Jitterz Magazine
Design Challenge
Design a fictional magazine from start to finish with a minimum of 25 pages. Research the topic thoroughly and create a proposal to base your content off of. Design a masthead and cover, curate articles found through research that fit the theme and edit as needed, and create all original illustrations and photographs to be used as imagery. Endpapers, Table of Contents, and two departments will also be required. As an added challenge, design two other covers to be sequential issues, following this introductory issue.
Solution
Jitterz is the physical response to what happens when you consume coffee. Just like how coffee blooms and grows, we too are continually blooming and growing. The purpose of this magazine is to be a creative haven to bring together coffee drinkers and creators alike through the shared love of coffee. Since coffee and coffee shops also exist around the world, this magazine will be almost like a travel magazine. Three different coffee cultures will be featured. With just a page turn, readers can step into new coffee shops and travel the world without ever leaving their home. The overall look will have an artsy aesthetic, reminiscent of vibrant and dynamic expressionist and abstract art. Likewise, the overall feel will be an individual coming home and feeling the warmth of a café on a cold rainy day.
Tools Used
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Skills Explored
Visual Design
Typography
Photography
Editorial Design
Illustration
Multi-Page Layout
Logo Design
Duration
16 Weeks
FULL MAGAZINE FLIPBOOK
Masthead
SKETCHES
ROUGHS
FINAL VERSION
I knew I wanted my masthead to encapsulate the jittery feeling that you get when feeling caffeinated, which has a sense of randomness, but also have a modern look. After going through many versions and variations, I solved this in the final version where the letters are all different sizes, have a dynamic warp to parts of the letters, as well as have a shifted baseline so your eye jumps up and down yet still maintains legibility.
COVERS
SKETCHES
ROUGHS
Final Version
In my cover roughs I tested out my masthead variations which also helped me determine which one worked best. I also realized that the abstract look worked best with my vision and adjusted the colors and added subtle patterns to fit with the cultures I was featuring in the magazine itself and the hierarchy of the shapes. I then used this first issue as a basis for the subsequent covers themed around current topics.