Beyond Animation

Magazine Publication

Overview

Beyond Animation Magazine is a publication that covers a variety of animated media, including cartoons and VFX. This publication is meant to show that the art of animation can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Therefore, all aspects of animation are explored. This includes: movie reviews, behind the scenes, and the latest in animation.

Solution

I decided to create this magazine considering there weren’t many options for animation fans. Animation is a great form of entertainment that everybody can enjoy, not just children. So, the target audience for this publication would be teens and young adults. In order to appeal to this audience, articles were curated and information was illustrated in a way that presents animation as more than something you see on screen.

The Beyond Animation logo went through multiple iterations before landing on the final. The original thought was to include arrows to show the “beyond” part of the name. Then, I experimented with using a pencil to show the “animation” aspect. However, it was pointed out to me that the negative space within the ‘A’ displays a pencil already. So, the arrow stuck, and the logo was created.

I started and ended up with a typographic logo. It’s simple, but the point gets across. With the combination of an oblique font and an arrow, “beyond” is represented visually. On the animation side of things, a pencil is created in the negative space of the ‘A’.

The color palette, black, red, and teal, is based on the animator storyboarding process. This also inspired the illustration style, but I will explain that later.

When choosing typefaces for this magazine, I wanted something simple, bold, and easily legible. the Azos Sans family was great for headings and captions while Merriweather served as a good body copy.

Header: Azos Sans Black

Subhead: Azos Sans Black Italic

Caption: Azos Sans Regular

Body: Merriweather

As stated previously, the illustration style was inspired by animation storyboards. I challenged myself to only use red, black, and teal throughout the magazine. Another challenge was finding the balance between the sketched and the detailed. The illustrations had to be sketched enough to feel like a WIP, but still detailed enough to be legible and have depth.