Magazine Critique & Redesign
The chosen magazine spread for analysis of the use of type mostly focused on type hierarchy.
June 2022
Page 074-075 of Frankie magazine issue 107
What is the structure of the content (main titles, subtitles, times/dates, menu, contact information, news text, body text, etc)?
The designer for Frankie Magazine structured the content on this page in a rather conventional way. The content on the page is broken up into 4 main rectangular sections: The art, the heading (which includes the stand-first and the byline), the body copy and the pull quote. Featured on the top left side of the spread is the art, and alongside it is the slug/topic of the magazine section, and the credit for the photograph. Below the art, left-aligned on the page is the heading. Right-aligned on the left page of the spread is the first column of the body text, this then flows across onto the right page of the spread into two more columns. These columns each contain a few paragraphs. Above these 2 columns, centred on the top half of the right page, is the pull quote. At the bottom of the pages is the folio.
What resources did the designer use to visually represent the structure of the content, to create a visual hierarchy on the page (typeface, position, scale/size, weight, colour, contrast, orientation)?
Typeface: The designer uses, what looks like 4 typefaces across the spread to visually represent the structure of the content and create a visual hierarchy. The first typeface can be seen used in the slug/topic, the credit and the byline. This is a serif typeface that looks aesthetically inspired by a typewriter. The second typeface is the main header, it is a swash typeface. This typeface's swashes create a further distinction between the header and the rest of the text content. The third typeface is the one used for the body copy, this is a sans serif typeface for legibility. This typeface is seen in 2 other variations on the left page, this is a bolded font used to signify the introduction of the story and a fully capitalised version for the stand-first. The final typeface is the one used for the pull quote, a serif font that creates some artistic flare.
Position /orientation: The contents, in relation to hierarchy and positioning, are read in a Z pattern, starting with the art, the pull quote, the header and then the body copy. The positioning of the body copy towards the bottom of the spread and its spread across a horizontal plane as opposed to the typical vertical top to bottom reading style (for the entire copy) is an interesting choice. It does work, however, as the content is still read from top to bottom in each column and it follows the left to right reading order of western languages through the continuation of content in the column to the right of the previous. The position and orientation of the image credits along with the position of the slug/topic lower their level in the hierarchy of the spread. The positioning of the elements creates a lot of negative space and breathing room around the content and creates distinct separation.
Scale/size/weight: The designer used size and weight in many instances across the spread to establish a clear visual hierarchy. The size of the art on the spread makes it a prominent focal point and the first level or hierarchy. The secondary focal point is the pull quote to the right of the art. The scaling of this text compared to the rest of the body copy makes it stand out and even somewhat separates it completely to make it its own element. The 3rd use of size and weight can be seen in the main header, the 3rd level of hierarchy. The weight of the typeface used and its size in relation of the rest of the text content indicates that its the header. The use of weight through the bolding of the typeface in the first paragraph of the body copy indicates that the section is of more importance.
Colour and contrast: The designer used 2 colours in this spread. The choice to do so creates a distinct contrast between elements and also a similarity between others. The use of black for the body copy and most other type elements on the spread is quite an obvious choice. The contrast of black on a white page makes it far easier to read body text, specifically if it is quite small. The use of red as an accent colour actually draws similarities between the title, the art and the pull quote, while making them distinct from the rest. The use of red is a very subtle choice to bring out the red of the flowers in the image, which creates more balance on the spread.
What do you think works? What doesn't and why?
Personally I think the positioning of the header to the left of the body copy creates a rectangle of of negative space in the bottom left hand corner that looks out of place. I believe it makes the entire spread like uneven. I do, however, praise the negative space/ breathing room around the pull quote, and i think the choice to centre it and use the quotation marks as a graphic element are also strong choices. I also believe there is too many typefaces and type variations. One particular type variation I think complete stands out as odd is the use of uppercase in the stand-first, every other piece of text uses sentence case or lowercase and i the use of full uppercase is a poor design decision, as much as it separates it from the rest of the heading group. I really think the choice of red as the accenting colour is a good design decision and its use around the spread is also appropriate. The paragraph style of the body text is very clean and structured and i appreciate its evenness.
Redesign
Page 074-075 of Frankie magazine issue 107 - Redesign
Redesign the spread your way: keeping to the same format, same images, and colours, create a new version of the spread you just analysed. Describe your design decisions, and style guide.
*Ignore typeface differences - are meant to be the same as the original*
For my redesign of pages 074-075 of issue 107 of Frankie Magazine, I chose to remove a lot of the negative space and used proximity instead to connect elements. In the redesign, I have essentially split the spread into two sections, the takeaways of the story, a quote and image, and the rest of the explanation/context of these on the right side. I decided to group the art and the pull quote together as I believed the quote was contextualised enough without the need for the body copy to be in close proximity, instead, its visualised by the image. I upscaled the header and placed the image diagonally opposite to balance out the spread. I decided to combine the 3 columns from the original into 2 and bottom align them. The position and orientation (right alignment) of the header compliments and point to the body of text that rises up beside it. The positioning of the image caption on the left side and the header on the right side provides a subtle container for the information.
The Art of Art-making - Conceptual conference
The Art of Art-making is a conceptual conference of the people I would love to hear from. The name of the conference relates to the nature of the talks, the conference combines varying types of artists to speak on their experiences in doing said art.
I wanted the visual theming to be fun and creative while remaining structured. I balanced the structured text on the right side with organic shapes on the left side. I created colour balance by bringing the black from the type to the outline of the shapes, the red on one side being large but outlined and the other being small but bold. The type hierarchy is created by scale and boldness.
References
* David Byrne - Wikipedia. (2022). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Byrne
* Fletcher, J. (2022). about - julia fletcher. Retrieved, from https://www.juliafletcherstudio.com/about
* Kel Lauren - Age, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/kel-lauren.html
* Sam Gellaitry Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-gellaitry-mn0003462436/biography
