Creating my double page spread
- 1. This is my blank start of my double page spread. I then put in this image of ‘Teelow and Lil’ Ishy’. I decided not to have the image the size of the entire double page spread. Although that was the conventional option for most hip-hop double page spreads, I don’t think that the picture itself was very good for writing on; there was no font colour that worked with the image, so I decided I would write around it.
- 2. I then inserted the header above the image. Here it will stand out and catch the readers attention, letting them know what the article is about instantly. The next thing I did was insert a drop capital. This took me quite a while, as it took a lot of fiddling with text box’s to fit all the text together without making it looking disconnected. The reason I did this was because it is conventional of all magazines everywhere, in the majority of articles. It makes it look so much more professional, and makes the beginning of the article stand out.
- 3. I decided to change the font of the header, and change the word ‘Colab’ to ‘Collaborative’. I changed the font to all caps because I thought it would make it bolder, catch the reader’s attention more and look more professional. I then changed the word to collaborative because it made the title fit better and have better formatting. It also makes it look a bit more professional. After considering it, when the magazine will actually be printed the section in the middle will be either hard to read of completely lost because of the fold. Because of this I decided to put everything on either one page of the other, instead of having things going through the fold. This is especially important with the header because what is the point if you can’t read half the letters.
- 4. My next decision was to insert a graphic image. I did this because the central image was no longer dominating the double page spread, so I though a small graphic image on the other page would add to it a lot. I then wrote out the interview which was the body copy of the double page spread. I decided to alternate colour and font between interviewer and interviewee. This is conventional in quite a lot of interviews because it makes it much easier for the audience to follow. I tried to give the interview as much of a Hip-Hop feel as possible when typing for ‘Lil’ Ishy’ to make it more specific to the genre, and more realistic.
- 5. I inserted a pull quote into my interview. The reason for this is because they’re conventional, and in my opinion any good interview has 1 at a minimum, probably 2. I changed my mind and decided instead of having a separate interviewer and writer for the article, I had them be the same person. This is because I wanted to insert a by-line at the beginning of the article. I could of done that anyway, but I think it gives the whole article a better feel. It also meant I could have one colour for the interviewer and the writer of the article, without it being confusing.
- 6. I then made the font size smaller of certain bits so that I could write more of a conclusion at the end. I wanted a better balance of interview and article. And here we have my finished double page spread. I struggled a bit on what to say in my conclusion/final paragraph. I just tried to make it sound like a hip-hop writer, and I kept it very informal. I think the overall feel of the article suits its purpose and I think the format and scheme works as well.