Online magazines #2

1. Urban Coco

• pages 38-39 - I like the idea of presenting some options on the right, framed. I would personally transform the small images into illustrations. I would do that for my magazine. 
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2. MUUSE Magazine

• what I could take from the first 2 pages is that I could add detail related to the main issue of the magazine.

3. Flanelle

• I like how the name is written at the beginning, white background.
• I also like the illustrations and I am starting to consider the idea of having some illustrations

4. LASH

• there are some illustrations in the magazine..around page 30 that I like a loot

Online magazines

Right, so till I go to London to the bookshops I will have a look online as well at some magazines.

1. ATLAS

• I like the content page.(page 3). The image on the right looks really good. The information is straight-forward which is good for the reader.
• overall, I thinks it's a good magazine. the photographic content is quite nice. Some really nice ideas.

  2. Scoff Zine

• I came across this lovely magazine called Scoff Zine. The name drew my attention. It is quite a nice magazine, funny. I like the illustrations a lot, some of them look very realistic. 
• The magazine is about being obsessed with food so that's why I decided to post it here. It might be something that I can consider for my magazine as an idea and if so, maybe the illustrations might be useful.

3. ONE

• there is a lot of things that I like about this magazine. The font of the title is very nice and goes really well with the whole publication
• I like the layout of the 2nd,3rd,4th page
• the 5th and the 6th are about the content of the magazine. I believe it is presented differently and I quite like it. It looks a bit empty though. I would have added a few more things - maybe give the images a nice frame?
• The editor's letter looks very neat and elegant. I love that.
• further away in teh book, there is an article called" Life as a model". I like the fact that the magazine presents the models first and then there is a small interview with them and all against white background and an image of them. classic but very nice!
• There is another section with Fashion Picks. I like how they are presented very simple and with a number and then at the bottom of the page there is the description. It's not too busy but it's not empty either!
• Also, I like the last page where it says" FIN."

4. Quiescent

• pages 75-79 present some illustrations with a message. If you read the message you realize how clever the illustrations are done. Like that!

[I might convert photographs into cartoon, illustrations as I am not good at drawing!!! ]]

5. Lash Magazine

• page of contents - I like how they use the S from LASH as a background.
• the illustrations are also very good

Going back #3

            

ELLE Magazine - again the square images and the white background with a few bits arranged very nicely.

 This is John Lewis's free magazine. I was quite impressed to be honest. The fashion section is really good and is very elegant and glamorous. Exactly what I want.






CONCLUSION
  If I were to  draw a conclusion from all the magazines that I had a look at, my ideas for the magazines would be:

• white background 
• simplicity
• geometric shapes - squares images
•  a few illustrations
• framing images
• vintage look
• looks/images in a series

I have realized that I have an attraction for geometric layouts/features/images. My first page on my website presents 3 images as polaroids so now I realize that I haven't noticed that before. I shall keep that in mind for my magazine!!

I cannot wait to go to London at the bookshops for more inspiration!!!!

Going back #2

Left: I like that layout as well, how every

category(shoes,watches, clutches, jewelry) is framed separately. Again, the background is white which contrasts the colours of the items.
Right: I like how that page gives an insight for the reader and how the small images are positioned on the left.





This is VOGUE Italia. I have found many things inside that I liked.

Once again, I love how images look on white background. It's so simplistic but at the same time so good.

I also liked the illustrations on these 2 pages. I know I said my magazine is not going to be based on graphics but I might try just a few to see how it looks. These ones are really lovely

 I like how the 3 images are positioned, one under each other It reminds me of a movie roll. 

This is from Harper's Bazaar. I like the illustrations and how they are combined with the images.

Asos magazine also has some really nice layouts that I like and that I had in mind for my magazine

Going back

Going back to the magazines that I have looked at I am going to study them again for layout inspiration and I am going to post some images with what I thought it is close to what I want or just inspiring.









Even if that is a look book I like how the series of images look, one after each other with a bit of text under the photo.

I like the simplicity of the image above and how the colours look on white background. However, I don't like what's happening in the one on the left. I think it is too busy and it's too much information for 2 A5 pages.

I do like the layout above because as I said I like simplicity. The image in the middle goes very well with the rest of the information and it's not a lot of suggestions around it, just a few examples which I think is clever and it looks good.

I love this layout because it reminds me of geometric shapes. The contrast between the background of the page and the colours of the small bags looks amazing. That's something that I had in mind for my magazine.









I like how the table of contents gives the reader an insight into the main article, about the girl on the cover.

Title

I have decided on the title of the magazine and now I am trying to play a bit with it to try and give it a final design.

I tried to create it in Photoshop. I was thinking of going for the short version of Obsess. And as I said before the small "S" comes from the 2 "ss" at the end of the word. I chose a random image and I applied the title to that image to see how it looks and to see where I should position it.







I created 2 versions but I prefer the one on the right. It looks more professional.





However, I showed these 2 versions to my friend and he was quite reluctant. He said that he likes the "s" in the interior of  the "O" letter but he is not quite sure about the rest because if I didn't tell him that the concept is obsessions he wouldn't know and relate to that theme. I knew he was right but still I do like how it looks. I tried doing other version, a more explicit version:

One is simple, the other one has got the "S" inside the "O" letter. As much as I love the first version, I do think that my friend is right. Not many people will know at the beginning what may magazine is about so I better have something that people will understand right away.

So I have got this 2. Now, which one do I keep?..

After consulting my friend again, quite helpful actually, I decided that I am going to keep the one on the left as the title of the cover and because I love how the"S" looks inside the "O" and I am not going to reject that version. Instead, I am going to use the "O" as my logo. What about that?

              Logo                                                                                               Title  

Finding a name for my magazine

Theme: obsession

Possible ideas:

1. Obsession
2. Domination
3. Addiction/Addictive
4. Mania
5. Phobia
6. Fetish
7. Obs's
8. Obsess

I think I am going to stick with Obsess or Obs's and look for a really nice font to make it look glamorous.

Fonts:  

I had a look online and searched for fonts for my magazine title. I stopped after 2 pages as I have found what I wanted.

Aaaand the winner isssss????

It's called Will Robinson and I believe it matches exactly to want I want for my magazine.

I choose a photo of mine randomly and  tried to use that as my cover so I can see how the title looks. I have created 2 versions:

Obs comes from Obsessed and the "s" that's inside the "O" is from the double letters at the end of the word, "ss". I am really excited about the font. I have decided to position the name on the left as it gives the cover more elegance and it wouldn't look very good if I put it in the middle or on the right. If it's on the left it looks natural.

My magazine is going to be based more on photography rather that illustration or design as I am not a graphic design student and it would be really hard for me to start learning it.  I am going to try to design my magazine using photographs rather than illustrations.I would rather have a simple layout and play more with the images to make them give the layout of the magazine. 

Other magazines and mine

I have done my title. I am not saying that I am going to leave it like that, I might change a few bits but that is going to happen when I have my cover image. Now, I have to think about what  I want to tell the reader, what are the articles going to be about? What topics? Going back to my research about what do we find in a magazine?

Basically, if I go back to the magazines that I had a look at, all of them have the same structure: editor's letter, adverts, about the team, articles on beauty, travel, tips for hair which is beginning to become boring for me. They all look alike and the content is similar. I don't want my magazine to be part of that group. That's why I will try my best to make it look different. I don't want my magazine to look that commercial. I am not going to say that I going to produce something unique as I don't believe I am genius to create something that no one has ever produce. That's not real. Instead, I am going to produce something that maybe a lot of people created but I will try and present my magazine differently, in my own way.

To do that, I need to have an understanding of what is already on the market. I cannot rely only on Vogue and ELLE as that's not relevant. I have heard that Waterstones  in Trafalgar Square have a large fashion, art  section which sounds amazing. I was thinking to visit them to see what's been published so far and maybe get some inspiration. Also, there is another shop called Magma Bookshop which is in Covent Garden with books and magazines that could be inspiring. Plus, there is another bookshop at Tate Modern which I am planning to visit. Hopefully after all these 3 places I will know what I want for my magazine.

Image Magazine

Image Magazine is the AOP magazine. It comes out every 3 months. The layout of the cover is pretty simple. We have got the title on the top left, the font is simple and clear and either black or white. On the top right there is written the issue number, the months it covers, the price and the name of the association. Other than that, there is just the image.

Inside:

• Editor's letter
• crew names
• short biography of the association
• contents of the magazine
• interviews with commissioned photographers
• articles about photography festivals around the world
• just a few adverts
• exhibitions London
• listings
• end

Asos Magazine

The issue is an edit of what is new in fashion from hot trends at cool prices to instant beauty updates. The magazines is addressed to young people, teenagers and therefore the style is accordingly.

The covers are usually colorful to catch the eye and there is a lot of text addressed to the young person to make him/her involved. The magazine is free so we are not talking about features that help the magazine to sell. As I mentioned, there is a lot more text on the cover than in the fashion magazines that I looked at previously. It is vibrant and attractive.

Inside you can find all sorts of articles about style, tips, beauty, style inspiration, what to wear and what not to year but the difference is that the magazine presents clothes that are affordable for a young person like students. It is closer to the reality that Vogue or Harper's Bazaar. It's fun and yes, I like it!!

M&S Magazine

The font of the brand is famous now. You can see it everywhere so there's now way you can miss it. Their magazine is not a fashion magazine, is more about for their customers that shop either clothes or food.

Therefore, you can find articles on almost anything: food, travel, style and  health, interviews with a celebrity. It is basically for everyone, there is no targeted audience. It is a bit of everything.

Air France Madame Magazine

The magazine embodies a lifestyle which is both feminine and luxurious. Its "French Touch" makes it different than other magazines. It is distributed in the aeroplane for all the people that fly with Air France. Another thing that makes it different is the fact that it is written both in French and English.

I was very surprised to read that it is a Conde Nast publication. Now I understand why the covers especially are of such a good quality. It is good fashion there. 

Regarding the cover, I must say that I like it very much!! It's simple and it works. There is not a lot of information on the cover which I like. The font is simple, the colour black makes it look elegant. The model is always behind the title. Usually, if the title is hidden it is not a problem because the magazines are famous so everyone knows about them. But, in this case not many people know about it, only the ones who fly with Air France so that's why the title is always on top of the model.

Other than that, there is a title that gives an insight into the magazines, about what you can find in the magazines. What I like is that every magazine is based on something. As you can see in the images above, one is about trends, the other about luxury. The number of the issue is nicely written and very elegant.


In the magazine:

• adverts
• summary
• articles on travelling and places
• style inspiration
• reading reviews
• adverts
• beauty tips
• accessories
• tendencies

This is actually a very good magazines. I would rather buy this one than others like Vogue. Very nice!!!