Magazine Design and Layout
Magazine Design: The organization of text, photos, and info-graphics on and inside a magazine spread.
Components of a Magazine
The Headline
The headline is the text in large print font that titles and article or hints to what an article may be about. Headlines are extremely important in drawing consumer interest and igniting curiosity. Headlines must be short and sweet so that the consumer gains attentiveness based off of a small glance. Headlines are often in bold or colorful fonts so that they do not blend in with the rest of the magazine, but instead draw out key feature of the page.
Pull Quotes
Similar to headings, pull quotes attract consumer interest. However, pull quotes only contain direct quotes from an article within the magazine. Often, pull quotes will be taken from a celebrity interview, give strong advice, or may be controversial. Powerful quotes are 'pulled' put of an article in and rewritten in larger, bolder text in order to highlight true themes of the text.
Intro/Kicker
Intros (short for introductions), further explain what the heading hints to. An intro introduces the topic of an article, without explaining the entire plot. Intros are usually directly under or next to headlines, so that there is a visual connection between the two.
Subheadings
Images
Images are photographs, drawings, info-graphics, and other visual forms of media. Typically photographs are paced next to text to give a visual example of something said in the text. Info-graphics, are slightly different than photographs or drawings, as they introduce information though charts or graphs.
Tips and Tricks to Achieve a Intriguing Magazine
1) Pay Attention to the Cover
While the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" may be true with books, an interesting and well thought-out cover is crucial in ensuring a magazine's success. Often, fashion magazines will put a well known celebrity or model on the front cover. When a celebrity fan base sees their favorite person on the cover, instant popularity will be achieved. Aside from cover photos, text must be meticulously placed around the cover. Attention-grabbing text is important, but this does not always mean the cover should be full. An over-crowded cover may overwhelm a consumer and lose their interest. The majority of cover designers stick to the ABC rule. A- one bold heading, B-one or two key subheadings, C-multiple smaller subheading. This allows all features of the cover to be portrayed without fear of it seeming messy and unorganized.
2) Create an Organized Table of Contents
The table of contents if most often placed in the first few pages of a magazine. The table of contents lists in numerical order, by page, what is featured inside the magazine. A well organized table of contents allows reader to easily find content inside a filled magazine. It is important to keep this page interesting, but it is useless if it overcrowded. Highlighting front page articles or stronger stories adds zest to a table of contents without congestion.
3) Utilize Pops of Color
The human eye is immediately drawn to the elephant in the room, so when bright accents of color are used, attention is drawn there. Bold colors must be used tastefully though, or the entire page will seem washed out. Paired with more subdued hues and lighter tints, bold colors can exemplify important headlines, image details, and pull quotes.
4) Employ Minimalism
In fashion or lifestyle magazines, a minimalist approach is often best. With fashion magazines, the clothing or makeup is the most important piece of the spread, so it should be the thing that stands out most. If clothing is bright, dark fonts and backgrounds should be used. If clothing is dark, lighter backgrounds and fonts should be used. In addition, simple fonts and white space should be utilized in order to draw the eye to the main point of the page, the subject of the magazine. If the subject of the spread is multicolored, match other departments of the page, like headings and sub-headings to that color.
5) Focus on Fonts
6) Highlight Photos
The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" holds true in magazines- especially fashion magazines. High quality photographs add tons of value to a magazine. A photograph can further explain a topic in the text, giving visual learners deeper understanding of a topic. Photographs can convey a message clearer than words might. Emotions are often portrayed best in visual terms, as humans are more likely to feel moved by an image than descriptive text. In fashion, photographs are incredibly important in showing articles of clothing or beauty products. Fashion would not be fashion without visual representation of stylish mania.
7) Design for the Demographic
When creating a magazine, it is crucial to design for the reader. Magazine audiences can be broad, but it is common knowledge that age, social status, and physical geographic play a key role is design distribution. Adaptation of style should be made so that larger audiences can view and feel connection with magazine content. This includes paper type, page count, size of text, as well as colors used and content included. Keep in mind the final destination of the magazine, not your three mutual friends on Twitter.
8) Utilize Eye-Catching Headlines
Headlines are an important part of the front cover along with spreads inside a magazine. A bold headline catches the eyes of a consumer and draws them into a magazine. Headlines must noticeably stand out against their background, whether it be by color, size, or font. Along with front cover photographs, headlines are the second most considered thing is deciding to read a magazine. Often, headlines feature stories from a celebrity interview, a controversial opinion, or a proposition that would increase further reader engagement.
9) Tastefully Use White Space
In magazines, white space is the sections of a spread where there is no pictures or text, the negative gaps. When used well, white space can transform a magazine page into a chic, elegant spread. Blocks of white space between paragraphs can create continuity and motivation for the reader to keep going. Too much text cramped together strains the eyes. According to Human Factors International, white space increases comprehension by almost 20%. White space also creates balance on a page. Too much content on one page leads to disorganization and chaos. Tasteful use of white space draws the eye to highlighted text and photographs, keeping the reader connected to the central theme. One downside of white space is that it can be easily misused. White space is not an excuse for minimal writing and laziness, and must be used appropriately or readers will become bored.
10) Keep Consistent
Consistency is the connection between separate pieces of work though technical elements and themes. The most attractive magazine will have elements of consistency from cover to cover. A thematic design creates a trademark for your magazine and allows consumers to recognize it amongst a crowd. Color, typography, layout and graphics are all elements that can be kept consistent, or themed throughout a magazine. A relationship is built with readers when elements of a magazine are consistent. Familiarity consumes readers and convinces them to keep being/scrolling/reading. Along with that, a consistent design creates a sense of professionalism. A chaotic, ever changing design is messy and overwhelms the reader. When consistency is applied, important information is communicated clearly. This is not to say consistency can have its faults. A design that is too consistent may bore the reader, making them yearn for more. Tasteful changes must be made throughout magazine issues in order to interest readers into diving deeper. For example, VOGUE keeps the typeface serif consistent throughout all issues. While the front cover may always have its broad title in Didot font, color is often changed to accompany trends, seasons, or cover photos.
Design and Layout Throughout Fashion Magazines
A well thought-out design is key in ensuring the success of a fashion magazine. The cover is step one in catching consumer attention. First, trend forecasters predict the next new craze, whether it be a color, print, or texture, and immediately utilize it on the front page. Next, a model is chosen to pose for the cover. Consumers are most often swayed to buy and read a magazine based off who is on the cover. Celebrities are often chosen as models due to their large following. This will bring attention to the magazine and elevate the celebrity as a "fashion icon." Lastly, text is placed around the photograph. Heading and subheadings are carefully inputted around the model to interest consumers to continue reading the information inside, but not block the eye-catching celebrity on the front cover.
Color is crucial to fashion magazines as well. Often, the article of clothing or beauty product is what designers desire to draw the eye to, so background space contrast or neutralizes it. When a piece of clothing is bright, the background may be neutral or calm. When the subject is neutral and light, the background is often deep and moody. Font colors are usually minimal or directly tie into the subject. Overall, color is key in tying together design components of a fashion magazine nd creating balance among the pages.
Citations:
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