Artefact Magazine
2022
Student Work, Editorial Layout, Visual Identity
Artefact Magazine is an art and design publication designed to celebrate objects as multi-dimensional, interesting and valuable manifestations of their creators. By landscaping modern-day relics, the magazine endeavours to find new socio-cultural perspectives to the overlooked objects of our time, giving them a fresh voice.
“Typographic Landscapes” marks the first issue of Artefact Magazine, featuring the fading typographic artefacts of Sydney. The masthead, magazine cover and inner pages are designed in response to the disappearing and near-forgotten urban typography I encountered around the Sydney central business district, and visually echoes the concept of landscaping and mapping with type.
The magazine also features an augmented reality (AR) cover that brings the concept of typographic landscapes to life, created with Eyejack and After Effects.
Visual Research
Photographic documentation of typography in the city was used to inspire concepts for the magazine and visual identity. Drawn to the fading typography and vandalism of urban spaces, my visual experimentation and development began by experimenting with fading, rugged textures.
Masthead Design
To tie in with the concept of documenting and preserving 'fading' and 'lost' typographic landscapes, the magazine title 'artefact' was chosen to convey an anthropological and archaeological concern for urban objects. The masthead design was developed through iteration, ultimately landing on the triangular form of the letter 'A' and communicating a three-dimensional quality through its shape.
Cover Design
The magazine cover design and visual identity was also developed through iteration— making use of earthy, rugged tones and fading typographic elements to tie in with the chosen concept. Earlier iterations explore the use of a triangular flap on the front of the cover, which was later moved to fold inwards like a book jacket in order to not compete with the visuals on the cover itself.
