Final Magazine Design

Design decisions:

Overall design decisions:

Overall design decisions that should be followed throughout the magazine is that it follows the style of the lifestyle/lifestyle fashion publication. The decisions on the way to do this have already been made within my developments, to the use of the grid system, negative space, selected typefaces, a specific imagery. In terms of inside of the magazine page numbers were added to the centre of the bottom of each page in which the number would not take away from the piece on that page, for example the pages with a printed pattern typographic background. Only on the advertising pages, and the pages with the typographic background, could any content be allowed into the top section of the grid. This was to allow room for the continuous addition of the logo throughout the publication, consistently bringing the mind of the audience back to the reason why they picked up the magazine in the first place assuming that it was a high-end fashion magazine relating to brands in which they would normally read about the latest fashions and which brands to endorse that season. 

Overall any typographical backgrounds contained within the publication were taken right up to the boundary of the spine, this was to re-exemplify the nature of repetition represented within these backgrounds. As the document is being perfect bound, the typographical backgrounds are taken right into the spine it will appear as if being continued on within the pages after them, therefore adding to the effect of the repetition. This is a technique that I have also adopted, but in parts of the statement text that covers parts of the imagery; again the same desired effect.

Design rules:
Typefaces -
Sofia Pro
Big Caslon
Page titles - 11 pt
Large subtitles - 45 pt
speech text - 30 pt
body text - 9 pt
10mm gap between the lines and titles of each page

Cover:
The cover image has been sourced from a fashion photographer, as previously discussed. the image takes up the majority of the cover, although there is a slight white border. This was to increase the amount of negative space on the cover, giving a more equal feel to a large amount of white space surrounding the title of magazine, logo and seasonal information. A large amount of white space is used to give the stylisation of a fashion lifestyle magazine, this format was most appropriate to adopt the style as previously discovered within my visual research. The barcode has been made white to also continue this theme and not distract away from the visual aspect of the cover. Which as discussed through my blog is the main way of informing the audience of the content of a lifestyle fashion magazine. 

Contents Page:
The contents page is a functional element to the publication and gives a break down of the contents of the magazine. In order to keep the page in the style of the magazine the typefaces which reflect the style of the content were used. This was also visually made similar through the use of the sarcastic questioning to the audience about their choices, instantly giving the question 'are you content?' using the word "content" also allows me to title the page, allowing for a double meaning of what is being said, something which is done throughout. 

Do you fit their mould?
Instantly the title brings the audience to a summary of the article itself, talking about the fact that high-end brands tend to only have one type of target consumer, one which they believe can buy into the brand and represent the brand in the 'way it is meant to be'. The statement of this page 'Be a shepherd, not a sheep baa' relates to the idea of belonging to a brand means you can only be one type of person and therefore you are following a herd, this statement was selected as it is a well known saying and therefore the relevance is understood once the article is read. 'Just break it.' is splayed across the image, two modules above the bottom of the grid covering some of the photo, this placement has been chosen and carried out throughout the other images in the publication that represent issues in endorsing high-end fashion in order to show the way that brands cover a personal identity and joins them to a community, rather than what they assume normally; by buying something expensive they're being unique. The colour has been sampled from the main colour prominent in the items of clothing shown in the image here, this is so the text is evident over the image but relates enough visually to be able to not strike away too much attention from the content itself. 

High Roller:
This spread features artwork that is a response to the consumerism of high-end fashion as previously discussed and evidenced within the blog. The background of the art piece contains an ongoing print of the words 'rolling in it' a part of the consideration statement from this page. The print was constructed from placing the words at the bottom of each row on the modular grid system missing one in between alternately across the columns, ensuring each one is evenly constructed and aligned, this a rule used whenever creating this effect of the background throughout the publication. This type of repetition offers a visual difference to the other statement pieces of text within the article pieces, clearly offering a visual difference for the reader who doesn't particularly understand design within the magazine to understand that the articles contain different information in comparison to the artwork. The colour of the statement on the right-hand side of the page has been sampled from the artwork itself, further offering a visual link between the artwork and the statement making the audience question the link between the content that has been written on the right-hand side of the page and the meaning of the artwork. The beginning of the statement "they must be" is highlighted in the same red to further visually support this continuation of the sentence between the different sides of the spread. The text within the works has also been developed to fit in with the way that the content on the other pages that into the grid, therefore offering further consistency within the design. The name of the artist is clearly stated between the title of the artwork and the content that relates to the artwork, their Instagram handle has also been attached slightly below the image itself to be able to give people the opportunity to further look into the work themselves.

Influence:

The influence page has visual differences from the content, to ensure the audience know that the particular social media, time talking about is Instagram, I created an Instagram like counter, which was coloured the same as the questioning statement on this page. The target audience this makes the social media element, and link to the content, as obvious as possible, as it references a visual which they will be familiar with within their everyday lives. The statement on the right-hand side again covers part of the image once again covering past the person and therefore representing the way in which brands are removing people's personality and individuality. The text had begins with a capital letter and enter, as it is finished on the left-hand side of the page, it was important to me to enter this punctuation to ensure clarity for the reader of this direction of reading is unnatural. Enlarge text on the left-hand side of the connotations that people have with influencers on social media, I did not want to repeat these for they wanted to make them stand out from the rest the content in order to draw the attention of the audience fully towards it. This is the same size of the statement type yet has been made black therefore giving it a higher visual link to the article itself, the article text is also this colour. The imagery used was of a persons face as social media is mainly about portraying a lifestlye rather than the brand itself.

Louis Vuitton Ad & Expenses article:

This ad is taking a spoof of the Louis foot on automatic this year, I chose to use current imagery as I thought it would be most familiar to the target audience of the magazine, and therefore make them consider the meaning behind the entire spoof at a deeper level. The copy in the ad states that the past years holding is empty, playing on the idea that she has spent all of the money on buying the pass itself and therefore could not afford anything to fill it with. Therefore, linking to the idea of the expense behind high-end brands just in order to present yourself of having a particular lifestyle, yet when it comes to it that lifestyle cannot be obtained, presented through various items which supposedly output an image. The typefaces selected within this piece of the same used throughout the magazine, offering visual continuity, and ensuring that the context of this belief relates officially to the rest of the content of the magazine. Therefore, identifying visually with the audience that this ad is a spoof. The real brand logos have been used within the fake ads to again offer visual familiarity to the target audience who will have a pre-conceded image of the position of that particular brand within the marketplace. An article was placed next to this image as it relates to the content of the image itself. The background of this content contains the figures of both the national average salary the UK within 2017, alongside the national profit of a fashion brand within the same year. Both figures are mentioned within the article itself, yet only the UK national average wage is highlighted by using a black hue, that'll bring it to the forefront of the piece; and highlighting the vast difference between its value in comparison to the earnings of the particular company within that year.

Consume:

The artwork on the right-hand side of the page consists of the same visual structure as the previous artists work, in the way that it has been presented on the page. Images once again kept within the centre margins of the grid that has been used magazine, and the background again has been printed with a continuous pattern which has been created using the wordings that complete the statement that relates to the piece. Statement itself "break the Internet" is relevant to the piece of artwork itself, and his need to be relevant to the target audience that will be assessing the work in situ. Pieces inspired by popular culture with a magazine cover, a well-known connotation of which is that the image it presents broke the Internet. The word Internet has been highlighted with the colour blue which can be found within the artwork itself, which the statement mired on the left-hand side of spread has also been selected in; therefore, giving a visual link between the two. This visual link refers to the word Internet being replaced by the word bank, therefore offering a visual link between the way in which consuming high-end luxury brands in order to gain lifestyle, may break the bank. This link between the statement initially also relates to the context of the artwork itself talking about "obeying the Internet of false idols", in the way that obeying the ideals of brands, and endorsing them it's idolising them and the people who portray particular lifestyles through the presentation of the brands product. Once again the artists social media handle has been placed below the work so the audience can find more out about the artist and the work itself.

The final cut:

Within this article it is spoken about the way in which brands and ethically dispose of excess garments/other products. The statement relates to the way in which the comments could be reused which is further discussed later within the magazine. Blue is taken from the done within the images this is the largest on the image and therefore relates the image more to the text. The image once again in same size as all the other images with in the content of the magazine, consistency and equality of importance to all of the imagery within the magazine. The image chosen displays a picture of a garment that has been re-cycled into something new and repurposed rather than being disposed of this may be something the audience does not initially realise that this image has been selected to visually initialise their thoughts in the way that they dispose of their clothing as well as the way that the brands they buy in to dispose of their excess goods.

Gucci ad and poetry:

This page acted divider within the magazine, as well as always being within the halfway point it is the only page spread that does not contain article itself about the reasons why branch not be endorsed or the way to change habits. On the left-hand side of Gucci resembling a more conversational piece between two people, displays the most recent advert, with explicit language that is slightly covered by the advert to make it less obvious. Due to the nature of the imagery and the way in which the text is placed in a conversational manner it is evident what this word says to the audience. The relevance of this is to make the audience realise are they really buying but is branded because they enjoy it while they bind it purely for the name, and the lifestyle connotations that come with owning it. On the right-hand side of the page is a poem written by contributor previously spoken about and evidenced within the blog. Visuals on this page are Simple the structure is the same as the structure of the articles to be able to offer visual stability throughout the magazine yet it is evidently different in the way the text is aligned, and also the way that the text engages with the visuals behind it. Certain parts of the text been highlighted using small green lines, this line can also be seen on the opposite side of the spread highlighting the obscene word, therefore relating visually that the people who buy into the brands that are highlighted are in turn people who can be described with that word. This is further exemplified and highlighted on the page of the poem through the use of large statement text, which drags the names to the forefront of this spread; and therefore requires the attention of the audience.

Claiming back your induviduality:

The second half of the magazine contains articles which depict the way in which people can battle against this brand lifestyle. The first article being about claiming back individuality, the sentences which make the audience question their actions continue throughout the section, allowing them to further evaluate the choices that they're making whilst reading into the article. Over the image the text is placed slightly lower than in other sections of the magazine, this visually opens up the upper part of the body of the person who is modelling the clothing, and covers the clothing slightly, therefore representing the way in which the personality of the person is outshining the branding of the clothing that they are wearing. The colours used within these statements/questions are still selected from the imagery to give a selection of similar times to their spreads. In terms of title and textual layout the structure remains the same in keeping with the style of a lifestyle fashion magazine. This also keeps up the quality of the information that is being given, making it seem no less important than the other information about the brands that the audience has received further prior to this section.

Values of your brand:

As this section is about a person gaining back their identity moving away from a branded lifestyle, majority of the images that have been used show handmade clothing or clothing that has been up cycling some way to make it different than what the brands intend. This further exemplifies the way in which someone can still enjoy brands get neither away from the connotations and lifestyle that is enforced on them by endorsing the brands and also the negative moralities and ethical values of the brands they are endorsing. Punctuation and capitalisation within the statement text heavy is extremely important yet again as the design is read backwards in comparison to a normal natural reading direction. Again the text is lower the theme of focusing on the model themselves rather than the clothing continues.

Refresh rather than consume:

The statement as part of this spread is slightly different from the others in terms of that it is sending out positive message in the way that people can reuse and recycle their clothing, referring back to the title "refresh rather than consume". Therefore, bright red is then selected from the trousers in this image, the red makes the statement stand out even more than it already does, and highly contrast against the lighter tones that have been used prior to this article. This image was specially selected due to the composition of the way in which the modern understanding promotes a sense of power and responsibility, relating to the way in which the article is telling the consumer they have a responsibility and power over their ethical and moral choices.

The big idea:

The final double spread explain the idea concept behind the magazine to the audience, as this is solely written by myself and not backed up by particular various other sources, discovered within the research of my essay, I wanted the spread to look slightly different. In the same way that the artists are in work which has been put into the magazine has been made different through the use of a printed pattern of wording behind an image, I decided to use the same technique behind an image on the spread. “oh right” has been used as it is a common way of saying that you have realised something the way in which the big idea of this magazine has just been revealed to the audience and therefore they are realising the way in which they consume must change. The image used has been selected from the same photo shoot to different photographer which has been used on the front and back of the magazine. High-end fashion images were used for these rather than images of reused and recycled clothing as this was the first visual impact the audience would receive, and therefore it would entice in an audience you are interested in high-end fashion brands before opening the magazine and realising what it is actually about, thus engaging the target audience visually. Through the use of an image similar to that within this section it draws the audience's mind back to the concept to really consider the way in which they consume.