Creative Critical Reflection

Final Project

I am officially done creating my magazine! This is the link to a site where you can view it, and there are pictures below.

http://joom.ag/2gWQ

       

           

My Two-Page Spread

For my two-page spread, I wanted to keep the layout clean, but also be able to add pictures and things that the words could go around. I decided to do another picture that takes up the whole page, because I loved the high angle and the proportionment of the cake. This is how the layout ended up looking:

My Table of Contents

Editor's Note:

For this page, I am going to put an old black and white picture of my Great Uncle Jesse in his bakery, and a text box of a shortened version of what I put in my previous blog post, "Background Story" on the page in the layout that I have already chosen which is in the blog post, "Planning My Table of Contents."  This format and page is similar to Southern Living: Our Best Recipes' first page.

Here is the finished page!

On the Cover:

For this page, I am simply going to use a close up of the Blueberry and Lemon Genoise Muffins, and include the recipe and story behind the recipe, which was included in my previous blog, "Cover Page Recipe."

Here it is!

Table of Contents:

This part is going to follow a similar format to Kraft: Food & Family's table of contents page. I will use colors and an image to make the page more visually appealing.

Here is my table of contents page!

Table of Contents Recipe

For my table of contents dessert image, I decided to make a Texas Sheet Cake. When I was younger, my immediate family flew to Texas like we did about once or twice every year. Once we arrived, my whole family hopped in a few cars and started driving to Oklahoma. We rented a huge cabin with bunk bed, open living spaces, and most importantly, a huge kitchen. It was summer time, and my brother's birthday was during our trip. My grandma and I got busy in the kitchen, making my brother's Texas Sheet Cake birthday cake. This trip is a fond family memory I have, especially baking and spending time with my grandmother because she lives in another state.

I followed my grandmothers recipe and once I was finished, I prepared my set with lights and a camera and began taking pictures!

                                               

Planning my Table of Contents

I have analyzed two magazine's table of contents and have created an idea in my head of what I want mine to look like. This is what I want the basic layout to look like:

       

I decided to copy the layout of the "Editor's Note" from Southern Living: Our Best Recipes because I loved the simplicity of it. It is simply a picture and text on a white background. I think it perfectly allows the story to be heard and stand out with a picture to make it more appealing. 

Both magazines had a "On the Cover" section of some sort, which I thought was also important to have for my magazine as well. I also want to add a solid color text box like Kraft did to add color to the page while giving a background story to the recipe, which is the overall goal of my magazine. For the layout, I used a similar one to Kraft because I thought the large picture taking up half the page was just the right placement.

I also decided I wanted to use the same text format as Kraft: Food & Family's table of contents because I think it also does a good job of getting the titles and page numbers across but making certain words/letters bolded or colored adds a visual appeal to the page. I also want to add a picture at the bottom just to add another item to the page. 

Analysis of Table of Contents

Southern Living: Our Best Recipes:
The first page of the magazine is an editor's note that explains the baker's/cook's passion for what she does. I really like this edition, and think I can adapt it to my magazine's "purpose" well.
The second page is the "On Our Cover" recipe of the cinnamon rolls. It also gives credit to the photographer and stylers of the cover page. This is on the left half of the page with a white background. The right half of the page are more credits like the editors, directors, etc. This side is a bright orange color, which adds a nice amount of brightness to the page. I think I will add a text box of color on my magazine's table of contents.
The third page has a picture of a pasta bowl taking up the whole page. The "Contents" title is in the top right hand corner in pink letters, contrasting against the light background. The table of contents part is in a white, translucent text box with pink and black text and page numbers. I don't like the picture covering the entire page, I won't be using this type of layout in my magazine. I think I will add a picture on the page, but figure out something else for the rest of the layout.

Kraft: Food & Family:
The first table of contents page in this magazine is a picture of Creamy Lemon Pasta with Shaved Asparagus. The green in the asparagus is brought out by using green font at the top that says, "spring '14 content." The picture also has a napkin peeking through and asparagus on the sides of the plate that help tie all the colors together and make the picture look complete.
The second page is of the table contents. The left side reads, "the latest" in green text, and below it are the stories/recipes in bold and a description underneath. To the left of every title is a larger font of the page number. The middle and right column is the "on the menu" section, also in green with the same format for the page numbers, story titles, and descriptions.
The bottom of both pages is the "Recipe Index" with three different sections of: Appetizers & Snacks, Salads & Sides, and Entrées & Sandwiches. Under each of these sections are multiple tiny pictures of food recipes with small text to the left of the pictures listing the calories, fat/sodium, carbs, fiber, protein, vitamins, etc. I do not like this portion of the table of contents for my magazine because I think it is distracting. I will use a very similar layout for the other sections, however. I think that the table of contents pages (excluding the recipe index) looked very clean, and were easy to read.

My Cover Page

For my masthead, I chose colors that I thought properly represented the "Sweet Tooth" title.  The colors are baby pink and mint green. To create this font, I drew it out the way I wanted, and then scanned the letters onto my computer.

Next, I drew over the letters with a similar color on my Preview app on my Mac. I decided not to use the tooth anywhere in the graphic because I thought it took away from the 'baking' aspect of the magazine.

Now, I am going to choose a picture from my choices and create my cover page.

Here is the start of the cover page: 

Now for the cover lines and other details...

I decided to use colors and bold letters in my cover lines to draw attention to the more important cover lines. I also added a page number for the cover image's recipe, and a "SUMMER 2016" edition below the masthead. 

Cover Image: Behind the Scenes

I utilized Pinterest to research a little more about lighting and taking pictures of food. What I learned from watching this video, called Secrets of Food Porn Photos, is that lighting is one of the most important aspects. I wanted to make the muffins' icing shine in the light, and with the sunlight behind them, it didn't look right. So, I used an additional light to shine on my set.

While taking pictures, I had to adjust the set by cutting the flower stems shorter and putting them in a shorter vase so they could fit into the picture better.

Since the magazines I analyzed both had additional items in the cover photo, like a spatula or napkin, I decided to add flowers and a table runner in the back to add more colors on the page. I also decorated the food/plate with mint leaves and blueberries, which go with the flower stems and leaves, the table runner, and the blue blueberries peeping through the muffins.

After the scene was set up, I took lots of photos! Here are the ones I narrowed down, and will choose from for the cover page.

"Secrets of Food Porn Photos." The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Cover Page Recipe

This week I looked through old recipe books that my great uncle has left for his family after his passing, and decided to use a book called, "Lenotre's Desserts and Pastries." It was a book that he used quite often, including in his bakery. One of the recipes is called a Genoise cake. It was the primary cake batter that he used. I also decided to add blueberries and lemon juice to the cake because I want to keep a summer theme throughout the magazine edition. I made this decision because both the magazines that I analyzed were either a "fall" theme with browns and oranges, or a "spring" theme with rainbow colors and pastels. My theme is "summer," so there are mainly blues and yellows, with some pink. The bright colors, along with the actual fruits used (lemons and blueberries) create a light and fresh feel.

This recipe has character. It is about 40 years old and has been used in a popular bakery from 1960s to 1980s (Andalusia Bake Shop). It was my great uncle's go-to recipe.

In the Kitchen

For the cover image's baked good, I first had to check my pantry and see what ingredients I had to buy. I made a list of items I needed and went to the store. Blueberries, lemons, mint leaves, flowers.

Now I have all my ingredients, and I'm ready to start baking.

I got out my great uncle's old recipe book and began making a Genoise cake (adding lemon juice to the batter).

     

After making this basic batter, I used a tablespoon measure to scoop the batter evenly into mini cupcake pan lined with cupcake wrappers.


Then, I placed a few washed blueberries into each cup, and baked them at 350 until golden brown.

I made an icing that my mother taught me how to make as a kid. It was her go-to recipe. It is simply: Powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice stirred together.

Now that the cupcakes are cooled, I took the wrappers off and  placed the muffins on a rack which was on top of a cookie sheet. This was to catch the icing that fell off of the muffins while I drizzled it over the muffins.



Now... PICTURE TIME.

Analysis of Two-Page Spread

Southern Living: Our Best Recipes:
There was not a two page spread in the Kraft: Food & Family magazine, and in this one there was not quite a two page spread either - but I got an idea...

I'm thinking that I can do something similar to this page for my two-page spread. I think I will include a full page of solid color, and include the title and a description of the story underneath. Then, I can include a picture of the dessert, and its recipe on the second page.

Analysis of Cover Pages

Southern Living: Our Best Recipes
This particular edition is Volume 4 from November 2007. The cover page is a picture of cinnamon rolls on a wire rack. The rack is on top of a burgundy cloth napkin, which is on top of a dark, circular, wooden tray. The cinnamon rolls are the main focus with a wooden spatula pulling one of them out, making it appear closer. Parts of the napkin and the tray is blurred on the left side to make the words making up the cover lines, the burgundy napkins on top of two off-white plates are also blurred in the background, to the back left of the cinnamon rolls. Clearly these things are not extremely important indicated by the blurring, however, they do help make up the cover page so they were chosen for a reason. The colors of the napkins, plates, and tray come together with the theme of the edition, which is fall. The cover title is bright yellow and white to contrast against the wooden table in the background. The cover lines are the same colors, and some are larger than others to emphasize them for importance. The cover titles consist mainly of types of recipes (rather than article titles).  The number 131 is the largest to catch the audiences eye, so they know there are 131 recipes in the magazine.

Kraft: Food & Family:
This edition of Kraft: Food & Family is from the spring of 2014. The primary focus of the cover is a rainbow cake. The cake is on a light pink plate with a pastel colored napkin peaking out from under the plate. All the other background images are extremely blurred and not able to make out, so therefore they are not as important as the cake. The cake is what draws attention to the specific audience the magazine is trying to attract, which is people who like to bake. All the colors on the cover page tie together as spring colors. The background colors are orange, pink, and yellow. The cake, which is the main focus, has four layers: pink, orange, green, and blue, iced with white icing. The cover lines are visible but minimal. They are placed on the bottom right hand corner of the page which again, allows more attention to the main image. Numbers are used in this edition as well, but instead of recipes, it says, "51 reasons to celebrate our dreamiest, creamiest desserts." There is also a page reference in small font that gives the reader the page that the image's recipe is located.

Purpose

What I would like to get out of this magazine project is that I would like to create a portion of an actual magazine that I would like to make one day. I have always loved baking. I also love trying out new recipes, creating recipes of my own, telling stories, and taking pictures (of things like baked goods). With this magazine, I want there to be a story behind the things that I bake and the recipes in the magazine. I want to not only entertain the readers, but also give them a backstory to what they are eating. I have always wanted to connect with people, and by doing things like sharing family recipes, I can do that.

Background Story

The reason why I have decided to create this magazine is because of my Great Uncle Jesse's Story. His story truly amazes me and I want to share it with anyone willing to listen. It is beautiful as well as tragic. I plan on incorporating this story into my magazine to give the readers a sense of the purpose and understanding of my passion for baking. Here is my summary of an article posted on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 in the Miami Herald, called "Jesse Quesada | Longtime Coral Gables baker" by Elinor J. Brecher. The summary also has some tidbits added from my personal knowledge of the story.

     Jesse Quesada worked at an Ybor City restaurant as a teen, and left high school at the age of 17 to join the U.S. Navy. He was shipped out to Okinawa in August 1945 during World War II. While there, he learned baking from Jewish sailors. Once he returned in 1946, he married Dolores Florez, my Great Aunt Loli, and began working for a 42-store commercial bakery called Grables. Here, he rose from a truck driver to a vice president, saving enough money to then start his own bakery. He bought space on 248 Andalusia Ave. in Coral Gables, FL and named it Andalusia Bake Shop after the street. For years, he spent more time in the bakery than at home; he sometimes slept on sacks of flour to sleep. Soon he hired enough employees that he trusted to help run his bakery. 

     The items Jesse sold were so delicious that people were willing to pay top dollar for them. He once tried to raise the prices to slow the frantic pace, but it didn't work. After a particularly overwhelming Thanksgiving, he decided to stop taking holiday phone orders. One Thanksgiving Andalusia had over 500 orders. Realizing they didn't have a place to put all of this food, they rented two school buses, put brown paper on the windows, scrubbed them down, rented air conditioning units and backed the buses up to the bakery, and labeled the buses A-H and I-Z for last names of the orders. 

     Business was booming. Along with Jesse's wonderful talent, and successful business, he also had a very generous heart. He kept the neighborhood police and fire stations well supplied. He also donated pastries to any civic group that asked. Once, he even hired a man purely out of needing a job. He didn't have any talent in baking, so he was paid to clean up, like sweep the floors and wash the dishes. One day, when my Uncle Jesse didn't go into the bakery, the man he hired, Orlando Irina-Diaz stabbed the head baker five times with a French Kitchen knife. His name was Ernesto Torres and he was a 57-year old grandfather. He staggered through a crowd of stunned co-workers and costumers, and died on the sidewalk outside of the shop. Jesse was distraught when he found out. Torres was a friend of his as well as an employee of 18 years. 

     A week later, Andalusia reopened to fill passover and Easter orders, but it wasn't the same. My uncle was so affected by this incident that he decided to sell the business to a CPA named Andy Kaplan for $500,000. He helped with training and encouraged his former employees to remain. He even gave Kaplan recipes, and helped by making the transition quiet and slow so costumers wouldn't notice. However, Kaplan decided to rapidly expand to seven South Florida locations and went bankrupt within a decade. 

     The business where Andalusia once was is now a Chocolatier. I actually visited the chocolatier, called Chocolate Fashion, for my sixteenth birthday. It is a very nice place, and the people were kind. However, this whole period of time was a sad part of my Uncle Jesse's life. He moved on by retiring to a beautiful home in the Keys in 1988, right on the water. He took to fishing with the same fervor that he brought to baking and began making smoked fish spreads. He also continued baking by making pies for the neighbors, and bringing homemade eggnog to family Christmases. 

     Jesus Seijas Quesada died of multiple myeloma at Baptist Hospital on August 19, 2010. I was 11-years old, and this was the first death I had experienced. I decided when I was 8 that I wanted to follow in my great uncle's footsteps (in the field of baking), and even more-so once I heard this story. His legend should be continued. He was a kind man with raw talent. Andalusia Bake Shop was known as the Tiffany of baked goods. No birthday party seemed right without his cakes, and no bar mitzvah seemed complete without his braided challahs. He was a kind man with raw talent. His legend deserves to live on.