The InDesign Double Page Spread Project

In Design - Disability Project

I've developed and learnt a high number of skills whilst creating this double page spread.I developed the rule of three's by inputting three polaroid effect images together. They consist of a polaroid effect because of the white border around the image. I created the polaroid images by using new skills: placing the images in; squaring them off with the black arrow tool; creating a square that went around the images via the rectangle tool; using the arrow keys to position the square specifically; filling them in white; right clicking the images and clicking 'Arrange' and 'Bring to front'. The images and the white squares were them grouped together by dragging the black arrow around them and then going to 'Objects' and 'Group' (or Ctrl+G as a shortcut). I then used the rotation tool on the images by clicking and dragging a corner. The fx button was also used to add a 'drop shadow' by going to the tool bar and clicking 'effects'; the opacity was also turned down to 40%. These images created a staggered look which makes the magazine look more authentic.This use of polaroid effect images emphasises the images to the audience. The rule of three's was incorporated because I wanted the double page spread to look balanced. I then made a drop shadow on the title as well. These products give a 3D feel which appeals to the audience as it grabs their attention more. I also overlapped the images so that the magazine double page spread didn't look basic and unprofessional, this would also create audience interest.
I used eye-lines to point to the text in order for the reader to be drawn into the article. I used a drop cap to indicate where the text starts - I did this by highlighting the first paragraph and then going on the tool bar and clicking the drop cap option. I made the drop cap equivalent to 3 lines of the paragraph as I thought this worked well with the font size 10. This is the 10pt copy rule as it's a convention that is professional. If the font size is any bigger than font size 10, then the magazine would look like it has been made for children.
I applied the three colour rule (black, white and red) as this makes the magazine look more professional. I also used a subtle, scrunched paper-look background as this gives texture to the double page spread, without shifting the focus from the article. I did this by placing the image into Indesign (which is a new skill that I learnt) and then sending the image to the back via basic text wrap/arrangement. I also learnt how to use advanced text wrap skills. I wrapped the text around the image of Simon from Misfits by carrying out various skills. Firstly, I opened the image up onto Photoshop because I felt that I needed a white/transparent background for the advanced text wrap to work. This meant that I had to erase the background of the image and then save it as a PNG file. I then placed the image into Indesign. I positioned the image where I wanted it and used the pen tool to click around the edges of the image. I had to make sure I clicked onto the first starting point. I then selected the pen-tooled image of Simon and made sure that the text wrap tab was present (it wasnt so I had to go onto the 'Windows' tab and then select the text wrap option). I selected the text wrap option 'Wrap around object shape'. I then selected the background object and sent that to the back. The text was then wrapped around the image. I had to make sure the stroke was turned off. I viewed this in preview mode so that I could see what it would look like to the audience. I did this by clicking 'View', 'Screen Mode' and 'Preview'.
I used Photoshop to create graphic elements and I exported these (e.g. the title and the break out box) from Photoshop as PNG's to retain background transparency. To create the break out box, I copied and pasted a large image from the internet and used the eraser tool to cut out the image that I wanted. I used a rugged brush in order to create a torn paper effect. I selected the image and cropped it. This was then exported and placed into Indesign.
I had to keep reminding myself of what the black and white arrow key tools controlled as one controlled the image where as the other controlled the frame. To resize the image, I had to right click with the black arrow key, click 'Transform', 'Scale...' and then change the size percentage. If the images were pixilated, I had to make sure that I was in high quality display mode. Finally, I filled the frame proportionally with the image as well as fitting the frame to the content in order to gain the right sized image and frame proportion.