homework for monday

1) Determine content approach and gather: article text, headlines, pull quotes, images, viscom materials, etc. (recommended time: 1 hour. you should have a lot of research already done for viscom)

2) Determine the magazine that your article will live in (can be real or imagined) and know the dimensions.

3) Rough analog sketches. Working at roughly index card size for each page, sketch 3 different layout concepts. We need to see the opening spread + one interior spread. These could be quick and loose sketches. Remember: your formal decisions should be informed by your content.  (recommended time: 2 hours max. would be ample time to get this done)

*note: we are off track from the schedule that is on the syllabus. the most update information will ALWAYS be on the course blog.

in class exercise

IN CLASS: FORM RESEARCH *we will have a group share at the end of the period, so work efficiently and be prepared to discuss. 

IDENTIFY: Structural Components of Editorial Design (everything in black below)

• page – the single unit of editorial design
• double page spread – two single pages side-by-side are the main and most important compositional element of editorial design. All grid building and layout is looked at through this lens.
• grid – the invisible architecture of the double page spread
• margins – the free space reserved at the top, bottom, outside and inside of a double page spread (top, bottom, left, right of a single page). In general, enough space should be reserved to make reading comfortable.
• columns – the vertical units of a page used to define where elements are positioned. Columns can be any number and are often between 2 and 12.
• rows – the horizontal units of a page used to define where elements are positioned. Rows are not automatically definable in InDesign but can be simply set with guides on your Master Pages.
• gutters – the space between columns. Gutters should have enough width to help define text columns and not hinder legibility (they should not be so close that you skip across the gutter while reading).
• baseline grid – a series of evenly spaced horizontal lines which determine where the baselines of text, as well as other elements, can be positioned. The leading of all typographic elements is usually a either the same amount, a multiple, or a division of the baseline grid which helps give visual structure to the overall grid.
• folio – the area where page numbers and publication title are positioned.
• Folios are often outside or below the perimeters of the article’s design (i.e. somewhere in the outside margin).
• bleed area – the space outside of the edges of the double page spread reserved for overflow of artwork
• slug area – the space outside of page and bleed edges reserved for file and technical information for production

IDENTIFY: Content Components of Editorial Design, in usual order of hierarchy

• headline – title of the article
• image: photos, illustrations, icons – images which support and supplement the reading experience
• intro/deck/kicker/standfirst – initial summary of the article, called out hierarchically to be read while visually scanning the page. A bridge between headline and text
• pull quotes/breakouts/callouts – information pulled and duplicated from the main article text, set in a way to visually punctuate the rhythm of the spread and orient the reader
• panels/box copy/sidebars – these hold information that relates, but is not essential, to the content and ideas of the main text. These subtext areas hold lists of pertinent information, interviews, info graphics, etc. to give the reader another perspective on the content, enrich the reading experience.
• information graphics – see above
• captions – image descriptors that act as a bridge between image and main text
• subheads – subheads break up the main text into logical sections
• text/body copy – the main content of the article which all other elements work to support and illuminate
• folios/footlines – folios usually contain the page number and publication title but can also have section or chapter titles. They do not necessarily (and most often do not) appear on every page of a publication and will be removed where full-bleed art is used. They will sometimes appear only on right-hand pages
• graphic elements – lines, textures, color bars or background images that help define, shape or highlight the construction of a spread and can lend mood or tone to the article

*****

Tip: Draw the underlying grid structure. You can draw on top of a photocopy of your article or on tracing paper overlays. Define the page edges, margins, columns, rows and gutters. Include both left and right pages as a single spread. On a second sheet (or on the same sheet with a different color marker) try to define the content elements of the article, including headlines, intro, pull quotes, sidebars, captions, subheads, body copy, folios, graphic elements & images.

Project Three: Magazine Article Layout

Build on your knowledge of grids from Type One, in the design of a magazine article. 

 OBJECTIVES

> Select content (body copy, headlines, images) to integrate with your own visual assets for a cohesive magazine article. 

> Organize complex information in a consistent grid, applied over three spreads. 

> Develop an engaging and dynamic reading experience using the grid. 

DESCRIPTION

Explore the grid, hierarchy, composition and the control of complex elements through the design of a 3 spread (6 individual pages) magazine article. Your content will be a found article relating to your VisCom2 project. Your visual content will be a combination of found imagery and visual assets you’re creating in VisCom2.

 PROCESS (details to be posted daily to the course blog)

1. Content research: Using your VisCom2 subject matter and theme, find existing magazine articles or book essays (or online articles) about both/either:

a. a specific theme within your work (a subset or micro view, i.e. the culture of heroin addiction or disease carrying microbes found in motel pillows) or, 

b. about the content from a general perspective (macro view, i.e. addiction treatment strategies in the western world or worldwide health and cleanliness standards in the hotel industry).

While searching consider separate threads of information that may be useful in the article. By that I mean an article can contain a main text as well as a subtext running through it. Also consider the breakdown of information within the article, among many elements, you will be required to use subheads in your version, and these can be self-authored to support your theme. Also gather images that relate to or support the article content. You should already have a wealth of material to use from your  VisCom2 research. I recommend finding: photographs, illustrations, diagrams, etc.

2. Form Research.

3. Design. 

Homework: Revise Poster +

For Friday:

1) Make final revisions to your poster and plot 

2) Blog post containing:

a) Final Poster from project 2
b) 5 examples of your process that embody how your concept and form have evolved over the 3.5 weeks. Captions and supplemental text will be helpful.
c) Final Statement. What have you learned from your designer? How have you employed their methods and ideologies into your own creative practice?

In addition:
Bring a magazine for in class exercise + materials

Clarification on homework for Friday

Refine your direction and create 3 slight variations. Print your favorite at 100% in b&w (tiled) and print the other 2 at 50% in full color (trimmed). 

Pin posters in the hallway (starting by the print center) if wall space in the studio runs out. 

absences are getting out of hand

at this point in your career in our department, you know that any and all absences are frowned upon. all absences will negatively impact your grade. many of you have 2 absences, which puts you dangerously close to the letter grade reduction that comes with 3 absences.

language from syllabus: calculating attendance and effects on grading

Please take note of the following:

Any absence (excused by the arc or unexcused) negatively affects your grade.

“Late” = out of the classroom during roll call at the beginning of class.

“Absent” = missing by 30 minutes or more, asleep, disengaged or lack of participation. 

Three lates = one absence. Being late will also result in your name being put at the end of the sign up sheet on days that we have one-one-one meetings. 

3 Unexcused absences = one letter grade reduction. 

5 Unexcused absences = two letter grade reduction.

6 absences (excused or unexcused) = automatic course failure per kcai attendance policy unless withdrawl accomodations have been made.

Best in Show 2

The second round of compositions.