sustainable architecture:magazine

An Avant Garde typographic experimentation includes features such as:

• variation in type font and size
• assymetrical layouts
• use of diagonals in layout
• designed use of white space
• emphasis on contrasting elements

The goal of Avant Garde Typography was to shock, break the grids and work within a deconstructed layout. What is a page? In particular, what is a page as a design unit, a frame of art and information, a medium of communication? This is a question that writers and artists were begining to ask at the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, the printed page has been expanded, shrunk, turned around, uprooted, deconstructed and rebuilt along radically different lines by graphic design pioneers, working in a plethora of schools and movements. 

Originally uploaded by mcharalambous20

USP: ‘THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN’

STRATEGY: The major way to promote this magazine is via the universities root. In cooperation with the various universities that offer courses on architecture, the magazine will organise competitions for students. Every trimester, the competitions will be held in the Gherkin in London. The Gherkin is an excellent piece of contemporary architecture, centrally situated, a place that everyone knows.

STYLE: The magazine wil follow a combination of Victorian and Avant Garde style. I would like it to have the style of a blog ( printed version of a blog) where students can get information about subjects of interest through articles, interviews and photographs.

My target audience are architecture students in the UK. Starting point of this reseatch was the creation of questionnaires that I send out to architecture students in Bath University. Further on, I will present some of the questions I asked them and I will also present some of the answers I got.

What do architecture students expect from an architectural magazine?

‘A large range of information which would produce a better understanding of the architect’s was of thinking and design methods’.

• ‘the clients brief’
• ‘the architects initial thoughts and research/initial sketchy doodles’
• ’some technical detail’
• ‘photographs of the actual buildings’

‘reviews of the latest designs by architects’

‘be made aware of any new technical or stylistic trends’

‘articles/advertisements of new products’

‘events/competitions’

’sort of a display of information/whiteboard’

‘news on placements’

What should a new architectural magazine feature?

‘All architectural magazines currently in the market are designed for professional architects who are currently in practices/firms.’

‘A new architectural magazine should be in a position to write about, not necessarily in detail, various buildings at a lenght which is suitable for the reader to understand how and why such a building has been designed in that particular way’.

‘One feature possibly lacking in architectural magazines are more technically oriented content or ‘how-to’s”

‘More student focused content’.

Are architectural magazines accessible to you as a student or is it difficult to buy a magazine, if you ever buy any. Do you normally use your university’s library?

‘Mostly architecture magazines are not accessible to students in general but sometimes they are accessible through the university library.’

‘Most architectural departments will include subscriptions to the popular journals. It is possible that some students buy issues that they think hold some personal value for them (such as the review of a particular building or architect).

The Industry: Magazines divide broadly into consumer and business to business magazines.

Copy, Sales and Cover Price: In terms of spending on magazines, the price had been one of remarkable growth with a recent steady rise. According to an ABC market summary report of July/December 2007, Men’s Lifestyle Monthlies, Women’s Traditional Weeklies and TV Listings saw the largest volume decline in 2007. Women’s Celebrity Weeklies, Soap and Children’s magazines showed the fastest YoY growth.

Market Sector Overview: The UK magazine market was worth £1.6 billion during 2007. down 1.6% YoY. Volume sales dropped by 4.7% YoY to a total of 1.1 billion copies. In 2007 there have also been significant growth in the number of A5 compact editions within the Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion sector.

Subscriptions: In total 158.8 million magazines were sold as subscription copies in 2007, including both UK and overseas sales.

The importance of subscriptions tot he monthlies has grown, with their share of monthlies total ABC increasing by 2.0% to 25.6%.

This relationship also exists for weekly frequency titles with subscriptions share of total ABC increasing by 0.5% to 8.4%.

Readership of consumer magazines: Almost everyone reads a magazine. 75% of all UK adults read at least one of the 183 consumer titles listed on the National Readership Survey. With a total of 8,558 recorded magazines currently in circulation/business and consumer, we can say that almost every UK adult reads at least one magazine title.

Time spend reading: The average consumer magazine is read for approximately 54 minutes. By contrast, the average newspaper section is read for an average of 26 minutes. The average magazine is picked up 5.4 times. For newspaper sections, the average is 2.8.

Quality time: In addition to being read on number of occasions for long periods of time, the reading of magazines is regarded as an extremely rewarding experience. 84% of readers agree with the statement ‘you can believe what you read in it’, 81% ‘look forward to reading it’ and 87% ‘I read it when am relaxing’.

Business information: Like consumer magazines, readers regard business media publications as a principal source of interest and information.

79% read business magazines at their desk

59% read business magazines when they have a break at work

66% enjoy receiving business magazines

Whats out their… the competitors

Blueprint magazine: A monthly magazine featuring articles on architecture and design. It is one of the most established architecture magazines, although when I was asking students and professors of architecture which magazines they normally read, Blueprint was not in that list. (priced at £4.75)

Icon magazine: A monthly magazine focusing on architecture, interior design and furnishing. Every month it features interviews with architects and designers and review a range of exhibitions, books, products and film. It belongs to the category of the accessible magazines. (priced at £4.50)

Architects Journal: A weekly magazine for professional architects. It features beautiful photography, technical information, analytical reports and building studies available.

Prospect Architecture magazine: It is a quarterly magazine looking at architecture, design and specializes in the industry in Scotland. It includes images from architectural photographers as well as up-to-date news and regular features on building and design projects. Selling point of this magazine is Scotland, Scottish architects and designers. (priced at £10.00)

Architectural Review: A popular, monthly and international architecture magazine. It features a wide range of information and is a source of inspiration for architects. (priced at £8.00)

Grand Designs: Is an architectural and interior magazine and compliments the Channel 4 television programme hosted by Kevin McCloud. The magazine is an inspiration for top class interior as well as enviromentally sustainable architecture. (priced at £3.40)

 The future of magazines: As the UK magazine publishing industry evolves to absorb new technologies, publishers support their brands in all mediums and across all formats. But what is the future of the magazine itself? Readers will continue supporting print versions of magazines although reading on screens will become even more familiar in the future. People will read whether they are reading on a piece of paper or a portable screen that’s yet to be determine however, it won’t matter that much to publishers.

International publishing: The UK magazine export market is growing rapidly, driven to a large extent by the UK publishing industry. The magazine industry makes substantial contribution to the UK market, with business media titles continuing to increase their worldwide reach. Uk magazine exports generate net income of £120 million per year.

Sales Trends: In most countries consumer magazine publishers get more income from copy sales than from advertising, although this trend doesn’t exist in two of the bigest magazine markets, the US and Germany.

The followed questionnaire was send via email to my focus group together with some designs of the magazine, when I had done the first spreads.

Postopia critique

I would like the audince to judge the magazine on their personal taste and demand.

Just to help you answer the brief, I prepared some key questions.

1.       Would you consider buying this magazine? Please explain why.

2.       Do you find the design of it interesting? Is this type of magazine new to the world of architecture? Please keep in mind that this magazine aims to students and not practising architects.

3.       A magazine normally includes advertising. Sometimes it can be boring but that’s the way it is. A magazine survives most of the times by its advertising. Do you agree with the type of advertising I have chossen and is there a brand that you would like to see in this magazine?

4.       What do you think of the name of the magazine. The word ‘postopia’?

5.       The magazine will be edited every month by a different architect. Do you find this an interesting idea for a magazine?

6.       Even though the magazine has architecture as the main concept, the way I approached it is quite different from what someone would expect. For instance ‘the view’ section, where is about the architect doesn’t mention anything about his work or his biography.  It has 10 questions of the kind eg, the ugliest airport in the world, the place you would built a building, the most romantic city, the most beautiful building in the world etc. These kind of questions. Do you agree with this kind of topics?

7.       The magazine is priced £5.00. Whats your opinion of this?

8.       ‘Postopia’ concerning the design aspect  follows  two particular styles, Victorian and Avant Garde. Two contradictory styles, the one really decorative and the other one very experimental and strong. What do you think of it?

 Comments from focus group

‘It had an original name, a bit strange and it has a different kind of style than other magazines I have read.’

‘The design is unique and quite modern, it presents the topics in an interesting way, covering important elements of every building without any boring details’.

‘The name intigues your imagination and you are uncertain what is inside. That can make the consumers to pick it up only by curiosity’.

‘Interesting idea and quite different from other architecture magazines’.

At that point of receiving initial designs, the focus group commented the following…

‘Needs more text in its framework and not too much advertising’.

‘I really like the brand typeface-Dalliance’

‘There are some strong spreads and some other that are weak’.

‘Be careful with the colors you choose’.

Originally uploaded by mcharalambous20

Originally uploaded by mcharalambous20

Originally uploaded by mcharalambous20

examples of inside pages from Blueprint architecture magazine

Also, Blueprint magazine in association with London Design festival brings together a host of leading designers, artists and commentators to discuss how design relates to the cultural life of Britain. It takes place at the main hub of the Festival, the Royal Festival Hall and there is an £8 entrance fee.

the magazine is priced at £4.75
blueprint cover

DAL4

Originally uploaded by mcharalambous20

Dalliance history-Design Info

The source: In 1996/97 Emigre was designing the displays for a historical museum in a small town in southwest Germany using the newly introduced Mrs Eaves typefaces. The subjects reached back to prehistoric and Celtic times, up through the Middle Ages, Napoleonic times, the Industrial age, World War II, and ended in the mid-1970s. subjects included the burning of heretics in the Middle Ages and the local development of National Socialism.

While working on these subjects, the designers were hesitating whether it was the right choice of typeface to use for those subjects. Should we maintain its humanistic forms while dealing with historical facts describing such inhuman acts? Should we change the typeface from topic to topic, or would the change of fonts within the collection be interpreted as a graphic gimmick? are some of the questions arised.

These discussions about the meaning and intricacies of typeface design were on my mind when I came across the handwriting on a map of a battle that had taken place at Ostrach in southwest Germany in 1799. The designer was impressed by the imperfections of the handwriting and by the compromises the writer had to make in lettering the map, which were intensified by a rough photocopy quality, as we did not have access to the original map.

With this historic source in mind he decided to complete the design of Dalliance.