I Made Magazines, And Slowly Died Inside
... And I lived to tell the tale.
Prologue; Many of my dear friends have always told me I overthink my concepts, and although my research has always been rounded and thorough, it has always taken a toll on me after the project is over. Emotionally, mentally, physically (seriously though, man, have I been stress eating or what?! Gotta lose those pounds.) Importantly, I tried to remind myself like my friends did that I have a (pretty darn great) sense of humor, and I could take a swing at making work that would make people laugh, maybe something a little less introspective for once. So I decided, this term would be the term I make people laugh. To smile, and in turn, that would make me smile again with my work. To take things light, and keep the brief brief. So...
... I Tried to Keep It Brief. “Magazine” Objectives • To explore and develop editorial design skills. • To curate, organise and convey complex information. The Brief A new, independent and niche magazine is being published and you are the editor and designer., through both print and digital editions. The appeal of a magazine is that it can convey a variety of information, where “text and images come together to create an editorial personality.” Theme: Unusual Hobbies / Interests. - Can cover one or a range, e.g. knitting, perfumery, craft beer, etc. Target Audience: Aged 25-35 Deliverables • Think carefully about appropriate visual language that both gives the content personality and also communicates with your reader. • Research and develop grids, hierarchy, navigation, etc. • Magazine does not have to be copy-heavy. • Specifically • covers, including master-head (2-3 options) • content page, indicating what the magazine will feature • three feature spreads demonstrating typographic treatment (e.g. hierarchies, captions, pull-out quotes, running-headers, folios, etc.) • can also feature an online version - Final proposed version should be visualised to a highly finished standard. • Process Journal • Evidence of research into specific subjects • Visual Evidence of Idea Generation • Visual Development of ideas • Provide a dummy and specification sheets, detailing a breakdown of the typographic details: typefaces used, size, leading, spacing, grids used. • Reference found photography where appropriate. Assessment Criteria • Choice of Subject Matter • Interesting? Unusual? Different Perspective? • Quality of research and investigation in Subject Matter. • Idea Generation Quality • Originality? Tried / Safe? Relevance to Market, etc. • Ability to translate ideas into visuals • how well visuals convey idea, if it has enhanced the idea or made it look clumsy / messy. • Quality of Execution, Selection and Handling of Visual Elements • experimentation with approaches, final selection of approach, appropriateness Suggested References for Editorial Designers: Alexei Brodovitch, Fabien Baron, Neville Brody, David Carson, Magculture New Magazine Design, Jeremy Leslie, Creative Review Magazine, Derek Birdsall, Emil Ruder, Lester Beall, Herbert Matter, Detail in Typography: Jost Hoschuli, Modern Typography: Unjustified Texts, Robin Kinross, Tibor Kalman
Brief Didn’t Work Out.
It started out innocent and clear enough. The brief was, “a niche magazine for an unusual hobby.” Everyone jumped straight into looking for hobbies, but I took a step back and told myself
So that was my schemingly brilliant plan to subvert the brief. To not focus on what, but who, because there would be no what without who, and thus there would be no point. Again, that is such a deep point, somtimes I stun myself.
“TAKE IT EASY.”
I didn’t. Instead of looking for hobbies, I began to define the idea of what is “unusual”. Damn was I deep. Little did I know I would also soon be in deep shit.t I realised after a bit of reading that “unusual” was essentially the idea of being different. That something was remarkable, or interesting because it was different from or better than others. And it struck me. This magazine shouldn’t be about the hobbies. It should be about the people’s perspective. What’s really unusual, the hobbies or the minds behind it? And it struck me (again.) Who could be more unusual than superheroes? I realised I could make a magazine that questioned the idea of normality, of what is usual or unusual.
I realised this magazine was a chance to define the new “normal”, to destroy the idea of the unusual and to normalise the idea of anything “different”. It was all well-intentioned and bright, that this magazine would help normal people understand that superheroes, just like us, are human too. It would be a magazine promoting understanding and providing help, for superheroes and people alike... “SUPERVISION THAT’S GONNA BE THE NAME!”
Again, brilliant pun.
But anyway.
Of course, I also touched on the usual boring “what makes a magazine a magazine� technical stuff yada yada etcetera ok. I wrote a lot of notes. But really, magazines are capitalist vehicles aimed at non-assuming everyday men while pretending to be nice books.
Then it happened.
I consulted Paul, and we both discussed my super idea. It was fun. But, it wasn’t very super.
It was ok.
OK is not OK.
What do you do when good isn’t good enough? Get bad.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a wasted piece of effort because we ended up investigating the idea of the altruistic superhero, and what makes him tick. What motivates his selflessness, and it went into a philosophical discourse aboutmorality and questioning the necessity of the hero and the villain.
That debate set a bunch of cogs rolling into overtime in my brain. But I was worried. My old self was back - the Bad Classic Overthinking Philosopher (aka “Bad Cop”.) When the Bad Cop side of me appears, I sink deep into questioning everything. Bad Cop is bad, because he is relentless with the questioning, and it gets very exhausting. But Bad Cop is also great, because he lets me get to many answers that I never saw myself questioning earlier on.
Then I realised.
Bad Cop was classic superhero trope. The villainous good guy. And it made me realise that even when people do bad things, no one does them with bad intentions (unless they’re truly evil twats.) People do bad things because they believe them necessary. That one small wrong helps to make a bigger right happen. Essentially, an inverse morality.
The only difference between “good” and “bad” was essentially the amount of power they had to exert their ideas over the other. The further I delved into research, the further I began to question the idea of right and wrong, of its supposed bipolar nature. My problem with doing superheroes meant playing the good guy, and that was not posing a lot of new insightful questions needing answering except the importance of doing the right thing. And then I realized that was the question that needed answering. How do you define the right thing?
“No One Man Should Have All That Power.”
Screw superheroes. I went dark. I went so dark. Instead of understanding why unusual people would want to fight crime, the more intriguing question would be why would people want to pursue crime? How do they justify the evil crimes they commit and what do they hope to achieve? And ultimately, what drives them to do what they do? The answer of course lies in their morality. Morality is defined as principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad behavior. Morality is derived from a particular system of values and principles of conduct from a particular culture, religion or philosophy. This definition connotes that there are no objective claims to what is right or wrong, but only that which is widely considered right or wrong.
ENTER THE
DARKNESS! Morality is decided by how you want to live and how you think you can survive, and if you feel that you can’t fit into the system or it goes against your beliefs and endangers your way of living or isn’t right, you are naturally inclined to think of it in a negative sense that you’d want to overcome it.
It’s the same for ”evil”, when someone is driven to commit something drastically deviant but only in order to think of the bigger picture. In that sense, being evil is also altruistic, and people are committed to doing evil so they can attain the power necessary to survive.
Therefore morality is subject to opinion, societal system and belief. ..... Much like politics and world leaders. Undoubtedly, their methods aren’t universally approved, but no one can deny they had good intentions somewhat.
Or do they?
I realised eventually no one will ever truly know what another person is thinking or if he’s being honest about his intentions, that the idea of politics and selecting our world leaders is essentially a game of faith disguised as democracy.
... Coincidentally, what was happening at the time of our brief?
These guys.
.... 319 million people in their country and these two. The country were fighting over these two to become their president. Wow. What a way to watch the world burn on tv, yet there they were. Squabbling on live television always, while more people squabbled over their squabbling. It was really just a lot of squabbling over a lot of misplaced faith.
... Hmm. Misplaced faith.
“Faith is the idea of having a strong belief, confidence, or trust in someone or something, sometimes based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.” This again reminded me of the divisiveness caused by misunderstandings. Of being met with the unusual, something one is not comfortable with and causing him to react negatively to it. For the individual to begin connoting it as “bad”, or evil even.
This phenomenon of misinformation and misunderstanding became so especially rampant during the elections period. People were voicing their opinions, personal, objective, diplomatic, political, what not. But opinions were being given, and sometimes not so well-received. It didn’t help that there is barely any semblance to control or filter for “accurate” information supply. With the age of the internet and social media taking over our lives, people were taking what was being fed to them.
Mis und Essentially, people were being er naive and stupid. stan ding; a failure to understand something correctly, usually due to a lack of accurate information
Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war. - Maria Montessori
People Saying Wise Things... I think.
There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel. - Vladimir Lenin Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important. - Eugene McCarthy Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies. - Dalton Camp
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects. - Lester B. Pearson Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds. - Henry Adams Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times. - Winston Churchill Politics is preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. - Paul Valéry
Man is by nature a political animal. - Aristotle
We have the best government that money can buy. - Mark Twain
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. - Plato
If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal. - Emma Goldman
In politics stupidity is It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. not a handicap. I have learned that it bears a - Napoleon striking resemblance to the first. - Ronald Reagan Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you. - Pericles
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies. - Groucho Marx
In politics, nothing Practical politics consists in ighappens by accident. noring facts. If it happens, you can - Henry Adams bet it was planned that way. - Franklin Roosevelt
Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. - Doug Larson
In politics you must always keep running with the pack. The moment that you falter and they sense that you are injured, the rest will turn on you like wolves. - Rab Butler
Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. - Ambrose Bierce
Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. - John Kenneth Galbraith
The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that’s out always looks the best. - Will Rogers
Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary. - Robert Louis Stevenson
I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. - Charles de Gaulle
He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career. - George Bernard Shaw
Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. - Henry Kissinger
Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke. - Will Rogers
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. - Nikita Khrushchev
Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory. - John Kenneth Galbraith
In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake. - Napoleon
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. - Richard Armour
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live. - Socrates
Post Truth Echo Chamber Ad Hominem.
Coincidentally, while trawling the interwebs of reddit for misinformation inspirations, I chanced across the philosophical debate of post-truths, echo chamber effect, and ad hominem, all relatable to the notion of pervasive misinformation. It was a golden find, and I dived headfirst into this treasure trove of debate. (It also helped me give an overaraching theme / project for the year.)
Now to Actually Do Things.
COVER
1. AD 1
2. IMPRESSUM
3.EDITOR’S LETTER
4. CONTENT
5. AD 2
6. EVENT CALENDAR
7. SECTION START ISSUE’S ISSUE
8. PROTAGONIST ANTAGONIST INTRO
9. INTERVIEW KANYE 1/2
10. INTERVIEW KANYE 2/2
11.
12.
13.
14.
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18.
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21.
22.
Breaking Out. Of course, never not try something new. I had already derailed from my original plans of doing something light-hearted and comedic like the superhero magazine, so why not go full on breaking away from everything structured?
My research had pointed that the root of all evil seems to be ignorance, of misunderstand, and this was of course due to lack of information. So the only way to fight that was of course, with more information. But I had to appeal to the audience that I had in mind who would most appreciate this questioning and presentation of information saturation.
If the notes aren’t legible enough, have no fear for a breakdown of the notes are here. The magazine would essentially be a one stop all-in perspectives publication, to give understanding that there is a duality to all things, that nothing is solely good or solely bad. Everything has its flipside, and this magazine would provide that.
Breaking Down.
Who would it be for? The liberal millennials, especially since they seem to be so aggrieved by the election results. Instead of encouraging truth through faith, this magazine aimed to help them to understand that there needs to be depth for someone to fully understanding something rather than assuming and accepting all that is given in blind faith. Truth doesn’t come from self-righteousness but rather, self-empowerment. Ultimately, the aim would be for this magazine to provoke an emotional need or intrigue within the reader to want to find out more, through the idea of dissonance. Dissonance is known to cause discomfort for people in situations they’re unfamiliar or “weak” in, and to not understand something would cause a reaction. So if someone doesn’t know something, don’t tell them. Hook them. And what better way than to fight fire with fire? The magazine would assume the position of a reactionary publication to current issues, its pilot issue launching in response to social media taking power and control over people’s lives through misinformation. Through the learned effects of the echo chamber and post-truth society, this magazine would make use of pop culture or trending imagery to invoke a sense of intrigue and give people a sense of relatability to current issues that would make them want to learn more.
- The Election - The Citizen vs The Immigrant - Climate Change - Data Security - Automation - Artificial Intelligence - Gun Violence - Terrorism - The Free “Sharing Economy� - All Lives Matter / Racism - Gender Equality - Freedom of Speech - Social Injustice - Internet Justice - Self-Actualising Careers - Ad Hominem / Subjective before Objective - Post-Truth - Economy
Mental Breakdown. For some reason, after pondering through a number of clean, structured references, and even some constructivist ones, all of which I’d liked and preferred to do, somehow I decided to go full dada and do what I had never done. Collage. For a magazine. Not sure if stroke of genius or madness. Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable experience for me. Very much so.
Trial by Error.
I went through many stages of being weirded out by my own works. As if trying to collect images from analogue sources wasn’t hard enough, I had to struggle with trying to make them fit. It was a very humorous experience though.
2020 KANYE DONALD TRUMP THE ELECTION ISSUE
BARACK ADOLF HITLER
ROOSEVELT JOSEPH STALIN
VOTE
SUPER REPUS
SuperSuper launched in 2020 as a response to rising trends of ad hominem and misinformation, pervasive in the elections of 2016.
Super People were drawn to emotional pulls by political campaigners and the media, minds carried away by emotions and the post-truth phenomenon. Emotion won logic and began clouding people’s perceptions, distracting them from the work that actually mattered. Misinformation strife, echo chamber pervasive, and society’s minds wildly distraught by post-truths.
SuperSuper aims to bring balance in perspective to all, to urge readers to make informed choices and be thorough with any decision they make. To always question, and to seek answers they need for themselves. “Self awareness is important because when we have a better understanding of ourselves, we are able to experience ourselves as unique and separate individuals. We are empowered to make changes to build on our areas of strength as well as identify areas where we would like to make improvements.”
Super
“post-truth” : an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
The focus of SuperSuper is essentially the notion of questioning perspective and balance. Of looking at things from more than just a personal and one-sided point of view, to understand and accept inevitable duality. With its split visual identity, it is all the more important to keep the brand of SuperSuper focused, consistent, powerful and importantly, intriguing.
2020 KANYE
KANYE KANYE
DONALD TRUMP DONALD TRUMP DONALD TRUMP DONALD TRUMP
BARACK BARACK BARACK BARACK BARACK ADOLF HITLER
VOTE
ADOLF HITLER ADOLF HITLER ADOLF HITLER
ROOSEVELT ROOSEVELT ROOSEVELT JOSEPH STALIN
JOSEPH STALIN JOSEPH STALIN
BACK TO BLACK
Actual Things
Actual Reactions I was honestly expecting to be utterly destroyed, especially since I had to go last for that critique session. Here was my magazine, after 17 other people had presented perfectly curated magazines whilst mine was an aesthetic mess of images tweaked with as little text as possible. It was almost as though I came with a collage installation rather than a magazine. Instead, I got a surprisingly positive reaction. Confused, certainly, but fortunately, it seemed clear enough to everyone that I was trying to provoke intrigue with jarring imagery that would require further inspection and introspection. Bless their souls.
But of course, just like my magazine, everything has two sides to it. The magazine still needed work and I was told I could try to figure out how to make the collage aesthetic work not only visually but informationally as well.
Round Two. Taking a break from the magazine, after a few consultations here and there I began to realise that I wasn’t really liking the collage aesthetic and felt that I could do what I wanted more cleanly, more “professionally”. So I tried, with the echo chamber effect’s lack of control being the key focus this time, rather than the consumption view.
Square Pegs In Round Holes. These didn’t work out. I was trying too hard to make work that would fit in the “modern portfolio”, instead of work that would fit the concept best.
Best of Both Worlds. For the most part of the consultations and doing this project, I had always thought of working the designs for the people, for the target audience. To design specifically for them, and to be as specific about them as possible. That has always been how I trained, but for the first time, in back to back to back consultations with Michael, Paul and Vanessa, all three of them grilled me again about why I was changing the aesthetic and I suddenly realised...
Why can’t I do both? Why can’t I design a magazine that not only aims to educate the consuming audience of the establishment, but also the establishment itself? A magazine that doesn’t lay blame on either side for being supply or demand, but instead, promoting the idea of being self-aware and in control of information one receives and perceives. Instead of being a dick, why can’t I play nice with both of them and win still?
“Self awareness is important because we have a better understanding of ourselves, we are able to experience ourselves as unique and separate individuals. We are empowered to make changes to build on to our areas of strength as well as identify areas where we would like to make improvements.”
Substance with Style. And I realised not only could I approach it in a different perspective offering a balance, but this balance could be executed aesthetically as well. From my initial collage mess to the structured typography play, I could get take the best aspects of both to be both edgy and informatively structured at the same time.
I began looking up designers knowned for their contributions to social movements, from the likes of Sagmeister’s Happy Project, Timothy Goodman’s writings, to James Victore’s poster designs. I also looked up articles and stories about self awareness and being the best versions of ourselves, in hope of inspiring great articles and copy.
D.I.Y.
All in. I’m not sure how this one is like right now, because it’s still a work in progress but consider issue 1 done.