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I'm crap at making magazines, help me *crys*

Asked by bucko,

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bucko

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Hello I have to redesign a magazine and it is Rugby World I'm remaking. I hate it, I'm so not creative enough, can you please look at it and tell me what is wrong, please be nice I know it's really BAD! This is why I'm asking here. Yes I have been researching and looking at other magazines.

Also why is my perfect scanned image background going all grainy no matter what size it is in InDesign? I scanned it in at 600res.

Cheers for all help, I'm hoping to get it done this weekend. I'm just finding it really hard. :cry: :cry: :cry:

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/magazine/6.jpg

Edited by bucko

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bucko

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Ok thanks, you mean somthing like the Q magazine with there logo, ill try and sort out the yellow boxes, could you perhaps make me an example header so I have an idea wat to do, please also mention the font you use. Thanks for feedback :).

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crazzyyfool

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How in did you do the header?

585951472[/snapback]

Its just typed text in PS matey. The font is VirginiaPlain. The box behind is drawn with the shapes tool and the drop shadows have been applied using the Layer Styles. :D

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bucko

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Wat do you think of my leading into an artical page? See it all here

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/ma...artical_raw.jpg

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/ma...cal/artical.jpg

and comparison here. Would you class it as a redesign? How do I make it go with my new theme and how do I get the text to go in COLUMNS??? Tried searching on google and photoshop help but no look.

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crazzyyfool

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Are you doing the editorial pages in PS or InDesign matey? I would advise doing it in InDesign personally. When you create a New Document you have an option to specify how many columns you want. Or with an existing document. Go to the Margins and Columns menu and go from from there. :D

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Andre

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There's nothing catchy in your article redesign at all. If you look at the original, you will see how the title catches your eyes first, due to the size, which makes you want to read it.. or not, depending on your interests. But anyhow, it needs to be catchy, and there's nothing catchy in your design. Yours looks more like a letter template with some pictures. Decide what's more important on the page, how to get attention of the ready. Make a list of those things and go from there. Use of a good font is also important. Colors are very important as well, as they draw attention to things you think people should get their attention at. Plain black all over the page doesn't work at all. You said that you looked at other magazines, well maybe you should do so once more and try getting different ideas from those and intergrating them into your design.

Make not one version of your design, but several instead to later choose from and decide on the best. For the cover you could and might as well should use different logotype (magazine name) versions, mainly color-wise. You need it in order to be able to easily apply it on any kind of picture; ie light background with dark logotype or dark background with light logotype.

Hope that helps.

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crazzyyfool

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Hum I suppose I could do the articals in there, could I then copy the columns over into photoshop? I just find photoshop so much easier since I use it almost every day.

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Its just you mention InDesign in your thread title. InDesign is designed for page layout and presentation e.g. for magazines. PS is for image manipulation etc. It will be a whole lot easier to type in InDesign than trying to type loads of text in PS.

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crazzyyfool

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Ok yes I'm trying it in InDesign got 2 Columns up but I have three paragraphs on the bottom text (see in my image) how do I get it all blocks at the same height but so it shows all the text and not hide it.

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Generally in magazine design, there are four columns per A4 page. But this can vary depending on the content of the article and what message you are trying to get across to your readers. For the title page the two columns works a lot better, as in the original design, because of the attention grabbing picture and the size of the text. If you've only got text on a page and no pictures etc. make four columns, otherwise the article becomes very difficult for the reader to digest, it basically makes your eyes hurt.

Create a two column page (for the title page now) and past in your text. Play around with resizing the columns and placement of your pictures, captions, etc. until you feel you got the balance about right.

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Grand Master

crazzyyfool

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Thats the default margins on an A4 page. I think its 12mm or something. You can alter this though. I wouldnt put any body text less than 10mm from page edge though.

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Andre

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Photoshop doesn't have a good way of handling columns, or rather paragraph text as it's called in PS. If you select Type Tool, hold down the mouse button and draw a rectangle on the canvas, PS will create a paragraph text. That means text you type in that box will remain inside the boundaries of that box. The downside is that when text exceeds the box' limits, you can't transfer the exceeded text to another box to create columns that are linked. That's where InDesign comes in.

When you draw a text rectangle (aka text frame), that's by default for Type Tool in InDesign but you could use any shape to type inside (same goes for Photoshop; you use paths for that though), type in your text and if that text exceeds the limits of the rectangle, InDesign automatially displays a red plus on the right side of the rect. If you click that red plus, your cursor changes and now you can either choose a premade shape to "transfer" the exceeded text to, or draw a new rectangle which will do the same. Once that is done, those two shapes with text inside are linked together, text-wise so to say. Meaning if make any kind of adjustments to either the shapes or the text itself, the text inside those shapes automatically updates according to the changes. That's basically one way of creating columns, complex columns if you will.

Another way in InDesign to create columns is to draw a text frame and change the number of columns it should have via text frame properties. That's pretty much the fastest and easiest way to create and maintain columns.

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bucko

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Thanks for telling me but I found Adobe Illustrator CS and its brill at making columns!

Tell me wat you think of these,

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/ma...cal/Final/5.jpg

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/ma...tical%202/2.jpg

Now I just got the contents page left.

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bucko

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Well I have touched up the front cover a bit, still not happy with it. Tell me anything wrong. Couldnt sort out the yellow boxes.

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/ma...ront_cover4.jpg

Also done me contents page,

http://www.potton-delph.com/bucko/stuff/ma.../contents/1.jpg

Tell me wat you think, and also my artical pages in above post. Thanks, btw all your feedback is being printed of and going into my production folder so thanks for all your feedback!

Yes things still need touching up before I burn them to CD and take them to a print shop.

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Experienced

Berto

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I understand that this is an assignment for school then? If so, your best bet is to study other magazines. Take notice of the fonts and how they come together with the images used. How the layout flows and attracts the reader into reading the headers and the smaller typeface below it. A magazine cover should entice the reader and capture their eye. The articles should flow downwards on the page, as the placement of the article headers and the importance of them. Just take a look at all sorts of magazines, you'll notice the difference between a good magazine and a bad one.

Just some info to pass on. Keep on working on it, I'm sure that you will come through with the assignment in the end. Good luck!

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bucko

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LOL I Spent ?13 on magazines, I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THEM! I have shown my work to friends and they seem to be ok with it, I think some of you guys are being to harsh, remember I have never done a magazine redesign before! And my teacher hasnt pointed me in the right direction or anything.

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