Creative Critical Reflection

To conclude my project, here is my CCR! I am so happy and proud of the final product I have created. 

Final Magazine

I am finally able to present my magazine in its final form. I am very happy with how it came out and the way it follows the conventions of the genre but also challenges conventions with its slightly unconventional cover. So, here it is!

Interview Responses

1. When did you first begin your workout journey?

• Two weeks before hurricane Irma (August 28th, 2017)

2. What steps did you take in order to dedicate yourself to working out?

• I forced myself to go to the gym because if I didn't, I would look at pictures of myself and be unhappy with the way look. When I didn't want to go I would force myself to take my pre-workout because once you take it you have to work out. Also, my friends work at the gym I go to so when they noticed I didn't go they would call me out for it and I had to go because my ego wouldn't let that go.

3. What do you feel has been the most important lesson you've learned from working out?

• I don't want to sound like the stereotypical "never give up" but seriously, I have learned that dedication is the key to accomplish your goals. I never expected to achieve so much so quickly, especially with the way I looked before.
• What made you decide that you could actually "do this"? 
• I would look in the mirror and I would see the progress, like I'm not big yet but I'm getting somewhere and I want to get big. After the first month and a half I noticed that I would look down in the shower and my belly wouldn't be as prominent. I also just felt better, like I would wake up in the morning and I wouldn't feel the lack of energy that I used to.

4. Why did you decide that working out was for you?

• Because I was tired of being fat and lazy; I was tired of looking the way I did and I decided I needed change in my life.

5. What would you say has positively impacted you the most in your fitness?

• Aside from my large ego, probably my friends who work at my gym and the people who have been with me since before I made this change in my life.

6. What time of day do you feel is the best to work out at? Why?

• Depends on the day, if I work or have school I will go right after school or an hour after work. I won't go between 5-7 because that's when the gym is the most crowded. On weekends, I will go in the morning before I start my day because if I don't go to the gym I feel useless.

7. What is your favorite pre-workout snack?

• Orange, raspberries, a banana if I have any. If I'm really hungry I'll eat a peanut butter sandwich with a little jam if I haven't had too much sugar that day.

8. What is your favorite workout to do?

• I have 2, a tricep routine with the cable thats a superset of 3 sets of 10 reps and I used to not enjoy legs that much but now that I'm getting better at the form, I enjoy deadlifting and squatting. I also actually enjoy the running that I do before my workout a lot. They're all equally my favorite.

9. What are essentials for you to bring to the gym? (For this question I want to include visuals based on his response)

• My aminos, my air pods, my phone, car keys especially to claim areas, and a hair tie 

10. What advice do you have for a beginner?

• You know how everyone says no one's watching? Well, everyone's watching but nobody cares; we're all here for the same thing and we all started somewhere.

Taking The Images

Instead of the original idea I had, I saved my friend some money and we went to Dania beach for the photo shoot. I still wanted to achieve similar to images to what I originally had in mind so I brought dumbbells and we had my friend, Derick, work out with them and pose with them for the pictures. The weather was very overcast so I was a little worried that the sunset would not be as colorful as I originally had in mind for the pictures, but it ended up being okay. I was even able to slightly achieve the silhouette-like image that I really wanted to achieve and through editing I can bring the image even closer to what I wanted to do.
Despite changing locations, my pictures still satisfied the ideas I had in mind and I was able to take all the pictures for my cover and two page spread. I want to take different pictures of either myself or my boyfriend (or both) for the table of contents in order to add some variety in the images, I don't want all the pictures in my magazine to be of Derick.
I would include some of the raw images in this post, but I am waiting to have access to them tomorrow on a flash drive so I can see them and begin editing them. I am excited to begin the editing my magazine with the actual pictures and information and actually see it come together. I have struggled to begin editing my magazine because I can't see it in my head without everything on it. I am planning to have Derick answer my interview questions tomorrow.

Change of Plans

I was originally going to take the images for my magazine with my friend as the model at Fort Lauderdale beach and/or at The Gym, but I had to change locations. With the Tortuga music festival in town, there was going to be a lot of traffic in that area. In order to avoid loss of time and gas, I decided I would rather take the pictures at Dania beach and avoid the traffic than go to Fort Lauderdale.
We also had to change the day instead of today to tomorrow (Sunday) because I had to work with my friend's schedule. It's no problem though because now we will have more time instead of being in a rush today. We are planning to go to the beach around 7 PM because the sun sets at around 7:30 PM and I wanted to get pictures at golden hour as well.

Photo Shoot Plan

I am planning to go take pictures on Saturday with my friend, Derick, and with my boyfriend to help Derick pose and look as muscular as possible in each picture. We are planning to go to Fort Lauderdale beach and take some pictures on the beach, working out at the calisthenics area, and at The Gym. I'm going to bring dumbbells to take pictures of Derick working out with the incredibly scenic sunset in the background, adding colors to the images.
I am trusting Derick to choose his own workout-esque outfit for the shoot and we are both bringing our cameras and two different lenses each to get a variety of different images to choose from.

Image Ideas

I am planning to start shooting pictures this week for the cover and the spread. In order to achieve the images that I see in my head, I need an interesting location and the models that I have in mind to be portrayed in my images (my two friends).
For the cover, I originally spoke of a sillhoute like image but now I am thinking of a high contrast image with a very visually appealing background.  To do this, I was thinking of either shooting at the beach or at this gym that is on a rooftop right by the beach at sunset to have a brightly colored sky in the background. I could even still take pictures with my original silhouette image in mind because the lighting on the rooftop would make this possible. For the images in the spread, I want to do close ups of my friend while he works out and/or close ups of the gym equipment. I feel that the combination of all these images will work out very well and will bring the article together.
 
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Q and A Questions

 I have constructed a list of possible questions for the q and a:
1. When did you first begin your workout journey?
2. What steps did you take in order to dedicate yourself to working out?
3. What do you feel has been the most important lesson you've learned from working out?
4. Why did you decide that working out was for you?
5. What would you say has positively impacted you the most in your fitness?
6. What time of day do you feel is the best to work out at? Why?
7. What is your favorite pre-workout snack?
8. What is your favorite workout to do?
9. What are essentials for you to bring to the gym? (For this question I want to include visuals based on his response)
10. What advice do you have for a beginner?
11. How has working out affected your lifestyle?
12. How has working out affected the way you feel mentally and physically?
It's obviously possible that when I sit down with my friend I may think of other questions or I may decide that I don't want to include one of these questions. No matter what, I feel that this list is a good starting point and definitely includes the kind of material I am aiming to achieve through this interview.

Finalizing My Spread Ideas

When I was first writing on my ideas for the magazine, I wasn't realizing the only articles I would be creating would be only be for the two page spread. This makes my decision towards an article much simpler. So, I have finally decided that I am doing my two page friend on my close friend who recently lost a significant amount of weight and has achieved striking muscular fitness in just months. Since I am not going to have the ability to write multiple articles like I thought I was, I want to include a little mini recipe at the bottom of the spread.
The format that I want to utilize to present it is a q and a, like an interview. I am going to construct a list of possible questions and decide which questions would be most appropriate to include in the final article depending on his answers. After viewing multiple articles in print and online magazines, I decided that the q and a style article would work the best and be the most appealing for the reader.
Articles viewed: http://www.thepathmag.com/hollywood-trainer-jeanette-jenkins-on-health-fitness/
https://healthy-magazines.com/qa-olivia-harlan/

Recipe Article brainstorming

For one of my articles, I want to do a recipe; currently, I am in between a smoothie or a healthy snack. I feel that both articles would be appealing to someone interested in a fitness magazine. The healthy snack recipe that I would include would be a recipe for cucumber salt and vinegar "chips"! These "chips" are a great alternative for people trying to eat healthier and avoid a surplus of calories without sacrificing the satisfying crunch of regular chips.
My other recipe option would be some kind of strawberry banana smoothie that could include hidden vegetables. I feel that this article would be very appealing because people do struggle with including vegetables into their diets, so this would just be very helpful.
The front page of the recipes site for fitness magazines includes a large image of health-conscious smoothies followed by images of other healthy snacks; this is encouraging because it confirms that the recipe idea that I have in mind are relevant to the genre and will appeal to the general audience of my genre. https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/

The Kinds of Images I want to Include

For the ideas for my articles throughout my magazine, appropriate images are necessary. I want to have relevant and visually appealing and interesting images to go along with my articles that will keep readers engaged. I have explored the different kind of images I could include for each kind of article and here are some notes I have taken down along the way.

For a workout routine article, I considered either step-by-step images explaining how to do certain exercises or interesting images of model doing workouts. I looked at both options and as of now, I think I prefer the interesting images of models just performing the exercise, I feel that this appeals more to all crowds; but, step-by-step images would be helpful to anyone trying to replicate the workout.

Step-by-step:

For the recipe, I have noticed two main styles of presentation; the first is when the recipe image is the background. The other option is a plain background with an almost "sticker" like effect where you cut out the image background to only have the object cropped alone. 

example of cut out:

Example of background:

Cover Brainstorming

I have begun editing my magazine as a whole creation very recently on joomag. I decided the reoccurring color that will be seen throughout my magazine will be red; I want to have multiple red accents throughout the magazine. Here is an example with an orange color that reoccurs in this spread:
Many marketers use specific colors to market products because of the study of color psychology. Since red is representative of power, I am going to utilize red on my cover and throughout my spread to encourage the feelings of power and excitement towards the articles being read and a sense of strength for the reader that is going to accomplish the fitness mentioned throughout. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_psychology

Utilizing My Feedback

After I receiving feedback, I have decided to implement some changes towards the ideas I already had. I definitely want to create an image along with the advice that I was given for the cover; I already had something like this in mind so this positively adds onto my original thoughts. I feel that with this kind of cover I will be able to give off an appealing and trustworthy vibe as a source for fitness information and advice which is exactly the kind of vibe I wanted to achieve.
In regards to the cover lines suggestion, I am really glad this was suggested to me because although I probably would have thought of it on my own down the line, it was brought to my attention sooner and I can add it to the plans towards my magazine. This idea was also reinforced by research I have done; for example, this cover of fitness magazine in 2001 stating "Get bulge-free in 30 days!"; this kind of cover line draws attention from people who are struggling with losing weight and are seeking a solution. Another example of this is a cover from 2007 claiming "Drop 10 Lbs This Month!" which also expresses the opportunity of a solution to one's weight loss struggle and will excite a potential consumer into purchasing/reading the magazine. Here is an image of the kind of cover I want to achieve image-wise:

I feel that this serious stance with the black and white image with intense shadows establishes credibility because of the emphasis on her body that people want to work towards themselves through weight loss/exercise that is advertised by the magazine and then advertising the fact that this is achievable by the consumer.

Feedback

In class, I explicated to my classmates my ideas for my magazine; I talked about the articles that I'm planning on including and the kinda of images I want to produce for the magazine. After listening to my ideas, my peers gave me feedback on my ideas; I didn't get any negative feedback, it was mainly positive feedback or other ideas.
My classmates responded with advice for my cover and/or other images in the magazine. The advice I got for the cover was to something more silhouette-like image with sweat droplets glistening, like the NIKE ads; I was planning to do something like this in the first place, so I'm glad that my classmates agree. Here is a visually similar image to what I'm referring to:

For example, for the cover I could utilize focus on the two page spread I was planning for a cover line like "how to lose weight fast!" to market the magazine to people and entice people to open it, kinda like "clickbait". In regards to the articles, my classmates agreed with me and had nothing negative to say; they agreed that the articles I have in mind are appropriate for my magazine.

Examples of cover lines I'm referring to:

Kinds of Articles

After finally deciding on the fitness genre for my magazine, I wanted to brainstorm the kinds of articles that I want to write to begin thinking of what my magazine will contain. Here's a list of the kinds of articles I am considering/going to write:

1. My favorite workout apparel (cardio and weightlifting outfits/shoes)
2. Spread on my close friends's workouts and how they quickly achieved results
3. My personal leg routine
4. Men's leg routine
5. A smoothie recipe
6. Q&A with one of my teammates and/or my friend that plays for the UCF women's lacrosse team
7. Common gym mistakes
8. Common gym/workout misconceptions
9. Preworkout stretch routine
10. Acai bowl recipe
11. Cardio training routine
12. Women's arm routine
13. Men's leg routine
14. Men's vs . women's leg routine (differences, similarities etc.)
15. High reps vs low reps

I definitely want to include a recipe, one of my workout routines, and an article on my workout apparel because these are things that are very helpful to beginners and people who are interested in beginning their fitness journey. I also want to write articles that beginners and people who don't work out can understand but are also interesting and helpful to more advanced and experienced gym junkies. Unlike many magazines who focus on either beginners or veterans, I want to make my articles very versatile considering people's experience or lack thereof.

Final Genre Decision/Comparing Articles

After consideration and comparison between multiple genres of magazines, I finally made my decision. It was a little difficult for me to make a decision by comparing the topics superficially, but after research and comparison it was a lot easier. By looking at the front pages of online magazines, I was also able to compare the kinds of articles that would be included in each genre.
For example, for the beauty genre I looked at Allure, a well known beauty magazine, and the main article on the front page was titled "The Most Creative, Unique, and Daring Celebrity Looks of 2018" followed by an article titled "Makeup Revolution's Latest Launch Works as Blush, Highlighter, and Eyeshadow." Obviously, an article on the topic of celebrity makeup would not be realistic for me because I would have to somehow take pictures of celebrities. I also looked at a fashion magazine, VOGUE, that included articles like "This Made-in-Ghana Label Wants You to Keep Warm in Colorful African Textiles." Articles like this would be much more realistic for me because I know local boutiques that would be interested in participating. Finally, I viewed some fitness magazines; on the front page of fitness, the main article is "Lunge Free Butt Exercises For People With Bad Knees." This is also an article that could realistically be accomplished; I could easily write articles about my workout routines and take pictures of my friends working out.
After researching each genre, I finally decided on fitness because it is a part of my daily life as a player on the lacrosse team and among my friends's and my own workouts at the gym throughout the week. I feel that this will be the most enjoyable genre to do and the genre that I will be the most enthusiastic in creating my magazine.

Cover comparisons

To help with my genre decision, I decided to compare the covers of the genres I am considering. When looking at fashion magazines, it will usually be a woman posing on the cover with a bold masthead above them and multiple cover lines surrounding them. To me, this is very simplistic; of course I could be creative with it and make it more visually appealing than the covers I have seen, but it still doesn't spark my creativity as much as I want the cover to.

The same goes for beauty magazines, the covers usually include a woman posing very simply with a bold masthead and cover lines around them. The beauty magazine are more focused on the face though, which allows me the ability to do something more creative with the makeup on my model's face. But, it is still so simple for me when it comes to the colors and the kinds of cover lines that are expressed. The second cover I looked at was more my style in terms of the colors and the creativity in the look that is conveyed on the model's face. This one made me want to lean towards beauty but I am still exploring my options.

Finally, I looked at fitness magazine covers which are such a stark difference in comparison to fashion and beauty magazines. I liked the first cover a lot because rather than a person just posing looking "good", there is also an interesting background. The second cover also appealed to me because of the matching colors throughout the image and the masthead/cover lines.

Genre Brainstorming

When it comes to thinking about my options in terms of genres for the magazine, I'm already considering many options. I know I want to choose something that genuinely interests me and that I want to be very creative throughout my images through composition. I also already know that I definitely don't want to do a food or a magazine because cooking doesn't really interest me.
The main genres that I'm considering are beauty, fashion, and fitness; I know fitness is not related to the other two genres at all, but fitness is something that's very prominent in my life along with beauty and fashion despite the fact that they don't correlate very well. I also enjoy fashion and makeup in my daily life so this is why I am also considering these genres as well. When comparing my options I'm considering not only the kinds of images and the articles that go with each genre, but also the conventions of each genre and how I would portray these conventions throughout my magazine.

Magazine Format Research

To begin the process of creating my magazine, I wanted to research the aspects of a magazine that will make it impactful and appealing. In order to attract the most attention, I am planning on color schemes and other formatting. The first thing that people see when looking at a magazine is the cover, so the cover has to be as appealing as possible; this will determine whether or not someone is going to choose my magazine to read.
It is recommended to "not be shy" when it comes to the cover. The article I'm looking at recommends to "Try sticking to the A B C rule—stick to one A-heading (the magazine title), one strong (B) sub-heading (pulling out one article to be the main focus), and a larger selection of smaller (C) sub-headings. Almost every magazine cover uses this rule to promote balance in the layout." I am definitely going to utilize this rule when it comes to designing my cover.
Another tip from the article is to be minimalistic when it comes to fashion magazines in order to make the design look "as on trend and aspirational as possible". I still unsure about my genre so I don't know if this tip will be relevant to me yet, but it is a good thing to keep in mind.
The last tip I want to exploit from this article is to utilize beautiful photos as the main focus of the magazine. I agree that visuals are going to be really important in order to keep the reader engaged; a magazine with few images doesn't keep my attention, so I plan on having lots of images throughout the articles.

Source: 10 Tips for Designing High Impact Magazines

Choosing Which Format To Do

When this project was first introduced to me I was faced with a decision: magazine or film opening. When comparing the two, there are obviously many pros and cons of each format. With the film, I would have the opportunity to express a topic without having to verbally explain it to the audience. In contrast, with the magazine I would have the ability to go into depth on multiple topics rather than focusing on a singular plot.
Then, I thought about what I would personally enjoy doing more; I have always loved photography, but I also loved the idea of creating a storyline through a film. I knew I would have the ability to be much more creative in the film opening, but I felt that the actual process of filming the project would become tiresome for me. I feel that I would have become frustrated quickly with the film opening because of the large ideas I have but limited opportunities to execute these ideas.
After comparing my options and my limitations, I finally decided on the magazine format for my project. I came to this decision because I know I will enjoy setting up and taking pictures and the process of creating articles that articulate the ideas expressed in my images.