PPP3 - WORK IN SKATEBOARDING - MAGAZINE RESEARCH

After receiving the specifications for the 'Work in Skateboarding' editorial project I immediately progressed with the brief by collecting a body of secondary research into some of the leading surf, skate and lifestyle magazines currently in circulation.

As discussed on the previous post, the project as a short timescale and needs to be completed quickly, leaving me without the time to collect primary research into the aesthetic preferences of the target audience. To surpass the problem I have decided to review and analyse some of the leading industry publications to see what aesthetic elements I can take, reinvent and integrate into the design of my outcome. 




TRANSWORLD SURF REDESIGN - WEDGE & LEVER 

Images below document the Transworld Surf Magazine redesign project which was completed by Wedge & Lever. 

After a period of dwindling sales Wedge and Lever were employed to revitalise the magazines aesthetic, aiming to achieve a cohesive brand that is sophisticated yet doesn't take itself too seriously. 

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IMPORTANT POINTS -

• Cover makes use of a bold, attention grabbing sans-serif logo that has a fixed placement across all covers.
• A simple colour scheme, consisting of never more than two colours is used for content such as then logo and cover information. 
• The neural stock colours used for the cover of the publication are subtle and don't take away focus from the content. 
• Page layouts are simple and effectively display information.
• The grids used to compose the content also make use of a varying column width which helps to break up content. 

HUCK MAGAZINE - SHE WAS ONLY 

HUCK is a global magazine exploring the many facets of radical culture, be it surf, skate, snow, music, art, activism, pop culture, the environment and the world. 

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IMPORTANT POINTS -

• Huck magazine also makes use of a bold, attention grabbing logo type.
• Negative space is effectively used and creates space for aesthetic elements such as the hand written type which undoubtedly has relevance to the magazines content. 
• The layouts used in this edition are more experimental that those used within Surf Magazine, making used of negative space and overlapping with images. 
• Photographs are composed in a random looking fashion with some images even running off the page - although the layouts look random the images help to guide the readers eye around the pages content. 

HUCK MAGAZINE - SHE WAS ONLY 

Link

IMPORTANT POINTS -

• Huck's logo also retains a fixed position across all its covers. 
• The layouts used for images and content in this issue are slightly less experimental and take on a much more aligned, formal look. 
• A clear typographic hierarchy helps readers to identify specific parts of an article while simultaneously helping to guide the reader through the article.  

GREY SKATEBOARD MAGAZINE 

Grey Skateboard Magazine is a London based skateboard publication distributed freely around the UK. 

IMPORTANT POINTS -

• Same simple layout used consistently for content throughout the publication.
• Due to the publications small size images are usually larger than a single page.
• A clear typographic hierarchy helps readers to identify specific parts of an article while simultaneously helping to guide the reader through the article.