Scribble is an imagined short fiction magazine created to fulfill a printed publication project for an Introduction to Graphic Design course at Boston College. The short story used for the magazine's example spreads was written by me for a Creative Writing class, also at Boston College (and available for download here).
Creative Exploration
When I begun designing a cover for Scribble, I knew I wanted something unconventional, bright, and abstract. I conducted online research and created documents with looks I felt related in some way to the feel of the Scribble brand. A variety of layouts for spreads were also explored, including eye-catching, full-page illustrations and more simple designs that allowed space to breathe like the one below.
Design Solutions
Scribble aims to invite curious readers into a creative, surprising, and thought-provoking world of short fiction. To invoke this innovative mindset without cluttering the page and preventing moments of reflection, the bright colors, gradients, and geometric patterns from Scribble's inspiration and the simplicity of initial article spreads must be combined. Scribble's cover draws the eye in interesting directions with its full-bleed geometric form and whimsical use of text to alert readers to the wide variety of stories they may find within. However, it also spotlights a narrow color palette and relies on a single illustration with text instead of multiple cluttered elements to ensure high-quality and tastefulness is in some way preserved within a professional publication.
In addition to distinctive title font and the subtle use of teal and blue shades, Scribble's spreads relate to its core branding by way of creative illustration that also leaves room for the text to breathe. Original vector art with themes from the short story was created to continue the dynamic feeling into the article's first page, while a simple all-white spread was chosen over the initial design for the sake of readability. In combining illustration and text in this way, the quirkiness of Scribble's brand shines through without taking away from the true star of the show — the stories within.
