Posh: Creative Critical Reflection

Here it is.... This is my creative critical reflection where I give you a little more insight into the creation of Posh.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl2DHF0wP0k

Posh: The Magazine

The end is finally here... As I attach the link to my magazine Posh and prepare to do my CCR, I just want to say thank you. I am extremely happy with my final product, and I hope you enjoy reading it as I did making it! This process has definitely inspired me to pursue more fashion-related projects like this, so I don't think it's the last time you see or hear about Posh...

Welcome to the first issue of Posh!

https://joom.ag/ockW

Lots of love. XOXO

The Final Curtain

I wish you guys could see the tear falling from my eye as I write this final post. This whole journey has been a crazy, stressful, unforgettable experience and opportunity that I will cherish for the rest of time. The hours of researching, planning, creating, and designing, made me open my eyes to new fashion-related platforms and ideas that I wasn't aware of before. This project has challenged me to look beyond my comfort zone, which is one of the things I have appreciated most about this project. So now that I have literally walked you through every step of my thought processes and decision making, what will you have to look forward to in the final project?

• Bright, fun, bold colors
• My spread a.k.a the best stying guide ever (which is actually taking me forever to perfect)
• Yes, i decided to include a main cover line on the magazine
• Edgy, modern, minimalistic elements
• Lots of fashion lingo
• A very personal note by me
• Pictures & lists (check out this article from The New Yorker about why our brains love lists, which definitely served as major inspiration when creating my spread)

To be honest, you are probably picturing something completely different to what it actually looks like, happens to me all the time, just know two things: its nothing like you've ever seen before and its nothing short of awesome. In a few days I will finally reveal my magazine to the world, and I could not be more excited/anxious!

Front Cover Madness

Who is ready for some previews?? I have started editing, and I'm glad to announce that it isn't as difficult as I thought! In fact, Canva is pretty user-friendly and I am almost done. My double page spread is slowly coming together, except I think it will be more like a quadruple page spread (is that even a thing?) due to the fact that I can't fit the entire piece on two pages. As for my cover page, it is pretty much done, although I am just having trouble deciding between two pictures.

So between the two pictures, one is more "edgy" than the other due to the 3D effect. Since I started editing I had a bunch of ideas that have contradicted my initial goal of achieving an edgy look, which is why making this decision so difficult. Basically what is happening is that as I design my magazine, it is looking a lot less edgy than I hoped. This brings me to my point, I am afraid that the 3D cover will look out of place compared to the minimalistic, classy, and colorful aspects of the rest of the magazine. What would you do?

Another thing that I have yet to decide is whether I want to include the main cover line on the cover page. But one thing I know for sure is that I will definitely not be including a bar code, as it takes away from the ultimate aesthetic I want. Anyways, stick with me for more sneak peaks as the end draws closer and closer. 

Tackling Obstacles

The photoshoot was pretty exhausting and I did encounter a couple challenges, but overall, I am happy with the result. One thing that didn't go as planned was the fact that I was unable to achieve the pattern/print look that I originally intended because I was limited in the clothing I could use. Either way, I did include print-like pieces of clothing/accessories and bold colors with each outfit to match my color palette and general theme. Another challenge I ran into was the fact that I didn't have a tripod, so now I have to go through and tilt/adjust about 1,000 pictures to straighten the frame. I also have to crop most of the pictures that include elements that were not supposed to be in the frame, which has taken me longer than I thought. But, I do have to give myself some credit because for a first timer trying to photograph professionally, everything came out looking pretty good! Obviously, all of this would not have been accomplished without the help of my friend and model Laura, so a big shout out to her.

As soon as I finish editing the pictures, I will start actually creating the magazine on Canva. Although I did start playing around with the templates and fonts, I have yet to find/create the design that I LOVE. One thing that I am afraid of though, is that the pictures I took will not look good once I put them into the magazine template. I know putting my ideas into practice is definitely harder than what I originally imagined, so I am just hoping for the best at this point. For now, here are a few pictures from the shoot. (Keep in mind I will be cropping out the faces)

Stay tuned for some more previews in my next post!

Scheduling

Now that I finally know what my double-page spread will be about, I am planning to shoot and edit this weekend (hopefully). However, it is always possible that I may hate all the pictures, and in that case, I won't have time to redo the whole shoot. Either way, I am trying to think positive and if everything goes accordingly, it should flow perfectly.

For my double-page spread, I was really looking forward to combining pattern trends with street style, but thinking it over , I just feel like I will be way too overwhelmed with the streets, the people, and the model. With that being said, I will be making my own little studio and shooting at my house. Shooting in a controlled environment like my house, I have the freedom to chose the lighting, the background, and change the models outfits with no problem. I am planning to have a white background for my pictures to contrast with the bright colors/prints.

Now, who will be my model? I've asked one of my closest friends, Laura, to model the outfits for me.  But in reality, it doesn't matter who she is because like I previously mentioned, I will be cropping/covering her face. The main focus of my magazine will definitely be the clothes and the fashion, not the models.

I am SO excited to see how this will turn out, wish me luck!

Pattern-mania

Following my research about street style, I took the liberty to also research more about the new pattern trend. I realized that I may be able to combine the two ideas into one, although maybe I won't explicitly call it street style, I will be able to give my audience styling tips and inspiration. Emily Shurr's piece for Papermag is literally pattern galore, although they may have taken it a bit too far in my opinion, it still serves its purpose. The bold colors and prints mashed together create a brilliant and abstract image, which really helps to make a statement out of the whole pattern trend. Emily Shurr LITERALLY outdid herself with this one.

OMG! Cutting off the model's face.. Doesn't that sound familiar?

Like I said, it is more dizzying than what I hope to do, but it does adequately outline the idea of doing my spread about patterns. I definitely want to combine prints/patterns with solid colors to give readers more insight into the trend and also provide styling tips, without making the outfits look borderline ridiculous. These photographs are slightly more similar to the looks I want to achieve, not only since it is less overwhelming but because it combines my original idea about street style with patterns.

Soon I will be posting all the information detailing when I will be shooting, with who, and where! Till next time. XOXO

Citations
"Emily Shur’s “Get Busy, Get Dizzy” for PaperMag." Trendland. Katrina Tan, 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2017. <http://trendland.com/emily-shurs-get-busy-get-dizzy-for-papermag/>.