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.

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