TOC Images and Content
In this post, the actual images and written content for the TOC will be created. There will be a total of five different images that will be taken and edited for the TOC.
Images -
The first image that will be used in the TOC is a laptop, as seen to the right. This laptop is the same one that was used in one of the cover lines on the cover, except it has been flipped horizontally through the flip feature on Canva. This image was taken because it will be great for an article that can be about MacBooks. This clearly matches the conventions of tech magazines as it is a laptop which is a common thing to see in tech magazines.
Assuming that the layout would be similar to the third sketch of the previous blog post, this laptop image will likely be put on the right page as one of the less focused articles.
Image #2 -
For this second picture, I would be using an image of a PlayStation 4. Since this image has not been used for the cover, it still needed to be edited, as seen in the unedited image below.
Image #3 -
The next image will be of a microphone adapter called the Scarlett 2i2.
When editing, all that needed to be done is to remove the background through the same means that have been used previously.
Once that was done, the final image was ready. Like the previous image, this image was originally intended to be used for one of the cover lines, but did not make it. This is a perfect image for the TOC, because it can be very easily be used as the image for an article about headphones and microphones, which are topics that can be seen in tech magazines quite often. This will likely be placed on the right page, just like the previous images.
Image #4 -
This image is an image of a computer.
The only edits that needed to be made were to remove the background and increase the saturation. The reason why the saturation needs to be increased is because it will make the red stand out more, which results in the contrast between the different colors of the TOC to increase for better appearance.
Once these edits were made, this image was ready.
This computer image is the same one as the one used in the main image of the cover, except the color of the fans were changed to red to help match with the background. This is perfect for the magazine because computers are the number one topic that is written about in tech magazines. This can be used for an article about computer parts. Unlike the previous images, this will likely be put on the left page as it will be the cover story image.
Image #5 -
This final image that will be included in the TOC is an image of an iPhone 13.
The edits that need to be made for this image are removing the background through the same means and adding a shadow to the image. To add a shadow, all that needed to be done is to use the shadows tab of Canva's photo editor and select "drop". This is one type of many of their shadows that was chosen because the shadow is subtle but still is able to be seen, which was the goal. If another shadow was chosen, it is possible that it would either be too large and noticeable, or not noticeable at all.
Once this was done, the image was perfect.
This image was chosen with the fact that phones are a extremely popular form of technology in mind. This image can connect to an article about the phones that have been produced by Apple. This will be put on the right page of the TOC, alongside images #1 - 3.
Written Content -
Once the images for the TOC have been selected, the next task is to create the actual written part of the TOC that corresponds with each image. Each article will include a descriptor alongside it, with the reason being that this is very common amongst magazines of the tech genre as they are meant for the reader to be informed about a topic, so it is best to make sure they can read about a topic in the TOC to have prior knowledge before flipping to the actual article.
Image #1 -
For this image, the article title will be "2022 MacBook Pro". The reason for this is because since it was used in a cover line already, it is best to keep the same title.
The page number for this article will be 39, as that is what has already been used in the cover line.
As for the descriptor of this article, it will something along the lines of:
The new 2022 MacBook pro made by Apple is said to have great specs, including ______. The price of it is at a total of $1499.
Image #2 -
For this image, the article title will be "Is the PlayStation 4 Still a Good Choice". The reason for this is because recently new generations of gaming consoles have been releasing, so this can give much demanded information for readers as many still wonder if it is a good decision to purchase the PlayStation 4 over the newer PlayStation 5.
The page number for this article can be 34, just to indicate that it is not a enormous article and there are five pages between this article and the article about the MacBook Pro.
The descriptor of this article will be something similar to:
With the availability of the new PlayStation 5's being very low, maybe sticking to the PlayStation 4 might be the best idea.
Image #3 -
This image's article title will be "Best Affordable Audio System". The reason for this is that besides headsets from companies such as Razer, many people do not know where to start when making their own higher quality audio systems, so this may be something that can kick start them.
The page number for this article can be 46, to indicate that it is after the MacBook article so that when looking at the TOC, all the articles go in chronological order.
The descriptor of this article will be something along the lines of:
When putting together audio system which is comprised of headphones, a microphone, and an audio interface, it is best to first look at the options that are the most affordable, but at the same time are high quality. The Scarlett 2i2 costs $170, which is great for what it offers.
Image #4 -
The article that will be tied to this image is the one that will be featured in the two page spread.
This image's article will be something related to "How to Build a POWERFUL PC for Cheap". The word powerful will likely be put in a bolder font than the other letters. There are two reasons for this which are its ability to catch attention very easily and that by making it larger, it emphasizes the meaning of powerful. The reason why the article was named this is because many people have been seeking to build their own computers recently, but this can take a large sum of money. This could help people learn about computer parts and what each one does, alongside which ones are affordable.
The page number of this article will be 5, this is because it is the article that will be used for the two page spread, so it has to be the first one.
The article's descriptor will be something similar to:
Whether you are building a computer for work or even video games, obtaining the parts can be exasperating as it is often very difficult to find affordable parts that work for you.
Image #5 -
The article's title for this image will be "What's New in the iPhone 13". This is because many people are uninformed about the actual specs and upgrades of iPhones, so it can be very helpful for readers to read this.
The page number of this will be 27, to indicate that it is before the PlayStation article but after the computer article.
This article's descriptor will be something along the lines of:
What is actually different in the newest iPhone. It has the same amount of cameras and is the same size, so maybe the insides of the new phone are what has been upgraded.
Overall -
The voice and language of all of the articles in the TOC are meant to be informative, but not to give away too much information so that the reader will get curious enough to read the actual article. This is appropriate for the target audience because many seek tech magazines in order to learn about technology, so if the readers are given enough information to not completely learn about the articles, they are then driven to read the rest of the magazine.
As mentioned earlier, the article that will be used for the two-page spread is the article about the computer. This is because computers are typically the most common topic that is spoken about in tech magazines, and many read such magazines in order to learn about computers. This does connect to the cover of the magazine, but not very much. The reason for this is because there was only one small image of a computer out of nine, so it may not be something that readers will expect when they open up the magazine, however the reader will understand that the magazine will be about various technology products since the headline is broad and only says "New Products That You NEED" and because there are many forms of technology in the main image.
Conclusion -
When brainstorming possible image ideas, it was clear that the images had to be somewhat related to the main image. This is because if there were topics that had nothing to do with the cover, the reader will be very dissatisfied as they did not receive what they payed for. Additionally, I learned that it will be best to use a large quantity of images. This is because when people buy magazines, most of the time they do not want to feel like they are only reading words, and instead would like to look at images alongside the text. Moving forward, the best thing to do for the TOC is to experiment with the color schemes. While it is good to keep a small set of colors for the design of a magazine, using 2-3 for the entire magazine does not seem appealing. Maybe adding some black or another shade of blue might be ideal.
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