Studio Brief 01 - Change in Practice

At this point in time, I have shifted my interests as a designer from an aspiring to work in the music industry designing album art to editorial design and maybe even the fashion industry. This interest came about after more and more exposure to different publications and to the process designing a publication. I admire the satisfaction in holding a well put together publication that in a way reminds me of the feeling when completing a piece of artwork in highschool. This feeling in my opinion can't be recreated when for example completing a re-branding project or creating a new typeface. The tactility of the magazine is something I have only just appreciated. Furthermore, by being exposed to all of these publications, especially magazines, I now know how creative one can be in designing a publication and the kind of content you can put inside it. 
Right now, there are 3 magazines of which top my interest. Modern matter, 032c and WERK magazine. 

Modern matter magazine are a publication based in London that blends British journalism and long form writing with a fine-art sensibility and a high-fashion aesthetic. It is a publication that offeres something more distinctive and eclectic, hoping to redefine the idea of modernity to the reader. What I love about Modern matter is the high-fashion aesthetic, as well as the stock choices and layout of content. The high-fashion approach allows for full bleed images that create a high impact reading experience, couple that with the coated stock, it creates a publication that feels expensive and lends itself well to the amount of photography included. The coated stock better displays the colour of the images which is key when displaying photography. I also love how they have the confidence to print out blank pages. Their layout is appropriate for their high-fashion and artistic content which is noticeably structured through a grid system.  The overall look is clean and minimal however, they do play around with the grid system and create layouts, particularly with body copy, that is unique to the publication. 

032c are another favourite because of the content and design. It is a contemporary culture magazine that celebrates the most cutting-edge art, culture and fashion. Released twice a year, it aims to surprise the reader with its content. The magazine itself is recognizable from its bright red cover that is accompanied by the red tape binding technique that I have not seen on many other publications. The magazine mixes both coated and uncoated stock, just like Modern matter, which enhances the reading experience. But what is most favoured 032c, is the content, particularly with its fashion articles. They have interviewed designers the likes of Raf Simons, Rei Kawakubo and most recently Demna Gvasalia and Gosha Rubchinskiy. This is favoured because of my interest of the fashion industry. I may not necessarily want to become part of it but as a way to observe and to know more on it, editorial design is an outlet which seems to be creative and exciting. 

Lastly is WERK magazine. This publication formed by Theseus Chan which absolutely goes against the trends and norms. The magazine is the first of its kind from my observation, and takes a definite post modernist approach when forming the content and page construction. The magazine truly shows what is possible and despite it being entirely based on images, it is a source of inspiration to what can be done.

Not only have I changed my interests of what I want to become, but also the interest in my graphic design style. I used to adopt and associate myself with the trends of today in that my "style" would be one of of minimal, clean and flat design. However by going through the course and exposing myself to different kinds of graphic design, I realise that there is a clear difference between a work that is truly minimal like that of the modernists and ones that are "minimal". The saturation of flat designs in the industry are tiresome and are boring to an extent. I do not find them engaging anymore and wish to seek a new style that goes against this. In terms of editorial design this can be summed up in the aesthetic differences between WERK magazine and Kinfolk. What has interests me today is the post modernist style. Designers like Neville Brody, Carson, Scher  and Memphis group. Obviously not everyone favours this movement however I am interested in how different it was and how bold and daring the visuals became during that time. This does not mean I don't appreciate the works done by for example Müller-Brockmann, it means that as a designer, I want to adopt a style that sets me apart more and definitely challenges what is "good" design.