To find some more examples of existing publications, I went to browse in the Village Bookshop. The Village is an independent book shop for self published zines, magazines, books and other miscellaneous items such as prints and stationary. The publications in this store in Leeds would be ideal for my own research.
Most of the publications on the magazine sections were either fashion magazines or art and design magazines. They clearly appealed to a certain target audience for example those doing a creative course such as fashion/fine art/photography/design or those who appreciate and immerse themselves in the creative world.
In general there was a great use of image on the covers and the content of these publications. A professionally taken image makes a lot of difference to the overall look of the publication; something that could set the designer back in this brief perhaps as the images collected in Summer may not be as professional. If you use images with poor composition this could change the whole feel of a piece of work, as it may not be as attractive to view. However, the designer is usually not in charge of this and must work out how to make those images look as good as possible.
Another thing was the size of these magazines. In previous publications, I have usually created them at a smaller size such as A5 or smaller, and never attempted to create something at a larger scale as it used to feel quite daunting. However, working at A4 for example, would be a good way to experiment with a different size.
Larger publications such as A4 magazines could be an appropriate option for this brief, as it would enable me to design for a larger scale and utilise space. However, they would be more costly to produce depending on the amount of pages I would have for my publication which could range all the way to 50+ pages.
I particularly liked The Gentlewoman, a magazine which celebrates modern women of style and purpose. It contains ambitious journalism and photography of the highest quality and offers an insight to how women actually look, think and dress. Design wise, the modern aspect is captured through the use of clean sans serif Futura and professional cover image, immediately grabbing the audience's attention. The crisp white frame to the photo gives it more focus and the large title text again looks attractive and grips the audience as you see the timeless contrast of black on white. Physically, the book had thick durable stock for the cover, ensuring the publication stayed protected, as it is a collectable book that the user would probably want to keep. The stock had a glossy, luxurious feel, perfect for the modern stylish woman which the publication is clearly aimed at.
Another section was the small publications and the Zines. I have had a lot of experience already with creating zines, and grown quite comfortable with working with this size as previously stated. The pros to working on a zine is the cost; they're quite cheap to produce. They usually do not have a lot of content though which would not be appropriate for this brief as we must present all 26 letters A-Z. Squeezing this into a zine would be difficult and would not allow for a lot of breathing space or images.
Looking at some other photography books, I noticed the different stock used for each of them, ranging from matte, recycled, gloss and satin. A publication entitled 'Girlfans' used newsprint for the stock which I thought was really effective, lightweight and gave the appearance of a newspaper/magazine. I also saw various examples of matte stock which I thought gave the images the appearance of a high offset/contrast. Stock will be a crucial element to consider during the brief, as it can determine the cost, durability and finish of the images and text.
A lot of these photography books had simple binding methods such as saddle stitch. This may be relevant to the actual size of the books; there wasn't an extensive amount of content so a less durable method is more appropriate and cost efficient. A more complex binding method can increase cost but add another element of decor and ensure the publication stays bound for a long period of time, but since this will be done by hand, it may create room for human error.
There was a lot of different finishes, for example the book Umbra. The cover is an off-black with a darker black ink for the title. It had a glossy finish which was subtle, you can only see the gloss under the light. However you could say this is contextual to the name of the book, as umbra refers to shadow or darkness. It isn't that eye catching compared to other covers I saw in Village, but demonstrated how the designer can add something extra to the design, which could make the audience want to buy and delve deeper into the publication, grabbing attention.
A cover I especially liked was Israeli Girls by Dafy Hagai. The brightness of the blue is engaging and modern, with a busy title; the mix of serif and sans serif type. This publication appeals to a certain type of audience, perhaps with a specific taste in design/interests.
I was attracted to these examples of publication in the shop because I like anything black and white/dark/desaturated. Black and white photography is timeless, and can set the mood for a piece design straight away, regardless of the actual content of the image. For example this first example, the photograph is eerie, edgy and quite scary; all heightened by the use of black and white imagery. The other publications I saw either channeled the same vibes as this, or appeared more classic through the use of black and white imagery. I also liked how the first example is simply image, taking up the entirety of the page.
Glossy stock used for the cover especially allowed the image and text to stand out and omits a professional aesthetic. The stock was glossy and had a high GSM for the content, as it was a photography publication, and thick stock was used obviously to replicate the feel of photopaper. Examples like this show the difference that can be made just by considering options you have during production, and how that can influence the design.
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