Illustrated Industry Report - Magazine Creative Director

Figure 1. Justin Hardiman Visuals - Star Girl

Magazine Creative Director ad4604-illustrated industry report ellie preston

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t e CON t s 4-5 - I n t r o d u c t i o n 6-7 - t h e j o b r o l e 8-9 - c a s e s t u d y 1 10-11 - c a s e s t u d y 2 12 - 13 - C o n c l u s i o n 14 o n w a r d s - r e f e r e n c e s 2

3 Figure 2. Justin Hardiman Visuals - Star Girl

Figure 3. Kim K.W for Wonderland Mag

introduct ion

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For my chosen job role case study, after researching extensively I decided on an art/creative director for a magazine. According to Truity (2017), an art director is someone who is overall responsible for the signature design of a magazine, including the photography, layout and any graphic design or art work. As quoted by former ELLE art director (via Blaze, 2012), Joe Zee

“It’s really sort of helping to define a visual signature for the magazine.”

My reasons for choosing this as my future job role, is because I have a massive passion for photography and graphic design, as well as a huge interest in fashion magazines and the design of them. This made it seem like a perfect decision for this to be my goal job for the future. On my fashion marketing course so far, we have developed a lot of skills

sign and Illustrator which will be fundamental for this job role. We have also produced booklets and lookbooks, similar to magazines from scratch which I think has made me realise my passion for a job in this field.

Figure 4. Bowie Print via Bloglovin’

on programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, InDe-

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the job role A creative director is quite a high up job role, with

phy

the yearly salaries going up to around £70,000,

- Commissioning clients

according to Creative Pool (2012). This also means

- Budgeting for the design of the publication

that it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to gain this

- Final checking for design process

role without at least a bachelor’s degree in creative fields such as graphic design, photography or mar-

Skills

keting or without having at least 5 years experience

As well as having a lot of important responsibilities,

working in the creative industry or similar roles,

creative directors also have to carry a lot of skills

such as junior director, graphic designer or pho-

with them to be able to fulfill their job successfully

tographer, as stated by Study (2017).

and be able to run a team of creatives. According to Creative Skillset (2017) and Creative Director of

Responsibilities

British Vogue, Jaime Perlman (British Vogue, 2016)

Creative directors carry a lot of responsibility,

the key skills you need to be in with a chance of

as it’s their job that each issue of the publication

becoming a creative director include:

follows the brands unique signature completely and works for their target audience. The responsibilities that creative directors need to carry out, obviously will slightly vary depending on what publication you’re working for. According to my sources, Sokanu (2017) and Creative Pool (2012) the general main responsibilities for creative directors are:

- Having very strong motivational and leadership skills - Strong presenting skills - Strong communication skills - Be passionate about the company you’re working for - Have an excellent creative eye - Be able to take responsibility for the whole creative

- Creating and keeping a signature look for the publi-

side of the publication

cation

- Strong InDesign and Photoshop skills

- Designing and creating the layout of each issue,

- Skills in coding

most importantly the front cover

- Digital and moving image design skills

- Working with photographs, art work and typogra-

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Figure 5. Print by Minakani

Figure 6. Young Thug for Dazed Magazine

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The first publication I have chosen for my case study is Dazed Magazine. Dazed is a bimonthly publication, founded by Jefferson Hack and Rankin in 1991, according to Wiseman (2011). Dazed Digital (2008) describe the magazine as being an alternative style and culture magazine and claims that they are “defining the times with a vanguard of next generation writers, stylists and image makers”.

case study 1: dazed

Each issue is around 300 pages long, costing £4.50

and graphic design as well as InDesign and Photo-

and is targeted towards a largely female audience

shop.

aged 18-30, according to Calcutt (2015).

Unlike other creative directors, Jamie went from

I’ve chosen Dazed as I feel like my style of work is

graduate to being the creative director of Dazed in

very suited to what they produce and would fit in

just four years and also completely refreshed its

well with the publication. I also love how it’s a fash-

overall look in his first two months of being appoint-

ion and lifestyle magazine, yet doesn’t produce pre-

ed, according to Gosling (2015). This is something

dictable and mainstream content. It’s a magazine

that I find hugely inspiring, and I think is something

that grows and changes with its young target audi-

that definitely has helped to meet the expectations

ence, and isn’t afraid of addressing current affairs

of Dazed’s target audience, as he has kept the design

such as feminism and Trump’s America as opposed

young and alternative by changing the logo, content

to a publication such as Vogue which has always

and overall structure of the magazine yet hasn’t lost

completely followed it’s same signature design style

its original signature nostalgic charm.

and shy’s away from addressing ‘taboo’ or contro-

By fitting the design of each issue around the con-

versial subjects. Dazed is somewhere that would be

tent, each issue looks completely different, making

one of my goal companies to get a work placement

it again more appealing for Dazed’s younger target

with next year, in either the photography, graphics

audience as it will keep them engaged and interest-

or styling departments which would give me great

ed, as well as looking forward to being able to see

experience working in both a field and for a publica-

each issue.

tion that I would aim for in the future.

The current creative director for Dazed is Jamie Reid. Appointed in 2015, he has previous experience working as art director for POP magazine and Arena Homme+, as well as producing design work for companies such as Adidas, Urban Outfitters and YCN, according to his own website, reidjamie.co.uk (2017). As stated on his LinkedIn account (2017),

Target audience profile according to Calcutt (2015).

-66% Female -Aged 18-30

he graduated in 2011 from the University of Bright-

-B - C2 socioeconomics

on with a B.A in graphic design. He also describes

-‘Hipsters’

his main skills being in art direction, typography

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Figure 7. Lana Del Rey Dazed cover

“It needed needed to to “It represent a a represent new era. era. It It new really is is a a really new era era and and new total reretotal boot.” boot.”

Figure 8. Pattern by trendvision

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case study 2: glamour My second and last case study is Glamour maga-

art director then to art director for ELLE Collections

zine. The main reason I chose Glamour is because

and then back over to ELLE magazine to be deputy

it’s from Dazed both design and content wise, and I

art director. She then describes her main skills as

really wanted to compare two different publications.

being art direction, magazines and magazine de-

I also chose Glamour because I really like the new

sign as well as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.

more sophisticated direction they’re going in with

Unlike Jamie Reid, it took Rahman over 8 years to

the magazine, compared to some other cheaper and

become art director of Glamour, which I find quite

more mainstream women’s lifestyle magazines.

inspiring as she is a representation of having to start

Glamour is a Conde Nast publication, it launched

from the bottom and working your way up to an

in the UK in 2001 and is described as being “the

extremely successful role. According to Goodfellow

biggest-selling women’s lifestyle magazine in the UK

(2016), her appointment brought Glamour a “Rein-

and Europe since it’s launch.” via Conde Nast Inter-

vigorated look and feel” which provided the publica-

national (2017). Glamour is a monthly publication,

tion with a clearer identity against its competitors

costing £2.00 per issue and has around 200 pages

such as Grazia and a more sophisticated and modern

per issue. From my observations, Glamour has a lot

feel. I think this new look has worked well for Glam-

less full page advertisements than Dazed, however

orous’ target audience, as it’s helping to appeal to a

does include a lot more product placement shots

more youthful target audience again and also helps

instead. This is due to it fitting into a much more

to make it look a lot more expensive than what it is.

mainstream and female target audience. According to Conde Nast Russia (2017) 91% of Glamours readers are female and the largest reading age group is 25-34 years old.

The current creative director of Glamour is Lisa Rahman, who was appointed in November 2015.

Target audience profile according to Conde Nast Russia (2017).

According to Rahman’s LinkedIn page (2017), she

- 91% female

graduated from University of the Arts London in

- Aged 25-34

2008 with an art foundation degree and a B.A in

- 72% high income/above average

graphic design communication. She then started off as a freelance designer for ELLE magazine, before working her way up to designer, acting associate

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- 69% have a job

Figure 10. Jourdan Dunn Glamour UK cover

Figure 9. Pattern by lifeonsundays via Pinterest

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conc lusion To conclude, both of these different roles appeal

team, again another important factor for this role as

to me and in the future I would definitely consider

you’re leading a whole team of people.

working for both Glamour or Dazed. Both Reid and

To help me to achieve a career path as a creative

Rahmans roles have inspired me and shown me that

director, I want to start planning ahead and doing

if you work hard, you can be very successful at a

as much as I can now to get me in the best position

young age. Reid’s role has taught me that you don’t

possible for when I leave university. As my first year

necessarily need years of experience to gain a high

is drawing to a close, I plan on working extremely

up role and Rahman’s role has taught me that it’s

hard on my portfolio and blog over Summer. I think

okay to start from the very bottom and slowly work

by regularly blogging and having a strong portfolio,

your way up, if you believe in the work you produce

it will assist you in being able to gain jobs easier as

you’ll get there in the end. At a later date, I could

the employers can visually see your work and it also

possibly try to contact them about placements for

shows that you’re adaptable to today’s technologies.

next year which would put me in an excellent posi-

I also plan on getting a placement at a magazine

tion and would also give me links for the future.

in my first year. Whether is styling for shoots, in

So far in my course, I have learnt new skills as

the photography department or creating graphic

well as getting better at skills I already had. I’m

elements, anything creative would be a step in the

extremely proficient on Photoshop, InDesign and

right direction and will put me in a great place to

Illustrator now, which are all great skills that are

gain more internships and then hopefully a full time

needed to achieve this job role and I can continue to

job. To gain experience, I would probably have to

build on them. We have done a multitude of look-

go down to London for a few weeks as that is where

book, booklet and illustrated report making which

a lot of magazine companies are based. Moving

has allowed me to create almost magazine like piec-

to London or further down South permanently is

es on InDesign, I hope to carry this on throughout

something that I may have to consider for the future

my whole time at university.

if I want this job role, however a lot of new compa-

I’ve also learnt new skills in presenting and

nies are starting up in cities like Manchester so this

communicating my ideas. This is because of the

might not be necessary.

amount of presentations we’ve done this year, I

Something else that would help my portfolio is

have definitely learnt how to get my ideas across to

working on freelance jobs. I want to try and get as

an audience visually as well as verbally. This again

much freelance work as possible over the next two

is something fundamental to my chosen job role.

years as it gives you experience with working with

Working on group projects has taught me that I can

real life clients, so I would gain professionalism and

lead a team, as well as being a credible member of a

experience as well as more work for my portfolio.

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13 Figure 11. Justin Hardiman Visuals - Star Girl

refer ences

Dazed Digital. (2008). Dazed and Confused. Dazed and Confused. Retrieved from http://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused

Goodfellow, J. (2016). Conde Nast redesigns Glamour, moving the title to an integrated print

Blaze, D. (2012). Elle‘s Joe Zee Reveals Exactly What a Magazine Creative Director Does. ADWEEK. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/digital/joezee-elle-creative-director-job/

British Vogue. [British Vogue]. (2016, January, 26). How to Become a Creative Director with Alexa Chung | Future of Fashion | British Vogue [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bK_fnLCgF9M

Calcutt, A. (2015). Dazed Audit. MagLab. Retrieved from http://maglab.org.uk/dazed-confused-audit/

Conde Nast International. (2017). Glamour. Conde Nast International. Retrieved from http://www. condenastinternational.com/country/united-kingdom/glamour/

Conde Nast Russia. (2017). Brands/Glamour/Audience. Conde Nast Russia. Retrieved from https:// www.condenast.ru/en/portfolio/magazines/glamour/circulation/

Creative Pool. (2012). Job Description: Art Editor.

Creative Pool. Retrieved from http://creativepool. com/articles/jobdescriptions/art-editor-job-description

Creative Skillset. (Unknown). Creative Director.

Creative Skillset. Retrieved from http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/4272_creative_director

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and digital team. The Drum. Retrieved from http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/04/15/ conde-nast-redesigns-glamour-moving-title-integrated-print-and-digital-team

Gosling, E. (2015). “Everything has changed”: new Dazed art director Jamie Reid talks us through the mag’s redesign. It’s Nice That. Retrieved from http://www.itsnicethat.com/features/dazed-magazine-redesign-jamie-reid

Rahman, L. (2017). Lisa Rahman Art Director at GLAMOUR (UK). LinkedIn. Retrieved from https:// www.linkedin.com/in/lisrah/

Reid, J. (2017). Jamie Andrew Reid/About. ReidJamie. Retrieved from http://www.reidjamie.co.uk/ about

Reid, J. (2017). Jamie Andrew Reid art director at Dazed. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-andrew-reid-37590976/?ppe=1

Sokanu. (Unknown). Art Director Career. Sokanu.

Retrieved from https://www.sokanu.com/careers/ art-director/

Study.com (Unknown). How to Become a Creative Director: Education and Career Roadmap. Study. com. Retrieved from http://study.com/articles/ How_to_Become_a_Creative_Director_Education_ and_Career_Roadmap.html

Wiseman, E. (2011). Still Dazed at 20: the gang who

Figure 8. Pattern by trend vision “bacteriograms”.

changed pop culture. The Guardian. Retrieved from

(unknown). Retrieved from http://trendvisions.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/nov/05/

lancia.it/en/article/bacteriograms-by-erno-erik-rai-

dazed-confused-gang-still-cool

tanen

image refer ences Figure 1, 2 & 11. Hardiman, J. (2017). Star Girl. Re-

Figure 9. Pattern by lifeofsundays via Pinterest. (unknown). Retrieved from http://www.lifeonsundays.com/post/22182166108/areaofinterest-michael-chase

Figure 10. Jourdan Dunn Glamour UK cover. (2017).

Retrieved from http://www.glamourmagazine. co.uk/magazine/april-2017

trieved from http://justinhardimanvisuals.com/#/ editorial/

Figure 3. Kim K.W for wonderland magazine.

(2016). Retrieved from https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2016/09/23/kim-kardashian-west/

Figure 4. Bowie Wallpaper via Bloglovin’. (2016).

Retrieved from https://www.bloglovin.com/ blogs/lua-de-venus-14717651/wallpapers-em-forma-de-patterns-para-voces-4782121070

Figure 5. Print by Minakani. (unknown). Retrieved from http://www.minakani.com/

Figure 6. Young Thug for Dazed Magazine by Harley Weir. (2015) Retrieved from http://www.dazeddigital.com/projects/gallery/21372/23/harley-weir-sdazed-archive

Figure 7. Lana Del Rey Dazed Cover. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ article-4410520/Lana-Del-Rey-oozes-old-Hollywoodglamour-Dazed-cover.html

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