Lesson task – Front cover

Question 1

Practical assignment (Two and a half days)Have a look at all the tasks and lessons you have done over the last few weeks. Your task now is to make a cover (a front page) for your very own magazine.

• Go through the Graphic Design history timeline and choose a style and designer that you feel relates best to your personality.
• Using that designer/style as inspiration, use your name or part of your name and create a title/name for your magazine. Feel free to be creative!
• Add your own pictures, text, illustrations, elements as well as the proper typography and titles for your cover.
• The expression must represent your personality (remember the color choice regarding this).
• Remember to include what kind of magazine it is, for example cars/bikes, fashion, design, weddings, etc.

So I have created a cover which is inspired by the swiss style. Swiss style graphic design, which is also often referred to as International Typographic Style or International Style, is a design movement which emerged during the 1950’s in Switzerland. It’s one of the graphic design styles I think never gets old, and I like the simplicity and clean design.

Examples of swiss style design:

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Characteristics of the style are asymmetric layouts, use of a grid, sans-serif typefaces, and flush left, ragged right text. The style is also associated with a preference for photography in place of illustrations or drawings. Many of the early International Typographic Style works featured typography as a primary design element in addition to its use in text, and it is for this that the style is named. The influences of this graphic movement can still be seen in design strategy and theory to this day.

So my magazine cover is as mentioned inspired by this. The stripes on the images symbolises my up and down chaos, but also structured in some way, and I love music so it can also refer to that. I like few colors, but love the blueish color which goes really well with the yellow in the image. The magazine is called karma, because I have learned that karma is something that hits you whether you want it or not, and is taken from my first three letters in my name, and the last two is taken from det word “mamma” because I am a mum. It’s only you who can choose how to live, and you are your own boss in life, so how you want the life to be, depends on how you live. I like to travel and explore and I am impulsive and really looking for a way to boost my account soon!:P So the magazine is all about how to get your life the way you want it and the lifestyle you want to have. Hope you like it.

Question 2

Presenting and discussing (half a day – 4 hours)Post your final design on the forum (Lessons and Activities forum) for comments from your tutor. Remember to include what your inspiration was (designer/style from the Graphic Design timeline). Discuss the results with your fellow students (your group) on the forum. 

• Explain shortly how you perceive your group members through their covers.
• Do they see your personality through your cover, too?
• Make a short comment if you feel they’ve nailed it!

I posted my design on the foum and god positive feedback. I also have commented on my fellow students work, and I think everyone managed to get the style and their personality shown.