Content Layout Experimentation

Artists work pages:

To be able to establish a consistent style for the pages which contain work that is a response to consumerism itself, I began to put together some explorations to see which would work most with the type of magazine that I am creating. Taking into consideration the design factors I have previously identified within my visual research. I will be developing a style which I will adopt across each of the art pieces that I will be featuring in the magazine, to keep consistency.

figure 1

Uses large red block sections which are taken from the artwork itself linking the content on the page to the work itself, leaking over the page slightly to give an editorial feel, and reflect the square shape the artwork has itself, allowing to seem more visually comfortable on an a4 sheet. The design takes away from the content that will be written on the white space, as it is the smaller proportion of the page, this is something I wanted to keep equal as the content of the magazine is bought to the correct context and explains to the target audience the risks of their relationship between consumerism and their identity.

figure 2

This design puts the focus more equally between the content that will be placed, and the image itself. The red is used to highlight a sarcastic slogan on the page, this is a feature that will be inserted into each of the pages, causing the audience to further question their buying habits and decisions to become loyal to particular brands. This is more in fitting with the amount of negative space that is expected from within a fashion lifestyle magazine, keeping a modern and clean feel to the pages. 

Figure 3

figure 4

figure 5

Within this experiment, I tried using the same typeface as the logo to begin the sarcastic question ending it with the larger body typeface, further linking the question to the worded content rather than the image itself. Yet retaining a slight connection through the choice of colour being sampled from the artwork itself. The repetition makes the sarcastic self-doubt arousing question not ignorable for the audience, forcing their attention to be asking themselves these questions and in turn question their habits, this is a theme that I will be further experimenting with through the other sections of the magazine. Although figure 3 does not allow any room for the text, some of the statement text has been removed in order to clear a path for the text and a title. The colour (as can be seen in figure 5) has been reverted to black for all of the text apart from one of the statement text copies. This keeps the focus on the content and coincides with the simplicity of a lifestyle magazine, whilst keeping a visual link between the written content and the image. 

General Article Style:

figure 6

Within figure 6 I have experimented with using a larger type for the question that the audience should be asking themselves when reading the content of the article itself. This is to draw focus to it, this is also the only item on the spread the does not fit in with the grid, this is to also draw further attention to it and make it unavoidable for the reader. 

figure 7

figure 8

Within figure 7 and 8 I decided to add an extra bit of copy, this is the correct answer to the question that is being asked to the audience, this can be adapted for the content and also be the last part or continuation of a statement rather than a question. The colour has been changed only of this part as it exemplifies it is a response rather than part of the questioning or statement, the colour has been sampled from the image to coincide with the previous explorations from the artist's section and add some consistency to both the spread and the magazine as a whole.

figure 9

figure 10

Figure 9 and 10 experiments with the same concepts seen in previous experiments but fitting in the two centre blocks of the grid, offering a more structured feel to the composition. Which in turn reflects the design of a lifestyle magazine more fittingly, whilst also reflecting similar visual features from the cover, again making the design of the overall magazine more consistent and giving a look of an established professional lifestyle magazine with a set style; as many of them do, as identified in previous research. 

Secondary Article Layout:

figure 12

figure 13

Figure 12 and 13 experiments with a development within the layout of the text itself on the spread. the text is kept again in the centre two blocks of the grid, again offering visual stability throughout the publication. The title is done in the style of the logo, offering a sense of difference to the content that is been written, and the title itself. The placement of the title here also reaffirms the difference visually, whilst sitting below the top block of the grid it is the highest point on the page allowing for a sense of natural hierarchy when reading. Within this experiment I also trialled the placement of the repetition of text, to again try and create a sense of consistency, yet I feel the style evident in figure 13 works best solely on the artists works that are being used in the outcome to make it evident they are pieces of artwork from other sources, rather than further articles. 

Ad Spreads:

  

figure 15

 These pages that contain the spoofs of the designer ads have their own style, both which are being placed in the publication, need consideration with what pieces they will go with, as does any of the imagery that I am putting into the publication. The Louis Vuitton ad which I am currently developing works well to illustrate an article I am curating based on the influence of neo-tribes on consumers and its abuse by designer brands. Where as the Gucci ad works best alongside the poem which has been contributed from an outside source, and therefore the statements that will be placed in the background, as is on all other spreads, will be colour sampled from the final image I will be selecting from the Gucci ad campaign to offer the spread a sense of being linked visually, which will become evident on reading the poem itself.