Creative Critical Reflection

https://youtu.be/lDlI6TpE99E

Final Project

Here's my final project... hope you enjoy!

http://joom.ag/JuXQ

MISO SEA BASS

I created another page for my magazine. I was looking at the Food Network magazine and saw a page with a simple picture and recipe, so I wanted to do that as well. My dad and I make a an amazing miso sea bass, so that's the recipe I decided to use!

I thought that a recipe page would be great for my magazine, obviously. I know everyone who's tried this dish of mine has loved it, so I thought it was a great option. Here's what it came out to look like:

I love its simplicity!!!!! 

Almost there..... (almost)

So today my main focus was my front cover. The main image on the cover is the pie that Lucille's American Cafe sells and I thought it was perfect to combine the cover and my double page spread. So, I chose to use a sparkly background for the pie pictures because I believe that it emphasizes the holiday season. I had some trouble figuring out how to change the text of my pictures, but I chatted a person on the Joomag website and they sent me this link. I thought it was very cool how the website has a chat between the staff and the users of the website; it came in very handy. When I put the picture of the pie on the background of the page, it originally came out blurry and I was freaking out because it takes two days to get another pie. Luckily, I texted someone from my newspaper class who explained to me that I had to email myself the images that I took, not get them through text on the computer (I use iMessage usually to get pictures on my laptop) or else the quality will diminish. I don't know what I would have done, luckily I do not have to worry about that. Here is a picture of my front page. I am still not done with it, but this is the main idea I'm going for:

"How to Change the Font Color | Joomag Help Center." How to Change the Font Color | Joomag Help Center. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. 

Adjectives= major key

After school today, I wrote up adjectives that will help me describe the food I am writing about. Words like nutty, creamy, sweet, tangy, salty, green, caramelized, and fluffy can help readers imagine what the food tastes like on their page. I must have a very precise and clear understanding of the flavors in the food. My father's hobby is cooking; he can take apart any dish to the pinch of an ingredient. I had him sit down with me and help me analyze the food, which was pretty fun. We debated a lot about which things were most flavorful and how to explain the consistency. I think that the in depth description in my spread will lure the readers into taking out their next Thanksgiving meal from Lucilles cafe!

Almost there!!!

I've been using the website Joomag to layout and create my magazine. Joomag is a free website that allows anyone to make a magazine. Whether it's using a template they've created or one that you create on your own, the opportunities are endless. From someone who's never created a magazine from scratch, I can definitely say that the website makes things less complicated than you'd think. So far, the rough draft for my double page spread is done. I decided to create my own template from scratch. My double page spread includes: A picture of the food, a description, the serving size for each dish, and the pricing. I am currently working on the descriptions that each picture will have. Since one cannot determine the quality of taste in the food, I had to eat the food in the pictures and use strong detailed words to establish the perfect way to sell the idea I am going for in my project: an inexpensive, easy, quality-filled meal that one can order for the holiday. I have to add in a picture of the blueberry pie that I finally got yesterday. I plan on moving that picture to the center of the double page spread because it is the main image on the front cover. Also, the white background is not pretty so I am going to take a picture of a wooden table and then put all the pictures and text on top of it. Here are some pics of the rough draft of my project:

"Joomag - FREE Interactive Service for Digital Magazine Publishing and Hosting." Joomag. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

PIE DAY!

Today was the last final thing I had to do before I can continue my journey through magazine lay out etc. Before I begin talking about the pictures I took, I want to remind you guys about the idea I had on painting the hands in my front cover to look like turkeys! So, I went out and got my pie from Lucille's cafe that was FINALLY ready, and picked up some paint. When she got home from school, the photoshoot began: Me vs. Blueberry pie. Let me just say, it is very hard to get a good picture of a pie at a high angle because you can't see the inside of it. I've been looking through my pictures, and I'm not sure I'm going to end up using one with the painted hand in it. I realized that it was an interesting artistic approach, but food should definitely stay FAR away from paint, and they didn't come out as cool as I thought. In my newspaper class, there is photoshop on the computers so I've been using that software to help cut out pictures of the food I took for my double page spread. During the pie photoshoot, I was not satisfied with any of the tables in my house, so I plan to go somewhere with wooden tables, and edit my pie cut outs onto it. However, if it does not look realistic, then I will keep the original background, granite. Here are some shots that I took today, including my sisters hands from the paint:

FOOD FOOD FOOD

Today I took the pictures for my double page spread. I went into Lucille's and they had everything that I needed except for a blueberry pie for my front cover. I will be picking it up from the cafe tomorrow after school. The pictures came out pretty good. I used a white cardboard box to get a white background for my pictures so I can cut out the pictures easier. Personally, I thought that the mac n cheese looked amazing in the pictures and I couldn't stop thinking about eating it all LOL. Here are some samples of the pictures I took (btw I plan on putting the food on the sides of the picture and putting the words in the center of the page):

 

Time to compromise

Unfortunately, Lucille's American Cafe has not gotten back to me about my mock Thanksgiving dinner; however, I do believe this restaurant has great traditional holiday foods that an individual can take advantage of during the holiday. With that being said, I am going to continue to make my double page spread on this restaurant regarding Thanksgiving: a place people can rely on for quality food who aren't the best cooks or do not want to have a mess to clean up. I have gone through their menu on their website, and chose options for each course at dinner: snacks, appetizers, sides, main dishes, dessert. I will then create an article based off all of these foods and create a mock holiday meal at home. In past posts, I wrote about how my target audience will be young adults who are having a "Friendsgiving" dinner. This option of ordering out for the holiday can be very helpful for young adults because they are mostly amateurs to hosting holiday events. This idea of ordering out and still getting the traditional foods will definitely satisfy my readers and make their lives a lot easier, especially if they are trying to get away from all of the stress that traditional family dinners have.

Lucille's American Cafe

For my double page spread, I previously talked about how I decided to create an article on places where people can dine out for Thanksgiving. I did some research on a website called Yelp, which has pictures, reviews, and menus on restaurants all around the world. BTW, I totally recommend the website, it's super informative and they have an app for iPhones and Androids as well. During my research on this site, I read the menu Lucille's American Cafe offers and knew it was the perfect restaurant. Lucille's is an all-American restaurant that has chicken pot pie, sweet potatoes, turkey meals, mac n cheese, blueberry pie, and more! I definitely hit the jack pot when it came to what restaurant I was going to write about. Yesterday, I went into the restaurant in hopes of scheduling a date I could meet with the manager or owner and talk about what my project entails and set up a date I can come in to create a mock Thanksgiving meal. I was unsuccessful in talking to him, but I got his email and explained the situation. Hopefully, he is willing to help me during this project creating this meal for me. I know many of the foods at the restaurant are already perfect for the dinner, so worst case scenario I will have to work with the menu and take all of the food to go. In that case, I would probably change the idea of the article to be places you can food for the holiday for pick up. I really really really can't wait for the owner to reply and hear what he has to say. (crossing my fingers)

 "Lucille's American Cafe - Weston, FL." Yelp. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.  

Brillientrees guide to a successful friends giving? oh yes.

In my last post I talked about how I met someone in California who was able to give me some tips on my food magazine.

 His name is Anthony Ditton and he helped create the Connoisseurs Guide Publishing. He just should be emailing me some more examples of his work that I can post on here, but for now I only have a few examples that I took pictures of during our little meeting. He gave me some great ideas to add into my project. For instance, he showed me a page in the Connoisseurs guide that provided information on different types of foods from restaurants that have the best to offer.

I want to incorporate this idea into my magazine by finding out which restaurants serve the best desserts, turkeys, side dishes, cheeses, etc. at reasonable price for people to take to their Friendsgiving dinner. I would also make this something that my magazine has in every issue because many people are indecisive and need a source they can trust will lead them to the best foods. Specifically in this issue, I want to base it off specific foods for the holiday that people can buy for their gatherings. I am currently working on finding a restaurant that will be able to create a mock thanksgiving dinner for me for my double page spread right. I had hoped that I would have already figured out what restaurant will create a full course meal for me, but I have not found one yet. This has created a small set back for me but I am sure I'll know what restaurant ill be covering for the spread within the next few days! So far I am really excited about all of these ideas for the magazine!!!!1 #Brillientree !!!!!

Working on Vaycay.

Soooo today I met someone in California on my Spring Break trip who created magazines for living! He done food magazines and has directed movies like spring breakers etc!! We exchanged emails and he said he'll send me some cool examples and things that I could potentially find useful when laying out my pages! I'm really excited about this because he can answer some questions that I may have during my experience with this project!!!! Wooo!!! I'll keep documentation of any conversation we have an upload it on here!

Brillientrée?? I think yes.

It's currently 12:06 A.M. and I cannot fall asleep, so I decided to start brainstorming titles for my magazine. I wanted it to be something that can tie back to my name because I want it my magazine to be personal. Luckily, my last name is Brilliant so I was able to play with words to get what I want with a title. Just 20 minutes ago it hit me- BRILLIENTRÉE!!!!!!!! Since my magazine is on food, I mixed my last name and the word entree together to establish a "Brilliant" magazine. I've been looking at how I want to make my masthead appealing to my audience and I thought that the cursive and bold font that the Gourmet magazine does their special editions was something I will definitely consider for mine. The contrast between the magazine name and the bold text of the title "comfort" helps establish to the reader what the main focus of the edition is about. I want my readers to instantly know what the Thanksgiving edition is about with the first words they read.

 

"Gourmet Comfort Special Edition Magazine." : Food Cooking : Gourmet.com. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

Hands Up For Friendsgiving!!!

After establishing what I want to provide to my readers, I've decided that my target audience is young adults in their early twenties and mid thirties. I chose this range of people because they are beginning to establish their own lives and traditions that they will then carry on to their families once they create them. Many people this age are in graduate school/ college/ fresh out of college, and would for sure be willing to try out new traditions for the Thanksgiving holiday that my magazine will offer. My target audience will also be starting their young lives away from their friends out of college, or seeing their high school friends and Friendsgiving will be a way to maintain long distance relationships according to The Daily Beast. With that being said, I want to make my cover image of hands painted differently (like turkey feathers) reaching out to grab a piece of stereotypical thanksgiving foods.

I believe this will establish my focus on Friendsgiving and a more casual way to celebrate the holiday. My main focus for the cover is to draw in an audience through lists and fun ideas for Thanksgiving. For example, the cover will discuss low cost ways to dine out for the holidays while still having quality meals and give alternative ways to have a holiday dinner at home with friends that will be inexpensive for a college/ young adult's budget. 

 Shire, Emily. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

Friendsgiving

During our group discussions in class, I decided that my magazine is going to incorporate the idea of Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving, according to an article on The Daily Beast, is a different way to celebrate the holiday about giving thanks. Instead of having to deal with all of the drama within the family, we can give thanks to our friends. This new trend is something I want to establish in my magazine in hopes of more people wanting to continue it and make it a tradition. Many people do not have the best relationships with their family so I thought this would be a great story to cover. I think this topic will correspond with my idea of having a new way to celebrate the holidays. With holiday dinners at restaurants and not so typical friends giving, my magazine will offer new ways to take on the Thanksgiving holiday.

 Shire, Emily. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

Time to Take On Thanksgiving

Today is the day that I made my decision to create a November holiday issue. I was choosing between either the month of November (Thanksgiving) and December (Hanukkah/ Christmas). According to CNN, Thanksgiving was ranked America's second favorite holiday; so, I decided to use this to my advantage. Although Christmas came in first, more people can celebrate thanksgiving because it is taught in our schools and it is not based off a religious belief. Most people go all out during this time of the year to create happiness for their families which include the following: special dinners, nice gifts, decorations. Statistics show that people shop the most during the month of November because of sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Since Thanksgiving has a stereotypical menu for the holiday (includes Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc.), many people want to change up the recipes and do something different. This is what I want the main focus of my magazine to be about. Taking the typical Thanksgiving traditions and incorporating something different with them. I would do this by incorporating new side dishes, entres, and giving my readers different ideas on how to spend their thanksgiving meals. Some people do not like making a mess and cooking for a large group of people so I decided to make my double page spread an article about places people can go to during this holiday instead of having a typical meal at home. 

 "Thanksgiving by the Numbers." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

 "The 9 Best Thanksgiving Foods (With A Recipe For Each)." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

Woo Holiday Editions!!!

For my Final Portfolio Project, I chose to create a magazine which includes the front page, contents, and double-page spread. I am some-what familiar with what it takes to lay out a page because I'm in the Newspaper class at school. In my free time, I enjoy cooking with my father and dining at restaurants that offer something special to the table. I decided to take my passion for food and apply it to my project. At home, I started looking through all the food magazines my father has collected over the years and stumbled upon all of his holiday editions. That's when it hit me... I knew I had to create a holiday edition. Personally, the holiday season is the time of year when I am most happy so I thought it would be a great way to combine two things I love into my project. Magazines like Gormet and bon appetit  create special holiday editions because of the known fact that there are many events during the holidays where people host dinners at their homes. The holiday months November and December tend to have the highest rate of sales revenue. I concluded that my magazine would be consumed by a larger audience and create more revenue because the holiday season has been known to be more profitable in the past with sales.

 "Gourmet Holiday Special Edition Magazine." : Food Cooking : Gourmet.com. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

 Appétit, Bon. "Our Special Edition Holiday Issue Is Here! Hooray!" Web. 10 Apr. 2016.