Double Page Spread Design...

Double Page Spread –

After thoroughly analysing magazine double page spreads of music magazines and a couple outside of the musical genre, I was able to recognise a lot of codes and conventions that combine to create an industry standard spread.

Now I feel able to begin planning my own double page spread.

I began by sketching out a rough plan of how I wanted the finished product to look, by placing the key components like the headline, images and text columns.

After I had decided where I wanted these conventions to be placed, I thought about how I could make the spread more recognisable as part of a house style; and make it combine nicely with the front cover and contents page.

Basic sketch of my double page spread.

As you can see, the headline is in the top left hand corner of the page, which is the typical place you would find it within a variety of magazine genres; and I intend to encompass it within a circle shape which I will fill with the pink colour from my chosen colour scheme. I am doing this because I think using shapes will help the headline stand out more, and make more impact; while allowing me to fully portray the colour scheme and create a concrete house style.

I have decided to use four images on the spread, which will be of the artist featured in the article. I am going to edit those pictures so that they have a Polaroid/aged border, as this links to the images I used on the contents page, while enforcing the folk/vintage theme.

I am placing the article in columns, as that is the conventional way of displaying large chunks of writing, as it makes it easier for the reader to digest; and this technique is used in pretty much every magazine. I am going to try and fit three columns on each page.

In the bottom right hand corner, I am going to place a blue rectangle shape underneath the images to make them stand out from the page, and this is another technique used in magazines, as it give the page dimension and makes it more visually appealing for the reader.

An example of using letters or shapes underneath the content on a double page spread.
(From Q magazine).

The fonts will be the same ones that I have used through the front cover and contents page, because this links the pages further, again reiterating the house style.

Then finally I will using pagination in the bottom left hand corner, and it will correspond with the contents page; again, another way of making the spread look more professional.