Redefining editorial experience: user experience & user interface design in digital publications

The publishing industry is facing a transition era, where the development of new digital technologies has led people to adopt new reading habits, where every day is less common to receive content in a piece of printed paper, and more and more common to do it through a screen. Digital publications have been present for a while, facing constant changes, so this theoretical-practical research aims to explore their transition, what they have done, and what are they doing to respond to their readers’ needs. Emphasized in digital magazines, the objective is to understand them from its roots, analyzing concepts related to editorial design and through theory and the work of designers who redefined the concept of publications on the screens. This theoretical part is complemented with the study of two areas of design that are related to the development of digital products: user experience and user interface. The two case studies presented, Wired and The New Yorker magazines explore what magazines that have lead the market in terms of innovation and design have done in recent years and how are they facing today’s challenges. In addition, in this critical analysis exploration, topics such as their online strategy, design of their apps, and their activity in social networks are explored. The practical project developed, seeks to apply the concepts explored in the theoretical part of the research, in order to respond to the needs of a cultural magazine of Mexico, La Tempestad. Through a survey, the reading habits of the target audience are analyzed to understand what readers are looking for and create a solution that is appropriate for them. A graphic proposal of a digital magazine in the form of an application is presented, with interactions, design, and navigational tools the app seeks to create a unique experience with their readers

Internship report: Thomas Kembeke

Este relatório detalha e caracteriza o estágio realizado pela aluna Irene Sanchez Lemos Alves, no studio de design Thomas Kembeke, entre os meses de Fevereiro de 2019 até Julho de 2019. Permitindo-lhe a aquisição do grau de Mestre em Design e Cultura Visual. Este relatório descreve os trabalhos desenvolvidos pela aluna. Esta oportunidade contribuiu para trabalhar com projetos reais de Design postos em prática no mercado, contactar com a realidade e trabalhar com uma equipa com membros de áreas distintas possibilitando também focar-se mais especificamente do Design de Comunicação e Editorial. Este estágio abrangeu várias vertentes do Design, desde o Design de Identidade, Design Visual ao Design Editorial. Simultaneamente, este estágio permitiu a aluna refletir sobre o papel do designer na sociedade contemporânea.This report details and characterizes the internship given by student Irene Sanchez Lemos Alves ant the Thomas Kembeke design studio from February 2019 to July 2019. Allowing the student to acquire a Master's degree in design and visual culture. This report describes the work done by the student. This opportunity contributed to work with real design projects and put into practice all the knowledge and skills acquired in the Bachelor of Design to contact with real. Make contact with reality and work with a team with members from different areas, allowing to focus, on Communication Design and Editorial. This internship covered various aspects of design, from the Identity Design, Visual Design at the Design Editorial. At the same time, this stage allowed the student to reflect on the role of the designer in contemporary society

The adoption and impact of computer integrated prepress systems in the printing and publishing industries of Kuwait

This research is aimed at developing a comprehensive picture of the implications of digital technology in the graphic arts industries in Kuwait. The purpose of the study is twofold: (1) to explore the meaning of the outcomes of recent technological change processes for the traditional prepress occupations in Kuwait; and, (2) to examine the impact of technology on Arabic layout and design. The study is based on the assumption that technological change is a chain of interactions among the sociological, cultural, political and economic variables. The prepress area in Kuwait has its own cultural, social, economic, and political structure. When a new technology is introduced it is absorbed and shaped by the existing structure. Based on such a dialectical conceptualisation, four major levels of analysis can be distinguished in this study: (1) technological change in the graphic arts industries; (2) the typographic evolution of the Arabic script; (3) the workers themselves as individuals and occupational collectives; and, (4) technology's impact on Arabic publication design. The methodological approach selected for this study can be defined as a dialectical, interpretive exploration. Given the historical perspective and the multiple levels of analysis, this approach calls for a variety of data gathering methods. Both qualitative and quantitative data were sought. A combination of document analysis, participant observation and interviewing allow to link the historical and current events with individual and collective actions, perceptions and interpretations of reality. The findings presented in this study contradicts the belief that the widespread adoption of new production processes is coincidental with continuous advances in scientific knowledge which provide the basis for the development of new technologies. Instead, the changes have been hindered by the lack of untrained personnel, the Arabic software incompatibility, and the lack of informed decisions to successfully implement the technology. Without any doubt, the new technology has influenced Arabic calligraphy, but this does not mean the decay of Arabic calligraphy as an art. As this study shows, the challenge is not to the art, but to the artist

Telling Through Type: Typography and Narrative in Legal Briefs

Most legal authors today self-publish, using basic word-processing software and letting the software’s default settings determine what their documents will look like when printed. As these settings are not optimized for legal texts, they do so at their peril. The default font Times New Roman, for example, as Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook warns, is utterly inappropriate for long documents [such as] briefs. Commentators have started urging a more deliberate approach to legal typography. Their suggestions, however, have been content-neutral, intended for all legal texts and focused on goals such as legibility and readability. Typography, however, has much greater potential. The shapes, the spacing, of letters and of words can reinforce, complement, and independently create narrative meaning. Or, intentionally or unintentionally, it can cut against it. It can do its work honestly and ethically, or inappropriately and subversively. This article explores how

Telling Through Type: Typography and Narrative in Legal Briefs

Most legal authors today self-publish, using basic word-processing software and letting the software’s default settings determine what their documents will look like when printed. As these settings are not optimized for legal texts, they do so at their peril. The default font Times New Roman, for example, as Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook warns, is utterly inappropriate for long documents [such as] briefs. Commentators have started urging a more deliberate approach to legal typography. Their suggestions, however, have been content-neutral, intended for all legal texts and focused on goals such as legibility and readability. Typography, however, has much greater potential. The shapes, the spacing, of letters and of words can reinforce, complement, and independently create narrative meaning. Or, intentionally or unintentionally, it can cut against it. It can do its work honestly and ethically, or inappropriately and subversively. This article explores how

Modernity in the Margins: A study of the introduction of typographic modernity in New Zealand, 1920-1940

Publications on New Zealand’s typographical history are few, particularly for the period of typographic Modernism. This study extends the knowledge of New Zealand’s typographic history through investigating typeface utilisation from 1920 to 1940, contextualising this use against developments from what are considered the metropolitan centres of the development of typographic Modernism. It examines the arrival and form of Modernism and modernity into twentieth century New Zealand through the medium of typography, and considers what the outcome reveals about conditions of New Zealand’s theoretical marginality, and the transfer of cultural forms. Focussing on type selection and use within the popular medium of New Zealand newspapers, this study aims to establish greater understanding of a critical period in type design. This research serves an important role in defining a New Zealand typographic identity, through revealing the way typography was utilised as a vehicle to introduce modernity into New Zealand, establishing greater understanding of our type selection and use. Essentially, this study proposes an alternate way of examining the introduction of modernity in New Zealand, and through this knowledge supporting and inspiring New Zealand type design today

Branding a Heritage City: A Contemporary Approach Used to Brand the Historical Identity of Ahmedabad, India

This thesis investigates how branding can be used to celebrate the historical identity of Ahmedabad, India. Branding a city can be a difficult task because cities are complex and constantly evolving. For a richly diverse and geographically vast country like India, it can be particularly challenging. The existing brand identity for Ahmedabad lacks an extensive, consistent visual identity system and uses stereotypical Indian motifs to represent the city. The thesis explores Ahmedabad’s colonial, pre-colonial and post-colonial heritage to find visual vernacular that is true to the region. These concentrated communication design-based studio explorations inform a larger exercise to represent the city of Ahmedabad visually. Other design research methods include photo analysis, case studies, observations and personal reflection. The thesis proposes a flexible brand identity system to capture the multiple realities of the city, its people, its tradition and cultural heritage. The final studio project is inspired by the windows of Ahmedabad. From 600-year-old monuments to residential pol houses to modernist buildings — windows have displayed a wide range of architectural heritage and played a huge role in defining what is important to Amdavadis. The research also creates a generic module that can be used to brand other Indian cities by looking at its tangible, intangible cultural heritage and its visual vernacular or graphic past

Logo station: A Personal logo design application on multi-touch tablet devices

This decade has witnessed the rapid development of technology in the IT field. The importance of technology is undeniable. The increase of digital products in both quality and quantity is inevitable. As a result, numerous cutting-edge tablet applications have been developed. New applications have brought unprecedented convenience to the users in their daily lives. However, there is a lack of well-developed applications on tablet devices to allow people to design personal logos. It is common knowledge that professional design software is not consumer friendly for the non-designer. And for the average user, the professional design software might be easy to use, but does not contain instruction and information relating to designing effective visual solutions. Logo Station is a professional and easy-to-use application for people who lack design training. It teaches them the principles of good design with the help of gestures and multi-touch features. This allows the users to have control and understanding of everything they make. Overall, Logo Station unites design education and professional design software to bring good design to the masses

Perception of poverty: Promoting social responsibility through multi-sensory integration

Traditional graphic design and marketing rely heavily on visual forms of communication. With advertisements all around us, the constant visual bombardment has led to an over stimulated consumer, creating a challenge for designers to invent alternative ways to capture the audience\u27s attention. Multi-sensory integration overcomes this challenge in my opinion, by integrating more than the sense of sight and is more effective and memorable, because it conveys the core message through multiple senses rather than one. The integration of additional senses within the field, particularly olfactory in my opinion, helps to enhance the overall communication and facilitate a more potent user experience. According to National Bureau of Economic Research, the United States suffered a significant decline in economic activity resulting in the great recession, which lasted from December 2007 to June 2009. Following the recession, many United States citizens still faced unforeseen financial crisis, sudden loss of income and housing foreclosure. The impact of the recession continues today, causing suffering and severe crisis. As a result of this, many families and individuals continue to find themselves newly poor. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, currently in the United States there are 643,067 people experiencing homelessness on any given night; roughly 22 of every 10,000 people are homeless. Of that number, 238,110 are people in families and 404,957 are individuals, 17% of the homeless population are considered chronically homeless and 12% of the homeless population are made up of veterans. The objective of this thesis is to show how utilizing multi-sensory integration to raise awareness of poverty in the United States is effective and to explore the effects of the great recession by allowing observers to digitally experience homelessness. The intention is to give observers a new appreciation of life, inspire individuals to take action and stimulate change within their community