Magazine Project

Magazine identity and readership
The name of my magazine is Scene. It applies to movie terminology as well as the social circles in which movie fanatics travel. My publication is geared toward a younger, hipper audience, aged probably 16-25. These individuals are passionate about film in regards to current events, modern cinematic techniques, and projects that are in the works. In essence, Scene is a movie buff’s equivalent of Cosmopolitan.

Magazine visual identity
What I want to convey visually through my magazine design is both accessibility and innovation; I want to challenge the eye with interesting visuals but not fight them for readability. The main cover graphic is a photo-mosaic of the Twilight movie poster, which I think correlates well with magazine’s image. It promotes a cool, new approach toward the film magazine niche.

Article visual identity
I chose the feature spread graphic because I think it evoked a hip, chill vibe. The visual path leads one from the title, to the main actors’ faces, to the deck-head, and then to the remaining cast members and image. This effectively communicates what the tone of the feature is and what the article is about. I used bright colors complimented by black for my type in order to match the picture’s aesthetic too.

Article design strategy
My article continues to exhibit the same tone as my feature spread and cover. The first drop cap is the same as the first part of the title, and the other drop caps are the same type as the second half of the title, thus tying the elements together and giving readers’ eyes reference points. The images are tilted to invoke the angles of the wood in the feature spread and also make the article feel less formal and structured. The combination of brighter colors and black are used in the jump spread once again too. My choice of Adobe Caslon pro, a serif font, for the body copy was to ensure comfortable readability, and my choice of sans serif for the sidebar was to add contrast from the body text. I added a full-page image to give the reader a break from all of the text on the first two pages, and an additional image and pull quote on the 4th for more visual interest and another break.

Style sheet
Cover headline: Fashion Victim, 165/198, optical kerning
Cover date: Gill sans regular, 8/9.6, metrics kerning
Cover teasers: Futura condensed medium, condensed extra bold, medium,
medium italic 14.183/17.02 – 32.164/38.597, metrics kerning


Opening spread headline:
YOUNG: Little Lord of Frontery, 187.577/225.093, individual text boxes
BLOODS: Gill Sans bold, 146.85/176.22, metrics kerning, tracking-130
Deckhead: Adobe Caslon Pro Bold Italic, 22/26.4, 27/32.4, metrics kerning
Photography and Author: Adobe Caslon Pro Bold Italic, 17.897/21.476, metrics kerning
Jump spread pull quote: Adobe Caslon Pro Semibold Italic, 25.295, 20.696, 29.894/25.295, metrics kerning

Feature text: Adobe Caslon Pro regular 9.65/12 optical kerning

Folio: Gill Sans regular, 12/14.4, Gill Sans bold, 8/9.6, Gill Sans regular, 8/9.6, metrics kerning

Quiz: Gill sans bold: 53.672/37.611, 27.096/24, metrics kerning
Gill Sans light, 6.746/7.338 metrics kerning tracking 25

Drop caps in article: Gill Sans Bold, 12/12, metrics kerning­­

Image captions: Gill Sans regular, 9/10.8, metrics kerning

Document grid
I chose to make my bottom margin a tad larger to accommodate for the folio and add some white space. The top margin is also a little larger than the default, but smaller than the bottom. My choice to use two columns for my body text had to do with the way my images fit. I think it looks balanced yet dynamic due to the angles and color choices. Also, my magazine will be saddle-stitched so images will not be distorted in the gutter region.

Magazine Post

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.”

 Magazine Visual Identity :

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: 

COVER HEADLINE “THE GAME”: Perpetua Titling MT LIGHT, 68/81.6,

COVER HEADLINE “CHANGER”: Perpetua Titling MT LIGHT, 90/108

DECK HEAD: PERPETUA REGULAR, 18.4/22

DECK HEAD EMPHASIZED WORDS: PERPETUA ITALIC, 22/27.08

LAST LINE OF DECK HEAD: Perpetua Titling MT LIGHT, 24.6/29.5

BY LINE: Helvetica Neue LIGHT, 12/16

FOLIO “EVER AND WWW.EVER.COM”: HELEVETICA NEUE ULTRALIGHT 12/14.4

PAGE NUMBERS: HOBO STD MEDIUM, 12/14.4

JUMP SPREAD FIRST PARAGRAPH: GARAMOUND REGULAR, 14/16.8

BODY COPY: GARAMOUND REGULAR, 10/14

CAPTION: HELVETICA NEUE LIGHT, 8/9.6

SIDE BAR TITLE: Handwriting – Dakota, 26/31.2

SIDE BAR SMALLER TITLES: Handwriting – Dakota, 11/13.2

SIDE BAR CAPTIONS: Helvetica Neue LIGHT, 7/8.4

PULL QUOTES: GARAMOUND REGULAR, 22/26.4

 

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

 

 

The Mag

Magazine Identity & Readership:

            The magazine I designed is meant to be a forerunner in cinematic news and general entertainment interest.  It focuses on movie premieres, actors of all genres, and information regarding directors and film processes.  I intended for it to be rather well-known, hence the reason the title of the magazine can be hidden behind Anthony Hopkin’s head and still be recognized.

Magazine Visual Identity:

            The cover and spreads are supposed to convey a sense of modernism with a hint of “virtual” appeal, meaning that it would be read by people who know the technical terms of film distribution and the like.  It’s not concerned with actors covered in the tabloids; visually I portray this with large images featuring  older celebrities and Oscar-winners.

Article Visual Identity:

            I added in images I created with Illustrator because it gave the article a sense of individualism.  It’s not just a collection of screencaps, it is an analysis of a number of movies and the commonalities they share.  Creating the images myself also gives it a modernist feel.  The dominant image in the feature spread is a combination of two images, one of Bruce and one of Alan, that I [attempted to] manipulate to seem like one large picture.  I don't know if that worked or not.

Article Design Strategy:

            The feature spread is meant to look professional.  The actors I included would be recognized by any film buff, so I highlighted their celebrity status by having them be the only visual on the second page.  The feature spread is permeated by a constant use of cyan tones, which makes it feel less “in your face” and more informational, of sorts.  I used the same text throughout the magazine, Helvetica Neue, because it is bold, professional, and one of the easiest fonts to read, and it also manages to hold to my modernist theme.  Lastly, I included small greenish boxes to highlight important text as a way of adding a bit of spice to an otherwise totalitarian-looking spread.  This method of highlighting keeps with the geometrical feel of the magazine.

 

Style Sheet:

            Cover Headline: Helvetica Neue, 160/192, metric kerning, tracking -55

            Cover Teaser: Helvetica Neue, 72/86.4, tracking 0

Opening Spread Headline: Helvetica Neue, 140/168, optical kerning, tracking -50

Helvetica Neue, 90/108, tracking -50

Jump Spread Pull Quote: Helvetica Neue, 13.5/16.2, tracking 0

Magazine Project

Magazine Identity & Readership: Personality Web is a magazine about celebrities. Its name is meant to convey that it’s a magazine about celebrities—not just the gossip about their lives, but also some insight into their personalities (hence “personality”) and the interconnected world they live in (hence “web”), because celebrities often mingle with each other and my magazine should present that. It’s directed at young adults.

Magazine Visual Identity: The magazine should be young and should express vitality, energy, and fun. Thus, it will use vivid colors and the pages will be bigger. The articles should be light, but should preferably have somewhat more substance than most magazines.

Article Visual Identity: I wanted to portray the “fun” aspect of the magazine mentioned above, but without taking away from the story’s topic, which deals with the lives of the “rich and famous.”

Article Design Strategy: Because my article is about the rich lives of the Gossip Girl cast, I chose a typeface similar to those used for Gossip Girl DVDs, ads, etc. for the words “Gossip Girl” and for the deck, and then chose a relatively elegant typeface for the rest of the title. The photograph takes up one page of the spread and, while posed, shows the fanciness of the cast’s lifestyles in aspects such as their clothes. I carried the same typefaces over to the jump spread in the folio, captions, and pull quotes. Also, I used Garamond as my body text font because, not only is it readable, but it is also elegant. The pull quotes pulled out information from the article that emphasized the point I was trying to make in my feature spread.

Style Sheet:
· Title:
o Bell Centennial Std Sub-caption, 120/144
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 70.5/84.6
o Bulmer MT Std Italic Display, 90/108
· Credits: Bell Centennial Std Address, 22/26.4
· Deck:
o Bell Centennial Std Address, 26/31.2
o Bell Centennial Std Address, 35/42
· Drop cap: Bulmer MT Std Display, 10/12
· Body text: Garamond Display, 10/12
· Pull quotes:
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 15/18
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 17/20.4
· Captions: Bell Centennial Std Address, 7/8.4
· Folio: Bell Centennial Std Address 7/8.4
· Sidebar:
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 18/21.6
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 15/18
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 11/13.2
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 9/10.8
o Bulmer MT Std Display, 10/12

Document Grid: I placed my margin so I would have ample space for my text and photos. I chose to have three columns for each side of the jump spread because it spreads the text out in small chunks that allow the reader to stay focused, but without making lines too short.

Sources:
Image 1:
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/3200000/The-Cast-HQ-gossip-girl-3218070-1252-1607.jpg
Image 2: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeT34u78Rrcm2I3Nm22VMxvn612IpD8lObvfp5TMHuEDlO6W8vl5i1hy3GDJugzmfucKCExo67UOSFfdJjg3swCmEMLfZ0PfXW17pjSMNy1nFAdsyW-DVObku3jlyywrL-FnVjVZMsTCw/s1600-r/gossip-girl-gap-ads-01.jpg
Image 3:
http://www.vidiot.com/GossipGirl/images/GossipGirl_2009_SweepsAd_WK5.png
Image 4:
http://cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/74/46/247375.0.0.0x0.432x285.jpeg
Image 5:
http://photos.ed-westwick.org/displayimage.php?album=349&pos=2
Image 6:
http://photos.ed-westwick.org/displayimage.php?album=349&pos=13
Image 7:
http://projects.daytondailynews.com/cache/galleries/photos/1058266/
Image 8:
http://projects.daytondailynews.com/cache/galleries/photos/1058260/
Image 9:
http://projects.daytondailynews.com/cache/galleries/photos/1058247/

Color: I picked all of the colors directly out of the photo on the feature spread. In the deck, I made important concepts stand out by shifting their location and using different colors (purple for “Gossip Girl” to show royalty, which is what the people on the TV show are treated as, and to create contrast with the “Gossip Girl” in the title, red for “hearts” because red represents love, and green for the last part because it mentions money, which can be connected to dollar bills).

Katie McInerney-Magazine project

Magazine identity and readership

My magazine, entitled “gametime,” is intended for avid sports fans. The primary target audience is 18-35 year olds, but it would be able to address older fans that are able to communicate with a younger generation, as well as younger fans, such as teenagers, who are knowledgeable about sports. However, it would not be the same as other sports magazines; it would have an edgy and youthful look to it, along with a more creative layout and design, similar to that in fashion magazines with larger margins and eclectic design ideas. The magazine would be marketed towards males, because they make up the largest demographic of sports fans, but women would be able to read and understand it, even if the advertising wasn’t necessarily catered towards them.

Magazine visual identity

Most sports are aggressive and physical games, and I want to convey that “in-your-face” attitude through my layout by using heavy, large slab serif typefaces as the basis for my magazine. These typefaces would reflect the types of articles and sports covered in the magazine (it wouldn’t necessarily be featuring things like cricket and bocce ball). Passers-by who would see this magazine on a newsstand would know what sports they could find covered: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and other traditional sports that have a relatively widespread audience. The design is full of thick lines and deep, vibrant colors, emphasizing the heaviness of the topic itself.

Article visual identity

My article discusses the brutality and competitiveness of the Big East NCAA basketball conference, so I chose deep colors and slab serifs to bring that aggressiveness to the page. My choice of visuals, which consist of photographs that actually show aggressiveness (pushing, blocking out, etc.) helps to further convey this combativeness in college basketball.

Article design strategy

As stated before, my message is conveyed through my choice of slab serif font (Aachen), set large and continued in different places throughout the entire design. The initial visual of Jonny Flynn was edited to be pushing away the title, “Step Aside,” to again emphasize the aggressive nature of the league. The huge title font overpowers the sans serif deck, which shows that the text is important (it is on the feature spread) but it is not as important as the headline, which conveys a lot on its own. I used a consistent theme of orange and blue for the majority of the layout to provide consistency, along with the sans serif deck font (Calibri) in orange for sub headlines within the text to break up the long article. In some spaces, to provide a different color scheme, I pulled colors from the images (the text color in the sidebar corresponds to the color of the image; the pull quote on the second jump spread matches the uniform of the Pitt player above it). I opted for a simple-to-read serif font for the body copy, Legacy, to make it easier for the reader to skim if they want. I was lucky because my images were so bright and vivid that the saturated colors also reflect the nature of the league, and I was able to further implement those colors in the text.

Document Grid

I chose these specific margins for my document (Top and bottom: 3p9, left and right: 3p0) because I wanted a feeling of consistency for the shape of the entire page, but I also didn’t want the words to be hugging the edge, so the reader has room to “breathe.” I decided on three columns because my article is relatively long and I wanted the reader to not have to jump around too many pictures and pages to finish, so I decided to keep it to the smallest number of pages possible, while still being creative. To do this, I opted for three columns instead of two. I decided not to go with more columns because I felt it would have the feel of a newspaper, and I want to differentiate my magazine from the typical sports magazines that could be read as news magazines, with lots of text and not much difference in font or style.

Extras

I chose the orange color in Jonny Flynn’s uniform as the basis for my entire spread. It connected all the pages through the use in the deck and subheads. I chose the blue in the headline because it is also Syracuse blue, and opted for the colors in the pull quotes based on the images on the page. The color choice was based entirely on what was already on the page to provide connection between the words and the pictures, so people don’t just skip over the words and look at the images.

magazine project--overtime

1. I have no idea why there is so much space between my magazine and the following text...sorry!!

Magazine Identity & Readership
My invented magazine is a victim of my immense obsession with the NCAA basketball tournament this year. The magazine is called OVERTIME and is centered around college basketball (both female and male, but for this project I focused on just Men’s Basketball). OVERTIME is a specialized magazine designed for coaches, athletes, students, and fans. Each monthly issue would be commemorative in it’s own way, in an attempt to ensure readership and sales of the magazine. The issue I’ve made is centered on March Madness and the Final Four (cover).

Magazine Visual Identity
I think my cover in a way sets the tone for the following spreads—the background is black to create a dramatic effect, and the headlines are big to grab attention. I cut out four players from each team in the Final Four and set them on top of each other at the bottom, while displaying the other stories in the issue at the top of the cover. I used an orange gradient on the magazine title to give it some layers and also noted that it is a ‘special issue’ (as they basically all are). I tried to make my designs parallel the action from the photos showcased on the pages.

Article Visual Identity
My spreads are just the start of many pages that will preview and recaps various points of the NCAA tournament. I want the look to be bold and bright while also providing a lot of information, professional opinions, statistics, and other interesting and useful items of discussion.

Article Design Strategy
My headline and cover type is called Eurostile, and I feel it mirrors in a way the look of a scoreboard, and that is why I chose it. My body copy font is sans serif Calibri and I picked it because I think it complements Eurostile while still looks relatively professional. I went for the sans serif body copy because I think it more easily represents movement and action. Overall, my font is big and bold to balance out the photos I use. I think sports photos are one of the best genres of photography, so I made my pictures large to feature them. I used the cut out of the UCLA player on my jump spread cut into the text and I used a text wrap to create some action on the spread. In addition I’ve curved the right sides of both the feature and jump spreads in an attempt to create more movement. I use the color orange because I think it’s bright and bold, and also because it’s the color of a basketball. My sidebar module is called out by my use of the curve, and it features the other important people involved in basketball who aren’t necessarily on the court. Through my design, I tried my best to create a unified marriage of elements that works and still looks professional.

Lupton III: Grid (Starter Post)

In the last section of the Lupton's "Thinking With Type" she describes grids and their importance to all forms of graphic design, whether they be print or web based.

"For graphic designers, grids are carefully honed intellectual devices, infused with ideology and ambition, and they are the inescapable mesh that filters at some level of resolution, nearly every system of writing and reproduction." (113)

Grids certainly do guide design, whether it is in the making or breaking of the grid. Magazines and newspapers thrive on a grid system in order to create consistent environments that are functional and reproducible. Some have challenged this layout. We'll at a few slides from David Carson in a few weeks (click name to watch a video) and his design for "Raygun" magazine from the 1990's and you'll see how he broke the grid. But even in breaking the grid a system of order is created, that although not traditional in a linear sense, still can feel very natural and organized.

Lupton goes on to discuss the power of grids in magazine and print design and the evolution of the grid in web design through tables and Cascading Style Sheets and the more free form environment afforded by the use of Flash. Which leads us to your objective, should you choose to accept it...

Find an example of a grid system being used in print or on the web. You can select from magazines, web sites or newspapers. Discuss the grid system in place. How well do the designs work within the boundaries, or even by breaking boundaries of the grid? Our minds are trained to see and be comfortable with order. We organize the second we look at anything because of those Gestalt principles and our craving for the whole. How does the grid in your example aid the reader or user? Does it engage them with its structure or lack thereof? Does it cause tension, either positive or negative?

Attach screen shots, links or images in order to help illustrate your example.

Screen capture on a MAC:
Apple Key + Shift + 3

Screen capture on a PC:
Hit the "Print Screen" button (usually found on the top right of the keyboard).