As a basic starting point to begin the development of my double page spread, I started off the process by opening up a new untitled document in the multi-operative software 'inDesign' that was going to allow me to create an authentic, realistic perceiving presentation of a double page feature you would regularly see in a magazine. it provided me with the correct 2D template of a two page programming system to allow me to replicate accurately the layout of a real article of this nature. I dragged in one of the edited photographs of my male model that had been developed on Photoshop and placed it on the left hand side of the piece. This was due to me intending to include two distinct images on the page as I wanted them to portray effectively the multiple playful personalities of my artist who is perceived to be highly rebellious in his actions. At the moment I felt the photo occupied the page too centrally which would cause obstructions for the text of the feature as it would be difficult to include it without the two conventions opposing and conflicting with one another, in this instance I may have to adjust it somewhat. I also additionally worked on constructing my headline for the presentation, as I wanted it to be bold and dramatic to instantly grasp the audiences attention I began practising with unique font styles in the hopes I would uncover something that suited my needs. The initial one I tested was the 'Bebas Nevaue' which has been present throughout the product as a means of proving continuity throughout the articles as it indicates all the text interlinks with one another to aim towards a common format. Although it was bold enough to gain that initial interest, I unfortunately believed it did not connotate itself very well as it was almost too serious in presentation to reflect the bubbly, extrovert personality of my artist, under this circumstance I feel the font style need to be more 'playful' and 'friendly' if that perception of him is to be relayed correctly, if the readers can deconstruct from the font the type of person the composer is then they can be notified of a clear indication what to expect from them when it comes to divulging in the text itself.
With me not being satisfied with the font style displayed above I opted to alter it to see how another unique one would display itself and to identify if it conformed to my expectations I had placed. The second one on trial is called 'Revolution', I was quite swayed by this font once the change had been conducted as it had the bold, interesting gauge to it in the essence it would gain the audiences visual perspective from afar. For it to be more appealing I would obviously have to adjust the size so it occupies a larger majority of the spread, which is understandable if i wish to perceive it as emphatic. The one issue that remains however is that I feel the individual letters themselves lack emphasis under the notion they perceive as being 'spindly' and fragile in a sense, they aren't as thick as what I would anticipate a regular headline to come across as. This thickness is vital as it allows a body of text to effectively dominate a publication so that it will be the immediate focal point for members of the audience when they first gaze upon the pages. Taking this concern into account it may be valuable for me to possibly select a similar style with a slightly thicker mainframe so the letters are more profound hten what they are here. More experimentation will need to be justified before I make a final informed decision over the display of the title.
I discovered a replica style to the 'Revolution' I liked above, I was hoping when I altered it to this 'LondonTwo' that the letters would be more bold in stature as I had anticpated. unfortunately I was mistaken, this style was not only almost identical to the one seen above but negatively was even thinner in comparison to the latter when comparing the thickness of the letters. It was such a disapointing premise for me as I would now have to search for an alternative font in a completely different style as it was evident I would not get a thicker appearance in this category of text edits. Therefore I decided to refer back to my mainstream double page spread of the Noel Gallagher article I had plucked out of NME as the main basis for the construction of my task.
After much deliberation I completely revamped the sytle of font to display my main feature headline for the article. On a primary basis I was originally going to incorporate the artists name in the title, however after using the Noel Gallagher example, I decided it would be more efficient to try and base my own creation to the same template as that, as it contrasted well with the nature, feel and personality of not just the spreads presentation but the artists themselves who were incredibly alike. As my reference feature used an almost cartoonish stylised font as the selling point of its piece, I felt it would appropriate to reconstruct that on my own publication to see how it perceived, most importantly it would help determine if this font was better suited to the article then all the previous ones I had tested. I downloaded the "king of the Hill 2' site from the website 'dafont' as it matched up pretty well with the text seen on the Noel Gallagher headline. Once I had applied this change, I was fairly content with what I saw. Not only does this emphasise its persona on the page with it engaging and drawing all immediate attention, but to me it accurately portrayed the boistorous, jokey personality of my male artist as the font was outgoing and 'in your face' like his temprement. Under this indication it connected effectively with him and for now I was pleased to use this as my title piece for the reasons detailed.
The secondary image was placed alongside the first but on the right hand page as opposed to the left, this was used in a 'mirror' stylised concept, almost as if my model is looking in a store mirror and is posing/pulling faces/pratting about. This gives a clearer understanding to the readers what type of individual he is in terms of his personality and nature, as from this they should be able to detect he is fairly boistorous, outgoing and loud which is what I intend. To reference slyly to the male representation occurring throughout the feature, I made a significant alteration to the colour palette of the headline by hanging it to blue. This was a nice notion to the patriarchal identity present as in all due respects my main article was revolving around a male artist, I wanted my audience to anticipate the content by manipulating my conventions in a particular fashion employed to highlight this effectively to them. Blue is a common colour many individuals will relate to as a 'mans favourite', it is heavily stereotyped in many of the worlds cultures, with this shade incorporated into a variety publications to emphasise the theme running throughout a particular story/feature, this aids them in identifying which gender is primarily being focused upon. In this respect I would predict gaining a higher ratio of male audience members reading this specific piece as it contrasts to their sex and possible interests directly, in essence a man would be able to relate more openly to another man and vice versa. Also beneficial of this colour scheme is how bright and dominant it displays itself on the document, this is an effective strategy to gain reader approval as they will be able to notice this article almost instantly upon browsing through the magazine as it is so eye-catching in comparison to the other duller aspects present. I centred the title so it was central down the page, this caused it to overlap on both sides, yet this is what I had intended as I feel it references to the music artists rebellious personality, in the respect that he cannot be contained and controlled (hence why the headline occupies both pages in the double page spread, its as if he's invading or rising in dominance for that matter) The slanted posture of the text was another technique to avert the readers gaze to it as the unusualness of its position goes against mainstream standards of a straight heading, this can therefore make it more intriguing to the eye for that matter. To round up, I began to include some of the main body of text that would contain the details of my feature piece, as I had not yet finished writing up the story I inserted the kicker in instead. I kept to the continuity in my product by recycling the 'Times New Roman' font style, however for this circumstance I altered the settings so it was bold and in italics, this would easily allow the audience to distinguish it from the words of the article, indicating they are separate from one another. Yet by having them placed directly above/below it still connotates the idea they are related to the same content with them in near proximity. Blue was used in the kicker to draw focus towards more major names in the text such as 'Cypher Lewins' and the name of the writer, so the more important details could be imprinted firmly into the readers conscious. Moreover it was another stereotypical reference to the dominant gender in the spread, with blue being constantly reinstated it created the underlying premise that this was a male centrefold product which would be the essential sex rampaging throughout the story.
A drop cap was placed as a starting block for where the main body of the interview would be situated on the left hand side of the page, drop caps are critical conventions seen in many magazine publications as they inform the reader of where not only the beginning of the story is located, but act as a method to divert their attention to the appeasing sections of the feature as these are ultimately the major selling areas of my double page spread itself. If the audience engages quickly with these points then it is more likely they will continue to read as their immediate focus would already be subversed and satisfied in the content. Another typical convention seen is a pull quote which is a phrase or body of words taken directly from the article to act as am additional mechanism to grant audience approval. Normally these are the more appealing parts of the story that will be used in a mechanical fashion to signal how much diversity and desirability is present in the words. I decided to be unconventional in the sense that I used a quote that came from the music artist themselves, which wasn't largely positive but negative as it was mocking a particular branding of clothing. Despite this, it is the sassy nature of his personality I want to personify across to my readers which is why I'm attempting to revolve the majority of my elements around this aspect of the feature. To me you can get a better understanding of someone and what they are like as a person if you focus more throughly on their composure rather then their line of work. The humour that is present here in that text should hopefully provoke a comical response from my audience, that they can identify that segment of his personality I want them to relate to. As can be noted the blue is furthermore orientated in the quote to provide that regular continuity which is vital if to allow the readers to accept all these elements confide and relate to one another as they are along the same topic, black although was reinstated as the name of the composer for variety in the texts but importantly the boldness is essential to reinforce a specific idea into the audiences mental state (in this case I desperately want them to recall the name of 'Cypher Lewins' with him being a rising music star in this genre)
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