Introduction toMagazine Design

October 28, 2015 Magazine & Newspaper Design I

What is a Magazine?

• Arabic word “makhazin” meaning warehouses• Periodical publication of in-depth articles and

art (illustrations/images/info-graphics), usually specializing in a specific subject or interest area

• Types: consumer (popular consumption), trade (specialized business magazines), organization (published by)

• Uses: affective, personal, social, relaxation

Difference betweenMagazines and Newspapers

• Size• Paper• Binding• Permanence – magazines are kept around

long after they are issued• Color

Difference betweenMagazines and Newspapers

• Production Cost• Content (types of articles) – highly specialized

by topic, in-depth analyses, feature stories, opinionated

• Audience – targets niche readers• Layout style

Difference betweenMagazines and Newspapers

Difference betweenMagazines and Newspapers

• Frequency – published less frequently then newspaper so articles must deliver more in-depth analysis of stories than breaking news reports in order to offer something unique, and they have more time to develop these articles

• Delivery vehicle: large shelf areas in stores, subscription

Successful Magazines follow a Formula

• Specific Editorial Philosophy– Title– Purpose– Type of content– Voice (tone and tenor)– Audience

• Editorial Formula– # of pages in total, for ads, for editorial content, departments, columns,

features– Feature breakdown (types of articles, how many of each type, # of pages)– Names of departments, description of each, #of articles, length– Placement of content (editorial pages, departments, ads, features

• Can you name a Magazine that failed due to lack of formula?

Structure: Staff Organization

Typical Position Titles

Magazine Design:Form Follows Function

• “The function of a magazine has little to do with art and much to do with business… A publication designer has to grab the reader over and over, page to page, issues to issue… Design helps readers navigate their way through the pages to find the articles they want to read; it also lures them to articles they may not have intended to read.”

(The Magazine from Cover to Cover, Johnson & Prijatel)

Magazine Design:Factors to Consider

• Eye movement• Grid structure• Typography style• Color• Design principles• Integration of text and art• Exciting, precise readouts Everything must work together to create synergy

Magazine Design:The Cover

• Photos sell better than artwork• Sex sells better than politics• Timeliness is a critical Sales Factor• Solutions sell better than problems• Subtlety and irony don’t sell• Bylines don’t sell• Puns don’t work well in sell lines

(John Peter, Ron Scott, John Mack Carter, 1986)

Cover Types

• Poster• One theme, one image• Multi-theme, one image• Multi-theme, multi-image• All-typographic

Production Planning

• Break-of-the-book (ladder or map)follows the formula to plan the entire layout – what goes on every page

• Paper stock– finish: high gloss, dull coat, matte coat, super calendered– Grade: brightness, whiteness, smoothness, opacity, premium,

number 1 – 5– Weight

• Coating (UV, aqueous, varnish)• Color (process/color separations/CMYK, spot/ PMS, specialty

inks like metallic, neons)• Art (line art, continuous tone, duotone, duotint, screen)

Printing Process

• Sheet-fed (under 10,000 circulation)• Web press (over 10,000 circ. Continuous roll)• Offset (most popular – image is transferred

from metal plate)• Rotogravure (over 1 million, high speed,

precision)

Binding

• Saddle-stich (stapled in the middle)• Perfect-bound (book-like binding with

separate covers. Pages are lined up, glued, then cover is attached. Includes a spine.

Signatures

• Magazine pages are printed in multiples of 4

• Multiple pages are printed on a single sheet call a signature

• Both sides of the sheet are counted in the signature

• Signatures are folded, trimmed to page size and then bound

Imposition

• There are two kinds of spreads in printing: reader spreads and printer spreads. When you open a brochure, page two is opposite from page three. This is a reader’s spread; it’s what the reader sees. If you take the brochure apart, you’ll see that page two is actually connected, through the binding, to another page near the back of the brochure. This is a printer spread; it’s what a printer prints.

Imposition

• Imposition refers to the placement and direction of pages contained in a signature. Some pages may appear upside or backwards, but once the sheet is folded and cut, the pages will be in their proper position and sequence.

Proofs

• Blueline– Shows type and art– Printed on light-sensitive paper in blue ink– Shows position and registration f color, accuracy of

binding• Contract Proof– Shows accuracy of color

• Advertising Proof– Matches print proof with printed ad provided by

advertiser