Vogue UK June 2014 redesign

Kate upton made the cover of this month's Vogue UK. It's quite a disapointing cover considering the model and the photographer. I would have expected more but it turns out we don't always get what we want right?

After looking at the full photoshoot I saw this one picture and the cover alarms went off in my head. I took about 20 minutes and here's a little bit of a "what if..." moment...

 Dear Vogue, if you are going to have a really hot, beachy and steamy photoshoot with Kate Upton, do it all the way (by all the way I do mean put it on the damn cover).

 For this redesign I used some of the most basic fonts on my computer (though clearly they need a little help typography wise it's not the point I'm trying to make).

I understand that dealing with brands and getting the proper credits on a cover is a huge thing but that's why you plan those things ahead. This shoot is so light and steamy while the cover appears completely dull and washed out. This is another case of Vogue UK being so much better on the inside than it is on the outside (see my previous post on this with Natalia Vodianova). But this is supposed to be a package deal! (see below for more pictures from the shoot)

Next time Vogue, please go through with a concept ALL the way, 

it would make everything so much better...

Brasil did it better

Kate Upton seems to be everywhere these days, especially on magazine covers. One of her latest appearances was on Vogue UK’s June 2014 cover. Her vintage looking bathing suit is from Dolce & Gabbana and the Photography is by Mario Testino. Now let’s see what could have been done to make this better…

I am a sucker for Vogue UK (most of the time). They have great layouts and photoshoots. Usually though, despite all the awesome content, the cover doesn’t follow. This cover is acceptable but not mind blowing (those are becoming very rare unfortunately). The major thing that is bothering me at first glance is the one thing that always bothers me with Vogue UK, why the hell aren’t they putting the head of the cover girl above the freaking logo? They deleted the G from Vogue, that would have been completely unnecessary if they had just put her head above it. It’s a minor detail I will admit but it’s something that bothers me a lot. Once you’ve noticed her hair behind the logo on the right, it’s all you can see, and you ask yourself, WHY?

As I said though this is a very tiny detail. The typography is also a mess… You can’t read the “Beach Chic” line at all and it’s the biggest headline on there. The first thing I read when looking at this was “30″. Not what you want people to see first, it makes no sense. That giant number is also confusing from afar. Is it her age? oh wait no it’s just “30 all-star summer buys”… The Hillary Clinton copy on the left barely reads too. I’m not sure pink was the best color choice, it has a bad readability.
The photo is ok. I’m saying OK because the fact that the background is beige despite the fact that Upton is in the sand bothers me. It took me a few minutes to put my finger on it but that is a little odd. Everything is so beige, there is no other color to clash, to pop, to make this cover live a little and that’s just too bad.

As I mentioned earlier, Kate Upton has done more than a few covers. Here are 3 other vogue covers she was on and it’s safe to say the only truly successful ones are Vogue Brazil and Vogue U.S. Granted the Brasil cover looks more like a September issue and not a June one BUT, it’s so Vogue. It’s edgy, chic simple and draws you in. what else is there to ask for? As for the U.S one, it’s perfect for a June issue. It’s fresh and warm, it’s not my favorite but it works.

GQ class

Yes! Thank you GQ for printing three covers for your October issue. Usually less is more but in this case more is better. For this month GQ decided to cover Aniston's husband to be Justin Theroux, actor Idris Delba and singer/actor Jeff Bridges.

The photography is great, all three cover guys look really good. The classic sexy look is back and it feels amazing. The type is not too present, just enough so you know what's inside without ruining the pictures. I do have to mention the two rectangles with headlines are kind of a no no especially the one with the white outline… do people actually still think boxes with outlines are ok? Tried it without the box on the left and instead put it on the right, I feel like it's more balanced that way.

I love the fact that the logo is half black and half white, it really enhances the way the lighting works on each of the guy's portraits. Thank's GQ, for being classy and smooth this month and giving us the gift of a trio.

What’s This Font 1.3 – Vanity Fair France

 Greetings typelings, It's this special time again, what's this font is back! For this 4th and latest edition we will be taking a look at Vanity Fair France. Lots of really cool and recent new fonts here that I'm sure you guys will love. We've got a mix between Vanité, VF Didot and Futura.

The first typeface we will be looking at today is VF Didot. Of course such a beautiful font could only come from one place: Commercial Type. Both the U.S and french version of Vanity Fair are currently using it, though the U.S is also using the stencil and the thicker weights unlike VF France.  The font is used throughout the whole magazine, Front of book, back of book and of course features. It has got the most amazing lowercase italics and they come in a bunch of different weights. They give just enough of a soft feel so that it doesn't look girly rather just elegant. The original Didot is a timeless gorgeous typeface and VF Didot is just as beautiful. It's not available for purchase yet as it was designed very recently. You can keep an eye out just in case but it seems Vanity Fair will have the exclusive use for quite a while. For more info check out Commercial Type. 

 

(Side note: The uppercase italic are are not working quite as well as you would want them to, they are too italic unfortunately...VF France hasn't been going in that direction too much though unlike VF U.S)

Now for my personal favorite, Vanité! Vanité is the font VF France is using instead of Solano Gothic (What VF U.S is using). This font was the result of a design collaboration between the art department at Vanity Fair France and Jean-baptiste levee. This typeface is perfect for the french edition, it's art deco and modern at the same time. This is what's replaced VF Sans and it's doing a great job. It has a lot of wonderful glyphs. Unfortunately, there again, it's not available for purchase but we're keeping our fingers crossed right? You can find more information on Vanite here.

The third one is a classic, Futura. Ah future, I have come to appreciate that typeface a lot in the last few years. It's just so easy to use and in this case it blends so well with the whole design of the magazine. VF U.S and France use the same version of it, Futura (T1). This typeface however has so many different variations that it's really hard to know which is which! I was never able to find where to get Futura (T1) but here is a link to the regular version on MyFonts. It goes for $356 and has 18 different weights. I'd say it's definitely a good one to have in your pocket.

For the last one I'm afraid we're just going classic with the VF times which is used for all the main text throughout the mag. Nothing fancy here, just a sweeter version of Times making an easy read. All and all, good typefaces in the mix! You can check out the fonts Vanity Fair U.S uses here.

 

ELLE october quick redesign

 I was going through my iPad's newsstand today and realized how out of touch i've been (once again) and all the good stuff I've missed out on! The first cover that actually grabbed my attention was the ELLE U.S cover for October. This cover feels very light with a strong summer feel, a little odd for an october issue. 

Let's start with the photography. This feature was shot by Ruth Hogben. This cover is not that striking, it's pretty but it looks a bit average and the type bothers me a lot. For me, it doesn't match Gaga's unique personality and feel.

So, here the headlines are just crowding up around Gaga's face which is just too bad. I wish things had been laid out better, this makes it hard to enjoy the photo and well…type wise it just looks like what Vogue has been doing, crowded, overpowering, busy, not good enough. therefore, I took about an hour,  and tried to tweak the cover to air out her face a bit. What was bothering me the most was the way the "Lady Gaga" type was almost on top of her eye. Used basic fonts for this, Futura and Baskerville, trying to stay as close as possible to the actual Elle design and layout.

It also seems this issue has a double cover (love those). The second one feels a lot more appropriate for an october issue, everything works, the colors, the pose, it just draws you in. Not loving the type but oh well...