Brief 2 - Updates

I have decreased the point size from 9 to 7pt on 11pt leading and increased the size of the margins from 12 to 16mm to create more space. The layout appears more balanced and creates more 'breathable' space. I have removed the image grid content concept I had from the start as it was not in keeping with the rest of the content. This page, again, still needs work but I'll work on this and the cover asap. Also added the feature on the Artist to break up the content.

The Artist

screenshots

Brief 2 - Print mock up

I have finally printed a mock-up of my layout so far to check the type is consistent and legible and the images are set at the right quality. Immediately, I noticed the type was unnecessarily large. Gotham at 9pt is much bigger than Cambria at 9pt, for example, so I will reduce this to around 7 or 8pt. Some of the images are obviously not set to the correct resolution so I need to resolve this for the final print.

Overall, I am happy with the layout but due to its simplicity, I think I will need to integrate something substantially different to break up the content. Andy suggested looking at related advertising or even a subscription form. As I have featured gold within the magazine, I could also look at metallic gold stock for some of the pages.

Brief 2 - Final layout so far

I have added the 'The Artist' feature, tweaked a few things in terms of leading and pt sizes and changed the way the content pages work — these still need work but I will potentially use this composition for the final magazine. I have also added a new 'In-depth film review' page as people seem to particularly like this section — my sister will be writing these so this is all sorted.

To do:

Film poster feature
Soundtrack reviews
Ad placeholders — Cinema releases, not generic adverts
Subscription insert — Gold metallic paper?

Brief 2 - The Artist feature

The Artist was a major award-winning movie sensation last year mainly through its use of black and white silent film and compelling storytelling. Phil (who I am getting the reviews from) had already done a review and feature on The Artist and rated it 5 stars so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to reflect back on the film and incorporate a feature within my magazine.

I started to look at several layout designs using a more traditional serif typefaces (Kepler and Cambria) and the brand gold I will be using for the main features:

I printed out some test pieces simply to judge scale and check for any errors:

Design for print

Notes below

Brief 2 - Printer quotes

I've been contacting printers the past week or so and managed to get a few quotes for an A5, perfect bound magazine of around 40+ pages. The prices differed quite substantially but Andy has given me the details for a couple more based in Leeds so will contact these asap.

Team

Team, although fairly expensive, are renowned for their high quality finish. They allow you to choose what stock you intend to use, any print processes / finishes you might need and will advise you along the way. Although this would be a beneficial investment, it would also be an expensive one.

Mixam

I'm not sure how I came across Mixam but inputting my spec within their online quoting system, I got a relatively cheap quote. Although these are brochures, it still allows me to create an A5 perfect bound publication with full colour throughout. I was advised to use a thicker stock for the contents in order to create enough room to do the required binding.

Brief 2 - Final layout so far

33 pages — Cover still yet to complete

Brief 2 - Entire layout development

This document shows my entire layout development. As opposed to constantly taking screenshots, I repeatedly duplicated page layouts and edited and manipulated them until I got to a layout I was happy with.

Brief 2 - Feature pages

One of the features provided by Phil was one of Die Hard. Die Hard 5 will be out in 2013 so I thought it would be perfect to include within my magazine. The 1st of the franchise, Die Hard, is loved by many but with any sequels, the others vary substantially. Phil has written reviews for all 4 which is great. I looked at several layout designs to introduce the feature using the Gold / Yellow I previously chose for the 'Reel Film Features' content.

For the comedy movie feature, I looked at using the same format as the idea I created for the content page. I also looked at using a full bleed film still, leaving enough room for an introductory copy.

Brief 2 - Twitter layout development

The content for the Twitter review section (In-depth film reviews) is obviously going to be relatively short. However, I have established that reviews = red and features = gold so it was fitting to do an introductory page using these colours. I looked at various layouts and image formats for the content itself.

Different font (Garaje) — Not in keeping with the rest of the layout. Kepler italic (review copy) doesn't look that great.

Tried switching the Kepler font with Gotham but the copy seems too insignificant for such short reviews. I also expanded the reviews from 3 to 4 simply due to the short nature of the reviews themselves.

I switched the Garaje headline font to Montserrat to tie in with the branding (44pt on 44pt leading) and created a full bleed red background with white and black text to differentiate between the header and copy. I'm not a fan. I am a fan of the 2x3 image layout though — 6 is much better than 3 or 4. Hopefully I can source more of these reviews to create another DPS.

Looked at a cleaner and more legible layout design:

I tried using Montserrat for the review copy due to the short amount of text. I like it.

Brief 2 - Text formatting

In my logo, I have used the serif font, Kepler and in my headers, I have used Montserrat, a clean and minimal sans-serif type. I want to use these within my magazine but as Montserrat only has one weight, this could not be used for the copy. I could use Kepler but I wanted to use a sans-serif body copy simply to coincide with the simple layout design.

Kepler regular, 9/12 pt

Kepler 10/12 pt

Kepler 10/14 pt

 Gotham 9/12 pt — Seems cleaner and easier to read. Kepler appeared too narrow of a font.

Brief 2 - Contents

I started to explore various layouts for my magazine contents page, the main idea of which being based on the BFI's film archive page found on its website — I love the almost random nature and scale of the images, plus being entirely visual, it immediately engage the viewer / reader.

My aim was to create a brief, but visual insight into the content of the magazine as opposed to simply writing the titles of the films featured in the magazine. The focus needs to be on the films themselves as my concept is centred around staying true to film and celebrating the best of the industry — these therefore need to be at the forefront.

Using images I previously sourced for some test layouts, I devised a grid to fit images in a neat grid. The end result, however, uses just 3 image size, based on proportional resizing of one main landscape still (last image).

I looked at overlaying some of the images with block colour — these could include information to the content of the magazine? I'm not too sure at the moment.

The page on the right is the one I will potentially choose but may spread across the double page. I need to look at how I could incorporate page numbers without affecting the visual impact of the image too much.

Brief 2 - Colour

As my concept is about staying true to film, I thought it would be fitting to explore colour that reflected this. Avoiding bright and high contrast colours, I looked at either subdued and desaturated colours (right) and ones that conveyed almost a sense of wealth i.e. golds, reds etc. Personally, Gold connotes the best and I am trying to celebrate the best of film within my magazine.

I chose two colours I thought worked the most and tried these with the headers I previously devised — should I colour reference the magazine as opposed to using one colour throughout?