Magazine Design
1. How does the design that you created demonstrate your knowledge of Magazine Design and the parts of a magazine cover and interior?
The magazine that I designed expressed my knowledge of magazine design by showcasing techniques and tools like type tool, drop shadow effects, and order of layers. I incorporated required elements like cover headlines, dateline, and barcode. I also focused on font pairing, text placement, color schemes, and imagery. I tried to fit in all the required elements while still adhering to the company’s identity.
2. In what ways does your magazine connect to the corporate identity of the magazine? What are some design queues that you used from the existing magazine?
As I was starting my design, I took part in extensive research of Vanity Fair. I already read Vanity Fair often, but I wanted to touch upon the fonts, stories, pictures, prices, and color schemes they showcase in their magazines. Once I was refreshed, I realized that Vanity Fair only uses 2-3 main colors on their covers and usually features just one person on the cover rather than a few. Vanity Fair is also a classy, formal magazine that covers events in pop-culture, fashion, and the entertainment world. I chose to portray a story of the Grammys, since that story connects to the magazine’s themes of pop-culture, entertainment, and celebrity. A major design cue that I spotted on several VF magazines were “{ }” symbols around a cover line; I used them in my design. I’ve also observed that the date of the magazine is usually small sized on one of the bottom corners and I also saw that VF includes little words, in red, like “plus”, “and”, and “exclusive” on the main cover.
3. How did completing the brainstorming packet and sketches affect your design process?
It made my design process more efficient because I already had down the cover lines, the main cover lines, the date, the price, and a vast knowledge of the magazine on-hand. The sketch helped me move along since I had a visual idea where each headline, pictures, text, and element were to be placed. Once that was placed, I was able to focus on font choice, colors, and font sizes.
4. How did you like working with a partner? How do you think working with a partner makes the design process easier and more difficult? Working with a partner has its pros and cons. At times, it was helpful as we gave advice to each other and almost acted as motivation to keep each other going forward. In the same time, if we didn’t see eye-to-eye, it would be a little difficult to compromise on one decision. It was a little difficult when one of us were absent and coordinating designs, but overall the process is similar to that of the real world in magazine making because in the industry one must work with not one, but several other designers, so this project helped me step into a professional atmosphere.
5. Looking at your partner’s design, if you were to design your partner’s portion by yourself how would it look different? What would you have changed?
I would have changed the look of the title of the story. The font would’ve been wider and in the same red color that was used for the cover of the whole magazine. Also, I would’ve not made it take up such a massive amount of space. These modifications would help connect the exterior to the interior.
6. Describe the ideal partner (co-worker / co –designer)?
The ideal partner is someone that can understand criticism while still showcasing their own ideas. Someone that knows to listen and is willing to listen to your ideas is a valuable partner. In the real world, it is key to get along with co-workers to merge ideas to reach the maximum effect of work. Very importantly, a partner that puts full effort, cares about overall look/design, and someone that is kind is an ideal co-worker.
