BICYCLE MAGAZINE

Approach and Contribution
  • Audience research, benchmarking
  • Concept development - sketches
  • Digital prototypes
  • Resolved e-publication design

Timeframe
4 weeks

Tools
Adobe Indesign

The Brief

Bicycle is a new publication in a crowded marketplace that caters for Australian cycling enthusiasts. The publishers need to carve out their own unique slice of the readership with a crisp, clean, well tailored contemporary design solution that entices readers. The publishers are aiming for the Path-Using and Dedicated Cyclists segments. This market segment represents over 50% of the cycling crowd, the challenge is to consider how to develop the visual style to reflect the target market.

I had to develop the visual and typographic style for the launch issue considering organisation, composition, navigation, page flow. I was provided with all the contents - copy, image and multimedia, and supplemented this content with additional assets as required.

Audience Research

Values and behaviours of the two target segments of cyclists:
PATH USING CYCLISTS
  • Fun
  • Convenience
  • Identity
  • Continuous routes
  • Fitness
DEDICATED CYCLISTS
  • Speed
  • Predictability
  • Flexibility
  • Strong identity
  • Like riding in traffic
  • Least deterred by weather
Initial thoughts:
  • Both targeted types have cycling as a major part of their identity. Hence, I want to focus on the cyclist rather than the path when I pick a cover image.
  • Both types may have different motivations to cycle, but they are both driven by the journey they undertake. They are agile and want to keep moving forward.

Inspiration - Cover Page

The images above are covers for some of the most popular bicycle magazines. These have bright colours, a focused picture of a cyclist, varying font sizes, a large title and lots of text. These design decisions are made to grab a viewers attention, but in a highly competitive market, they blend into one by using the same strategies.

Following this, I wanted to look into some magazine designs that stood out and looked contemporary.
CYCLIST
CASQUETTE
Cyclist has a more minimalist style with less text on their covers compared to the ones on the previous page. They also use a more contemporary font. As a result, it has a clean look with focus drawn to the image rather than text.
Casquette is similar in terms of font and minimalism, but shows that even an illustrative style can make a good cover, and stand out. I like Casquette's focus on women cyclists - it is a reminder to be inclusive while picking images
BIKE
Bike is my favourite among the magazine covers I have explored, as they find unique ways to stand out. Rather than using a single masthead, they adapt it to the image chosen. I like the choice of written content on the first - it describes what a cyclist is, tying to their identity. The second shows that cycling can be conveyed in more ways than just the cycle  itself - in this case, a cycle track. In the third one, contrast and spacing are used to create a dynamic page that reflects the mood of isolation.

Font and Colour Choices

Colours - I chose a naturalistic colour palette that matched with the image I chose for my cover. These colours complement the images well, while also perfectly setting the mood for the outdoors.
Masthead - Good Times, Good Times/ Bad Times
While the design on the right had a rough edge that suited bicycling, I went with the solid design on the left as it was cleaner and hence looked more contemporary as required in the brief.

Sketches - All pages

Digital Resolution

COVER PAGE

I chose a front view cyclist image as this relates to the concept of identity, which both audience groups share. Using this view makes the journey "theirs", rather than a particular known cyclist. This is also supported by the tagline. This also makes the magazine inclusive, as this neutral image is relatable to any cyclist, regardless of gender, race, etc.

I chose the project’s colour palette based on colours from this image. I used all 3 colours layered one behind the other for the masthead, which helps it stand out and conveys forward movement.
In the digital iteration, I adjusted the positioning of title and contents to fit the image. 
EDITORIAL PAGE
I picked the image below as it showcases both the journey and the progress towards a destination (the elevation). I kept this page simple as it had a lot of text. To showcase the image as much as possible, I made the background of the text container transparent. I changed the location of the title to bring it into the box, so that the eye is drawn there.
In the digital interation, I included the title in the same box as the text instead - utilising the principle of proximity.
CONTENTS

​The chosen idea has images in parallelogram frames, aligned to form a tire track pattern. I adjusted the shapes to make the composition directional.
In the digital version, I modified the shapes to resemble an arrow while retaining the resemblance to tire tracks.
MULTIMEDIA PAGE

I used a cycle track with some of the text written on a path to add variety. I also used different text colours. The name is emphasised the most by using a large, bold type.
Created a symmetric composition while making some minor adjustments in the digital version.
5 PAGE ARTICLE

I continued using the cycle track graphics for every page. I used diagonals where possible as well as circular shapes, as I felt a traditional layout would not fit for a bicycle magazine. My design decisions needed to be dynamic.
Left the foreground with white space to create a cleaner look.
Changed the layout from initial sketch, as I wanted to make this page more image heavy.
Straightened the line between text and image for simplicity.
Made room to add two map images, keeping the rest of the page simple.
I used buttons to showcase the 3 parts of the trail below. When one of the circular images are clicked on, the text underneath describes the selected trail.
Used a diagonal axis to visually represent cycling uphill.

Final Design

Bicycle_Magazine_Final.epub
File Size: 29544 kb
File Type: epub
Download File