ScifiNow Magazine
PROJECT TYPE: Magazine | 28 Pages
DELIVERABLES: Print Publication, Brand Identity
AWARDS: Local GOLD Student ADDY Award (2021) • Local SILVER Student ADDY Award (2021)
OVERVIEW
ScifiNow is an award-winning magazine exploding with news on the latest sci-fi or horror TV shows, films and culture giving readers invaluable insight into the ever-changing industry, past and present. Being at the forefront of this industry for the past 12 years, the magazine has had it’s challenges in capturing the spirit and excitement that comes with the genre by showing too much information in articles, clustering of images and unimaginative feature spreads that lacked the spark of originality.
SOLUTION
In order to help meet their goal of being the greatest science fiction and horror magazine, I created a visual identity system associated with the vibrant lights and dark spaces of cyberpunk nightlife while using high contrast imagery and geometric shapes to create an otherworldly, scifi atmosphere.
The Process
BRAND MOODBOARD
Incorporating a cyberpunk aesthetic was the foundation to setting the magazine apart from other science fiction magazines. Also, the use of high contrast imagery, glowing geometric shapes and neon colors were used to create an extraterrestrial, scifi atmosphere while giving it a unique style.
LOGO SKETCHES
Science fiction by definition is fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets. Based on the definition, I focused on the following keywords since they would be the best visual representations of the term: Future, Technology, and Space. I started off with finding reference photos before sketching out my ideas.
LOGO DIGITIZATION
By getting feedback from my peers and settling on a geometric typeface for the logo, I was able to move forward on digitization. My goal was to create a fun but memorable icon that was futuristic but not too different or unrecognizable from their original logo. I worked towards creating visual interest on the “O” within the logotype to add some uniqueness while calling back to who the brand is.
BRAND IDENTITY
The planet orbiting around the “O” is related to the feature spread. A horizontal/stacked version of the logo was made and the icons were left as submarks that could replace the “O” for later issues as needed.
COLOR PALETTE
The color palette is based off a neon, cyberpunk and futuristic aesthetic. They are reminiscent of high energy nightlife with glowing colors contrasting the dark corners of alleyways while giving off an otherworldly aura.
TYPOGRAPHY
Through the use of the Montserrat family, all areas could be covered due to the variety of weights it contains. Slimbach is the current body copy of choice for ScifiNow and pairs perfectly with the Montserrat font family.
COVER SKETCHES
When designing the cover, I wanted to ensure that it was beautiful, eye-catching and could be looked at for a long time like an art piece in a gallery. By omitting all text besides the logo and the issue information, this allowed for the cover to have much needed negative space. Thus I began sketching various cover designs. After receiving valuable feedback from my peers, we narrowed it to #3, #4 and #5.
COVER DIGITIZATION
Photoshop was heavily utilized to manipulate my photograph of the astronaut girl to be featured on the completed cover. The image progression below shows a quick snapshot of the editing process from lighting additions, eye color changes to adding space behind the astronaut for a more authentic look.
FINALIZED MAGAZINE SOLUTION
