explained in depth, appealing to all of the reader's senses through the use of imagery. In addition to the style of writing, I'm planning on including a large sum of pictures from different countries, each more unique than the last. The bursting colors in the pictures can easily draw the reader's attention and encourage them to read more. After researching my magazine genre, I became very excited to see my final product!

The Start

After studying the various components of magazines, I decided it would be best to create a magazine for my AICE Media Studies projects. Although coming to this decision was easy, choosing a genre was not. There are several complete diverse genres in the magazine world. At first, I wanted to make a fashion magazine, due to the fact that I’m always updated on the newest trends. However, I also loved the idea of making a travel magazine. I have been passionate about travel ever since I first went to Australia when I was barely over a year old. I have been to nearly 60 different countries and have loved each one a little more than the last. A third genre idea which I am contemplating is a magazine based off of the various foods and cooking styles of the world. I am a big foodie and could work really well with that topic. Hopefully, I will be able to settle on a single topic soon enough.