Final Major Project
Book One Research Book
Editorial Design in the Digital Age By Holly Manning
1400097
Contents
Table of contents 01 Introduction
02 P. 02
Workshops
About the author Concepts & aims Mood board & inspiration
Editorial design Planning Photography
03
04
Magazines & Editorial
P. 22
Print vs Digital
What is a magazine? Key moments in history Case studies in history Chapter conclusion / reflection
The debate / theory Case studies in print & digital Survey results discussion Psychology of reading on a screen Chapter conclusion / reflection
05
06
Looking forward
P. 66
Self-publishing
Re-imagining the magazine Case studies for digital magazines The future of the industry Chapter conclusion / reflection
What is self-publishing? Case study: Letter to Jane Chapter conclusion / reflection
07
08
Final Outcome Experimentation Defining an audience User testing Chapter conclusion / reflection
Page 1
P. 100
Conclusion Critical reflection Personal reflection Proposal Bibliography Appendices
P. 08
P. 42
P. 88
P. 116
Image 1, Dissertation Copies (2018)
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01
Chapter One Introduction
Introduction
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Chapter One
Final Major Project FGCM6002 BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Level 6 Term 6 60 Credits
Y03/FMP
Briefing Mon 11th Dec 2017 Interim Assessment Part A/B 26/02 - 09/04 2018
A1 To provide the opportunity to reflect on previous areas of study to inform a personally directed project A2 To identify of a question and area of interest A3 To apply appropriate primary and secondary research methods A4 To facilitate the development of professional technical and presentation techniques
LO1 Demonstrate a rationale behind the choice of subject researched LO2 The ability to engage in sustained research and the analysis of complex problems to inform your work and practice LO3 Demonstrate the use of credible research methods LO4 Employ professional technical and conceptual methodologies
Unit Leader Tom Northey
Final Deadline Part A&B Tuesday 8th May 2018
Graduate Teaching Assistant Daisy Boothman
60 Credits 600 hrs
Project Title Final Major Project
The Final Major Project gives you the opportunity to demonstrate the fluency of your design and communication skills, and to examine a subject or theme in depth through a self determined and challenging assignment.
Deliverables Part A Research Book Design Journal Part B Research Book (Amended) Design Journal (Cont) Design Development Folder Final Outcome(s)
Your Final Major Project will benefit from your increased understanding of theoretical issues - how these inform and contextualise your practical work, your research skills and your creative/strategic design abilities. Your Final Major Project may take a practical or theoretical direction and you will need to demonstrate the professional level of your organisational skills, reflect on your practice and think conceptually. Your choice of Final Major Project will be influenced by your career aspirations (and the expectations of industry) or your own plans for further study (e.g. MA). You will discuss and negotiate your area of research with your tutor(s); subject to approval, you will produce a ‘Project Proposal’ that defines the research area and sets clear objectives. The analysis of your research work and the subsequent design brief or case study will be presented to staff and students as a formal verbal and visual presentation. You will be assessed on the research methods employed, the depth of your research findings, the quality of your analysis/design strategy and the professional level of visual and verbal presentation techniques employed.
Tom Northey Course Leader Studio G143 DL (0)1252 892884 Ext 2884 tnorthey@uca.ac.uk
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Katie Prendergast Course Administrator Campus Registry DL (0)1252 892744 Ext 2744 kprendergast@uca.ac.uk
Introduction About me
About the Author INTERESTS IN THE INDUSTRY Consistently throughout the degree so far, my projects have tended to sway towards editorial design - the composition of text and images to communicate a message. In the first year of the degree, it was really about finding my strengths and areas of interest within graphic design, but second year allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge and enabled me to come out of my comfort zone to demonstrate my abilities lie within various different styles and layouts. In this final major project, I hope to extend my skills further and challenge myself in a way to enhance and secure my confidence in the field. Editorial design has been suggested as a strength of mine within the industry and have been encouraged to continue this route now, but I am hoping to use what I learned in second year to produce a digital piece of editorial design as my outcome, which will be a challenge. My dissertation links to this idea as I am discussing how editorial design is evolving in the digital age, but particularly looking at Wallpaper* Magazine. The thing I have noticed through the dissertation research is big magazines like Wallpaper* aren’t utilizing the fantastic technological advances we have available to make a truly exciting interactive digital magazine. Instead it seems to be a replicate of the printed design. This is why I want the final outcome to be digital, almost as if I’m filling the gap in the market for editorial design in the digital age. LEARNING FROM PREVIOUS PROJECTS In past projects, research has always been something I had to do, not something I looked forward to doing. For this project, it is such a fundamental part of the final outcome, and so therefore will be using it to enhance and guide my project early on. In the collections project, I learnt it is not a bad thing to come out of your comfort zone and try something completely new. It became very successful for me to do this for my last project last year, and I want to carry this on through my final major project so I can challenge myself and produce a professional, exciting final outcome which reflects the research I have created.
I want the final outcome to be something unlike any other work I have produced throughout the degree in terms of style and format.
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Chapter One
Introduction Concept & Aims
The concept for the final outcome is to publish my dissertation titled ‘How Editorial Designers are Adapting in the Digital Age: With Particular Reference to Wallpaper* Magazine.’ Alongside this, I will be researching on a wider scale the themes discussed throughout the dissertation, using this to contextualise and enhance the final outcome itself. AIMS FOR THE PROJECT? As I’m sure is the same for everyone, my main aim is to produce something which is highly refined and professional to really demonstrate all of the skills I have learnt through the degree. For this project specifically, I would really like to come out of my comfort zone as I did in second year to produce something unlike anything else in my portfolio so I am able to show I can produce a range of different type of works within graphic design for different purposes and with very different styles. Another aim, for the project, is to delve deeper into the print vs digital debate - I have touched on it throughout my dissertation, but only to contextualise what Wallpaper* magazine are doing in the industry - so I can use this to make decisions for the final outcome itself. I want the research to be an important part of guiding this project, as it has often in the past felt like an entirely separate thing something I often overlook. I want to use this project to refine my typesetting and typography skills so I am confident I can do so in the future. I have a good eye for noticing when something has been set really well, but when it comes to doing it myself I am never too sure what to do or how to make it look high quality and professional.
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• • • •
Refined, professional final outcome Improve confidence on typesetting / typography Use research to guide and enhance final piece Contextualise what I am doing through essay
Chapter One
2
Introduction Moodboard & Inspiration
3
8
4
5
6
7
9
Image 2. Verso Digital Magazine (2015) Image 3. Nourished Journal Digital Magazine (2014) Image 4. Late Autumn Issue (2013) Image 5. Letter to Jane: Miranda (2013)
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Image 6. Divide Digital Magazine (2013) Image 7. Museum CafĂŠ Books (s.d) Image 8. Divide Magazine Madonna Interview (2013) Image 9. Art & Culture Magazine (2013)
Image 10, Class Workshop (2018)
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02
Chapter Two Workshops
Workshops
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Chapter Two
Cut & Stick Workshop Over the Christmas break, we were required to put together a few spreads for our initial research book layout ideas. On the first day back of the year, we took these spreads, along with some of our favourite pages of magazines and scanned and cut them up so we could make new layouts. Although we chose our own inspiration (e.g. I brought in a few issues of Eye magazine, Oh Comely, Trouve), we switched the layouts we created with someone at random in the class. Therefore, they were in charge of putting together a new layout. When we initially stuck up the spreads we produced over Christmas, the general consensus was the collective wasn’t exciting enough. They lacked colour and exciting layouts. This is why we were doing this workshop, to enable our editorial skills to improve and become more adventurous for our final outcomes and research book. With the combination of our own existing layouts and those we’d cut out from other inspirational books and magazines, we were able to produce a much more varied and exciting range of spreads for our research books.
" As an initial exercise to help you progress beyond small sketches, build a kit by printing out images, headings (in various sizes), and some text." (Honeywell, 2003:17) This felt like a very long and tiring process at the time, but I can really see how this will be helpful for when we come to produce our research books. It is our final major project so important for it to look professional and also highly refined to represent our final outcomes. Strangely enough, after completing this workshop, I found the above quote in a chapter of a book which perfectly describes and discusses the benefits of using this technique. There are less restrictions on the design when you are using different cut outs of pages compared to working on one screen.
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Workshops Cut & Stick Editorial
Image 11, Workshop outcome 1 (2018)
Image 12, Workshop outcome 2 (2018)
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Chapter Two
Image 10, Class Workshop (2018)
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Workshops Cut & Stick Editorial
"By starting the work directly on a computer, you are limited to your understanding of the technology, restricting your creative ability." (Honeywell, 2003:16)
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Chapter Two
Image 13. Workshop Digital Outcome 1 (2018)
Image 14. Workshop Digital Outcome 2 (2018)
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Workshops Digitising Editorial
Digitising the Layouts Following the first workshop for our research books, we were required to put the layouts we created into InDesign and digitise them. This is where this workshop really became useful for our projects in order to enhance our typesetting and layout decisions for editorial design. The copies of the physical layouts were pretty spot on, but because they were copied exact, a lot of little things such as the font being way too small and the margins being too close to the edge meant they couldn’t be replicated exactly, but more as a base for the final layout. Although the two I digitised looked great and got good feedback, they didn’t feel as though they reflected what I wanted to do. This was still a very helpful workshop as it opened everyone’s eyes on another approach to starting an editorial layout, but it didn’t quite give the layout I had expected to get. This is probably because it was a combination of lots of people’s work rather than things I had specifically chosen myself, so it wouldn’t have suited my work for that reason alone. The overall class feedback was good when they were all pinned up for the crit as they are a lot more exciting than what we started off with. It’s given us more confidence to begin our own research book designs, as well as general typesetting and composition of pages to be effective. Even though the workshop didn't specifically have an impact on the design I chose, I still found it really beneficial and a great opportunity to get away from the screen for a while. It's important to remember to do this every so often.
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Chapter Two
Project Planning Before getting started on our research and into full swing of our projects, we were given a few planning sheets to help us understand exactly what we need to do and how much. The planning sheets are extremely thorough and allow a lot of preparation and thinking ahead to be made for the project. It covers all bases and ensures we can identify everything we need to do instead of just jumping into the deep end and hoping to cover everything as we go along.
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Workshops Project Planning
Initially, this was completed as a class and in groups, so it was really beneficial to see what other people were prioritising and planning on looking into for their own projects. However, despite this I still decided to do it on my own at home and used the group exercise as a practice for the plan. It’s really good to see what you need to do and have a clear idea in your head of how much there is before you start as it enables you to plan your time and overall project better. My time management in the past has been a bit of a weak spot, so I am using this project as a chance to really improve and demonstrate my organisation and time management skills to the best of my ability, and these planning sheets are really helpful to get me started for the rest of the project ahead so I always have a clear idea of where I am. Even if I don’t stick exactly to the plans I set, as long as I don’t fall far behind or stray too far from what I set myself, then it should be successful and work in my favour. Particularly as time management is a key part of this project and will be marked, so this is now the time to use all of my planning skills to my advantage.
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Chapter Two
Photography Workshop To ensure we gather the highest quality photographs for our work, we had a photography workshop in the studio with Tom. There was a small set up with a white sheet background and two spot lights, and we all had to take a photograph of this tin and manipulate it so it looked professionally taken. Although I am very familiar with photography techniques, I still found this workshop really useful as it showed us we can produce really high quality images with the bare minimum equipment and in small spaces. We could do this at home with the right background paper and spot lights. This has made us rest easy knowing it doesn’t have to be complicated or large scale to produce. We are still having a workshop in a full photography studio, so it will be interesting to see where techniques overlap and how different the two will be for photographing our own or others work for our research and design journals.
Image 15. Photography Workshop Photo (2018)
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Workshops Photography
Image 16. Steve Jobs (2015)
Studio Induction Following our first photography workshop which was just in our usual studio, our second one was an induction into the photography studios provided at the university. We were taught how to use all of the lighting and backing equipment and how to use the cameras to work with all of the equipment provided. Again, I am very familiar with how to use a camera, but it was really good to see how the studios work and to train on a new set of lighting and background equipment. In groups, we were required to use the lighting and background equipment available to try and recreate the lighting seen in the above famous Steve Jobs photograph (image 16). To do this, we had two spotlights pointing at the white background to aim to make it bright white rather than a grey colour, and one to one side of the subjects face. This went really well after a few attempts (see next page), and it’s really beneficial to know how to get the best white background possible as sometimes studio photographs can look poor if the background looks grey and miserable.
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Chapter Two
Image 17. Molly Photography Workshop 1 (2018)
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Workshops Photography Studio
Image 18. Molly Photography Workshop 2 (2018)
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Image 19. Zaha Hadid Issue (2008)
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03
Chapter Three Magazine & Editorial
Magazine & Editorial Page 23
Chapter Three
Although on the surface, a magazine is a source of information and inspiration, it has potential to be so much more. Every aspect is carefully thought out to connect and engage the readers. And, even after it has served its purpose of a source of reading, it often goes on to be part of a collection; a sentimental object. WHAT IS A MAGAZINE? A magazine can mean very different things to different people - to some it may be part of a daily routine or collection, to others it’s a source of information in order to keep up with what’s going on in the world while also being a break from the world. However, the magazine has been changing and adapting for many years, and what we once knew as a magazine may not necessarily be the same today or in years to come. "In its contemporary context, the magazine is a form of communication that can avoid the template-driven urgency of the newspaper or website, while not demanding the timeless reflection expected of the book or TV documentary." (Leslie, 2013:6) This quote allows us to understand magazines have much more freedom in terms of structure, composition and layout as opposed to other forms of editorial design which follow much more traditional or strict rules. Editorial designers have been challenging expectations of what a magazine is and can be. "Functionally, a magazine still represents the idea of a bunch of thematically-related stuff curated together as one package." (MagCulture, 2013) which is true for all magazines, but "Great magazine also contain a magical spark, and that’s where definitions get squishy." (MagCulture, 2013). Some question whether a magazine is really a magazine unless it is in the very traditional sense of the word. Can it be a magazine if it isn’t mass-printed on high gloss paper and a stereotypical structure of text and images throughout?
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Magazine & Editorial What is a magazine?
Key Moments
1800s Throughout the 19th century there were attempts to cut the cost of magazines to make them more accessible for the working class, and therefore came the introduction of advertisements. It didn’t make much difference at first due to the special tax which came with the ads, but "With technological progress, increased circulation, and increasing use of images, magazines are becoming increasingly attractive to advertisers. The first advertising agency was established in 1890 and from that point on advertising started to flourish." (Nikola, 2013). Advertisements are now a fundamental part of magazines.
1980s The 1980s saw a change in the way people approached magazine design, with new typesetting technology and magazines starting to turn away from the method of "the bigger, glossier and slicker the better" (Leslie, 2013:7) and started to experiment with new paper stocks and new styles. In 1984, the Apple Macintosh was released, dividing the industry. Some people took this is a chance to enhance their editorial design and experiment with new and exciting design, while others thought it would decrease the quality of the magazine in general.
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1731 The first recorded magazine in its modern context was The Gentleman’s Magazine, which was published in 1731. Although the first recorded ‘magazine’ as we know and understand magazines now which was released in 1663 is considered to be the world’s first magazine. However, it is not officially recorded as such. Due to the high costs of print and production at this time, the number of printed copies were not overly large, so magazine’s were a luxury for the wealthier people.
1960s Following World War II there was a boom in consumerism which led to the beginning of what we distinguish as magazines now. However, "The 1960s were often regarded as the golden age of magazine design - the growth in advertising revenue and increased access to colour presses allowed art directors to really push their designs further." (Leslie, 2013:7) In 1974, People magazine was released marking the first celebrity based magazine.
Chapter Three
Image 20. Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (1663)
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Magazine & Editorial What is a magazine?
Image 21. The Gentleman's Magazine (1731)
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Chapter Three
"The defining attribute of a magazine is it's position as part of a series. A oneoff publication may use all the visual components of a magazine, but until further editions are forthcoming can it really be said to be a magazine?" (Leslie, 2013:3)
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Magazine & Editorial What is a magazine?
From Then to Now The 'magazine' has constantly adapted since the key moments in its history, and with technology advancing, editorial designers have looked at new ways of challenging what we perceive as a magazine. It started with content going online via websites, and has progressed further since the release of the iPad in 2011 where content is being produced in many new and exciting ways. Print is still alive, though with advertising going online, it is becoming harder to large print magazines to succeed. It’s interesting to note it is advertising which enabled magazines to thrive, but it is also advertising which is now causing it to decrease. However, where this is a struggle for large magazine publishers, it is a gain for independent magazines. Although magazines are moving online, those who are determined to see print continue are looking at new and exciting ways to produce their printed versions by really considering size, paper stock and other materials. This is particularly true for independent magazines. They don't have the same restrictions larger companies do, and "the giant media companies are less sentimental than independent publishers about print because the overheads for the traditional model of print and distribution are so expensive." (Caldwell, Zappaterra, 2014:29). Perhaps the magazine will go on thriving in the independent business as they don't rely on advertisers, but the format of a magazine will constantly adapt as the world progresses.
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Chapter Three
Town Magazine Town magazine - originally titled 'Man About Town', then 'About Town' and finally just Town - is said to be one of the most influential magazines in the 1960s. "The look of the magazine was dynamic in its use of typography, space to breathe and wonderful images, culminating in an enduring design that was to inspire all those that followed." (Dempsey, 2013) Though unique at the time, it is clear to see where it has inspired newer magazines in terms of the bold title at the top and a dramatic, but appealing photograph filling the entire page behind the title and some other small bits of information. The cover isn't overwhelmingly full of information about what to expect inside the magazine itself, which is what Dempsey was discussing when he says the design has 'space to breath'. As discussed previously, "The 1960s are often regarded as the golden age of magazine design" (Leslie, 2013:7) and Town magazine is a prominent example of one of the more successful magazines from this time, particularly in the UK. One of their more well-known magazine covers came in the months following the death of Marilyn Monroe - "Town magazine flagged its tribute to Marilyn with this [see image 23] exuberantly sexy shot, seemingly unposed, conventionally framed and all the more memorable for it." (Taylor, 2006) Though magazine designs have chopped and changed a considerable amount of times since Town Magazine's prime, features seen in these two pictures are very familiar. Some features are even very similar to some of the magazines being discussed throughout this research. Though it seems wrong to use the design of an old, classic magazine to gain inspiration for a digital magazine, something like this would be ideal for a digital cover too, as it is very straight to the point without overwhelming a potential audience with too much imagery and text all in one small space. This is key for the smaller space of digital screens, but works really well in both formats as sometimes it can be off-putting to be greeted with too much information on the very first page you see.
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Magazine & Editorial Case studies: Town Magazine
Image 23. Town Magazine November 1962 (1962)
Image 22. Town Magazine October 1962 (1962)
" The 1960s are often regarded as the golden age of magazine design - the growth in advertising revenue and increased access to colour presses allowed art directors to really push their designs further." (Leslie, 2013:7)
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Chapter Three
Magazine & Editorial Case studies: Town Magazine
Image 24. Town Magazine February 1962 (1962)
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Chapter Three
Image 25. The Face November 1980 (1980)
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Magazine & Editorial Case studies: The Face Magazine
Chapter Three
Image 26. The Face Issue 1 (1980)
Image 27. Inside The Face Magazine (1980)
" Contrary to the magazine conventions at the time, the Face had a title which did not tell you what it covered, almost no adverts, and was launched during a deep recession." (Beckett, 2017)
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Magazine & Editorial Case studies: The Face Magazine
The Face Magazine The 1980s introduced new phototypesetting technologies which enabled designers to create typography in new ways. "The over-styled design excesses of the 1980s were first predicted then observed by magazines such as The Face" (Leslie, 2013:7) which was a very unique, independent magazine for it's time. A very interesting case study due to the nature it was created, produced and distributed. Not an extremely successful case of a magazine, but it was certainly memorable and highly researched. "It never sold more than 130,000 copies, modest for a magazine distributed internationally and it was published for 24 years - a good but not outstanding run. Yet it was consumed and is remembered with intensity." (Beckett, 2017) The Face magazine is highly remembered due to it's bold style which was very contradicting of what the expectations were for magazines in this era. Moving away from the traditional styles used across magazines, "The Face art director Neville Brody consciously looked back to Dada and Russian Futurism for inspiration, stretching and distorting type to the extremes of what computer systems could manage and the reader could decipher." (Leslie, 2013:7). It was one of the first magazines to really push boundaries within the design of a magazine. Although they ensured their work was still legible, they manipulated it to the extent where it may only just be decipherable. This was a magazine using technology to change the perception of a magazine. Looking at images 26 & 27 it is clear to see they were extremely experimental with style choices, and it is very interesting in order to produce a magazine which was unlike others, they reflected on much older styles to do so. It is common for styles and fashions to come and go, and they utilised this idea to create something extreme and memorable years on. The difference between this magazine and the very first example (see pages 26-27) are so extreme they don't even look as though they could be the same format of reading. Magazines have always adapted to the times, and will continue to do so, and The Face is a great example.
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Chapter Three
i-D Magazine Another magazine first released in 1980, i-D had similar ideas of contradicting traditional magazine styles. Their very first issue was completely different to anything seen on a magazine cover. No large main image of someone, no text about what's inside the magazine, just simply 'i-D' and 'Fashion Magazine no1 50p'. "It was iconic, a wink and a smile before people knew why we were doing a wink and a smile; a graphic face rather than a human face" (Jones, 2010). The founder of the company goes on to discuss the idea behind this cover was a response to how formal magazine design had become, there were very rarely magazines which didn't conform to a particular format or style. Though now a hugely known magazine company, i-D started off small, and Terry Jones mentions to begin with they sold copies out the back of his car. "Unlike the punk fanzines, which had developed their visual style by default, here was a prominent magazine art director taking a DIY approach and printing it using fluorescent inks." (Leslie, 2013:7). The DIY look is very evident in image 28 and the methods used to create this design is very clear. Cut & stick along with stencils are extremely prominent in this double page spread. The orientation of the text was unlike anything anyone had done, too. They were thinking outside the box, and this became very successful for them. This magazine marked a real change in magazine design, the point when "it was no longer simply a case of the bigger, glossier and slicker the better." (Leslie, 2013:7) which is what magazine design had become. i-D is still around and thriving now, and although the extreme DIY look had moved onto a digital design, the iconic symbol still graces the front page, and each famous individual who is featured is photographed either winking, or covering one eye (see page 38). The photography is still bold and striking, as would be expected from a magazine determined to produce something wild at a time when conventional design didn't.
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Magazine & Editorial Case studies: i-D Magazine
Image 29. i-D Issue 1 (1980)
Image 28. Inside i-D Magazine Issue 1 (1980)
" It was a response to the formality of magazines at the time, reflecting the anti-culture vibe of punk and the beginning of the New Romantics in the eighties." (Jones, 2010)
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Chapter Three
Magazine & Editorial Case studies: i-D Magazine
Image 30. i-D Issue 351 - The Radical Issue (2018)
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Chapter Three
Magazine & Editorial Chapter Conclusion
"And print of course is only the beginning; now we're experiencing the stirrings of the next revolution. How will the visual journalism of magazines respond and be applied to the new digital media?" (Leslie, 2013:2)
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Chapter Three
Chapter 3 Conclusion It may seem the history of the magazine isn't particularly relevant to a final piece which discusses what a magazine is doing in the digital age, but everything about this project would not be the way it is without the history behind it. It is naive to just look ahead and not think about what lead us to what we know as a magazine today and what important events or examples occurred which inspired the area of design. Not only has it been extremely fascinating to explore the history of the magazine, it is important to notice where history has repeated itself. Some features seen in the case studies of this chapter have not only influenced a style of magazine, but have gone and returned in the industry. As designers are experimenting with new ways to produce a magazine in the present day, past experimentations from years ago will be really useful. Even something like Town magazine having a very simple cover. This is something which was different at the time, but now is something independent magazines do more and it is one of their admirable features. The beautiful older designs of i-D were extremely exciting, and although play a very important part of the era it was introduced, that style no longer plays a part in their design. This isn't because it is bad, but magazines and design evolves. Now publishings like zines play on the DIY look much more, and so these styles not only influenced many more years of magazine designers, but now stretching to other areas within the industry. These examples may not specifically influence or guide this project, but to explore what has been marked as key moments in the industry in the past is just as important as thinking about what the future may hold.
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Magazines & Editorial Chapter conclusion
Although this project and the final outcome are primarily focussed on the present and future of the industry, you can't truly understand something until you know the past events leading to what we know now. That's why the history is equally as important as what is yet to come. Not only is it important to understand the history, but some features which aren't used or discussed as much any more may influence design now. Some say the key to success within digital publishing is to understand how to do it for print. "From a digital standpoint there is not a huge difference between working for print and digital - unless you make it that way." (Leslie, 2014:168) and so once you fully understand and appreciate printed editorial design, digital editorial is just another format. Seeing these key events throughout history just makes it more exciting to see what the future has in store for the magazine and editorial industry.
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Image 31. Collection of Books (2018)
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04
Chapter Four Print vs Digital Debate
Print vs Digital Page 43
Chapter Four
" In the 1984 film Ghostbusters, Annie Potts (a secretary at the newly opened Ghostbusters office in Manhattan) asks nerdy scientist Harold Ramis whether or not he likes to read. Ramis doesn’t hesitate for a second; to him, the answer is so obvious it’s not even a question. His reply? ‘Print is dead.’" (Gomez, 2008:2). The film which came out over thirty years ago has this line which is now considered plausible, but at the time was said in a way it couldn’t possibly be true. The author continues "his statement about print being ‘dead’ was meant to be equally nonsensical and outrageous. Right? Because print can’t possibly be dead; it’s everywhere." (Gomez, 2008:2) Although it has become more plausible in the digital age that print could die, it is a very strong statement to suggest it is already dead. All you have to do is look around you in a library, at a train station or airport, print is still very much alive, but just slowly decreasing. There are so many points for both sides of this debate, such as people holding on to print for the sentimental value it provides, "Print is tangible. When people part with cash for a magazine, it’s because they want to feel it in their hands. The quality of the paper and the printing, the weight and the shape, the way the binding opens the flick and fall of the pages" (Lewis, 2016:77) which is lost in a digital magazine. On the other hand, a lot of people turn to digital magazines for the convenience they offer "digital media provides information faster and more cheaply than printed paper can ever hope to." (Jamieson, 2015:7) and therefore being a major part in the decrease of paper. Though the debate continues to rage on, many embrace both aspects when it comes to producing content for their readers. Some wonder why there is even a debate at all. However, this debate is extremely poignant in this project to discover where gaps in the market lie, but also to work out what is still working really well in both formats and use this to enhance and engage readers better through a digital final outcome.
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Print vs Digital About the debate
HISTORY OF MAKING LIFE EASIER Although the debate was sparked a long time ago when people started putting content online through their websites and then through social media, "With the arrival of the iPad in 2010, digital publishing became an even better portable experience." (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014:24). The introduction of a book sized device which enabled people to access scontent at all times in one place really brought the debate to life. The tablet was so much more lightweight and convenient to carry around than physical books, and rather than having to choose which book to take on a day out or commute, it offered a whole library of books right inside the device. However, nearly 8 years since the release of the iPad, there still doesn’t seem to be any significant signs print will become extinct from the rise of digital, in fact it has been a very slow process. We, the human race, have always sought technology to make our lives easier, and this hasn’t always been in relation to the modern technology we know today. "The arrival of Glutenburg’s printing press, in the 15th century, set off another round of teeth gnashing. The Italian humanist Hieronimo Squarciafico worried that the easy availability of books would lead to intellectual laziness, making men "less studious" and weakening their minds." (Carr, 2008). This demonstrates a repetition in history with our decisions in terms of reading and gathering information. Each advancing step we take is used to make life more convenient, and therefore people will and have always been concerned we will grow lazy. Potentially correctly.
Print Can hold sentimental value Trustworthy - we all know and are used to printed formats Ownership of something physical Costly and time consuming Not always lightweight and easy to carry around with a person
Digital Convenience of having everything together in one place Much cheaper and quicker to produce / distribute Always have access to it No sense of ownership, it’s all just stored in a device Tablets can fault or break and everything can be lost
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Chapter Four
Image 19. Zaha Hadid Issue (2008)
Image 32. Heatherwick Cover Instructions (2016)
Image 33. Wallpaper* App: Wallpaper Magazine (2016)
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Image 34. Wallpaper* App: Wallpaper Magazine (2016)
Print vs Digital Case studies: Wallpaper* Magazine
Wallpaper* Magazine WALLPAPER* IN PRINT The main case study of the dissertation, Wallpaper* magazine has been around for over 20 years producing content relating to architecture, design and fashion for a very loyal customer-base. Their printed magazine continues to play with new and exciting formats to keep it exciting, even through times when it is threatened to become extinct. As discussed in the dissertation, Image 19 demonstrates a limited edition issue in 2008 - a few years before the release of the iPad - where they have laser cut pages to resemble a room designed by architect Zaha Hadid. It is this kind of thinking outside the box that keeps their printed magazine exciting, even now. Image 32 shows their 20th anniversary magazine which was another limited edition issue released in 2016. This time, much more recent and long after the release of the iPad. This just goes to show how dedicated they are to keeping print alive in the industry, and successfully so. The cover of this magazine was inspired and created by Thomas Heatherwick, and starts off looking like a normal cover, but can be moved to reveal a different image. Inside, there are pages that can be opened up to much larger pages. This is all lost in their digital counterpart, and therefore means they are spending all their resources in print - the foundation of their magazine - to keep it fresh and exciting. WALLPAPER* IN DIGITAL The problem which started this project, the realisation of a gap in the market, came from researching into Wallpaper* magazine’s digital editions. While the layout is still very appealing, it is really lacking something the printed magazine is working so hard to achieve. It is essentially the printed magazine copied into an iPad app. It is a real shame, because they are a magazine all about modern, upcoming design. However, they have stated "We are making everything relevant to content and not animating just for the sake of it." (Douglas, 2014) which is a fair decision considering how much content they do put into their magazines, and how often they release them, but it isn’t nearly as engaging as the physical copies. Perhaps they should dedicate some time and resources to a less frequent digital magazine which truly engages a different audience, entirely separate to the main magazine. Then again, the digital copy may offer a more convenient version for those who want to read the magazine, but can’t always rely on waiting for or always packing a physical copy wherever they go. It just seems a shame a magazine touching on the themes they do, hasn’t utilised modern technology to create some out of the ordinary in both aspects of their magazine business to engage all types of readers.
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Chapter Four
Icon Magazine ICON MAGAZINE IN PRINT Briefly discussed in the dissertation, Icon Magazine is similar to Wallpaper* in the themes they produce content about - architecture, design, fashion. Differently, however, their printed magazine is much more traditional in format, but much more adventurous in type setting and composition. This decision to make a bold and vibrant layout likely comes from having a slightly younger audience than Wallpaper*, full of up and coming designers with a keen interest in the industry. However, as they’re not such a long-running, established magazine company, this could mean they just don’t have the budget or resources to create limited edition issues with cut out paper folding covers, particularly charging a much cheaper price than Wallpaper* do. With this said, their beautiful style means they don’t need to rely on these elements to bring excitement to their magazine. The bold covers are enough to draw the eye in to the readers. Sometimes, all it takes is great design to be successful without having to over think it. ICON MAGAZINE IN DIGITAL Similar to Wallpaper* magazine, Icon have a digital magazine which is a copy of their printed issues. It’s these examples that really inspired this project. Although the composition is still striking and appealing - as it is in print - it is not created with digital features in mind. The size of text on print does not work well on a screen, yet both Icon and Wallpaper* have used small text, probably identical to their printed documents for the digital. This just makes it a harder job for their readers to go through the magazine. In the article Is Google Making us Stupid, Nicholas Carr states "My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski." (Carr, 2008). With generations becoming reliant on technology to do the work for us, we now prefer to take in information as quick as possible. If a reader comes across a page filled with lots of small text, they are more likely to skip over it than dedicate time to reading it, even if they had every intention to read the digital magazine. Particularly with all the other distractions tablets provide, having this much information on one page is not good use of a digital magazine.
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Print vs Digital Case studies: Icon Magazine
Image 35. Icon Magazine Cover (2017)
Image 36. Inside Icon Magazine (2017)
Image 37. Icon App: Icon Magazine (2017)
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Image 38. Icon App: Icon Magazine (2018)
Chapter Four
Image 39. Dezeen Website: Dezeen Magazine (2018)
Dezeen DEZEEN DIGITAL MAGAZINE Dezeen is an example of an entirely digital magazine. Although not digital in the same way as Icon and Wallpaper* produce, all of Dezeen’s content is produced through their website. The definition of a magazine is constantly being tested and changed. Some may question whether a website can really be a magazine? As will be discussed later in this book, "The primary defining attribute of a magazine is its position as part of a series." (Leslie, 2013:6) which Dezeen does do to a certain extent. While they don’t release ‘issues’ as most magazines do, they constantly upload their articles and discussions - the same content physical magazines would have - to their website. In some ways, it could be argued they don’t class as a magazine, but in this modern day and age, the definition of a magazine is far from its original form. As well as a very different format of publishing, the editorial style is much different to what one would expect from a magazine, and shares very similar features to most articles found on any website - magazine or not. That said, they still do advertise as a magazine, and although they aren’t using their time and efforts on creating a digital magazine people can subscribe to, they are utilising various other aspects of the internet such as social media to draw in their audience and let them know when new articles and posts have been released on the website.
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Print vs Digital Case studies: Dezeen
"But print & digital are equally important for the business. They’re very different and they do different things for us. Digital allows amazing instant, constant interaction with our readership." (Lewis, 2016:80)
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Chapter Four 40
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Image 40. Wrap Magazine Wrapping Paper (2012) Image 41. Wrap Magazine Cover (2014) Image 42. Wrap Magazine Inside (2014)
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Print vs Digital Case studies: WRAP Magazine
Interview with Wrap Wrap magazine is an example of a magazine which is solely print based, but what makes them exciting is the unique feature of doubling as wallpaper. Chris Harrison - creator along with his wife Polly - took the time to answer some questions about their magazine and how they plan on continuing in the digital age.
Holly: How did you come up with the idea behind Wrap Magazine? Chris: We started Wrap magazine in Sept 2010. At the time Polly and I were working as jewellery designers for a London based company that created collections for UK fashion brands. Although it was brilliant having the opportunity to design collections for others, we wanted to work on something for ourselves, in our free time. We initially had no idea what we wanted to do, if we actually had time to come up with something, and if we did develop something, how could we get whatever it was in front of people. This made us about other designers/artists/creatives and how difficult is it for others to make work when employed full time. How could they share their work? How could graduates/up-and-coming talents get their work in front of people? So, we decided to make a product that shared the work of others (instead of making something for us) and thought that a magazine would be a good way to do this. (Because we’d be able to produce something we could afford, and share the great work we featured with people through selling the magazine to shops). At the same time we noticed some amazing work being created by illustrators and it looked like there was something exciting happening. It was cool to see how quickly things were moving with illustration and graphic art so we decided to dedicate that this would be a brilliant focus for our publication. Our magazine is called ‘WRAP’ because of its double use. First: to share the work of others through the images and interviews we published. Second: To enable readers to reuse the images we published as wrapping paper... To share the artist’s work a second time with another person. The concept for the magazine to be reusable came from us hating the idea of something we worked so hard on ending up in the trash or as landfill. But also because we wanted to recreate artworks as big as we could so that the people who saw them could get in to the detail and appreciate more the individual talents of the people we featured.
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Chapter Four
Being over inspired by follower/ readership numbers could have negative connotations in terms of what the publisher truly believe is good content. (Harrison, 2018) Holly: Did you always want to create something unconventional or out of the ordinary? Chris: No, I don’t think so. We had no preconceived ideas or commercial constraints when coming up with Wrap. We wanted to make something that was fun for us to research and put together, and a product that was individual with an element of originality. Because our main focus was sharing illustrator’s/artist’s work in the best, most impactful way we could there was something organic about the final outcome. This is what made the look of early editions of Wrap so unique.
Holly: What are your views on the print vs digital debate in terms of the magazine industry? Chris: It’s not something we really think about. We love making a magazine and we don’t make it in a big enough volume to see the effect that digital might be having on our publication. I defiantly think that both are brilliant resources/platforms to share work and ideas. Print is great because (hopefully) content is highly considered and researched. And there’s a sense of a subject/feature being believed in/ committed to when reproduced in print. There’s also something about a magazine or book that you can’t get online. For me, magazines are nice tangible things and can be more immersive than viewing content online. Digital is great too though. I love how it embodies media such as videos/ gifs/animation which is hard if not impossible to reproduce in print. There’s a notion that, because sharing online is so immediate, content can be less considered. It’s also unfortunate that we’re living in a ‘like’ culture where it’s important for followers/readers to acknowledge/ appreciate something. Being over inspired by follower/readership numbers could have negative connotations in terms of what the publisher truly believes is good content.
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Print vs Digital Case studies: WRAP Magazine
Holly: I think your magazine is a perfect example of the kind of thing printed magazines should be doing to keep readers excited. But I wondered about your own views? Chris: We have a super simple concept behind Wrap. It’s about the discovery of interesting, exciting, contemporary, talented creatives. That’s definitely what makes it a good magazine for me. And, although Wrap is published as a more typical magazine format, it’s cool to have retained reproducing artworks as wrapping paper...I think that helps to make what we do more expressive and exciting.
Holly: What do you think the future will be for the industry? And how do you intend to continue your unique magazine? Chris: In terms of the independent magazine industry, I think it’s pretty stable and we’ll continue to see exciting things happen. And that’s down to publishers being passionate about what they’re doing and putting something out that they believe in. We’ll continue to evolve who and what we feature in Wrap whilst sticking to the concept of the magazine being a place to discover exciting talent. We haven’t actually published for over 2 years! But we do have a new edition coming out in July which we’re really looking forward to.
Holly: I can see on your website you have some exciting plans ahead, but also that the last issue was in 2015. Is there anything you can tell me about the plans for the future for your magazine? Chris: Yes, we’re in the process of reworking our website. It’s going to be a platform to read about/discover new and up-and-coming creatives. We’ll also be publishing video content and commissioning web-specific visual content. We’re also going to be bringing in and talking about some of the projects we work on through the stationery/product side of Wrap. It’s going to be good to have everything together, and for people to see all of the aspects of what we do. We’ve planned for the new website to launch in July alongside the new edition of Wrap magazine.
Holly: I know it would be difficult given the theme / idea behind your magazine, but would you ever consider creating a digital counterpart? Chris: Yes, our new website will be the digital counterpart!
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Chapter Four
Anorak Magazine ANORAK IN PRINT While very different to the style of magazine discussed thus far within the dissertation and research, Anorak magazine was created for kids. Created by Cathy Olmedillas following frustration of being unable to find any decent magazines for children, Anorak is described as "In a sea of crassly produced, product-saturated children's magazines, Anorak is a genuine breath of fresh air." (Lewis, 2016:59). Another magazine in a fairly traditional format, Anorak stands out for it's beautifully illustrations, humour and vibrant style. Although aimed at children, this is a magazine parents would love too, and certainly be one people would pick off the shelf without hesitation. The aim of the magazine is to create a unique voice in amongst quite a dreary selection of children magazines. The content is fun and engaging, filled with funny stories, more beautiful illustrations and plenty of activities to really engage the readership. See image 44, this double page spread offers children a step-by-step guide on how to print using vegetables. It is the really unique and appealing features that make it such a successful magazine, particularly as one to keep the younger generations interested in printed magazines at a time when most rely on devices for entertainment. ANORAK IN DIGITAL As if producing a fantastic, interactive printed magazine wasn't enough, the Anorak Magazine app was released in 2015. All of the same features the readers loved - games, illustrations, comics, stories etc - are also available on the iPad. This is a great example of a truly interactive digital magazine and is utilising all aspects most others are missing. There are pages which allows children to colour in, complete word searches, and it is all designed to be easily navigated through. It is designed for children after all! With the audience in mind, it is very important for this magazine to be really interactive, and it has done so successfully. It hasn't lost any of the quirks the printed magazine offers, but has just provided a digital alternative. A lot of people won't like the idea of letting children play on iPads, but the fun, engaging content within this magazine is informative, allowing children to learn new things all the time. It is not just mindless content, it is carefully thought out and presented to work in both print and on a screen.
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Print vs Digital Case studies: Anorak Magazine
Image 43. Anorak Magazine Pile (s.d)
Image 44. Anorak Veggie Stamping (2018)
Image 45. Anorak App (2018)
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Image 46. Anorak App Crossword (2018)
Chapter Four
Do you agree with the statement ‘Print is Dead’? Yes No
Which is your preferred method of reading content? On a screen On paper / print Other
"If a digital magazine was able to make me feel more connected, such as through interactivity, I would probably read them more." "Nice to have something tangible and you can access even when your coverage is low / battery dead etc. Easier to read than accessing on a phone or tablet screen." "Can you call it a magazine if digital?" "Reading the same content on a phone or tablet will never be quite the same, especially with the associated constant interruptions of notifications from email, social media etc." Anonymous comments from Print vs Digital Debate Survey (2018)
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Appendix 1 Survey Results (Page 132)
Other
Print vs Digital Survey results
Survey Results This survey created for the project looks at a group of people’s opinions in relation to the print vs digital debate. Although initially intended for a slightly younger group of people with some knowledge of graphic design, it ended up going to a much wider range of age groups in different fields. However, the results were varied and quite interesting. The majority (89.5%) of participants disagree with the statement ‘Print is Dead’. Had the participants been mainly graphic design related, this may have been different, but even so, most people will have some knowledge of the print vs digital debate in their every day lives. Just over half of the participants said they prefer to read on paper, but there wasn’t much of a difference in total. The expectation of this survey was the majority would have voted for print on this, so this was a surprising outcome but also interesting and relevant for the project. When asked to put any other feelings about the debate, a lot of people replied. One which particularly relates to the case study of the dissertation is "the print vs digital debate is put to bed for me when you consider vendors who produce the same content in both mediums and charge the same." (Unknown, 2018) as this is exactly what Wallpaper* magazine do. This is also related to one of the key reasons behind this project - to research into the gap in the market. If the digital side provided different, more exciting content, this statement would be irrelevant. Another response which says "If a digital magazine was able to make me feel more connected, such as through interactivity, I would probably read them more." (Unknown, 2018) feels very much like it could be an aim for this project. Through the research, the outcome should try and engage people more through interactions and different features to what print provides.
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Chapter Four
Psychology of Reading Although most of the debate is about people’s preferences, some have put research towards which method of reading is better. Again, a lot of people do have a preference for one or the other (53.7% of people voted for printbased and 44.8% voted for screen-based reading in the survey, as discussed on pages 52-53), but it’s interesting to look at whether there are official psychological or scientific benefits to one or the other. In the article ‘Is Google Making us Stupid’, the author expresses "My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski." (Carr, 2008) which is the sad truth of today's society. A lot of people will be able to relate to what he is saying here. Although it might not necessarily mean reading on a screen is worse, the brain is growing accustomed to receiving information quickly and therefore adapting to expect it this way at all times. Another article looking into existing research 'The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper vs Screen', there are no solid conclusions. For certain tests where participants were required to refer back to text they'd read, print had the advantage as it is easier to flick through printed documents - and also the brain memorises certain aspects of the book, e.g. how far in the book roughly, where about on the page the participant saw something whereas on digital documents such as PDF, there is no link to memory as it is all in one flat screen. In terms of whether there are benefits / problems with reading one way or the other, the major downfall of reading on a screen is "prolonged reading on glossy, self-illuminated screens can cause eyestrain, headaches and blurred vision." (Jabr, 2013) but this is only true for some people. Essentially, the main reason people still prefer print is due to the experience that comes with it. People want to feel how far they are in the book, they want to be able to feel the paper, flick through the pages, highlight text, etc. With these two points in mind, some tablet and e-readers have tried to recreate the experience of reading on paper, but the author believes "modern screens and e-readers fail to adequately recreate certain tactile experiences of reading on paper that many people miss" (Jabr, 2013). The Kindle for example offers a 'paperwhite' background colour to resemble that of a physical book with a matte screen to avoid any glare. They also allow you to see how far through the book you are (although only as a percentage). Some tablets even attempt to recreate the visual of pages flicking.
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Print vs Digital Psychology of reading
When it comes to intensively reading long pieces of plain text, paper and ink may still have the advantage. But text is not the only way to read. (Jabr, 2013). This point is especially true when considering digital devices are designed to alert, notify and distract your attention whenever something is happening elsewhere on the device. "A new e-mail message, for instance, may announce its arrival as we're glancing over the latest headlines at a newspaper's site. The result it to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration." (Carr, 2008) and this is likely to always be a very negative aspect of digital reading. With all of this said, there is one very important question Ferris Jabr asks in the article about the reading brain which has become a key focus throughout this project. They ask: " But why, one could ask, are we working so hard to make reading with new technologies like tablets and e-readers so similar to the experience of reading on the very ancient technology that is paper? Why not keep paper and evolve screen-based reading into something else entirely?" (Jabr, 2013). This question really changes ones perspective of the print vs digital debate. It implies there shouldn't be a debate at all, instead print and digital should be two entirely separate things with different functions and engaging audiences very differently, and this is entirely true. Possibly the reason one isn't overriding the other is because digital reading is trying too hard to be like print when if people want the experience of reading on paper, they can just read on paper. Digital should offer something new - a unique experience of reading.
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Chapter Four
"But why, one could ask, are we working so hard to make reading with new technologies like tablets and e-readers so similar to the experience of reading on the very ancient technology that is paper?
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Print vs Digital Chapter conclusion
Why not keep paper and evolve screen-based reading into something else entirely?" (Jabr, 2013)
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Chapter Four
Chapter 4 Conclusion In a society where "The idea of spending a day, never mind a week, out of the range of all our devices sound bold, even risky" (Gomez, 2008:3) it is inevitable digital media will continue to rise, but there is evidently still a love for print in the world. The print vs digital debate is very fascinating and there are extremely good points for both sides. The research created for this project shows a much deeper understanding of the debate and also to some extent explains why there is still a gap in the market for digital magazines. It is clear, while the debate may continue to rage on, the statement 'print is dead' is surely coming to an end. This speculation has been ongoing for a long time, yet print still continues to appear in everyday life. It's undeniable there has been a decrease in the amount of print, particularly for magazines which rely on advertisers - who are now advertising online for a fraction of the cost - but there doesn't seem to be such a decrease that people go days without seeing any print in any shape or form. Despite appealing features of both print and digital, it is all down to the preference of the reader. The debate hasn't concluded because it is all opinion-based rather than factual. However, it seems very clear from various aspects of the research, "the future is about blending the two, where digital brings magic to print." (Palavathanan, 2015). Rather than arguing which format is better, people should be working to utilise the very best of both worlds to enhance and engage their readers in every way possible. "New technology has always had a formidable effect on magazine-making" (Leslie, 2013:214) in terms of producing pages for print, but now they should compliment each other.
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Print vs Digital Chapter conclusion
Print and digital are equally important for this project. Though the outcome will be digital, it is important to understand print as it has been a format of reading for a very long time; long before the introduction of digital reading. Much of what we know about reading comes from years of experience with the physical form. On a personal level, print is a big part of my every day life. I still have a real passion for printed books and magazines. However, through this research and project, there is something really exciting about the potential digital publishing has. I am neither for one or the other when it comes to this debate, and very much about embracing both aspects and utilising them to make the very best out of both situations. Until the day print does (although hopefully not) cease to exist, publishers, designers and people alike should really accept both elements as they don't have to be rivals or enemies, but can instead be partners to create something bigger than either of them alone.
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Image 47. Verso Digital Magazine (2015)
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05
Chapter Five Looking forward
Looking Forward Page 67
Chapter Five
In order for print and digital to coexist, designers need to stop trying to make the experiences so similar. Although a digital future is inevitable, this should encourage designers to rethink what we know about a magazine and produce something unique and exciting to keep audiences engaged regardless of the format. Despite there being a large gap in the market for magazine publishers entering the digital world, there is undoubtedly movement from independent designers aiming to really utilise everything on offer. It is understandable magazine companies may opt out of producing new content for a digital magazine due to budgets and time. But, when their digital magazines are just copies of designs created for print, they aren't going to be successful. To start with, typography and typesetting for print and digital are so different. What works in print will be tiny and hard to read on a screen. The text on a screen needs to be easy to read, particularly with all the other distractions which comes with owning a digital device. In both areas, editorial designers are working hard to make each aspect unique in their own ways. Print magazines are finding new and exciting ways to produce their physical issues to keep their audiences excited. People are beginning to realise the potential of digital publishing, but there is still a long way to go in the big scheme of things. "Where once there was a single business model (sell ads and sell copies) now there are multiple ways of making money and distributing magazines" (Leslie, 2013:9) and this shouldn't frighten magazine makers. Instead it should fuel them, challenge them to rethink what a magazine is and make it more exciting and engaging. This chapter is not to say a digital future is the only future, but it is looking at examples of some case studies which are producing digital publishing in the way it should be. However, "there's nothing confusing about old-fashioned books" (Beckett, s.d) but for digital publishing there is still a lot to learn and discover.
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Looking Forward Re-imagining the magazine
Digital Publishing Digital publishing is bound to be the future for the industry. At the moment, there is a lack of success stories for this area - though not to say there aren't any - and this could be down to many factors. Jeremy Leslie states "Tablet magazines have largely failed; several publishers have invested heavily, if not in capital outlay certainly time and research. It's still very early in the experiment but despite some very nice creative examples of work there are many major issues facing magazine app sales." (Leslie, 2014:125). This statement was made four years ago, and realistically there doesn't seem to have been much change since then. It is highly likely there has been a lack of success due to a huge amount of time and efforts being put into replicating the experience of reading on paper on the screen - as discussed on pages 60-61 - and not enough time trying to really enhance the digital experience. "The music industry did not invent the iPod or launch iTunes. Early in the new century book publishers, confined within their history and outflanked by unencumbered digital innovators, missed yet another critical opportunity, seized once again by Amazon, this time to build their own universal digital catalog, serving e-book users directly and on their own terms while collecting the names, e-mail addresses, and preferences of their customers. This strategic error will have large consequences." (Epstein, 2012:147). This quote implies the editorial designers should have embraced the digital capabilities for the industry and started producing content this way as soon as possible. Instead, it was grasped by a large company and is now a threat to them. However, if the designers want to evolve with the times, they need to invest their energy into making digital publishing something else entirely. There are many different forms of digital publishing, and there will surely be many more to come. The most exciting ones are apps which are also the magazine. Letter to Jane (see pages 88-91) is a great example of the step forward designers should be taking. Though this is a tamed example of a digital app magazine, it is entirely different to printed magazines and engaging for the readers.
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Chapter Five
Divide Magazine The very first interactive digital magazine to influence this project, Divide was created by Jeffrey Huynh as part of a university project. The bold, interactive style throughout is what started the idea for this entire project. Unfortunately, however, the software used to design and create this piece (Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite) was discontinued in 2015 and no free alternative was provided. The magazine swipes through the content horizontally and the text is then swiped vertically. This change in orientation for swiping through is really lovely as it means it's not just one long process of swiping one way throughout the whole magazine. Overall, the style is really bold and vibrant, very reminiscent of a fashion magazine due to the style of photograph used. The whole magazine is black and white which could resemble traditional printing - as there is no cost difference to use colour or black and white on a screen - but in an entirely different way to what we associate with magazines. Sadly, due to this being created for a project, it's not a magazine which can be accessed and looked through, but the idea is very similar to what this project is aiming to produce. It's not an overly complicated design for this piece, but this is probably a very wise decision for a magazine on a tablet as it's a much smaller space, so a lot of text all in one place might be overwhelming. This has been overcome by the possibility of swiping through the text, rather than having the text filling the page. All of the information is still there, but the reader has to physically interact with it to find out more. This is a great feature, one which would have been perfect for the dissertation being published digitally, but with lack of software to do this, another method will have to be discovered. A white background has been used for this, and although this is similar to printed publishings, it does make sense considering the deep black and white photographs making up most of the design. Had they used a black background or another colour it may have distracted from the beautiful photography or made it too dark or too much to look at. While white may be right for this project, it might not always work best, particularly when considering what screen someone will be looking at it on. White is very bright on a screen so may cause strain on the eye.
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Looking Forward Case studies: Divide Magazine
Image 48. Divide Magazine Digital Cover (2013)
Image 49. Divide Magazine Contents (2013)
Image 50. Divide Magazine Madonna (2013)
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Chapter Five
Looking Forward Case studies: Divide Magazine
Image 51. Divide Magazine Digital Cover (2013)
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Chapter Five
Image 52. Verso Digital Magazine (2015)
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Looking Forward Case studies: Verso Magazine
Chapter Five
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Image 53. Verso Digital Magazine (2015) Image 54. Verso Digital Magazine Contents (2015) Image 55. Verso Digital Magazine Text (2015)
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Looking Forward Case studies: Verso Magazine
Verso Magazine Another piece that was created as part of a university project, Verso is a digital publishing 'magazine' discussing ways of improving digital reading. Again, unfortunately this is not a publishing that can be accessed and viewed by anyone, but there is a video showing how it should be navigated and engaged with. This example also uses different orientation for swiping through the content. "Wastlund thinks that scrolling - which requires a reader to consciously focus on both the text and how they are moving it drains more mental resources than turning or clicking on a page, which are simpler and more automatic gestures." (Jabr, 2013). Although there is a lot of scrolling in this type of publishing, it is done in a way that isn't tiring and actually becomes more exciting and engaging than just the continuous or repetitive motion of clicking or flicking pages. The layout of this one is very different to Divide in various ways. First of all, they have chosen to produce the work in landscape rather than portrait. Given the subject of the outcome, there must have been a reason behind this decision. While the scrolling does differentiate between pages, there are more ways of revealing information on this one that on Divide. On some pages, you click a title that opens the main body text. On most pages, it starts with an introduction (see image 53) and then scrolls down to a white background with text beautifully typeset. This example is really engaging and in a very unique way. It'll be hard to replicate some of these ideas, as it was also created using Adobe DPS, but other bits will be good to enable the reader to interact more with the document. Throughout Verso, there is a strong colour scheme of black and white and orange. This is perfect for the document as it ensures everything is consistent, but without being too repetitive. There are enough varying layouts for it to be different in every page but also look like they all belong together. Verso is a great example of a successful, engaging and interactive piece of digital publishing for the various reasons discussed here. Alongside these interactive elements, there is a menu icon in the bottom right which allows the readers to easily navigate between parts of the publication which is hard to do on something that is just one continuous stream of information.
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Chapter Five
Place Magazine Place magazine, although similar in some ways to Divide and Verso, is an example that may be less successful. Ian Westwater has created it with the same intentions in mind, to have different orientation of swiping for different aspects and there are some really nice features including swiping through images and clicking on elements to reveal more information. However, the overall design is not particularly clear for the user as to what they're supposed to do on each page. It is only clear through the video provided, even being shown how to use it there were some bits that weren't clearly an interactive element. This is an example of someone who is trying to get too much interactive and animated features into one design when they're not always necessary. While the iPad magazines should be interactive and exciting, over-interacting them can be off-putting for the reader as they may miss certain bits because they didn't realise what they were meant to do and it might just feel overwhelming with all of the information being provided. Hierarchy is just as important in this type of design as it is in print, and the interactive features should be used to enhance this hierarchy rather than confuse it and make it all seem the same level of importance as this design does. The overall style is quite nice, but very abstract for something that is meant to be informing an audience about a specific topic. The benefits of digital magazines is there is no limit to cost of colour, so strong images and vibrant colours can be used throughout, which this designer has done. Unless you knew what you were meant to be doing on this design, it wouldn't be particularly clear how to navigate through it and this is very important for digital apps, particularly as it's still a relatively new format so people will need some sort of guidance to be able to understand how to use and read through it.
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Looking Forward: Case studies: Place Magazine
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Image 56. Place Contents (2013) Image 57. Place Image Scrolls (2013) Image 58. Place Quotes (2013)
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Image 59. 40 One iPad (2013) Image 60. 40 One Interactive Page (2013) Image 61. 40 One Interactive Bike Page (2013)
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Looking Forward Case studies: 40 One Magazine
40One Magazine Another magazine similar to all seen previously, 40One Magazine is concept based. More like Place magazine, it is an example that is more about the interactive elements than it is getting the reader to understand what is going on. For this particular example, however, the designer does explain "40One is a concept magazine result of this visual and technical exploration of the interactive editorial media." (Saracevic, 2013) so in essence it was an opportunity to experiment with all of the interactive possibilities available through InDesign, without creating is specifically for a particular audience. With this in mind, there are some really lovely examples of interactivity throughout this piece. For example, there is a page (see image 61) where there is an image of a bike, and across the image are little + buttons which the reader can press to reveal information about that section of the bike. This really relates to the page and the information it's showing and does so in a nice interactive way. However, there are other pages where there is a word filling the page, and in the video the user taps the middle of the word to reveal more information. This is nice, but there is no indication whatsoever that this is meant to happen. It's not to say that a designer has to spell it out for their readers, but they might miss something if it's not labelled in a way that makes them want to click on it or know that it will bring up more information. The strong graphic style within this example is great and really striking. But again there is no consistency in it and every page is quite different from the last. It's important not to have repetition throughout a long piece like this, but having very different pages almost makes it seem as though it's a lot of different designs that have been thrown together to make one longer design.
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Chapter Five
"Online magazines designed to be read on an iPad or mobile device have become highly interactive; the way the user navigates the screen has to be carefully planned to make him or her want to interact and delve deeper into the publication." (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014:164)
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Looking Forward Case studies: 5 Days From Nowhere
Image 62. 5 Days From Nowhere (2015)
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Chapter Five
5 Days From Nowhere Although not a digital publishing example in the same format as the first ones, 5 Days From Nowhere still uses Adobe and InDesign, but tools that are available for easy use now. This piece was used created the 'Publish Online' tool provided in InDesign. 5 Days From Nowhere tells the story of a mans journey through the mountains and is filled with animations, interactions, embedded videos and various other appealing features. The main difference for this example compared to the first few is that it is only designed for desktop and this tool doesn't allow you to create responsive designs for multiple screen sizes. Despite this, there is no specific format required for digital publishing, and for some people a desktop may be their preferred method of reading on a screen. But for this project, an iPad is more appropriate, however the same techniques can be used. This example doesn't offer the same interactive features such as alternating scrolling orientation and swiping through pages, but there are still some great interactions throughout the entire document. The one most like the scrolling through text is the option to click an icon which opens up (in a sliding motion) the main body of text (see image 64). This is a great idea, as said before, to give the readers the option to open up more text without overwhelming them with a large chunk of text as soon as they get on the page. Alongside the large, high quality image, this works really well. The reader can first appreciate the photography, and then click on a button which reveals more text and an accompanying video at their own leisure. There is nothing boring about this document and every page has a great little quirk that keeps the reader engaged and wanting to interact to find out more, which is exactly what digital publishing should be able to do. An animation that is more for aesthetic then to get the reader engaged is the large image panning past the page in the background. This just makes the page feel more alive than a static image with some text. Although it doesn't require any interaction, it still makes the design feel like reading in a way we've never read before.
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Looking Forward Case studies: 5 Days From Nowhere
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Image 63. 5 Days From Nowhere (2015) Image 64. 5 Days From Nowhere Interaction (2013)
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Chapter Five
"On all fronts, then, ranging from the extreme to the subtle, magazine makers continue to challenge readers' expectations of what a magazine can be." (Leslie, 2013:5)
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Looking Forward The future of the industry
The Future of the Industry Though there is no clear indication as to whether print will become extinct and digital take over, designer should be working hard to utilise the best of both worlds to ensure they continue their success whatever the outcome. So You Want to Publish a Magazine recommends "Anyone embarking on a publishing project today has to consider a digital offering alongside their print-and-paper incarnation." (Lewis, 2016:80) even if this is just a website with slightly different content, or a full digital magazine. If the future is unclear, why would anyone just stick with one format? Some larger magazine companies such as Wallpaper*, i-D etc are likely to carry on just purely from how successful they have become and continue to be, particularly due to the fact they think outside the box in terms of their printed magazines. Smaller, independent magazine companies will also continue to thrive as they are taking what we know about magazines and finding new ways to excite readers with a passion for print. "For some readers, the tactile feedback they get from a printed book is just as much a part of the experience as the contents of the book itself." (Bennett, s.d) and this is likely to continue for a very long time still. There is still a long way to go for digital publishing, and many people discuss publishers and editorial designer should have embraced this format a long time ago before it was snatched from a large business such as Amazon. "If the industry could see what had happened in photography or music, why did publishers and booksellers not embrace eBooks and a digital future?" (Phillips, 2014:75) and this is because they were comfortable with the business model they all knew and trusted - print. But, with all of the debates about whether print is dead and the future of print, they should be using it as an opportunity to produce something truly exciting and engaging. "Thanks to technology it is cheaper and easier than ever to develop and manufacture a magazine, but the hardest part of the process - getting your publication to the readers - becomes increasingly difficult as specialist shops close." (Leslie, 2013:9) Technology doesn't have to be a threat to the business, in fact it can be a real helping hand, and at some point in the near or far future, most of the magazine companies target audiences will be digital natives. Some - and maybe a lot - will still buy and appreciate the printed format, but by looking for ways of producing content through digital platforms, they are not losing anything by securing a new business model people will appreciate now, but almost definitely use in years to come.
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Chapter Five
Chapter 5 Conclusion There is nothing to say that the views from this chapter of a future where print and digital become two entirely unique formats are correct or even the way the future will go, but as discussed and found from various elements of research, this does seem like the most sensible solution. "While it is almost impossible and perhaps foolish to try and predict emerging trends in design, it is useful to touch on technology and other changes which are affecting design practice." (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014:226) . To completely ignore the advances technology is making and the affects it is having on the industry is very naive, and although digital publishing is yet to become particularly successful, this chapter has explored some great case studies that are doing well and also some that are still experimenting way too much. Hopefully this balance of good and (less)-good examples will help enhance and direct this project is a successful way. Seeing the contrast between magazines throughout history and what magazines have the potential to become through digital publishing is really exciting. It's amazing to see how far times have come since the very first example and how advanced it is now. Printed magazines are still a huge inspiration for the digital side of design and in no way should digital be a replacement, but more designers should be putting their focus towards producing something that ensures that print can continue, but that digital offers a form of reading that is entirely different and interactive in a unique way. This is primarily the aim for the final outcome of this project, and the research thus far has proven to be really inspiring and helpful.
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Looking Forward Chapter conclusion
The future for publishing is definitely exciting, but designers just need to realise the potential in digital publishing and produce work that is engaging and a unique experience to what we understand as reading. The way we read is changing, and how we read should adapt with us. At the beginning of this project it seemed as though it was going to be very difficult to find some good examples of digital publishing. While it was definitely difficult to find examples of what this project has in mind that is available to a larger audience, the few that have been discussed in this chapter are a great starting point and demonstrate designers beginning to experiment with this format and utilising what's available. Unfortunately, however, most of these examples were produced around 2013-2014 when Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite was still active. It has been difficult to find examples similar to these that are more recent and this is very likely to be due to the lack of software of publishing companies available for people with small budgets. The next chapter discusses an example of someone who faced this issues and overcame them through teaching themselves to code and complete the design completely from scratch on their own.
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Image 65. Letter to Jane: Shadows (2014)
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Chapter Six Self-Publishing
SelfPublishing Page 89
Chapter Six
Self-publishing What is self-publishing?
Self-publishing is publishing a piece of work independently and at a personal expense without the use of any established publishers. Often people design, print and distribute the work themselves. "Self-publishing is where the author bypasses all the intermediaries, deals directly with the editor, cover artist, book designer and printer, and then handles the distribution and promotion." (Poynter, 2006:37). While publishing has existed for an extremely long time, there are more than just one way of publishing your work. Self-publishing offers less commitment to other companies, and gives freedom for creativity from the author. In the same chapter, Dan Poynter states "If you publish yourself, you’ll make more money, get to press sooner and keep control of your book. You’ll invest your time as well as your money, but the reward will be greater." (Poynter, 2006:37). While for this project, printing publishing isn’t totally relevant, you can get a better idea of what it means to self-publish by looking at it on a much wider scale than narrowing it down to one minuscule part of such a large process. "We can understand most things better if we know something about their historical context. How and why has publishing developed the way it has? What are some of the critical elements that run through all publishing and how might these help us to make sense of the changes taking place today?" (Smith, 2012:18). Because this project is looking more into the future for editorial design, it is just as important to understand what has led to world of publishing and editorial we know today so we can prepare and adjust for the future of the industry. For, the future of editorial design, print and publishing won’t exist if it’s not for the past and present created it’s journey. Although there is no way to even begin to know the full length of publishing history, a few key moments - particularly relating to this project of magazines and digital editorial design - have been compiled to the right to demonstrate how we have got to the current state of publishing we know today. It’s particularly interesting to contrast the first and last moments: the first ever printed book in Europe, and then the decrease in printed books to eBooks more recently.
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Self-publishing Publishing history
Publishing History 1456 1663 Erbauliche Monath’s-Unterredungen, considered to be the world’s first magazine is published in Germany
1764 Pierre Fournier develops the point system used to measure type sizes
1845 Paperback books are introduced, soon introducing small-sized reprints of existing book
1996 A variety of traditional newspapers launch online versions for internet users
2011 For the first time, eBooks out-sell printed books on Amazon
Information sourced from: (InfoPlease, 2017) & (Smith, 2012:18-22)
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Johannes Glutenburg produced the Latin Bible which was the first massproduced printed book in Europe.
1731 Considered the first modern magazine, The Gentleman’s Magazine is published in England
1810 Friedrich Koenigh uses steam power to operate a printing press in London
1967 The debut of New York Magazine and Rolling Stone, creating popularity in special-interest magazines
2010 Sales of tablets continue to grow, making eBooks increasingly popular
Chapter Six
" Years ago, authors might have elected to go their own way and self-publish after being turned down by regular publishers. However, today, most self-publishers make an educated decision to take control of their book." (Poynter, 2006:38)
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Self-Publishing Publishing vs Self-Publishing
Why SelfPublish? Self-publishing
Traditional
No ties to established publishers
Reach a wider audience
Payment is more regular and don’t have to wait for money to come through from external company
Only one payment to publisher, don’t have to worry about all the other editorial costs
More creative freedom
Less stress on the author as it is all in the hands of the publisher
Can be released quicker A huge upfront cost to get started on your own without help No reputation from your book that working with a publisher provides
Pressure to sell A LOT of copies to see a profit from sales More likely to have design restrictions e.g. book covers Very slow process
There are positives and negatives to using both forms of publishing - selfpublishing and traditional publishing - and really the ideal one is down to the author of the book and what they want to produce. For this particular project, there is no doubt self-publishing is the way forward. Such a small project in comparison to the highly regarded pieces of research which are often published, this project will only be reaching a very niche audience, and this just wouldn’t work with using a publishing company. Alongside this, for a digital outcome, it is much harder to find a publishing company / software with such a small budget. These companies are aiming to produce work for much larger magazine companies with a big budget and a very large readership. However, even if producing a much larger project, the benefits of self-publishing certainly are extremely appealing in comparison to mass / traditional publishing.
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Chapter Six
Letter to Jane Though self-publishing is more common in physical books, this project is central to digital publishing. As discussed previously and concluded from the dissertation, there is a gap in the market for unique digital publishings. Amongst this lack of digital magazines in the industry is Letter to Jane created and self-published by Tim Moore. "To paraphrase the famous quote about Bruce Springsteen (it’s corny, but it still works!): I’ve seen the future of magazine apps and it’s called Letter to Jane." (Newman, 2014), states Robert Newman after discussing how disappointed and pessimistic he has been about the state of digital magazines (or lack there of). The story behind how Letter to Jane started is very similar to the problems faced at the beginning of this project. Tim Moore wanted to produce this magazine after finishing his photography degree and putting together a series of interviews and documentation of other people’s work, but with no budget, was unable to find any software or publishing service which would suit his purpose. This led him to starting a kick-starter fund to get the magazine started. All of the coding, design and production is completed by Tim himself without having to rely on any third parties. "Moore sees Letter to Jane as an alternative, aligning it with independent magazines" (Leslie, 2013:230) and in this day and age, with the fight between print and digital, it does appear independent magazines are the ones thriving, and due to the niche audience Moore is attracting, it is quite accurate to describe his magazine as a digital independent magazine. Differently to most independent magazines, "Letter to Jane benefits from not starting life as a piece of print, and from not feeling it necessary to add every single effect available." (Leslie, 2013:231). Most people moving from print to digital will try to use all interactions available, whereas some won’t want to use any at all, but Letter to Jane is a the perfect in-between for a digital magazine.
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Self-publishing Case Study: Letter to Jane (Digital)
Image 66. Letter to Jane: Shadows Cover (2014)
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Chapter Six
Image 67. Letter to Jane: Katherine (2014)
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Self-publishing Case Study: Letter to Jane (Digital)
Self published Letter to Jane Magazine, one of the first and still to this day most respected magazines for the iPad. Letter to Jane was the first of its kind as an independent magazine for iOS built entirely from the ground up in Apple’s Objective-C language. Currently in its fourth version, Letter to Jane remains one of the premiere editorial experiences on the iOS platform. timothypaulmoore.com/product/
Although very subtle on the pages, Moore has used a menu item to navigate between chapters which enables the reader to go back to certain parts of the magazine easily, something which would be annoying for people expecting to be able to ‘flick’ through a magazine, even if it’s digital. In an article discussing research into whether it’s better to read on paper or a screen, they stated "Volunteers on computers could only scroll or click through the PDFs one section at a time, whereas students reading on paper could hold the text in its entirety in their hands and quickly switch between different pages." (Jabr, 2013). While having the menu item doesn’t make it quite as efficient as flicking through a book, it does offer a solution to returning to certain aspects of the magazine more easily than it if it was all one continuous document.
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Chapter Six
Chapter 6 Conclusion There are an amazing amount of examples of printed self-publishing projects to look at, explore and gain inspiration from. The challenge here has been to find digital examples of self-publishing. This could be because it is less common for people to self-publish via digital formats - Letter to Jane was only made possible by starting a kick starter fund as the publishing software available is too expensive for something small like self-publishing. Although, Letter to Jane is a perfect example of digital self-publishing and exactly what people should be looking to for inspiration in the digital publishing market. It has even been praised by many for exactly that. Some of the digital examples in the Looking Forward chapter are possibly self-published to, but not to the same success of Letter to Jane. However, those examples do demonstrate a range of different ways of digital publishing. With all of these examples together, it does demonstrate that there is something happening in this part of the industry, and it just needs to blossom into something more and inspire more people to do just that. A range of magazines, digital publishing and self-publishing have been looked at towards this project, and although the outcome can't be classed as a magazine due to it being a one off publishing of a dissertation, it certainly does come under self-publishing. There are a lot of examples of self-publishing magazines on the website Issuu, but these aren't as interactive and engaging as digital publishing should be in order to separate itself from normal publishing. While they are good for quick access to hundreds of magazines, they lack character and excitement which magazines such as Letter to Jane provide.
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Self-publishing Chapter conclusion
Although self-publishing is definitely going to be the method used for the final outcome, it is certainly an appealing option away from this; especially for those who don't have a big budget to use established publishing agencies. It will be good to see more examples of digital self-publishing in the future. It may come with a lot of pressures and struggles, but self-publishing definitely does seem like an appealing option. Particularly the freedom that comes with it. There are no ties to other third party companies, and it is all in the authors hands. It means there are no restrictions with design, stock, size etc as you are in charge of all aspects of production and distribution. It may not come with the reputation and instant audience that using a publishing agency would, but it is something to truly be proud of knowing that it is entirely yours.
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Image 68. Final Outcome Work (2018)
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Chapter Seven Final Outcome
Final Outcome Page 101
Chapter Seven
Project Proposal The outcome of this project will be the dissertation titled "How Editorial Designers are Adapting in the Digital Age: With Particular Reference to Wallpaper* Magazine" published in a digital format. The decision for this was based on research throughout producing the dissertation whereby a gap in the market was discovered for digital publishing. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The main aim of this project is to produce a professional outcome that utilises the technology available and engages the target audience. Research should play a very important role in the direction of this project in terms of gaining inspiration and finding new information to develop the context in which the final outcome will sit. Through delving deeper into the research produced for the dissertation, the final outcome should be an example of something to fill the gap in the market. The personal aims of this project is to refine typesetting and typography skills through print (for the research book) and digital (for the final outcome) and to experiment with new layouts and formats. AUDIENCE The audience for this project will primarily be graphic designers or academics within the industry. Further than this, the audience should appeal to students who are studying similar topics to the dissertation but also those with a desire to have quick access to content via their tablet. Although the content itself is likely to appeal to older academics, the format in which the final outcome will be produced is more likely to suit a younger audience with an understanding of how to use technology. Some older audiences may still rely on print to gain information and may find an interactive digital document hard to navigate. CONTEXT The area of study goes without saying as being Editorial Design. More than that, it is how graphic and editorial designers should be evolving towards digital publishing, but reflecting on editorial design as we know it now to do so. The research for this project has been very heavily oriented towards the magazine and publishing industry specifically, and this has been important to gain a wider understanding of where this project sits in terms of the industry. Although the outcome itself is very much about the future for the industry, it has been really important to discover the history behind the industry and how it got to what we know and understand it as today. While editorial design has always been a passion within graphic design, the knowledge I have behind the deeper elements of it - such as history and current practices - was very slim. So to truly be able to produce an outcome that reflects the industry and how it should be progressing, my understanding of all these areas should be much more substantial and the research in this research book has really increased this and brought a lot more ideas to the final outcome.
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Final Outcome Project Proposal
Project Action Plan Time management has been a bit of a weakness in previous projects, so for this one a monthly, weekly and daily plan will be made to ensure everything is completed with plenty of time. February was the first month of really kicking off the project, so the monthly plans started from there (see pages 104-105) and the more narrowed down pieces of planning will be found in the raw data folder. While a lot of time does need to be spend researching into various different areas related to the project, an equal amount of time must be spent producing and refining the final outcome. Alongside this, the critical reflection must be written and completed, so time management is absolutely key for this project. PRIMARY RESEARCH Primary research may be hard to gather for this project given it is not a topic that many people will have completed that will directly influence my project, but also there won't be many museums or art galleries that produce the kind of outcome this project will do. The main pieces of primary research will be: • Interviewing people within the industry (so far not many responses) • Survey asking people about their views on the print vs digital debate • Finding out people's preference for reading when it comes to digital • Experimentation for the final outcome, finding out what does / doesn't work well for the end product • User testing the final outcome to ensure it works well for readers SECONDARY RESEARCH The majority of the in depth research for this project will likely be secondary due to the huge range of books on the topics discussed throughout the dissertation and also to work towards how the final outcome is approached. The main bits of secondary research will be: • Reading books about history / debates within the area of study • Reading articles or discussions about the debates and also history of the topic the project is about
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Chapter Seven
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Final Outcome Project Proposal
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Chapter Seven
The first problem faced in this project was the lack of software or publishing programmes available to produce a responsive, interactive digital publishing piece that was in mind for the final outcome. It was unexpected to have to start problem solving almost from the get go of the project. With Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite being discontinued and no free alternative in it's place, the initial idea for this project seemed to be slipping away. However, experimentation played a key role in the first stages. Alternative software that came to mind for this was Adobe XD, InVision, Adobe Muse and Adobe InDesign's Interactive Document. The results and interactive capabilities of XD, InVision and Muse were nowhere near the idea for the final outcome. The closest were probably XD and InVision as these could be set up for iPad (the preferred format for the outcome) whereas Muse was much more complicated as it is primarily for website design. After a hard talk about what the final outcome should be, InDesign's Interactive Document was decided as the method. It lacks a lot of the potential the industry could have for digital publishing, but for this project is still offers enough to produce an interactive document that can be viewed on an iPad screen. This software was used for the last project of second year, but some techniques were hard to figure out, so never used. This time, experimentation of the software was extremely important to find alternative ways of engaging with the readers (while still keeping Divide - page 70 - in mind) and not overwhelming them with a difficult read.
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Final Outcome Experimentation
Image 69. 5 Days from Nowhere (2015)
Image 70. 5 Days from Nowhere (2015)
Following the decision to use InDesign, experimentation and playing around with all of the features was key to increasing knowledge and experience of the software. Though the features of different orientation of swiping throughout the document and text would have been ideal for this project, the button to reveal more text feature of the 5 Days from Nowhere (see page 82) document was a great alternative. When you get onto the page, a beautiful large photograph is on the right and the mountain icon in bottom left flashes to indicate that it does something. When you click on the mountain, the body text and an accompanying video slide up to reveal more information. This is a great interactive feature that means the text doesn't necessarily have to fill the whole page and it gives the readers something to click to find out more. The only issue with this is although it is a great feature, if it's used too many times throughout the document it may become quite repetitive, so it may be best to only use this feature for certain pages. In various parts of the research, people have discussed that generally we can't focus on long bits of text in one go, so to be able to break it up into smaller and more digestible chunks is better for keeping the audience's attention. The next two pages show the first bit of experimentation for the final outcome. Though the style and layout has changed since, this was an opportunity to get used to the interactions. The left shows the page as it is when it's first opened, the second shows the text coming up once the button has been clicked. The image in the background slowly slides past as an added animated feature.
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Chapter Seven
Image 71. Experimentation 1 (2018)
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Final Outcome Experimentation
Image 72. Experimentation 2 (2018)
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Chapter Seven
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Image 73. Final Outcome Development 1 (2018) Image 75. Final Outcome Development 3 (2018)
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Image 74. Final Outcome Development 2 (2018) Image 76. Final Outcome Development 4 (2018)
Final Outcome Experimentation
Interactive Experiments Following the very first initial experiments, the style and layout was changed slightly to not be quite so busy with features. Despite initial speculation about whether this was going to be a successful method or not, there are a great range of interactive features that can be added. To ensure the user can easily navigate through the document, there is a menu bar at the top which takes you to the different chapters. Alongside the button to scroll up more text, there's an option to click on a title to open more text. There will be several pages with large images that can be clicked on to show more. When each page opens, there is a slight animation which brings the whole thing to life. The research in this book has really played a key part in the decisions made for the final outcome. Some of the features here have been inspired by examples discussed in various sections. The style is fairly consistent with this research book in terms of colour schemes, fonts, text layout and this is a good way of putting into practice print and digital editorial design. This is a good challenge to ensure that I am able to use the same style but change the typesetting and typography to suit the two different formats, which is something that some people might struggle with. The full development of the final outcome can be found in the design journal along with reasoning behind the design decisions.
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Chapter Seven
Outcome User Testing Throughout the creation process, how the audience and user will navigate the document has been at the forefront of all design decisions. Yet, not everyone will use and approach the document in the same way, so user testing becomes an essential tool to ensure the flow and structure of this interactive document is successful. There are various elements across the design which require the users to interact with in order to get to certain bits or reveal more information. The user testing has really impacted the way the design has been approached, and this is discussed in more depth within the design journal. The most interesting feedback taken from watching users go through the document are, for example, some interactive features where the user is clicking it, but not quite as intended. The most common attempt at interacting was by clicking on quotes which were underlined (see images 77 & 81). This idea was used to relate to the style of the research book, but because of this, I didn't even think that text with underlines would indicate a link. Something like this is where considerations for print and digital differentiate and should have been noted beforehand. Although using iBooks you can swipe between pages, all users only clicked on the arrows on the pages. This was put there either as a button to click through or to indicate to swipe to the next page, so it is interesting that everyone chose to click it. All users did click on the menu as well, but there was a bit of difficulty where the button is quite small and close to the top, it brings the app tab up if you don't click directly on it straight away. On the contents page, most users tried to click on the arrow specifically rather than the number, and so it is these interactive icons that really allow people to understand what they're meant to do or indicate that there is something you should do. In very initial user testing when only a couple of pages were created, it was noted that on one page it wasn't clear that you could click on a small image thumbnail to reveal more. A yellow box was then put around these thumbnails to make them stand out more, and most users did then click them as it made them look like they're something to touch and interact with. User testing has been extremely useful to highlight issues that I may not notice myself from spending a lot of time creating, and at the end, I won't be the audience or user so this is essential to be considered.
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Final Outcome User testing
77
78
79
80
Image 77. Outcome User Testing Yellow Underline (2018)
81
Image 78. Outcome User Testing Arrows (2018) Image 79. Outcome User Testing Chapter Menu (2018) Image 80. Outcome User Testing Contents (2018) Image 81. Outcome User Testing Underline (2018) Image 82. Outcome User Testing Image View (2018)
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Chapter Seven
Chapter 7 Conclusion At the stage of writing this, the final outcome is underway, but there is still a while until it is completed, so it may differ somewhat to what's been discussed here. However, it shouldn't be too drastic. Despite a lot of worries at the beginning of research about not being able to produce a final outcome that really reflects the issues looked at in terms of the gap in the industry, the research collected here and elsewhere has really pushed this project further. Not only have the more recent examples of digital publishing really helped to give inspiration for elements that are important for the engagement with the reader, but even magazines in history have shown where it all started and how it has progressed since. There are still going to be a lot of restrictions for the final outcome which wouldn't be the case if I was able to - or could afford - to use sophisticated software intended for larger companies, but for the sake of getting my dissertation published digitally, it is great. For the rest of the project, the context in which the topics fall needs to always be at the forefront of all design decisions. For every decision, I need to think of how this sits in relation to what other people are doing in the industry as it is this professional thinking that will improve and enhance the quality of the outcome. The difficulty so far is cramming a 5,000 word dissertation into smaller chunks while trying not to overload the readers with too much text but also not have too many pages for them to tire of reading it. Hopefully with everything learnt throughout this project, there is enough knowledge to guide the right ideas to the final outcome to ensure it works well for both the target audience and also to relate to the gap in the market and what potentially designers should be considering doing for digital publishing.
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Final Outcome Chapter conclusion
The research throughout this book has played a huge part towards the final outcome for the project. So many different case studies, discussions and debates have influenced major decisions towards the design and format of the final piece. In previous projects, research has been overlooked or thought of as a necessary chore. However, this project has very much revolved around the research and in fact it has guided many decisions not just in style but also functionality. The final outcome is really starting to look like a professional digital publishing piece, and this couldn't have happened without everything learnt throughout this book. The first hand research such as the user testing has also really helped ensure a constant understanding of how other people approach the publishing and enabled me to ensure everything works well and that anyone an easily use and navigate the document without hassle or hesitation. It should be an enjoyable final outcome, despite it being a dissertation!
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Image 83. Blurb Test Print (2018)
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Chapter Eight Conclusion
Conclusion Page 117
Chapter Eight
Critical Reflection The Critical Reflection essay was completed alongside the majority of this project and reflects on design decisions inspired by case studies and research within the chosen industry. It overviews research from this book, contextualises the work and sets a place for it within the design industry. The image sources for this essay can be found on page 131 following sources from this book.
CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION What started as a realisation of a gap in the market through writing my dissertation has since formed into a concept for the final major project. My dissertation discussed how Wallpaper* magazine is producing content for both print and digital, but on the digital side, the method of publishing is less engaging. ‘More and more people are turning away from traditional methods of reading, turning instead to their computers and the Internet for information and entertainment.’ (Gomez, 2008:3) yet ‘Tablet magazines have largely failed’ (Leslie, 2014:125). Although this statement was 4 years ago, there hasn’t been much improvement to counter it. He goes on to say, ‘it’s still very early in the experiment but despite some very nice creative examples of work there are many major issues facing magazine app sales.’ (Leslie, 2014:125). This critical reflection explores key parts of the research, not only from the dissertation but also the subsequent research from which I have been able to delve deeper into specific topics in order to gain a wider understanding of the industry. The final outcome for the project will be my dissertation published digitally – inspired by this gap in the market. I will produce it in a way which reflects how digital media should interact with readers. Not only has looking into existing research helped to develop this project, but case studies have played an important role in providing inspiration and guidance towards the functionality of the final outcome itself. Despite the project being "problem-solving" in relation the gap in the market, I have been able to find examples of successful attempts of digital publishing. Noting elements and features they’ve used to enhance the experience has enabled me to create a piece of work which reflects all of the research put together.
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Conclusion Critical Reflection CHAPTER 02: FROM RESEARCH TO AN IDEA My dissertation How Editorial Designers are Adapting in the Digital Age: With Particular Reference to Wallpaper* Magazine brought to my attention a gap in the market for digital magazines. Despite the argument of print being dead, it seems this is very unlikely due to a lack of exciting digital reading available by these companies. Although Wallpaper* explain they are ‘making everything relevant to content and not animating for the sake of it’ (Douglas, 2014:10), their digital magazines are essentially a replica of the printed version. Fig 1 shows an example of a page within the printed magazine and fig 2 shows the digital equivalent. There are very few things – other than the physical format of reading – which differentiate the two and I feel they are missing something by doing so. Other case studies I looked into as part of my dissertation also lacked the engaging elements which should be available on digital formats of reading. Following the decision to digitally publish my dissertation for my final major project, I delved deeper into the "print vs digital" debate – away from Wallpaper* magazine and relating it to my final outcome – and also into the psychology of reading. However, I have been unable to find conclusive evidence for whether print or digital is better for reading. It seems print is only people’s preference where ‘for some readers, the tactile feedback they get from a printed book is just as much a part of the experience as the contents of the book itself.’ (Bennett, s.d). People don’t prefer books because it’s better to read on paper than screen, but because they prefer the experience, the sentiment, the use of all the senses. This is why I don’t believe print is dead because there is yet to be a rise in exciting digital media which truly engages and excites readers to use it. In a survey I created, one of the respondents stated, ‘If a digital magazine was able to make me feel more connected, such as through interactivity, I would probably read them more’ (Unknown, 2018). And this idea has really fuelled the concept for my final outcome. In an article discussing research into whether reading on paper or screen is better, there are many findings, but none are conclusive. The only time print seemed to prove the better format was in tests where the participants needed to refer back to text to answer questions; this was much easier with a book than on a screen. But along with this, they decided it is really only the experience which fuels the preference and because of this, devices are working hard to recreate the experience of a physical book on the screen. ‘But why, one could ask, are we working so hard to make reading with new technologies like tablets and e-readers so similar to the experience of reading on the very ancient technology that is paper? Why not keep paper and evolve screen-based reading into something else entirely?’ (Jabr, 2013) The quote above is part of the same article. As soon as I read it, it really resonated with everything I want to achieve in this project. Each form of reading should be entirely different and exciting in their own ways; utilising the best of paper and screen to make each format stimulating. This quote has become the foundation of my project and almost an aim and challenge for how I approach the final outcome.
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CHAPTER 03: CASE STUDIES INFLUENCE Along with the research produced for both the dissertation and final major project, there have been many case studies which have influenced the direction of my own work, to enable me to produce a digital piece of design to engage an audience successfully. The first example here is another successful magazine company which, like Wallpaper*, is lacking in engaging digital content. Although the example hasn’t specifically inspired the final outcome, it has certainly demonstrated some features I need to avoid when it comes to producing my final digital outcome. It has been indicated ‘there is a clear lack of digital skills among editorial and commercial staff who are not digital natives.’ (Carson, 2014) and as Icon was originally a printed magazine, this could explain their comfort within the printed aspect and lack of time and resources allocated to the digital. Fig 3 shows a page from Icon magazine on its iPad app. The overall style is really appealing and very unique – not conforming to more traditional column layouts – but fig 4 shows the same page in the printed magazine. Everything from the layout, grids and typesetting is exactly the same. Typography for print and digital have very different requirements and should never be identical. For the final major project, the style of my printed research book and the final outcome are going to have some very similar qualities (i.e font, colour scheme, image manipulation), so looking at magazines currently doing both is really useful, even if they’re not a particularly successful example, to enlighten me on what to do to make the same style work for both print and digital. The content for each of mine won’t be identical, but from looking at these two examples, I know the typography needs to be larger on a tablet and in smaller, more digestible chunks so it’s not overwhelming for the readers. The other key difference is the digital piece should be much more interactive and engaging, which the example here are not. Personally, if I had to choose between reading this same content in print or on a screen, it would definitely be print because it’s a lot of [small] text. In the same article about the research into reading on screens, the author mentions ‘Modern screens and e-readers fail to adequately recreate certain tactile experiences of reading on paper that so many people, and more importantly, prevent people from navigating long texts in an intuitive and satisfying way.’ (Jabr, 2013) and as the quote which is leading this project suggests, they should be two entirely different ways of reading. This example is less effective because it’s exactly the same regardless of the format. While the initial reason behind taking this path for my outcome came from the gap in the market, I have been able to find a few examples which are more engaging in a way I would expect them to be in this digital age. All three of these examples are purely digital based with no accompanying print version. All are self-published, as opposed to the mass-produced magazine companies I have just discussed as examples which aren’t engaging readers as effectively within their digital counterparts. ‘Digital media provides information faster and more cheaply than printed paper can ever hope to.’ (Jamieson, 2015:7) which is potentially why these examples are more successful in the digital publishing design. Although they are spending less, all of their resources are going towards making the digital magazine truly engaging and unique. ‘It’s no surprise that digital books are easier on the wallet than printed books’ (Bennett, s.d) and this is true for both the distribution and consumer sides of the business.
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Fig.9 (top) & Fig.10 (bottom)
The very first piece of work which inspired my decision to produce a digital editorial outcome was Divide Magazine. Found via Behance and created by Jeffrey Huynh as part of a project at university, this digital magazine was produced via Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite. Although the perfect tool for my final outcome, this piece of software has since been discontinued. The entire outcome is black and white yet bold, striking and extremely exciting throughout. Bold typography accompanies the high-resolution images featured throughout and the orientation of scrolling differs between the main images and smaller areas of text. For most of the design, the user swipes horizontally, but when there’s a section (for example the part titled ‘Interview’ in fig.5) of text which is quite long, it scrolls vertically. This allows for a lot of text to be featured without filling the entire space with all the information. ‘Online magazines designed to be read on an iPad or mobile device have become highly interactive; the way the user navigates the screen has to be carefully planned to make him or her want to interact and delve deeper into the publication’ (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014:164) and when a user discovers there’s something they can physically do to reveal more information, it is much more engaging and appealing for them. Although I won’t be able to use the same software, the software I have chosen to use (InDesign’s Digital Publishing Document) does offer some alternative ideas. Though this particular feature used for Divide is what I really had in mind and wanted for the final outcome, I have experimented with other ways of enabling the reader to interact with the document to get more information. The idea for my own work came from InDesign’s example document 5 Days from Nowhere. Fig.7 & fig.8 demonstrate the first experiments towards my own final outcome. Instead of scrolling through a small section of text while the rest of the page stays still, these open with a button at the bottom which the user clicks, and the text then slides up to reveal the information. However, with this said ‘Wastlund thinks that scrolling – which requires a reader to consciously focus on both the text and how they are moving it – drains more mental resources than turning or clicking a page, which are simpler and more automatic gestures.’ (Jabr, 2014) which implies a reader engages more when there is a button rather than having to scroll. This particular quote is referencing reading from a website or PDF rather than a digital magazine, but even so, it is interesting to note that scrolling affects the way we read. Verso (fig 9) – although very different in style – is very similar to Divide magazine in terms of the methods used to create it and it’s for a project rather than official publishing like Icon and Computer Arts magazines. Each call themselves a magazine, which is technically the format of their product. ‘In its contemporary context, the magazine is a form of communication that can avoid the template-driven urgency of the newspaper or website, while not demanding the timeless reflection expected of the book’ (Leslie, 2013:7) and this is very relevant when it comes to digital magazines. Referring back to the main quote of this project, Verso is a great example of reading in a different way to our expectations from paper. The style is much brighter and more abstract, and there is more room to breathe as most of the content appears when the reader interacts. The style of Verso does feel formal, but in a more appealing way through the vibrant colour scheme and strong typography throughout. Again, however, this example benefits from readers being able to scroll through the content which would make a page like fig 10 much easier to design as all of the text can be put in one place and the reader would just scroll. Using InDesign’s tools, I am restricted to one page at a time which can’t be extended to reveal more.
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For my own project, the idea from fig.10 to have clickable headings which reveal more information has provided another great alternative idea for fitting more information into a single page. Despite various statements throughout the research suggesting we read less on digital screens, the book Editorial Design disagrees, saying ‘Since the improvement of on-screen legibility, there is evidence that readers read long-form text on digital devices’ (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014). As final outcome will be the dissertation, it relies on engaging audiences enough to read the whole text. They continue ‘Reading habits have changed, however, and in 2012 statistics show that the average length of an online session has lengthened from a quick update to between 17 and 31 minutes.’ (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014) which is promising for the digital publishing industry. Fig 11 & fig 12 portray my own take on the technique Verso used to get readers to interact with larger amounts of text. Though the idea is similar, I have put my own spin on it, bringing it into my own style. It is more likely someone will finish reading this entire document if it can be broken down into digestible chunks of information. Another advantage of the methods is the ability to read via established apps such as iBooks, which allow readers to return to where they left off. This means they can come and go to a lot of text as they please without losing interest. Facing very similar problems to me at the beginning of this project, Letter to Jane (fig.13) founder Tim Moore overcame a lack of software and programmes for digital publishing by funding this project via Kickstarter so he could code it himself. ‘Self-published Letter to Jane, one of the first and still to this day the most respected magazines for the iPad. Letter to Jane was the first of its kind as an independent magazine for iOS’ (Moore, s.d) and is a beautiful example of an effective digital magazine. By coding it himself, Moore has given himself the benefit of limiting restrictions when it comes to design. Carefully thought out and created to work for iPad, the design is easy to read, yet extremely aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. As well as the beautiful composition on every page, the way it is navigated is another great example. Letter to Jane is not a digital publishing magazine which has taken full advantage of all interactive features but is instead a subtler approach. This is a good design decision on his part as it focuses a lot around photography and artists within the industry, so it is entirely content-driven in a way which reflects and enhances the narrative inside. One of the features of Letter to Jane introduced into my own work is the use of a menu to navigate between the chapters (see fig 14). Due to the nature of the final outcome being a digital piece, it needs to be easy to use and steer through. Some may be interested in the content itself, but unless the way the document flows is clear, they will struggle to do so. Not everyone is a digital native and so it is unwise to assume just because I, the designer, know and understand how it should flow, the readers will too. ‘When user interface design is good, it’s hassle-free and we don’t have to think about it; but when it’s bad, it can make our lives hell’ (Shaughnessy, 2010:102) and this is true for both parties – the creator and user. One of the noted comments throughout the research is that the printed format of reading is still favoured due to the experience of knowing exactly where you are in a book and being able to easily go back and forth throughout. So, to give the readers an easy option to return to certain chapters or even jump ahead if they know what they’re looking for, allows an overall easier experience.
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CHAPTER 04: CONCLUSION It is clear that research has played a very important role in the direction and production of this final major project. Not only has it guided various design decisions and my own perception of the industry for which I am producing work; it has also been an essential tool overall. Professionalism is very important to the final major project, and as this critical reflection discussed, being able to contextualise and compare my work to other peoples within the industry has enabled me to better consider this. As the main quote for this project suggests, print and digital should work side by side as different formats, not as competitors. ‘New media always arrive to fanfares about replacing old media, and we’ve been hearing about the web replacing magazines for over a decade now.’ (Leslie, 2013:214) and it is due to digital content replicating print that print is still alive, and the way forward is to embrace digital media as a unique format that engages audiences in an entirely different way to reading in print. The future of the industry is unclear, and ‘while it is almost impossible and perhaps foolish to try and predict emerging trends in design, it is useful to touch on technology and other changes which are affecting design practice.’ (Caldwell & Zappaterra, 2014:226). This research has carefully picked out pieces of design affecting the practice and developing new and exciting ways of producing content digitally. Although my final piece may not be an example of what digital publishing will be like, in an industry where ‘The ‘digitisation of everything’ explicitly threatens to supplant every ‘old’ medium (anything carrying content in one way or another), while claiming to add new qualities, supposedly essential for the contemporary world’ (Ludovico, 2013:15) it is good preparation to prepare skills and knowledge of how it’s evolving. At this stage the final outcome is not complete, but all of the research discussed within this critical reflection – and outside of it – has enabled me to confidently approach the project with comprehension of what other people are doing in relation to my dissertation and work. With a lack of software of programmes for me to use for my final outcome, my work will suffer without certain features which someone with a larger budget may be able to produce for a better experience, but overall it demonstrates a new age in design.
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Literary Review Though the final outcome will be a self-published piece of work, there are many different theories and debates surrounding various other aspects of the project which have been inspired by the content of the dissertation. As discussed throughout this book, the print vs digital debates rages on yet many people wonder why when they should be two different formats. Materiality is a theory which could explain why people are still so connected to the printed form and not digital; "the term 'material culture' emphasises how apparently inanimate things within the environment act on people, and are acted upon by people, for the purposes of carrying out social functions, regulating social relations and giving symbolic meaning to human activity." (Woodward, 2007:3). Evident through all of the research here, is that it is the interaction with the physical printed book or magazine which is keeping print safely alive. Digital media doesn't give the same tactile feedback which print does and keeps people wanting to use it. In this quote, the author uses the term 'symbolic meaning' for the object, and this is particularly relevant when it comes to people who collect printed media and present them on bookshelves or around their homes. It symbolises something personal to them - whether it's just part of a display or a more emotional connection. In the book The Naked Author: A Guide to Self-Publishing, the first chapter questions 'Is publishing dead? Or just the publisher?' and states "The industry is obsessed by the drive towards digital content, formats and markets, and all stakeholders are nervous." (Baverstock, 2011:xi) and yet "with the rapid growth of e-books and an increasing array of tablets and other digital delivery devices, publishers now have many more ways to publish, and the printed work no longer has an unrivalled position in publishing." (Smith, 2012:144). There are so many contradicting statements across research into this area of design, yet the conclusion still remains the same: print and digital should no longer be competitors in the industry; rather just entirely different formats of reading. "By designing physical and digital experiences that can coexist and work together to create a better experience in every context, each is able to serve the customer better than either is able to on its own." (Bennet, s.d). With a clear divide between those on the side of print and those on digital, this quote very relevantly discusses how each reader is different. People have different preferences, and so trying to make one better or more like the other isn't going to be successful.
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"Technology has undoubtedly improved magazines. The smooth integration of layout, photographic manipulation and illustration software, allied with the increased processing power of the desktop computer, has meant the editor and designer now have a degree of control unthinkable even ten years ago." (Leslie, 2013:214). In relation to the print vs digital debate and theories that 'print is dead', this quote explains how technology has actually worked to improve the printed medium. People have become so caught up in these theories and debates, they struggle to consider that actually, technology is not a threat; in fact it is just a stepping stone to the next stage in the editorial design industry, and print and digital both have the potential of being a part of this future. "New media always arrive to fanfare about replacing old media, and we've been hearing about the web replacing magazines for over a decade now." (Leslie, 2013:214) and if this debate has gone on for this long so far, with all of the technological advances we have seen in this time, then surely print is even less likely to go anywhere any time soon. Many people theorise or speculate the end of print will come in the hands of the current generation of Millennials, but research has shown although (a group of participants who qualify as Millennials) "admit that 'everything is going digital,' they still overwhelmingly prefer print magazines" (Bonner, 2015) but along with this, "despite their strong feelings for print magazines, they think print magazines could cease to exist at the hands of the generations that follow them" (Bonner, 2015). With new generations of digital natives to come, it is likely that digital will become a much more popular format of reading, but who can say for sure? A lot of people continue to treasure old formats, and perhaps new generations will still have a love for the printed format, as well as embracing the new.
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Where my final outcome fits in context with past, current and future work has been at the forefront of all decisions - design and practical. This research book has given thorough insight into all aspects of the area of interest in order to produce a successful outcome. Overall, research has been a key part of the process and will continue to be so through first hand research and trial and error of finalising the final piece. All of the research within this book has played a part in the decisions made towards the final outcome and increased my knowledge of the industry and where my work sits within it. It has given a much clearer idea of what it means to be a part of the editorial design industry, particularly when it comes to the future of the industry. I have learnt things through this project that I never even thought of before and delved much deeper into the history and other works to influence my own. Although there is still so much to know, I feel this has been really successful personally as I feel much more confident and passionate about the industry. It's also really exciting to know that the future of editorial design is already happening, and I can be a part of how it evolves. Not only has all of the research and experimentation through production enhanced my knowledge, but writing the critical reflection has required me to really look at what other people are doing that makes their work successful and to bring it in to my own. This knowledge will enable me to ensure my outcome will be highly refined and to a professional level, which is really important for this particular project. Though by definition, the end piece will not technically be a magazine, the content within it and the purpose behind the entire project is to explore the industry, so every aspect in it's own way is entirely relevant to the outcome. However, at this point, the final outcome is not finalised, so things may change slightly, but everything discussed thus far will still be entirely relevant and a key part in how it eventually comes together. Image 85 displays the cover for the final outcome as it is at the moment - just simple, but the image in the background moves behind. This is inspired by various different covers seen throughout that are straight to the point, but immediately appealing.
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Image 85. Final Outcome Cover (2018)
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Research A Amin, M (2018) RE: Soft Cover Binding [Email sent to Holly Manning, 16th March 2018] Anderson, A (2016) ‘We need to reinvent print’ In: Computer Arts (254), pp. 26
B Baverstock, A (2011) The Naked Author: a Guide to SelfPublishing London: Bloomsbury Beckett, A (2017) The Story of the Face by Paul Gorman review – the style magazine and British pop culture At: tinyurl.com/ y9ryn65x (Accessed: 02/03/2018) Bennett, L (s.d) Print versus Digital: The Great Debate At: tinyurl.com/y7ppcwzc (Accessed 20/03/2018) Bonner, E.M (2015) Millennials and the future of magazines: How the generation of digital natives will determine whether print magazines survive, The University of Alabama. Briggs, M (2016) Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing (Edition 3) USA: Sage Publications Ltd
C Caldwell, C & Zappaterra, Y (2014) Editorial Design London: Laurence King Publishing Carson, J (2014) 6 Reasons UK Magazines are Struggling Online At: tinyurl.com/ybtklu3h (Accessed 19/01/2018) Ceschel, B (2015) Self Publish, Be Happy: A DIY Photobook Manual and Manifesto New York: Aperture
D Dawood, S (2015) How can you keep print design exciting? At: okno.uk/r/372mt (Accessed 09/12/2017) Dempsey, M (2013) Tom Wolsey: My Kind of Town At: okno.uk/r/372mj (Accessed 01/04/2018)
M Douglas, S (2014) The Making of Wallpaper* In: Caldwell, C & Zappaterra, Y (2014 Editorial Design London: Laurence King Publishing. pp 10
E Elam, K (2004) Grid Systems New York: Princeton Architectural Press
F Fano, R (2007) ‘The Campaigns Trail’ In: Losowsky, A (ed.) We Love Magazines Luxembourg: Mike Koedinger. Pp.82-83 Feather, J (2006) A History of British Publishing London ; New York: Routledge Folkenflik, D (2011) Inside the New York Times Page One and the Future of Journalism USA: Public Affairs
G Gestalten (2011) Behind the Zines: Self Publishing Culture Berlin: Gestalten Goldman Sachs (s.d) Millennials: Coming of Age At: tinyurl.com/ nlwknfr (Accessed 12/01/2018) Gomez, J (2008) Print is Dead: Books in our Digital Age London; New York: Macmillan
H Hallett, S (2018) RE: Book print enquiry [Email sent to Holly Manning, 18th March 2018] Hannif, Z (2012) Niche theory in new media: Is digital overtaking the print magazine industry?, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Harrison, C (2018) Re: Questions for my final year project! [Email sent to Holly Manning, 25th March 2018) Hogarth, M (2014) How to launch a magazine in this digital age USA: Bloomsbury Hollis, R (2014) Graphic Design: A Concise History London: Thames & Hudson Ltd
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Honeywell, P & Carpenter, D (2003) Digital Magazine Design with Case Studies Bristol: Intellect
MagMaker (2013) What is a Magazine? Five Surprising and Useful Definitions At: okno. uk/r/36v2l (Accessed 20/03/2018)
I
Miller, D (2005) Materiality Durham, N.C: Duke University Press
InfoPlease (s.d) Publishing Timeline At: okno.uk/r/36D7n (Accessed 20/03/18)
J Jabr, F (2013) The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens At: tinyurl.com/kf6moy7 (Accessed 15/03/2018) Jamieson, R (2015) Print is Dead. Long Live Print: The World’s Best Independent Magazines Munich: Prestel Verlag Jones, T (2010) i-D Covers 1980 – 2010 Thirty Years of i-D London: Taschen
K Kane, J (2011) A Type Primer (Second Edition) London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd
L Leslie, J (2013) The Modern Magazine: Visual Journalism in the Digital Era London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd Leslie, J (2014) Profile of a Design Consultant: Jeremy Leslie In: Caldwell, C & Zappaterra, Y (2014) Editorial Design London: Laurence King Publishing. pp 124-126 Lewis, A (2016) So you want to publish a magazine? London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd Losowsky, A (2007) We Love Magazines Luxembourg: Mike Koedinger Lumby, N (2016) Sensory Printing: Engaging all the Senses At: okno.uk/r/372Ff (Accessed 10/01/2018) Ludovico, A (2013) Post-Digital Print: The Mutation of Publishing since 1894 (2nd Edition) Netherlands: Onometopee
Monteyne, J (2013) From Still Life to the Screen: Print Culture, Display, and the Materiality of the Image in Eighteenth-Century London New Haven: Yale University Press Moore, T (s.d) Product At: tinyurl.com/y93mvplk (Accessed: 18/03/2018) Moss, A (2016) 50th Publication Design Annual MA: Rockport Publishers
N Newman, R (2014) Letter to Jane: The Future of Magazine Apps At: tinyurl.com/ycrjthde (Accessed 19/03/2018) Nikola (2013) History of the Magazine At: tinyurl.com/lg4a2fu (Accessed 15/03/2018)
P Phillips, A (2014) Turning the page: The evolution of the book Oxon: Routledge Poynter, D (2006) Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your own Book Santa Barbara: Para Pub
Q Quinn, A (2016) A History of British Magazine Design London: V&A Publishing
S Saracevic, E (2013) 40One Magazine At: tinyurl.com/ ybcmj67m (Accessed 12/03/2018) Shaughnessy, A (2010) How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul London: Laurence king Publishing Ltd
Conclusion Bibliography
Imagery IMAGE 1
IMAGE 10
IMAGE 19
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Hulsbomer, F (2008) Zaha Hadid Issue [Photograph] At: okno.uk/r/378Fl (Accessed on 18/01/2018)
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Manning, H (2018) Workshop Outcome 1 [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
Glutenburg (1663) Erbauliche MonathsUnterredungen [Photograph] At: okno.uk/r/378Fv (Accessed 20/03/2018)
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Manning, H (2018) Workshop Outcome 2 [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
Smith, K (2012) The Publishing Business: From Smi to E-Books Lausanne, Academia Smith, M (2015) People of Print: Innovative, Independent Design and Illustration London: Thames & Hudson
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W Wallpaper (2011) iPad FAQs At: tinyurl.com/yd8pksjz (Accessed: 12/01/2018)
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IMAGE 5
Why Reading Matters 1 (2009) [Television programme online] Pres. Carter, R. BBC At: tinyurl.com/y7u2sdc7 (Accessed 10/02/2018)
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Woodward, I (2007) Understanding Material Culture London: Sage
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IMAGE 16 Steve Jobs (2015) Steve Jobs [Photograph] At: okno.uk/r/378Fb (Accessed 29/01/2018)
IMAGE 17 Manning, H (2018) Molly Photography Workshop 1 [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 18 Manning, H (2018) Molly Photography Workshop 2 [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 21 Cave, E (1731) The Gentleman’s Magazine [Photograph] At: tinyurl.com/y78mpnug (Accessed 19/03/2018)
IMAGE 22 Wolsey, T (1962) Town Magazine October 1962 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378pj (Accessed 20/03/2018)
IMAGE 23 Wolsey, T (1962) Town Magazine November 1962 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/372mj (Accessed 20/03/2018)
IMAGE 24 Wolsey, T (1962) Town Magazine February 1962 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378pt (Accessed 23/03/2018)
IMAGE 25 The Face (1980) The Face November 1980 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378q7 (Accessed 24/03/2018)
IMAGE 26 The Face (1980) The Face Issue 1 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378q7 (Accessed 24/03/2018)
IMAGE 27 The Face (1980) Inside The Face Magazine [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378qh (Accessed 24/03/2018)
Chapter Eight
Imagery IMAGE 28
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IMAGE 48
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i-D Magazine (1980) Inside i-D Magazine Issue 1 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378qr (Accessed 22/03/2018)
Icon Magazine (2018) [Icon App] (Accessed 25/03/2018)
(As per image 6)
Saracevic, E (2013) 40 One iPad [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ybcmj67m (Accessed 24/02/2018)
IMAGE 29 i-D Magazine (1980) i-D Issue 1 [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378r5 (Accessed 22/03/2018)
IMAGE 30 i-D Magazine (2018) i-D Issue 351 – The Radical Issue [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378rf (Accessed 23/03/2018)
IMAGE 31 Manning, H (2018) Collection of Books [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 32 Wallpaper* (2016) Heatherwick Cover Instructions [Photograph] At: okno.uk/ r/378rp (Accessed 18/01/2018)
IMAGE 33 Wallpaper* Magazine (2016) [Wallpaper* App] (Accessed 28/12/2017)
IMAGE 34 Wallpaper* Magazine (2016) [Wallpaper* App] (Accessed 28/12/2017)
IMAGE 35 Icon Magazine (2017) Icon Magazine Cover [Photograph] At: okno.uk/ r/378s3 (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 36 Icon Magazine (2017) Inside Icon Magazine [Photograph] At: okno.uk/ r/378sd (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 37 Icon Magazine (2017) [Icon App] (Accessed 22/02/2018)
IMAGE 39 Dezeen Magazine (2018) [Dezeen Website] At: okno.uk/r/378sn (Accessed 30/03/2018)
IMAGE 40 Westwater, I (2013) Place Quotes [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yaxl5v5r (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 41
IMAGE 49 Huynh, J (2013) Divide Magazine Contents [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ydcjyh7u (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 50 Huynh, J (2013) Divide Magazine Madonna [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ydcjyh7u (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 51 (As per image 6)
Wrap Magazine (2014) Wrap Magazine Cover [Photograph] At: okno.uk/ r/378tb (Accessed 14/03/2018)
IMAGE 52
IMAGE 42
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Bingo, A (2014) Wrap Magazine Inside [Photograph] At: tinyurl.com/ ycd8h8mj (Accessed 15/03/2018)
IMAGE 43 Anorak (s.d) Anorak Magazine Pile [Photograph] At: okno.uk/r/378tv (Accessed 15/03/2018)
IMAGE 44 Anorakmag (2018) [Instagram] At: okno.uk/r/378G9 (Accessed 16/03/2018)
IMAGE 45 Anorak (2018) Anorak App [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378Gj (Accessed 15/03/2018)
IMAGE 46 Anorak (2018) Anorak App Crossword [Image] At: okno.uk/r/378Gj (Accessed 15/03/2018)
IMAGE 47 Havik, M (2015) Verso Digital Magazine [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yasasuwp (Accessed 20/02/2018)
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(As per image 47)
(As per image 47)
IMAGE 54 Havik, M (2015) Verso Digital Magazine Contents [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ yasasuwp (Accessed 22/02/2018)
IMAGE 55 Havik, M (2015) Verso Digital Magazine Text [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ yasasuwp (Accessed 22/02/2018)
IMAGE 56 Westwater, I (2013) Place Contents [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yaxl5v5r (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 57 Westwater, I (2013) Place Image Scrolls [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yaxl5v5r (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 58 Westwater, I (2013) Place Quotes [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yaxl5v5r (Accessed 20/02/2018)
IMAGE 60 Saracevic, E (2013) 40 One Interactive Page [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ybcmj67m (Accessed 24/02/2018)
IMAGE 61 Saracevic, E (2013) 40 One interactive Bike Page [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ybcmj67m (Accessed 24/02/2018)
IMAGE 62 Trani, P (2015) [5 Days from Nowhere] At: tinyurl.com/y8g9ljpy (Accessed 28/01/2018)
IMAGE 63 Trani, P (2015) [5 Days from Nowhere] At: tinyurl.com/y8g9ljpy (Accessed 28/01/2018)
IMAGE 64 Trani, P (2015) [5 Days from Nowhere] At: tinyurl.com/y8g9ljpy (Accessed 28/01/2018)
IMAGE 65 Moore, T (2014) Letter to Jane: Shadows [Image] At: tinyurl.com/y7jn2a42 (Accessed 20/03/2018)
IMAGE 66 Moore, T (2014) Letter to Jane: Shadows Cover [Image] At: tinyurl.com/y93mvplk (Accessed 21/02/2018)
IMAGE 67 Moore, T (2014) Letter to Jane: Katherine [Image] At: tinyurl.com/y93mvplk (Accessed 21/02/2018)
Conclusion Bibliography
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CRITICAL REFLECTION
Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Work [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
Manning, H (2018) User Testing Yellow Underline [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
Figure 1. Manning, H (2018) Inside 20th Anniversary Issue [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 69 Trani, P (2015) [5 Days from Nowhere] At: tinyurl.com/y8g9ljpy (Accessed 28/01/2018)
IMAGE 70 Trani, P (2015) [5 Days from Nowhere] At: tinyurl.com/y8g9ljpy (Accessed 28/01/2018)
IMAGE 71 Manning, H (2018) Experimentation 1 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 72 Manning, H (2018) Experimentation 2 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 73 Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Development 1 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 74 Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Development 2 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 75 Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Development 3 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 76 Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Development 4 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 78 Manning, H (2018) User Testing Arrows [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 79 Manning, H (2018) User Testing Chapter Menu [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 80 Manning, H (2018) User Testing Contents [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 81 Manning, H (2018) User Testing Underline [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: LIghtwater
IMAGE 82 Manning, H (2018) User Testing Image View [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 83 Manning, H (2018) Blurb Test Print [Photograph] In Possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 84 Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Development 3 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
IMAGE 84 Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Cover [Image] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
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Figure 2. Wallpaper* Magazine (2016) [Wallpaper* App] (Accessed 18/12/2017) Figure 3. Icon Magazine (2018) [Icon App] (Accessed 20/03/2018) Figure 4. Manning, H (2018) Inside February Issue [Photograph] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater Figure 5. Huynh, J (2013) Divide Magazine Madonna Interview [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ydcjyh7u (Accessed 20/03/2018) Figure 6. Huynh, J (2013) Divide Magazine Chris Interview [Image] At: tinyurl.com/ydcjyh7u (Accessed 20/03/2018) Figure 7. Manning, H (2018) Interactive Experiment 1 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater Figure 8. Manning, H (2018) Interactive Experiment 2 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater Figure 9. Havik, M (2015) Verso Digital Magazine [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yasasuwp (Accessed 21/03/2018) Figure 10. Havik, M (2015) Verso Digital Magazine Content [Image] At: tinyurl.com/yasasuwp (Accessed 21/03/2018) Figure 11. Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Design 1 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater Figure 12. Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Design 2 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
Figure 13. Moore, T (2014) Letter to Jane Magazine [Image] At: tinyurl.com/y7jn2a42 (Accessed 20/03/2018) Figure 14. Moore, T (2014) Letter to Jane Magazine Content [Image] At: tinyurl.com/y7jn2a42 (Accessed 20/03/2018) Figure 15. Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Design 3 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater Figure 16. Manning, H (2018) Final Outcome Design 4 [Screenshot of work] In possession of: Holly Manning: Lightwater
Chapter Eight
Appendices APPENDIX 1. SURVEY RESULTS (2018) Print vs Digital Debate Survey Results: This survey was created with the intention of finding out what other people thought of the print vs digital debate and relating it to my own project. Survey at: tinyurl.com/y9fjcrb6 Results below:
What is your age range? 18-24 25-39 40-60 60+
Which of the following do you agree with in relation to digital magazines & publishing? No.1 It is easier to access online content No.2 Online content is more portable through devices No.3 It's cheaper / faster to produce & access online content No.4 It loses sentimental value which print provides No.5 There is no sense of ownership with online content No.6 There is a gap in the market for digital magazines No.1: 47 (70.1%) No.2: 42 (62.7%) No.3: 43 (64.2%) No.4: 36 (53.7%)
What is your gender? Male
No.5: 28 (53.7%) No.6: 8
Female Prefer not to say
Do you agree with the statement ‘Print is Dead’? Yes No
Which of the following statements do you agree with in relation to printed magazines & publishing? No.1 Print provides a sentimental value & can be part of a collection No.2 Print evokes emotion through senses such as touch, smell, sight No.3 Too many people still appreciate print for it to become extinct No.4 Print can be very costly to produce and buy No.5 It's become a hassle to buy physical magazines and store them No.6 Print's potentially dying as it's easier to access content online
Other No.1: 47 (70.1%)
Which is your preferred method of reading? On a screen On paper / print Other
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No.2: 42 (62.7%) No.3: 33 (49.3%) No.4: 25 (37.3%) No.5: 17 (25.4%) No.6: 31 (46.3%)
Conclusion Appendices
Please put any other thoughts / feelings about this debate below. I can understand why people would feel that print is dying as we have access to so much online now. I feel that there is a certain type of audience that still appreciates having a physical book to read rather than digital. I personally prefer having a book to hold and feel rather than reading off a screen as I find it more relaxing and also nicer to hold. Some magazines do limited editions or special editions, for example Cereal. I am more likely to buy this as it holds a value which their other issues don’t have. If a digital magazine was able to make me feel more connected, such as through interactivity, I would probably read them more. There are pros and cons of print and digital information however I think print will continue to be relevant for a long time! While Digital is immediately accessible anytime it looses the physical aspect. Every is not born technologically inclined. But again print readers grasp a lot more.. Must weigh up the environmental costs to produce paper and digital. Printed paper is just more mess in house. Saying that reading an online book doesn’t give me the same satisfaction as a book with real pages. Print needs to continue for the older generations who don't have access to online devices but this need will lessen over the next 20+ years
printed media will unlikely disappear because unlike digital media, it is 1) always accessible (assuming you have a copy to hand) 2) With the likes of viruses, power failures, corrupted drives etc the comfort of being able to save or view printed media during times of crisis is always there 3) digital media is a new phenomenon and we are mainly hard wired to have paper in our hands as 'proof' of anything i.e important documents such as legal papers, birth certs etc. 4) digital media is arguably more corruptible so less trustworthy. So although it is generally 'easier' to access digital media, we generally don't trust it completely and require paper in our hands to validate the information. Print tends to retain a higher quality of editing and content compared to online equivalent. Digital content is fighting against multiple other alternatives so tends to be quick, short and low in quality/high in errors (both language and content) with no real consequence. Because of this competition it is also highly guilty of resorting to cheap tricks and shock tactics to bait readers which as a consumer is hugely off-putting. The print Vs digital debate is put to bed for me when you consider vendors who produce the same content in both mediums and charge the same. Why wouldn't I want something I can own for the same cost..? Some print can be replaced by digital media like newspapers that are out of date tomorrow- but it’s different for (e.g.) literature books for me Interesting topic. I'm often surprised how expensive online-only subscriptions are (new scientist for example)
Magazines and Newspapers are better online. Books, no
There’s nothing printed documents
Nice to have something tangible and you can access even when your coverage is low/ battery dead etc. Easier to read than accessing on a phone or tablet screen.
Personally I much prefer to have a printed copy of whatever I read and I don't think I will ever change to read online magazines or books.
Can you call it a magazine if digital? Surely it would just be web sites
Flicking through a magazine, curling up.in bed with a book or browsing a paper in bed on a Sunday morning are relaxing, comforting pastimes. Reading the same content on a phone or tablet will never be quite the same, especially with the associated constant interruptions of notifications from email, social media etc. Hard copy books are a treasured possession or something to pass on to like-minded friends so they can share the joy you took from reading them.
Although I use a kindle I still buy & appreciate books & magazines Technology can let you down, also not easy to share between friends however I believe both can coexist as there are occasions when reading on a tablet is more convenient particularly if you read a lot such as on holiday.
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Chapter Eight
Conclusion End quote
"The Design Dictionary defines research for design as supporting 'in specific ways the (practical, active) process of design whose product is an artefact...'. In other words, it's research that leads to a design outcome." (Shaughnessy, 2010:30)
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"The Design Dictionary defines research for design as supporting 'in specific ways the (practical, active) process of design whose product is an artefact...'. In other words, it's research that leads to a design outcome." (Shaughnessy, 2010:30)
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