Planning-Location/Mise-on-scene

 Planning-Location/Mise-on-scene

2/12

    Hello blog, today I will be researching the gym in which I plan to take pictures. The gym is called Inferno Fitness and is located in Deerfield Beach, Florida. I will research what time they have classes, and I will contact the coaches to schedule a time to come in to photograph and interview them

    Schedule

    They have multiple different class times a day. Here is a list of their slots throughout the day.

5:00 AM

6:00 AM

7:05 AM

8:30 AM

9:30 AM

12:00 AM

4:15 AM

This gym works by circuit routines. They set up eight different stations, with each station having two different workouts. Each day is a new muscle to isolate. Here is their schedule. 

Monday: Lower Body

Tuesday: Upper Body

Wednesday: Full body 

Thursday: Lower Body

Friday: Upper Body

Saturday: Glutes

Sunday: Closed 

    After speaking with the owners, they told me the best time to come in would be around 12:00 on Saturday. They said this because the class gets relatively full, and I will be photographing a lot of people. On Saturdays, they close at 1:00 PM, so I will easily be able to conduct an interview after hours without distracting anyone. 

                            

  Mise-en-scene

    After further looking into the gym, I found out that the gym is in a warehouse. This is GREAT news because at 12:00 the lighting will be amazing. I am preparing to see a lot of gym equipment, from pictures, it looks like they have a leg press, lots and lots of dumbbells, workout bands, benches, and mirrors on the walls. I assume everyone will be in workout clothes and tennis shoes. I also assume I will see a lot of water bottles and towels meant for sweat. This gym has a huge mural on the wall of the only and only Arnold Schwarzenegger flexing his muscles. I think a really cool picture would be someone aligned with him working out, doing a similar pose. If I can someone get this photo? I would 100% make this my cover!! 

Planning- Production Timeline

 Planning- Production Timeline

2/11

Hello Blog! Today, I will be planning out my production timeline. I am doing this to stay organized and be as efficient as possible. Planning this will help me to avoid last-minute cramming that will lead to unwanted errors. I am definitely a perfectionist and need everything to go my way, so this will be a huge help! 

Week of Feb 16

    During the week of February 16 to February 22, I will still be in my research phase. I plan on researching location/mis-en-scene and layout. For location/mis-en-scene I will be researching the gym in which I plan to take pictures. The gym is called Inferno Fitness and is located in Deerfield Beach, Florida. I will research what time they have classes, and I will contact the coaches to schedule a time to come in to photograph and interview them. For the layout, I will be planning a rough draft of how I want my cover, feature article, and table of contents to look. During this week, I would also like to make a mood board of all my colors and fonts. 

Week of Feb 23

    Technically, the week of February 23 to February 28 is also designated planning time. Overall, I feel pretty strong about my planning process. I have created my style guide, planned out my layouts, and created rough drafts. This week, for my blog entry, I will be planning out and nailing down last-minute touches like spacing rules and tedious things like that. By doing this, I think it will help make my magazine the best it can be! 

Week of Mar 1

    This is SUPER exciting because this week I will officially begin my production process. This week, I plan to drive up to Deerfield and take photos and get interviews. I plan on using a Canon T8i Camera with a 135mm lens for the candid photos. I will be using an app called Otter to record the interviews. While I am at the gym, I plan to take a lot of photos. I will most likely start by observing the class and finding a workout that looks engaging and photo-ready. I plan to take photos of many different people and workouts and then select the best and most captivating one. Next for my feature article, I will have a sit-down interview with one of the coaches and ask them questions about an ideal beginner-friendly workout. After we finish our chat, I will then ask them to demonstrate one of the workouts and use it as my cover photo. For my table of contents, I will have a posed photo of the owner, and next to them will be information. 

   

Week of Mar 8

    After I collect all my photos and choose the ones I like the most, I will begin planning in InDesign. I will start with my cover because I feel like it is the most important. I will use my Akira font and 3D layering effect. I will arrange the puffs and plug how I want, and make the cover up to my standard. InDesign may be a little difficult to navigate, so I plan to watch YouTube tutorials to help me have a better understanding of what I am doing. I am super excited for this part because my vision will finally start to come alive. Hopefully, by the end of the week, I have finished my cover and will start to work on my feature article. A feature article is more text-based rather then design based, so I feel like it will not take me as long.  

Week of Mar 15

    This week is crunch week; this is my final week before submission. I will need to finish my table of contents by at latest Wedensday, so I have the rest of the week to tweak and polish my final designs. I will spend the majority of this week editing and making sure everything is perfect before I submit. I will try to work on this throughout the week, so I am not stressing over the weekend. 

Planning- Style Guide

 Planning- Style Guide

2/6

    Hello Blogggg, today I will be creating my style guide for my fitness lifestyle magazine. My last two entries have been about deciding what fonts and colors to use today. I will be finalizing everything. 

    

General 

    -No use of contractions, to ensure this magazine conveys a professional and sophisticated image, I will refrain from using contractions in all articles and headlines. 

-No use of modern-day slang, slang is deemed as improper, and to successfully maintain a professional image, I need to avoid it at all costs.

-Excessive use of passive voice using passive voice sentences makes them feel slow and unclear. Using the active voice creates energy and makes your articles easy to understand.

-Avoid filler words (like, super, etc), filler words weaken the point you are trying to make and come off as unprofessional. 

Overall Theme/Message 

    My overall theme for my magazine is beginner-friendly. I want my magazine to feel welcoming to all, no matter where you are in your fitness journey. I want to convey the message of inclusion and 'one stop shop.'  Fitness should not be intimidating. This magazine creates an environment where every reader regardless of their current ability, feels empowered to begin. By offering expert advice on nutrition, movement, and mindset, we act as a definitive guide for your entire journey. That is why I chose the name Total Fit. 

Colors and Fonts 

    I chose the color sky blue as my main theme color. I chose this because traditionally blue conveys a feeling of calm and tranquility, which alings perfect with my message. 

-Sky blue is the color of a clear morning. This visual connection reinforces your theme of a new beginning. It suggests clarity and a clean slate. Traditionally, blue establishes credibility, and once trust is built reader will be more likely to engage with the magazine. 

-Accent colors include stone and navy blue. 

-The font I use is called Akira. It is a font I found on dafont.com and plan to upload into InDesign. I chose it because it is a clean, readable font to portray the message of inclusion, high energy, and gender neutrality, making it visually pleasing and leaving a good impression on customers.  

Headlines/Puffs/Plugs

 -For my article masthead, I will be using Akira in the color sky blue. 

-All my headline with my left alinged at the top of my page. 

-All headlines will be layered behind the main photo, allowing the photographer to grab the reader's attention.

-All puffs or plugs will be in either Akria font or the font family of Akria wether that is a light or italics version. 

-All puffs or plugs will be in Sky blue or other complementary blue colors. 

Feature Article 

-Photos will be texted wrapped. 

-Drop Cap will be on the first letter of the article. 

-"" will be used on the page as visual elements, which will highlight the important message in the article or an inspirational quote. 

-Below is an example of this. 

                                                  

Table of Content

-  For my table of content Akira will be the headline font choice.

-A larger page number will be in the color sky blue. 

-Regular fonts will be a contrasting font.

-Regular fonts with info on the article will be directly under the larger fonts

Planning-General Information

 Planning-General Information 

2/4

Good Morning blog. Today, I need to get my life together, so I will be planning out general information. I will be planning out my publication's names, what fonts and colors I would like to use as my visuals for the table of content

Publication Name

    For my publication name, I knew I wanted it to represent power and strength. I wanted to choose something bold and memorable.  Because my magazine is targeted for gym begingers I wanted to make the title inviting and calm. I really like the idea of using either the word active, fit, or something with the word drive. I really like the names Total Fit and Daily Drive. To me, total fit portrays the vibe of an 'all-in-one', which aligns well with my magazine because I do want to include not only fitness but also nutrition and recovery resources. I want my magazine to have all the information and act as an one stop shop. I also really like the name because it does not sound like it is meant for a bodybuilder or an elite athlete; it feels like a magazine for a normal person trying to get in shape. Next, the name Daily Drive to me means the same as more of an energizing, and conveys a feeling of motivation. I feel like this shifts the focus more towards high intensity and goal-oriented. I still really like this name, but I am unsure if it conveys the message I am trying to tell. I think I have officially decided to go with the name Total Fit because I feel like it betters alines with my message! 

Fonts and Colors 

    Now that I have chosen my name, Total Fit, I want to find colors and fonts that portray my message of accessibility and balance. I want the message to be a 'you belong here'. I want to portray an all-inclusive and welcoming vibe to people of all different exercise backgrounds. I knew early that I wanted to use red; however, I have decided to go a different path. I want to use a nice sky blue with an accent of a darker, muted color. 

                                                           

  

    For fonts, I need them to be clean and readable. I 100% want to do a sans-serif font. These fonts feel open and welcoming, and are also known for their great readability across both digital and physical magazines. I think this font sends out a message of high energy and gender neutrality, making it visually pleasing and leaving customers to buy Total Fit magazines. I think for my font I will be looking at dafont.com and then importing it into InDesign. I want a font that is bold and placeful but also conveys a feeling of professionalism. For fonts, I really like Akira, I would use this font for headlines and the table of contents. I really like this font because it is bold and wide. It dominated most of the white space, and I feel like it an eyecatcher. I am still unsure of the secondary font I want to use for articles, but I will most likely find a contrasting font on InDesign. 

                                       

Table of Content 

    For my table of content I definitely want to use Akira as my font choice. I want the left side to be my table of contents and the right side to be a message from either the author, aka me, or from a nutritionist. I am still unsure. However, for my TOC I want to have a cutout of a candid photo of an athlete working out on half of the page, and right next it to I want a block of sky blue to the bottom of the page. Layered on top of the blue box, I would use my Akira to label the page number, and directly below would be a summary of the article. The font for the summary will be the same as the article font. It would look something like this. 

This is a very loose idea of what I want, the cutout will be on the same page as the TOC. 

Planning- Magazine Content

Planning- Magazine Content 

2/2

    Hi, Blog. Super exciting news, I have officially begun my planning period! I will begin to plan out my content for my fitness lifestyle magazine. 

Directed Target Audience 

    My directed target audience will be young adults, ages 20-40. I want my magazine to be directed towards beginners. I really want to provide content for a range of different people in every step of their fitness journey. I chose the age gap 18-30 for two main reasons: one, I want to make sure they have a stable income and can keep consuming and engaging with my magazines; I also plan to promote my own fitness brand, equipment, and nutrition brand, so I need to make sure they can be able to afford my products. In my magazine, I want to cover basic gym workouts to get my customers comfortable in the gym. I will include a 4-day gym workout, with each day being a different muscle group. For example, Monday will be back and biceps, Wednesday will be legs and glutes, Friday will be arms, and Sunday will be cardio and abs. I plan on giving them 4-6 different workouts on each day, with pictures to assist them.  I want to do my feature article on a new gym owner giving advice for gym beginners, as well as sharing their story of opening a brand new gym. 

Viusual Element

    On my cover, I plan to play with typography. I want to cover to be engaging and fun. I will be picking a bold font and using the layering effect. I plan of capturing a a candid photo in the gym and will be using my subject to overlay the words. For my colors, I plan on using red to promote a feeling of adrenaline and 'rush'. I will make sure the cover has a red background and a red masthead. I plan on using InDesign to do this. All first letters of article with have a drop cap for the first letter. This will help to break up text-heavy paragraphs and help to signal to readers that it is the start of the article. I will be using puffs and plugs on the cover to provide contrast to the cover as well as to help readers find interest in my magazine and want to pick it up. 

Content 

    I already discussed my plan to provide an article on workout plans for 4 days of the week. I also plan to do a column on nutrition I will do this by creating an infographic, and I will be addressing food substitutes. For example, there will be a photo of a bowl of ice cream and then an arrow pointing to the healthy substitution of Greek yogurt with fruit. I will then provide the benefits of Greek yogurt: high protein and muscle health. I will do this for a couple more foods. Some ideas I have are spicy chips with the substitution of carrots with lemon, and fried chicken with the substitution of grilled chicken. This is my inspo 

                                                          

    I know I already discussed my feature article, but I wanted to go further in-depth. Like I already said, my feature article will be on a new gym owner giving advice for gym beginners. I plan for the visual to be the demestarting one of the workouts, and I will use their body to text wrap the words. Below, I have attached my inspo. I would want the subject to be in the middle and their quote surrounding them. I feel like this is super unique, and I am super excited to do it! 

           

Research- Design Trends

 Research- Design Trends

1/29

    HELLO BLOG! Today, I am super excited to announce that this is one of my final research posts. I will be researching common design trends found in fitness lifestyle magazines. A design trend is a popular style, technique, or idea that emerges from cultural shifts, technology, and user behaviors. Reflecting on what's current or anticipated in visual communication, functionality, and aesthetics, influencing how brands connect with their audience and create experiences. Trends are movements indicating broader shifts seen in everything like colors, palettes, and typography. 

Cover

    The trends for 2026 fitness magazine covers prioritize a high-concept cinematic aesthetic. The cover photo is no longer the typically posed smiling photo; now, they commonly want to capture candid photos of the subject working out. The shot is a close-up and focuses on details like tensed muscles and sweat, which makes the reader feel the intensity of the workout. The lighting is high contrast; you placed it where one side is lit, and the other has a shadow. This makes the athlete pop against the dark background. 

The design usually uses dark and moody backgrounds as accent colors; they use red, blue, and sometimes gray. The red portrays high energy, adrenaline, and urgency, the blue portrays the feeling of clean and calm, and the grey portrays professional and neutral. 

                                            

Layout

    Modern fitness lifestyle magazines prioritize a layered and multi-dimensional experiences that bridge the gap between print and digital. You will commonly see 'data-stream' designs with technical lines pointing to the body stats. 'Breatheable' designs with a lot of open space create a calm and centered vibe. However, by far the biggest trend we are seeing for 2026 is the 3D layering, which is where the person in the photo physically overlaps the text to create depth. The bottom layer is your background that can be a landscape or your solid colors, the middle layer is your masthead, and the top layers are the athlete that you "cut out"; you place the individual's arm or leg over the words or the equipment, creating a beautiful layered look. I really want to use this for my cover! 

                                                       

Common Articles 

    Fitness lifestyle magazines commonly focus on a mix of workouts, nutrition, wellness and everyday lifestyle content to support readers' overall health. Articles often include structured workouts, strength training and guides to help critique form and technique. Nutrition is shown through articles on balanced meals, diet trends and supplements. Beyond physical fitness, magazines foucus on mental health, highlighting recovery, sleep and stress management. Many issue also feature experts advice from trainers and nutritionists.     

                      

Digtal VS Online 

    Both digital and online copies of fitness lifestyle magazines cover similar topics but differ in how the content is published. Print magazines tend to focus on timeless content such as workout routines, in-depth nutrition, and interviews. Because they are published less freqencey print articles are more polished and carefully curated. Often using high-quality photography and clean layouts to create a premium motivational experience. Digital magazines prioritize speed and accessibility; they are shorter and trend-based. Focusing on pieces like breaking news, quick tips, and tricks. Online platforms also integrate videos, link and social media content, allowing readers with real-time updates and engagement. While print magazines aim to inspire and educate, online versions are in constant connection with their audience.

The most common distributors of fitness lifestyle magazines are 'Hammer Strength' and 'Sportlife Distributors.' 

                    

Sources

Research-InDesign

 Research- InDesign 

1/28

    Hello blog! I have decided that for my magazine, I will be using InDesign as my editing software. A few months ago, we did some practice on the program. We learned basic elements like how to upload photos and add text boxes. I found it very helpful, but today I will be doing some more in-depth research. Last year, I became an Adobe Illustrator certified. The programs are very similar to each other, so learning how to navigate will not be too difficult. 

Document Setup 

  I started by learning the proper dimensions and bleeds. Commonly, for magazines, they use 8.5x11 inches and a bleed, which is crucial for printing, of 0.125 inches. Margins should be set to 0.5 at the top and 0.6875 on the inside.  To visually divide your layout into thirds or quarters, you need to use the Create Guides command. Adding guides like this can be useful for visualizing spacing and alignment. To create this command, you chose layout > create guides. In a dialog box that opens, change the rows to your desire. With the spread successfully set up, we can now begin to add design elements. 

Typography

    Adobe InDesign is a powerful tool for typography, offering precise control over text frames, font styling and layout. First, I learned how to create text inside text, which is a super cool visual! You need to select two fonts; the first font will form the enclosing text, so it will need to be heavy enough to contain body text. The second font will fill the inside. Next, you will need to create a new Swatch and Fill background with C100 M90 Y10 K67. Type your desired word and set fill to none and then set the stroke to paper and 3pt weight. Next, apply drop shadow and add a second layer, then apply outer glow to the second layer, apply basic feather, then finally add a gradient, and BAM, you're done. I LOVE this, and I definitely want to use a variation on this somewhere in my magazine, whether that's in the feature article or the table content, I am unsure. 

                              

    To create the famous drop cap that most magazines have in the feature article, you need to first specify the number of drop cap lines and characters, then choose a character style. Selecting the option uses the original left side bearing of the drop-cap character rather than the larger value. It is particularly useful for fonts in sans-serif. If the drop cap characters overlap the text below, select Scale For Descenders. I also 100% plan on using this for the beginning of mt feature article. I feel like it acts as an attention grabber and breaks up dense and text-heavy layouts. 

Exporting

    To export your final magazine to the web, you have 4 options: XHTML, copy and paste, PDF, and XML. For the XHTML option, you can export the entire document to a basic HTML doc and link the images in a separate folder. Copy and paste is very simple; you can copy and paste to your images into InDesign directly. For the PDF, export the document and post the PDF on the web, the PDF can include interactive elements like movies and sound clips. Finally, XML is for advanced repurposing workflows; export the content into an HTML editor such as Dreamweaver.

Sources