Double Page Spread Research + Development

 This part of my blog will detail my research and development for my double page spread

Research

I struggled to find double page spreads of magazines that fit my genre so my double page spread research will consist of magazines in similar genres

Fortean Times

Before Reading
Issue:	#420 July 2022
Publisher:	Diamond Publishing
Genre:	Esoteric, paranormal, occult
Images:	3 images are on the top right corner of the spread, these images are related to the other articles on the magazine and show the viewer where each article can be found. 3 other images lay on the left of the magazine, these pictures seem to be archival images of the strange weather phenomenon that the article is reporting on which gives the reader context into what happened during the phenomenon, making it feel more real. On top of the left page is an illustration of a man holding an umbrella as fish (and some frogs) pour from the sky. This is to highlight the magazine’s feature article and connects it with the image of raining fish on the front cover. Blue is used to again create the association with weather as we associate rain/cloudy weather with dull blues. The weather phenomenon is odd yet the man looks undisturbed, this gives the illustration an almost dream-like quality which fits into the surreal themes of the magazine. On the left is an image of fireball-like objects falling from the sky. The image looks to be an archival image which again gives the viewer some context into what happened on the day which makes the magazine feels more immersive. The magazine features a lot of images scattered about which make it feel sort of messier and overloads the reader with visual information of weird weather phenomenon which makes the magazine feel more surreal
Layout	The magazine is packed with information featuring many different columns that each contain a different weather phenomenon. The magazine’s layout feels tight and it overloads the viewer with all this weird weather phenomenon which stimulates the viewer’s curiosity and allows the reader to easily binge read all its contents
First impressions:	I really like this spread as it feels very surreal to me which I find suits the paranormal genre. However, it also feels cluttered which, although may serve the magazine’s intention of fitting a lot of information well, it personally makes it feel a bit overwhelming for me
After Reading
Heading:	“STRANGE DAYS”
Subheading:	“LOOK OUT BELOW!”
Author:	The spread mentions no author and no photographer
Article:	The article contains short reports on various weird weather phenomena. These phenomena are reported scientifically and factually, perhaps the message is that these weird weather phenomenona have natural scientific messages
Mode of address:	The writing style is very formal and does not directly address the audience. However, the headings often feature less serious wording which might be to capture audience attention
Pull Quote:	There is one pull quote that says “Bryon Potter was surprised to be hit by a leech that fell from the sky.” This pull quote is coloured blue and enlarged which makes it stand out which might be to catch the attention of readers who are quickly flicking through the magazine so they would engage with the text. The quote is also effective at doing this as being hit by a leech from the sky is most likely an event that most people have not experienced or heard of therefore catching their intrigue
Audience:	Young people (aged 15-30) as younger people are often less mature and value fun, the magazine uses less serious wording that emphases the wild nature of these events. They don’t have any stereotypically feminine or masculine elements so they’re most likely appealing to all genders. This magazine targets people who find weirder topics more fascinating as this article discusses weird weather phenomena. They target these people by making emphasizing the weirdness of their articles through the headings and the images (such as the image of a man being rained on by fish).
Impression:	I found this article to be really fun as it was interesting to learn about topics you don’t hear about every day. I’ve never heard of these weather phenomena before so I find it fascinating. It was also really easy to read because the article is divided into sections and included many different topics which made it easier to digest
Inspiration:	I really like the usage of subheadings to divide the content as it made it simpler to read and understand so I intend to use it in my article as history is a topic that most people may find boring

National Geographic Secret Societies

Before Reading
Issue:	January 2020
Publisher:	Meredith Operations Corporation
Genre:	Historical, cults, theology, occult, esoteric
Images:	The main image of the double page spread features a low angle shot of a grandiose tomb. The low angle makes the tomb appear more powerful and features orange hues which is associated with gold therefore making it appear even more grandiose. The small damages signify age but the tomb still overall looks uncorroded which makes it appear even more powerful It features another smaller image of a mask. This mask is also gold which again connotates grandiosity. The article is about ancient times and we associate this with fancy grandiose architecture and colours such as white and gold which is frequent throughout the magazine. We also associate ancient history with time so the more corroded the building, the more we make the connection with old age
Layout	The layout features a lot of negative space on around the text which gives it a more spacious feeling, this makes the text less intimidating for the audience and easier to read. Perhaps this is because audience often think of history as boring so the text is made more digestible for the reader’s enjoyment.
First impressions:	I think the grandiosity emitted by the spread makes it appear more vintage which I personally like a lot and I think it also does an effective job of pulling the audience in as it made it makes you feel as if your learning about something great and ancient
After Reading
Heading:	ANCIENT TIMES
Subheading:	“A YEARNING FOR DEEPER SPIRITUALITY INSPIRES OCCULT AND ESOTERIC MOVEMENTS”
Author:	The spread features no byline and mentions no photographer but tells the reader what the images are supposed to be on the bottom of the second page
Article:	It tells the audience that even in ancient times, we have always yearned for spirituality. Spiritual beliefs are said to reflect human desire. Perhaps this magazine is telling us that spirituality mainly stems from stories told out of human desire rather than evidence. It then tells us that spirituality is associated with the elite (which could be the reason the magazine is designed to feel fancy), causing other loyal believers to form their own secret societies out of dissatisfaction. Stereotypically, secret societies are often portrayed negatively but here the article mentions that it is instead regular people who have grown dissatisfied with how spiritual systems benefits only those in power and for desire of exclusivity
Mode of address:	Formal and serious. I feel this suits the magazine best as it is a historical magazine that focuses on facts
Pull Quote:	No pull quotes
Audience:	Young people (perhaps 16-25) who enjoy history, theology and/or the occult. I suggest it’s younger people as the language used is simple and made easily digestible for the audience and as the magazine discusses topics about spirituality, secret societies and cults in history, it can be assumed that people into these topics are the target audience. They try to attract these readers pretty directly and upfrontly through images that depict objects related to spirituality and history as well as the typeface they use to create a sort of grand ancient feeling
Impression:	History is not my biggest interest so it was natural that I found it a little boring. However, I find it easy to read regardless and I find the way they discuss spirituality and secret societies to be an interesting perspective to think about. I find that media that divert from stereotypes and offer a new perspective to be worth thinking about
Inspiration:	Since my target audience is of the same age and my article will be related to history too, I will keep in mind that I should keep information digestible for them and easy to read. I also found it interesting that they were able to offer me a new perspective so I will consider how I might be able to do that with my audience as well

Development

I started by brainstorming some double page spread ideas through sketching

I struggled to select which layout to pick however I went with the second one on the left as I felt like the way the columns were structured would fit a historical article best

I then went on Canva to create the layout for my double page spread

These were my very first double page spreads. I struggled with selecting whether black or white fit best so I asked my teacher for feedback

He suggested that me to change the green of the banner and made the white one more off-white. He also suggested some layout changes to my magazine to help it match the magazine standards better (drop cap, captions, pullout)

I asked my a few friends for feedback on which of the colours suited better and everyone was pretty divided on whether they think black or white was better which left the decision up to me. I decided to go with black as black being a main colour matched my house style. That way it wouldn't feel out of place with the front cover and contents page.

A friend then suggested using lace to decorate the pages as lace is associated with the Victorian era (which is discussed in my article) therefore connoting history. I experimented with her suggestion to see if fit

I felt like using a lacey boxout would fit best as wasn't as obstructive which was what I ended up going with.

As I struggled with deciding the layout, I did a lot of experimentation to see which would fit best.

In the end I decided to go with this one. I felt this was best as the pull quote, lace boxout and large image was best to catch the attention of audiences who were quickly flipping through the pages. That way I could keep audience engagement.

Reflection:

• Out of all the pages, the double page spread was what I struggled with most. I ended up needing to ask for a lot of feedback from my teacher and opinions from my audience. I spent a lot of time on it but through this I was able to create something that felt satisfactory