More References for Research

This post is a continuation of my research while observing magazines at the bookstore.

Oh Comely Magazine

COVER
-one main image of artwork
-title in all-lowercase, texture in text
-small text in white: "stories/culture/curiosity/makers/ ideas"
-small coverlines on bottom in white
-simple overall design

The one cover image of an artwork is a nice and simple touch to the cover, not busy at all, but not too plain. And there are coverlines, although tiny, to tell the reader about some articles within the magazine. I like how they used texture through typography to the actual title and used an art piece for the main image.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

-first page background only white but center has organized images in a box

-images have page numbers

-bottom 2/3 of second page contains three-columns of table of content

-only two images

-toc separated into 5 categories: experience, culture, ideas, makers, and curiosities

Since the first page is filled with only images, their use of images on the second page is at a minimum.

 TWO-PAGE SPREAD
-title: "Rosy's glittery crown"--> a step-by-step tutorial
-first page--> supplies needed, an about of the tutorial instructor, and images of her and the result
-second page--> images of steps with captions of instructions
-nice final result photo 

I really like the idea of making a step-by-step tutorial of some creation as original content and may use this as inspiration for my two-page spread. 

                                                                                         TWO-PAGE SPREAD (with AD)

-both pages promote the magazine itself
-first page has only informational text 
-ad about joining the subscription club for Oh Comely
-second page includes only photographs of the actual magazine in several locations/owned by several different people

I like the idea of how the magazine promotes itself, and if allowed and I'm having trouble creating a new product for the advertisement in my own magazine, I would like to create one like this but, of course, for my own.

 Salty at Heart Journal

TWO-PAGE SPREAD
-title inside circular, reflected image--> interesting use of effects and creativity
-three-columned article
-bottom of second page--> three small circular images
-all images are in circles, which keeps a fluent theme

I like how simple and continuous this spread is, with an uninterrupted article and congruently-shaped photos.


TWO-PAGE SPREAD
-only black and white colors/shades
-first page--> title with letters creating a wavy shape, poem, and illustration
-second page--> spaced-out title, two-columned image
-image takes up bottom 1/3 of second page

I love how the title of the poem creates a wave, giving it character based on the denotation of the title itself. As well as for the title of the article, where there are gaps between letters, creating meaning, giving character, and emphasizing pauses.

Bitch Media Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS
-(just as a note: the title of this magazine is such a risky, bold,  & powerful word)
-table of contents takes up full two pages of spread
-only about five images total without page numbers
-five categories: first of all, dispatches, features, from the HQ, and culture
-as well as books, screen, and music
-text in black, page numbers in red

I like how the table of contents takes up two pages side-by-side, unlike many magazines. I gives a continuous flow and facilitates the experience of the reader. 

Clay Times Magazine

TWO-PAGE SPREAD
-title in font resembling handwritten writing
-close-up image of brushes
-color scheme: browns, greens, blacks and whites
-second page: two columns
-first column --> images and captions
-second column --> article

I like how the title matches and brings to life, the topic of the article. I also like the separation in design of the entire second page.


Through these magazines, I will have a much better idea of how to layout, design, and create and articles and ads for my own magazine.
In the next post, I will go more in depth of the Artists Magazine that I bought from the bookstore.

Citations:
Contents. (n.d.). Oh Comely, (40), 6-7.
Nicholas, R. (n.d.). Rosy's glittery crown. Oh Comely, (40), 124-125.
Join our subscription club. (n.d.). Oh Comely, (40).
Dery, M. (n.d.). Dissolving the Lines. Salty at Heart, (Two), 16-17.
The REVENGE issue. (n.d.). Bitch Media, 2-3.
Grishkoff, G. (2017, Fall). The Art of Handmade Brushes. Clay Times, 12-13.

A Few References

So, this weekend I went to the bookstore to observe several magazines with topics ranging from food, health, fashion, and of course, art. These were all magazines whose covers captured my attention for being aesthetically appealing and neat. For each one I opened, I looked specifically at the cover, table of contents, and original articles that would satisfy each of the two-page spreads. 

Thoughtfully Magazine

COVER 
-clean and simple
-only four main colors
-minimal "action" going on
-one main photograph image of bright, bold red fruits
-light blue border, cutting off image
-no coverlines
-white, modern calligraphy title
-small white text at bottom: "Our 3 Year Anniversary," "Issue 10," etc

I like how the cover is simple yet aesthetic, giving a minimalist feel. There aren't a lot of words but its neat and enticing enough to appeal to the target audience. But unlike the cover, I would add at least two coverlines to give an idea of what some of the magazine's content is about.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
-neat, white background
- single-page table of contents
-three photograph images with page numbers
-three columns of content titles
-three main categories: "Features," "Q+As," and "In Every Issue"
-black text on white background
-small, round, sans serif fonts

I like how they categorized the articles to let readers know what kind of content they can look for. I especially like how there is a category for "In Every Issue" and plan on making content that will also be categorized and apparent in every issue of my magazine.

TWO-PAGE SPREAD (Original Content)
-questions & answers original content
-first page has full image of interviewee, with small white box in corner, briefly intoducing interviewee
- black text on white
-colorful images on the second page
-two-columns on second page

The content is organized and neatly laid out and shows the readers who they are interviewing.





TWO-PAGE SPREAD (with Ad)
-two columns
-mainly black text on white background
-a small circle photo & one square bigger image
-small text
AD for own magazine
-light blue-grey background, main image of actual magazine 

I find it interesting that the magazine has an add for its own magazine, which seems odd for a reader to see it while he/she is reading it. But its also a good idea if you don't want other brands/companies showing up in the magazine and would rather keep it to just the magazine content itself.


                        Flow Magazine
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-first page full of images in three columns, each with a page number in small text
-second page is all black text on white background
-bubbled text
-two main categories: Feel Connected & Live Mindfully

The layout of this table of contents is interesting because it organizes all photos to the left and all text on the right, which is an idea I will keep in mind.



             Artful Blogging Magazine

TWO-PAGE SPREAD

-first page includes only images which extends to one-third of the send page
-three rows of big, clean, aesthetic images
-the nice photos set a specific, calm atmosphere that the reader would enjoy
-rest two-thirds of second page-->black text on white, but top half empty of text

The images, fonts, and color schemes all help create the peacefully aesthetic atmosphere. Incorporating aesthetic images is a major plan of mine to add in my magazine.

TWO-PAGE SPREAD
-color scheme! greens, yellows, and of course, blacks and white
-theme of circular shapes--> congruency & flow throughout entire two-page spread
-text in box in between images-->symmetry
-clean, appealing photos





TWO-PAGE SPREAD
-color scheme: browns, reds (earthy colors) and white & black
-repeated stacking technique in image or
-theme of circular shapes

The 2 two-page spreads entice the reader to look at details and of course, create dishes like the ones in the photographs. It is important to appeal to the reader, just as it did to me, and keep the them coming back for more content like this.

To be continued...

Citations:

Inside Issue 10; Celebrating the Power of Wellness Self-Care. (n.d.). Thoughtfully Magazine, (22), 6-9.

Q A with Olive M founder Mariska Nicholson. (n.d.). Thoughtfully Magazine, (10), 26-27.

Sharpnack, C. (n.d.). Q A with Lemon Laine founder Laura Lemon. Thoughtfully Magazine, (10), 44-45.

Peet, J. (n.d.). Visual Storytelling. Artful Blogging, 96-97.

Melillo, A. (n.d.). Where Safety Meets Uncertainty. Artful Blogging, 68-71.

Calligraphy and Me

"Calligraphy continues flourishing in the forms of wedding invitations and event invitations, font design and typography, original hand-lettered logo design, religious art, announcements, graphic design and commissioned calligraphic art, cut stone inscriptions, and memorial documents. It is also used for props and moving images for film and television, testimonials, birth and death certificates, maps, and other written works."

I have pasted this quote again to go further into this topic and to brainstorm for some ideas.

• Wedding/Event Commissioned Art: I have done commissions for calligraphy work and currently am in the middle of a commission for a wedding. Through first-hand experiences like these, I can have a better idea of the content I may write about for articles in my magazine.
  As an amateur, my work is nothing compared to the work of professional calligraphists. Here are some websites I found of professional wedding calligraphists: Minted Weddings, Laura Hooper Calligraphy, Just Write Studios
• Font Design and Typography: This is a topic I have recently looked into to incorporate into my art projects for art class, and it's an interesting, complicated, and long process if you want a piece to look perfect. With the prominence of technology, typography became the most popular way and most used technique to write words. "Typography is the work of typesetters, typographers, graphic designers, art directors, manga artists, comic book artists, graffiti artists, and, now, anyone who arranges words, letters, numbers, and symbols for publication, display, or distribution, from clerical workers and newsletter writers to anyone self-publishing materials." It is used for books, movies, logos, commercials/ads, billboards, television, documents and certificates, magazines & newspapers, and more. With this topic that reaches such a broad spectrum of sources, I would have more content to write about and articles to feature. 

Citation:

Typography. (2018, March 09). Retrieved March 11, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typography

The Calligraphist

The Calligraphist.

This is the title of my magazine. A short and simple, yet bold and meaningful name for the ideas and stories I intend on incorporating into my magazine. 
The title is not "Calligraphy" or "The Art of Calligraphy," these would be names that direct the reader to think of the actual subject or form of art. But my idea is to focus on the creative nature of a human, the person who creates, the artist. Humans are always experiencing changes, whether it'd be by passion, hobby, job, relationship, etc. They can never only focus on one aspect or line of work, which in this case would be traditional calligraphy with a pen and ink. The art of calligraphy has transformed through time:
"A nib—or brush, or quill, or a stylus if you’re gonna go way back—and ink used to be the only tool used to create letters by hand, and then eventually the tool [converted to the computer]." (link to quote) 
By implying these differences in art forms, I want to convey the idea that anyone can have several different passions in life and try new things and even become an artist themselves one day. 

"Someone who practices the art of calligraphy--> a calligraphy artist--> a calligraphist--> The Calligraphist"


Citation:
The Difference between Calligraphy and Lettering, and Type. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2018, from https://chavelli.com/blog/the-difference-between-calligraphy-lettering-and-type-and-why-it-matters

Problems and Concerns

I chose the topic of Calligraphy knowing it may be difficult to write a lot of original content and appeal overall to a big audience of which profit could be earned. 

Reasons for Concern:

• too specific of a topic
• limited original content
• target audience reverts to digital resources
• very few buy and read physical magazines
• calligraphy is an underappreciated and slowly dying form of art

These are all reasons I believe contribute to why I have found only one magazine solely based on Calligraphy, also known as Dasherie Magazine.

But of course, there are always ways to deviate problems and concerns.

Ideas for Solutions:

• include a more broad spectrum of calligraphy
• advertise the magazine itself on social media
• be so aesthetically pleasing, people will want to buy and/or subscribe to the magazine
• or just create the magazine because it is something you love and enjoy doing (don't mind the haters)

"Calligraphy continues flourishing in the forms of wedding invitations and event invitations, font design and typography, original hand-lettered logo design, religious art, announcements, graphic design and commissioned calligraphic art, cut stone inscriptions, and memorial documents. It is also used for props and moving images for film and television, testimonials, birth and death certificates, maps, and other written works."
As this quote from the internet says, there are several forms of art that derive from calligraphy, so it is my plan to explore them or at least hint about them through my table of contents.

Citations:
Calligraphy. (2018, March 06). Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calligraphy

Hello~

My name is Livia Chen and I welcome you to my blog.

I'm really excited to be creating and designing my own magazine whose process will be documented and updated through this very blog. It's my first time writing for a blog so I may seem awkward at times, but I hope to learn and progress through this new experience. 

Well to start off, 
I'm someone who is very concentrated on the arts and aesthetics of life and may sometimes seem like a perfectionist. I also believe simple and minimalistic layouts make a magazine more pleasing to look at and know that there is a great audience for those who would agree with me. So, I hope my magazine will appeal to those with similar interests.

My idea for the topic of my magazine is a specific area of art called calligraphy, also known as the visual art of designing and producing decorative penmanship, handwriting or lettering, usually with a pen or brush. 
To be honest, my magazine can be for anyone at any age who is interested in art but it does have a specific target audience which mostly consists of a demographic including designers, brides, party planners/event coordinators, young start up art-based entrepreneurs, Do-It-Yourself enthusiasts, the market of printables, and of course Calligraphers and Lettering Artists. 

I have only found one other magazine that concentrates mainly on calligraphy, called Dasherie Magazine:

 "Dasherie is a one-of-a-kind magazine featuring carefully curated modern and classic calligraphy, lettering, and design. Dasherie showcases exquisite, stylish, and contemporary designs for a wide range of social events, home decoration, lifestyle, and marketing products. For those planning a chic, celebrity-style wedding, or Do-It-Yourself party planners looking to create unique and personal details, or designers looking for creative inspiration, Dasherie features the best of the best in the lettering & design world."

Using reference from this magazine, I can learn the ways they incorporate original content, advertisements, and the overall layout and style. But of course, I want my own magazine to be different is most all aspects design-wise and topic-based, where I can incorporate content for even a more modern-aged audience, including typography, social media layout, fashion with writing/words, and much more.



Citations:
ADVERTISE. (2014, July 08). Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://dasheriemag.com/advertise/
Calligraphy. (2018, March 06). Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calligraphy