Week 5

CRITIQUE:


This week we presented our prototypes for our commission projects. Like I introduced last week, I will be working on the Plaid Dad team to create a one-shot magazine for the household heroes who cook for their families, whether it is on a regular basis or every once in awhile. After critiques last Thursday, I knew I needed to make some drastic changes if I wanted to have a publication that appealed to a variety of fathers.

A major change on the cover was incorporating the plaid from the New Cook Book. I felt that having a dominant amount of plaid did not flow well with the mood of my theme, so I placed a small rectangle in the upper left-hand corner. On the TOC this same rectangle would appear along with an explanation that this is a one-shot spin off from the New Cook Book, but for dads.

My departments page before was a bit cluttered. The original story featured nine kitchen appliances and a sidebar, which was a lot of incorporate. The publishers reduced it to five. We talked a lot about men prefer simple, de-cluttered designs with lots of charts. I arrange the department page as such and reduce my sidebar to include only three spices as well. 

The feature spread I chose to work on was the story about crazy kitchen gadgets that make cooking more fun, such as condiment guns and Pacman oven mitts. It is important to include people in your magazine, so I thought this would work the best. My intention for the entire feature package would be to use this opening spread, and on the next spread include only a bit more copy and place the gadgets into columns, with explanations under pictures. (Again, giving men more charts to read rather than a lengthy feature story.)

RESPONSE:

We watched a documentary about the Vogue's Editor in Chief, Anna Wintour, and Creative Director, Grace Coddington, called The September Issue in class today (thanks Jan!). I had actually seen it before on television, but it was great to watch it in a room full of designers and potential creative directors that knew exactly what was going on. 

My critique on the effectiveness of our magazine, based on the documentary:

1. Explain the creative director's role as represented in this documentary.

The creative director serves as the source for inspiration. Anna Wintour referred to Grace Coddington as a genius because she was so gifted at being able to have the vision and see the picture before a shoot was even set up. The creative director is also important in helping the editor maintain a consistent look in the magazine.

2. Critique one specific feature done by the creative director.

The second color block shoot was my favorite feature by Grace Coddington in the 2007 September issue. The fact that it was so simple, and she used the real documentary camera crew in the frames was brilliant and so real. It was refreshing to hear the creative director from the world's most fashion influential magazine want real, untouched people in their biggest issue. It also brought a humorous element - it's almost as if the frames are mocking celebrity life. It was just a nice change from the over-the-top features shot.

3. What is the relationship of the creative director to the editor?

The creative director is the liaison between the rest of the design staff and the editor. This person helps bring to life the vision of the editor and publishers, and assists the design staff in achieving that vision.

4. What did you learn about the job of the creative director?

The creative director is a huge part of a magazine and the success of that magazine. If the creative director doesn't know what's going on or believe in the magazine, it would be detrimental to the publications overall success. Creative directors have to make quick, big decisions and be able to come up with amazing ideas in a short amount of time. It's a very fast-paced job, and requires someone who is confident in their abilities, is stubborn but knows the limits and passionate.

YOU CAN'T MISS:

Of course, as I sit here sipping a glass of wine, I am also thinking about food. That led me to think about food menus and how I have seen some of the most interesting designs even in restaurants. Here are a few cool inspiring bar menus I found on in the Digital Room blog. The second one would probably be my favorite if we could see more of the inside. I can see a really elegant picture of a filled shot glass just inside on the first page. I am a fan of black, dramatic designs.