




The past seven days have been hard to differentiate. Last Thursday Lauren and I presented our general concepts and rough ideas for the True/False Film Festival feature story for VOX. The same day I also pitched two redesigns for the February 19 cover. I found out on Thursday night that my concept was chosen for the cover. I really like the final product. Tomorrow I will post the new cover, along with the other ideas that were generated along the way.
In between working on the cover and reworking ideas for the upcoming feature, I had to work on a draft to pitch to for my larger semester project. Needless to say, I’m turning into a major computer-nerd/design-geek that can only talk and think and yes, only dream about design. *Side note: always keep a pen and some paper next to your bed in case a brilliant idea pops into your head at 3 in the morning because if you’re like me, there is no way your going to remember it four hours later.
I am posting pictures of economy feature that I redesigned since its original post. I like these two much better than the spread I turned in the first time.
What do we really do differently now that we didn’t do years ago? Has anything really changed, or has the process merely become quicker due to the age and development of technology?
Yesterday I did a presentation on Collier’s magazine. It began in 1888 and greatly impacted the industry until it closed in 1957. While researching for this project I got lost in the library stacks going through decades of the weekly publication. It amazed me to see how, (a) they were in the forefront of their competitors and reaching upwards of a million readers within the first 10 years, or (b) have we, as designers merely regurgitated ideas and designs that have already been done? Is anything really new?
Let me back up a little bit... I believe it is all of the above. The impressions that photographers and artists like Jimmy Hare, Will H. Bradley, J.C. Leyendecker and Edward Penfield have created in this century old concept are astounding. I think they were yes, ahead of their time and because their work is recognizable, brilliant, and timeless, why not take from the old and use in the new? You can say your inspiration is the propeller on a crop-duster if you take a picture of a plane flying by, but I’ll say: “the photographs were inspired by Jimmy Hare, a photographer who made vast developments within the realm of photojournalism, but also took the first photo of a flying plane in 1908.”
If we get down to the minute details and pick apart things in a micro-manner, then we can always find a way to question ideas, suggest a different source of origin, or simply say, “It’s not original.” Honestly though, if we did that, what would be the point? Why don’t we take what Collier’s did in 1910 when it was thriving and apply it to our concepts today? A modern spin on a classic.
Do you think we currently do that? In class we’ve been looking at the development and progression of magazine design from 1880s to the 1960s. A lot has changed, but a lot has remained the same, with a few technological updates of course. In the large scheme of things it has been really interesting to see how different magazines got their start, and if they were able to hold their own and press on through the ups and downs the economy has seen over the past century.
If you have to pick one magazine to buy this month...
At home in the modern world: the never overstated motto of Dwell magazine hits the newsstands every month with a new execution of modernistic viewpoints from around the globe. As a designer, when I pick up dwell, it just feels good, literally: the paper is good quality and has a matte finish, which I might add I am a bit partial to, unless it happens to be high gloss, like Anthem but that is a whole different story.
Its more than a mixture of high quality photography and positive use of white space, Dwell has the ability to make anything have a
n artistic edge. One of the sell lines on March’s issue reads, “Why are the world’s best houses in Australia and New Zealand?” Turn to page 74 to find out
I am an avid reader of dwell and pick up an issue no matter what is on the cover but nine times out of 10 something usually sparks my interest because the general nature and content of the magazine appeals to me. Contrary to the sell line that I just mentioned, I did not really notice it on the newsstand. I read:
SMARTER
GREENER
MORE
DARING
and was intrigued. When I got home and pulled out my new book of inspiration to peel through, absorbing the content and design of the magazine I settled down on the couch and read the sell line about Australia and New Zealand, and honestly, I
was ready to open to the contents page and find “SMARTER GREENER....” but below the sell line was another line of text: “turn to page 74 to find out.”
That caught my attention and instead of opening up the cover to find a typical Volkswagen ad, I skipped directly to page 74.
Seriously, go buy this magazine now and go to page 74 to see for yourself how fantastic the graphic illustrations are, but don’t stop there, your jaw will hit the floor when you turn the page. That is what I want to see when I pick up a magazine! The color combination of featured houses; architectural profiles of the unique structures are displayed in a wonderful organizational flow, with coordinating page numbers and details. Oh! It is so fantastic! Kudos dwell, you made my month!
I’m posting a snippet of the feature covering pages 74-114, but believe me, you need to see it for yourself and appreciate its beauty and design aesthetic.
And there is more info about the issue and feature on their website. Click here to go check it out.