Studio brief 3- Page layout- InDesign (OUGD405)

This brief is directly informed by studio brief 2 (research). We have to create a booklet/publication that has a minimum of 5 double page spreads. The book must be printed by the digital print machine that staples it for you, the pages must be in multiples of 4 to print correctly. All design decisions should be informed and the content must be relevant to the research. 

This brief needs to be interesting so that its something people would actually want to pick up and read. Luckily I think the research I did was really interesting already and I could quite easily cut it down to the best parts.

I looked at some double page spread examples for initial inspiration. I liked the one above as the full page is really striking, I like that they've used the colour from the hat to inform the colour of the type, it makes the pages blend well. The two column grid used is effectively breaking up the type into more manageable parts. I like that the body copy is only at the bottom of the page and they've created a large amount of negative space, the layout looks airy and appealing to read.

I next looked at Port magazine. The main reason I always like the design of the covers of this magazine is because of the typeface. I love the stencil look its really quite childlike, but strangely at the same time the high contrast in stroke weight adds an element of class. I also like the faded, low contrast images they use, it looks vintage and is very in style at the moment.

Above is an example of a spread from Port magazine. I realised almost straight away when looking through examples the ones with large images and two column grid systems were calling out to me as the most attractive. The image is what initially grabs your attention simply because of its intrusive size. The two columns allows a large amount of type without it looking intrusive and without having to reduce the pt size too much. The use of negative space around the body copy makes it look like less to read so people wont be put off.

This is a spread for Elephant magazine, designed by Matt Willey. I liked this one because of the large display type on the left page. The hierarchy of what you see is first the image, then the display type then the body copy. This is good as your drawn straight into the spread and it entices you to actually want to read the article. I like the condensed font used here also, its very bold and in your face, almost as if its shouting out at you and grabbing your attention.