My task is to select three double page magazine spreads to investigate the hierachys of font in order of impotance and disect and review how this works. I will also be looking at the readability and legibility of fonts used across the design. I am selecting one double page spread which i class as GOOD design, one that is AVERAGE design and one that is BAD design.
GOOD DESIGN - PIGEONS AND PEACOCKS MAGAZINE
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| Front Cover - Gold Foiling |
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| Double Page Spread I have chosen this as a good piece of design for a few different reasons. Firstly, there is only two different typefaces used which keeps it really simple and easy to read. The type is also a running theme throughout the magazine which is why i think it works really well as a whole. For the layout, i like how the text is in one straight column down the middle with lots of empty space around. I find this easier to read as there is not lots of information overloading the page and the colours are kept very neutral too.  The largest type on the page is the title for the article 'Taxidermy'. The font is quite contemporary and is not usually seen as a title font in newspapers or magazines. However, i believe the type is both readable and legible and serves its purpose well as well as suiting the theme of the magazine. I really like how the type overlaps the images on the page too. I feel this adds a contemporary feel to a very traditional page layout. A different font is used for the writer of the article underneath this, although is still as clear as the font used above its just not as bold. I think they have used a lighter weighted font to make us read the top type first before we read who the article is by. This means the 'Taxidermy' type is the top of the hierarchy followed by the author.  The next type down in the hierarchy is the body copy. The font is pretty standard as far as body copy goes, but it works, so why change it? The font looks like Times New Roman but could be a similar serif font much like the one used for the title (writer). This type looks to be the standard 10/12 pt and is comfortable to read.   Finally, the smallest type on the page is the pagination text and page title at the top of the page. This is divided by the bold line underneath which lets us know this. Again the font is the same serif used in the body copy, just smaller. It is the least important information on the page but is still clearly legible and readable for when we need to see this information. AVERAGE DESIGN - VICE MAGAZINE  Front Cover - Gold Foiling Vice magazine is a free magazine I collect monthly. It is a magazine that mainly focuses on independent arts and pop culture but also tackles some serious news topics. I think the layout of type and image in vice is good because it keeps the same theme, is simple and to the point. They use the same type throughout each magazine so it's something that i am used to and find easy to engage with and read. I don't think the use of type is amazing but it does the job fine and serves it's purpose well.  An example of an average vice article. I really like how it all fits into the rectangular shape leaving blank space around the edges. The font for the title of the article I think is 'Bebas' but I'm not 100%. Either way it is big and bold and serves its purpose really well. You instantly read this first when you turn the page. It is legible and readable.  The next size font is considerably smaller than the title but also slightly bigger than the body copy type. This just lets us know the photographer and interviewer. Again i think the font is the same as the body copy, Times New Roman, but is also in capitals to emphasise it more. This type is again both readable and legible.  The next size font down is the standard 10/12pt body copy of Times New Roman. This again is used in a lot of publications so is probably the most readable and legible font in the english language. The questions have been made bold to make us read this first and to help separate it from the answer. Overall a really simple layout and simple, readable, legible font used. This is often the most successful though.  The next couple of pages are the exact same style as the last but layed out slightly differently. This is why i like vice, it keeps a simple, consistent layout that is easily recognisable, readable and legible. Theres a couple of other used of type on these two pages...  The first is what looks like 'Helvetica', possibly 'Arial'. This font is a san serif but again is one of the most universally used fonts of all time. It is really legible and readable. I think they have used this font because the text is really small to make sure it is still readable. It is also in italics to show that is an image caption.  Again arial is used for the pagination at the very bottom left of the page. The page number has been made bold because of it's importance and this time capitals have been used for 'VICE.COM' just to add a bit more emphasis to this small type. BAD DESIGN - FRONT MAGAZINE  Front Cover Front magazine is a 'lads mag'. I feel the layout for these types of magazines serve their purpose but are less successful in my eyes just because i feel they look tacky, unprofessional, and like they're trying to cram as much crap as they can into one page. On the other hand the people who buy these magazines want to see this so thats why it sells and thats why it is relevant for its purpose. Design-wise i feel this is a bad piece of design but obviously sells to its audience.  I chose to disect this double page spread. As you can see, there are bright colours, text, banners, images and illustrations everywhere! This makes everything on the page battle to get your attention and in my opinion your not really sure where to start when reading this. There is black, white, pink and yellow colours used which i find a little bit too much especially with all these images everywhere too. I will now try and disect the type in hierarchy and see why they have used this and to also see what works and what does not.  Biggest text on the page spanning across a whole page... 'SUBSCRIBE'. This is the first thing you read which is what they want you to. The font is reasonably legible and readable on it's own but its the placement and colours which make it quite hard on the eyes. The font is an all capital san serif font. Looks sort of like an italic arial black or helvetica type but looks like it may be a less popular type that has been created .   The next two pieces of type that stands out is the 'GOOD SHIT / BAD SHIT" titles. These again show what the text underneath is about. Acts like a heading or article title in a regular magazine but again is much more confusing. Again the same font is used. It's legible but again not really readable in my eyes. It starts to give me a headache.   Same 'Blocky' font is used which is readable and legible but is crammed everywhere to get your attention. This text is exactly the same as the previous two but is slightly smaller meaning it is lower down on the hierarchy of type.   The subtitle are slightly smaller still and continue the theme of this hideous garish pink and yellow to divide each subsection up...   underneath this is standard 10/12pt body copy. Finally the font changes for this. The reason for this is probably due to the size not being legible and readable in a different font. The font used here looks to be the standard 'Times New Roman'.  This font is pretty illegible and definitely nor readable in my opinion at the size it is on the page.  Lowest on the hierarchy of type is the pagination and small type at the top and bottom of the pages. Again this 'Helvetica' style font is used for this. It is readable and legible so i suppose it serves its purpose. |
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