Final Magazine

Front Page

Double Page Spread

Unit 40- Evaluation

My main inspiration came from well know football magazine FourFourTwo, this magazine was first published in 1994 and has a total circulation of 73,092.  I named my magazine Tika Taka and I believe this is a good name for a football magazine as it is a well known phrase in football, therefore if my target audience were to see a magazine called Tika-Taka they would quickly realise that it is magazine about football. I have used a lot of action shots in my magazine in order to promote the fact that Tika-Taka is a fast-moving magazine full of interesting information about one of the most important sports on the planet. The colour scheme on my magazine is yellow & blue, the main reason I chose this colour scheme is because this is the colour of the Brazilian national team football kit. As one of the most popular and iconic teams in world football I believe that my yellow and blue colour scheme will reflect the fact that this magazine is all about football. I have used two fonts in my magazine, Source Sans Pro was the main font I used made the text on the page really stand out against the background. I used a separate font for the word Exclusive as I wanted this single word to emulate the old fashioned news papers with the big headlines. I used a large type size and adjusted the tracking of my text in order to make sure every single letter stands out on the page.

On my magazine all of my titles and sub titles have been designed with bright colours in order to attract peoples eyes. I have also effectively used an information hierarchy in order to make sure all the text flows down the page in order of importance, I have used a large image of a footballer on the background in order to reinforce this information hierarchy as the the text flows down the players body. I believe the most attractive elements of my magazine is the bright colour schemes as it really makes the words jump out of the page. I also believe the information hierarchy on my magazine helps me point out the most important pieces of information on the magazine.

The majority of the feedback I received from my colleagues was positive. Most of this positive feedback was directed towards my well thought out colour scheme (which represents the Brazilian national teams football kit), my choice of font and the brand confidence on display on my front cover. My feedback also told me that the powerful words within my sub-headings really catch peoples attention and this quality will be crucial for a magazine like mine as it has to stand out from the hundreds of other football magazines on the shelf. The only thing my feedback told me I needed to work on was the design of my Double Page Spread, my DPS was inspired by 442 magazine and I decided to use the same design technique in my sub heading. This technique involved putting a circle behind the text in order to make it stand out on the page. I also decided to have the text overlapping the circle slightly to make the Sub-Heading seem even more important on the page. Unfortunately my feedback told me that my idea to have text overlap the circle in order to show a hierarchy just looked like the text didn't fit properly therefore it is possible I over complicated this aspect f my DPS.

Type Tours- Honiton

Our task was to go out into Honiton to research and photograph different aspects of typography, we looked at shop logos, road signs, street signs and advertising boards in order to find the most interesting of examples of typography in Honiton. Once we had selected our favourite photographs we were asked to create a collage with all of these examples. 

My Design

I took a slightly different approach to the other during this task as my plan was to really focus on the word tour. I have designed a visual (and accurate) typography tour of Honiton. My favourite example of typography that I photographed is the Mackarness Hall street sign, I believe this example of typography captures the traditional style of Honiton as a town specifically through the use of head serif. Although I like how this typography represents Honiton I do not believe that this particular typography would look good on my magazine because it will be more modern. 

Creative Story

My barn door was smashed down by a Dingbat, I tried running left and right but the beast tracked me down. Finally I reached for my Flueron and Squooshed him right in the Golden section, I left the Dingbat in the Gutter and then realised his wife was now a widow. I rushed backed to the house to tell Glyph what had happened, once I told him about my stressful ordeal he got out the vodka and we got absolutely typeface'd the text was flowing and by the end of the night I could hardly Format a sentence. As I stumbled back to the barn I noticed a shady figure in the distance, it was the Widow and she was tracking me. She hit me in the header and the footer and left me in the gutter with her husband, absolute savage.

Layout Conventions

In this task I will be evaluating and comparing how certain layout conventions are used in magazine layouts. 

• Widow-  A widow is a very short line at the end of a paragraph or column. A widow is considered poor typography because it leaves too much white space between paragraphs or at the bottom of a page.
• Orphan- An orphan is a single word at the end of a paragraph or column. Like a widow an orphan is considered poor typography as it leaves too much white space on the page. 
• Golden Selection- The Golden Section is an aesthetically pleasing division of space that is often used by artists as the basis for measurements within their composition.
• Colours- In typography, colour is the overall density of the ink on the page, determined mainly by the typeface, but also by the word spacing, leading and depth of the margins.
• Titles- First and most important textual element on a page is headline. The headline is as important as the layout. After the reader opens the page first thing that catches his attention is the layout, or some dominant image.
• Sub-Headings- Subheads are used to break up the body copy and to give some clever insight into what the reader can expect in the next few paragraphs. The reader may be putt off if he sees long blocks of text and subheads should be placed to break those blocks and to denote a new section or chapter.
• Columns- A column is one or more vertical blocks of content positioned on a page, separated by gutters (vertical whitespace) or rules (thin lines, in this case vertical). 
• Hyphenation- Hy­phen­ation is the au­to­mated process of break­ing words be­tween lines to cre­ate more con­sis­tency across a text block.
• DPS- This is an anagram for Double Paged Spread.
• Barn Door- The split front cover (barn door) is a two-page spread advertisement that opens directly from the front cover.

• Gutters- The inside margins or blank space between two facing pages is the gutter. The gutter space is that extra space allowance used to accommodate the binding in books and magazines. 

• Folios- Folio can consist of several elements. Page number is mandatory but others are optional. Others can be publication logo, date, month, section title, web page, but again do not over do it.
• Information Hierarchies- Typographic hierarchy is a system for organizing type that establishes an order of importance within the data, allowing the reader to easily find what they are looking for and navigate the content.
• Text Flow- Except for special cases, text flow is applied to the object, image, text, or geometric shape, which is overlying the text – on some level above the text.
• Formatting- The formatting of a document is how it is laid out. 
• Margins- In typography, a margin is the area between the main content of a page and the page edges.
• Header- A header is similar to a folio however the text is found at the top of the page, above the header. 
• Footer- In typography, a page footer (or simply footer) is text that is separated from the main body of text and appears at the bottom of a printed page.
• Left and Right- The four modes of alignment (centered, justified, flush left, and flush right) form the basic grammar of typographic composition. Each one has traditional uses that make intuitive sense to readers.

My Magazine Cover

I have designed my own magazine cover based on the terms and conventions I have learnt. I have used a range of conventions in order to make my magazine cover appealing to the public. The main picture on the magazine is going over the title of the magazine, this means that my magazine has brand confidence as I can cover the title of the magazine with the image. I have also used large numbers on the magazine such as 999 and 84 to draw peoples attention and make them feel as if they are getting more for their money. I have used red in my title to promote the excitement of my magazine and I have also put the price of my magazine in a yellow circle in order to make it stand out and this gives the magazine worth. Finally, I have put words like EXCLUSIVE in a bold and bright font to make magazine different to any competition. 

Writing Copy

Writing compelling copy is crucial to any advertising or marketing campaign, compelling copy can be used to sell a range of different products and this is why expert copy-writers are well sought after by big name companies. I have included an example of effective copy writing below, this copy is used to advertise Rubber Band Guns and I find it particularly effective because it is not taking itself to seriously, its almost as if this advert is a big joke although once you have read the entire thing you will want to learn more about rubber band guns. 

After I conducted some thorough research into copy writing in advertising I have realised how important this can be to a company because for a product to sell an advert needs to appeal to a target market, an advert will only be appealing to a customer if it features the correct words. Finally, I already understood the importance of advertising to a company and now I understand the importance of copy writing to advertising. 

Logo Design

First Design

With my first logo I have combined my initials CPR to create one image. I like the simplicity and modern style of this design however I feel the design would look better with more colour and less straight lines.

Second Design

With my second logo design I have used a vibrant navy and a large size to make the C stand out, I have then used full stops to make it obvious that these letters are initials. 

Design Improvement

I have improved upon my second design by making it look more like a brand, however I still don't think the large C looks enough like a letter and this means that the "ALUM ROGERS" looks seperate from the C.

Final Design

My final design differs from the last design as I have used different shades of blue in order to promote my personality, because the navy shows that I am a hard worker who take work seriously however the lighter shades of blue also shows that I am a friendly, nice person. I have chosen a font with a serif on it in order to add emphasis to my name.

Visual Mixtape

I have chosen the lyric "Theres nothing on the TV nothing on the radio that means that much to me" From the Razorlight song America. 

Design Ideas- These are the ideas I had for my visual mix tape. 

• Television with static 
• Radio with static 
• American flag 
• Bold font travelling down the page 

Final Design

Evaluation

I am happy with my final design as I have managed to incorporate all of my design ideas in order to create an interesting and accurate visual mixtape. I believe the imagery and typography I used directly relate to the lyric and the song I have chosen. I used the American flag as the background of my image and the dollar bill font on the words "Nothing" and "That I Can" in order to relate to the song name America. By using a picture of a TV with static I am promoting the fact that there is nothing on TV, also I have used an outer glow to make the text on the TV look fuzzy so it fits in with the static on the TV. Finally I have used an image of a radio along with the Radioland font in order to make the words "Believe in" look as if it is a channel on a radio station. In this design I have put the words Nothing on a single line in a larger font in order to make them stand out as I believe these are the key words in this lyric.

Feedback

My overall feedback from my colleagues was positive, they were very impressed with the radio design specifically the font I used on the radio as it seamlessly worked with the image of the radio. My colleagues were also impressed how I managed to convey the song lyric and the song title in my visual mixtape. 

Typography Designers

Alex Trochut- Trochut believes that design and illustration is a language in constant change. He loves his job and he is always looking forward to learn and evolve. Trochut's designs take the modern notion of minimalism and flips it on its side, all of Trochut's designs are rich with elegant, brilliantly detailed executions that simultaneously convey indulgence and careful, restrained control.

This design was created by Trochut in 2009 to advertise Nike Basketball. This design was to be used on the t-shirt of the Nike HyperDunk. I believe this design promotes Basketball because the light texture and colour of the design makes it look as if it is amongst the clouds. One of the most iconic moments of a Basketball game is when a player flies through the air in order to score a slam dunk. I believe the light colours and wavy texture of the design highlights this iconic moment well.

In this design Trochut has joined all the text together to make it look like it is constantly moving. This design promotes the fact that basketball is an active sport that requires players to be constantly moving.

This design was used on Nike's mercurial range, this range includes some of Nike's most popular football boots. The main reason why Mercurial's are such a popular range of football boots is that they are incredibly light and this make any players wearing them quick across the ground because they are not weighed down. I believe Trochut has highlighted this unique selling point by making the word Mercurial look as if it is moving at high speed. I believe this design excellently promotes the Nike Mercurial range because as soon as you see the image you know exactly why they are special.

This is another design Trochut produced for Nike Football however this design is for a different range, the T90 range differs from the Mercurial's as they affect a players game in different ways and they are worn by different types of players. I believe it is obvious that the Mercurial design will make people think that they will be faster with these football boots. However this T90 design looks as if it has been smashed as we see debris flying through the air, I believe this design is used to promote the power you can get behind your shots if you were wearing these football boots. The smashed lettering and flying debris makes it seem as though these T90 football boots will make your shot powerful enough to break through walls. 

Craig Ward- Craig Ward is a British born designer and art director currently based in New York. Occasional artist, sometime author and a contributor to several industry journals, he is known primarily for his pioneering typographic works. This website represents a selection of his output since his graduation in 2003.

The first piece I have chosen to analyse is an advert Ward designed for Hennessy Cognac. On the Hennessy Cognac website a Wild Rabbit is described as 'What propels you to fulfill your potential, to achieve your dreams', the typography used in this specific piece is very interesting as Ward has deliberately made each piece of text look unusual and different and this is to promote the feeling of being drunk because all the text is blurry and slanted. I believe this advert makes a person feel that getting drunk on Hennessy Cognac will help them to achieve their Wild Rabbit because you will become more confident, calm and carefree.


Luke Lucas

Luke Lucas is a freelance creative, art director, illustrator, designer and typographer who lives on the northern beaches of Sydney, Australia. As a typographer Lucas loves how the same word, passage or even letter can be treated in a bunch of different ways and embody entirely different meanings... That and through subtleties like a slight shift in line weight, the elongation of a tail or the arc you use, a letter can go from contemporary from traditional or happy to sad in a single stroke.



The piece that I have chosen to analyse is an advert Lucas designed as promotional material related to the global release of the Nike Free 5.0 running shoe. One thing I like about this design is the simplicity, I believe the simplicity of the white text on the black background complements this piece well because it doesn't over complicate it. Lucas has already made this piece complicated and interesting enough by using the soul of the Nike running shoes as the letters, therefore the simple colours promote the interesting text. In this piece Lucas is promoting the unique flexibility of the Nike Free 5.0 running shoe as it curves in order to make the letters. Not only does Lucas promote the shows flexibility but it also displays the unique tread only associated with Nike trainers, by using this treat Lucas is making sure that when people see this design they are thinking Nike.

What is Typography? Initial Research

Quite simply Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make written language that is both readable and appealing. Typography performs a utilitarian function, this function is based upon the ethical theory utilitarianism, in which an individuals moral decisions are purely based upon creating the greatest amount of happiness. Typography also has an aesthetic component as typographers aim to create the most beautiful design possible.

5 Key Concepts of Typography

1. Size- All typefaces are different. Some are wide tall, others are thin and small. This means that different typefaces will take up a different amount of space on the page. A characters height is know as its 'x-height' this is a because its based on the letter x. The width of each character is known as the 'set-width' and this covers the entire body of the letter along with a space that acts a buffer between letters. The point system is the most common way to measure the size of typeface and this is illustrated below.

2. Leading- Leading refers to the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. Leading is often used to enhance the readability of a page or block of text. The standard leading used in print is normally +2 for mechanically set body text, or +20% in digital typesetting, e.g. for a 10pt font the standard leading is 12pt.  Below you can see an example of leading along with the problems caused by poor leading.

3. Tracking and Kerning- Kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font in order to achieve an aesthetically pleasing result. Tracking or letter spacing is a consistent degree of increase (or decrease) of space between letters in order to affect density in a line or block of text. I have included an image to better explain the impacts of tracking and kerning below. 

4. Measure- In typography the term 'measure' describes the width of a block of text. The measure of a typeface is crucial for typographers as they attempt to achieve the optimum reading experience. If the lines of a typeface are too short then the text becomes disjointed, however if they are too long then the content will lose rhythm as the reader has to search for the start of each line. 

5. Hierarchy and Scale- Typographic hierarchy is a system for organizing type that establishes an order of importance within the data, this allows the reader to easily find what they are looking for and navigate the content. Within the Typographic hierarchy headings are usually large, sub-headings are smaller and the body of text is smaller still. Size is not the only way to define hierarchy- you can also use colour, spacing and weight. You can see an obvious example of the typographic hierarchy below. 

Typographic Terminology

1. Apex- The point at the top of a character such as the uppercase A where the left and right strokes meet is the apex. The apex may be a sharp point, blunt, or rounded and is an identifying feature for some typefaces.

2. Glyph- The shape given in a particular typeface to a specific grapheme or symbol. Most commonly glyphs are letters and numerals, but punctuation marks and symbols and shapes (e.g. ITC Zapf Dingbats) are also glyphs.

3. Fleuron- A fleuron is a typographic element, or glyph, used either as a punctuation mark or as an ornament for typographic compositions. Fleurons are stylized forms of flowers or leaves; the term derives from the Old French word floron for flower.

4. Serif- A serif is the little extra stroke found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letterforms. Serifs fall into various groups and can be generally described as hairline (hair), square (slab), or wedge and are either bracketed or unbracketed.

5. Dingbat- A dingbat is an ornament, character, or spacer used in typesetting, sometimes more formally known as a printer's ornament or printer's character often employed for the creation of box frames.