Magazine Journalism - Lecture 6, 17/02/14

Magazine production;

The layout, pictures, graphics and typography are the most important elements when producing a spread for a magazine or publication. These however are often ignored but it is essential to remember that the canvas you are working on is an intricate aspect of the work you are creating. The two most common programmes used to create these graphic layouts are Photoshop and Fireworks.

Three elements when producing a spread;

1. Layout

2. Photography

3. Typography

Layout;

The way in which vision works is how you look at things. The main constraint when you are doing anything visual is the way it will be perceived by the human eye.

The natural field of vision is usually a rectangular shape similar to that of a cinema screen. The shape of a magazine spread is an understanding of the field of vision in order to make it as comfortable and pleasing as possible, which is why a layout is often spread across two pages which is more aesthetically pleasing for the eye.  The Guardian changed from a broadsheet because of this.

We deal with magazine production in terms of spreads; for example the use of double page spreads (DPS) etc. Magazines are not produced in pages but with the material placed over a spread.

There is often a house style used for each publication, in terms of the layout all the elements will be kept the same so the style is consistent, for example all the same type face will be used.

A Cascading style sheet (CSS) is the bible that tells the production team everything from what type font is to be used or whether by lines are printed in bold or italic for each individual publication. It is essentially a set of rules that every publication or broadcaster adheres to in order to help solve any debates or queries when producing a spread or film.

The Designer or art director will be in charge of the style sheet; they will come in and create a style for the publication to use.

Photography;

The images or pictures that you are planning to use are the most essential tool when creating a visual layout. The classic way of using aesthetics to maximum potential is to abide by the rule of thirds which the production team will later review to create the perfect layout.

When selecting a picture it is important to choose an image with a good amount of neutral tone in order to add a headline or text that will not interfere with the other elements within the image.  

When processing a photo for a visual spread you have to go through a systematic routine of editing the photo. To start you will need to colour balance the photo as some images will lack contrast, focus and can sometimes look washed out. There are many different tools that will enable you to do this and bring some ‘life’ back to the image.

It is then important to enlarge the image until it ‘bleeds’ which means that if the image goes over the edge of the spread then you will describe it as ‘bleeding’, however if  the image is framed then it will not bleed.

You do not need to worry about the actual context of the writing. As a journalist you will write to the image, not the other way around. The image is the key focus of the layout.

Typography;

There are two basic types of text that are mainly used in publications, these are; serif type or sans serif type. The function of the serif is to aid the eye when reading along the line which is typically from left to right. It is extremely hard to read lines of type which is why the serif is used as it is essentially holding a ruler along the line so you are able to read the separate lines straight.

It is a classical design style to add serif types

The main other type face is modern. The modernist revolution of the late 19^th century was the invention of sans serif type. Eric Gill is a famous artist who designed type faces and other graphics. His most famous graphic design was the London underground symbol which included the sans type face within the design.

Baskerville from the enlightenment era created the type face of Baskerville. He ran the lunar society and was acquainted with David Hume. If this was to be compared to a film the music would be classical as it is typically elegant and luxurious.  

The type used in publications can also derive between social classes with broadcast sheets such as the Times that use a serif type face all the way through which exudes a pretentious, upper class tone where as The Sun and Daily mirror uses a sans serif type face which portrays them as a non-pretentious, down to earth publication.

The signal you are sending out through the type will portray the tone and style of the magazine/publication.

As the rule of thumb when setting the column size is it typically about eight words per line. Each type face has an optimum cast off with the amount of key strokes (width of the typeface) on the line; you will need to make sure that the text is in proportion with the column sizes. There is a relationship between the columns and the harmonics of the type face to gain maximum visual potential and legibility.

It is well known that serif is more legible when it is typed in a bigger font than sans serif.

The Bauhaus movement was the most significant graphic design movement from the 1920’s/30’s in Germany. Their philosophy went along the lines of form follows function in which they demolished any metaphysical or expensive aspects and created functional and economical elements instead. An example of this was the glass dome lampshade which was created in order to gain the maximum amount of light.

Bauhaus re-designed everything including football kits and the numbers printed on the shirts.

The three main design revolutions;

• Classism, essentially used by the Romans and the Greeks.
•   Revolution in modernism which abolished the use of serifs.
• Bauhaus was a post-modern revolution. They focused on the scientific and ergonomic elements that were most suited for the eyes. To gather this information they formed mass statistical studies to decipher what is the most legible font type.

Modular VS Linear;

• Linear – words do count and is not picture led. More upmarket publications.
• Modular – picture led with minimal use of text. Words do not count! More down market publications.

The Front Cover;

Consumers will pay particular attention to the cover of the magazine as it is the most important aspect of the publication as this is what sells! Designers and other members of the publication team will focus 9/10^ths of their time and efforts on the front cover as this is what will grab the reader’s attention.

Barkers are used to fill up the front of the magazine; this is the text that is often seen down the side of the image which sells the magazine. Glamour invented random numbers which in theory doubled sales as they attached a random number to a statement, for example; ‘30 ways to get the perfect summer look’.