Originally I aimed to monoprint the cover in order to set a continuous theme of shape from cover to cover. However I became inspired by typesetting that break the rules of design to create an expressive outcome.
Eike König produced the cover for Posterzine's first issue. He is the founder and creative director of Berlin-based multi-disciplinary design playground 'Hort'.
The contemporary layout is reflected due to the inconsistent typesetting that leads the eye around the composition. This makes the statement harder to read and therefore memorable. This postmodernist style makes type more engaging compared to standard typesetting found in more serious, traditional publications.
Called my publication SHAPE because it is the focus of the zine and I have featured artists that use shape in a post-modern style. Used primary colour scheme inspired by Matisse's compositions of colour - This is appropriate because my publication focuses a lot on Matisse - Shape and colour.
Chose Futura because it is a simple, balanced typeface that can be manipulated to produce contemporary and post-modern results.
Chose Futura because it is a simple, balanced typeface that can be manipulated to produce contemporary and post-modern results.
Used inspiration from Eike Konig and changed the direction and layering of type to make it more engaging. Linking the letters together naturally created a staggered effect as I tried to make the links flow from character to character. Linking the layers and repeating the lexis three time creates engaging negative space, especially the link between the P and the E as it looks like a person.
I am going to print this cover at full bleed in order for the type touches the edges to create even more negative space. This will make the cover of my publication more engaging because the type has been decentralised.
As an alternative, I used inspiration from Behance and Instagram from my previous research:
Cropping images from artwork featured inside the publication and laying them out in a 2x6 grid gives the audience a taste of what is inside the publication and hopefully they will be more intrigued to pick it up and read it.
Both of the concepts really appeal to me and I have enjoyed manipulating type so I am going to try and incorporate both concepts:
Had a small crit about which option is best for the cover of my zine. I explained the target audience is for creatives and the purpose is to inspire and entertain so the content can be playful and rule breaking. This put the people in my crit into context with my concept.
People thought using both concepts was a good idea because the type on its own felt lost and wasn't striking enough for a cover. I asked which position would be best for the shape and we all agreed it was appropriate at the top, touching the top of the 's' as it doesn't overpower the type and justifies the position of the type.
Printed out the cover so that I was able to see what the design looked like off screen:
Pleased with the composition but I am still questioning the area of colour touching the top of the 'S'. I will need to set the type using InDesign because the print quality from Photoshop isn't sufficient compared to if it was created in InDesign or Illustrator because it's vector. This will help me get a professional standard print.
As I have successfully repeated 'SPACE' I thought it would work as a front cover that was continuous from the back to the front. The will create more negative space and is more engaging as the design flows:
Colour Palette
Chose a colour palette that reflects the primary colours used in a lot of Matisse's paper-cutout compositions. Transferring the colour scheme consistently throughout the composition makes it cohesive and therefor engaging.
Aiming to create contrast so the negative space is more prominent on the back so used black type:
GRID SYSTEM
‘Nothing could be more useful to reach our intention than the Grid. The grid represents the basic structure of our graphic design, it helps to organize the content, it provides consistency, it gives an orderly look and it projects a level of intellectual elegance that we like to express.’ - Vignelli Canon
Chose a 9x9 grid which will allow me to be consistent and accurate - Used inspiration from my sketches and the grid to plan. I will use the same grid system for every page so that I am consistent.
This grid system was inspired by Mueller-Brockmann's 'Grid Systems in Graphic Design' publication. 'There should be about 7 words on each line' - This influenced my grid because a 9x9 grid has small sections which allows me to condense my type into small blocks. A 9x9 grid isn't too overwhelming as it will help me to set type and imagery together but also provides flexibility to be experimental with my double page spreads. I added a 3mm bleed so that if I or the printer makes a mistake, I still have room to adjust.
I aim to use Bodoni for the typeface inside the publication because I like how traditional it is. I was influenced by the typefaces that feature in What Youth as they often use traditional serif typefaces to accompany imagery which gives the publication a professional and mature look. This is appropriate for my publication because the imagery is contemporary and expressive which should contrast well with the traditional type:
Provided a brief introduction to my publication and set it at the bottom right hand corner. For formal publications such as literacy books, the type is set from the top of the page to the bottom because the purpose of that book is to purely inform.
What Youth and Accent:
Looking at the typesetting, they have set it off centre and often in random places, however I think this is relevant because it focuses the audience on the production and content, rather than just the information.
Introduced the audience to Matisse:
Started to experiment more with typesetting and found Bodoni was a similar typeface to my a band poster typeface when it's italic:
Made the type italic because it suggests movement and expression which is appropriate to use for Matisse as he was an artist. I layered the type to make it more engaging and force the audience to look harder.
I found the grid system really useful for making the double page spreads consistent which is why I wrote 'Henri' on one page and 'Matisse' on the other. Keeping the same style font will make the audience realise the words belong together if they're not familiar with Matisse's name.
I used the page on the left to provide a visual cue as to who Matisse is. The margin and grid system helped me to centre the image evenly. I set the type in a similar shape to the image so that the area of information was balanced between both pages.
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Created a simple graphic which will feature on the final page of the publication. Used a grid of dots because it doesn't relate to the shape and colour from Insect so the audience will realise that section has finished.
This was influenced by WRAP magazine as they use patterned pages to break up chapters/sections of the publication so that the subject can move on:
This allows me to use some of my own work and provides a smooth and comfortable subject change.
THIS ALSO FEATURES ON PAGE 19*****:
Used a crayon to suggest type being set:
Printed out my publication and found some typesetting errors that need to be resolved:
Typeset the featured artists too large and there is no justification as to why it's there so I reduced the size of the type so that it matched the size of the bottom paragraph.
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Didn't notice the orphans so had to adjust the typesetting by subtly adjusting the tracking and resizing the box so that the block of text was condensed.
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I aim for my typesetting to be consistent and professional so that the audience can clearly tell the difference between expressive and post-modern typesetting, like the work of Matt Willey and Eike Konig, to the traditional and formal typesetting for information. This will make the informative information easy to read and understand and the expressive type engaging which is appropriate.
Binding Method
Now that I have become more confident with InDesign I am going to use the pagination tools to enable me to print my zine on A4 stock so that it can be folded in half to produce an A5 publication. This will allow me to saddle-stitch to bind the zine together. My production methods have informed my binding choice:
Used green thread because it is another primary colour used a lot on the artwork inside the publication.
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