RE-SUB: Blogger comments on Abbie Novack

ORIGINAL 

The layout of this template looks like it would be suitable for a women lifestyle magazine. The template has enough space for photos which includes a main image however it does not have enough room for the text due to the columns being too space in width. You could improve the size of the columns of writing and make them wider as you fit more writing in the article.

RE-SUBMISSION for my comments on Abbie Novack's template for her double page spread.

I think this template is suitable for a double page spread lifestyle article due to the text not being too over crowded and including the right features for a double page spread such as; pull quote, masthead, sub-heading, stand first, drop caps, puff, page numbers, photos etc. However, there are a few faults that could be changed to ensure it is appropriate for a lifestyle double page spread article. All the text columns are not all equal sizes which they need to be to make the article clearer and easy to read as the columns now are too narrow to read easily. This will also help the flow of the article as well as making it look fuller and more professional. To do this, one of the smaller images could be removed to make more room for the text or another quote as these are essential in lifestyle magazines as there are already a lot of photos which take over the article. I think one of the subheading should be removed as in a double page spread there is usually only one subheading as this is the brief explanation of the heading. Also, the pull quote should be a lot bigger to emphasis a specific part of the article as this is one of the main focuses of the text and draws readers to the article from seeing the quote. One of the smaller images could be replaced with another pull quote as these are significant and essential to intriguing the readers and there are already a lot of photos in this article. At the end of the article, the main image is covering the text, therefore the main image should be a bit smaller so all the text can be shown and not hidden. Furthermore, the margin should be equally in the middle to make it a suitable double page article. The colour scheme should be chosen appropriately for the content of the article, due to the article being about makeup the colour chosen should determine how the audience react to the article as the colour can draw the reader into it and will want to read it if it has a fitting colour. This article meets the brief of a double page spread as the overall template is very acceptable yet there are only minor changes that need to be changed in order to make sure it is the perfect double page spread article for a lifestyle magazine. Also, I feel you should add a drop cap to the start of this article which would make it more professional a long with making the article stand out and look more interested as you could've made it a specific colour which would relate to your photos or article to match. The stand first should be a lot longer and wider because this is the piece of writing which explains briefly what the article is about and will determine if the reader reads on or not therefore it needs to be big and long to catch the readers attention. The titles of each topic should be bold and highlighted to stand out and look more like a professional magazine. Likewise, in lifestyle magazines readers like to see big speech bubbles or fact boxes within the articles that quickly draws their attention, I therefore recommend at least one of these should be added to you article especially because it contains information about products and their prices and about different tips and tricks which would perfect content for a fact box or a speech bubble. Likewise, what colours are your photos going to be because the background colours are yellow and blue which means this may clash and look silly or it may go together and emphasis the photos really well. You should defiantly include at the bottom page numbers as this indicates the number of the pages which are an necessity to magazine articles as well as a hashtag, @'s, captions for the photos, the name of the photographer (you) or a short explanation under each photo as these are all important crucial factors to help the reader and make it clear. All these factors make up a successful professional magazine double page spread.