City Magazines Response

The judging we had to do in class on Tuesday for the City and Regional Magazine Association was really interesting. The judging experience on its own was interesting; only having 10 minutes to judge several magazines to the point of being able to eliminate several based solely on those few minutes was a bit of a whirlwind. But more interestingly than that, I had to really think about what makes a good city magazine. 

I'm accustomed to critiquing national consumer or shelter magazines like we've done in past classes, but never before did I have to think about a city magazine. A publication that must appeal to tourists and natives, and to those considering moving there, for that matter. A magazine of that kind must be general enough to include visitors unfamiliar with the area. Clue them in on the sights and sounds of the city -- the culture that makes it so great; however, it must include some more narrow focuses and a variety of features to keep the locals intrigued. Some of those we've seen did a great job of this by including various departments that featured hot spots, need-to-know info such as school districts or housing, plus some harder-hitting news stories. I also liked those that included a bit of fashion, kind of promoting the shopping must-haves of the area.  

All in all, I definitely thought it was a learning experience, both with the judging and the inside look at city magazines. It makes me a little more critical of our local magazines and those from my hometown. 

For diving right in, I drowned in the deep end.

Our first assignment at for Adv. Design was to design a cover and feature for an upcoming issue. I apparently am a bit rusty.

For the cover I wanted to incorporate the idea of hearing music on the big screen. So I chose to make an illustration with an old movie reel and music notes. Not being well-versed in Illustrator, it turned out to look very beginner. Plus the movie reels dated the story instead of referencing the points I was attempting to draw out. The look is very generic and I should've explored more with colors fonts and overall design. I did like my headline and deck ----- "Screen and Heard: How cinematic soundtracks are saving the music industry." I thought that was a decent head, but compared with the overall design it wasn't a success. 

As for my feature, I tried creating money tree going bare to symbolize our current economic recession. The overall layout throughout my spread was very dry and boring. I should've played with more elements to spice up the amount of text on the pages. Perhaps played with the sidebar a bit more. Now looking at it, I realize it looks much like a sea of gray. In the end I think the diving right into it and having such a quick turn-around threw me off. But we all learn from our mistakes and I'm working on a redesign that will hopefully bring me back to the surface. 

You can't miss "Hello, new."

On netdiver, in their "What's new in Design" section last week they included a blurb about Tomorrow Partners, an agency for advertising and brand development. The agency alone is interesting and appears to be progressive in thinking about brand identity. But what really caught my attention was their promotional flashware "Hello, new." The graphic design elements were captivating, I was in love.

The video really captures you and takes you on an adventure in this animated world. I got lost in it for a moment and forgot I was actually looking at a promotional video. The graphics and text work cohesively to allow you to escape in this imaginary world of new. And even though the "Going Green" craze has somewhat fizzled in wake of our economy issues, the new-found love for nature still thrives and they capture that perfectly.

"You can't miss" scrapbooking ideas for inspiration

At Walmart tonight, on a normal shopping adventure I stumbled upon this magazine Easy Techniques for Fun & Funky Paper Projects. A bit of a long name, I know, but they have some really cool scrapbooking ideas. I realize that typically scrapbooking is seen as a woman's hobby, but the more I though about it, the more I realized it applies to what we learn in design -- how the elements and principles of art work together to create something beautiful. I thought that looking at scrapbook ideas might just be one source of inspiration for our own designs: color schemes, layering techniques, shapes, lines, etc. The magazine itself is a small niche publication but it offers some very intriguing designs and tips. 

This particular issue included working with grids and layering, among other things. I realize the bold, often child-like quality of scrapbook pages don't always fit with magazine design, but I figured, as designers, we can gain inspiration from anything. Check out the mag's corresponding website. Their idea gallery has some cool ideas to steal. 

The Singing Butler

the-singing-butler
Originally uploaded by mizzoulove

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