Research
The final task of this module consisted of the creation of a double spread magazine and iPad screen focused on an article chosen from a list of: politics, Fashion & Retail, Design & Sustainability, Crisps and video games. With a keen interest in politics and the promising title of ‘Donald Trump is Gaslighting America’ I undertook the topic of politics.
As I had previous graphic design experience, I decided to build an idea for a layout based on previously created articles to gain an idea for the direction for the article’s setup. This consisted of a moodboard of appreciated article layouts which was then developed into further dissection of the layout and, furthermore, the principles:
Layout Research
Elements/Principle Dissection
Elements/Principle Dissection 2
Layout Dissection
Dissected Layout with Elements
From this it was discovered that:
- Rule of thirds: often used principle, creating an element of strength and structure expected within the world of politics.
- Drop caps: Utilised to attract the observer’s eyes to the beginning of the article, assists with the overall flow of the page. Also generates visual interest through the contrast of the typeface weight with the surrounding body text.
- Colour Palette: Encumbered with a quantity of reds, blues, white, greens and rich purples, all of which signify a sense of strength and power in their own manner: violence, stability, goodness/purity, healthy/enriching and royalty respectively. The Red, blue and whites utilised also collate well with the American and Republican (also seen as overtly patriotic) nature of the article itself.
- Leading Line: An invisible line that spans the entirety of any page design leading from the upper left to bottom right usually, dictated by the way we read. This is often abused in design in order to grab the reader’s attention and/or provide natural flow to ensure a captivated audience as exemplified by the TIMES magazine covers: utilising red forms and images to attract the eye.
Another form of influence came from the use of political cartoons within the media especially about our central being – Donald Trump. Political cartoons act as a form of symbolism, utilising simple caricatures to convey the overall nature of a subject allowing for clarity, visual interest for further research or a positive/humourous outlook on a serious subject. The latter of which aligning well with the serious topic of Gaslighting (to manipulate (someone) by psychological means into doubting their own sanity.) whist also being useful as a visually engaging element for a central image. This lead to further research into the style itself and the generation of a stylistic moodboard bestowing head way into the concept stage of the project.
Concept Creation
Due to the over-sensationalised nature of Donald Trump I took decisive action to not utilised his actual portrait within the article itself and instead use elements of him to build up a icon which represented and showcased him integrated with aspects of the article itself. From this I decided to build on the literal aspect of gaslighting through lamps, torches and lighters (which further developed into the use of burn marks) to which I could amalgamate into the form of Trump inspired by the caricatures’ simplistic design of the character himself. This would then be played on the left-hand page as a form of visual interest, using a large proportion to attract the eye, the title being centrally placed within the character as it aligned with the principle of the leading line – allowing the image to be a striking icon yet informative and functional.
Another aspect connecting all concepts is that of the three column structure. The use of a equally-spaced column structure over a squared, modular layout allows for the article itself to convey a larger arrangement of information (in line with standard politics-based articles) whilst implying a sense of power and formalness; the column structure itself also allows for a wider arrangement design for the article text over a modular layout which to me seemed too geometrically focused and more suited for the separation of a quantity of information. The triple column structure also provides the ability for graphics and type to be accurately placed central, left or right (for contrast and visual interest/clarity) without being over-encumbered.
Final Design
Aspects:
- Colouring: Red was utilised as an accent colour due to it being the most prominent colour from afar, attract the observers’ eyes. The red chosen is that of the Republican Party’s colour scheme providing a connection between the topic and the design. By repeatedly using red throughout the article itself implies the danger and violence behind the concept of gaslighting and conveys emotional information a top the literal information.
- Pull-Quote: A pull quote from the article simply describing gaslighting was decided, this helps to provide context to the reader before advancing into the points of the article, providing them with a general just of what each point builds towards (since the article does not mention the true meaning of gaslighting till 300 words in). Differentiated from the body text and header through the utilisation of the red backdrop and provided with the infamous ‘make America great again’ typeface to provide a connecting element between design and topic.
- Flash bar: In order to generate a dividing element between the black and white colouring of the article a burn effect was incorporated as a way to generate natural flow; leading from the bottom of the leading line to the top of the article. The burn texture added to create visual interest.
- Images: The main trump image on the left hand page is custom-made inspired by the political illustrations found through research yet the realistic style provides the harsh reality of the situation and was selected from the variety shown due to its close appearance to the main character and its flow through the flame form (moving the eye towards the main title). By utilising warm, transparent colours within the backdrop along the leading line the image assisting in attracting the eye from afar. The secondary image on the right hand page is much smaller in mass yet captioned for context – this image has been used under CC guidance, the image being provided for non-profit use and its owner referenced.
- Hierarchy: A various amount of proportions were undertaken through the design in order to create a linear hierarchy in the design. For example, the header has the largest proportion and mass due to its bold San-serif style and contrast, the pull quote is second with a smaller mass but reduced weight, followed by body text and caption.
As a way to show adaptability within the design, an iPad webpage setup was also generated for the article:
For this the same elements were utilised and but readjusted for the smaller screen; the white line bordering the bottom of the page (creating a partial bleed) indicates the ability for the page to be scrolled down for the rest of the article. The large central image being utilised once more to draw attention to the article’s meaning with the article wrapping around the character as a form of natural flow and emphasising the form itself (the text being reversed (white-on-black) to aid legibility and create visual interest and connection between the text and light imagery).
Conclusion
Due to the open nature of the project, being provided with an article and nothing more, I found it incredibly interesting completing the research for the construction of the imagery and layout of the article itself. Dissecting layout and techniques were lessons I was able to employ from previous classes and allowed me to build upon my confidence in the subject.
The introduction to Indesign for the project was at first difficult but due to my previous experiences with photoshop and Microsoft’s Publisher it became second nature after becoming familiar which will only come better with time – the application being one I can see myself utilsing in further tasks.
References:
Layouts:
https://alexfw.com/2014/01/30/real-borgen-in-total-politics/
https://theweeflea.com/2017/03/15/when-yes-means-no-daily-mail-article-march-15th-2017/
https://adage.com/article/media/time-magazine-jumps-gun-king-trump-cover/313774/
http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/article-summary/liberal_policies_of_edward_viii#.W_XaOJP7TfY
Moodboard (research):
https://this.org/2016/05/04/gaslighting/
https://welldoing.org/article/what-is-gaslighting-manipulation
https://thepowerofsilence.co/12-telltale-signs-youre-victim-gaslighting/
https://theweek.com/articles/659759/relive-donald-trumps-campaign-23-political-cartoons
https://theweek.com/cartoons?sort=publish_date&page=2
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/12/christopher-steele-the-man-behind-the-trump-dossier
Article:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america
Image: