The Grid System

http://www.thegridsystem.org/
The grid system is a website which informs people who want to know about grids.

"The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee. It permits a number of possible uses and each designer can look for a solution appropriate to his personal style. But one must learn how to use the grid; it is an art that requires practice. ” Josef Müller-Brockmann

It claims to be 'The ultimate resource in grid systems'.

Even just seeing the website before and after it's grid form in very useful, it has shown me what can be achieved using grids, and how complicated a grid can look, which then creates a simple looking site.

Inspiring magazine layouts:

http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/30-more-stunning-magazine-and-publication-layout-inspiration/

"Here I have compiled 30 more magazine and publication layouts that I feel are good enough to inspire even the best of you! I think that as designers we always reach out for inspiration the second we receive a new brief, and personally I find that I search for layout inspiration much longer than what I would for lets say, typography or even web-design. So hopefully, I will shorten your search for layouts so you can crack on. If you need some more fuel after this delightful bunch, check out this post."

These magazine layouts are beautiful and creative, but they don't massively benefit me, not after all of the magazine deconstruction that I have already done. 

Layout Design Final crit Feedback:

In preparation for the final crit, I printed off an almost completed double page spread which involved Christ the Redemeer, a black background and a lot of lorem ipsum body text.

 I asked certain questions to prove an answer which I could build my design from, I asked:

1.The final spread will be in B&W, do you think this/the black background works?

2.Aerial is my current font, any recommendations of 'Christian'/nature fonts to use?

3.Should I stick with this style/trend in my final design?

The questions I asked I feel cover all the elements of this page, the Black background, the B&W imagery, the font, the layout and the style of the piece. 

 Feedback:

1. Like the white text on top of the black background, give a serious tone, it works. 
2. Aerial is simple and functional, works well for large bodies of text
3. Style is serious and informative, would benefit from colours and more white space. Large bodies of text are overwhelming.

1. White on black is nice. Colour elsewhere, in the photos. Too monochrome atm.
2. Font works. Contemporary and clear.
3. More black space and switch up the layout..

1. More minimal for maximum effect.
2. Times new roman reflects christianity, old fashioned.
3. Grid system could be changed. 4 columns per page.

1. White and black gives it a formal tone.
2. Traditional font which represents Christianity would work.
3. Colour somewhere else. Text is overwhelming.

1. The black is too dark, surely choose white. Doesn't fit the topic.
2. Play around with spacing and margins.

1. Text stands out, make the images stay good quality.
2. Try a roman font.
3. Requires subtle changes such as text placement, image composition.

1. The black will need consistent balance with white images.
2. Feeling of non-bias and learning.
3. Black and white links good + evil, contrasting opinions, it works with Christianity.

Conclusion

From the criticismal feedback I have received, I have discovered that the audience feel my Black and white layout works well, aslong as I keep a theme of using bright white images, or even using colour images in the publication.

I have been informed by some that the Aerial font works, it suggests non bias and learning where others claim a Roman font would represent the cause better, something I could experiment with.

The layout must be changed from 2 columns to 4 per A4 size as this will break up the large body of text.

I feel I have benefitted from this final crit, and the questions that I asked have given me the knowledge to create a series of double page spreads which work effectively as a set, and explain the cause to a respectable level.

My choice of font has been questioned, but that is something I can further experiment with in an attempt to make the product as fit for purpose as it most possibly can be.

Page Layout - Contrasting colours - Black & White

Personally, I love the contrast of black and white when used in design, I have found various pages in magazines which use that specific contrast to create mood and effect for that specific article.

This article found in Vice magazine clearly is one which is trying to convey a very emotional story. They have used a black background and white typeface to set a mood and a tone to the article,
I feel that this has been executed very well and the use of desaturated imagery gives off a very powerful and emotive feeling.
The pages in this book appeal to me very much, and immediately when I turned the page to this double spread the design work hit me, and emotively jumped out to me.

The large photograph found on the left hand side of the publication fades out to where the type is, in a gradient type mode. The effect that this has on the layout looks very professional and creative, something which largely appeals to me.

Mighty Boosh book
The mighty boosh book contains some very creative pages, filled with colourful artwork, in this instance I have chosen the 3 double page spreads which make use of a black background and white text.

This double page spread entitled 'A Hitchhiker's tale' uses two A4 pages which work injunction with each other, one page containing a large image of the character, and the other containing the body copy font of the story.
The image works against the black background due to the fact that the character is a silhouette with a bright white light behind the figure, similar to how the spread from vice was B&W.
This spread works well, but I feel due to the image being retained to one page, and the text on the other, that can look rather basic and unprofessional.

 The part two from this story features another double page spread which has a black background and an image on one A4 and body copy on the other.
In this instance, the image has a lot of vibrant colour involved with it, which still adds a powerful effect to the page.
I feel so far, the double spread from Vice works better than this story.

This other double page spread from the Might boosh book contains a black background and an image that spreads across one A4 page and the other 1/3rd of the page, which lies next to a song and it's lyrics.
This image has much more of a presence and contains a lot more colour than the previous ones.
The image fades in a gradient which leaves room for the blocked black background.

Conclusion
From this short exercise into researching Black backgrounds on page layouts, I have learnt that black and white pictures with a high contrast work very well against black backgrounds, and white type works very well against black backdrop.
I have found out that an image spanning across the double page and fading out into a gradient can look very nice, and I shall try and execute these in my own designs.

Page Layout -Timeline- Carhartt catalogue

In relation to the magazine layout I have just evaluated, I am now going to scrutinise the layout of pages found in this Carhartt handout.

This book is different to the magazine in many ways, mainly due to the fact it isn't trying to inform or educate, it's trying to sell products and encourage the audience to develop interest in the company. 

Also, this publication is only A4 rather than A3 like the magazine.

The front cover of this page makes use of a large photograph of a model wearing one of Carhartt's coat's.

The composition of the photograph has meant that there was a large piece of unused space above the model, this is where Carhartt have chosen to write the title of this publication.

They have written the fact that it is the 'Fall/Winter 2013' Catalogue where the model is, in white so it is actual rather hard to see.

Out of the entire catalogue, there were only two pages I found relevant to this exercise. 

This page makes use of a time line which includes image and text.

The page broken down into layman's terms shows the distribution of text to image and how the time line breaks up the page. 

The pages makes use of a lot of blank white, negative space, around the time line, and the time line uses both text and image to convey the information Carhartt are trying to communicate.

I feel this time line is done rather well as the images they have used break up the page and draw attention away from the text, which, alone, would be very boring and monotonous to read.

This double page spread exhibits the range of jeans Carhartt have for sale.

The page has no header and hardly any text, although the photograph spreads across both pages in a stylish and trendy way. 

This is a breakdown of the already simple double page spread.

The blue indicated where the photographs are, and in this instance, they have been cut away from their negative space.

The information found in this Carhartt book really isn't very helpful at all. The prices of the garments are not included, which leaves you baffled and confused.

Conclusion

The way Carhartt have done this timeline is very effective, but I personally would have filled more of the negative space.

The way Carhartt have made the photograph of the four pairs of jeans stretch over both pages in the spread looks very appealing and stylish, I would like to use large images in my own layouts, I feel the can add an artistic edge to a publication.

Page Layout - Shortlist magazine

I have chosen to investigate page layout to aid me when designing my own A3 page layouts.

I have looked into Shortlist magazine which is a free handout. I have chosen Shortlist because it is a free publication which I imagine is rather popular, but with it being free, it contains many full page advertisements, which I didn't want to include in this sampling.

Shortlist is a publication which covers films and other popular topics, for this reason I perceived that the magazine would contain text and image which my layout will replicate. I felt I needed an insight into how text and image could be used injunction with each other. 

1. This page titled 'The chosen few' is a page containing text and image on an A3 spread.
It contains image and then text in a column style, which travels in a vertical direction.

I have created a small grid on Photoshop with the images represented in blue, the type symbolised by black and the header located where the red square is.
The header/title is located in the top left corner of the page (usually where titles are found), and the blue images boxes cover the top  horizontal half of the page, where the type's space comes directly beneath it.
I feel this specific piece of page layout is very individual and unique. It is a good way to annotating images, as a description of an image usually comes underneath the picture, in this instance it has
This type of layout is very beneficial for advertising many products at once, and giving each product their own amount of designated space, where there is no hierarchy located on this page, it has even distribution.
The page makes use of a dark black border around the margins of the page, in which the text is located, this appeals to me a lot as I feel it shows the constraint of the page in a stylish and professional way.

2. This page in the magazine is title 'Style & Vision'. 

The page explains the fashionable eyewear that is available.

It makes use of many images, and small pieces of information which explain the prices of the glasses.

The header on this page is located in the bottom left of the layout, which is rather unusual for a piece of information which you must read. 
Instantly, the amount of image on this page hits the audience and sends their eyes all over the publication, looking for text to justify the images.
The images are again laid out in columns which descend down the page.
There is a small amount of type located next to the images, which explains the prices of the eyewear that the models in the photos are wearing. 

3.This page is different to the other pages I have exhibited due to the fact it contains a ranging sized sample of images which are sparsely located.

There is also a lot of type located on this A3 spread, as these pages review films.

This layout breakdown shows the size of images in contrast to the amount of body copy text.
There is a large image which instantly hits you when you open the double page spread.
The amount of body copy text conveys to the audience that these pages are ones which you would have to put time and effort in to read, and it is not a set of pages you could browse.
Each piece of body copy has a header and a title, located in red, and the images are sparsely located over the spread. The square images work in conjunction with the text, where as there is a character that has been cut out and the negative space removed, the text works around this image in a tight square style mode.

4. This double page spread in the magazine uses a large amount of text, small images and many large headers, executed in a gothic typography. 

It is evident that these pages in the magazine will require time to but put in for the user to read all off the body copy text. 

The distribution of text, image and header on this page is very even, the distribution is fair, as text has more of a precedence over image, and headers/titles are just needed as a brief insight into what the text covers.
Again, certain images have been cutout which sends the layout of the text off balance and pulls it away from the normal theme of square text boxes.
It feels in this magazine that the pages are getting more information, and are more creatively designed to include text and image.

5.These pages makes use of a very large image which takes up an entire A4 side of the spread.

The pages are reviewing a new games console, and the image size almost represents the actual size of the handheld games console. (Maybe that's what the magazine creators were attempting?).

The images, found in blue take up a massive amount of space in this double page layout. 

In comparison to the giant picture, the body copy font on this page isn't very much, this shows to me that the creators of the games console are trying to advertise the aesthetics of the console rather than justifying it with type. 

Conclusion

I feel from this exercise, I have learnt a lot about magazine layout an have been inspire by certain spreads in the book to take some ideas forward in my own creation.

I have identified what I feel is good and bad page layout and how it can be more or less successful than others. I have witness how page layout can be used to inform or to display an image or product, such as the pages with the film reviews, in comparison to the page advertising the games console.

I like the use of images which have been removed from their negative space, I feel I will execute that idea.

Borders can be used in double page spreads to show the constraints of the page and to set a margin on to the spread.

What is a double page spread?

I thought i'd start by answering the simple question of "What is a double page spread?", due to the fact, I could go into designing 5 double page spreads, and non of them fit the criteria or the function of what they're initially created to do.

Having 'googled' "double page spread conventions", I found a site which explains the uses of a double page spread, and how it is different to any other form of pages.

http://www.slideshare.net/Laurengibney/codes-and-conventions-of-a-double-page-spread

This website covers the basics of what a magazine and specifically a double page spread should cover. 

It covers the connotations and reasoning behind why magazine do certain things, such as put a quote or a headline over an image, have a model/person staring towards the camera as that denotes approachability and as it says "entices the reader to buy the magazine".

The website introduces the aspect of a 'stand first' which introduces a celebrity or topic to the audience whom previously could have been unaware of the subject.

Also how magazines can write names in bold to show the person or topic that the audience is reading about and subliminally makes the article sink into their brain more than they initially though. 

This article claims images are usually found on the left hand side of the spread, and obviously, it points out the fact that the images must related to the article. 

Size 11pt text in Aerial font is used on certain magazines, this is something I can consider using Aerial if I can't find a more suitable font.

Summary of what i've learnt:

Images usually found on the left hand side. 

Size 11pt font size is accurate. 

Brief intro into the topic at hand.

A quote from the article can help the page.

The colours of magazines are usually simple, if now they can be overpowering. 

Certain topics are highlighted by certain colours, trend.

Short headlines, titles or headers. 

Informally written.

Design Process - Page Layout (InDesign) Brief