the MAD magazine project
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D
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a bit about http://mmmaaaddd.blogspot.com/
I first met Daisy and Martina on the FdA Design for Graphic Communication course at LCC in 2007. We quickly became good friends and in the second year had an opportunity to work together on a live group projet run by Marit Muezenberg.
All went well, we had fun and had our piece chosen to happen in the real world. Since then, we begun talking about making a magazine together. The opportunity came in the final major project where we got an open brief and presented our ideas.
Energy on full and not much time to wonder, we jumped in the project and begun a journey of superintensive and highly-satisfying work. This document tries to tell a bit of our odyssey – one of discovery both as a group and as individuals.
Why a magazine? Magazines are (most of the times) a compilation of information. They can be quite rich sources of inspiration and can work as a platform to show a variety of different ideas. Some people might say we are facing the end of print, but we still believe in the endurance of books and magazines, especially niche-market aimed. Our magazine was born because of our passion for the medium as well as to show ourselves and other people that you can make your mark on the world.
I don’t have any magazines in my portfolio and this was the perfect momentum. I wanted to work on something challenging that would help me explore different aspects of designing, especially the collaborative aspect of this group setting. Taking in mind all the knowledge we gained during the three years on the course and our individual experiences, we embarked on a expedition towards the publishing world.
: collaborate co-operate, join forces, team up, band together, work together, combine, participate, ally; pool resources, put heads together.
From the very start we decided this would be a collaboration in every sense of the word. We would share responsibilities, we would do a bit of everything, we would all be equally engaged and active. We would always say what we thought, always being true to each other and not being afraid of being the only one that doesn’t agree. Everything would be negotiable. As much as this might seem utopian, it worked. And it worked well. We got to know each other even more and this enabled us to push the project as far as it could go. (Actually, as far as the deadline allowed!)
PROJECT OUTLINE A collaborative publication for young creatives with the theme of Changes. We wanted to showcase our skills as well as the skills of our contributors. OUR GOALS • To experiment with editorial design • To have a polished outcome that will
add to our portfolios • To work together, in collaboration • To art direct, edit and manage a project from start to finish FOCUS • Managing and designing • Investigating our theme • The collaboration (pushing ourselves
and our team work to new levels) • Experimenting with the sharing of
roles and responsibilities
This project was quite different from any other thing we’ve done before. First of all, we were a group. Second, there was much more to do other than only thinking about the design of the magazine. We were responsible for managing, art directing, administrating, thinking about sales, proofreading, editing. And third, we were actually going to print, invest money and publish a magazine. We had a lot in our minds, so from the beginning we were organized and kept making lists and notes of what needed to be done.
change :
alter, make/become different, adjust, adapt, amend, modify, revise, refine; reshape, refashion, redesign, restyle, revamp, rework, remodel, reorganize, reorder; vary, transform, transfigure, transmute, metamorphose, evolve; informal tweak, doctor, rejig; permute. What could be a better theme than this?
The name Oh! came from a brainstorming session where the three of us had to come up with 5 different ideas. Martina had the idea of naming it Oh You Pretty Little Things, a song by David Bowie. We though it was nice but too long, so Oh! was used as a trial name. We asked some people what they though, had some positive feedback and kept it!
to do
research contact contributors search for sponsoring think about distribution artwork images choose typefaces work on the flatplan choose a name for the mag tell people they won’t be featured split tasks then rotate write interview questions contact professionals contact newspaper club keep clam work hard be nice to people document the process interview richard hollis print print-outs manage ourselves write the editorial write shop no more text write our own blurbs edit contributors blurbs learn how to bake bread go to exhibitions go to talks about magazines talk to people ask for other people’s opinion design stickers design light for exhibition tweak our logo post on our blog collaborate on illustration collaborate on patterns collaborate on photography prepare for print (and pray)
research
Magazines Idea, File, Lula, Gymclass, Rodeo, Self-service, Love, Acne Paper, Colors, Cover,
OdissĂŠia, Gudi, Grafik, Flaunt, Pop, Exit Fantastic Man, Station, Vice, Monika + more!
This is the email we sent out to contributors. Each of us sent it to about seven people, these being friends or people we know. We thought it would be interesting to have a variety of different media, so we contacted illustrators, photographers and writers. We thought it would be fun to have people from different nationalities and backgrounds. We were very excited to see what people would produce and were surprised to see how people incorporated the theme to their work, with individuality.
Dear Friends, We are making a magazine to showcase the work of young creatives across a range of disciplines. It will be printed on newsprint in tabloid newspaper format, in full colour and 24 pages long. We will be printing 500 copies that will be distributed at the LCC Graphic Design Degree Show as well as in a range of other London locations (shops, cafes, galleries etc.) Therefore this is a great opportunity to promote your talent! Unfortunately we are unable to pay you for your work but you will get a copy for your portfolio. Theme: The theme of this issue is ‘Changes’, you can interpret this word as closely or loosely as you like. Format: Images and text emailed to madgirlsdesign@gmail.com Images should be 300dpi and in jpeg, tiff or Photoshop format. Info: Please provide with your work your name, email and website/blog (if you have one) Timescale: The deadline for submitting work is Monday 19th April 2010 (5 weeks from today!) Many thanks and hope to hear from you soon! Martina, Ana & Daisy http://mmmaaaddd.blogspot.com/ (Please be aware that we will try to include all contributors’ work but this unfortunately cannot be guaranteed)
We looked through free magazines such as Vice and Station, and searched for more information about the companies/people that advertise on them. We also came up with a list of our own, brands we like and that fit in the market we are aiming for – young creatives. We decided not to be afraid to try, even if it seemed impossible. The maximum that could happen was not getting any reply.
Our list of possibilities: Ladden Showroom Work Hard Fish Hard Marcos and Trump Atlantis GF Smith MAC Lush The Body Shop Origins Prinicipal Colour Hoxton Street Studios Office 1st Printers Absolute Vintage Cass Art Beyond Retro Urban Outfitters London Graphic Centre Orange
We composed an email explaining the idea behind the magazine and on each email customized a section relating the specific brand to the target audience. We didn’t think anyone would get back to us but very soon Cass Art and Work Hard Fish Hard became interested. We started communicating with Work Hard Fish Hard and arranged a meeting which was cancelled. With Cass Art it was different, they asked the price, and after we replied they said they were happy to meet. Then they simply disappeared. We didn’t have a product to show either of them and I believe this is a major reason for why in the end we didn’t get any sponsoring. Well, next time will be different!
In the end we didn’t get any sponsoring, but we were still happy. We could now do whatever we wanted on the back cover and we had an ad-free magazine. It wasn’t the cheapest thing, but we think of it as an investment, and believe that for the next issue we will manage to get a sponsor since now we have something solid (and well designed!) to show. Hopefully people will contact us as soon as we put them out!
The sponsoring journey
“Work hard & be nice to people” quoting Anthony Burrill again...
When we had all the submissions together, we laid them on the floor and each of us had to pick the top three favourite and less favourite. We had to think about aesthetically pleasing balanced with strong concept. For me, there needs to be a very equal percentage of each. A smile in the mind is what I look for. It was quite difficult to find a way to tell people that their work wasn’t going to be included (for reasons such as low quality images or the simple fact that we didn’t like it). We had to be polite and ruthless at the same time. Not an easy task.
Looking back helps me realise that the hardest and most unexpected duty on making the magazine was the administrating part. Contacting people, getting back to them when they sent bad quality images, explaining to entitled photographers what 300 dpi means, contacting sponsors, communicating in a nice and professional manner, remembering to thank people, amongst other things. We were not used to this kind of communication and we learned a lot. We would always discuss between us how to go about things we weren’t sure. It was very useful to have the opinion of other two people on a subject, we always developed from the initial thoughts.
the flatplan After we decided on what which contributors would be featured, we laid down a flatplan. Keeping in mind the fact that newsprint has some show through, we decided page 2 and 3 should be quite light, as to not interfere with the cover. The sequence of pages was decided in terms of function, not form. For example, on the same spread we put a notebook with a poem about a woman wanting to become ideal for a man and next to it a contributor who talked about the changes she experienced when a relationship came to an end. We tried to make things mean something, to make them connect somehow. On Richard Hollis’ spread we added a collage made by someone else. Richard talks about the insertion of the computer being the biggest change he has experienced and how things were, in the past, pasted up. The sequence of pages was not only done by similarities, but also by contrasts. We felt that putting images together that would complement each other by difference also caused an interesting relationship between them, a change in point of view, a change of direction. Having put down what we had enabled us to make a start in the designing of the magazine. We split up the spreads between ourselves and decided to try out a few things on our own. We would constantly show each other what we were doing and had crits in order to progress. Whenever one of us was stuck, we would pass it on and another person would have a go. Some spreads however, were designed by the three of us as well as all typesetting.
work&tea& work&coffee &work&tea& work&coffee We worked a lot. Many hours, many days. We usually worked at my place, where we had space to lay things around and could go for lunch in the small park right in front. For me, this collaborative project was a really good experience. It made me realize things about myself. I usually have very strong points of view, and I learned how to express that in a more delicate way. I always said what I thought, even if it was almost too late or even if I wasn’t sure about the point I was trying to raise. The most interesting movement was this of just saying something. Whenever one of us had an idea and it was said out loud, this same idea would develop to be something really good because it would pass on and we would add on to it, as a group, until it would finally be ready to be executed. So we weren’t afraid to say things, even if they were quite ‘new born’, as they would naturally, within the group, develop and become mature ideas. We usually worked in separate computers, passing on files between ourselves. Whenever someone was stuck, this person would pass it on and new ideas would surge. The only thing that, in my opinion, didn’t work was when the three of designed around one computer. This was a bit maddening as too many opinions were given in a short spectrum of time and a the atmosphere became a bit tense.
artworking Newsprint is not an easy stock to deal with. Apart from the fact that it is not white, it absorbs a lot of ink. It is important to take that in mind when artworking images. It is good to push the contrast a bit, making the white quite bright (colours usually look subdued on newsprint). In this case I also made a border so that it would enhance the fact that she is inside a constricted space.
Here there was a lot of ‘cleaning’ to do. But not thoroughly – I though it was interesting to preserve a tiny bit of the fabric’s texture. Also important to enhance the colours, especially yellow.
On this case I had to cut out the background and preserve the qualities of a real object. Also to enhance contrast and think about the colours when printed in newsprint. I also translated the poem to English and asked Martina to translate it to Swedish, so that we had the three languages.
“go every where do every thing�
D in Hoxton
says Anthony Burrill, who made the signage for Pick Me Up in collaboration with No Days Off.
There were some pretty cool things happening in London, so we made sure not to miss getting some external inspiration. Pick Me Up (graphic design fair), The Art of Collaboration (exhibition), Sketchbook Pop Up Shop (talks on magazines, publishing, online vs print), Bruno9li (exhibition), Donlon Books (talk about newsprint/art) and Kemistry Gallery were some places we visited.
M at Pick Me Up
A at Nowbrow corner
hands-on activities It is important to keep the mind fresh and to know when you need a break from the screen. This project was quite intense and we spent hours using the computer. We tried to have mini breaks: eating lunch in the garden when it was sunny, going for walks in the early morning to bring some energy to the body, cooking delicious meals. Martina taught me how to make bread which was great because using my hands helped release tension and as a result we had a delicious wholemeal nutty loaf.
We also did some screenprinting which is always full of excitement. You never know what will happen until you lift up the bed. It is a magical moment and gives me a lot of energy to keep going on whatever project I am doing. It is very different from screen designing and it is messy and very physical. It brings it all together and gives you different ideas of how to go on about things in a different way. It is a great break from the computer. If you leave with a finished print it also gives a sense of accomplishment.
A very ludic activity was the change of state ice cubes type experiment. It was fun and looked quite different, but for the magazine we agreed it wouldn’t go very well with our contributors work. It would be a bit too busy if we used these letters with all the different work we were showcasing, so we decided to choose a more simplified display type. It has been archived for future reference!
M
A
Martina came up with the idea of us going out with different cameras and shooting the same things from our own point of view. It was a beautiful day and we headed off to Hamspstead Heath. Apart from the fact that we had a break from the indoor designing spree, we also managed to take lots of shots. We walked a lot, had a general meeting about the project and breathed some fresh air.
My mini project was a collaborative illustration. Each one should choose a colour and use this colour throughout. There were no restrictions in shape and size, as long as you made each new addition in a different layer so that we could see the progress. This method worked quite well so we had another session where we created patterns which were later used in our front and back cover.
mini projects
D Daisy found some old slide films at her mother’s place. She scanned them and prepared an activity. We had to write three words each, in relation to the image that was presented. It was some sort ‘exquisite corpse’ activity, this time instead of drawing we were writing. Interesting things came up, and there was even a shot of Andy Warhol!
Collaborative pattern making Each of us started a pattern and passed it on. We begun with a maximum 24 hour turnaround and could choose any shape. The second round of pattern making was differently organized: we had a 45 minute turnaround and restricted geometric shape to work with. In my opinion, the best results came from the restricted session. The result was bolder, more simple and solid patterns. We then chose the triangle pattern that symbolizes our group, three people, three minds, three corners, to be the background for our masthead. It is funny how sometimes we think that freedom is better, but when you need to come up with something the broadness frightens. When there is a confined space, it is easier for the mind to find it’s way through and be creative within the boundaries.
We decided Richard Hollis would be our main feature, since he had agreed on being interviewed for the magazine. I initially asked him the same questions we had been asking our contributors, then other things came up while he speaking and we had a conversation.
We decided to try and contact our favourite designers. With nothing to lose, we emailed people that we really admire. We explained our project and said why we were interested in their work. We were astonished to get replies from people such as Jon Forss from Non-Format, Anthony Burrill, Rob Ryan, Edholm Ullenius, Adrian Shaugnessy and many others. Whenever we got a reply from these professionals, we realised that everything was becoming true and that we were really making this magazine we had dreamed of for so long. These were very magical moments, and even though we do not idolize these well established professionals, we do consider them truly inspiring makers. Our questions were: • What is the biggest change you have experienced? • What future changes do you anticipate within your creative field? • How do you know when a piece of work is finished and doesn’t need any more changes? • What is something you would like to change if you could?
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interviews
Looking forward to seeing it. I LOVE your blog by the way, looks like you have fun, keep it up! (Anthony Burrill/ http://www.anthonyburrill.com)
Looking forward to seeing/caressing our copies when they arrive. (Jon Forss/ http://www.non-format.com)
shop no more
Shop no More was an idea I came up with in early April. I got paid for a freelance job and since I was passing by Regent Street, decided to pop in a shop and get myself a treat for having worked so hard. So I bough myself a dress and came back home feeling happy and fulfilled. When it was time to put it in the wardrobe, I asked myself: Do I actually use all clothes I have? Did I really need that dress? Why did it feel good to buy something? All these questions bothered me I felt like something had to be done. So I decided to commit to a year without shopping clothes. I told some people about it, some didn’t understand why, some liked the idea and so I decided to make a blog and to publish the idea in our magazine. Here is the text.
We propose a change. Have a look in your wardrobe and be honest: how much are you actually using? Our guess is less than half of what you own. We are not here to judge but to take a closer look at our shopping habits. The three of us have decided not to buy clothing for one year. Although we consider ourselves fairly conscious consumers, we think this will be an interesting and challenging project. We are more excited about the prospect of rediscovering and sharing our wardrobes than any sense of loss or missing out. So why not try the challenge for yourself? How long you decide to go without shopping is up to you, but setting yourself a target helps to add to the sense of goal and achievement. We are not advocating a simple life. We think people should still do things that make them happy, like going out for a meal, to the cinema or travelling. Judith Levine, author of Not Buying It, says that “Shopping is emotional. There is no way to approach the problem of over consumption without investigating the feelings that surround fantasising, getting and owning our stuff.”
In our consumerism-led society, shopping is sold as a means of self-expression. We believe that improvising and being creative is a more interesting path. If you are bored or uninspired by your clothes, dye them, customize, be inventive, organize clothes swapping events with friends. Interestingly, Vivienne Westwood (fashion rulebreaking designer and environmental enthusiast) says people shouldn’t buy clothes unless they absolutely have to – and ideally should refrain from buying anything at all for six months (BBC London Radio, Feb 2010). If you think there are clothes you really don’t need anymore, don’t throw them in the bin: some clothes may take hundreds of years to decompose. Take them to the charity shop or collection point instead. http://madsayschange.blogspot.com/
BEFORE AFTER
the richard hollis session
We went to see Richard after a test print. We brought some brownies and almond cake hoping to sweeten him up but it didn’t work. Happy that it didn’t actually, because Richard asked us things that made us think about the function of certain decisions. He also suggested swapping things around, which made a huge difference on the layout and created much more impact. He also talked to us about the characteristics of newsprint and his experience with this stock. He created a space for us to discover other possibilities and this pushed us to the next level of the design. We felt very lucky to have had this kind of feedback and discussed between us all he suggested. Most of the things were revisited, but some things were of personal taste and we decided to leave it as it was.
Daisy’s dad who lives in the US, works with signage and was able to produce some stickers and a beautiful lamp for the exhibition. We also screenprinted some cards to write a thankyou-note that will be sent together with a copy of the magazine to our contributors.
We had scheduled with Ben Terret the printing slot for our magazine. So the deadline was set and we had to prepare the file for print. Re-scaling to 100%, CMYK, checking all images overall, spell-checking, double-space checking, proofreading for the 10th time (still finding typos), checking every detail, exporting as PDF, finding little things, changing, exporting again and finally uploading to the Newspaper Club site. We anxiously uploaded our file, it took quite a while, then a message came up saying we couldn’t upload a file that has more than 12 pages. We had previously arranged with Ben that we were going for a 24 page full colour newspaper. So we freaked out, thinking we would miss the slot, even though we were more than 12 hours early. We decided to send it through other means and he replied saying it was “cool”.
review
Then it was about waiting to hear about any problems with the files and since we got an email saying everything was fine, that was the end of it. There was nothing else we could do, the magazine had been released from our hands and been put out to the world. Our own magazine, our whole magazine, our baby! We took so much care of it, so intensely and now it will be handled by people, will be loved, taken for granted or will be just another thing on top of a table for a few days. I think it is good to let go, if possible, and let it be free. Disatach yourself from the work, somehow. People are different and they will have different reactions to it, depending on so many factors that are not in our reach. So what really matters is what we feel about it, what we learned, what we gained, what we will take from it and how it will influence our future adventures. Although, the words from people that have seen the process of the making can be insightful and truthful. It is valid to take such thoughts in consideration for the future.
For me this was an incredible experience. The best way possible to have ended this three year journey into graphic design. The possibility to make a group project with your favourite design friends, the collaborative aspect of every detail, the learning from each other, the permanence of the final piece, a physical object x 500 copies! Before this course I didn’t actually know what graphic design meant. I went to a fine art interview at Chelsea School of Art and was told to come to the FdA at LCC. And that’s what I did. This opened up a whole new world to me. I learned so many things and had so many incredible experiences. I found something I like to do all day, everyday. It makes sense, it’s who I am. This magazine project with Martina and Daisy closed a cycle and opened up a new one at the same time. It made me feel independent, being able to take on big responsibilities, believing in myself and in us as a team. I am sure we will work together in the near future, and hope we will make other issues of Oh!
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Perhaps ‘Oh !’ should be called ‘Wow !’ You’ve done a really good job, a pleasure to look at, and the content interesting. No typos. A search for imperfections has found nothing. Not yet. The cover’s nice too. Congratulations.
play video
Richard Hollis
I am very happy with the magazine, am proud of our achievement as a group and as individuals. If I could I would change only one thing. I would make the pattern in three colours only. It would relate to the fact that we are three, just as the name has three characters, and it would make it bolder, more solid and striking. But the print world is different from the web – it’s done and there is no possibility for change. And one could say that the many colours reflect the fact that we have many contributors?