Improper - Research

The theme of Improper looks at sexuality, and the idea of being ‘sexy’ and how this term can be redefined in a more inclusive and diverse way. The content of the talks and the photography in the zine will be very strong, bold insights into sex, the body and the many ways these concepts can be represented. Although I’m mainly focusing on the branding right now, since editorial will be major component of this project, I looked at some publications which have similar themes for design inspiration. 

Cause and Effect Magazine

“Cause & Effect magazine is the ultimate marriage of fashion and politics. By placing marginalised identities at its core, this latest and highly necessary addition of printed matter addresses topics of race, sexuality and gender with pure intention.”

This magazine has quite a similar theme, looking at shining the spotlight on identities that have been marginalised. The visual identity is a lot more subdued than I would have thought. The logotype is a simple sans serif font which has been drop shadowed and the colours are muted and not that bright. A lot of publications which look at identity and sexuality often use incredibly bold design and colours but this approach almost lets the images speak more and is a bit more approachable and humanist. Despite the fact that “Improper” will use bolder colours and designs, I do like the focus on the imagery and the actual people in the images in ‘Cause and Effect”, I think with a photography/portrait focused magazine, its important to think about the actual people in the photos when designing, especially if the article is about them, as opposed to being more aesthetic for fashion editorial or something. 

L’imparfaite

"Focusing on the sociopolitical aspects of sex, L’imparfaite approaches it as an innately human activity, dressing it down and displaying it openly rather than venerating it as an immaculate ideal. Narrowing in on the aesthetic properties of such stories, the magazine then retells them in the form of poetry, photography, interviews and illustration. “ L’imparfaite is not a journal for the gay community or the straight community, for men, for women, for trans- or cisgendered folks,” it explains. “Rather, it is a catalyst for those curious to explore how sex and eroticism can be a window into the world.”

Being much more critical and analytical about eroticism, and having a broader target audience, not focusing on any one sexuality or gender identity, L’imparfaite has a much more formal and minimal visual identity. Some of the monochromatic editorial spreads with large junks of neatly justified body text look like they could be pulled from any number of magazines, then you turn over the page you’re met with a brightly coloured, evocative double page photo or illustration which could not contrast the editorial style more. 

I think what this publication shows, which is very important, is thinking about how editorial design can influence the tone of voice and how that can influence ultimately who reads the magazine. Ella stated in the brief that she wanted the zine to be like a periodical in form and the way its produced, maybe I could take influences from the editorial style of newspapers.