I recently borrowed the book "The Art Directors Handbook of Professional Magazine Design" to help get some inspiration and further develop some ideas for OUGD404's Studio Brief 02 publication design. In doing so I came across some pieces of information that is useful in helping me further align my interests within editorial design.
The book comments on the idea that there are 3 types of Art directors in magazine design. The artistic art director, the virtuoso editorial art director, and the art director whose decisions that are all heavily influenced by market research. An artistic art director is one that dominates the magazines design with his/her own personal style, for example Neville Brody and David Carson. This can be an advantage in terms of supplying the demand for originality and inventiveness but can also be a disadvantage. A virtuoso art director is one that places emphasis on teamwork, service and technique. Managing all the aspects of the publication, this kind of editor will have mastered a wide range of design languages and be able to cater to a ranging audience. Finally the last editor is one that implements the least degree of individuality making for a publication that has all the "right" ingredients. This approach is suitable if the main aim is successful sales figures and income from ads.
From my point of view, I would like to align myself with the artistic art director. To be able to recognize a publication based on the certain style is redeeming in the sense that it builds a name for the designer and in turn becomes the style he/she is known for. Ultimately at this stage I do not have a certain style of design, but through multiple publication productions, I hope to develop one that will be recognizable to an extent.
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