Type and Grid
Before the session we were asked to bring two examples of articles about the same subject from different magazines, one high end and one low end, which we would them compare in the session. We were also asked to bring our own images to do with the subject in the article.
Original Articles: Beauty News from -
You Magazine 24/04/11 (High end) & Heat Magazine 30/04/11 (Low end)
Task
- Compare articles. Read each and understand their content
- Do an average word count
- Write a short statement describing the articles
- List 5 significant differences between the articles. Consider these to help change the content
- Choose a new format (210x210 or 148x220)
- Re interpret the article with your own heading and strap line. Include the new images, but the most important thing to consider is the layout.
- Use A2 paper and produce sheets of quick layouts and then more formal ones
- Use a grid with at least 6 columns
- Design for double page spreads. Create thumbnail guides by working to half size
- Evaluate what you have done by recognising what has worked and what has not
- Make decisions with aspects such as the font, and the size and weight of this - what is to be read first?
- There will be a mini crit next week concerning the new layouts
You Magazine
36 lines x average of 6 words per line = 216 words
The article is about exquisite perfumes that a bride may want to wear on her big day. It mentions a perfume which is being re-launched for William and Kate's wedding.
Heat Magazine
There are 3 short articles each with a max of 80 words
The articles are about new beauty products that A-list celebrities use. There are lots of images of the products. A different Kate's wedding is mentioned - Kate Moss.
Significant differences between the articles
1. You - One font is used. The type is kept simple and readable. Only three colours and four different pt sizes are used.
Heat - Mix of different fonts (at least 5 different) - Serif and Sans serif. Two colours are used but on different backgrounds. There are lots of different sizes and weights.
2. You - Images are of beautiful perfume bottles, arranged in a space saving way.
Heat - There are photographs of celebrities and beauty products. There are 9 images, which are all different colours, shapes and sizes.
3. You - The background is white with a little negative space and a block colour margin.
Heat - The page has a white background, but also a block blue background and a fuzzy grey background. Some text has either a yellow or a white background behind it. The images overlap the margins.
4. You - There is one simple heading and subheading. The page is only about one story.
Heat - There are 5 headings and one subheading for the main heading. There are three different mini articles and also a box with images of products.
5. You - It is the title and the images that stand out the most. The typeface is used throughout the magazine and is readable and sophisticated yet does not particularly reflect the contain of the article or the images.
Heat - The title is the first thing you notice as it is in a bold, large, pink circle. Then you notice the photograph of Sienna Miller as it takes up nearly 1/3 of the page.
Conclusion
The page from heat magazine is too busy and there is too much going on with all the mixes of images and type. I also think there are too many different colour schemes used. The article does not appear to follow a grid as everything is scattered across the page. While I think the page from you magazine is more sophisticated and professional, I still think it could be improved with a font that is more relevant to the article, making the page more interesting. Both articles are quite busy and would look better with more white space, which could be achieved by turning the article into a double page spread. Through comparing them I now have a lot of ideas for what I could do to re-invent the article.
Re-interpreted Article
My idea for the new article is to take ideas from both magazines, so that the content relates to theme of beauty for a wedding, so that the bride feels like a princess.
New Grid
I have drawn out a half size grid for both of the measurements and have decided to try design ideas for both sizes to challenge myself and to see which I like better.
148x220
210x210
New Layout Designs
I tried two layout designs in the style of the heat magazine page; I think these look more sophisticated than the original page as the one page is spread over a double page spread, however, I still don't think the shapes and angles that they are placed on work. I also tried a layout in the style of the you magazine page, and thought that this looks much better with an extra image.
I tried lots of layout designs, and my favourite style are the double page spreads with one simple page next to a page containing lots of images and text, but still some negative space. I thought the layouts that were too simple wouldn't work as there is not enough information being conveyed and they also get a little boring. I thought the 210x210 layout was much easier to design with and I much preferred the results created with this layout. I would like to take my favourite layout designs and try these at actual size, with colour.
Feedback on layout designs
I was in a crit group with Sophie, Baljeet, Kirsty A and Kirsty H. I also got some feedback from Lorenzo. Here are the points from this crit:
-Think about trying the headings and completely different sizes, weights and fonts, as many are the same
-Try more informal designs as most of these are quite structured
-Try aligning things diagonally, and be more experimental with designs
-Pull out quotes from the articles
-Everyone generally liked the simplistic ones the best and considered these the most effective
-The design with the large half perfume bottles was everyones favourite
-The layouts with symmetry on both pages were also liked a lot
-There was a mixed opinion on which layout worked best, but the rectangle layout seems more suitable for a magazine
-Generally the designs with two columns of text look better than the ones with three
-Need to use thicker lines to show the hierarchy of what is on the page - what should be read first?
-I have mainly used a 'regal' style font so should try others as well
-I should look at other magazines and find layouts that I like, and question why I like it and then try out that layout with my own designs, to test what works and what doesn't.
