Cherise PrinslooBE2010-0496
History of Graphic DesignAGHA 300
Assignment 1.2Magazine analysis
When starting a magazine, one should establish a specific look and feel in order to reach the target market required. This will allow a greater longevity within the magazine. One takes into consideration that people of different gender and of different age group are interested in different things and will buy the magazine that most accommodates those interests.
ONE SMALL SEED
I chose this South African produced magazine because it captures my interest. This magazine is directed at Designers of South Africa and serves as inspiration to student Designers.
I came to this conclusion thought a process of analysis.
The logo design of ONE SMALL SEED is incredibly simplistic, and can be related to designs from the modernist movement. The font type is San Serif, and the placement of the type forms a grid like structure that is limited to a box. The characters are all in lower case which reiterates the concept is a small seed. The font type is also very rounder in its structure, which, again allows the insinuation of a seed, but still remaining structured. The logo element is a stylised design feature which looks like a small seed with a sprout attached to it. This is incredibly simplistic and in my opinion incredibly effective. There is a humorous play on the negative spaces, which, even though playful, remains very sturdy and practical. The logo does not appear the same on the magazines as on the website. The logo on the website is placed in the left corner of the page while the content is floated right. On the magazine, however, the logo is placed at the top of the page and take up the whole of the top margin.
The layouts are often placed in the same way, seemingly constructed on a grid. The logo remains on the left top corner, while the content is placed around or over the image used. Each page is also constructed with incredible detail to the content of the page. Often the text will appear on the right page and the accommodating images will be found on the left side of the page. this allows for easy reading and structured placement for association the images to the correct context.
The unusual imagery used to advertise this particular magazine indicates the target market to be a more artistic based market. This magazine cover would not appeal to stock brokers or house wives, instead it will relate to a person who would be interested in the design of the magazine.
This page layout appears to be very dark and sinister, thus it would not appeal to older generations or toddlers. The imagery is done in a painting style and the title of the article is "Painting The Artist" this is clear indication that the Niche for this magazine is solely based on the art market.
This particular image indicates that there are no religious ties to this magazine, and all cultures and are entitled to buy this magazine. This edition is entitled " Cult Of Self" which indicates the self
discovering of the artist and their obsession with themselves and their troubles. The word "Cult" is often a tongue in cheek topic, and the notion of a self cult would reject the ideals of a religious topic. This shows that the magazine does not fear to dwell on the taboo topics of society.
From the analysis of these three stylistic objects from the magazine ONE SMALL SEED. one can establish that the target market would contain either gender, but still refer to an age group between 19-36 possibly. The niche market would be aimed at the artistic communities in South Africa.
The exclusivity of the magazine makes finding this magazine in a shop very limited, which would also play a huge roll in their target market. For instance, one could not find this magazine in a Pick n Pay in East Rand Mall, however you would be able to find it in a Pick n Pay in a Midrand because there are more design studios situated in that area of Gauteng.
The Style of the layout is based on a stylised grid like structure. The images are often placed in accordance with the text. The design of the pages are done with extreme precision and understanding of design fundamentals because it is constructed by the highly qualified designers of our country.
Bibliography
giuseppe russo, (2011), one small seed [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.onesmallseed.com/about/[Accessed 25 February 14].
