Today I received the printed copies of the first issue of we I couldn’t be more happy more excited for this day it was so overwhelming the whole process first fall also after seeing everything in print and after seeing everything come together I feel so good so happy and so thankful for everything that went behind producing the whole magazine every experience every encounter every single contributor every single collaborator I worked with it was just amazing it was a great learning experience throughout the fact that I didn’t spend any money throughout the production of the magazine and I’ve only spent money on the printing proved to be very very profitable I’ve already received 34 orders for printed magazines and six people have bought the digital copies and I’ve been receiving such such good feedback everybody is so happy whoever’s read the magazine or seen the magazine they really like the layout I like the content they think the static is so unique it’s like a piece of art it’s it’s just so good to hear these things after months and months of work and planning and managing and collaborating and dealing with the legal aspects of everything it’s been crazy I never thought I would be able to produce a magazine within a span of six months or four months it’s it’s something I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do after I joined the MA programme and I learned so many things about fashion films I thought I would also end up making a film but I’m very glad that I did not do that just that actually for my project you know it was just so oh it was good to have films in the mix of making the whole magazine because I am very passionate about print and very very and awaited magazine reader and I think independent magazines are just so up and coming right now and as long as you have your niche audience looking out for and looking forward to what you’re creating it’s you’re just going to be happy and content with what you’re doing and that’s literally what I felt within the past few months and it’s been amazing the production for cost before the printing of the magazine is £9 an I’m selling the printed copies for 12 pounds an I’ve ended up making a 3 pound profit on every printed copy that I sell today the one of the greatest things happened I went to collect my parcel from DHL sorry dpd that delivered I was delivered to a pick up point as my doorbell is not working so I ended up going to a new stand to pick it up and the man was an Indian guy who ended up talking to me and I showed him the magazine because I asked him if I could take a couple of photos and he saw the magazine and he told me that he would love to keep it in his store and so for every magazine that he sells I’m going to give him £1 I am so happy that we is available in a new stand in Marylebone in the heart of London that is something that I did not expect to happen and it’s been it’s come as a surprise and I’ve already got placed an order for the second batch of copies now with the new cover and I’m really looking forward to what people read how people like it and soon I’ll be shipping around 11 copies to America which is amazing I didn’t think about doing this ever I mean for me a girl who’s grown up in Mumbai and who has just lived with her parents throughout her life to move out here after being through a lot of personal struggles in my family I live alone in London to tackle depression and to come out of everything and produce a magazine that truly speaks to people like me an looks forward to inspire and empower people like me. I am glad my work will be sitting on tables and bookshelves in the USA. I couldn’t have expected to create a better Masters project of course there are some so many things that I would do differently since it was the first time I did a lot of things while doing what I did to produce this magazine to taking on so many roles everything it’s been it was a challenge it was difficult to find the right people to collaborate with were very well experienced since I didn’t have a lot of money to spend it was a challenge to just work with beginner’s an nascent writers especially that was the biggest challenger I had to face because it was like they would always want to but for the point in their writing and not adhere to the tone of the magazine which is something I ended up editing two to three times or every article that was received from an writer who is not that well experienced apart from that the graphic designing from the magazine was such a such a difficult task but I am so glad I ended up changing the layout on my own because I learned so much so much so much I I’ve always I always wanted to make the layout myself but then I was under a lot of pressure doing other things coordinating and managing and pulling everything together I finally collaborated with a graphic designer who worked on it for a week the layout but did not resonate with what I was thinking and the way I guided her so ended up changing the whole layout and after my consultations with the Vicky it has gotten better it it was it was so different it was it has changed massively after I’ve spoken to Vicky, through her guidance through her small suggestions like adding fabric scans or you know just the way she motivates me all the time it’s been so good and so encouraging and have taken and I’m glad I’ve taken each and every feedback that I’ve received very constructively and positively and worked on it and here are some photos of the magazine that I received and I am just so glad to share everything I tested the AR enabled cover that works as well everything is great everything is right on track !

The cover pages were of these three magazines were analysed and my initial goal was to keep a very simple minimal cover page with a colour Hue that is taken from the cover Storey photo that will be placed on the back cover of the magazine too make the magazine look more intriguing to make it a bit surprising for the reader when they open the magazine they get surprised by the whole design the layout the kind of content the colourful content the intricate details everything the illustrations fabric scans etcetera that is something that I have been trying to do an trying to work on and after I spoke to it came she recommended that the cover should be a bit more than just a simple basic mineral cover so I started making some changes to the cover tried to make it look more artistic trying to give it a vibe that speaks about what’s in the in the content of the issue Anne would make the reader by the magazine so I ended up designing a new cover these are the three covers that I was analysing and I was looking at his references while working on a minimal cover I really like the way they were designed the way they are very simple with just bold font on the covers and that is something that really catches my eye so I’ve been analysing these covers so on the magazine’s website where the magazine will be up for sale I would keep an option of both the covers for the readers to choose from and they can order the one that they prefer 

Flatplanning, which is a map of a magazine issue that shows where editorial and advertising pages will appear, is the heart of the entire production process. And, more than providing a living guide of the production, it ultimately decides how well your final product will attract, excite and retain your readers.

Flatplanning helped me plan the order of contents for the first issue. it was a quick way to rearrange contents and see how they would look on printed paper.

The layout of the magazine is not something that I was expecting it to look like I collaborated with a graphic designer an she has designed a layout with a few iterations with me but it does not reflect my aesthetic and my work style and especially wees aesthetic and theme at all since the graphic designer is from Europe maybe couldn’t understand a few things that I tried to talk to her about about Indian art and fashion and cultures it has been really difficult to tackle this an I didn’t expect that I would have to end up making the whole layout by myself so I’ve changed the whole layout within a span of three days and it’s been very very challenging it’s been I after I spoke to Vicky I really liked her idea of adding fabrics to the scan fabrics to the layout it just adds so much more tactics sure and value to the pages of the magazine they look like they look very valuable and they don’t look like through a magazine pages and that is something that I want to eat to be perceived as so I think after after editing it myself the whole layout I changed the colour of the background pages in the layout to ivory white rather than actual white colour I tried to add illustrations by William Morris he is a designer and architect that I’ve been reading about since I was really young I think his work is highly influenced and inspired by Indian art and Indian motives especially floral motives and on the other way on the other hand even fabric printers and designers in India have been massively influenced by Williams art since decades and I think to feature his work in we is the most ideal choice because his work truly reflects and hybrid sense of influence that that both British and Indian cultures have contributed to it has been so good to find some of his images on botanicals an unsplash websites which are available Copyright free and that can be added to the layout of the magazine 

After interviewing photographer and editor ram shergill for my project he elaborated the Storey of how British Asian fashion was uprooted out of daytime parties in central London and it was very interesting to see how these women and men worse the second generation British Asians dress themselves when Malcolm eating influences from both their cultures from the East and the West inspired by this Storey I planned to do a photo shoot that was that would depict the journey of a British Asian woman travelling from home to a club in the day and the aesthetic would be slightly surreal since no one really knows about these parties the short was planned twice and cancelled because of lockdowns in London the first day it was in October and the second date was in December on December 18th rather right before the last London lockdown was announced unfortunately I was not able to shoot this editorial we had the whole team on board of photographer model makeup artists designers or ready to source their clothes for them shoot but we couldn’t do it yours the reference board that I made for the shoot 

I drafted contracts to make sure everything that is published in the magazine is legally bound in a contract and WE as an entity has the right to publish all the content

The Protagonist – The Protagonist Magazine offers in-depth articles about protagonists of stage, screen, and the art world. London-based editors Ram Shergill and Daen Palma Huse offer an insight into the world of fine art and fashion photography, illustration, and contemporary art in an eclectic mix. As a collectible hardback book, The Protagonist Magazine revives the tradition of luxury magazine publications such as The Yellow Book, The Savoy and The Magazine of Art which were published in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Protagonist is the perfect companion whether you are travelling across countries or letting your mind travel whilst sitting in your favourite chair at home. The Protagonist is filled with knowledge, fashion, icons, art, illustration and a celebration of the beauty that surrounds us.

The protagonist is a hardback cover magazine that looks like a coffee table book and not like a throw away magazine soon as I opened the magazine there are the first page the first couple of pages comprise of ads and followed by the masthead and the contents page the contents page is simple and to the point the content and the articles and editorials are listed in a basic table format with an exaggerated ‘P’ from their custom typeface to make the contents page look more artistic. After that there is a double page spread that describes the making of the making and the inspiration of this issue which is sketched like a mind map by the fashion director of the magazine. Followed by that there is the editor’s letter and the first article Biggins that’s called the gift of being alone. 

The main content highlights are in the layout especially they have a custom typeface that is used in exaggerated fonts throughout the issue the photo shoots are accompanied with illustrations that create an unique appeal that is in synchronisation with their aesthetic they have used drop crabs for every article most of them are exaggerated they include double page spreads and pages with just photos or illustrations etc to add to the aesthetic of the magazine there are spaces from luxury brands only and most of the articles are written and photographed by the two editors there are total number of 27 contents in the whole magazine 15 of them are written and photographed by the editors themselves and four out of the articles are interview articles the cover Storey is placed as at the end in the main content highlights are content featuring a fashion art lifestyle music and Theatre there are five ads in total which are placed at the beginning and the end of the magazine.

Stylist is a free weekly magazine for women that is published in the United Kingdom since 7 October 2009. Stylist targets affluent 20 to 40-year-old female commuters with high end content that includes fashion, travel, beauty, people and careers news.The magazine aims to take an intelligent approach, covering a broader range of culture and tackling issues women face in their professional and personal lives.

The December issue of stylist magazine has 70 pages in total and it has 22 ads most of the content features regularly published columns by the magazine it’s a weekly magazine that is distributed freely in major cities in the UK there is only one fashion and one beauty editorial in the whole magazine most of the content is focused on lifestyle and features are consistent talking about personal experiences of women trends pages are repetitive throughout the magazine and there are two personal storeys that highlight achievements of women the quality of the paper of the magazine is very thin almost like a newspaper with slight gloss it comes across to be like a throw away magazine that can be read and disposed the paper is recyclable paper. 

The magazine is organised will smartly that alternates content about fashion food lifestyle and beauty throughout the magazine the contents page is very topical firstly it highlights the content that’s about the news followed by fashion and beauty features an there every week columns an highlighting photo from their cover Storey the next page is that it does letter and the masthead the masthead is in a really tiny font maybe 6 point font and that it is letter is exaggerate is in exaggerated font. the magazine is organised eclectically with plenty of ads throughout the magazine from the start to the end of the magazine all the articles are inspired by the current issues and the current happenings in during the week that the magazine was published in most the content is focused on Christmas since this is a December issue it is organised very smartly where every every column is alternated by an editorial or feature or an article the content is more pictorial it does not have any illustrations and it has lots of text and photos of products that they recommend 

analysis –

The protagonist and the stylist magazine were chosen because of their radically distinctive approach towards publishing content the protagonist is a niche independent magazine that focuses on fashion or music Theatre and drama it talks about the key achievements of creatives from across the world and highlights native cultures and artisans and content and creatives from native cultures as well. This magazine is visually very appealing to its reader it sets the tone for its aesthetic the minute you hold the magazine it is printed in a hardback cover and comprises of 172 pages with only 12 pages of ads from luxury brands the magazine is an illustrator work of art it has it it combines illustrations art paintings art illustrations and photo editorials together that creates a truly unique expression and helps the editors entice their readers to want to buy another issue the magazine is a really thick book and it can pass on as a coffee table book is well it’s a very good read every article in the magazine most of which is written by one of the editors Dean is our very substantial good reads they are they educate inspire and empower creatives an everyday and people everyday they talk about promoting upcoming artists musicians actors designers and creatives from every field that they plan to cover the agenda of the magazine seems to inspire their readers and educate them at the same time the fact that they don’t have any trends columns or any columns any monthly or BI annual columns is is is an evidence of how they want the magazine to be perceived as a serious read and not just a throw away magazine 

On the other hand stylist magazine is more like a throw away magazine that is published every week and distributed freely in major cities in the UK it is more trend oriented the IT most of its content comprises of its weekly columns and on fashion beauty food recommendations and lifestyle choices they the stylist magazine attempts to entice their readers to buy certain products that are recommended by the editors and contributors and helps them buy things and live their life in lifestyle that is recommended by the magazine it is the editorial focus is mostly on trends and columns rather than creating notable content and writing articles and features the magazine has a lot of advertisements which is very repetitive and gets very annoying for the reader and it comes across as a not so serious magazine which I think they intend to be the cover page of the magazine says for women who want more from their world but they end up recommending frivolous products expensive alcohol expensive food recommendations restaurant recommendations hotels shoes bags and beauty products which are just frivolous purchases which are not necessary for women for all women to buy they could in a way improvise by adding more substantial content talking more about sustainability sustainable fashion ethical practises recycling etc in a way I see that I feel like there is no need for a magazine like stylist to be published every week and the paper that’s wasted in publishing these magazines is another problem that we’re facing at the moment it’s they could either have an app or a website with these daily columns and weekly columns which are highly updated they could also use their Instagram very smartly instead of publishing an issue of 70 pages every week with out of which 35 pages are only comprised with advertisements 

Editing the crossroads video for the AR enabled pages there was a glitch on blip air’s website basically the portal that I was trying to use to embed videos on the photos that would be printed in the magazine it has been very difficult to figure it out I have been constantly emailing their team for some reason it doesn’t work and I think it’s there’s something wrong with the format of the video but I’ve changed everything they want to video that’s in MP4 format less than 1550 MBS and has the resolution of 720 pixels at least so everything else is okay I think I won’t be able to launch the video editorial through an AR enabled paper or page for crossroads this is a really last minute error that I didn’t know would occur 

OBSERVATION AND NOTES

Participant navigated to an article about Christmas gifts as soon as she opened the webpage. She thought they were very innovative gift card ideas. She scrolled through all the photos twice. She seemed more inclined towards content about Fashion & Beauty and click don the Loves tab. She read through the archives. She navigated to the bottom and clicked on the careers tab. She was surprises to find the About tab at the bottom. She always reads the about section first as magazines have a lot of content and then decides whether she wants to stay on the website and read through more content. Shipped through two photo series as she is a photographer. She expected social links of the creatives showcased so that she can know more about them instantly. She like to have the choice to navigate through a website as it gives her more power. 

Augmented Reality is becoming more common on film sets and productions, and now it has joined forces with traditional print publishing (Tanner Shinnick, August 2017)

W magazines September 2017 issue had an AR cover with Katy Perry.  Users can simply download an app and use it to scan the magazine’s AR cover to reveal a series of short films, interactive features, and AR-enhanced fashion portfolios.

Earlier this year, Vogue Portugal came up with a similar cover featuring James Charles.

We have seen the growth of AR in fashion. Applications like BlippAR, Adobe Aero and Layar are proof of the growing concept and its ability to marry print, video, and other media.

After users scan the page with the app, the AR experience begins with a video and an audio message from Perry. As you thumb through the magazine, you find many other areas that you can scan to unlock additional AR content. By scanning these images and pages marked with an AR-activated icon, you experience beautifully crafted visuals; films; and a panoramic, 360-degree view of the shoot’s set all by simply scanning the magazine. (Tanner Shinnick, August 2017)

Here’s what filmmaker Steven Klein had to say about bringing film and print together in this arrangement.

We perceive magazines as flat planes of expression. Photographic and print materials as static, firmly held in place by the laws of time and space. But now, through new technology, we have broken those laws and can render a picture as a living entity, as in the case of my W magazine cover story with musical artist Katy Perry. Like Alice looking through the looking glass, you are invited, through the use of an app, to step into the wonderland we have created with the technical assistance of The Mill.

Creating this cinematic and colorful world was no easy task. With help from The Mill, Klein brought his vision to the screen and pushed the limits of what was possible. Angus Kneale, The Mill’s chief creative officer, had the following to say:

With this collaboration with W magazine, we wanted to push the boundaries of what’s possible in print, while unlocking a new kind of viewing experience through augmented reality. This is an incredibly exciting time to be at the forefront of emerging technology and digital storytelling, and we’re looking forward to further exploring how it can complement and expand the print medium.

Augmented reality content is poised to be the future of the filmmaking process as more and more media come together to create new experiences for hungry audiences. We can all expect to see more work like this in the very near future.

I tried to create AR objects using Adobe Aero –

I also tried adding photos form editorials as objects on flat surfaces –

After these two tests, I figured I couldn’t embed videos on an image using Adobe Aero. I researched for other softwares and realised most of them are very expensive. I found two affordable ones – Layar and BlippAR. I preferred using BlippAR as the user interface is similar to Metashape and Sketchup that I’ve used before.

`I created a mock up of the magazine’s cover page and edited the video editorial in the magazine’s dimensions on Premier Pro and added a logo –

After that, using BlippAR on my MacBook, I established the anchors and surface on the image on the magazine cover –

I tested the video on my phone app –