6th December 2011

I have now moved on to do the double page spread of my magazine. After looking at examples of double page spreads in existing magazines I found there was two common styles, question and answer interviews and an article on the person being interviewed. I decided I wanted to do an article of when I met Cassidy when she came to do a photo shoot for the magazine, featuring quotes from her in relevant places. I looked at other magazines to get ideas for the layout of my double page spread. I noticed that most of them commonly have a large photo covering the whole of one page and then text on the opposite page. Featuring a quote in bolder bigger font and the speech marks in a colour that corresponds with the photo and colour scheme and complements it, linking the two pages together so it is clear they are both on the same person. It also makes the page look more interesting and the quote gives you an idea of what type of person the interviewee is. When there is more than one photo on the two pages there is usually a variety of different type of shots to make the page more interesting and appeal to different audiences. The background is often the same colour across both pages to again show that the are linked and is also often white so that the text and the photo both stand out.

The first letter of the first word of the article is sometimes in a larger size font, this is so it entices the reader to read it and draws you in. It also makes it clear where the article begins as to avoid confusion. The photo of the artist portrays what type of person the artist is, and in all the double page spreads I have looked at, the artist appears to be having fun and is smiling and happy. This would suggest that this is the type of image the magazine wants to give off of the artist to the reader, so she appears fun loving and likable, and to be having a good time. The text size of the actual article is quite small as it looks more sophisticated and I think if it was larger it would look more like it was aimed at a younger audience as the font in there magazines is usually larger so it looks more fun and readable, there is usually a lot less text on pages aimed at younger audiences too. By using a lot of text in a smaller size I made sure I was catering it for my target audience. On the Rihanna double page spread there is also a quote in big bold font going diagonally across the two pages. I really like this and the effect it gives, making a statement and bringing the two pages together. There is sometimes also smaller photos on the second page of double page spreads, alongside the text to link the pages together even more and keep the reader's interest sustained across both pages. All these codes and conventions have influenced the way I have produced my double page spread and the way I have made it look.

         My double page spread is on my cover star Cassidy Wilde. I have given the page the title 'Go Wilde'. which is a play on words as her name is spelt Wilde but is said the same as wild, as to mean go crazy or mad. This is what I meant by 'Go Wilde'. I have positioned the title across the page as after looking at the Rihanna pages I think it is really effective and it inspired me to do something similar. The font is in a large bold white font to show that it is the title and that it is important. It is in the same font as what I have used previously in the magazine and I have added a white glow around it to make it look brighter and stand out off the page more and so that is definitely noticed. The remainder of the title is done in smaller text as although her name is important I did not want it to steal focus, and there is a large photo of Cassidy on the page anyway so you would still be able to tell who it was even if the font isn't as large. It still stands out on the page never the less as it is in a contrasting colour of black which stand out clearly on the grey background and apposing the white text above it. The main text of the article begins with a larger capital A so it is clear where the article starts. The rest is smaller and goes across both pages although it fills up the majority of the second page of the spread. It is in a small yet readable sized font which an educated reader with a longer attention span an interest for the article would be happy reading. It fits around the smaller photos of Cassidy on the second page, which show different sides of Cassidy. The real Cassidy sitting and playing her music, which matters the most to her, and then smashing her bass guitar and showing the tough rock star image that she gives off to the world. The photos are full length to show her image and what she is wearing, the purple tights again complementing the colour of the font for the quote. The converse and tight short skirt showing that she is not afraid to show herself off and that she doesn't have the perfect body but it is one that others will admire and want to be like. It shows she has confidence and is a good role model despite being a rock star. Her converse are a bit worn and scruffy which shows she is not afraid to get her hands dirty and get messy, this could mean that she is also not afraid to do this when it comes to music and she is quite happy to do things for herself in a non-diva type manner. The main photo on the left hand side page shows another side to her again as she looks coyly away from the camera whilst hugging her guitar, as if she is in a daydream. This is the side of Cassidy that I particularly want to show the reader as it is the one that they have never seen before, and will only see here in the exclusive interview. It shows a softer side, and a more relatable angle as every girl has a dream and she is just following hers like all girls aspire too.

The background of the photo was of a grey colour and this was plain enough that all my text would stand out on it, so I decided to keep that colour instead of making the background white. This also make the double page spread different from the front page and contents pages which is what I want, as often when you open a magazine on a double page it looks quite different from the single pages, and it makes more of an impact. But I still wanted it to be clear that it was part of the same magazine so I branded the page with the little AG -standing for AlternativeGirl- in a purple box in the bottom corners of the pages, as I had done on my contents pages. Before adding page numbers in the same way I had also done on my contents pages and would have done on all pages of the magazine. To get my background the same colour on the second page I made a box and then used the colour picker tool on serif to select a tone of grey that would link the two pages together, it was quite difficult to get a match because of the lighting of the photo and the colour of the background. I then added a gradient so the background looks purposely tonal and fades from left to right.

    Also in the top right corner of the pages there is a quote from Cassidy in larger font, this is an effective way of giving the reader an insight on what the article will be like before they've read it as it is in quite noticeable purple font and stands out on the page. At the end of the text on the page, it says 'continued over page' with a small arrow pointing over the page, as the article is too long to fit on one page, and in magazine they often span several double pages so by doing this it makes my article seem more realistic as it would continue on the next page.