Creative Critical Reflection

Collaborators: Shannon Rodriguez & Danielle Kraut

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwennK-buhf0LTlmZVlhSU5vZTg/view?ts=58f69406

Final Project

https://www.flipsnack.com/AndreaAvellaneda/maximize.html

       

                                 

Almost at the End!

The deadline of the project is approaching, which means stress!!! But also excitement!!!! My group members and I made a few changes, such as, the background of our cover page is no longer black, we decided on a gray color because it looks less photoshopped and goes better with our color scheme. We did encounter a slight dilemma over the cover image. I think the image looks better in black and white, since most aesthetically pleasing fitness magazines follow this convention and it makes the color scheme pop out more. Another group member insisted that we should put the cover image in color with the gray background. We asked our classmates and the black and white photo won because it looked more clean and more attractive to the eye. The colored image tended to distract from the hot pink masthead and yellow accents on our cover lines, and didn't pair well with the gray background. We also found an easy website to make our magazine flip like a tangible one in order to give the final product a more realistic look (website: flipsnack). We added page numbers (small detail, but highly important!) Our process is closely coming to an end! I have also been writing the script for my CCR.  
"Progress is impossible without change." -George Bernard Shaw

Double Page Spread!!

I finally decided on my double page spread layout!! Most fitness magazines have simple, clean layouts with two/three columns and not a lot of writing. The font is usually strict letters incorporated with bold font. My layout also includes a quote from the spinning instructor I interviewed that is inspirational and motivational to the target audience, since that's want they want to gain from this magazine. I have compiled all the information from the interview with Penelope (the indoor cycling instructor). I have almost all the images I'm going to use for the double page spread, but Saturday morning I'm going to her spinning class at the gym to take a photo of Penelope. Now, I just have to type up the story and add the images onto the layout I have created. My last visit to the gym I took so many photos of bikes and feet pedaling from all different angles. Some of them were posted on a previous blog post. My double page spread layout consists of three pictures:
1) Photo of Penelope (main focus)
2) Long shot of the indoor bikes (some angles of this shot are seen below)
3) Close up of feet pedaling

   




I'm so happy and proud to see how long I have come since the beginning of this process and can't wait to see the final product (soon)! Stay tuned!

Citations:

• Laurengibney Follow. "Codes and Conventions of a Double Page Spread." LinkedIn SlideShare. N.p., 30 Oct. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
• "Double Page Spread Analysis." Regional Fitness Magazine -A2 Media Portfolio. N.p., 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. 

Table of Contents!!

Today I went to the gym and took SO MANY pictures for my table of contents. I had an idea of what pictures I wanted to take since I first started brainstorming for this magazine, so it was just a matter of capturing my vision. I had to test out different angles and lighting. Lighting was a bit of a problem because not all areas of the gym had high key lighting and I wanted to capture a bright image. The worst thing was trying to capture an image and the shadows of people walking by or working out would cast onto it. Fun fact: I took over 100 pictures just of the mat with gym equipment to get the perfect one! At first, my group and I had one contents page and then we realized that in order for the magazine to flow properly, we would need a double page table of contents. Our layout consists of one main image and then the stories listed with a description and page number. Since we needed to add a second page, we flipped the layout to make it look more dynamic and added a sell line to draw more attention. Here is my draft for my two page table of contents (the pictures aren't final, but they're the ones I like most):

    

Vision Come True!

I started to play around with the pictures by editing them and I finished the front cover. Kind of. My vision was to have a solid black background and have my main subject as the cover image. At first, I didn't know how to remove the background from a picture, so it was quite challenging. I tested out several websites but none of them gave me the results I wanted. Then, I realized that Microsoft Word has this tool and I spent hours trying to crop it perfectly and let me tell you, it's a hard thing to do. Not to mention, Canva wasn't cooperating either. I have yet to get it down exactly right but here is my draft:

I'm super proud of how it came out because it's exactly what I envisioned. At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to put a solid black background, but I set myself to accomplish it. Like I said before, it's not the final product as you can still see some flaws due to the background removing. I also made progress on my table of contents, but I'll be going back to the gym to get another picture for the contents page. Lastly, I have gathered all the information to start writing my double page spread along with the pictures. I'm still deciding on the layout for my double page spread. Can't wait to put it all together!!

Pictures!

So today I went to LA Fitness to take pictures for my cover image as well as double page spread. Wait, let me rewind. The woman I was meaning to interview and use as my front cover is out of town (sigh), but I got a new idea! When I went to the gym today, I interviewed a spinning instructor to get insight on her experiences with this group exercise class. I'm using her as my cover image and will make my double page spread based on spinning and her personal experiences and advice as an instructor. Some of the questions I asked her were:
-What was your motivation to become a spinning instructor?
-What is the average of calories burned per class?
-What do you eat before and after the workout?
-Which muscles are mainly used while doing spinning?
-Do you recommend spinning to lose weight?
-Personal experiences with the exercise (weight loss)
I still have to edit the pictures and choose the perfect ones (I took A LOT). Here are a few:

 (This photo of her is the cover image in black and white)