Inspiration For My Double Page Spread- Take Two

After my disaster of a double page spread, I decided to do a bit more research to see how the pro's do it. The three designs below were ones I particularly liked, all for different reasons and I'd like to try and fit elements of each into my own Whistling Dawg double page spread. 




This double page spread is uniquely different to many others as the main photo covers the whole of the background with the main article of text overlapping it. It is also unique in that the colour of the text also matches with the background, which would normally make the text unreadable but instead ties the words in with the colour scheme of the pages. This use of a photo background isn't seen much in many magazines, but is quite regular in this magazine, Q. The headline of the article does not seem to stand out much, which is a minus of the page, but the 'New To Q' tag at the top helps tie the page to the magazine itself. The use of the red is also a regular re-occuring features of Q magazine. I myself feel that the use of a photo of the background makes the actual article seem unappealing to read, as it is not only a bit overly simple but it makes the words harder to read sue to the small size and similar colour to the background.As much as I like the style of this particular one from Q, I think the same 'not enough text' problem occurs. This double page spread looks as though it is to be continued on to another page, but unfortunately I don't have that option, so I need to be very careful with my design.
I believe this is double page spread might tick a couple more boxes for what I need to create to complete my Whistling Dawg project. The picture is large enough to see, and there is plenty of room left over for text. I have also noticed that the size of the text here is a lot smaller than my the text of my double page spread first draft, this may be something to bear in mind when producing my second. A very apparent red, white and black colour scheme is used, something that occurs a lot in Kerrang! magazine usually. The colours also help tie in with the rock genre the magazine represents. The layout is quite typical in the fact that the photo of the band the article is referring to takes over one of the pages, with the corresponding article on the opposing page. The red quote on the black background helps break up the normal article of black on white and makes it look less long-winded and essay-like, helping encourage the audience to read it. The smaller article in the corner also helps keep the page tied together and doesn't deviate from the theme and make it look messy, but also adds extra interest to a page that is otherwise made up of writing. The font of the title is key in tying in the article to the magazine's rock theme along with the colours so the magazine looks more professional and well put together.

This is another design I really rather liked. The colours used on this double page spread is the first noticeable concept your eyes are drawn to- the typical American red, white and blue- with only blacks and greys added in to keep the focus on the photo without making it look unprofessional and too garish using too much colour. The photo takes up a whole page and a half, making it the main focal point and makes the page look interesting and exciting. The fonts give the article a sophisticated look to go with the singer’s regal looking pose atop what looks like the American flag. The columns of writing help the article look both neat and organised, but also break up the text so as not to make it look too lengthy and boring. The overlap of the title and the photo helps to tie the whole spread together and helps keep it professional looking.

Text For My Double Page Spread

After doing a bit of research into the actual text of music magazine double page spreads, it became clear that most of it is questions and answers about the features artist. I focused on the style of language used in the interviews just like this one from Kerrang! magazine.
So from there, I set to work on creating some questions for my artist and asked my friend (Ginger) to come up with some answers and I edited them from there to sound professional and 'musician like'. 
However, after experimenting with adding text to my particular layout of my double page spread,  I soon came to the conclusion I just had not left enough room  for as much text as i'd like to include. So it is back to the drawing board for a new double page spread design. 

See what I mean? Just not enough text there. Not at all.

Finished Contents page

Her we have the completed Whistling Dawg contents page which include my photographs I mentioned in the previous post.
I also used that good old font, 'Earths Greatest' (also mentioned in the previous post) as it is clear and effective for the list of pages and descriptions of pages, as seen on the left hand side.
I also managed to sneak in The Whislting Dawg logo on the background wall in the main picture, I thought this looked very proffesional and cheery.
Im decided to put the list of pages and number of those pages in alternate colours of blue and black, so it is easy to follow and read. I chose these colours as they fit nicely with the page as a whole, and my whistling dawg logo is also black. With the blue theme in mind, I thought as a background for this section something other than a solid colour would work nicely. I scanned in this tea stained paper, and changed the colour of it to blue, bingbangboom we have a lovely pattern for the background.

Contents Page Photographs

These are the two main pictures I wish to pop on to my contents page. Although they are both of the same person (my cousin) that is a bit tricky to tell, so I can easily name them as different artists and so on.  I thought the picture with the milk van would go nicely with the heading 'Highlights of Sheep wash Festival' as, after all, I did take the picture at a festival and it shows wellies and mud - typical festival conditions. Obviously the picture will have to be rotated so we don't have to tilt our heads to look at it and it will also have to be cropped because of that inconvenient arm sneaking in on the left hand side, but these problems can be easily fixed, get in!
Moving on to the picture on the right, I didn't realise how good looking this one was at the time, but it has come out really nicely. The colours should contrast splendidly with the not so bright 'Milk picture', and it should fit nicely with a heading such as 'Mae's Guide To The Top Ten Events This Summer'. By giving my cousin a name in the magazine, the amount of people in it is broadened, making the Whistling Dawg magazine look more professional by the minute! Also, just before I go, I thought this font would be nice to use for the headings, and any other text used on the contents page:

All of you with hawk eyes may have noticed I have indeed used this very same font before, just here on the double page spread(circled in red). I think reusing the fonts on different pages is a good move- it's always a good idea to keep running similarities and themes going throughout I reckon it just makes the whole thing far more professional looking.

I also have a plan for my contents page to  be:

Double Page spread - So far

So, like the title says, this is my double page spread so far, without the text.

I think the 'desktop items' around the right hand side are working tremendously, and I am rather pleased with the text and colour schemes, especially the alternate colours of  the subheading.  However, I do worry it looks a bit cluttered, but I shall see what my double page spread focus group says about the matter, it can easily be changed after all.

Update On The Double Page Spread

 I am currently working on the design of the double page spread. Paper clips have been   added to the pictures, which I thought looked really effective. For these, actually, for everything I scanned in I set the white background transparent so it looks like it is happily sitting on the background behind. It's a good, professional looking technique that works most of the time when the picture is of a good quality and the background isn't too busy. 





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Double Page Spread Plan

Here we have a cheeky drawing of how I wish to lay my double page spread out.  It includes two pictures of my artist, as well as scanned in items, which I hope to add around the sides of my main text to create a desk top effect. Below are some pictures of the items I wish to use. You may notice, they all have a yellow/orange colour theme, which fits splendidly with my artist, Ginger as well as my yellow and orange Whistling Dawg  front cover.