DXB302 - Magazine Project Design Process

Week 8: Concept

Coming from a fashion discipline I am really focused on the technological changes affecting the fashion industry. When having to research a concept for this magazine I turned to WGSN to hunt for something that could be very interesting to explore.

Within the top technology trends for 2015 report I found technological 3D elements combined with other creative disciplines to be a common theme. I also found an awesome article which detailed how a Israeli fashion designer created a line of 3D printed clothing. I then pitched to the team that we do a technology + arts magazine with our first issue focused on 3D printing - a huge game changing trend.

Week 9: Inspiration & Layout Ideas
During my daily browse through Instagram this uploaded image by The Haute Pursuit caught my attention. I feel this image shows the style/colour palette and "coolness" that ANDOBRCY should be. I also spoke about this inspirational image in the editorial letter.

Major influences for ANDOBRCY were Alvar magazine and Pinterest. Alvar is a UK-based style, culture and thoughts magazine which emphasises minimalism, use of white space and clean layouts. As soon as I found this magazine many months ago I was in love. As 3D printing textures are rendered, intricate and bold I thought having a contrasting layout would drive a visually pleasing aesthetic for the overall mag.

After looking at layouts/styles/designs that inspired me I did up some basic thumbnail sketches to assist in beginning to visualise our magazine. Comparing these sketches to the final product, it is evident that some of these styles were carried right through the design process until the end.

Week 10: Typefaces AND Mock Ups

Typeface Combinations

Looking at a number of typeface styles in various style from one end of the scale to the other. We are wanting to achieve a minimal, clean, modern aesthetic. Initially we were deciding on serif or sans serif. After evaluating this image we decided to stick with sans serif. We were interested in the idea of picking a typeface that had various styles to maintain a cohesive and strong theme and perhaps having a "special" typeface for the feature articles to spice things up a little bit.

It was narrowed down to Number 04, 07 and 08. Finally, we mutually decided on number 04 but with no tracking like shown.

We also chose number 7: LOMBOK and Feature Fonts: COLOURS OF AUTUMN as our feature article fonts.
For features relating to technology or products we will use Lombok because it has a very tech-y, futuristic look.
For features relating to people we will use Colours of Autumn as it is a "handwritten" looking font and contrasts Lombok.

The below image is our final typeface combinations.

We have:

Headings: Raleway Semibold 48pt

Divider line: 0.25pt

By line: Roboto Condensed all caps Light 11pt

Sub headings: Raleway Medium 14pt

Body: Roboto Regular 8pt

Quotes: Roboto Condensed Light 23pt

After looking at inspirational styles and designs for the mag it was time to experiment in InDesign. Below are first drafts of mock up layouts establishing a grid system, coloumn sizes, gutters etc. I initially loved the idea of having huge page numbers as it was a unique feature but later made the sacrifice. Justified, indented body text was later changed too.

Week 11: Putting It Together
The most important and time consuming part had arrived - putting together the magazine. During this stage we went through a few changes:
- the grid structure (seen below) as per feedback from the tutor. We felt having extra coloumns allowed for more flexibility within the layout if needed without taking away from our strong guidelines.

- page number design was also changed to be smaller and removed from the center.

Layout Guide

I designed a layout guide for our group to use to ensure the group is on the same page. This details column sizes, margins, typefaces sizing and aesthetics. This was progressively updated collectively when necessary.

Below is an example of a first draft layout for my Events section. While the heading "EVENTS" was cool and bold I made the sacrifice to have it a little less exciting as seen in the after photo. I felt this decision ensured this section strongly adhered to the style guide and as the other guys did not do this type of bold move, my section would have then stuck out and interrupted the flow of the mag.

Everything adhering nicely to the grid structure in the below image. Nice placement and spacing between images and text. I feel this magazine is coming together very professionally and reflecting the identity we envisioned.

Page numbers were moved inwards a little more due to printing issues. Beforehand they were too close to the edge, risking being cut off. #learningexperience

COVERS:

I designed the cover for ANDOBRCY with the feedback and suggestions incorporated by the team.

When it came to designing the cover I knew we needed a powerful image. Something interesting with the element of mystery that would grab the attention of a passerby and want to pick up the mag.

It was actually difficult to find a high res 3D printed image relevant to our mag.

The middle image is a cool 3D printed wall sculpture in the shape of an elephant - I loved the intricate detail.

The right is an image taken from one of the articles within the mag - I loved the colour scheme and tech feel to it.

The left image is a classic typewriter. I felt this was the most powerful and meaningful image out of the three because (as detailed in the editorial letter) it shows just how far technology has come from then to now with 3D printing. I wanted it to be nostalgic and appreciate the history of technology and art thus far. I believe this image conveys that. The group mutually agreed on this cover image.