magazine design process

What are the advantages of a multiple column grid?

“While single-column grids work well for simple documents, multicolumn grids provide flexible formats for publications that have a complex hierarchy or that integrate text and illustrations. The more columns you create, the more flexible your grid becomes. You can use the grid to articulate the hierarchy of the publication by creating zones for different kinds of content. A text or image can occupy a single column or it can span several. Not all the space has to be filled.”

How many characters is optimal for a line length?

The optimal line length for your body text is considered to be 50-60 characters per line, including spaces

Why is the baseline grid used in design?

“It literally informs the rest of the design, from other type’s size and leading, through to image placement, border height, and even padding between elements. When you consider that the baseline grid is derived from a combination of the typeface’s x-height and your desired leading, it proves one very important point: typography is at the centre of absolutely everything we do.”

What are reasons to set type justified? ragged (unjustified)?

“Justified type, when done well, can look neat and crisp, and support a design with its more formal, symmetric appearance. It allows for more copy in an allotted space, as characters fill the full line length. But when justification is applied to a narrow column, or to one with too few characters per line to allow the text to flow without undue stretching and/or squeezing, it can compromise the color and texture of the type. This can result in spotty type with rivers of white space (gaps between words that create vertical patterns) and too many hyphens, both of which can reduce readability as well as distract from other design elements.”

“Rag right text is easier to set, more natural to read, and requires less adjustment to finesse. Rag right settings are more informal, such that the reader usually doesn’t even notice the alignment. It generally results in better type texture and color, since the original spacing is not manipulated.”

What is a typographic river?

gaps in typesetting, which appear to run through a paragraph of text, due to a coincidental alignment of spaces.

What does clothesline, hang-line or flow line mean?

The flow line or clothesline is an imaginary line that aligns horizontally to text and allows for easy readability and flow.
What is type color/texture mean?

How does x-height effect type color?

X-height affects type color because it either makes the font lighter and longer or shorter and more compact creating various shades of value.

What are some ways to indicate a new paragraph. Are there any rules?

drop caps, color, bold, italic, new font, highlight, rules, symbols, indentation, explication, weight, space, etc.

Sources:

http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/contents/grid/

http://baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability

http://www.elliotjaystocks.com/blog/the-relevance-of-the-baseline-grid/

http://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-2/making-type-choices/justified-vs-rag-right

influential designers

Fred Woodard

Fred Woodard is best known for his 14 years of legendary work in the Rolling Stone magazine. His typographic designs often responded to the photos he paired them with. He broke up letters that the reader was forced to the titles in a specific way and set the tone for the subject matter. He expressed emotion through his typography and connected the photos to the type. He has been working as a design director for GQ magazine since 1991 and is now president of Society of Publication Design. He is also the youngest member in the New York art director Hall of Fame. Examples of his work below:

Gail Anderson

Gail Anderson is recognized for her eloquent editorial and entertainment design. She is known for her bold techniques, innovative typography, and illustration. She worked with Fred Woodar at the Rolling Stone and contributed to its eclectic typographic fashion. She is an inspiring art director, designer, and teacher. Her work is below:

 

Tibor Kalman

Tibor Kalman is well known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine, which focused on multiculturalism and global awareness. His innovative ideas about art and society helped change the way a generation of designers viewed the world. He was a bad-boy designer who rejected professional design. He constantly promoted causes in his work and saw himself as more of an activist than a designer. His work is below:

Alexi Brodovitch

Alexi Brodovitch was the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar for more nearly a quarter of a century. He is most famous for his art direction in this magazine. He introduced the United States to a radically simplified modern design style. Photography was an essential part of his designs, which often shaped the rest of the page. White space was Brodovitch’s hallmark and through it he was able to create an illusion of elegance. His work is below:

Neville Brody

Neville Brody is an English graphic designer, typographer, and art director. He is known for his work on The Face magazine and Arena magazine. Brody has pushed the boundaries of visual communication in all media through his experimental and challenging work. He believed that people read magazines in a different manner from how they read books and used that in his design. He contrasted shapes, sizes, and colors to attract the attention of the reader. He made typography an integral part of the whole design and gave it equal importance. His work is below:

David Carson

David Carson is an American graphic designer and art director. He is best known for his innovative magazine design and use of experimental typography. He employed his grunge typographic style and design during his time at Ray Gun magazine.

 

 

sources

http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Fred-Woodward.html

http://www.aiga.org/medalist-gailanderson/

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/05/arts/tibor-kalman-bad-boy-of-graphic-design-49-dies.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.aiga.org/medalist-alexeybrodovitch/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Carson_%28graphic_designer%29

Click to access Graphic%20designer%20Neville%20Brody%20facts.pdf

Click to access Graphic%20designer%20Neville%20Brody%20facts.pdf

a letter to me

The final assignment in my journalism ethics class was to write our own personal ethics code. I misread the due date and turned it in a day late. I felt a little more inspired than normal with this assignment, so here it is.

Dear Rylie,

Today I am writing you because you messed up. You didn’t turn in your final. When you read this in twenty years it might even be hard for you to swallow then. As you sit here and write this you are anxious and uncomfortable because that isn’t the student you are. That isn’t the person you are. You’ve never missed a project, an assignment – let alone a final paper. You follow through on your word and you do what is expected of you. You are driven. You have a passion for excellence. You’re organized and you work hard. That’s why I’m writing you today. So on a day like this when you mess up or when you forget, you’ll have this to read and remind yourself of who you really are.

Your dream is to have a design career that benefits the greater good—the people without a voice, the people in need, and the people in your community. Your heart is big and you see your education as an opportunity to better the world you live in, no matter how small. Your dream is not to design compelling advertisement for a huge corporation, but to use your artistic ability to further an organization that is doing something good in the world. Your heart is not in sales or in public relations, but in compelling citizens with your design and marketing to do something better, to get involved in a non-profit, to make a difference. I hope when you read this you haven’t settled. I hope you are working for a non-profit or a cause that you’re passionate about even though the pay might not be high. I hope you haven’t sacrificed this dream for higher pay, but if you have that’s ok. That may be why you’re reading this.

Never forget that your faith is the ultimate value of your life. From this stems your compassion, your authenticity, your generosity and hospitality. Your genuine concern for others is what has inspired your dreams. There is a deep desire in you to make other people’s lives better. Your hospitality can start that. Your mom has always modeled that to you so well. Her home, her heart, and her resources have always been open to whoever may need them. Be generous with your time and money. As they say, there’s more joy in giving than receiving. Strive to always be honest, to never compromise who you are, and to show your true self. This is important in your work environment. Graphic designers and artists aren’t known for spirituality and those environments might seem dark to you. Be the light they need to see. You should live your life in a way that makes others say, “what is that about her?” Use your imagination to come up with new ideas and don’t be scared to share them. I know you are afraid, but please don’t be. Your dad has always taught you that attitude is everything, so believe in yourself and the talents you’ve been given. Creativity takes courage. You can inspire and awaken the hearts of others by doing what you love. You should do this with excellence. Never accept mediocrity in your life, your art, or your work.

These values of yours are ultimately rooted in the greatest commandment. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘ This will guide your interactions with clients, co-workers, and society as a whole. Love them, care for them, and treat them as you would yourself.  The principles you’ve set out for yourself and the ethics your profession demands are important. Don’t sacrifice them for anything.

Wherever you find yourself when reading this, I hope you are holding true to these values. I believe in you.

Sincerely,

Your 21 year-old self