23.04.10 - Final Touches to Publication and Evaluation

Haven't uploaded anything to the blog this week as I've been concentrating on finishing my publication for the deadline, so am uploading it all now.

The booklet came together really well. I had some problems in that the printers were booked up all week, so I had to print it out in the library. This meant that there was a white border around all of my pages, particularly problematic as I had a few double page spreads which consist of one pcture stretched across both pages. To combat this, I pasted the image onto each page and cropped and resized them until they fitted together when printed out.

I test printed a few pages which I was unsure of the quality of. The 'Zandra Rhodes' pages' background came out extremely blurred. I sorted this problem by making the image 1/4 of the size and pasting it 4 times, rotating each one until each edge matched up. The image still had a slightly lower resolution than I had wanted, but as it was mostly covered by images and text, I didn't worry too much about it.

I had quite a large problem with my two presentation boards from project 1. Neither of them would open in their Adobe pdf format to print. I tried opening the jpeg version and the original Adobe Illustrator version, but neither of them would convert to Adobe pdf, or print as they were. This meant that I was unable to print out my Project 1 boards for submission. I will try to resolve this problem when i go into uni tomorrow.

17.04.10 Inspiration for Layout #3

I scanned images from the L.K.Bennett Autumn Winter Collection 2009 publication for inspiration as to how professional companies lay out their publications. The use of a double page spread showing an image and a blank page looks really effective as the focus remains entirely on the image.

I also scanned images from Vivienne Westwood's 'Anglomania' and 'Man' Autumn/Winter 09-10 publications. The off centred position of the model on the front cover of the 'Anglomania' publication looks quite striking when coupled with the Vivienne Westwood logo, towards the corner of the page.

The even spacing between the images in the 'Man' publication works really well as the images are also sized identically. The white margin between images seperates them and also increases the focus on them. This would definitely be something toconsider when deciding the placement of images.

17.04.10 Inspiration for Layout #2

I scanned these images from adverts in various copies of Elle magazine.

The two Yves Saint Laurant adverts look really effective, in my opinion. The way that the image is placed in the centre of the page, with a very succint white border around the outside, not only makes the advert look clean and bright, but also adds to the air of opulence around the brand, as they have left so much blank space on an advert.

The two pages from an Elle fashion shoot look really interesting as the first page is shot with the model posing, yet the second page shows just the shoes, in a pose. I may use this for the front and back cover of my publication.

I replicated the idea of the model with the shoes, followed by just the shoes for the front and back cover of my publication. I had to copy and paste varying bits of the original image to create an identical background, but without the woman being there. To do this, I opened the image in Adobe Photoshop and 'smudged' and 'blurred' the visible joining lines. I printed out a proof to see if it had worked, but the joins were still visible, so I carried on a while longer until the desired effect was acheived.

17.04.10 Inspiration for Layout

I scanned pictures from 'Couture Interiors; Living with Fashion' by Marnie Fogg to use as inspiration for the layout of my publication.

The example of the moodboard is really well done. The layout is interesting, yet uncomplicated.

The text is positioned in two columns, with a distinct margin between them. The text isn't the whole length or width of the page, which makes each page look uncluttered and fresh.

Images alternate between covering the whole page and having a margin around them. The variation accentuates each image. Placing several copies of an image also looks effective.

16.04.10 Catching up on the Blog #4

I explained in earlier posts that I would dedicate a proportion of my publication on Marks and Spencer's 'Plan A' initiative. On the same Marks and Spencer corporate wepsite as mentioned before, I found some very suitable images which could be used in my publication. I will focus on what 'Plan A' is doing with regards to Marks and Spencer's clothing ranges, including its 'Wash at 30' campaign, its Clothing exchange with Oxfam, and its use of fairtrade cotton.

16.04.10 Catching up on the Blog #3

Here are images from the same section of the Marks and Spencer corporate website, which are not heavily included in the text of my publication, but may be mentioned e.g. maternity wear, kids clothes, mens clothes, food and home.

16.04.10 Catching up on the Blog #2

Further research on the Marks and Spencer corporate website provided excellent images for potential use in my publication:


These womens wear images will provide the majority of my visual evidence to support the text.