NID Graduate Project Document - Marg Paving the way to change by Noosheen Mehta

GRADUATE PROJECT MARG-PAVING THE WAY TO CHANGE Sponsor : THE MARG FOUNDATION

Volume : 1 OF 2 STUDENT : NOOSHEEN N. MEHTA PROGRAMME : Bachelor in Design

GUIDE : TARUN DEEP GIRDHER

2015 FACULTY OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION (GRAPHIC DESIGN)

National Institute of Design Ahmedabad

The Evaluation Jury recommends NOOSHEEN N. MEHTA for the

Bachelor of Design of the National Institute of Design IN VISUAL COMMUNICATION (GRAPHIC DESIGN)

herewith, for the project titled "MARG-PAVING THE WAY TO CHANGE " on fulfilling the further requirements by

Chairman Members :

*Subsequent remarks regarding fulfilling the requirements :

Registrar(Academics)

Copyright ÂŠ2014-2015 Student document publication meant for private circulation only. All rights reserved. Graduation Bachelor of Design, Graphic Design, 2014-15 National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, xerography, photography and videography recording without written permission from the publisher, Noosheen Mehta and National Institute of Design. All illustrations and photographs in this document are Copyright ÂŠ2014-2015 by respective people/organizations. Edited and designed byName: Noosheen Mehta Email: noosheenmehta@gmail.com Prof read: Rashna Mehta Processed at National Institute of Design (NID) Paldi, Ahmedabad - 380007 Gujurat, India. www.nid.edu Printed digitally in Ahmedabad, India. October, 2015

ORIGINALITY STATEMENT

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and it contains no full or substantial copy of previously published material, or it does not even contain substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this degree project. Moreover I also declare that none of the concepts are borrowed or copied without due acknowledgement. I further declare that the intellectual content of this degree project is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. This degree project (or part of it) was not and will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.

I hereby grant the National Institute of Design the right to archive and to make available my degree project/thesis/dissertation in whole or in part in the Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Knowledge Management Centre in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act. I have neither used any substantial portions of copyright material in my document nor have I obtained permission to use copyright material.

Student Name in Full: Noosheen N. Mehta

Date:

Signature: Date:

Student Name in Full: Noosheen N. Mehta

Signature:

“Design everything on the assumption that people are not heartless or stupid but marvelously capable, given the chance.” –John Chris Jones

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My heartfelt gratitude to Marg and Radhika for believing in me and giving me the opportunity and making my dream to design a magazine come true. I would like to thank all the people at Marg for making me feel so welcome and comfortable during my duration at Marg. Thank you Aasha and Usha for always greeting me with a smile. Mary for being the most helpful and pleasant person to work with everyday. Shernaz for being such a friendly boss. Almitra for always sharing your lunch and all the cool places to hang out at. Savita for proofreading the same thing over and over again without any complaints and always smiling while doing so. Gautam, for never getting annoyed or frustrated with my constant questions about production and always helping me out no matter what. And most importantly Naju, my only graphic designer friend at Marg, for taking the time out of your busy schedule and solving all my problems. My most sincere thank you to my guide, Tarun Deep Girdher for seeing me through the most intense and trying time at NID. Your unparalleled enthusiasm and love for all things Graphic Design has inspired me to no end. Thank you for being my teacher and guide in the truest sense. You have always made me think and allowed me to make the right decisions.

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A big thank you to Immanuel Suresh, for always knowing what to say and for always being there to make all the awkward and strange situations, just a little easier to get past. Your invaluable advice and depth of knowledge has made life at NID so much easier. Your wealth of stories can make everything seem okay and relevant.

To all my friends at NID, I do not know how it happened but we became a family. Geetika, my roommate of four years, my partner in all things evil and my confidant for life. Thank you for your blunt and honest feedback on everything I have ever done. You are my constant source of joy and comfort.

I would also like to thank all the faculty and staff who I have been involved with during my tenure at NID. Chakradhar Saswade, the father of my Foundation batch, thank you for being such a kind soul and guiding us children through one of the most difficult transitions of our lives. Rupesh Vyas, for being such a dedicated teacher. Tridha Gajjar and Anil Sinha for making my graphic design education so interesting and easy. Mahendra Bhai for all your knowledge about printing, it was a boon.

Gowri, my first college friend and the one who has stuck by me through this roller coaster ride. Thank you for being the off-beat voice of reason and for the constant entertainment. Thank you for filling my days with so much laughter and craziness.

I would also like to thank all my batch-mates, for being with me through this adventure and making it so eventful and memorable. Also, my NID seniors and juniors for constantly inspiring me in so many ways.

Naomi, for always being there no matter what, for staying up with me through all the jury preps and the panic attacks. Thanks for the motivational talks and the cold coffees. I do not know how this would have been possible without you. Your hard work and strength are inspirational. A big Hello, from the other side, at 40. Pupul, for setting the bar so high with your high standards of perfection. You make me want to aim higher and be better at everything I do. Your sound reasoning that can simplify and make the most complex of matters so easy. Thank you for providing me with numerous typefaces and for magazine design tips and tricks.

Noopur, for always being there and listening to my endlessly strange thoughts and rants and for always leaving me with so much to think about. Your peacefulness is a balm. Ishita, for being such a great source of energy and positivity. Thank you for keeping us motivated through the long nights. Stuthi, for being my first magazine design buddy and for all your advice and support. Kratu, for teaching me so much over the years about life and embracing everything that is different. Thank you for being the friend I can share everything with, no matter what. Your eternal optimism shall take you places.

Karina, my soul-mate and my constant cheerleader in everything I do, whether you agree or not with my ideas, thanks for always being there. Late Ms. Shrin Darasha, my school principal, for giving me the conviction to believe that I could achieve anything I work towards. My various art teachers since I was a child: Mrs. Sampat, Mrs. Tambe, Mr. Pramod Kurlerkar and Mr. Das, thank you for making NID a reality. My brother, for always being so interested and encouraging. If not for our childhood adventures I would not have known how to activate the creative zones of my mind.

Arjun, for always being there and being so protective. Kalp, for being there when I needed you and for giving me shelter. Anupreeta, my old roommate and good friend, your sense of humor and smile are infectious, thank you for being there through those long Foundation nights.

Finally, I cannot put into words the gratitude and love I have for my parents, the sole reason I am what I am today. This is for the most hard working and sincere man, who taught me everything I know about hard work, my father. Thank you for knowing what I needed before I knew it myself.

Upamanyu, thank you for taking me in when I needed it most. Simoul, thank you for all your help.

My mother, my emotional rock, my support system. You were my first teacher and the sole reason for my entire education. Thank you for being my best friend and the voice in my head. You are a rock-star!

Siddhartha Tripathi, thank you for all you advice and guidance on how to make the water coloured backgrounds for the textures, you were a great help.

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SYNOPSIS Marg is a publishing house based in Mumbai. It began as a magazine by the same name in 1946. It is a magazine dedicated to the Arts. I was called on board to re-design their magazine. Marg always aims to be in the present and evolves over time. Marg was re-designed in 2014, but they were not that pleased with the design and wanted something new. My brief also included a series of illustrations and some marketing materials for Marg, which was very straightforward work.

The clients wanted two final cover to cover designs for the magazine, and they wanted us, my guide and I, to recommend to them the final design. This was the hard part. Creating two full designs and then choosing one.

I began with researching the first volume of the magazine, that was released way back in 1946. I also analyzed other later issues to understand the ethos behind the magazine. The research involved a study of other contemporary magazines. It also involved understanding how a magazine is designed and what it entails to design a full publication which has to made into a template later.

This was an intense six-month project, which taught me so much more than I had anticipated. It was a lesson in life in the real world, which I shall cherish for a long time to come. It was a pleasure working for Marg and with my guide also. I am so grateful to all those people involved in making my project possible.

Both designs were similar in some aspects and very different in some. It was a lengthy process which involved great detail to attention and required patience.

The actual design process was a long and tenuous back and forth process. I was given an old issue to re-design. The aim was to make it look as different from the original design. It all began with my naive attempts at designing a magazine. This is when I learned a lot, about what to do and more importantly what not to do. It was from my failures that I learned the most.

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CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION National Institute of Design Graphic Design at NID & The Graduation Project About Guide

2. THE SPONSOR & CLIENT Marg A History Founder

3. THE PROJECT

The Brief Time line The Marg team Vol.1 No. 1 A study Other Volumes The Editor The need to Re-design The current designer Current Design Vol. 66 No. 1 A Design Audit Structure of the Magazine Flat Plan Other magazines a case study Understanding the readership

4.PICKING OUT PARTS

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OF THE WHOLE Initial Design process Round 1 Chapter explorations Typography The Grid Geometry Guide Visit 1

5."THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS" Round 2 Client Presentation & Feedback Decision-Making

6. CONCEPT 1

8. CONCEPT 1 VS CONCEPT 2

10. YET, ANOTHER PART

Concept 1 - Round 1 Concept 1 - Cover Options Concept 1 - Final Grids Final Type Decisions Client Presentation & Feedback Concept 1 - Improvements Concept 1 - Final

Concept 1 Concept 2 Similarities The Recommendation

Marketing Material Exchange Ad Proposal - Baroda AI- Baroda Press Release Baroda Order Form Cloth Bag CSR Subscription Form AI- In Pursuit of the Past Exchange Ad AI - In Andal's Garden Proposal - In Andal's Garden Exchange Ad Order Forms

7. CONCEPT 2 Concept 2 Round 1 Concept 2 - Cover Options Concept 2 - Final Grids Final Type Decisions Client Presentation & Feed back Concept 2 - Improvements Concept 2 - Final

9. ANOTHER PART Illustrations Sanchi Kuchipudi Wooden traditions of South India

11. CONCLUSION My Reflections & Take aways Glossary Bibliography Colophon

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INTRODUCTION

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This is the documentation of my last and final project as a student at the National Institute of Design. This is the story of my baby steps into vast and intimidating world of publishing design. In today's day and age when information is available at the swipe of our fingers, this is my attempt to leave a mark on the traditional art of publishing. It is a study of the way humanity has indulged in the process of understanding written information and making sense of it. This has been made possible by the four and a half years of the unique education system at NID. I remember when I was in Foundation, I wanted to learn everything and if I could have I would have taken up almost all of the eight undergraduate courses offered, but I eventually decided on graphic design. One of the main reasons for my inclination towards publication design was that it is content driven, it gives me the opportunity to learn so much more and learn about innumerable subjects. What better way to learn about the world other than through books! It also gives me the opportunity to present information in my own special way and communicate with a wide audience.

When I was looking for a graduation project and stumbled across Marg, I was thrilled with the prospect of working for such an such an illustrious institution which is so dedicated to the Arts. I must admit that I had a lot of unrealistic, movie-like expectations of how a publication house works. I was surprised by the small scale operation, it seems like a family run business, with a small group of dedicated and loyal employees, many of whom have been around for decades. Marg runs like a well oiled machine and all the employees are experienced and extremely competent at what they do. It was wonderful to work in the art district of Mumbai, Kala Ghoda. It is always buzzing with such great energy and life. There is an art gallery in almost every building and the buildings themselves are a work of art. This was a truly special experience like no other. Hope you enjoy learning about my experience at Marg as much as I enjoyed the process. Thank you.

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THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN National Institute of Design is internationally acclaimed as one of the finest educational and research institutions for Industrial, Communication, Textile and IT Integrated (Experiential) Design. It has been recognised as an ‘Institution of National Importance’ by the Act of Parliament and is an autonomous institute under the DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The Government of India invited renowned Charles and Ray Eames to recommend a programme of design to serve as an aid to small industry. On the basis of their remarkable document, ‘The India Report’, NID was setup in 1961. The aim was to provide a multidisciplinary approach to design education that could satisfy the complex problems of India’s changing environment. NID is a unique institution with many problemsolving capabilities, depths of intellect and a timetested creative educational culture in promoting design competencies and setting standards of design education. The overall structure of NID’s programme is a combination of theory, skills, design projects and field experiences supported by cuttingedge design studios, skill & innovation labs and the Knowledge Management Centre. Sponsored design projects are brought into the classroom to provide professional experience. Interdisciplinary design studies in Humanities widen the students’ horizons and increase general awareness of contemporary issues.

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NID offers professional education programmes at Bachelor’s and Master’s level with five faculty streams and 20 diverse design domains and has established collaborative relationships with over 70 premier institutions across the world. NID has also been playing a significant role in promoting design. NID’s vision is to emerge as a global leader in Design Education and Research and become a torchbearer for innovative design directions in the industry, commerce, development and social sectors. Scattered within India and abroad, NID graduates get employed with the manufacturing industry differentiated by wide range of materials, products and markets. Some graduates are designer-entrepreneurs having established their own companies while some graduates join socialdevelopmental projects, pursue higher studies or seek careers in academics. NID provides both design education, as well as design services to various sectors. Design practice is a significant part of design education at NID. The education at NID is enriched with the allied activities of the institute consisting of Integrated Design Services where NID undertakes consultancy projects and professionally delivers design solutions in various areas of design disciplines; Outreach Programmes which brings Institute’s experience and training facilities to the service of those outside its regular education and client service activities; Industry Programmes and Projects (IP&P) which integrates design knowledge

with the varied segments of industry, commerce and service sectors; and Research & Publications. Research at NID has traditionally been grounded in practice, especially in the field work conducted by its faculty, staff, and students over the last several decades. They have been able to translate these contextual findings into the design of products, processes, services and systems, which in turn have had a significant social and cultural impact at a national level. The dissemination of research is actively encouraged in the form of publications, especially books, monographs craft and course documentations to name a few.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN & THE GRADUATION PROJECT I joined NID's Foundation program in the summer of 2011, straight out of high school. My Foundation can be described as one of the most intimidating yet thrilling experiences of my life. It was my biggest learning experience professionally, where I truly understood what it meant to be a student of design. It was also the year where I had to make one of the most important decisions ever, which discipline of design to study for the rest of my duration at NID. It was not an easy choice, but I am glad I made the right one, Graphic Design. The world has been witnessing dramatic change in the way a graphic designer works. The rapid changes in the way communication is happening in recent context of technological advancement has made the understanding of graphic design much more important than ever before. The programme at NID prepares students to take on all new context challenges and technological advancements in the field of Visual Communication and specially in Graphic Design domain. Paradoxically, traditional skills have become more necessary than before. Quality and creative solutions contextual to the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs are still a basic human input. The fundamental importance of creating a visual vocabulary through drawing, the development of aesthetic judgment, values of form, proportion, image and word have become an integral part of learning graphic design at NID.

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The areas of study in graphic design at NID, include typography & type design, publication design, image-making, illustration, photography, packaging, print design, corporate identity, branding, information & communication systems in digital domain as well as analogues medium. After a year of foundation and three years of studying graphic design, the graduation project is the final leg of an NID student's life. It is when we are put to the test in the real world. It is the final culmination of our undergraduate education.

ABOUT GUIDE As part of the graduation project, every student must be guided by a faculty member from NID, with expertise in the project area the student has opted for. Tarun Deep Girdher was my first teacher in graphic design, and with that first class he made a lasting impression. His enthusiasm for the subject and his whole-hearted approach to teaching and learning has been infectious. His classes have been the most exciting and intense challenges, that push you beyond what you expect of yourself. His ability to constantly keep me on my toes is what made me capable of taking up this project and it was only natural for me to have him as my guide.

He is the Chairperson of the Admissions Committee. He led the design team for the Young Designers series in 2000 and 2004 that won the best catalogue design award at the India Habitat Centre (IHC) in 2005 and 2008. Tarun has published widely and organised international conferences at NID such as Brands, Identity and Graphics 03 in 2003 and the Typography Day 2011. Tarun has professional experience of over 18 years.

He has created visual identity and logos for various agencies, including Right to Information, Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, National Institute of Naturopathy and Election Commission of India. He has also designed over 35 publications for NID and several NGOs including the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat and Handicap International.

Tarun has been teaching at NID for more than 15 years. He did the five-year School Leavers Professional Education Programme (SLPEP) in Graphic Design from NID and joined the institute as a faculty member in 1999. He coordinated the Foundation Programme at NID from 2003â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2005 and Graphic Design discipline from 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2011. Tarun teaches courses such as Typography, Visual Narratives, Introduction to Printing Technology, Introduction to Specialization, Open Electives (book binding), Communication Skills, Letter Design, Publication Design, Introduction to Illustration, Environmental Perception and Hand Book Binding.

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THE SPONSOR & CLIENT

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Marg is a quarterly Indian art magazine and a publisher of books on the Arts. It is a unique Mumbai-based not-for-profit publishing house whose mission is to engage and augment interest in Indian art and culture. It strives to light up 'many dark corners' in India’s cultural landscape and to spark debate on all aspects of art and culture among academics, critics, cultural connoisseurs and readers.

Marg’s quarterly books, initially published simultaneously with the magazine, have since diverged into independent publications. Marg’s special publications represent the diverse avenues Marg pursues in documenting Indian art and culture. These are published in a variety of formats with informative writing and are lavishly illustrated.

Marg started out as a magazine in October 1946. Back then its full form was the Modern Architectural Research Group, thus MARG. It translates as Pathways in Hindi.

Marg also produces films on India’s art and architectural heritage, combining evocative visuals with the latest information on sites from Art Historians and Archaeologists at the forefront of the site's research.

The founding editor Mulk Raj Anand intended it to be a loose encyclopaedia of the Arts of India and related civilizations. Since then, Marg, A Magazine of the Arts, has focused on grids of art and cultural traditions, reflects new trends, new research and new scholarship, with both upcoming and established art historians and scholars. The magazine is aimed at a wide audience.

The magazine was mainly funded by J.R.D. Tata of the Tata Group at its inception. Later on, after 1951 and until 1986, it was mostly funded by the Tata Group of companies; then the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) was formed as a trust with Marg as a division of NCPA. Since 2010 it has been functioning as an independent not-for-profit organization, The Marg Foundation.

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A HISTORY Marg began life with Mulk Raj Anand at the helm in 1946. With 'seven ads and two rooms' provided by the visionary industrialist J.R.D. Tata, it took up the massive task of identifying, cataloguing, and publicizing the nation’s heritage in the built, visual, and performing arts. From 1951 to 1986 Marg functioned as a division of Tata Sons Limited. In 1986 it became a division of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (a Public Charitable Trust). In 2009 an independent Public Charitable Trust, The Marg Foundation was founded and it took over the activities of Marg in 2010. The periods immediately before and after independence were path-breaking for Indian art, with the Progressive Artists’ Group challenging the character of Indian art as defined by the Bengal School. Marg, which means pathway, sought to provide a new direction to Indian art and worked towards publishing the ideals of this movement. Nowhere was this association stronger than when Marg provided vocal support to Akbar Padamsee during a court case which accused him of obscenity in his paintings.

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Architecture and planning was another realm in which the desires of both the nation and Marg came together. Regular issues of Marg were dedicated to defining the architecture of the time. Marg became an urban catalyst with the magazine issue 'Bombay: Planning and Dreaming' (Volume 18 Number 3) in 1965. While taking part in the debates surrounding contemporary art, architecture and culture, Marg also looked to provide a unique and thought provoking documentation of the past. Walter M. Spink’s 'Ajanta to Ellora' (Volume 20 Number 2), 1967, is one of the earliest publications of his controversial theory about the chronology of the second period of construction of the Viharas and Chaityas at Ajanta.

The earliest excavations and studies at Hampi were documented in 'Splendours of the Vijayanagara Empire: Hampi' (Volume 33 Number 4) in 1981. While scholarship has always been important to Marg, the guiding force has been an appreciation of Indian art and culture among the general public, with an emphasis on increasing contact between them and the art work. In 1993 Marg created a niche for guidebooks for the serious traveller with the publication of 'In and Around Ajanta and Ellora for MTDC.' With the production of films, Marg ventured beyond printed media. Purva Uttara, a series of eight mini-documentaries on important heritage sites in Indian art and architecture was produced with an informative narration from art historians involved in research and excavation at the sites covered. The documentary 'Bombay, One City, Two Worlds' (2002) suggested a re-visioning of the city’s future planning, thus rendering in film one of Marg’s most serious concerns – the future of Indian cities.

FOUNDER Mulk Raj Anand (12 December 1905 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 September 2004), philosopher, litterateur and social activist, was the Founding Editor of Marg. An avowed nationalist and modernist, under his leadership, for some 30 odd years, Marg began to undertake the massive task of identifying, cataloguing and publicizing the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heritage in the built, visual and performing arts, seeking to engender public debates about museums, monuments, urban planning, art education and questions of heritage. He was an Indian writer in English, notable for his depiction of the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society. One of the pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, he, together with R. K. Narayan, Ahmad Ali and Raja Rao, was one of the first India-based writers in English to gain an international readership.

During the 1970s, he worked with the International Progress Organization (IPO) on the issue of cultural self-comprehension of nations. His contribution to the conference of the IPO in Innsbruck (Austria) in 1974 had a special influence on debates that later became known under the phrase of 'Dialogue Among Civilizations'. Anand also delivered a series of lectures on eminent Indians including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore, commemorating their achievements and significance and paying special attention to their distinct brands of humanism.

Anand is admired for his novels and short stories, which have acquired the status of being classic works of modern Indian English literature, noted for their perceptive insight into the lives of the oppressed and their analyses of impoverishment, exploitation and misfortune. He is also notable for being among the first writers to incorporate Punjabi and Hindustani idioms into English and was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.

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THE PROJECT

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THE BRIEF The brief was given to me by Radhika Sabavala, General Manager of the Marg Foundation. The project was to create a fresh design for Marg magazine, working towards bridging the gap in the current design, so as to make a strong statement, and to preserve the scholarly nature of the magazine. It was imperative to maintain the seriousness of the magazine and make sure the magazine was not made gimmicky by any means. The brief was to make the magazine look more like a magazine, which they thought the current design lacked.

The project also included creating illustrations for Marg Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new on-line resource project. This comes under Marg's Outreach department. They plan to create an on-line archive of all the very valuable content that they have of various art and culture related topics from the Indian subcontinent. This is proposed as an educational tool or module for teenage students all cross the world.

The brief also included generating any marketing and advertising materials they required during my work duration.

Marg has a design advisory panel, which was not very happy with the current design and that is why they wanted alternative options for the magazine. That was one of the main reasons I was called on board. This was the reason the project was not time bound, since they already had a design for the magazine. The convenient thing about the brief was that, there was no definitive deadline from their end which took off some of the pressure.

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TIME LINE The project can be broadly put into three parts. The main focus of the project was the re-design of the magazine. The others being the illustrations and marketing material. All three were done simultaneously and overlapped with each other but are presented and explained separately in this document.

FEB

This is a colour coded time line of my experience at Marg: The Magazine The Illustrations The Marketing Material (on a need basis)

MAR

The documentation of the project happened side by side and mainly in the months of September and October.

APR

17 28 1 31 1 30

Understanding and researching the magazine's previous issues, a design audit.

Reading the 3 modules and identifying the scope of work.

ILLUSTRATIONS

MARKETING MATERIAL

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Looking and analyzing Conceptualizing and other magazines that visualizing what the compete with Marg. magazine should look like.

Exchange Ad.

Proposal Baroda

Initial design process.

Sourcing references for Sanchi module and illustrating.

Baroda AI

Exchange Ad

GUIDE VISIT-1

MAGAZINE REDESIGN

Re-analyzing everything about the initial design approach and starting over.

Sourcing references for Wooden Traditions of South India module.

Sindh (Special Offer)

MAY

JUN 31 1

Round 2 of designing the magazine with a fresh perspective and new ideas.

Sourcing references Kuchipudi module.

Cloth Bag Redesign

Sachi and Wooden Traditions of South India illustrations

Baroda Press Release

AUG

30 1

Sourcing references Kuchipudi module and illustrating.

'In pursuit of the Past' AI

GUIDE VISIT-2

JUL

31 1

Finalizing Concept 1 and Concept 2.

Concept 1 and Concept 2 initial stages.

Finalize all illustrations and hand over files.

CSR Sub Form 'In Andal Garden' AI

Proposal Exchange Ad 'In Andal Garden'

Order Forms

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THE MARG TEAM Radhika Sabavala, General Manager, is at the helm of things at Marg, and I reported to her. She has a tight hold on the running of Marg and is the driving force behind everything Marg. She is a perfectionist and has an amazing eye for detail and an undying love for the Arts.

I also worked closely with the Marketing team on all the marketing material and advertisements I made for Marg. The Marketing team is headed by Shernaz Vasunia. She was a dream to work for and I learned a lot about marketing and how to work with very strict deadlines.

The Editorial team consists of Dr. Monisha Ahmed, the Associate Editor. Savita Chandiramani Executive Editor the one who answered all my editorial doubts and queries. The Senior Editorial Executive is Arnavaz K. Bhansali and the Text Editor is Rivika Israel.

The marketing team is held together by Mary Abraham. She is the Assistant Manager and I worked closely with her too.

I also worked closely with Naju Hirani, their inhouse graphic designer, who works on all their other publications. She was a great help and I discussed with her all my design related problems. The production team consisted of Gautam V. Jadhav, the Senior Production Executive. He has had years of experience in publishing and was a great help when it came to any production related issues. He is assisted by Pradeep Musale, who was also very helpful and kind.

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VOL. 1 NO. 1 A STUDY One of the first things I was asked to do at Marg was study the Vol. 1 No. 1 of the Marg magazine so that I could understand what Marg was all about, how it began and what it stood for. Also, I could understand the evolution of the magazine and how it is what it is today. Right in the beginning of Volume 1 No.1, the editor of the magazine, Mulk Raj Anand, stated the objective and the goal of the magazine. He said that Marg was a group of like-minded progressive architects who wanted to stimulate an interest in the architecture of India. They aimed to create a magazine that would cover everything right from architecture to art to sculpture to industrial design to interior design and anything that had any relation to architecture and the arts. They wanted to document as much information as possible to create an archive of knowledge. The magazine was to have an all-India outlook and capture the diverse culture and heritage of the Arts in India. They very clearly stated which areas they would cover in the magazine. This was a truly pioneering attempt. There was no other magazine in India in 1946 that was dedicated to the arts in India. The magazine was profusely illustrated and full of images of paintings, maps, layouts and architectural plans, surveys and illustrations. The magazine had articles by Indian and foreign scholars proficient in their respective fields. GRADUATION PROJECT | MARG-PAVING THE WAY TO CHANGE | 23

The cover of the first magazines in the first volume are extremely simple and has one strong bold colour in the background. This changes in the later volumes. In contrast, the inside, especially the first few pages of the magazine has a very aesthetic and ornate feel to it. The credits and contents pages have borders that resemble mogul Indian archways and entrances. The Editor's Note has an elaborate illustrated archway-like border on a spread that appears in all the first volumes, a similar theme is present in the volumes later. 24 | NOOSHEEN MEHTA | B. DES. | GRAPHIC DESIGN | 2015

The first issue has articles mainly focusing on architecture, planning, housing, town-planning and it goes on to sculpture and jewelry. Some articles have hand-drawn illustrations in red ink around the images and the text. The interaction of the images and illustrations is very interesting and well thought. There is a lot of value addition in terms of a map of the town-planning and accurate isometric drawings and also technical drawings in the issue. The images of the sculptures are accompanied with simple line drawings that explain postures and poses. It is this extra effort and information that set the tone of the magazine as a scholarly journal. GRADUATION PROJECT | MARG-PAVING THE WAY TO CHANGE | 25

OTHER VOLUMES One of the first things Radhika asked me to keep in mind while re-designing the magazine was that, she would appreciate it if I could recreate the same feel that the magazine had back in the day. She wanted it to be reminiscent of what Marg had stood for all these years. She wanted it to feel like an artistic magazine. When Marg was at its peek, it was produced using a lot of handmade papers and other transparent, opaque and special papers. It was full of handdrawn illustrations and they also experimented with different types of printing. Today, most of these things are very hard to be incorporated on account of high costs and production issues. The magazine still maintains very good quality in terms of production and images, but it is definitely not what it used to be. Also, the times have changed and the market and readership's demands are very different. To get a better understanding of what Marg used to be all about, I did a study of some of the older issues that Marg has produced over time. These are some of the visuals of the older issues, where we can make a study of the different types of papers, typefaces and illustrations that Marg has incorporated into its design. The older issues of Marg are now collectible items and are highly treasured, and some of them are still sold on their website, depending on availability. This is a also my mini homage to the vast array of visually enticing work that Marg has produced over the years.

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These are just a handful of the covers that Marg has produced over the years. Their ability to out do themselves when it comes to choosing the right cover is just fantastic. They always choose the most exciting and thought-provoking cover. This makes the readers even more excited about the contents.

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This is the ever evolving masthead and contents page. It shows the journey from the ornately intricate arches to the more contemporary designs that Marg has made over the years.

On the facing page, is the synopsis or an editor's note. These used to be designed and illustrated with a lot of fanfare earlier. They had a sense of grandeur. It was a sort of prelude of what was to be expected from the coming pages.

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On the facing page, are the various typefaces that were used. They include some very interesting illustrated drop caps and some very contemporary titles.

These are the examples of some little booklets that used to be bound into the magazine. They provided some interesting trivia accompanied by beautiful imagery. GRADUATION PROJECT | MARG-PAVING THE WAY TO CHANGE | 31

This is the example of some of the different and unique graphic elements that used to be found in the earlier issues of Marg. There were times when one issue would use 3-4 different types of such elements, depending on the type of articles they were publishing.

On the facing page, you can see the use of various types of papers. These include everything from every day brown paper to vividly coloured handmade papers. These added another layer to the magazine and gave it a visual and tactile texture. 32 | NOOSHEEN MEHTA | B. DES. | GRAPHIC DESIGN | 2015

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Fold-outs have been a permanent feature of the Marg magazine. They have included some extremely elaborate and beautiful fold-outs as can be seen here. This was not a one off thing, any issue that needed a fold out no mater how long had it. They included everything from intricately done illustration to scrolled images. They have never compromised on quality and this is a perfect example of that. It would be so delightful to own an issue such as this.

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This is an example of the way the illustrations used to be incorporated along with the use of various types of papers. They had images overlapped with illustration to get a better understanding of form and structure, of how the object could transform into something else and change. The use of papers was well thought out and created some very interesting interactive features in the magazine.

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These are examples of the vivid and varied use of illustrations and various types of images.They used everything, such as, architectural plans and drawings, perspective drawings, sectional drawings, maps and even water-colours so as not to leave any ambiguity about the subject mater.

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The following pages include more examples of the varied techniques implemented by Marg to produce exceptional quality publications year after year.

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THE EDITOR The magazine is contributor based and has been edited by Dr. Monisha Ahmed. She is an independent researcher who has been visiting and writing about material culture, mainly the textile arts, in Ladakh since 1987. She received her doctoral degree in Social Anthropology from Oxford University in 1997. Her dissertation developed into the book 'Living Fabric - weaving among the nomads of Ladakh Himalaya' (Orchid Press, 2002), which received the Textile Society of America’s R L Shep award in 2003 for best book in the field of ethnic textile studies. Since then she has authored several articles on the textile arts of Ladakh, co-edited with Clare Harris 'Ladakh – Culture at the Crossroads' (Marg Publications, 2005) and with Janet Rizvi authored Pashmina – 'The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond' (Marg Publications, 2009). From 1997 to 2000 Dr Ahmed was the Projects Director at INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), Greater Mumbai Chapter.

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THE NEED TO RE-DESIGN Marg Magazine used to be designed by Kirti Trivedi up until 2013, volume number 65. Then the task was handed over to Aurobind Patel. Aurobind has designed the magazine volume 66 onwards. He also recreated the nameplate of the magazine. This was Marg's attempt at giving the magazine a new and fresh look, and also re-create its identity. Marg did not do away with its otherwise iconic logo, only the magazine has its own identity now.

It is also important to remember that at one point of time Marg published the same articles in their magazines as they did in the book that they published at the time. The magazine acted as a marketing tool for the books. But in the recent past, the magazine broke away from the books and is now an independent magazine. Therefore, there is a very urgent need for the design and layout to reflect the same.

At first glance, I did not understand why Marg would want me to re-design an already beautifully designed magazine. The current design is beautiful and seamlessly done. It allows the content to speak for itself and is simple and easy to read and follow. It is also easy to replicate and allows for the consistency to be maintained in all the issues. It was later that Radhika explained to me that she felt it looked more like a book than a magazine. The design was great but it did not look like what she envisioned the magazine to look like. The inside pages could easily be mistaken for one of the many other books that The Marg Foundation publishes. Therefore, the need for a new design was felt.

It is interesting to note that this was also the reason why all the magazines from the mid 70s to 2008, varied in design. They used the same plate to print the magazine which was used to print the books that they were launching at that point, only a few more pages were added to complete the magazine. This is also why they vary in size. The size of the magazine depended on the size of the book or books they were launching at that time.

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I did not understand why Marg would want me to re-design an already beautifully designed magazine.

THE CURRENT DESIGNER Aurobind Patel is an accomplished graphic designer and typographer with expertise in Publishing Systems and he is noted as one of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest designers. He has a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from Mumbai University and an MFA in Design from Southeastern Massachusetts University. He has also recently won the Lifetime Achievement Award at Typography Day 2014 held at Symbiosis Institute of Design in Pune. He has designed a number of esteemed newspapers and magazines including re-designing Marg Magazine from Volume 66 onwards. He created the game-changing Times Millennium typeface in November 1991. He served as a Design Consultant for several leading Newspapers like India Today, U.K. Newspapers like The Daily Telegraph and The Times and Design Director of The Economist. He is a whole time director of Laser Words Private Ltd., Chennai. He has also served as a Director of Delta Corp. Ltd. and served as a Director of Arrow Textiles Ltd. since October 1, 2008.

His design approach can be described as careful and extremely sensitive. He has paid careful attention to his choice of typefaces. They are extremely contemporary and perfectly apt. The use of colour is extremely vivid and attention has been paid to the smallest detail. The design is exquisite in its simplicity and its elegance. A lot of effort has been put in resolving the traditional conflict between content and design by fusing them into an integrated and harmonious whole. He also redesigned the nameplate which was earlier the logo of Marg itself. The new nameplate is his own creation and is a work of art. It was, therefore, an extremely challenging and daunting task to re-design the work of such an accomplished and experienced designer, at this point in my career, and all by myself. I wondered whether I was biting off more than I could chew.

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CURRENT DESIGN After analyzing the magazine, I realized that the same repetitive layout which allows the content to be the hero, gives the magazine a book or a coffee table book-like feel. Some people find that it even shares a resemblance to a textbook, due to its scholarly content. It is this bookish feel that the client was not pleased with and therefore, the need to re-design. The magazine lacks interaction and has an almost sterile and clean feel to it. With page after page of the same text block, the design does not add any interest value to the magazine. Thus, I realized that, the burden of making the magazine attractive lies simply on the extremely rich and vivid images that Marg is very well known for. The magazine lacks visual excitement and variety, and in an attempt to be subtle, it has become monotonous page after page. The magazine itself occupies a space somewhere between a scholarly journal and that of a magazine. The content is extremely scholarly and not all of it is for easy or casual reading. It is for the intellectual reader, with an interest in the arts, culture and heritage of the Indian subcontinent. Thus it occupies a special space in the market also, as a truly unique magazine with extremely rich and valuable content that is otherwise hard to come across. The visuals are also extremely fascinating and artistic in nature, they are one of a kind and are not the type of visuals that one would normally associate with those seen in commercial magazines.

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The challenge was to make this publication look as much like a magazine as possible, to give it a fresh look and feel and recreate its visual identity as a one of a kind art magazine.

Thus it occupies a special space in the market also, as a truly unique magazine with extremely rich and valuable content that is otherwise hard to come across.

VOL. 66 NO. 1 I was asked to re-design Volume. 66 No. 1. This was the first issue that was redesigned by Aurobind Patel. I was told to re-design everything - the cover, the spine and all the pages. I was told to maintain the size and the type of paper, due to production restrictions. I was also told that the name plate could be changed if the redesign demanded it.

298.45 mm

The size of the magazine is 8.5 x 11.75 inches, which is a good size and I was glad to work with it. I was given the liberty to use any typeface or use the one they currently use, but I was not able to do so unless I only worked on one of the two office computers which had the licensed typefaces that they use. I was told to make its look as much like a magazine as possible and less like a book. Also, the design must be able to incorporate both the types of issues that they publish, the thematic issue and the general one. Both the issues are published alternately. The entire thematic issue focuses on any one topic for the full issue, while still keeping with the genre of the arts.

215.9 mm

298.45mm

215.9 mm

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A DESIGN AUDIT I began by reading the entire content and understanding the interaction between the text and the images. The content is mostly educational in nature and the articles vary from 2000 words minimum to 7500 odd words maximum. Even though the magazine is text heavy there is always at least one image per spread. All the text and the images are contributor based. The number of pages in the magazine vary from 130 -160 pages from issue to issue. The first 9-15 pages are the thematic advertising and the last 40 odd pages are general advertising. The back cover of the magazine is also an advertisement. The magazine thankfully does not have any advertisements interspersed with the articles and that definitely makes it much easier and better to design. The cost of the magazine is ` 330, and compared to its competition it is a little expensive. Its contemporaries cost around ` 200- 300. The printing and binding of the magazine is out sourced to Silverpoint Press Private Limited (SPPL), which is based in Mumbai. They print around 8000 copies per issue. The magazine is not sold on stands and is only circulated among their subscribers. The magazine is printed quarterly. They use Lumi matt paper 130 GSM for the pages and the cover is also printed on Lumi matt Card 300GSM.

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THE COVER

THE SPINE

The cover has a certain format. The editorial team choses an image that makes sense to convey the message of what it is they want to say in that issue. If it is a thematic issue then the image must convey what the theme is about.

THe spine is the same colour as the nameplate, beside the bottom half that has a black area with an arrow like shape pointing upwards. This area includes the price and the Devanagari logo of Marg (see images on the facing page).

On the left is a list of five story lines that they are trying to advertise on the cover. Each has a graphic element at the end. There is also another graphic element on the spine.

The spine includes the name of the magazine, the tag line, the month and year of issue, the volume and issue number and a small graphic element. All these elements are knocked out and appear in white, i.e. the colour of the paper on the spine.

Another characteristic feature of the cover is the colour scheme that it has for every issue. Besides the stark white background, a dominant colour that goes with the image is chosen, which becomes the colour of the nameplate and the spine. Another accent colour is chosen which is used alternately in the story lines list. In case of the thematic issue it is also the colour used to signify the name of that specific issue. The background does not always have to be white. It can also change as it did in Vol. 66 No. 3 where it was a shade of dark brown, but otherwise followed the same format.

NON-THEMATIC ISSUE

THEMATIC ISSUE- THE ARTS OF BHUTAN

Name plate

Magazine Name

Cost

Tag line

Magazine Name Tag line

Tag line

Graphic element

Graphic element Cover image

Cost Date line

Date line

Name plate

Date line

Story lines

Issue number

Cover image

Name of issue Cost

Cost

Devanagari logo

Cost Devanagari logo

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THEMATIC ADVERTISING The current design opens to a series of thematic ads, that go on for about 8-9 pages. These unique advertisements appear in the first section of the magazine. They allow advertisers to be a part of Marg’s commitment to supporting the arts in a visual, aesthetic form. For each issue of the magazine, Marg picks out an organization or individual working in the field of culture and visual arts, design and urban renewal and features them with a profile write-up as well as a portfolio of images. Should you choose to be a part of this section, your company’s logo will be placed below any one of the photographs in the portfolio. Advertisers in this section will join a list of eminent companies that have been regular patrons of Marg’s efforts towards promoting Indian art.

Gate folded inside front cover. 48 | NOOSHEEN MEHTA | B. DES. | GRAPHIC DESIGN | 2015

THE MASTHEAD, THE EDITOR'S NOTE AND THE CONTENTS PAGE The thematic ads are followed by the masthead, the editor's note and the contents page. The masthead occupies 40% of the page width while the editorial note occupies 60% of the page width. The division is also subtly seen in the change in colour of the background. The contents page is traditionally on the right spread. The readers attention is immediately taken to the Editorial Note since it occupies more space but at the same time the masthead is set on white which contrasts beautifully with the Marg red. The contents page has a subtle indicator at the top right in the form of a tag. The contents is laid out in a simple way one after the other so it is very easy and convenient for the reader to navigate. The interesting images from within the text are placed again in an orderly fashion on the far right in a column. The right hand corner has tags that divide the sections under which you can see the Devanagari logo type of the Marg Foundation, which has been beautifully accommodated into the design under which you can see the numbers within circles indicating the page on which the image can be found. It would have been better if the images were placed in chronological order.

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OPENING PAGES

TYPEFACES USED

The landing pages of the first section i.e. Perspective. On the opening pages, the text starts on the right and is accompanied by a full image on the left. The text starts with a four or five line drop cap and the first line in all the articles is in full caps.

The typeface used in the body is Sina Nova regular at 11.5pt with leading of 15.5pt. Sina Nova and all the other typefaces used in the magazine are by Hoftype. The subheadings are set in Sina Nova Extra Bold at 12pt with leading of 15.5pt. The generous leading allows for comfortable reading. Sina Nova is a slim typeface, it has a slightly vertical tendency, a higher x-height which makes it more open in small text sizes. The larger Xheight is more comfortable to read since most of the readership comprises of people over 50. Sina Nova has economical proportions with universal application, that can be used diversely. The title of the article is set in Quant bold and regular while the author's name is in all caps Quant medium. Impara is used in the running head or the section tags. It was designed in 2010. It is a slightly contrasted sans serif with a lively stroke ductus and distinct humanistic characteristics. It represents a synthesis of linear coolness and classic elegance. It has been created for informational text applications and, in display sizes, it reveals elaborate details.

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Section tags

Title

Author's Name Drop cap All caps line

Sub headings

Image captions Text box of body text

Margin

Page width

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FOLIO

RUNNING HEADS

Folio consists of several elements. Page number is mandatory but others are optional. Others can be publication logo, date, month, section title etc. Few elements are more than enough since they are repeated all across the magazine. Folios serve a bigger purpose and should be placed on almost every page, since the reader should know at every moment on which page he is or which page to go to. Folios are designed conservatively since they do not need to be too attention grabbing and should be noticed but in a subtle way.

Running heads are navigation elements that guide the reader. They are set in a colored box and bleed out of the page, and they are visible even when the magazine is closed. Running heads should be carefully designed to reflect the style and tone of the rest of the magazine. I do not like the current running heads and the typeface used here. They are too chunky and do not go with the elegant look of the rest of the magazine. They look out of place. They are large and in contrast to the largely empty margins they take up too much attention and dominate the page. These section tags are also colour coded to each chapter. The dominant colour of each chapter is used to do this. It is also the same colour used very often in the title of the articles.

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Running head/ Section Tags

Folio- Page number

Folio-Name of magazine, month and year of release and issue number

Folio-Author of article & article name

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THE GRID One of the main design features of this layout is the grid. The grid is as simple as it could get. It is a text heavy one column grid, that uses justified text. There is a wide margin or a skinny column, the marginalia or white space on either side of the spread. This margin at times has image caption or at times even a small or slim and tall images inserted in it. It adds the much needed breathing space to the layout. It demarcates the central zone of the spread as the important text heavy area. Most of the pages have images on the top half of the page and the bottom is mostly reserved for the text. At times images are inserted between text but that is just an exception, when there is a required break in the text. At the top right is the section tag which is just a little narrower than the width of the margin column. The grid only changes in the Book Reviews section, when it changes to a two column grid. This implies a change in tone of the articles and the magazine itself. It has been mentioned before that the magazine is extremely repetitive and over simplified in its layout. But it is this over simplification in terms of layout that is also the problem. The design does not look like a commercial art magazine as the clients would like.

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IMAGES The images used are always of superior quality and are very well edited. The treatment of the images is extremely respectful and is never made to seem gimmicky. The images add value to the story and contents. Image cut outs are also a big part of the magazine's design language. The cut outs are very well done and make the images stand out more.

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STRUCTURE OF THE MAGAZINE The magazine is editorially divided into 6-9 sections each with anywhere from 1-5 articles each. This varies from issue to issue and sometimes a section could be added and sometimes not all are included. The order of the sections also varies from issue to issue. These sections are: Perspectives Focus Profiles Conversation Ancillary Photo Essay Exhibition Review Book Review Books Received Contributors Depending on the nature of the articles, they are put under a certain section. The criteria for which article goes under which section varies on the approach the contributor has taken towards writing the article. For example, an interview could be under conversations or profile depending on how the article is structured and on the importance the editor wants to give it.

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ORIGINAL FLAT PLAN Cover

Thematic advertising write up Gate fold

Gate Fold Thematic ad

Thematic Advertising

Perspectives Masters of the Swirling Skies

Perspectives The Clock is Ticking

Perspectives Masters of the Swirling Skies

Perspectives The Clock is Ticking

FocusThe Ass Curse Stele Tradion

AncillaryHindu Symbolism in Sikh Art

FocusThe Ass Curse Stele Tradion

Book Reviews

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Books Received

Contributors

Advertising

Thematic Advertising

Mast head & editor's note

Contents page

Perspectives Mithila Painting

Perspectives Masters of the Swirling Skies

Perspectives Mithila Painting

ProfileMughal Mystique

FocusThe Ass Curse Stele Tradion

ProfileMughal Mystique

AncillaryHindu Symbolism in Sikh Art

Exhibition ReviewThe Magic of India

Advertising

Book Reviews

Advertising

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OTHER MAGAZINES CASE STUDIES Saudi Aramco World Saudi Aramco World is a bi-monthly magazine published by Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. In 2004, the magazine's website was awarded 'Best Magazine Website' by the Web Marketing Association. The bimonthly magazine is published in Houston, Texas. While Saudi Arabia is still frequently the main feature of articles, the magazine also covers the wider Arabic and Muslim world, and is aimed at both company employees and other interested readers. The website also allows free access to back issues going back to the early 1960s, including the photography. This magazine is a personal favorite of my client and they introduced me to it. In many ways it is very similar to Marg magazine in its content but at the same time it is not as serious or intellectual. The magazine has a more casual approach to it and is not text heavy, it is full of vivid images and it celebrates the past and the current world scenarios of the Arab and Muslim community. The magazine is more of a celebration of the Arab and Islamic world; it speaks of their art, culture, sports, business, food and heritage. It does not aim to be educational in its approach but just informative by simply touching upon the contents.

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Design-wise it is exciting and dynamic. There is nothing standard about it and it does tend to get a little gimmicky at times, but its casual approach and content allow it to do so. The approach is very contemporary and the design is trying to be fresh and young. The design of the articles is driven by the content and the magazine is lacking in uniformity. Each article is designed and laid out individually. The type choices vary from chapter to chapter and in some areas there is scope to do much better. There is also an overload of graphic elements used and no uniformity in any of it. These are the reasons the magazine looks dynamic, but it lacks a harmonious design language.

The design of the articles is driven by the content and the magazine is lacking in uniformity.

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IQ Indian Quarterly is a richly-illustrated and elegantly-produced quarterly. It is inspired by magazines like New Yorker, Granta and Intelligent Life (the quarterly features magazine put out by the Economist). Its first issue boasts some of the best known names in Indian art, poetry and criticism alongside exciting new talents and a plethora of fine writers from the UK, USA and around the English speaking world. Just as The New Yorker exudes a Manhattan sensibility and always contains articles about New York, IQ manifests the fact that it is edited and published in Mumbai through its cosmopolitan, open-minded and provocative perspective on the world and on India. IQ emphasizes those elements of magazine journalism that readers love but which are found less and less in contemporary publications: such as high quality in-depth reportage, essays and essay reviews, and photo-essays. Each issue is designed to include features that influence the conversation of well-informed and influential audiences here and abroad. It is aimed at an intelligent, well-informed readership but not an academic or specialized one, nor one that is defined by a particular political point of view. Its content will reflect the fact that its readers have wide interests, that they are as concerned with our evolving popular culture and its implications, as in literature and the arts.

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The magazine is an object of elegance, thanks to its photography, art and overall look,â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a thing of some beauty that is easy to read and a joy to see. It is easy to see that the magazine is designed with care, the wide margins and the ample white spaces makes it easier to appreciate the content and the images. The uniquely placed pull-out quotes, with their central alignment make the whole reading experience more enjoyable. The subtle use of colour in the type is very well thought. The typefaces chosen are contemporary and have a slight quirkiness to them. The body type has a large X-height which makes the reading experience smooth. The production is nothing short of superb and the image quality and treatment adds a different layer of excitement to the magazine. All in all, this magazine is a personal favorite because it is a beautifully crafted magazine.

The uniquely placed pullout quotes, with their central alignment make the whole reading experience more enjoyable.

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ART India ART India is India's premier art magazine: over the last eleven years, it has been responsible for the promotion of a critical discourse around diverse art forms, activities and disciplines. As an important forum for discussing, interrogating and appreciating art practices, ART India has been responsible for giving a platform to artists and critics to engage in a mutually replenishing intellectual dialogue with each other. This has led to the fostering of a vibrant atmosphere of sustained debate around crucial issues linked to the theory and practice of painting, sculpture, installation art, new media art, photography and architecture. The design of ART India can be described as mature and classic. One of the main design elements of the magazine is the bands of colours used throughout. The colour pallet adds to the mature feel, the colours used are intense and have darker tones. This is understandable since attention must be placed on the actual art which they are trying to highlight. The magazine is well balanced; it is neither text heavy nor image heavy. The text mostly follows a simple two-column grid and sometimes the column width varies, but only in a few places. There are a few exceptions to the rule when three columns are used. The design uses the line element throughout the layout, in some places it varies in thickness but it is a definite constant. The line is most visibly used to divide

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the columns and is also subtly used in the section dividers and in the running heads. ART India has a huge international following and has been chosen by Beaux Arts magazine, Paris, as one of the leading art magazines in the world.

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AI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Arts Illustrated Arts Illustrated is an Indian based arts and design magazine dedicated to understanding the contemporary arts landscape and creating a more inclusive ecosystem for the arts in the country. It delves deeply into the visual arts and design narrative, offering a global and contemporary perspective to subjects, information and ideas that need to be heard by a larger audience. It is a visually laid out chronicle of the creative landscape and is published bi-monthly. AI can be described as a gracefully designed and luxuriously laid out magazine. The magazine exudes an aura of opulence and finesse. The lavishly created covers are an immediate indication of what is to be expected from the inside. Uncompromising quality in each issue is what readers look forward to and what makes you want to peek through the laser cut double covers and then open it up! The dark gray text and the accent colour of golden colour sets a graceful tone of what is to come next. The use of a map at the start of some chapters gives it an international feel. The beautiful image quality and treatment in contrast to the wide white spaces gives the magazine an opulent feel. The treatment of the articles varies, but they all come together very harmoniously and add to the readerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience. They do not have a conventional approach to their design, they are brave in their approach and are not afraid to experiment with layouts even though they

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are aiming to be a sophisticated magazine. It has a young and contemporary design which does not have an overpowering feel.

The lavishly created covers are an immediate indication of what is to be expected from the inside.

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UNDERSTANDING THE READERSHIP Marg is a subscriber based magazine and is not sold on stands. It has a very niche subscriber base, that mostly includes an intellectual audience with an interest in the arts and cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent. The magazine is not for commercial or leisure purposes. Reading any of the articles from the magazine demands a great deal of attention on the part of the reader. At the same time, it does not aim to be of a highly technical nature. It targets anyone with an interest in the arts. Most of the readership includes people from an older age bracket of 45 years and above. Marg is also read by students of art, design, architecture and social sciences. The magazine does not print more than 8000 copies of each of its issues. They have a loyal customer base that they have garnered over the years. They have subscribers that have remained loyal to them for decades and still continue to do so. This is due to their quality publishing and also the personal relationships they have maintained with their customers and subscribers. Their service and dedication to their customers is remarkable. Marg is a warm and friendly place with an extremely competent and intelligent staff that goes above and beyond their duty to deliver. This is one of the reasons they have survived for almost 70 years in the business.

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They have subscribers that have remained loyal to them for decades and still continue to do so. This is due to their quality publishing and also the personal relationships they have maintained with their customers and subscribers.

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PICKING OUT PARTS OF THE WHOLE

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INITIAL DESIGN PROCESS After having read through the entire magazine I have to admit I could not wait to start designing and just 'play' around with the content and images. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and as they say 'ignorance is bliss'.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into and as they say 'ignorance is bliss'.

At the Marg office I was mostly on my own when it came to designing anything related to the magazine. Radhika, the General Manager gave me the brief, told me she wanted the magazine re-designed and asked me to be as adventurous as I could. So I dove head first and immersed myself into the task. With my little knowledge of the publishing world and magazine design I charged on ahead. My initial design approach can be described as clumsy. I familiarized myself with the content and began to create layouts. I would describe this experience as 'learning how not to design a magazine'. It was a time where I tried to be as experimental in my approach and did what felt right to me. It was a back and forth process where I focused on different parts of the magazine and was looking for inspiration. What I learned was that it is only when you stumble and fall do you know how to stand up and rise.

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ROUND 1 I began designing with the second article which was the article featured on the cover. Also, it was a really interesting article to work with. It was a long article, but not the longest so I decided that it would be a good starting point. I began by trying variations of the landing pages. Here I tried different layouts using various typefaces. I was trying very hard to make sure it looked nothing like what the current design looked like. I also wanted to try to make it look bold and fresh. But I was too influenced by the innumerable number of magazines in the market, that I had referred to in terms of layouts and look. I was trying to make Marg look and feel like a generic magazine, while it certainly is not. Another mistake I was making at this particular point of time was that, I was not treating the images with adequate respect. Cropping them and editing them to fit strange shapes is unethical and, is also very often not allowed with certain images that have been received from museums or other such institutions. These images require to be treated with respect and that was something I learned. When it came to the grid, I was trying to make things more exciting by trying 2 and 3 column grids and also trying uneven shapes. For example, in one of the explorations I tried creating a 'pathway', which I later realized was not a good idea. At this point of time, I was trying everything I could possibly think of without any real direction.

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CHAPTER EXPLORATIONS

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All these layouts were perfectly fine as they were. But none had that spark or that one thing that made it look more like a magazine than a book. Personally I liked the one that used varying column widths. But Radhika found it too confusing and insisted that I should not go with varying column widths. I also liked the one with the vertical headers, subheadings and image cations I thought it looked really different and interesting, from anything else. But Radhika though thought the one column grid made it look too much like a book. Also it was here that I decided to use typefaces more mindfully.

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TYPOGRAPHY Typography is extremely crucial to a magazine. It defines the voice and tone of the publication and helps create its visual identity. It helps setting the correct mood and sets up the ambiance for the reader. It is the magazine's mode of communicating with the reader. The variations in weights and styles is how a designer creates a strong visual hierarchy. It is very important for readers to be able to quickly navigate from most important content to least important and gives them a sort of scaffolding to quickly find specific content. It gives a design structure and a logical flow of presented information making it feel more inviting to readers. When it came to typeface selection, I was overwhelmed by the extensive choices I had. The first choice was to go ahead with the existing typefaces, since they are really good typefaces. On the other hand, typefaces are a big part of the design and since I was redesigning the magazine changing it would make the most sense. Another dilemma I faced was whether I should choose open source typefaces or closed source, non-free typefaces. I did want to try using open source typefaces since I thought it would help create a different and non-exclusive approach to the magazine. Marg is an NGO now, and is striving towards making a lot of the knowledge that they have accessible to students and other such educational organizations. I also thought it would be a more sustainable design approach. That is why I tried various combinations of open source 82 | NOOSHEEN MEHTA | B. DES. | GRAPHIC DESIGN | 2015

typefaces. I also tried combining open source and non-free typefaces together. Marg is a content driven magazine and, it was therefore essential to make the right choice when choosing a typeface or a combination of typefaces. That is why it took a lot of iterations and explorations to come to a final decision. It was only at the end when everything started coming together that I was able to make a final choice.

TYPE FACES CONSIDERED FOR BODY TEXT

Open Source Typefaces

Closed Source or Non-Free Typeface

Open Sans is a humanist sans serif typeface designed by Steve Matteson, Type Director of Ascender Corp.

Caslon is a group of serif typefaces designed by William Caslon I (1692–1766), and various revivals thereof.

Gentium is a Unicode serif typeface designed by Victor Gaultney.

Caecilia is designed by Peter Matthias Noordzij, and named after his wife, Caecilia, for Linotype in 1990. Its shapes are humanist rather than geometric. PMN Caecilia is easier on the reader's eye and so more useful as a text typeface than most slab serif designs.

Lora is a serif typeface designed by Cyreal, in September of 2011. Vollkorn is the famous body typeface by Friedrich Althausen, Germany. Initially released in 2006 and one of the first at Google’s Webfonts in 2010. FF Scala is an old style, humanist, serif typeface designed by Dutch typeface designer Martin Majoor in 1990 for the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Minion Pro is a serif typeface designed by Robert Slimbach in 1990 for Adobe Systems and inspired by late Renaissance-era type. Roboto is a neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface family developed by Google as the system font for its mobile operating system Android. Aller font family was created in 2008 for the Danish School of Media and Journalism, with the kind sponsorship of publisher Aller.

Warnock Pro is designed by Robert Slimbach, it is an Adobe Originals type composition family named after Adobe’s co-founder John Warnock. Kepler is a contemporary type family created by Adobe type designer Robert Slimbach. It is an tradition of classic modern 18th-century typefaces. Archer Pro is a slab serif typeface designed in 2001 by Tobias Frere-Jones and Jonathan Hoefler for use in Martha Stewart Living magazine. It was later released by Hoefler & Frere-Jones for commercial licensing. Whitney is a family of sans-serif digital typefaces designed by American type designer Tobias FrereJones. It was originally created for New York's Whitney Museum as its institutional typeface.

Arno is a serif type family created by Robert Slimbach at Adobe intended for professional use. Corda is an elegant serif family with an easygoing, flowing ductus. It is semi-contrasted and even in the heavier styles appears light and breezy. It has been designed by Hoftype. Ashbury, is also designed by Hoftype. It derives its inspiration from 18th century transitional types such as Caslon and Baskerville. It is however not a revival but interprets formal aspects in a new and individual fashion. Swift font family was designed by Gerard Unger and released by the German firm Dr.Ing Rudolf Hell Gmbh in 1987 after a three year design period. Chaparral Pro is a slab-serif typeface designed by Carol Twombly of Adobe Systems and released in 2000. Chaparral Pro is available in 32 fonts, including a huge range of weights and styles such as old-style and lining figures.

Typeface used in the current issue Sina Nova is designed by Hoftype. It has a slightly vertical tendency, a higher x-height which makes it more open in small text sizes and very easy to read.

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Open Sans | 10pt | 13pt L

Scala | 10.5pt | 14pt L

Adobe Caslon | 11pt | 14pt L