Objective: Using what I have learned over the semester, create an original design that is of the same caliber and quality as a professionally created design of the same genre.
Creative Process
Initially, I wanted to create a poster for a movie theater. I was interested in creating something for print that applied to an industry that is struggling due to the rise of technology. Streaming services have really impacted movie theaters; however, the idea I fell in love with wasn’t going to be complex enough for me to achieve the required techniques for the project. So, I decided to move on to another print source that is also struggling: magazines. I chose Entertainment Weekly purely for reasons of nostalgia.
Now that I had the idea, I needed to understand the specifications and design of magazines. I looked up “Entertainment Weekly” on Google and reviewed multiple images of cover pages over the years. I found out that they had recently undergone a redesign, so I had to narrow down my search for issues from 2019 forward (Lamwatt). Once I found examples of recent issues, I began researching anything currently trending in the world of entertainment. I found the tv show, YOU, is very popular right now, so I decided to use the actor as the feature of the cover. I hadn’t personally seen the show, so I watched the first few episodes to develop ideas for content. From there, it all fell into place.
Challenges
The main image I found and wanted to use of the actor, Penn Badgley, was a low-resolution file. Even with running the image though Lightroom’s Super Resolution tool, I couldn’t achieve the desired look for my document size. Since the original image had an “American Gothic” style, I decided to underscore that even more with the use of Smart Object filters.
Another obstacle was the font used for Entertainment Weekly. Since it is a paid font ($40 per style), I didn’t have that readily available to me. Although the subhead font wasn’t that noticeably “off,” the name of the magazine itself would be very noticeable. I found the closest font match available for download and used multiple layers and tracking values to make it look as close as possible to the “real deal.” It forced me to use many layers that wouldn’t have been needed in the “real world” because I would have access to the assets of my client.
File Properties
Color Space: I chose Adobe RGB (1998) for my project because it has a wider color gamut, and it wouldn’t limit the tools available to me during creation and editing. However, I used the “Working CMYK” to proof the colors during creation and editing to ensure the final product wouldn’t turn out looking desaturated or “off” (King).
Color Profile: I duplicated the PSD file to retain a copy of the RGB version, then converted the duplicate PSD to “Working CMYK – U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2” (Meredith).
File Format: The file format I would be delivering to my client is a PDF-X1a (Meredith).
Resolution: The resolution of my document is 300dpi because that is generally considered high-resolution for printing, which is needed for a magazine cover due to the close viewing range (Ad Specs | Meredith).
Dimensions: The dimensions of my document are 8.25in x 11.125in to include the 1/4” bleed. The trim size will be 8in x 10.875in. These sizes are based off Entertainment Weekly’s current dimensions (Ad Specs | Meredith). Guidelines were created and used in Photoshop to ensure the content was accurately placed.
Citations
“Ad Specs | Meredith.” Meredith.com, 2021, www.meredith.com/adspecs/Entertainment-Weekly-Ad-Specs.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov. 2021.
King, Maggie. “Photoshop Color Profiles & Spaces - SRGB vs Adobe RGB vs Grayscale.” PHLEARN, 19 Dec. 2018, phlearn.com/magazine/photoshop-working-spaces-and-what-they-can-do-for-you/.
Lamwatt, Chelsey. “Entertainment Weekly’s Redesign with Executive Editor & Creative Director, Tim Leong and Design Director, Jennie Chang.” The Society of Publication Designers, 17 Sept. 2019, www.spd.org/redesign/entertainment-weekly-with-tim-leong-and-jennie-chang?rq=ew%20redesign. Accessed 2 Nov. 2021.
"Meredith". PDFX-1A Guide for Advertisers, 2021, https://www.meredith.com/sites/default/files/PDFx1a_Guide2015_D2D.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov. 2021.
Images Used:
Examples of Commercial Issues:
