The magazine project was by far the most challenging assignment we’ve had yet. There were so many components and things to remember, both with design and with the technology and programs we needed to use. However, the easiest part for me was choosing my story. I love music, and I knew that I wanted to do a music themed spread, which is why I immediately searched Rolling Stone archives on the computer. I grew up listening to the Beatles and finding an article on them gave me the inspiration I needed to get started. I knew right away that I wanted to somehow incorporate their infamous font into the design and was able to download it off the Internet and apply it to Font Books on the computer. After I chose that font I wanted a cleaner sans serif typeface that didn’t compete with the Bootle (Beatles) typeface but added to it in a clean and simple way. That typeface is ITC Avant Garde Gothic std. My favorite style of that font was the extra light because it stood out while still giving a soft and clean aesthetic.
Once I had my two main font families I needed to come up with a theme and a title for the magazine itself. My searching through Internet archives for both the story and the photos led me to the idea of creating a magazine that is a music history, past and present archive magazine; one that brings the past classic music and molds it with the present design and technology of today. The font for the magazine cover is Americana std. It has a nice height and weight and I really liked the roundness and width of each letter. Lastly, I needed a font for the copy, and your lecture on magazine and book typefaces that worked for long stories was more helpful than I can describe. I went with Caslon because it is very accessible and readable and its tight fit and texture can withstand tight leading.
Dealing with online photographs was definitely one of the hardest parts of the project but when I saw the picture of the four Beatles peering behind the red door I immediately knew I wanted that for the cover. It is simple and not crowded and the red color really stood out. I also found great images of the Beatles with Ed Sullivan, which ties in directly with the story. The red is an important part of the design because I wanted to do a red, black and white color scheme, working with different opacities and shades of all three. I eye dropped the red from the door and used it throughout the spreads, highlighting and unifying the images and type. Also, the first spread I desaturated the image and left Ringo’s umbrella red in Photoshop to give that pop and contrast that is constant throughout.
My headlines and titles for everything all tie into the Beatles and into the story of their American debut on the Ed Sullivan show and how after 40 years they are still being celebrated and remembered with such vigor and love. The magazine title deals with history, the first spread title “In my life there are places I remember” is a line from one of their songs and correlates to the story by going along with the idea of four decades of time have passed in your life and their music is still prominent, as well as the place they remember being the Ed Sullivan show. The sidebar title is also the name of another Beatles song and goes along with the idea of each member’s favorite tune. I also had a lot of fun playing with drop caps and pull quotes.
The presentation and assemblage of this project is extremely important and I have to say that I had a lot of trouble with printing and mounting. My first problem came with the printers not being calibrated, causing my spreads to look completely different than they did on the screen. I changed opacities, colors and fonts to try and make the spreads print in a readable and attractive way, however I could not get it right. I’m handing in only half of the failed print outs to show you the trouble I had and my attempts to problem solve. When I finally did get the print to look somewhat how I wanted, I fudged the mounting. I tried over and over after that to print another copy that look right and I couldn’t, hence why my magazine is a little off on the edges. On my markup sheet you can see how all of the margins and cropping are supposed to look and I apologize for the poor mounting.
Photos:http://www.last.fm/music/The+Beatles/+images
Story:http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/the_beatles_beatlemania
I am absolutely in love with this magazine project. My initial response was how well the design matched the content. I knew exactly what type of article I was about to read just by seeing the cover and first spread's use of color and placement. Although there was minimal color use, it was perfect for the content. The simplicity of it adds so much to the design. The color scheme is continued throughout, which is a great use of gestalt. On the first spread, I enjoyed the use of hierarchy with how she placed the text. My eyes knew to read the headline first, because it ran over the image. After I had moved through all of that text, my eyes went to the text that wrapped around the image. I knew that was the last place to look, because it adjusted to everything else on the page. I also loved how she played with typefaces and colors on the second spread for the pull quotes. She made it so easy to find those, in case I still wasn't sure if I wanted to take the time to read the entire article. The last part of this design that I love is the sidebar. The minute I read the vertical headline for it, I was intrigued- fabulous use of words to keep the reader engaged. This project is fantastic all around and I would definitely want to pick up this magazine.
ReplyDeleteI think this design was really nicely done. I love the Beatles, and I think you did a great job making the story readable and visually appealing. I like that the font you chose to use for "In My Life" is very similar if not the same as the font the Beatles actually used for some of their albums. This creates recognition and association with content people might already be aware of about the Beatles. I think it's very creative that you used tidbits of their songs throughout the magazine. I also really liked the black, white, and red theme throughout the design. Using black and white images with an emphasis on the red was a really fun way to keep the reader's focus. Great job creating something readable and fun that appeals to many different audiences!
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