07 DESIGNING FOR AUDIENCES
PUBLICATION
CONTEXT
Designing for audiences is a grouping of publications designed to show how the same information and similar concepts can be directed towards different audiences using variations in styles of imagery, typography, and layout.
The objective of this project was to create three opening spreads for three different audiences. The information is based off an article where scientists at MIT created a fabric that was able to pick up on sound-waves.
In this project, I designed for an opening spread for a scientific audience, a fashion audience, and a child audience.
TIMEFRAME: 4 weeks
ROLE: GRAPHIC DESIGNER
INVOLVEMENT: Independent Work
OVERVIEW
THE STRATEGY
In order to cater to different audiences, I needed to understand what those audiences expected to see. The direction and end result of each opening spread was ultimately the same, utilizing the idea of fabric, an ekg, or a heart to communicate the overall message of the article.
FINAL DESIGN
CONCEPT 1: FASHION
This spread is designed for Vogue with a target audience of fashion. It uses a scribbly illustration style to mimic high fashion concepts sketches.
CONCEPT 2: SCIENTIFIC
This spread is designed for Smithsonian Magazine with a scientific audience as the intended target. It uses a sharp technical illustration of an abstract sound-wave and an EKG.
CONCEPT 3: CHILDREN
This spread is designed for Highlights Magazine, an educational publication for children. The illustration is cartoonish and rounded with easy to read serifs.
REFLECTION
This project was a useful exercise in understanding how to take a message and fluidly changing it so that it could be virtually understood across different age ranges, lifestyles, and general knowledge. I had to research in depth each kind of audience I was creating a spread for.
For a scientific audience you would expect to see something technical and precise whereas a fashion audience you would see something sophisticated but expressive.
Overall this design allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and experiment with different styles of illustration and typesetting.