DIY glossy magazine: an original gift for the director. DIY book, mini-magazine, small notebooks Play computer games
A glossy magazine made especially for the birthday person can be an unusual birthday gift. This a great gift for a birthday, February 23 or March 8. AND for the person who has everything This will be a memorable gift. Especially this one gift idea suitable for a director or manager. After all, you often won’t surprise them with anything, but here comes an individual approach, recognition of his merits and a reason to brag to friends))
How to make a magazine with your own hands? To create such a surprise, you need to have basic skills in Photoshop. In addition, you will need a color printer, several high-quality photos of the birthday boy and imagination. It is better, of course, to print the pages in a printing house, since the printing must be of high quality and double-sided. There you can ask and glue the magazine. If you do everything yourself, you can glue the pages together with regular stationery glue along the edges. Just put the magazine under pressure for a day so that it sticks well.
Stylize your photo to match the cover of a publication. If this is your director, then it could be Exquirer, Boss, Forbes and so on. If a friend, then Maxim or Men`s Health. For a girl, Cosmopolitan or “Glamour” is suitable. But you can name the magazine after the birthday person. Print an announcement on the cover - the title of the articles with small illustrations. Articles can be about anything - a report about your vacation together, a review of the countries where the birthday boy is going, comic ratings, recipes for his favorite dishes, a horoscope, congratulations from his friends with colorful photos, and so on. You can place an article in the style of a yellow newspaper - Celebrity such and such (having a birthday boy) was noticed in the company.. (insert the name of her/his idol). You can add incriminating photos using Photoshop. Or post an interview with relatives and friends in which they will tell interesting facts and funny stories from the biography of the recipient.
Print out the magazine, present it and enjoy the effect produced)
If the birthday is themed, then make the magazine in the same style. For a gangster party, a newspaper called the Chicago Tribune would be more appropriate. Complete it with thematic pictures and stylized advertisements.
Don't know what to give your beloved for his birthday, Valentine's Day or February 23rd? We can offer you one interesting gift project that your loved one will definitely appreciate. Make this small journal/notebook/album for him. It looks somewhat vintage, has a touch of antiquity and elegance: a “lock” made of a button and rope, lined notepaper and leaves from a magazine, cut to fit the paper and used as page dividers. The most interesting thing is that such a journal can be suitable for any occasion: to make notes about holidays, use it as a diary, write notes in it for a friend, etc.
First, prepare the necessary materials:
paper for the cover (sheet measuring 28 cm by 15 cm)
inner pages (number - to your taste, and dimensions: 20 cm by 10 cm)
2 eyelets (rings) size: 0.32 cm
28 cm of twine or lace
2 round blanks of thick paper, each 2.5 cm in diameter
hole punch, pliers for installing grommets, hammer and backing (so as not to ruin your work table)
stapler and staples
scissors
ruler
Step 1.
Take the sheet for the cover and set aside 4 cm from the right edge, draw a line with scissors without opening them so that there is a strip for the fold.
Then make the same strip, setting 12 cm from the left edge.
Fold your inner pages in half. Your cover and pages should look like this:
Then place one of the round blanks in the middle on one edge of the cover (see photo).
Using a hammer and hole punch, make a hole in the cover and the piece at the same time, making sure the hole is exactly in the center of the round piece. Using pliers, install one of the eyelets into this hole.
Step 5.
Now fold the cover and mark a place for the second round piece - approximately 2.5 cm to the left of it. I made a small mark with a pencil.
Using the instructions below, tie your lace around the eyelet (AFTER you've punched a hole in the circle blank), place the eyelet and circle blank where you made your pencil mark.
It should now look something like this:
Step 8
For some reason my string ended up on top of the mug. I think I got so caught up in making the magazine that I forgot to place it under the round blank before installing the grommet. So don't repeat my mistake, be careful.
Step 9
Now you must attach the inner pages. I don't have a stapler long enough to stuff whole pages into, so I had to wiggle my way out. I took my cork board for notes and began to staple the sheets into it (I turned the stapler so that its lower part was almost in line with the top), the staples entered the cork calmly, I carefully took them out along with the sheets and wrapped them by hand with scissors or with a knife. If you have a lot of pages and the stapler can’t handle it, then your best bet is to stitch them with a large needle and embroidery thread.
Ready! The mini journal with a button and a rope is ready! You can decorate and decorate the cover if you want, or leave it as is - blank and stark.
Instructions: How to make a clasp/lock from a button and rope
When creating various books, you may need an interesting way to lock them. After learning how this works for envelopes, I came up with my own way to create a lock using a button and string. Here's how I did it!
You will need:
1. Wide hole punch or other cutting tool to obtain rounded surfaces.
2. Hole punch (hole diameter - 0.32 cm)
3. Pliers for installing eyelets
4. Lace or string
5. Eyelets with a diameter of 0.32 cm.
6. Scissors
7. Sheet of thick cardboard
8. Hammer
9. A stand for you to work on to protect your work surface.
Step 1. Using a wide hole punch, cut out a round piece of thick cardboard.
Step 2. Make a small hole using a small hole punch in the very center of the workpiece.
Step 3: Make a small loop at the end of your string. For convenience, you can tie a string around a pencil or pen to create a loop of the desired size. Tie a double knot and cut off the excess thread. This loop should be the same size as the back of the grommet.
Step 4. Use a small hole punch to make a hole in the book cover or envelope.
Step 5. Arrange your materials in this order: eyelet, circle, loop of rope. Thread it all through the hole on the front of the book cover or envelope. The back of the grommet will attach to the inside of the cover or envelope.
Step 6: Place the whole thing face down on a protective stand. Using eyelet pliers and a hammer (if needed), secure the eyelet.
Step 7. Done! Button and rope lock! You can use this lock in two ways: wrap the rope around the entire book and then wrap it several times around the “button”, or you can make another “button” (but without the rope) and tie the rope between only these two buttons.
There is a small nuance in the printing business - the demand for it decreases from year to year. But it cannot be said that magazines are completely losing their relevance. After all, they once said that with the advent of the Internet, books could disappear, but in reality, everything is happening the other way around: against the backdrop of the chaotic Internet, books only become more relevant.
Create your own journal: instructions for beginners, tips and secrets
Magazines, unlike newspapers and books, are distinguished by their closeness to life. Magazine content at all times was of a practical nature: it was stored in stacks in closets, interesting pictures and articles were cut out, and constantly passed from hand to hand. How has the picture changed today? Does it make sense to create your own magazine and even make money from it?
To get an answer to such questions, you must first decide on your proposal: what format will the magazine be? Are there any analogues on the market? What will be valuable in it that is not in other publications? How will the content be generated? If there are specific answers to these and other additional questions, then it’s definitely worth starting a business.
If the question of how to create your own magazine is relevant, then you should pay attention to the areas of work that will constantly accompany the future publication. It is divided into three:
- Conceptual part.
- Technical issues.
- Sales
This rule applies to everything, whether it be a paper publication or an electronic magazine. Let's consider each direction in detail.
Concept
This is the first step to creating your own publication. You need to decide what the pages of the publication will tell their readers about? What is the submission format? The magazine can be of an informational or advertising nature, and may contain a broad or narrow topic.
In order to create your magazine and make it readable, here are some tips on the conceptual part:
- You should choose a specific topic rather than write about everything. It is better to choose an exclusive niche where it is possible to provide narrowly targeted and in-depth materials. If you choose a system “a little about everything”, then there will be no difference from ordinary newspapers. And the creative staff will constantly scatter their potential on collecting and processing information instead of creative implementation in one area.
- If the magazine is of an advertising nature, then you should take care of the share of useful content that does not aim to sell anything. The reader should understand that he is interested not only in his purchasing power, but also in other problems. We create a magazine cover taking into account such factors.
- Choosing a serious topic. Publishing a magazine for women, for men or for mothers is conceptually not at all difficult. Here the entire relationship with the reader is built at the level of “you have a problem - we have a solution.” Another issue is a specialized thematic magazine. For example, the topic can be technical (available about computers), religious, medical, and so on. The point is that people have no time to go to libraries, and the need for serious information is always relevant. In order to create your own magazine in this role, of course, you will need work and potential.
Technical issues
It is advisable to consider two options here. When everything is clear with the concept, you can implement the magazine in electronic or paper form. It all depends on the characteristics of the target audience. For example, young people under 30 practically do not buy printed publications, but prefer to read everything on the Internet. For them, the question of what kind of magazine to create and where to sell it is not relevant.
If we are talking about the age category plus 55-60, then it’s the other way around - people buy newspapers and magazines the old fashioned way. The best option is a combination of a printed publication and an electronic format.
In the first case, a magazine layout will be required. This process requires the active participation of a professional designer, artist, editor and proofreader. It’s good if, in the first stages, a novice publisher can handle these types of work himself.
If we are talking about how to create your own magazine and its electronic format, then depending on the distribution option, a print layout or a reformatted version can be used. The electronic version can be in the form of a website, blog, downloadable file or in another form. In any case, it is important to take care of supporting the mobile format. This issue also falls within the competence of technical specialists.
Sales
In the chain of analysis of questions about how to create an electronic magazine or paper publication, the question of sales has every right to be in the first position. It’s a sad sight when the edition is printed, the money is spent, the work is invested, but there is no one to read it.
The print market is a pretty cutthroat environment. It’s not for nothing that they say that a printed publication only lasts one day. In the age of information technology, the lifespan of storage media has decreased even further. Therefore, sales must be organized in such a way that the entire circulation is distributed to points of sale on the day of release from the printing house.
The next task number one will also be exactly this. If the circulation remains on the second or third day, then there is practically no chance of selling it out. This leads to the next point in the plan - marketing strategy.
Marketing
The key to a successful business is high sales. There will be sales when a potential client knows about our offer. Only marketing will help with this. Ideally, marketing for your magazine should begin long before the first issue is published.
- Internet. Thematic resources, sites with high traffic and social networks.
- Printable advertisement. There is no prohibition on advertising your magazine in other magazines; at the same time, you can find out the cost of advertising from competitors in order to set an attractive price yourself.
- Advertising on TV or radio.
Periodicity
The question of how to create a magazine requires studying this issue from all sides. Frequency is important for the publisher himself: he must have time to prepare the full contents of the new issue, organize the work of the team to fill out the magazine each time in the same period of time, and have time to prepare money for printing, which is important.
There are magazines published weekly. Most come out once a month. There are even those that come out once a year or once a quarter. It all depends on the topic of the magazine. The magazine is also distinguished by a solid amount of information, which hardly any reader will be able to absorb in a week. From this point of view, rarer publications are perceived normally by readers.
Monetization
The goal of any business is profit. Such a creative process as publishing your own magazine is no exception to this. There are several ways to make money from your publication:
- Advertising placement.
- Image materials to order.
- Proceeds from sale.
At first, it may be more difficult to place advertising, since the business needs a solid audience. But if you publish interesting, useful materials in your magazine and sell it where the target audience has a chance to see it, then advertising indicators will also reach a new level.
What to focus on?
It is assumed that the aspiring publisher has the necessary amount of money for printing. This allows him not to be scattered with diverse work, but to focus on the creative part of his publication. It is important not only to attract the attention of potential readers, but also to make them buy it.
If one edition sells well, then it should be remembered that another may also be sold out in the same way, because a good, meaningful issue will itself serve as an advertisement for future issues. For the electronic format, it is also necessary to continuously search for optimal sales routes and improve existing ones.
Conclusion
At the first stage, difficulties, blockages, delays from schedule or other unforeseen problems are possible. Almost all publishers go through this. Each of them learns from mistakes, from their own and others’ experiences.
Errors can affect not only spelling in the text. They can be formulated as “failed to create log file” - of a technical nature, or “low sales figures” - of a marketing nature. You need to learn to eliminate them in a timely manner and bring your bright idea to the masses before they forget how to read.
Steps
Getting Started
-
Create a theme or focus. What is the main theme of your magazine? Keep in mind that most magazines are niche publications that target a specific audience (for example, people interested in crafts or brides looking for new ideas).
- Ask yourself: will this be a stand-alone publication or a serial? If this is part of a series, what is your overall theme?
- Try to pull the name of the magazine out of this general theme of yours. Please note that most magazines have a title of one or two words (e.g. Forbes, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, TIME). A short title can not only successfully summarize the theme, but also help define the design.
- What is the focus of this post? How can you use this to tie all the materials together?
- A good example of an issue theme is prom for a teen magazine or swimwear for a fashion magazine. All content in this issue relates to the main focus.
- What is the theme of the issue? If necessary, what is the theme of the issue series?
- Annual example of issue titles includes Swimwear magazine Sports Illustrated, Hollywood magazine Vanity Fair, September magazine Vogue.
-
Decide how you will organize your journal. The method you choose to compile your journal can determine how you collect and organize content. Here are some points to consider:
- While the glossy, computer-generated look of a magazine is standard, doing it without the aid of a computer will add an art-house feel to the magazine. However, it will require a lot of extra time and talent, and is best suited to people who have already tackled similar projects.
- InDesign is the standard (if expensive) design program for computer-generated magazines. Text is often written and edited in InCopy, which is linked to InDesign. Some publications use Quark.
- If these options are out of your price range, then Office Publisher may be an effective alternative.
-
Set deadlines. When do you plan to finish the magazine? Ask yourself whether you are setting reasonable deadlines, and whether the finished magazine can actually be in your hands and the hands of your readers by the end of the target date.
- The timing is more important if you're dealing with topical issues (like news or humor), or if you're creating an issue about an annual event (like fall fashion trends).
Content Creation
-
Write articles, columns and stories. What do you want to tell your reader? Whether your magazine is based on humorous anecdotes, art fiction, news, high-brow interviews, or any combination of genres, you will need textual content. Here are some options:
- Write articles on topics that you or your employees care about. Are you concerned about the problems of humanity? Or are the topics related to current events? Do they offer advice or interviews with interesting people?
- Write short stories to give your journal a more personal touch. This could be fiction or a true story, depending on how it relates to your topic.
- Dig up old poems or ask friends if you can publish their work in your journal. This will give the magazine an artistic touch.
- Collaborating with friends to get different perspectives would be a great way to approach this aspect of the journal.
-
Collect images. Even if your focus is on written articles, magazines are visual media. Beautiful images will keep readers interested and add another dimension to your articles.
- Take photographs related to the contents of the magazine. Be sure to take a photo with empty, neutral space. These will make a wonderful backdrop on which to display written content.
- Do a photojournalism project. This means that you study one topic in depth and introduce it to the reader through a series of photographs. This is a great option for people with good photography skills.
- Search for Creative Commons licensed images online. While all of these photos will be free, be sure to read whether the photo can or must be signed, get permission to edit it, or perhaps it can only be used for non-commercial purposes.
- Purchase images from a stock photo database. While this is a slightly more expensive option, stock photos are designed specifically for projects like this, making it easier for you to find images that match your content.
- Draw your own pictures or join forces with someone who can do it. This approach is recommended for art house magazines.
-
Cover design. Your magazine cover should invite the reader to see what's inside without revealing too much. Here are some ways to achieve this goal:
- The name of your magazine must be noticeable. Although many magazines change title color from issue to issue, the font is almost always the same. Go for one that is easy to read, recognizable, and has an aesthetic that matches the content of the magazine.
- Most magazines place the title at the top of the cover to make the brand stand out. One of the most interesting examples of how you can play with the interaction of title and cover is magazines Harper's Bazaar.
- Decide what will be on the cover of this issue. Fashion magazines often use photos of models on the cover, celebrity magazines use paparazzi photos, and news magazines may use portraits. Whatever images you use, they should look compelling and relate to the main theme of your magazine.
- Write an explanation (optional). Some magazines write an explanation or title of only the main topic (for example, TIME or Newsweek), while others write about multiple cover stories (e.g. Cosmopolitan or People). If you choose the second option, make sure your cover doesn't look too cluttered.
- The name of your magazine must be noticeable. Although many magazines change title color from issue to issue, the font is almost always the same. Go for one that is easy to read, recognizable, and has an aesthetic that matches the content of the magazine.
Content Assembly
-
Choose the final look for your journal. The look of your magazine is almost as much about your brand as it is about your content. Think about:
- Font: Do you use a font inside the magazine that is easy to read and consistent with your theme? Does it match the font of your magazine's title on the cover?
- Paper: Are you going to print the magazine on glossy or matte paper?
- Color: Some magazines e.g. People, were printed half in color and half in black and white to save on ink consumption. Many literary magazines are printed in black and white, although most major brands have switched to color printing. Consider how much you can afford to spend on ink for each issue and how you can incorporate that into the look of your magazine.
-
Create a layout for your magazine. Now that you already know how to lay out the content, it's time to put it out there. How you choose to do this will determine what software you will (or won't) use, but there are certain things to keep in mind:
- Do formatting consistently. Use the same borders, styles, numbering, font or fonts on all pages. Creating a Frankenstein that looks like it was put together by twelve different people is the last thing you want.
- Number the pages, especially if you have included a table of contents.
- Make sure your final product has an even number of pages (including covers). If you try with an odd number, you will end up with at least one blank page.
- If you're creating a magazine manually, now is the time to figure out how you'll move the content onto the pages. Will you print it? Will you write directly on the pages? Can you insert a photo?
-
Publish your magazine. You can do it the old-fashioned way by getting it in print, or you can publish it online. Consider your options to see what works best for your budget.
- Binding your journal (for handmade journals only). Once you have completed the pages, you can make a journal binder to keep them together.
- Be sure that your publication is of ethical character. For example, an environmental magazine printed on glossy pages discourages readers, even though glossy paper can be produced in an environmentally friendly manner. For this example, it's best to stick to matte pages. In other words, know your readers and their expectations!
- Distribute some copies of your magazine for free, for example to libraries, to help educate readers about your product.
- Consider subscription programs. This guarantees you money to keep the magazine in production and is a great way to create special offers and communicate directly with readers.
- It is much more difficult to learn how to use Quark, but the professionals who use it are really happy with it.
- To bring your magazine to a wider audience, try self-publishing it.
- InDesign is truly a great software for graphic design of publications. It is quite easy to learn and very flexible. Text-Edit is also good and easy to use. Improve the article in Text-Edit, then copy and paste into the appropriate column.
- Try adding an introduction page before you start the “editor/author letter” and talk about the positive aspects of your magazine and some pages aimed at a specific audience about who would be interested in your magazine. Add facts about the product you are presenting.
- Presentation for a physics lesson on the topic “heat engines” Presentation on the topic “use of heat engines”
- Propagation of radio waves presentation by physics teachers
- Presentation, report on the beliefs of the ancient Yakuts Yakutia as part of the Russian state
- Forces that fought on the German side