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...

Esquire's bitchy february cover

Ah esquire, you have been one of my favorites for a while now and I thought it would take a lot for you to disappoint me. However, I noticed recently that I have been so hung up on how beautiful, interactive and user friendly the magazine app was that I completely forgot taking a look at the print version of the issues. 

Let's look at the february 2013 issue with Megan fox on the cover (not one of my favorite people but I will admit she looks good). all in all not a bad cover. the color palette is nice, the picture is up to the esquire criteria and standing and when I see that it does make me want to pick it up. The photography is from Sante D'Orazio (who seems to only specialize in taking pictures of naked models and actresses…). The picture of Fox is not that revealing but she does look a bit high and considering the photographer I'm surprised she didn't lose more clothes for this.

The typography on the cover is a lot similar to what they did for Sofia Vergara's cover (april 2012). I didn't really like it then I'm still not sure about it now. There are interesting things going on like the copy above the esquire logo, but the rest feels a bit too much underrated for me.

Now the cover is not my biggest concern…after looking at this issue on the iPad I was delighted, the interactivity, user interface and everything else was up to Esquire standards. But I did get a print version of this issue (which I hadn't done in a while) and I can honestly say I almost hard a heart attack. The layouts and design looks terrible. It takes a lot of bad for me to say that, as this magazine is in my top 3 favorites of all time. It looked messy and under-treated and I honestly cannot understand how you can have such an amazing iPad app and such an awful printed version of the exact same thing. one of the pages that shocked me was the "Funny joke from a beautiful woman". Gorgeous on the app, a serious wtf on the print, see for yourself below.

What's This Font 1.0 - Esquire

 Hey guys, so like many other graphic designers I'm a font nut and I like to know what is being used out there and if I can use it too. So for this first post of What's this font, I will be exploring our friends at Esquire Magazine U.S. If you've ever wondered what font they are using, this is the place to look. Most of Esquire's typefaces were custom made for the magazine though not all of them. You can find the ones that weren't, online ,(they do cost a bit though but nothing particularly excessive for a font family).

The first one we'll start with is Graphik (the font used on their cover) which can be bought through commercial type and was designed by Christian Schwartz in 2009. Esquire uses it on the cover and throughout the issue for categories like "Style", "cars" and "MaHB" (Man at his best). It's a very nice font, modern and bold,very easy to use as well as easy on the eyes.

The next one is Granger, which was commissioned by Esquire from Commercial Type. The name of the typeface was for their long-time editor in chief and was designed by Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho. Granger is also used as one of their pillar typeface with Graphik throughout the issue and is quite prominent. Both those fonts stand very well together and bring the layouts together nicely.

Now the last one I'll cover today I am not sure about. They use a condensed type on their cover which I would assume after digging around, is Giorgio Sans from Commercial Type. It's a very nice typeface, lots of different weights, very modern and simple. It goes very nicely with Graphik and Granger, so nicely actually you almost don't notice there's a third type family on the cover.

I will keep updating this post as I get more info so stay tuned!

Harper's Bazaar's sexy October

Harper's Bazaar U.S hasn't always been the sexy thing it is now and has definitely
been evolving towards something great.

The new look appeared early on in 2012 (it seems they had been tweaking the cover around for a while) and the new look knocks it out of the park. I had never really paid attention to it before that, I didn't find the general design either appealing or interesting. But the last couple issues since this big change have been great and we couldn't ask for more, or could we?

As a graphic designer I have a very critical eye and looking at any cover of any publication, there is always a way to make something better. Harper's Bazaar still has some way to go before it looks absolutely amazing but so far they definitely have been going to right direction. The photography, which is absolutely perfect, and very simple color palettes are dead on and very attractive (doesn't Kate Hudson look stunning?). These are a perfect example of a great blend between the design and the photography, they don't compete and they don't clash, way to go Harper's Bazaar, keep 'em coming. Meanwhile below is a little compilation of their awesome new covers. (the Gwen Stefani one is to die for right?)

more about the new look here

Daniel Craig: GQ v.s ESQUIRE

Latest 007 Daniel Craig is on the cover of both GQ France and Esquire U.K
for their October issue and I can't complain. But who is doing it better?

Let's start with the photography.

For Esquire we have famous photographer Terry O'Neil with a straight on portrait and for GQ, photographer Tom Craig opting for a lighter setting and something slightly more interesting than a straight on pose. The photography is clearly better handled in every way by GQ France. The styling is great (that suit looks perfect on him) and he looks the most like himself. Esquire seemed to have had a bit of a mishap regarding the styling (and I also want to say Craig's face? I'm not the only one seeing there's a problem there am I?), what is Craig wearing? nothing I'd buy for my guy for sure...They tried to do something way more dressed up than they usually go for on their covers and it didn't work.

Now design wise.

 I'm not playing favorites but GQ does it better as well. Mostly I like their typeface better than Esquire U.K, it makes more of a statement and is way more pleasant to look at. Don't get me wrong Esquire's cover looks fine but considering they are indeed esquire they should look great. The whole thing looks a bit awkward to me.
Let's hope their next cover makes us forget about this one because so far (excluding this little accident) they've been amazing.

Esquire's 2012 Big Black Book

It's this time of year again folks, the brand new Big Black Book 

spring/summer 2012 issue from Esquire is out!

I got my copy this morning and it looks amazing. The cover is beautiful with its type
and awesome spot gloss. The font for the cover and titles throughout the book is dala floda which you can find on Commercial Type. It's quite expensive but beautiful nonetheless! The whole book is designed very tastefully with a clean modern look, Dala Floda gives it the perfect edge. In addition the special openers add so much to the flow of what is esquire's best issue this year so far. Only minus is the overflow of commercials but we can let that slide considering the general great design of this issue.

Time to go grab yours.