COP: E-FLUX IN PRINT MOCKUP

I began creating the printed alternative for e-flux by mimicking the layout and grid system used on Mute magazines first issue. I felt this was most appropriate due to its more contemporary approach at a tabloid format. Mute magazine used this format for a handful of their original issues to create a more attention for the magazine given the fact this format had never been used for this purpose previously. I mimicked this grid system to and extent and my idea was to input my chosen content to use the grid system in a more engaging manner. Mute magazine had followed this grid system very strictly and traditionally giving it a very formal tone of voice. I would explore new ways of using this grid to make it more engaging and interesting to read for the audience using larger text and imagery.

By using the patterns I had sourced previously from the website, I managed to incorporate them within the editorial by using them as my main cover. I made sure that my text was not restricted to the single file columns and that it crossed over on all pages. I also made sure all of my images were bold and noticed. 

After this initial mockup, I developed my editorial more by inserting more stories from the website. After some feedback I was made aware that my more text heavy pages were making the editorial a lot less engaging in comparison to other pages. I began to fix smaller issues like this and I also inserted page numbers to give the editorial a more finalised feel. 

I carefully began crafting each spread to make sure it was as equally eye catching as the previous, having some images cross over pages and having the repeat pattern cross over some images, just like on the website before the image loads in. I also printed the editorial through the blue ink setting on the photocopier to get an idea of how it would look if mass produced on offset printing. 

PPP: VALUING WORK

In todays session, Alec taught us about how to price our work and the different systems people use to do so. The conclusion of the session was that basically, depending on the project size, client and budget, you should be able to figure out how much to charge a client using these three things. Hourly rate, project type and clients value. Depending on the size of the clients business and you position in your career, you can gauge how much to charge someone. You should also account for how long it will take you and your weekly outgoings in your normal life. How much do you spend on average a week? If freelancing is your main job, it should be funding your life.

Alec asked on twitter about this topic to other designers to see their opinion on it, and they had a mixed reaction so it's definitely based on your situation upon how you charge someone.

COP: PRACTICAL CONTENT

To fill my printed publication with actual content, I scanned through the e-flux website and selected stories from each section of the website. This means I can feature a bit of content from the entire websites catalogue, being inclusive of all the magazines offerings. I took at least one story from each section of the website. This included 'announcements', 'journal', 'architecture', 'video & film' and 'art & 'education'.

Something I noticed about the images on the site was that before the images loaded in appearance, a nice repeat pattern appeared in the box where the image was loading. I took a screenshot of these patterns to perhaps encourage me to incorporate them within the print.

These are some of the patterns I sourced from the sites loading system. The most regular occurring one I noticed was the second last image inserted above^. To be able to use this I'd need to illustrate a higher quality version myself. This would allow me to insert it within my printed publication. To do this I illustrated the simple circles and lines on illustrator. After this I turned the image into a pattern on photoshop and filled the page with the 'fill pattern' tool. This gave me the closest possible alternative.

COP: PRACTICAL IDEA

After my crits and tutorials I have finally developed my practical idea to its final form and can begin working on it. Within my essay I will linking some of my points back to sustainability and I believe that this is one of the key reasons some people do not believe in print these days. My idea is to make a permanent print platform for the online magazine e-flux. This print publication will hold concise stories and articles from the website, not taking up too much time of the readers day. The idea is that people don't like to read long stories however printed publishing is absorbed better by readers. Once the publication has been finished with it will encourage the audience to recycle it if they want. The publication will be made of cheap newsprint and printed with blue ink (blue ink is proven to be the most eco-friendly and natural ink to produce due to the lack of chemicals involved and it also washes out of paper easier in comparison to black inks). This publication will be incredibly cheap to make, encouraging a cost effective strategy for the magazine. The magazine will take form in a tabloid sized publication, reflecting the publications cheap production and slightly being inspired by Mute magazines first issue. I will experiment with interesting layouts and incorporate elements from the website to make the publication more engaging with the reader given the fact I have very little supplies to do so with.

COP: TUTORIAL

During my tutorial, I finalised some ideas for my practical and also managed to figure out a way to rearrange my essay and incorporate some more theories to back my points up. I was told to include some points in the essay regarding user experience and interaction with digital and print publishing. Why do they like to have physical things? Study some psychology into that area. Ownership behind books and magazines and why people are proud to own these documents. Talk to Steve Watson, the owner of a magazine membership site that sends its members random magazines each month. I should begin to include these theories in my essay, sustainability, user experience and benefits/success that magazines gain from publishing.

To conclude my practical idea, we discussed several routes I could go down in reflection to these theories previously mentioned. After some discussion I think I'd like to create something in print obviously, but to take ideas from reading digital publishing and apply them to print. I would also incorporate a sustainable aspect to the design given the fact that this topic should be heavily influenced by sustainability. One reason people may not invest in print is because its a waste and its bad for the environment so this print publication should serve its purpose then be easily disposable. It should be something that links the digital publishing site with the print platform. 

PPP: DAILY PLANNER EXERCISE

During todays session we were promoted to explore new ways of planning our time in uni. This would help us figure out how much work to do on what day and how to priorities certain jobs throughout the week. I usually write a list everyday of the tasks I'd like to complete by the end of the day, crossing them off as I go along. This gives me a sense of achievement and an understanding of what I have complete, causing me less stress. I tried out a new digital method of planning just incase this helped me review my tasks easier.

I found this method more hassle then it was worth given the fact I already have a lot of other digital tabs open that take up my time at the start of the dat for instance emails and e-studio. To conclude this exercise, I think I will just stick with what I know and continue writing my list in my notebook everyday.

STUDIO: BRIEFING FASHION DESIGNERS

After managing to find several fashion photographers to work with on the project, Zak and I began looking for fashion designers that were going to be able to produce the garments we needed to be shot for the publication. To do this, we created a brief for the fashion design students around the university to see with our contact details attached for further information. The brief is quite similar to the information given in to the photographers but slightly tailored to the garment design side. 

We posted these briefs around the university and mainly targeted the fashion studios. We spoke to the tutors in the fashion department and asked how else we could get our brief sent around. After that conversation we were given a time to be able to present in front of fashion level 6 and 5 to brief them in person and possibly get a better response then what the printed notices might. We also got the opportunity to send our open call out to all the fashion students over email through the universities admin department which we took.

We presented our brief in front of the fashion students with confidents and this had actually proven to be the best source of gaining collaborators for the project. After this, a few fashion designers got in touch with us that day via email regarding the project and sent us some images of their work, suggesting which theme they could possibly be suited under. Below is a few examples of some of the work that people sent us.

STUDIO: MEETING FASHION PHOTOGRAPHERS

After some discussion and organisation, Zak and I had the chance to talk to all of our desired fashion photographers in three separate meeting. Our first meeting was with second year, Farid who we met face to fact in a formal meeting in the library. Together, we presented the presentation that we had assembled (SEE BLOG STUDIO:FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER'S PRESENTATION) with confidence, attempting to translate our idea as clear as possible. He expressed a very positive approach to our idea and he seemed very eager to get involved. Some idea that he gave us to push the project possibly further and take it down a more abstract route was to incorporate a concise use of lighting during the shoot. This could possibly involve aiming a shard of light into the models eyes as they try and deflect it with their hand. Some other interesting idea he had was to maybe collage some of the photographs after the shoot, illustrate over the photographs digitally and to create sculptures of the models.

We will continue to keep Farid up to date with our progress on the project and to see if he has any further ideas. 

After this, we rang Matt Morris, a recent graduate, over Skype and shared our screen so we were able to show him our presentation and talk him through it. We recorded the whole conversation (attached below). Matt seemed incredibly eager to get involved also. He shared his thoughts and opinions on the brief and pointed us in a good direction to continue the process. This involved getting a hold of stylists and models. He also suggested that we keep in mind that our models must have a strong facial structure as this can possibly highlight some of our garments quite well. With Matt's positive attitude also on board, we would now continue our project and keep him in contact just like Farid.

Finally, we called Annie using the same process as Matt. She is also a recent graduate. During the interview she seemed slightly confused and expressed a little bit less interest in the project. She said that she would 'give it a go' which did not sound very convincing to us however she didn't completely drop us. Given the fact she already knew Matt convinced her to work with us Zak and I believe. She jotted notes down during our conversation which was at least something positive. She said that she would try and come up with ideas and we would stay in touch with her, giving her regular updates with the process. 

STUDIO: PATRICK THOMAS TALK

Today, graphic designer/activist/lecturer Patrick Thomas came in and gave us a talk about his practice and gave us some further explanation into some of the projects he was currently engaging with. Here is a brief list of things I took from the talk.

• Teaches in southern Germany
• He's from Liverpool
• Got into design through music
• Attended St.Martins school of art
• Had his first mac demonstration in 1984
• Exhibited a stencil instead of a print in a university exhibition 
• Set up studio LaVista in Barcelona
• Inspired by things designed by non-designers 
• "Design should always be a political act"
• "A banner is more engaging than a poster"

From this, I learnt a lot about design for activism and about how we should always design fro a purpose, not just because it looks nice. He expressed his opinions on this quite strongly and was very stuck in his way regarding his own social and political beliefs. He expressed this in nearly every aspect of his work. This lead to some confusion in the class I believe as some people seemed to think he was telling us we had to be like this but in natural fact, he was only passionately explaining that thats how he worked and perhaps we could benefit our practice by applying it to something more political. 

Something I appreciated about one part of his work was using old newspaper as stock to print on. I believe this is a sustainable way to print by reusing old and forgotten stock. His reasoning for this was to make each and every individual print unique. Having prints on this stock also adds a shock factor to it, causing people to stop and look at more then whats been printed on top. This technique also highlights certain parts of the articles featured and covers others, perhaps creating new realities and scenarios within the images and reading. 

Something I will take away from this was his distaste for poster design and how he expressed that banners proved to be a more successful format for sharing a message. Banners exist longer and attract more attention and are usually designed to spread an important message unlike posters, which are mainly for advertising purposes. This doesn't mean I should totally disregard poster design, it is obviously a contextual decision.

I was glad I went to this talk even though I did not fully agree with everything he had to say. I thought he helped me develop as a designer and it made me think about how I could use my design to benefit others. I will now continue using this idea in my work but perhaps not executing in the same way as Patrick has. 

STUDIO: WORKSHOP WITH NICK 'TOTALLY OKAY'

Today I was involved in a playful workshop with our new tutor Nick, also known by his studio name 'Totally Okay'. We selected three different typefaces of opposing natures. One serif, one san serif and another decretive. After this we cut them up into specific shapes, even using the negatives at times and used them to print with, making sure we did not print with purpose. We made sure that our printing was not going to resemble any for of man made object for example a face or some furniture. This random printing process helped us figure out new ways of approaching typography. Even though a lot of the shapes were not legible, I still seemed to pay attention to kerning in some cases, making sure everything was evenly spaced. In other cases I tried to do the opposite of this, but my efforts were continuously matched with limiting rules. This resulted in a series of very abstract prints. 

 

The result of these prints are very abstract and there is no real theme. They will help me in the future with possible type projects, helping me approach them from a new angle. In other senses, this prints could be used for posters if I simply incorporated some typesetting with the print. After this exercise I am going to begin reviewing how I use type in my work and also try to approach all of my projects outside of my computer in a more playful way. 

COP: PRIMARY RESEARCH ALEC DUDSON, INTERN MAGAZINE

I had a chat with Alec Dudson, creative director of Intern magazine to understand his point of view on the relationship between digital and print publishing. He explained how the magazine initiated through Kickstarter back in 2013 and due to the time and place, print publishing was on the rise and Intern magazine took off as a major success. It had a small website but nothing substantial, its main funding went straight into the print editions and getting into stockists. It gained lots of US press in its first week and advertising on social media (Facebook and Twitter). After a few years of producing the print edition, Alec and his team reminded theirselves about what their goal was within Intern mag. Alec's passion was to create as much opportunity for young creatives as physically possible and to teach them that they could profit of any form of their work. It was also to educate them on the ethics of the design industry and most importantly, getting paid! At this point he had gained a large readership but believed he could push it further.

In 2017, Intern magazine converted to a fully digital platform. They no longer release their print editions. Alec believes that publishing on an online platform only was a positive move for the magazine as this platform would reach a lot more readers. He believed that the information he was publishing was meant to aid as many creatives as physically possible, it shouldn't be exclusive to whomever purchases the print editorial. This decision has allowed readers to share stories and give Intern's message to more readers, effecting more peoples lives.

Alec also touched upon the topic of how using an online platform grants the magazine to use more new and inventive ways to reel in readers. They can use keywords in the title, interesting illustrations on the thumbnails and so on. This has also allowed them to publish more clear and concise stories that can further continue in future articles in comparison to articles in print, which will be published and remain dormant forever. One of the main tactics to having a successful online mag is having a great online strategy, be it online advertising, social media promoting etc. Its up to magazine how they engage with their target audience and advertise themselves.

Finally, Alec expressed how having an important message that you're passionate about to convey within your editorial is important to making a successful magazine in your eyes. Don't forget that everyone measures success differently, weather that be magazines sales, total profit, changing the world, affecting people's lives or simply publishing work for others to enjoy. In reflection of this conversation, I believe that figuring out what your goal is, is incredibly important when creating a magazine. If its gross profit you're after then maybe you'd follow the path of say Cereal magazine, who base their work on aesthetic and not too many research based topics. Or on the other hand, you could aim to change the world and inform others like Alec has done with Intern. 

COP: STUDY TASK 1

Graphic design for the real world?

What is the main argument of the article?
Design activism influenced by persuasion and visual communication.

What is the main theoretical framework for the article?
Promoting social change, raising awareness about values and beliefs (e.g., in relation to climate change, sustainability, etc.), or questioning the constraints that mass production and consumerism place on people’s everyday life.

What types of design do they critique?
Commercial design.

What might you as a designer take from this?
How to empower people to do something with good design, instead of absorb something without context or meaning.

The Graphic Thing

What is thingness as it relates to graphic design?
The approach to mental process that things only have meaning when we give them one. The difference between familiar and unfamiliar. Expanding initial functionality of a graphic design object.

What is the main argument? What can graphic designers take from the research?
How experiences of “things” and “thingness” arise at different stages
or levels in processes of meaning construction.

Can you identify a coherent theoretical framework in the article?
No, because there are too many topics and points of view. It should be about one topic, design.

The future of print design relies on interaction

How does the research article differ from the previous two?
A practice based piece of research instead of a contextually researched piece.

What is the main argument of research?
Make print more engaging to create more interest in it given the fact we have been enslaved by digital media. Apply digital theories to print.

Does the author utilise a theoretical framework?
Not really due to the practical not actually proving the topic being discussed. There was no other theory to back it up.

COP: DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH FROM FEEDBACK

After consideration my question and feedback, I decided to refine my question to something a lot more tailored to the content I was gathering for the essay. After reviewing my presentation and research it was clear to me that my direction was aimed more towards the relationship magazines have with their digital and print platforms. This has lead me to rephrase my question to 'Do print and digital magazine publishing platforms need to coexist to be able to survive?' I feel like this question is a lot more refined then my previous one, 'What is the current state of magazines and will they survive the digital era?'. This new question has given me more flexibility within my current research and will allow me to look deeper into the research I have and new items also.

After changing my question I began studying some solely digital publishing platforms to understand how and why they work. One very interesting one I came across was e-flux. e-flux journal is a monthly art publication featuring essays and contributions by some of the most engaged artists and thinkers working today. It publishes all of its content on its incredibly well designed website, which allows you to travel through it with style and ease. This format can easily reach readers all over the world for the simple price of nothing. All their articles are clear and concise, not too lengthy at all which aids to the idea that print publishing is more flexible given the fact a standard print issue mag will focus in on one topic throughout, whereas a site like this will keep its stories brief and to the point. 

In 2009, e-flux introduced a new print on demand service for their readers. This would allow them to access unique stories unknown to the online site and print them off on whatever format, paper stock or technique that they wished. They believed that “the printed page serves as an important commitment to a certain temporal conclusiveness. It may not be how content moves, but it is how content asserts that it exists, even if only temporarily.” (e-flux, 2009, journal as exhibition, e-flux journal, https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/38452/journal-as-exhibition/) This process is only used for certain stories that requite that 'conclusiveness' that they have mentioned. This has allowed them to publish an even wider variety of stories. These more full stories will encourage more readers to invest to this journal.

This decision has also aloud them to overpass the thought of deciding what kind of print magazine they would be. A coffee table mag would obviously have a certain target audience that maybe they aren't aiming for in comparison to say a broadsheet reader. This approach has aloud their audience to create the publication in whatever format suits them, be it coffee table magazine, a scholarly periodical, a broadsheet, a set of posters or unbound pages collected in a box. 

COP: PRESENTATION FEEDBACK

During my presentation, I presented all of my current research that has previously been blogged about. I covered all the research into Mute magazine, Cut magazine, the ever developing mag genres and my primary research involving Eye On design. My feedback was all positive but it demonstrated that I had to refine my question and develop the practical so that they both suited one another clearly.

To push my research further I was told to research a magazine called The Face. This magazine ended up cancelling its print run due to its unsuccessful output, but after years of it being dormant, a strong rebrand bought it back to life and now continues to be a very successful mag.

Something I will now aim my essay towards is more upon the topic of 'do print and digital publishing platforms need to co-exist to be able to survive?'

COP: PRACTICAL WORK INITAL IDEAS

Following my research, I began collating several initial ideas for my practical effort towards this project. My practical work had to be a clear reflection of the written work or one of my case studies so I began taking them apart and finding the issue within each. 

My first idea was to revert back the Mute magazine and their downfall. I thought that perhaps I could go to Mute magazines website and convert their content back into print, following their roots. I'd take inspiration from their original print run which was done on a newspaper/tabloid format and printed on a modern interpretation of old pink newsprint. I'd use this format and combine it with some more modern design disciplines to make it more engaging and attractive to readers today. They designed their original print run to be new and interesting so I will give that belief a rebirth. The idea is that perhaps Mute magazine can be saved by print and that print is in fact not dead. 

Another idea I had was to play with the theme of magazine genre. In my research, I uncovered that a lot of great magazines today are developing already existing genres into more of a niche market. The result of this is more readers and magazine sales. This has been done by turning these mundane topics into more passion projects. My idea is to follow these footsteps and select a glossy mag with no effort behind it and turn convert its genre into one with a much more specific target audience. In doing this and exploring more abstract elements of that certain topic and also reflecting that in its design, I'd end up making a more successful piece of editorial design e.g Put an Egg on it.

This idea would celebrate both digital and print within one piece of work. The idea that print cannot survive without digital was fascinating to me so I thought that perhaps I could create a zine in celebration of these two practices. This could feature such things as the augmented reality app Artivive which connects the digital and print world together perfectly. I could also use QR codes to link sites to articles within the physical print.

A final idea I had was in reflection of the success of cut magazine and how it managed to get where it has done without any digital aid whatsoever. The idea was to create an online platform for cut magazine to give it that digital aid it never had or perhaps will never really need. The platform would feature small articles and features to keep a small community of readers online, giving people around the world a small insight into their DIY mag. The idea is that this would generate even more readers for the magazine.