In completing my research on the various genres of magazines available I found fashion magazines quite interesting to attempt on my own. I really liked the creative photoshoots and the process of designing behind it so I decided to produce a fashion magazine of my own for the foundation portfolio. However I was aware it was going to be challenging and I did not have a set idea to begin with.

So as suggested by my Media Studies teacher I decided to jot down my ideas and draw a mind map then write up an organised concept note referring to the mind map so that it helps me to understand what I have to do and how I should proceed with the planning required for the final production.

[Digital mind map for the magazine concept done on Canva,]

[Initial concept note I developed based off the mind map.]

Bridgerton - Netflix TV Series

I really found the periodic fashion style interesting and quite unique after watching the Netflix TV series ‘Bridgerton’. I was very piqued by one of the main characters, Kate Sharma’s outfit choices. It was a modern take on the regency aesthetics. As she is introduced as an Indian, the colour palate of her outfits reflect this aspect of her identity. Although she wears western outfits like the rest of the females in the series, her outfits are highly reflective of her Indian heritage as well. The embroidery, patterns and embellishments on her dresses and the simple gold jewellery she wears embraces her cultural identity really well. 

I really liked the fact how the show had incorporated culture with modern fashion and brought out some unique styles. This also made me realise that most of the beautiful outfits in the market cannot be worn by people of different cultures. A friend of mine also expressed her view on this matter when we spoke and it made me want to attempt to create an inclusive fashion style that is very much in trend and not old-fashioned as some might say.

Although I now had an overview of the representations I want to show in my magazine I was still unsure about the approach I would be doing so. 

'A Court of Thorns and Roses' - A Fantasy Book Series

Conveniently I was reading a book series ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ by Sarah J Maas. It is a fantasy-romance novel that revolves around faeries and the divide between the high lords and normal humans. I was quite taken about the Maas had built and as any vivid reader wanted to be a part of their world. In addition to that their sense of fashion as described by Maas was on point - both the females and the males dressed immaculately. Quite taken by that, I decided to search more about it on both TikTok and Pinterest.

I watched numerous videos under the hashtag ‘Booktok’ which included character edits, aesthetics, preference choices, book predictions and spoilers, clothing line inspired by characters and even various influencers doing cosplays by dressing up as their favourite characters from books they loved. These TikTok videos, especially the cosplay acts, sparked the idea to take a similar approach and design or style clothes inspired by fictional characters.

[Above are some TikTok videos that inspired this idea. Source: TikTok.]

That brings me to the ideation behind the concept I have in mind for the magazine. It is very much a set-out fact that books and fashion don’t come together. Growing up I’ve seen in many movies and TV dramas that the character portrayed as a vivid reader always had a poor sense of fashion. Even if they somewhat had a good dressing sense, it was very much restricted. As a reader myself, I couldn’t disagree more with that.

Hence, the theme I have in mind for this magazine of mine is attempting to bring Booktok part of TikTok to life through fashion and makeup, without diminishing the aesthetic of the book. A clothing line where fictional characters can step into the real world through each and every one who wears it. 

It is also a very much known fact that most fashion magazines out there don’t consider the traditions of different cultures other than the western when creating outfits, ultimately leaving the consumers out of choice or having to come up with their own customization to fit their cultures. As most of the outfits featured are either revealing or scandalous.

The videos I saw on TikTok helped me see the beauty of each of the cultures in Sri Lanka which have also been overshadowed by the current fashion trends.

Hence, I want this magazine to be able to reach out to those who feel excluded from the world of fashion due to their cultural constrictions. I want to promote dresses that are acceptable, inclusive and less revealing yet very much in style.

Typography is quite simply, the art and technique of arranging type to make written language readable and appealing; the art of working with text. Typography involves selecting typefaces, point size, line length, line spacing and letter spacing, which are aspects that play a very important role in magazine designing. 

The most common types of font can be categorised into Serif Fonts, Sans Serif Font and Display fonts. 

Serif fonts have little strokes attached to the main part of the letter and can be commonly seen in print publications, like magazines and newspapers. Sans serif fonts on the other hand don’t have that extra stroke. This style is considered more clean and modern than serif fonts. It also tends to be easier to read on computer screens, smartphones and tablets. 

Display fonts come in many different styles, like script, blackletter, all caps and just plain fancy and are best for small amounts of text like titles, headers and graphic-heavy content. 

[Some Display Fonts. Source: Google]

Moving forward with the research I understood it is essential to avoid using outdated and overused fonts such Comic Sans, Brush Script etc. as they don’t stand out and thereby fail at holding the audience’s attention.

[Some fonts to avoid. Source: Google]

The website fonts.google.com had a good collection of modern fonts for free that I could use during the designing process. 

I analysed the typography used in Vogue magazine just to get an idea on how I should incorporate fonts effectively in my magazine as well.

  

[Different masthead in terms of colour but the font is constant. Source: Google]

For the masthead of the magazine they’ve used a custom Serif font called ‘Didot’ and the font colour is altered based on the colour palette of the particular issue and the cover art. What I found impressive is that this magazine doesn’t have a logo of its own, but uses the masthead for brand recognition, and has been quite successful at that.

[Vogue Masthead Font. Source: Google]

[Main Font used throughout the magazine. Source: Google]

It is evident through the straplines that Vogue follows the font hierarchy effectively to guide the reader’s eye to whatever is most important and blends Serif and Sans Serif fonts to give prominence to key words without changing font colours unnecessarily. 

[Vogue cover: Google. Annotations: Myself]

 

    

[Example of Font hierarchy and its application in designing. Source: Google]

Even line spacing and tracking has been used appropriately to give importance to key information. In this example, a larger font, a display font and more line spacing between the words has been used to highlight the contributors’ names. 

[Leading and tracking in Vogue articles. Source: Vogue magazine]

They’ve aligned the text either to the left or centre or justified it and refrained from using fancy fonts for paragraphs which makes it easier for the readers to read. What I also noticed is that Vogue does not use complex script font faces nor does it use too many font faces. It is better to use two main fonts and one accent font for visual interest and personality. In this issue, the fonts used balance each other well with contrast, yet manage to compliment each other as well. They also share characteristics of the mood this magazine wants to create; something related to architecture. 

[Example of an Article: Alignments, font faces etc. Source: Vogue magazine]

The articles published on this issue do not keep widows or orphans and makes it easier on the reader’s eye when skimming through the said articles.

[Defining a widow and orphan. Source: Google]

[Absence of widows and orphans. Source: Vogue magazine]

Through this research, I was able to get a better idea on typography that I should use in my magazine for it to be effective and reach out to the readers. I realised that Adobe Illustrator has more space for me to experiment with different fonts and select a suitable style for the magazine, from this research as well.