Print experiments
- 2. Front Cover Process For this front cover I used an array of different tools using the Photoshop software, which were highly convenient when creating the lettering splayed around the page, from the title to the headlining story. The main title ‘CANNY’ (meaning intellectually bright) was simply created by deciding upon a font and manipulating certain letters to be bigger than others, with ‘C’, ‘N’ and ‘Y’ being left naturally bigger than both ‘A’ and (the other) ‘N’, as I felt like it was a hip, unconventional manner in which to abbreviate the title for the sake of appealing to younger audiences, whom of which manage to crunch down the most complex synonyms into simple abbreviations. Apart from these features, I also created other aspects of this experiment using the tools on Photoshop, such as the elongated shapes bordering the main image of Elon Musk, as well as the broad blocks backing the text at both the top and bottom of the canvas, which collectively add to the striking effect this image has on consumers; especially anything with a yellow coloration, as it gives off connotations of positivity and enlightenment of which everyone wants to feel. Finally, onto the element of secondary content, whereby I implemented features which were essential to the production but couldn't’t be constructed using Photoshop alone. Such as the headlining image of Elon Musk in his early days, when his invention of PayPal just came to fruition, which matches perfectly alongside the text ‘from rags to riches’, selling his creation to eBay for an adequate sum of $1.5billon and personally receiving $165million in assets. Other than that initial image, the barcode located in the bottom left hand corner of the page was exported off of Google onto the canvas seen before you, as to make the whole layout look more professional and likened to an existing magazine.
- 3. Reflection • What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product? The vibrancy of this experiment works towards my goal of enticing audience members, because it always catches ones eye and the simplicity of its design, affixes itself alongside my theory which details how I believe that simplicity is key in modern design, especially for the betterment of technology and works towards the user-friendly goal manufacturers try to achieve; with apple being front runners in this industry.
- 4. Double Page Process This sharper looking double page spread consists of two images of Elon Musk surrounded by his primary entrepreneurial exploits (tesla and SPACEX) overlapping one another to form a single flowing image. Overall I think this came out much better than my previously rendered front cover, with this rendition looking vastly more professional and far more suited to that of Elon’s genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist lifestyle. This simply looks more like a magazine and yet it was created using the exact same Photoshop software, starting with the images of the man in question, of which I implemented from Google. Through merely searching for ‘portraits of Elon Musk’ I found these wonderful sketches and thought it would better suit the professional black and white colour scheme I was trying to develop for this process of the experiment. From there I added both images to the spread and went through the process of overlapping the two, so they would work in conjunction with one another. This was achieved using both the layer via copy feature and eraser tool, which allowed me to crop out particular portions of either image and in turn layer over certain areas of the base image. Whereas the eraser allowed me to smooth over a few rough edges which ruined the aesthetic tranquillity of the whole picture, with all this hassle eventually transforming two separate entities into a singular item as seen above. From that point I added two text boxes to encapsulate both images, of which give the whole page a natural boarder and somewhat add to the professional look of the magazine, through highly simplistic means. Leading on from that, I added bold text at both the top right and bottom left corner of the page reading ‘ELON MUSK’ along with his signature overlapping his last name, which somewhat verifies the authenticity of the scripture; as if Elon himself approved its publication. Finally I layered text lines over both images of Elon, leaving space for an actual article to be written, seeing as this is merely an experiment and I dedicated more time to the design rather than burdening myself with the facts and logistics.
- 5. Reflection • What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product? This double page spread better accentuates the genius, innovator lifestyle Elon Musk leads, contrasting heavily with the front cover which shows Elon in his early stages of growth. This contrasting element is one of which I want to include in my own creation, as it allows me to write about both the good and bad products without having to solely write about one or the other, which in turn gives me more freedom to express my personal opinions. On top of this, the design layout works in a way that it looks professional, from the overlapping images to the bold text in either corner of the screen. This adds to the enticing factor of the magazine and I believe will keep consumers flipping on through the pages, rather than putting it aside; therefore this is an element I would very much like to include in my final product.