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.

16.04.10 Catching up on the Blog

Over Easter I continued to develop the text and image content for my leaflet. I also researched how Marks and Spencer lay out their reports and publications to give me ideas for mine. I didn't upload anything to the blog (limited internet access) so it will be updated now.

Marks and Spencer's corporate website provided me with an abundance of information, relevant to my role as Merchandiser at Marks and Spencer. I focused on researching Marks and Spencer's profits and commitments, with regards to its womens clothing ranges, however, I also included information on mens and childrens wear as well as Marks and Spencer's overall performance. The Marks and Spencer 'Plan A' was of particular relevance, as it included schemes involved with its clothes e.g. Wash at 30 and donating old clothes to charities.

From researching current Marks and Spencer publications, I chose to present my publication in the same clean, simple manner. The same, uncomplicated font was used throughout, which I tried to get as similar as possible to, via an online font creator.

Any images included in publications were large, clear and striking, with definite relevance to nearby text. Text tended to be in one column, off centre, to ensure the page didn't have too much writing on it. Facts and figures in varying sizes were placed around the main body of text, to avoid too much white space.

Fasion site theyenvy.us provided a useful array of images of a high quality of Marks and Spencer's current clothing ranges. To ensure my publication is similar to a true Marks and Spencer publication, I will also include non-clothing images which are still relevant.

08.03.10 Leaflet Development

Over the past week I have researched further range development from http://www.wgsn.com and http://www.mpdclick.com.

I will develop the range further, using Pantone colour charts to justify my colour palette. Using WGSN and MPD Click will also allow me to choose designs that are relevant to my project, yet are also fashionable.

I decided to design a footer to go at the bottom of every page and created this one (right), which I designed for my Study Skills presentation on M&S.

I have also decided to use a sheet given to me by Rowan for guidance on what a merchandiser should research. This will allow me to elaborate on the research already conducted for Project 1.

22.02.10 Continuing with Leaflet Development

Uploaded more rough information which can be easily cut back into a Word document and edited.

Played around with background colours and gradients.




































I have decided with another member on my team that we will share information that is relevant to both of us and try to ensure that our publications are in a similar style e.g. same colour panel or layout used. The sharing of our information will be invaluable in producing optimum publications. For example, in our Study Skills presentation, I created a footer bar that was used in each slide. I will attempt to insert this into the InDesign document to tie the pages together.

The effect (right) looks alot better than any of the previous experiments (above) so I think I will keep the colour palette to a plain white background with black text and possibly green e.g. for titles.

I also learnt how to text wrap:

Window > Text Wrap > Select object > Click on desired wrap shape.

I can then change whether I want to wrap the object on both sides, or just one. I can also change the width between the object and the text.