First cover draft

It was hard to get on here (seriously, it took like 3 different JPG's to get it on this blog from Canva), but here it is. So Essentially this is sort of what I'm envisioning for the issue's final look. Originally, I thought I would go heavy with dark colors and just have a drab black/white/grey aesthetic because that's what I shortsightedly envisioned for myself. After self-reflection, by which I mean I learned what good-looking layouts are and how to emulate them, I saw the truth: My previous idea was... ~not good~. So I decide to embrace what I liked after looking at examples and throw away what was clearly hot garbage and throw up a design. I decided to also add some red, surprisingly, but the reason for that was after meeting with Isa and contrasting our mastheads to make sure they match (as per requirements). I saw hers was black with a red / in it(largely cause many popular Alt. Fashion magazines have their names broken up with designs), and I asked her "what if I went with like the design you have but switched it up? " She was really down for the idea, So I decided to implement it. For the image, I googled "Minimalist fashion", rather un-creatively, but ended up with a rather good image to use. Without further ado, Here's the design:

                                           

-Let's get this bread.

E=MC^2 (aka time)

I've been trying to keep myself on track by writing down what I want to do on paper,
but sadly I keep losing the paper I write things down on, so I don't think that's gonna work out like, in the
slightest. SO, knowing that I have to do something to keep tabs on myself, I decided that I will do that here.
Granted, this will be a constantly evolving blog post to account for the fact I wanna use this as a
notes app on my phone, but I do wanna be able to reflect on that.
Checking out studio:

3/16

3/16 update: My dad could not take me to the warehouse that'll serve as a studio so THAT wasn't fun.
Considering he probably can't take me tomorrow, this makes things COMPLICATED
3/17 update: Some research has shown me that shooting outside and in a natural setting will help the urban fashion vibe i want, so no studio

Costuming/Wardrobe:

3/17-3/20

3/17 update: Unsure wether to buy in person or through Amazon, but I've started looking on Amazon anyway.

3/20 update: I have turned more towards guiding wardrobes and giving some fashion requests for models, just so that they know what to do

Set-up shoots:

3/23: i have arranged for 3/27 for me and Sil to shoot while at Frost Science Museum
3/27 update: I have booked 3/29 and some ranging dates

So as y'all can tell, there is a lot of different things to work on but that's chill because by this point in time I am very prepared to knock this out of the park.
Let's do this!

-Let's get this bread

getting my act together (get it.? cause act=what I'm doing)

After a weekend generally filled with brainstorming and finding new ways to go about my minimalist content idea, I've settled on a few details that will allow my project to not seem "gimmicky"and more so a concept piece:

-A winter issue, limiting my color pallet to dark colors
-single color outfits on models and a contrasting background
-playing around with lighting (IE. Looking into color lights)

I also settled on a few other things I want to knock out by the end of next week:

-invest into colored wallpaper to hang up to serve as the background of my photoshoot
-Look into color lights
-Testing out camera/lenses/trial shoots
-physical mock of what I want the issue to be (will be done on paper and yes, I will feature some pics)
-Looking at the site I have selected to shoot at
-shop for clothes (realistically, I don't know if I'll have the time for this)

These plans are a bit of a mold that I wanna have to be able to have more concrete goals through out the crunch time of this project.

-Let's get this bread

Hittin the books (which is like, research)

I wanna have a good set of ideas and frames of reference. Because of this, I have launched into a researching spree to be sure to have a few good ideas. I primarily is looked for Alt-fashion magazines in terms of looks, essence, content, and prominence on social media/how they are distributed. This is essentially what I stumbled upon:

Alt-Press discussed the prominence of magazines/brands having hectic social media presence and content geared towards a 16-25 year old audience. They discuss 10 brands with a rather cult following on Instagram. They also lead to the conclusion that reaching an audience through social media ads and possibly a website in which one could subscribe through but still reach consumers online. It is key to keep up with increased digitization, and that can easily be done, as the research shows, through a strong presence online.

In terms of content, looks and essence, the blog site "I Am Attitude" provides great information provided below:

 "Alternative magazines are at the heart of the scene, run by creative teams who are just as passionate about alternative fashion and culture as you are.What makes alternative magazines so unique, is the very alternative nature of each and every magazine, being made by a team of keen writers, photographers and models, who share their love of alternative fashion and culture with each and every edition. It’s very rare to find alternative designers gracing the pages of mainstream magazines, so alternative fashion and culture magazines give them a great platform to get their work out there, where they can reach their intended audience without the restraints of mainstream media."

The article argues for the freedom of Alt-Fashion as self-definable. Due to their small staff size and specialized, niche target looks and audience, they have a larger degree of freedom in allowing themselves to defy fashion magazine conventions and create an ever changing aesthetic.

This is useful, as it gives me a LOT of freedom and a good idea of how I could be able to design, market, and distribute it (Ex: IG, Alt-Press, Bookstores, Online Subscription)

Also I wanna try this new sign off, so here goes :)

-Let's get this bread


https://www.altpress.com/features/10_alternative_fashion_brands_you_need_to_follow_on_instagram/
http://www.iamattitude.com/content/alternative-fashion-magazines/

The name game

So the issue of a name is a very big stumbling block for our magazine. It's not necessarily one we can't overcome, it's just a very pressing issue given the fact people could very realistically be interested or turned away by a good/trashy name.

First of all, I have no idea how a parent can put up with the pressure of a good name for their child. This is a magazine and I'm already regretting the names I haven't even imagined. Second of all, I am very cognizant of the fact that I have to keep in mind how the name will turn out by the end of the project, after all, our name IS our masthead...

Anyway, here's a list of potential names that will be continuously updated:

3/7:

1. Synth kin
2. Utopia
3. Euphony

3/8
We like euphony, it is staying!

We have settled on euphony for now but name will remain a WIP (3/8 Update: it's staying Y'all)

Genuinely speaking, I like the name euphony yet we have both agreed it is far from final name material. The concept of a name, at least to me, is pretty daunting considering it may alter the overall success of our magazine.

Anyway, I look forward to updating this blog as we finish things up on the name department,

Let's get this bread.

Learning how to edit because that's 99% of the project

So, after the quite obvious realization that I do NOT know how to edit/make a magazine's digital copy, Isa introduced me to the godsend that is Canva: what will save my life.

Try 1:

What may look like a super mediocre canva edit for you actually took me about an hour to learn how to navigate and about a few minutes to actually make. It's not like, necessarily good but it IS a good first step. Aside from that, I've found other editing apps for my pictures:
-Snapsy (on phone, more of an IG pic editor but still does the job)
-PIXLR (Actual editing app for pictures on camera, getting the free version, this is gonna be fire)

So yea, I am slowly learning to edit. Heck ye! Let's get this bread Y'all!

Minimalism: a concept

So in the midst of a debate tournament, i had time to google minimalism in fashion once or twice, and it looks like a lot of fun.

Exhibit A:

As this artsy magazine probably demonstrates, there are very clear ways through which a minimalist fashion magazine can be done. These conventions also seem clear:

- Minimal writing
-Simple, sharp font
-Color consistency
-simple name

So my main focus for this week is largely to get started on the magazine project itself, so my next blog posts will concern:
-Contacting friends to cast->Update: I have secured 3 friends: Sil, Veronica, and Camilla
-talking to my partner Isa about ideas->we have talked and we have bounced back and forth several great ideas
-Secure a camera->got my parents to give me our Nikon P500
-leaning some preliminary minimalist editing/photography-> I discovered canva, which is dope


well, I'm in for a busy week. Wish me luck, and let's get this bread