Solo Magazine

Role: Graduate Student

Where: Minneapolis College of Art & Design

When: Spring 2019

Context

This is a magazine concept I designed during my graduate Typography course. The goal of the assignment was to explore the development of a publication design.

Objectives

Publication design
Grid and typography system
Branding and masthead
Digital experience

About

A lot of people who travel solo do it to “meet new friends” but this is more for those traveling to get some alone time in. Features would range from great cities to travel alone in, reading lists, activities to do on the airplane, features on other solo travelers, traveling advice, packing hacks, DIY crafts and things to put on your bucket list.

Design should feel like an intimate journal or hip scrapbook with scenic images, little details and splashes of color.

Tone of voice and brand essence would be friendly and casual giving you great advice to plan your best solo-adventure.

Research & exploration

Once I landed on a concept for the magazine I dove into creating a mood board and a list of potential names. I decided I wanted the design to feel like a modern scrapbook with a mix of illustrations and photos, bold typography, and little notes in the margin
Then I started doing research around competitor travel magazines and went on a few field trips to check out POP displays and study what made certain magazines stand out in the crowd
Taking my vision and mood board and combining it with my research and analysis I started mocking up different mastheads and explored potential cover images
From there I dove into defining page layouts and grids to make sure I have a solid base for setting content

Color palette

I stuck to a really neutral color palette using natural and jewel tones to pair well with landscape and scenic photographs with natural lighting. I really liked the idea of juxtaposing color blocks with images and playing with white space to make it feel really dynamic and fun to read.

Photography

Images for “Solo” should fall under the following categories (1) scenic or landscape photos (2) solo travelers caught in a moment (3) lay flat images of trip planning or packing and (4) images from the perspective of the traveler. Photographs should be inspirational and make the reader want to emulate that moment. Images should have natural lighting and avoid any feeling of being shot in a studio. People in photographs should represent a diverse audience and age range.

(All photographs are sourced from Unsplash)

Typography

I chose Better Times script to drive home that scrapbook feel, like when you’re writing quick notes on the back of an image or filling in your travel journal.