Project 'Cool'

In recent times, it has become very popular to be fit and healthy, there are pages upon pages of blogs promoting fitness, exercises, or fitness clothing, healthy eating, healthy recipes and products to help you on your fitness journey (as you can see in some of the sample Instagram and Facebook pages below.) Because of this, it is seen as very 'cool' to be fit and healthy. As people become more involved in this -because it is cool- they have also begun to branch out, with pages now promoting things like yoga to meditation (mental health), buying organic (and the influence non-organic has on your body, and on farmers, retailers etc) which leads to movements like vegetarianism, animal rights groups, natural makeup, climate change, and is actually doing quite a good job in getting people to become more aware, because it is 'cool.'

However there are a couple of problems with all this:

- Firstly, that all these 'blogs' are in different places, all over the internet, meaning people have to travel from place to place to collect information.

A place where all of the aspects of the organic (ie. recipes, exercises, products, makeup, environmentally friendly living etc) can be accessed at once would be extremely popular. 

- Secondly that of course these products are promoted in such a way that people feel they 'need' the product, but not always informing on the ingredients or ramifications on the products- is it actually good for you? Is it harming your body? For example, some detoxes promote weight loss, whilst actually using a laxative which can be very bad for you, or another example is all the exercises some pages post, are they backed up by someone with actual experience in the human body, such that it is correctly telling you to do said exercise without hurting yourself?

Having a magazine that is backed by fact, experts, leaders in the industry, would make the magazine even more desirable - a place to find the 'truth' along with all the 'cool' organic subjects.

Such a magazine would appeal to mostly women, aged about 15-25+, who follow all these kinds of blogs. It could very easily be sold in organic food stores, markets, natural product retailers, and of course online - where the magazine could be promoted through the blogs that are so popular (most likely through promotion in return of course.)

I am to make the logo, front cover, and contents page for the magazine.

First influence

The first place we visited in class - Fances Pilley on Brunswick Street - was actually my first influence and idea for the project - the array of different objects and products, all relating back to the healthy and organic, prompted the idea of a magazine that does the same.

Key Words

Organic

Natural 

Clean

Why is it Cool?

Fashionable exercise wear that also promotes health and fitness articles etc. Lorna Jane is actually a great example of the magazines influences, the site is simple and uncluttered, the texts organic and simple, colours natural browns and blues.

 Detoxing teas to 'cleanse' body.

Weight loss 'teatoxes' This is one of my great inspirations and influences for the magazine - this is something that is not healthy, and there needs to be a place where young people can be informed on such matters, and know what is healthy and what is not.

 Coffee body scrub for soft skin.

Magazine layouts/colour theme

The layouts here all incorporate some form of organic imagery, texture and font, with very simple black or white coloured font, which gives it a very uncluttered and relaxed feel.

Texture/shape

I really love the idea of using natural paper to make the magazine, it will add a really organic texture to something thats has a strong subject matter of all things organic.

The theme of the magazine is interconnected with organic shape, plants, nature, the human body etc all involve soft, natural shapes like circles and curves.

Magazine Cover - feel

Organic Gardening magazine is another great influence. Focusing on Gardening of course they feature a lot more of fruits and vegetables which means they have a lot of great imagery of organic matter.

This cover in particular is really fantastic, the great wood texture in the background combined with the green and natural purple/brown of the onions. 

Natural greens, browns, all soft and kind of washed out colours, that create a very relaxed feel.

Logo/font

The use of images of fruit and vegetables to make the logo here is really effective, it adds natural colour whilst also telling you something about the subject matter.

The use of natural and organic shapes like leaves, stalks and other plant matter is also a really great way of portraying the general gist of your subject matter, while not being as busy as the logos above.

 

Natural, flowing, organic shape to the text.

Imagery

 

Really soft images, with light/bright background and filled with the natural organic colours of plants.

I am also inspired by the natural shape and texture of the body - the magazine would of course feature healthy living articles on exercise.

 I really love this cardboard sign, and thought it would be really great to have an organic magazine made of recycled paper!

Clean

Natural &

Healthy

Photographs of Models

Colour

A range of colours occurring naturally in fruit, vegetables and flowers is a huge inspiration. Plus the natural browns and greens of the foliage they emerge from and that surrounds them.