This module marks the first experience in designing and making publications. Through this process I have developed a newfound interest in pursuing Editorial Design for next year. Editorial design is a medium that offers a lot to experiment in terms of the contents layout, page construction and the use of stock to support the two in which creates a unique reading experience. Within Editorial Design, magazines hold my interest the most. Magazines are a versatile medium to showcase any type of content as well as a medium to fully experiment with all the aspect that compose the design. The introduction towards the field of editorial design has also increased my appreciation for magazines. I don't simply take them for face value anymore, I notice the positioning and type used for the masthead, the size of the magazine, the stock used, how the content is laid, what kind of content is featured and any other design characteristic that makes that particular magazine unique. Having this new interest in editorial design has also exposed me to new graphic designers. Designers who focus solely on creating editorial and ones that are multi disciplinary. Furthermore through this exposure I realised the roles of the different designers in editorials, namely the Creative director and Art director. Overall the module has exposed me to an interest in Graphic design which was not previously known.
The first brief represented the process of getting familiar with designing and creating a publication. By detailing one aspect of editorial design, it allowed me to better understand the thought process and the use of each design element when creating a publication. Being the first publication I've produced, it was simple in its layout and construction. The aim was to communicate the role of white space to the reader which was done through the purposeful positioning of figures in the page layout and explicit "white" space from the front cover to the back. Through the design of this publication I also found importance of a publications flow between the pages. By creating a seamless or cohesive visual layout it makes for a more enjoyable and easier reading experience.
The second brief represented how effective I could convey my new understanding of editorial design. Upon reflection I realised that there is still much more to learn and refine in terms of creating a publication that effectively conveys the overall aim of the art direction and purpose. In this brief, I chose to take on experimenting with how readers view high fashion photography in editorials through detailing the career of Raf Simons.
To illustrate this, the aim was to demonstrate experimentation with layout of the content and the construction of the publication itself. But actually going through this aim I realised that I may have aimed to do too much. With the aim of highlighting Simons' career, there were so many aspects to cover that ultimately each spread may feel too general as a point to fully convey Simons achievements as a designer in each collection. What should have been done was to highlight specific key areas that made Simons the fashion designer he is rather than trying to detail most of his achievements. By having a more specific aim, it allows for those details to stand out better rather than to be lost in the general overview.
By having this aim, much of the effort in the publications design was concentrated on the layout of content rather than exploring experimental uses of page construction. By constantly having to re invent each spreads layout, it took away from the efforts in experimenting with the publication's form factor. Experimenting with stock represents a way to open up a dialogue between the reader and the designer, to see how the reader interacts and feels about how the content is presented through the stock and page construction. The main appeal of printed media is that it is a printed form of design, therefore the feel of the printed media through the stock size, form factor and page construction is crucial in delivering an experience that is unique to the reader. It is not until the designs are seen on paper that determines the overall quality. An effective use of stock can help convey the designs more effectively or add an element that cannot be conveyed digitally, for example having a contrast between coated and non coated stock in between spreads or the altering of the page's dimension to fit the spread's context that could force the reader to flip to that page. Its these details that will help produce a more interactive and immersive reading experience as compared to solely focusing on altering established layouts in editorials to achieve this.
The uncohesive visual style o the publication highlights the reason why full bleed spreads and simple, minimal layouts are used in many publications today. Its because of its broad appeal with readers and as such becomes highly accessible for them to view the content. This design treatment also creates a visual polish for the publication that may elevate its apparent value in some readers eyes like for an example Kinfolk. Despite the design's effectiveness in delivering the purpose of the publication, so much so that there's a stereotype for its reader base (http://thekinspiracy.tumblr.com/), its clean design doesn't communicate with me. That being said, the engagement between the publication and reader should come naturally when the design successfully conveys the purpose and art direction. It should not be a separate element to consider when designing. The engagement between Kinfolk and the reader is down to the magazines ability to appeals its readership's lifestyle, not because it was designed purposely to be engaging. In terms of this brief, the aim of creating an experimental publication should have been balanced between the content layout and physical construction. A heavy handed approach in altering how readers view content may limit its appeal while finding a balance content and construction could have been more effective in showing an experimental publication.
To progress on from this brief, the aim is explore the role of stock and the physical properties within editorial design and to refine the printing quality of the publications. In the first brief, what was a major concern was the overall finish of the final product. The tearing of the ink when folding, the misaligned pages on double sided spreads which caused for re-folding of the pages and trimming the pages to fit, altering the finalised layout and finding a more suitable combination of stock choices. These problematic areas do come down to the printing error rather than the designers error however a better understanding of the printing process would help in preventing or minimizing these problems.
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