Magazine Identity and Readership:
My original magazine article was found in Elle, I planned for my fictional magazine, Ever to have a similar identity and readership. The majority of the audience would be women who are about 18-30 and are interested in politics as much as they are purses. They would probably be more educated and professional and would have either already graduated from college or be pursuing their degree. I also think it would probably be targeted to a more urban audience. I would see our stereotypical reader as a women who graduated college within the last 4 years and currently lives in the major city working at establishing a successful career while enjoying her youth, she is a confident juggler and determined to “have it all.”
Ever magazine would have feature articles about celebrities, but it would not at all be a gossipy “who is she dating now” type of article. We want to show the deeper side of the celebrities so that our young females readers can connect with them and feel they are really getting to know them. The pictures are pretty simple and show the celebrity in a more approachable way.
Article Visual Identity:
I wanted the article layout to be clean, simple, and inviting. I wanted a two column layout for Ever because to me personally I think it’s easier to read. Especially since I am using big images I though two columns was best. I wanted to keep it simple. With only the pale pink being used to accent the article. This article is about getting to know Reese Witherspoon, not getting to know how many fancy fonts and colors we are able to afford as an established magazine.
Article Design Strategy:
I think I the photos I use perfectly tell the story of the article. I was really fortunate to find several great quality black-and-white photographs of Reese. In the article she talks a lot about accepting that things in life are complicating and rarely black-or-white simple issues. Instead she explained how her divorce, children, and career have taught her that she lives in a rather grey world. Also, some of the photos have her happy and joking, white others are very serious, like on the jump spread in the black dress. Also, the first photograph of her holding the doll like a little girl would seemed to perfect compliment my deck head that says she “redefined what it means to be “young Hollywood.” I like how she seems approachable in every photo though- she has her tongue out or is wearing a simple zip-up hoodie. I hope the reader would feel the pictures make Reese seem more “real.” I kept my type very simple, because I think the visuals really do a great job of summarizing the article even without the body-copy being present. I didn’t want to use too many font and wanted them all to very simple and familiar to the readers. The only real “type-risk” I took was in the sidebar when I used the font that appears to be handwritten. I just though it was appropriate and again very approachable and not intimidating.
Style Sheet:
SIDE BAR CAPTIONS: Helvetica Neue LIGHT, 7/8.4
Document Grid:
I increased me margins in my spreads, because I thought it looked better. The article is as much about the visuals as it is about the body copy so I didn’t want to body copy to be over-whelming and discourage a reader from reading the article. I Also thought that a 2 column grid was more appropriate. I actually tried a 3 column grid originally and it did not look good given the large size of the images I am using. Also the original article in Elle used 2 columns so I figured I’d do the same.
Sources
http://reesewitherspoon.celebscentral.net/
http://theplace.ru/photos/photo.php?id=92988
1 comment:
i like the use of black and white that was a good choice
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