Superior Designers Learnt and understood the history of design from their contemporaries Introduction According to Steven Heller, superior designers learn from creative directors/ past designers with explicit impression in the historical field of graphic design, photography and illustration. “Eyes and brains have worked the same way over generations…the environment changes but the principles of visual communication survive. History helps us understand these principles.” – Principles before Style: Questions in Design History By Richard Hollis Understanding and learning how and why the concepts regarding the connection between design skills like the use of texture with contrast, text with image, color with balance were developed in addition to their inventive function and audience is most essential to me as a designer. And as a result, this acquired knowledge can be used to create effective designs and also make room to avoid repetition of past mistakes that were made in design as I contribute to a way forward. Learning the perspective in which these skills were initially developed, can assist designers relate to similar situations at present and instead of just borrowing thoughts and styles from design history, development and expansion of layout and design ideas works should be practiced basing on the knowledge acquired. Why learn graphic design History? In the 2nd edition, Introduction to graphic design history, Steven Heller (2001) revealed that “Graphic designers should be literate in graphic design history. Being able to design well is not always enough. Knowing the roots of design is necessary to avoid reinvention, no less inadvertent plagiarism.” My most important aim for this project is to allow designers to use my redesigns as an inspiration to interpret and simplify social concerns through using the great concepts and knowledge attained from past designers whose works had an explicit impression in the graphic design history and also proceed to develop and expand their new ideas basing on the knowledge acquired from studying and understanding design history. I will look at how past designers used preferred techniques/ styles/ or values to aid the design process and express their communicative vision and also improve or simplify complex moral, social and cultural problems. Above are art quotations taken from http://retinart.net/ - reflecting on the Joyous Elegance of Graphic Design & Creative Thoughts by Alexander R. C.
Background Ninety eight percent of the Turkish population is exceeded by the Muslim population with the rest of the population being minority Christians. Turkey is a secular country with a high youth demographic and a fast growing economy. In the early 20th century the Turkish government instituted restrictions on headscarf wearing, restricting women from wearing such clothing on their heads in public places and offices. A ban of this type was never witnessed in any part of the world including the republic of Turkey however, the root cause of this ban was straightforward: Referring to history, Turkey was entirely occupied by Muslims with the Kemalist secular rebellion which had earlier started in the 1920’s causing original modification and constraints upon the Islamic women which are still experienced to present. Though some women totally kept away from this clothing, others wore the scarf and other traditional Muslim clothing and also adopted a modified version of their once traditional outfits which we refer to as contemporary Islamic fashion/clothing today. As women become a center of modernization, to the extent that they can determine their own status in modern movements, their outlook revolves around three competing domains; Western equality, Islmaic morality and Turkish traditions. These three domains continue to determine the fashion and outlook of the Turkish women. The headscarf is currently the most controversial religious piece of clothing in Turkey and it has become a popular discussion across all media platforms and has been criticized in several debates. However, there is growing sense of belonging among the working class and young Muslim women who love to join their affection for fashion with a craving to sustain the belief of Islamic faith. In this sense of identity lies a chance to open up the underserved section of the population to meet the justifiable unexploited niche in the fashion industry. The fashion conscious Muslim women recognize the defective high street fashion around the world. They have therefore been motivated to design their own clothing collection displaying different styles of wearing hijab (Islamic wear) in a more fashionable way. Searches show an arrangement of blog connections discussing how and where to find hijab like clothing in retail stores as well as fixing online video tutorials teaching interested persons how to wear headscarves in trendy ways. Along the blogs there are also fashion magazines dedicated to Islamic clothing in Turkey. My search found one magazine dedicated to Islamic fashion in turkey – ALA DERGI magazine. In this report referred to as ALA magazine. ALA DERGI Magazine Ala magazine showcases fashion that ascribe to Islamic beliefs. The Islamic belief has fixed religious recommendations for women’s modest dressing which rules must observed – long sleeved and reasonably wobbly clothing regularly topped with a headscarf. However, with these rules carefully observed, these realistic fashion driven Muslim women who are now and then called ‘hijabistats’ – a word derived from Hijab which means head covering are as much interested in fashion styles as their non-muslim friends (Janmohammed, 2012).
At its inception, the Âlâ magazine sought to have a personal and distinctive feel as vogue but with emphasis on the unique feature of contemporary Islamic fashion and the Islamic value of modesty. The preliminary release of Âlâ magazine saw a rise in its number of followers on the facebook page, press recognition and an increase in stock within the top Istanbul bookshops (FT.com, ND).
Objective This study sought to redesign and improve the graphical content of Âlâ magazine to suit its contemporary readership and also compete favorably with high end western fashion magazines. The major purpose of this project is to re-design a well defined concept/ sector for the conservative Islamic fashion magazine “ALA DERGI”. Research Questions How can religious fashion be featured in modern fashion magazines? How can image and typography reinforce the understanding of a text and amplify its meaning within a layout? How can an Islamic fashion magazine serve an underserved section of the population to meet demands of an unexploited niche in the fashion industry? Project foundation This project is inspired by the works of Alexey Brodovitch, Jan Tschichold, Josef Muller, Herb Lubalin, Peter Saville and Islamic art (patterns and geometry). The redesign of the magazine sector will include proposed double page spreads featuring contemporary Islamic fashion. Research Graphic Design History Summary (Art Direction) Alexey Brodovitch Born to a decent and rich family in Ogolitchi, Russia 1898, Alexey Brodovitch is recognized for his exceptional work as a leading designer at America’s fashion magazine – Harpers Bazaar and Art director at Vogue from the beginning of 1920 to 2004. He totally transformed the image of the magazines with an idea that every composition should have a surprising feature to it. Brodovitch was among the foremost art directors to combine and connect the influence of text and image in an outstanding way; a style that was not originally used by the majority of the American magazines. Alexey Brodovitch valued the visual incorporation of Image, text and negative space in his double page spread layouts, and freely carried out experiments with layout combinations of text, white space and photography.
Alexey Brodovitch double page spread for Harper’s Bazaar from the beginning of 1900 to the late 1930’s.
A developed Double page spread with black and white Photograph and full use of clean space / Negative space.
Brodovitch understood the artistic significance of negative space which he fully exploited to the most and decreased the visual disorder of layout compositions with text and images. Brodovitch was never afraid of clean space in his layouts and his application of photography pushed vogue and bazaar far beyond what they have turned out to be today. I was drawn to Brodovitch’s ideas and design style because I believe learning from history is an essential and useful way for me develop my own design style and also redesign Ala magazine double page
spread fashion using the knowledge acquired from history to effectively resolve or simplify the difficult social concerns as a designer. Jan Tschichold Jan Tschichold was one of the most outstanding typographers and graphic designers of the twentieth century. He was born to a local sign writer who trained him in calligraphy which later set him as the foremost typographer among other renowned typographers of the era. In October 1925, almost every typesetter recognized Tschichold when he published a special magazine edition with a unique typographic manifesto that later caused intense discussions and chaos in the design world. Jan Tschichold’s Secret Canon of page harmony Jan Tschichold was not only an accomplished typographer but also an obsessive graphic designer who practiced design throughout the 20 th century. In 1953, his work was raised to its peak and as a result the Golden Canon was developed basing on the foundation created by the canons that existed before. Jan Tschichold’s Secret canon emphasized that the page ratio is most excellent at 2:3. He further conveyed that the solution to arrangement of the type area is to split the page into nine divisions of the tallness and breadth of the page. Still according to Tschichold, the easiest way of producing this was already revealed by J.A Van De Graaf. Tschichold never got discouraged but he found reassurance. He happily compared his work with the other people’s works and confirmed that his ideas were flawlessly aligned with his own.
Jan Tschichold’s Secret Canon of page harmony
A developed Double page spread using Jan Tschichold’s Secret Canon of page harmony
Jan Tschichold’s canon is an interesting concept for book arrangement which was borrowed to inform some of the developed double page spread designs in this project. The Ala magazine double page spread redesigns were inspired by Jan Tschichold’s canon which provided a solution and a perfect secret to page harmony and layout. Tschichold’s canon was studied and tested to find out how canons may be used in page layouts. Within the development process, trials to integrate Tschichold’s canon with existing patterns of Islamic art were also reproduced to come up with a new concept of a magazine design and perhaps a discovery of a modified canon that would connect Islamic art (patterns) and graphic design together. This idea was considered because of the need to expand and develop existing canons and also to explore other possible outcomes of the project like creation of a unique and freestyle section / supplement of Ala magazine. Josef Muller Brockmann Muller was an influential designer who was born in Switzerland in 1914 and was educated in one of the art and design schools in Munich. Muller was a pioneer of the Swiss International design style; a discipline which strictly emphasized order and grid supported design system. The Swiss International design style which was later known as the International Typographic Style had several characteristics, among which include;
Hand drawn Illustrations were replaced with Black and white Photography. The grid system was a guiding technique to provide well structured and orderly design layouts
Grid Systems The grid was an important element which assisted designers to organize content and create reasonable and constant layouts or compositions. Josef Muller discovered the importance of the grid system which he further presented in his book named the Grid systems in Graphic design. The grid was carefully studied as part of the development of the double page spreads and it was strictly used in all the design stages to the final output of the redesigns so as to maintain well structured, orderly and unified arrangement of information in the compositions. In my final project, the grid was considered a key element which was strictly used throughout the design process. As an addition and confirmation of Muller’s grid lessons; Massimo Vignelli’s grid was also included for reassurance so as to inform the project designs. The designs produced basing on the International Typographic Style with strict attention to the grid system were simple, clear and orderly, this was tested and achieved in the redesigns of Ala Dergi magazine fashion section.
The Grid System by Josef Muller Brockmann
A developed Double page spread with an underlying grid system
Peter Saville Peter is one of the most influential designers and art directors who was born in October 1955 in Manchester and is still honored and respected for his designs to date. Peter is well known for the outstanding works he produced for the factory records and is also famous for designing record sleeve covers for famous bands like joy Division and New order. Peter is a designer with design inspiration and for the past years he has been able to produce important innovations and has greatly contributed to the field of communications and art/ design.
Art Direction The essence behind peter’s works / projects is usually eye catching, vital and inspiring to the audience and also controversial in a way and above all he mastered the techniques of transferring images from one genre of art history and re-contextualizing them into other things. For example – Peter combined the Roses painting with a color implied alphabet to create an album cover named power, corruption and Lies for the famous band New Order.
New Order Album cover: Power Corruption and Lies by Peter Saville
This concept was borrowed and used as a building point to reposition Islamic art in a familiar and creative sense. The integration of Jan Tschichold canon and the basic pattern usually seen in Islamic art was an amazing creation. Producing a circular design of Ala Dergi magazine redesigns appears to be ordinary but the concept was to unite the two elements which are familiar to people who are keen in design and reposition the art of Islamic tradition. Type and Image: The language of graphic design In his analysis, Meggs (1992) described the fundamental nature of graphic design and further explained how designers organize elements in layouts, solve design problems and how they instill their work with image and representative qualities to allow them communicate both the visual and vocal information with transparency and expression. The aspects that merge to structure a design; words, photographs, signs, symbols and sustaining forms are explored and clarified to give a clear insight of the essence of graphic design. Graphic design has the capability to work as a language and the creative and innovative ways designers merge words and images have been of inspiration to this project. The combination of word and Picture According to Meggs (1992), the unification of type and image is a language of graphic design. Usually when designers combine type and image to communicate within a composition, two difficulties should be determined. First is the consistent arrangement of visuals in a composition for two completely different communication methods - this means communication signs and symbolic imagery should be joined together in an interrelated whole. The second issue engages making communication in a meaningful way: So the question is how can these two communication methods unite to support and expand each other?
The union of image and type By the beginning of the 20th century, nearly most of the Italian futurist painters believed that the unlike features of image may possibly be merged in just one method of interpenetration known as simultaneity – fusion. In this case, simultaneity means the occurrence of things at the same time as result of merging dissimilar objects together. Making use of a visual skill attained from their graphic design generations, the futurist and cubists artists in Paris started to use this concept to represent a union of more than one vision of things into a single picture.
A developed heading with a combination of image and Type
Picture as letter Meggs (1992) analyzed and clarified the use of substitution as a supporting method where a picture can replace or represent the function of a letter with in a statement. In a project for an editorial design of a fairy-tale; “Once upon a treasure Hunt”, Herb Lubalin placed a huge heading over a photograph of a beach view. He replaced the letter ‘U’ with the blades of two shovels with in the words ‘Hunt and Treasure’. The heading appeared in metallic gold: a representational indicator emphasizing the goal of the treasure hunt.
Editorial Design by Herb Lubalin
Women’s Day Poster by Gene Federico (1953). Source: gra401.
A developed Double page spread with a picture as a letter (substitution of letter ‘I’ and ’ L’)
Islamic Art and Geometric Design Meaning and Design According to BBC, Art is defined as the representative of culture and its world views. The art of the Islamic world reflects its cultural values and also reveals the spiritual realm and the universe. For every Muslim, reality begins with Allah (God) who is at the heart of worship and aspirations and thus the focus of their lives. So the focus point of Islamic art is spiritual representation of objects and beings and not their physical qualities. Muslims do not replicate nature as it is created by Allah but they try to convey what it represents. This allows the artist and those who are at the exposure of the art to get closer to their creator – Allah. Beauty to a Muslim is always and will always be an attribute of the divine. In one of the hadiths, prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said; “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.” (Sahih Muslim). Islamic Art Geometry Islamic art is highly dominated by a common feature of covering surfaces which are already enclosed with geometric patterns. The reflection of the language of the universe is dominated by the use of geometry to help the believer reflect on life and the overall greatness of creation by Allah.
ISLAMIC ART PATTERNS AS AN INSPIRATION TO MAGAZINE DESIGN: REACHING A WIDER AUDIENCE So how is geometry seen as divine / Spiritual in Islamic art? A circle is clearly recognized as an endless object In other words, circles are infinite and this reminds Muslims that Allah is infinite. The impression of endless repetition created by the complex geometric designs helps Muslims to get an idea of the infinite nature of their creator – Allah. The over repeated patterns in Islamic art also indicate that within the small, you can find the infinite. Therefore a single detail of the pattern involves or signifies the infinite total.
Redeveloped Islamic pattern with circles by Hanan Hussein (Black and White)
Redeveloped Islamic pattern with circles by Hanan Hussein (color)
It is important to note that the most particular ways in which Islamic art represents nature and objects to convey their spiritual qualities and not their physical / materialist qualities is through use of patterns. These repeated geometric patterns often make use plant motifs which are called arabesque. Stylized Arabic lettering is also common. In a typical traditional Islamic world, it is a high benchmark to integrate arts and crafts into everyday life. The sense behind this is that as Islam is essential to every part of a Muslim’s life and makes it beautiful, so Islamic art should be used to make the things in Muslims’ everyday life more beautiful. The emphasis in Islamic art is on beautification/ ornamentation rather than on art for art’s sake. Islamic art
traditionally comprises of a combination of calligraphy, geometric and floral designs considering the prohibition on the portrayal of human forms. Characteristics of Islamic art Symmetry and Geometry These familiar characteristics of Islamic art must articulate something important to the Islamic spirit, preference for orderly, symmetrical arrangements and purely geometrical ornamented forms in particular should be considered. From an absolutely traditional perspective, geometrical designs being complimentary of any symbolic meaning (like in Islamic art), could express a general aura of spirituality without offending religious sensitivities. In addition symmetric pureness and arrangement of patterns could stimulate a sense of beauty and it could free and evoke the intellect rather than trap it in the delusion of simple representation.
Symmetric Islamic Pattern by Dana Awartani
Source: Religious beliefs made Visual: Geometry and Islam The use of geometric shapes to create visual statements about religious ideas by (Jane Norman, Consultant Museum of Art)
Finding a local Focus Contemporary Islamic Fashion: Turkey
Contemporary Islamic Fashion
Contemporary Islamic Fashion Photography By Nada Puspita
Right from the beginning of my Project, I was very clear about my intentions of focusing my major project on contemporary Islamic fashion. What became a massive fight for me was to find a specific direction and subject that would direct me to a suitable outcome and also perfectly relate to my objectives for the project. During the early 20th century, the Turkish government instituted restrictions on headscarf wearing; restricting women from wearing such clothing on their heads in public places and offices which started a heated debate that still exists till today. Though some women kept away from this clothing, others insisted on wearing the scarf and also adopted a modified version of their once traditional outfits which we refer to as contemporary Islamic fashion/clothing today. As women become a center of modernization, to the extent that they can determine their own status in modern movements, their outlook revolves around three competing domains; Western equality, Islamic morality and Turkish traditions. These three domains continue to determine the fashion and outlook of the young professional Turkish women who have come out to be fashionable. The discussion of how and where to find modest Contemporary clothing had developed online; most especially in Islamic Blogs.
The Idea of a local issue clicked to my attention about the final project. I am a Muslim woman as well and this seems to be a recurring problem which I thought about and felt that I could potentially improve with the works I sought to do. Turkey has a high number of professional Muslim women who are religious and fashion driven and are fighting to get what they deserve even if they are on tension or under oppression by their government. Therefore choosing turkey was a perfect starting point for discovering a convenient local issue that would suit my project’s objectives. Indah Nada Puspita: The famous and Influential Islamic Fashion Blogger
Contemporary Islamic Fashion Photography By Nada Puspita
My investigations and research into Turkey’s social issues led me to an influential Islamic fashion blogger who had started her blog five years ago to share her fashions with her followers and those who are interested in modern Islamic fashion clothing and Headscarves. Nada had spent her time posting video tutorials and Photographs of how to wear Hijab / Headscarf and Islamic clothing in a modern and stylish way. I found lots of responses and interactions with her followers learning what was important to the fashionable Muslim women in and outside Turkey, and that incident and awareness confirmed to be very valuable in my problem finding search. One of the current issues I analyzed with Puspita Nada’s Blog was the effort – eventually a victorious one – to share her styles and fashions on her blog (Fashion in headscarves) through video tutorials and Photography. Communicating to Nada was a bit challenging but, I was able to find an interview she had with HijUp. I decided to use her interview as an inspiration because I thought it was a perfect way to develop two brands and a good choice to use for
communicating to her audience of young fashionable Muslim women in Turkey; which audience, she shares with Ala Dergi Magazine. Proceeding with my project meant extensive exploration into personal brands like Indah Nada Puspita’s fashion in headscarves and her audience. An examination of Ala Dergi Islamic fashion Magazine and how it positions itself in order to effectively capture the attention of the increasing number of fashionable muslin women who are demanding for fashionable islamic clothing was also done.
Development “An opportunity to meet the justifiable and unexploited necessity of an underserved section of young Fashionable Muslim Women of Turkey who love to join their affection for fashion with a craving to sustain the belief of Islamic faith. “
Indah Nada Puspita Interview by HijUp (case study) Since when did @nadashouts decide to wear hijab and what made you wear it? I started wearing hijab since I was still at primary school as it is an Islamic school and school requires the students to wear hijab to school. At that time, I didn’t wear hijab beyond school time. When I was at junior high school, I went to a public school which doesn’t require the students to wear hijab, that was the point in time I had to decide whether I would continue wearing hijab or not. I finally decided to keep wearing it as I used to wear it, it became a habit and I will not feel comfortable if I wear it off. That was the starting point for me to learn wearing hijab properly. I have made my right decision and Insha Allah I will always wear it. Time goes on and I keep learning and realizing that hijab is my identity as a Muslim woman. No doubt of it at all #HijUpTalk Please tell us about your daily activities @nadashouts? I am busy with my study preparation at Studienkolleg Indonesia; it is such an equalization school before I go attending my study in German. I also do modeling and now I have my own fashion brand so I need to design and take care of the brand. Other than that, I can’t mention it all …I blog and do other pleasurable things which helps me getting rid of boredom.
How do you @nadashouts start blogging? I started blogging when I was running an IT exam at high school. My teacher asked me to make a blog. At first, the blog contains only writings but as sometimes I ran out of idea of what to write, I started then uploading photos. I never intended to make a fashion blog. I just post and post again and show my postings to other students ha ha… *I’m proud of myself, its okay, isn’t it?* Then, after the exam was over, I keep blogging until now. I have written for @radityadika and mentioned him on Twitter. He read my posting and replied me… Since then my followers increased amazingly and they like the postings about my outfit/fashion. Eventually, I am now a fashion blogger, Alhamdulillah So you have been blogging for 3 years… Anyway, many people indeed get inspired by your blog. Which one do you prefer among blogging, photography, modeling, and singing? Among them…? It is a tough question, he he… If I have to choose for those 4 things, I will say… singing! Because I can do it anytime and anywhere. How do you manage your time for studying and running your hobby or other activities? As now I am a college student, I have then to focus more on my study. So I do modeling at weekend only. While for blogging, I just do it in my spare times, as I am busy with my student status he he he… Do you @nadashouts have dreams which haven’t come true until now? If any, what is it? Yes, I do have maaanyyyy!!! I think I haven’t achieved anything, yet no matter what our dreams are, pursue and do it for now and afterlife. Don’t forget to be thankful to Allah, Insha Allah He will show us the way J Anyway, I got so many dreams which haven’t come true yet. Wish me luck, then! Thank you so much for your time tonight, @nadashouts, and for sharing with us on #HijUpTalk. Hope it will inspire all of us. You’re most welcome. Thanks for the opportunity @HijUp! Sorry for any mistaken words, hope it is useful. Have a nice night! Source: blog.hijup
Project Brief Project title: section redesign of turkey’s Islamic fashion magazine – Ala Dergi Magazine Re-design a well defined concept/sector for the conservative Islamic fashion magazine “ALA DERGI”. The Sector Redesign included proposed double page spreads featuring contemporary Islamic fashion and related stories or interviews plus a freestyle magazine design intended to reach a wider audience in the fashion industry.
The Idea ALA magazine is sensitive to the fashion conscious and faithful female segment positioned in the same category as Vogue and Elle with all its models wearing modest clothing plus a headscarf) covering their hair. ALA DERGI is one of the most recognized conservative and forward fashion magazines in turkey. The magazine is conquering as a potential market leader concentrating on modest Muslim style and trends for the modern and professional Turkish women. ALA is an Arabic word meaning “the most beautiful of the beautiful, superb, excellent and this title is definitely suitable for the upcoming frontrunner because it connects Muslims to their faith. The models are both attractive and Islamic which perfectly merges the readers own sense of self. The magazine includes: interviews with successful Muslim women and hijab/ modest attire coordinators, designers, special boutique owners, style suggestions, color trends, blog introducers and editorials. The differentiating point of this magazine is that it caters for the market need of professional Turkish Muslim women requiring relatable fashion guides similar to western publications such as Vogue and Elle but with strong Islamic standards. Industry Information / Audience Who? The modern and conservative young professional Muslim women of turkey (Age: 20-40years). The preliminary release of ALA magazine saw a rise of its facebook followers, press recognition and stock increase within the top Turkish bookshops of the city. The magazine emphasized the unique feature of contemporary Islamic fashion and the Islamic value of modesty. What do they currently demand for? There was a gap to be filled for the modern and conservative Muslim women of turkey who opted for a unique image (fashionable) rather than a generic look like it is perceived in almost every Islamic community. This pushed ALA Dergi to provide a modern and distinctive Islamic style of dress in order to bridge the gap in the current market. Therefore, ALA magazine hopes to help fashionable Muslim women to find and have contemporary Islamic outfits that are original and unique to its audience. Basing on this analysis however, I discovered that the target audience may be aware of what they want to wear and be fashionable but they are not aware of Ala Dergi magazine and why it
is available, be it its fashions or the brands that are currently promoted by the Magazine. They are also not aware of the positions of the suitable brands they would like to consume and be trendy. What I want them to know? Ala magazine is the ideal magazine which meets their demands and it provides a variety of fashionable styles of modern and modest stylish fashions /clothing. I also want them to know that Ala magazine will meet their demands and also confirm to them that their voices have been heard by designers around the world. How? To create a sector redesign of Ala Dergi magazine, containing attractive double page spreads with appealing graphical content that perfectly suits its readership and also designing a freestyle magazine to reach a wider audience in the fashion industry as well as allowing the magazine to potentially compete favorably with high end western fashion magazines across the globe.
Project Criteria
Choosing a fashion section of the magazine, a redesign ideal double page spreads was created to make ALA Magazine look more distinctive, suitable and attractive to its audience. I ensured that the idea suits the target audience and the category of fashion Ala magazine offers to its audience. I explored the concept of redesigning unique magazine Double page spreads featuring an interview with appealing graphical content to that capture and attract the target Audience. Section redesign (t y p o g r a p h y / l a y o u t / material) was made to standout through a contemporary expression of Islamic tradition values in graphic design. Exploration of several possible outcomes of the concept/idea was done.
Initial Ideas In my experiments, I wanted to make graphic layouts which would successfully and truthfully represent the heritage and Islamic tradition of modesty while making sure that I do not offend any religious sensibilities and also make Muslim women proud of their heritage and tradition.
My first output was centered on redesigning a couple of double page spreads with improved graphical content to suit Ala Dergi customers / target audience. Exploration Photography Looking at a series of photographs or imagery of a favorite models or Muslim woman dressed in modest contemporary Islamic fashion is a very good way to get an idea of the appearance and character behind the brand and also learning the current styles and fashion on trend. I am always attracted to black and white photography and at a certain point I found it difficult to find suitable photographs to use in my double page spreads. So I used Photoshop to edit some of Indah Nada’s photographs to black and white to break the monopoly of the full color photographs that I borrowed from Nadah’s Blog. Categorizing and editing these images made me realize the diversity of modern Islamic fashions and styles and how colorful the clothing is, and this led me to using black and white and colorful images in the layouts / page redesigns.
Typography Below is a sample of the type explorations I conducted. I never felt that type could successfully amplify and covey the meaning of the word and communicate the message to the market. In my explorations, I chose to use those fonts and typography because I wanted to reflect and represent the connection between the images and the type.
Islamic art patterns Below is a sample of the experiments I conducted to build my idea of the freestyle magazine. I wanted to use Islamic art in a significant way because this could successfully communicate to the audience with the genuine meaning and connection to the Islamic tradition and belief. The circular freestyle magazine imitates the use of a circle as a spiritual object to develop patterns in Islamic art. In my explorations, I chose to use the shape because I wanted to reach a wider audience who may be interested in modest fashion besides the professional modern Muslim women in Turkey. I also did this exploration because I wanted to find a possible way of expanding and representing the position of Islamic art and graphic design to a wider audience as it was a common method used by the graphic designers like Jan Tschichold and Peter Saville.
Experiment with Islamic pattern & Jan Tschichold’s canon Developed geometric pattern combines with Canon
Project Outcome: Developed Freestyle Ala Dergi Magazine
Evaluation After exploring the different ways of developing attractive double page spreads and the freestyle magazine, I ultimately decided that these developments can work in a more suitable and effective way. Because the untapped market is growing at a fast rate, the section redesign has to reflect that. From my experiments and sketches came the original ideas of using the grid system to create well structured layouts, the use of image and type as a language in graphic design and Islamic art as a unifying element to communicate to a wider audience. The use of image and type with and underlying grid was a fixed and unique element of the double page spreads however, using the circle for most designers is a natural thing but for me the circle design became the main driving factor for the freestyle magazine development. Everything starts with a circle in Islamic art and in the ideal world; it connects perfectly within our lives.
I think this approach to my project successfully creates a visual and verbal communication that freely permits utmost imaginative expression while still unifying the common Islamic tradition with the modern western fashion and design trends. Outcomes Photography I chose to use Indaha Nadah Puspita as a model in all the double page spreads that were developed as opposed to the usual way of using different models to market s=fashion clothing in a magazine. My interpretation is due to several reasons. First of all, I identified Nada as an upcoming designer with fashionable clothing and style which the Muslim women are most interested. I wanted to promote her brand and also create designs that suit and meet the demands of Ala magazine’s readership /audience. The colors and images represent the diversity of the Islamic fashion styles and how they can be mixed and matched, or found for purchase. Graphical Content I used the knowledge I got from my research about historical graphic designers not to just imitate what they developed but to expand and develop their techniques with in the field of graphic design. However, the appropriate grid and design skills were used to create a sense of effective communication and structure around what already exists.
Final Project Outcomes Sector Redesign of Ala Dergi Magazine Double page Spreads
Freestyle Magazine Design
Critical Reflection Right from the foundation stage of the project proposal, I have been clear about one goal – redesigning and improving the graphical content of Âlâ magazine to suit its contemporary readership and also compete favorably with high end western fashion magazines. I feel like this is what I wanted to achieve at the end of my masters project; the kind of work and research that I would not have probably done in any usual setting. I drove myself to find an issue that had meaning and a sense of connection to me personally. Finding the issue meant working in a way that I am not so used to or comfortable with i.e. allowing myself to really contemplate before making decision. I normally prefer reading and researching a lot but this project taught me the value of letting go and finding a focus to concentrate on most appropriate subject for my project. Within my project I have demonstrated an understanding of how to solve social issues using the knowledge acquired from the history of graphic design and the expansion of the communicative language of design and its essence. I benefit from the research and intend to continue developing the knowledge I have acquired as I solve more social problems in future. I am so fascinated by how far I have come and how much I have learnt with in such a short time. I have learnt about myself and I will forever be thankful to that.
Reference List HijUp, 2012 (November 4).Inspiration: Indah Nada Puspita: Fashion Blog Darling, http://blog.hijup.com/2012/11/indah-nada-puspita-fashion-blog-darling/ Janmohammed, S. (2012). Muslim Fashion/ Islamic Branding consultancy and Marketing for Muslim consumer markets Ogilvy Noor. Muslim Fashion. muslimvillage.com (2013). Islamic fashion industry – $322 billion by 2018. Retrieved from http://muslimvillage.com/2013/11/29/46752/islamic-fashion-industry-322-billion-by-2018/. Richard, P. (2012). A history of the headscarf ban in Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.turkishreview.org/newsDetail. BBC News Channel (2010). Turkish designers pioneer ‘Islamic fashion’. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk. Design is history (ND). Alexey Brodovitch (1940). Retrieved from http://www.designishistory.com/1940/alexeybrodovitch/. @Retinart (2013). Tschichold’s Secret Canon. Retrieved from http://retinart.net/graphic-design/secret-law-ofpage-harmony/. Meggs, P. B. (1992). Type & image: The language of graphic design. Chichester; New York: Wiley. gra 401 (2009). Studies on Type and Image. Retrieved from http://gra401.tumblr.com/post/204127705/studies-ontype-image-relationship-summary