Friday, January 11, 2008

Going back to its roots


When I first published viewmag the idea was to mash up and create a sort of visual magazine and I guess it said something in taking a Batten award, but then I think it lost its way aping the now accepted design aesthetic of newspapers.

Colour is so significant in design for it denotes from the onset what your publication is or attempting to be.

White a universal colour or non colour to be abstract gives space and openness and is ideal for newspapers and to some extent magazines.

It's strength is in minimalism.

If you look at the Times, there's a fantastic illustration of the rebirth of online newspapers with colours e.g lime green which previously many newspaper execs would have ignored.

Black as a design is equally universal, but has the disadvantage of seeming impenetrable.

However it is a classic.

Say what you will about fashion, we'll keep coming back to black because of its inherent chicness and no nonsense aura.

But it has to be done well, and that's not easy.

But by next week hopefully I'm hoping to take viewmag back into a news magazine feel, with a few new things, which I'm borrowing from my radio days.

Secondary changes should take a while, but eventually envelope the whole site which should revert to how it was when I first published.

Hope we like it :)

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