Magazine & Design

This week I decided to take a closer look at widely popular magazines, as well as those with innovative and original design. My inspiration was of course sparked by a trip to view the Metropoli cover gallery late last week. The creativity that fueled each design was something very unlike the more rigid and structured magazine templates that I am used to seeing. Even U.S. magazines such as Esquire and V, which are known for creativity and design, follow some type of template. Metropoli changes almost 100% from week to week, it seems.

Other magazines that I have been exposed to so far are less original, utilizing a similar design and color scheme each week, although they are also targeted toward a different demographic. Such magazines include Mujer Hoy, ¡Hola!, and Pronto. These are clearly targeted toward a female audience, with articles and photos profiling both Spanish and American celebrities. (The reason I come across these magazines often is because they are sent to my señora’s apartment weekly.) ¡Hola! and Pronto can be compared to such U.S. magazines as Star and Ok, making use of yellow journalism and relationships between A-list celebrities, as well as shocking and culturally irrelevant news stories. These two magazines don’t seem to focus on graphic appearance as much as they rely on photographic evidence. With a simple text and template that doesn’t change much from week to week, it is easy to insert shocking lines and story titles that grab attention more so than the design itself. People who are purchasing these magazines are doing so for the images and scandalous headlines, rather than those who purchase or order Metropoli.

Another magazine that has caught my attention is Mujer Hoy, also because it is sent to my señora’s home on a weekly basis. I have been reading it regularly, and it is difficult to draw comparisons between it and other American magazines. This magazine is different than many U.S. magazines as it actually focuses on women empowerment, and most U.S. magazines targeted toward females involve more fashion and celebrity news. If I were to draw any comparisons between Mujer Hoy and popular U.S. magazines, I would say it holds similarities to Marie Claire, and maybe a little bit of Self Magazine.