Exercise 3

Objective: To define your creative goals for Project 3, setting the stage for your concept and art direction that will be part of your 6-page article design, 3 spreads in all.

Select one magazine from the list below that you will use for your Project 3 layouts.

• Fast Company
• W
• Elle
• Smithsonian
• Interview

Develop a creative brief (p. 56–59, Lupton's Graphic Design Thinking) to articulate a concept and design direction for your selected magazine, and the overall look and feel for your feature article. Your creative brief should include the following (at minimum):

1. Bring a copy of the magazine to our Sept. 28 class. It should have been published within the last 2 years.
   
2. Publication Info: What information about the publication itself is important to know? Readership, angle, graphic standards, etc.
3. Feature Article Info: How do feature articles look and feel compared to other running articles? What do they do differently with images and typography? Brief summary, title, key points, angle, etc.
4. Communication Objectives: Does the magazine and its articles inform, advocate, entertain, something else?
5. Selected Article: Students much identify a feature-length article, and have it ready to share with class on Sept. 28
6. Concept: What is the idea you have for representing this article? Must outline at least 2 separate concepts and potential directions for each. This could include a concept abstract/statement, keywords, moodboards, potential titles, etc.
7. Art Direction: What direction do you have for the content and execution for the artwork, splash page, photographs? Read kit of parts, pg 126–131, Lupton's Graphic Design Thinking, supporting art, etc. This could include inspiration boards, thumbnail sketches, etc.

Evaluation: worth 30 points total

• 10 Professional Engagement: presentation of ideas, participation in class, meeting requirements
• 20 Execution: inclusion of minimum content, quality of content including spelling and grammar of written work

Due Thurs. Sept. 28: students bring 1 feature-length article, to fit a 6-page layout, found online or in their printed magazine, article's text must eventually be formatted as a digital Word document, Google Doc, Rich Text Format, or other word processing file for use in Project 3
Due Thurs. Sept. 28: written content for items 1–7 above, saved as PDF to Turnstile_2

Goals:

• to learn about a creative brief through a hands-on exploration of a selected magazine
• to evaluate a design artifact, the student's chosen magazine, and use that evaluation to spur their own layout