Amy Varley EPQ

 One of the main skills I had to develop for my project was learning how to use Adobe InDesign to create my final product. I had never used this software before beginning my EPQ and had to learn how to use the tools involved to create a well-rounded piece.  I was very lucky in this aspect because I have a sibling who uses Adobe InDesign as part of her university course. When I couldn't figure out how to put my ideas into action, having someone to help me who already knew what I was attempting to achieve and how to create them was especially valuable. The skills I needed to learn in order to make my designs a reality were often very quick and I benefitted from saving the time I would have otherwise spent trying to find tutorials online for my design. Drop Shadows: One of the key features of my magazine's final production was adding drop shadows to some elements. This allowed my fairly simple design to look a lot more professional when the entire page was completed. It helped to

Throughout my project, I have developed my design much more then I had originally thought. The paper plan I had created (shown in an earlier blog post) gave me a nice starting point for the design ideas but, as my skills in InDesign progressed, the quality of my design did too. As time passed, my magazine looked a lot more professional and began to fit the vision that I had for it when the idea of a magazine began.  The remainder of this blogpost features some images of my progress and descriptions of how the design has developed over time. Most of the changes focused on creating a cohesive design 

 Throughout October, I worked on the basis of my design for the magazine. I created my own unique layout and page ideas inspired by some of the magazines I own. One of the main inspirations for my magazine was a copy of DIY magazine, because it came in the more zine style format that I was looking for.  I had sketched out some of my ideas onto paper that was made into the basic format of my magazine, which also helped me to reorganise the pages in a way that would help when it came to printing. My ideas have changed drastically from the original paper plan I created and will continue to change even more, but it provided me with a good starting point for some ideas. Scans of the paper plan can be found below, despite being slightly unclear.