Digital Magazine Feature
Design: Digital Magazine
Spring 2021
About the Project
Through this project for Communication Design fundamentals, we created a digital magazine feature. Combining all the design principles discussed throughout the course (composition, typographic hierarchy, document hierarchy, visual-verbal interaction, expression, and color), I created an online magazine spread. Using 3–9 photographs, 1–2 side bars or image captions, and text, I will create two spreads (digital 11x17'’) and a cover for a feature article intended to appear in a specific mainstream publication. The new topic is how to employ a grid in an effective and consistent way.
Exercise: Grid Exercise
April 21, 2021
The goal of the assignment is to identify the underlying grid, copy the grid on the next page of the spread, and identify differences. Does the grid hold up? Has the designer has altered the grid?
For the both I defined 3 columns with some modularity. I overlaid the grid I created from the first pages to the other spreads. I found that the margins, folio and running head elements are the same on the second spread. However, The columns have changed; in the first one, it is now two and four columns; in the second one, there are now only two columns .
Research and Reference Images
April 21, 2021
I decided to go with a travel themed article titled “7 New Treehouse Hotels to Add to your Travel Wishlist”. It describes 7 canopy-topping views from Ohio to Okinawa. I thought this theme had the most potential and I had the most interest in the theme.
I want the images to convey a cozy treehouse vibes, mainly using colors of green and browns.
Block Sketch
April 26, 2021
The following are three different layouts I tried, focusing on layout and hierarchy.
The first layout is inspired by a road trip. Since there are 7 suggested spots and an introduction, the two-page spreads divide into 8 pieces really nicely, so there are two columns per page and each one after the introduction is describing one spot with a photo, location title, and a description. I have dots and a meandering line to represent taking a journey between the different treehouse locations. On the cover I would have an image of a tree line and right above it i would have “canopy-topping views from Ohio to Okinawa”.
The second layout is pretty normal: a standardized two layout. I made the title page look kind of like a tree.
The third one is a bit more playful. I mapped out the locations of the tree houses on google maps and stretched it out as the background of the spread. For each location, I have a red pin representing the location and then an image, title, and description. The location of each set of information would be using the grid I made on the right with the blue guiding lines. Since this is a sketch, it is not uniform and there isn’t a extreme detail to the margins, but that is the rough idea. I could also definitely play with where the information is. One aspect I’m not quite sure about is if the map would make sense when the two spreads are seperated.
Digital Iteration I
April 28, 2021
I decided to try out layouts 1 and 3. The path for the first layout isn’t as smooth as I would want because the amount of text in some of the treehouse descriptions are long. I used green rectangles to represent where I would put images. I wanted to block out the space and focus primarily on layout.
The color scheme of the world map one could definetly be improved. I either need to play with the font size more on that one or scrap it. I didn’t expect quite so much text and it is somewhat overwhelming.
Feedback on Iteration 1
My font was indeed way too large. In the next iteration I will increase the gutter and leading as they are too small. I will also make the body size into the suggested 9–11 pt font. It was also suggested for layout 1 that I try to make the brow dots and line a road with a little car on it so it seems more “road trippy”. I will also move the photos to be directly above or below the subbody and description (seperated from the left or right paragraph by the road). This way it will be clear to which photo belongs with which body of text. I will also make the left most introduction section on layout 1 be inside a colored block so that there is a more distinct separation of the introduction section from the rest of the 7 hotels/descriptions.
For the second, I will try to increase the letting and gutter and reduce the body font as well.
Digital Iteration 2
May 2, 2021
I decided to focus on the first layout with the roadmap. I made the gutters significantly larger and made the font of the body text. I added the illustration of the road and car with the small treehouse images. I’m not sure if I want to keep the tree house icons. I think there is some inconsistency in style with the images and the illustration, but I really like the bus and this road idea.
Feedback on Iteration 2
The feedback I got was I should try to play with the hierarchy of the first page, look out for widows, and include image caption/citations. Some other things I should try is changing the introduction color block to a olive/dark green, remove the illustrations and go for a simpler element to accent the sub header. The layout is already quite dynamic and creates the same effect because of the orientation of the photos so removing them will remove the inconsistency and allow for a cleaner look. I should also increase the leading and hang quote of the pull quote. The body copy font could be smaller and a softer sans serif.
Digital Iteration 3
May 3, 2021
Based on the feedback, I changed the font to Avenir (instead of open sans) and deleted the illustrations. I also changed the background color of the color block behind the introduction paragraph. I also drew inspiration from another’s work and split the subheaders into two pieces: the name of the treehouse and the location.
I tried out two different kinds of covers: one with a more centered look with different levels of hierarchy and one with a side slightly transparent card on top of some trees (covers 1 and 2 in the following image). I Think the second cover with the trees is more dynamic/interesting.
I then made different versions of highlighting the sub-headers/body. In version 1, I have a dark green box to the left of the sub-header and a lighter green bar that runs to the bottom of the body text of each of the 7 places. IN version two, I have the same dark green box next to the sub-header but no lighter green box for the rest of the body. Version three includes color blocks for making the which space less gapping and on the first spread I used version 2’s style of highlighting the sub-header and on the second I used version 1’s style of including a lighter green box for the body text. I think that I like the combination of light version 2 and 3 the most.
Feedback Iteration 3
Version two with the simple olive green color block next to the sub-header seems to be the most effective. I should try to make the body text and introduction text font smaller. I should try to italicize and bold the pull quote and make the hanging quote not indented. Instead of trying to fill the white space with the green color blocks, I will add more pull quotes sparingly to make the white space less blaring. I will also play more with the treehouse cover (cover 1). To cite my photo sources, I will put “Photos courtesy of… “ on the cover.
Digital Iteration 4
May 5, 2021
In this iteration, I made sure that everything was evenly spaced out and I made the changes based on the last round of feeback. I added the pull quotes to evoke the sense of “vacation” and relaxation.
Feedback Iteration 4
I learned a lot in this final critique, especially looking at others’ works. I realized that was using the grid very rigidly. I have never personally enjoyed reading magazines where the text just flows from column to column, so this was something I tried to avoid. However, I realized that in doing so, I actually made more of a brochure than a magazine. I thought there were some really well done and thoughtful spreads that had the balance of text and images.
Some of the feedback I got was to change where the by-line was, make the pull quotes slightly smaller, make the olive-green bars next to the sub-titles slightly thinner and vary the image sizes more.
Final Digital Magazine Feature
Here is my final magazine feature. I wanted to create a magazine that distinctly separated the seven different locations, so I gave each one a column. The color palette I chose evokes the lush nature vibes of a forest where you would typically find a treehouse. With a mostly minimalistic design, each location is denoted with a subtitle that is emphasized with a side bar. Each location has the title, a picture, and a short description.
If I had more time, I would have tried more layouts. I do feel that my magazine does look a bit more like a brochure than a typical magazine. Below are screenshots of the feature. Here is a Issuu Link so that you can get the experience of flipping through a magazine.
Reflection
Throughout this project, I was able to learn about grids and how to create grids for a magazine. I had an “ah-ha” moment when we were doing the final critique. I realized that much of my design follows strict grid lines and I always tried to stick to the grid lines as much as possible. This is not typical of a magazine design where photos will often break the strict grid and add more dynamic aspects to the layout. I wish I had more time to play more with the scale and layout of the images to really achieve a dynamic feel from playing with the scale of images.
I have learned so much about print design this semester. First and foremost, I became more conscious about how to present information and how varying aspects of Gestalt principles can create such different effects in how information is ingested. I will definitely be using the tools and principles I have learned in this class in the future, whenever I am creating information to present to others.
Thank you so much Anna and Ji for a great semester!
