HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT USE OR CHALLENGE CONVENTIONS & HOW DOES IT REPRESENT SOCIAL GROUPS/ISSUES?
When I first read this question, I was flooded with ideas for my answer, as it's a very relatable topic regarding how we've created our brand and how I've created my magazine. Below you can see the answer in the form of an essay, that I've then reconstructed to present it in an artistic manner, that is more creative and engaging.
Here's the "essay" answer:
When analysing Flair Magazine as a whole - a fashion magazine with an artistic perspective upon youth culture, and the different ways in which it challenges and uses different conventions, I consider it to be out of the ordinary. Through the creation of our magazine brand, Flair, my colleagues and I decided to opt for more of an unconventional approach towards the creation process of our issues, as our style does not necessarily follow the paths of most fashion magazines in this field. The path we decided to take is a more challenging one yet it clearly reflected our vision and mindset, without limitations regarding conventions and guidelines. It certainly can be said that Flair Magazine does follow some conventions, yet manages to challenge most in different significant ways.
When looking at any issue, in particular, we can notice from the front covers that it’s not the average conventional fashion magazine cover. We’ve decided to leave the covers with a very minimalist design and to only communicate the truly necessary information besides the photograph; that being the masthead, title, and issue number. A common commercial fashion magazine has many more elements present on the cover, such as the headline, byline, captions or “pull-out quotes”. This decision to exclude most elements was based on our personal preferences & inspiration while also on the research we’ve done prior to the creation, where we’ve each researched a few magazines to form our vision and clarify our preferences. I looked at Barzzar and Atlas in more detail, but Dazed Magazine is also worth mentioning as I did get inspired a lot by their style too. When we first brainstormed ideas for the design, we all had similar ideas in mind. We all liked more eccentric designs, yet minimalist, with little text, and more visual information that allows for interpretation, we knew from the beginning that this type of magazine is more unconventional yet we decided that this is the most appropriate approach for us, as a group and as individuals.
If analysing my issue in particular, not much different can be said about it regarding the conventions respected on the cover, as we all followed the same branding style that we’ve agreed on, that being a very important aspect as we have to be consistent for the audience. However, differences through the issues can be easily seen when looking at the inside content and style. In my case, I did respect some conventions, through the design and content of my editorial. My editorial is 10 pages long, a length often seen in many common magazine editorials has many big & clear pictures, and also has some text that relates to the topic of the editorial, these all being aspects often found in common fashion editorials such as the ones mentioned above and more (Atlas, Dazed, Vogue, Bazaar etc.) However, besides these, I did challenge many other conventions, such as the lack of advertisements or brand representation, little text compared to most, and a lot of room for interpretation. We’ve decided to keep our magazine content simple and artistic, with room for interpretation, this being one of the main reasons we chose to write less and focus on the visual more, so when I researched Atlas Magazine, I saw that they have little text and more visual information, and their style inspired me a lot.
As for the representation of social groups and issues, I believe this is one of the main reasons we chose to shape our magazine the way we have. As we’ve decided to focus on empowering and promoting the next generation of creatives since they often are not supported and empowered to fulfil and focus on their creative qualities.
My issue’s topic “revolutionary minds” is focused on empowering young people to discover their qualities, perspectives, principles and finally develop a mindset that is theirs, we often are submissive to an intellectual tradition that can limit our views and push us to be close-minded, so throughout my issue I’ve been focusing on encouraging people to rethink what they are told, discover new meanings and perspectives in they own way and with an open mind.
I think one of the main reasons I’ve decided to shape my issue around this topic is because I’ve always been frustrated when seeing other young people full of potential being told that the path they want to follow is not the right one, that the way they see things is not right, that their opinions are not valid and correct. These statements shape young people and make them close-minded. The Revolutionary Minds Issue provides a fresh perspective towards the approach upon these aspects - as can be seen in the article on the last page of the second double spread - and encourages readers to explore new perspectives and discover who they truly are.
The way in which my issue creates representation is through what the content expresses. The images inside the magazine are unique, artistic and powerful, featuring young models, that look most out of the ordinary, again signifying that the issue is all about finding your style, path and perspective. All these aspects are relatable and inspiring to the target audience and the social groups represented.
In my opinion, having a magazine that expresses warmth, is something that people can relate to and find inspiring is most important. This being a great marketing strategy too, as it could help build a loyal base of readers who will look forward to each upcoming issue, to find a moment for inspiration and self-discovery. So besides it being a fashion magazine, Flair will always reflect and focus on social groups and issues as this is the best way to connect with our readers/customers and help them discover their creative side through fashion and culture.
Below you can see my answer to this question showcased through a creative outlet. I decided to create an interview article in which I would answer questions regarding conventions and representation of social groups or issues. I made it in such a style that it could be incorporated in my issue and it would blend in and be interesting.
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