Let's Just Lay it All Out

I'm tackling this project by taking it one step at a time.  Now that I have a topic, preliminary photos, and a rough idea of the story I want to tell, I want to start with the layout of my magazine.  

The three things that I have to make layouts for are the cover page, table of contents, and the double-page spread.  Even though it was the latter of the list, I decided to start with the layout for the double-page spread.  The first thing I decided to do was to look up some examples.  This website shooed me away from the idea of putting text on both pages and towards using a larger photo than I had originally imagined.  This was my final result: 

This is a big step forward toward the kind of product I want to create, but I am not yet completely satisfied.  For one, I still need to figure out a tagline.  Another thing was that I need to find some way to break up the text on the other page.  I know from looking at other magazines that the text is commonly broken up with pictures or quotes, so I will try to find some that work well with the story.  That aside, I am really proud with the way it turned out, which would have been much harder without two resources (1) (2), which helped me to label the dandelion.

The next thing I decided to do was to create the layout for the cover page.  I wanted to take inspiration from National Geographic; therefore, I decided to plan for a cover page that had a emphasis on the main subject and with very few cover lines.  Taking after that, I was able to produce this:

I think I will change the location of the cover lines, but I do like the amount that are present.

Finally, I got to the table of contents.  I know that I didn't want to create a blocky layout, so I decided to go with the exact opposite: circles!  While searching for inspiration, I found this Pinterest post.  I liked the use of the hexagons, but I thought it would be better for my project to have everything a little more spaced out.  This caused me to create this:

I really like the way this one came out, but I think I might change the layout to go from a one page table of contents to a two page layout.  

These layouts for each of the components of my project will make it easier to put together the final product because I will know what I want it to look like, instead of just a nebulous idea in my head.  I'm looking forward to working off of these layouts in the future.  

Citations:
Labby, Mz. "Recognizing & Collecting Dandelions « Antlife." Pinterest. N.p., 18 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
Lady Moxie Design | Erin Murray. "Design | Layout." Pinterest. N.p., 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
Smith, Mol. "Micscape Microscopy and Microscope Magazine." Micscape Microscopy and Microscope Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
"36 Stunning Magazine and Publication Layouts for Your Inspiration." Inspiration Hut. N.p., 08 July 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.