Thesis #2

For my other thesis idea I was wondering if I could work on the relationship between fashion and personality. There is always a story behind what people wear.personality, fashion and style go side by side. Clothes are the symbol of one's mood and insight thinking. This can be depicted by the fact that many times it happen we dress up according to our mood and state of mind.Colors of clothes and designs clearly depict the personality of a person. Fashion does not necessarily means that one has to wear what is common to all but it relates to an individual own thinking and perception.

Thesis

For one of my thesis proposal, I am planning to design a fashion magazine that defines beauty in a different way.In 2004, the manufacture of Dove products came up with a global campaign about beauty. They wanted to find out more about how women around the world feel about beauty. Women had been talking about the influence of media, advertising and fashion magazines on them. One of the results of the study done by Dove campaign was that only 2 percent of the thousands consider themselves beautiful. Women always want a broader definition of beauty. Dove’s goal was to make women feel more beautiful. Unfortunately most of the magazines publishing these years don’t do anything about real beauty and does not allow women to get a better understanding of themselves.Today fashion magazines keep telling us there is a perfect look we should try to achieve. These magazines are changing our assumption about what natural beauty is. Women seem to have trouble claiming beauty for themselves but they are comfortable comparing themselves with other women. Beauty is a complicated subject and magazines could play an important role to show different sides of it. Fashion magazines could change a direction of how women think about themselves. Everyone recognizes and admires beauty but magazines are promoting a certain ideal of beauty that could damage young girls. Our media and magazines are all about wrong statements of beauty and that could destroy a beauty myth.

New York Look

New York Look, Spring 2008

New York Look, the semi-annual fashion magazine from the editors of New York, announced itself with a bold, graphic, black-and-white cover for its inaugural issue. In an age of instantly available and ubiquitous runway photos, the cover presents a catwalk photo readers have never seen before, shot by Magnum photographer Paolo Pellegrin. Pellegrin captured the beauty, chaos, and drama of Fashion Week with the fresh eye of an outsider. Fashion covers are usually staged, highly produced affairs. This cover was unmistakably fashionable but used documentary photography to tell its story—and the stunning artistry of the picture perfectly captures what was special about New York Look’s singular approach, covering the collections rather than the clothes—looking at the fashion shows as a phenomenon, rather than a simple showcase for a product.

Citation: "American Society of Magazine Editors - Stories of the 2008 Best Fashion Magazine Cover Winner and Finalists." Magazine Publishers of America - The Definitive Resource for the Magazine Industry.Web. 10 Apr. 2010.

American Society Of Magazine Editors

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is a non profit professional organization for editors of print and online magazines which are edited, published and disturbed in U.S. The National Magazine Awards have been presented each year since 1966. For next year I'm planning to see if I could design and brand my own magazine cover and spreads. Cover design is another important element in a world of magazines. 80 percent of consumer magazines’ newsstand sales are determined by what is shown on the cover. The cover image and design reinforce the brand, an important identification factor because the average reader spends only three to five seconds scanning a magazine cover before deciding whether to buy that issue. The first Image is the winner of the 2008 best celebrity cover. The second one is the winner of the best concept cover and the third one is the best magazine cover of 2008. I really like the second image and the use of illustration. I'm taking narrative sequence this semester to improve my illustration skills. I really want to mix illustrations with images and I think this could be an interesting idea for my magazine cover.

Irving Penn

I was always inspired by vintage magazines. While I was looking at Vogue, I found pictures taken by Irving Pen, an amazing photographer who brought most beautiful and memorable photographs in the history of magazines. For the layout of my magazine I want to mix the modern magazine layout with the old ones. I'm starting to look through old editions of Vogue to start something unique and new. Images play an important role in magazine layout. I'm planning to take photography courses in order to take my own images for my thesis project next yer. Irving Penn is definitely one of my inspiration. here are some of his amazing fashion editorial assignments.His unique style of fashion photography used natural light rather than all the expensive studio lighting, favoring a simple black or white background to bring out specific features of his subjects.Irving Penn played a significant role in the evolution of fashion photography.Here are some of his amazing fashion editorial assignments.

fashion magazine

In the competition for domination in the fashion magazine world., one magazine stands out, Vogue owned by the Conde Nast Publication Family. Here's how the top fashion magazines fared in 1997 in terms of circulation and advertising dollars.

Vogue
Paid Circulation: 1,126,193
advertising in millions: 148,980
Elle
Paid Circulation: 984,014
advertising in millions:100,401
Harper's Bazaar
Paid Circulation: 732,303
advertising in millions: 73,531
Marie Claire
Paid Circulation: 702,063
advertising in millions: 42,617


Vogue total audience is about 9.5 million. This number includes subscribes, newsstand buyers and pass-along audience. Although only a tiny percentage of these readers can afford the fashion shown in the magazines, they still enjoy reading about them. It can be as much as wearing the clothes.

citation:
Mogel, Leonard. The Magazine: Everything You Need to Know to Make It in the Magazine Business. 3 Sub ed. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Pr, 1992.

If you had a fashion magazine of your own....

I'm always thinking about if I could start my own fashion magazine what would it be look like. while I was checking this website www.forums.thefashionspot.com, I found someone asked the same question from people. I started reading most of them because it's important for me to see what people at my age would like to read and see in fashion magazines. These are some of the answers:
1)i would have a thematic magazine that could come out every three months..
*would have articles on fashion, sociology, politics, music, art, decoration, architecture and of course at least 100 pages of editorial pages with the most fresh images/concepts on the planet.
*it would be a different magazine for people who like to read as well as enjoy visuals and it would be a fountain for new talents.
*layout and art direction would match something never seen before, embracing top technology, special papers and surprising effects.
2)a showcase and resource for 'undiscovered' or under-appreciated talent...
but at the highest level...with a real focus on 'craft'...might include some poetry and illustrations...no gimmicks or flashiness...very simple and straightforward graphics that only enhance the content and don't 'compete' with it...maybe some sort of 'collage' format...something that looks old and new at the same time...and lots of big beautiful pictures of beautiful clothes
3)I'd call it "Sepia" and it would be a fashion magazine for women of color. I'd feature ads and editorials with the world's leading Black models and beautiful celebrities from around the world, and we'd print articles on everything fashion related in movies, music videos, regions around the country and globe, and even fashion of days past. Famous photographers shooting the kind of dramatic, elaborate photographs I love to see. I'd also have things related to skin and hair care, general health and well-being.
4)My magazine would not include any photographs, everything would be illustrated. It would concentrate more on smaller and independent designers, and take a look at fashion outside Paris/Milan/London/NYC fashion weeks, although there would be material about those too if something good appears. It would be directed for women, not teens or men. It would have a slightly feminist motto, and it would not be "a style bible", something that dictates what you should wear. It would rather be a magazine that shows different collections, and different people's dreams about fashion. There would be different themes in every magazine - a little bit like i-D sometimes has.

As for articles, there would not be any articles. It would all just be illustrated. A very visual magazine.

Thesis

I really want to work in fashion magazines in future so I decided to choose something about fashion for my thesis next year. When I was looking through different fashion magazines at Chapters,they looked the same to me. They all are using similar text and image to influence the culture's standard of beauty. If we look at British Vogue with American Vogue we can totally see the difference. Each country has their own perception of beauty but they all are aiming to convey the same message: Women's beauty.The use of particular text and images encourage young women to buy fashion, hairstyles and makeup that will make them look fashionable and trendy. I was aiming to come up with a new design and typography through printing articles and ads in order to promote a certain kind of fashion and beauty. Each category of my magazine will be analyzed and discussed in terms of its affection on my audience, their self-steem and life goals. There are so many fashion magazines out there with a same concept so I need to work harder to compete with them.

Harper's Bazaar- Greek Edition

An Interview with Kostas Aggeletakis
(Creative Director of HARPER’S BAZAAR-Greek edition)

1. Which are your criteria for choosing a typeface for a publication?
Typography is an artistic expression and as such is very difficult to define these criteria. Choosing a typeface for a publication is a total different procedure from opening a recipe book which can advice you on what you can or cannot do with letters. I never follow certain rules but I always have in mind the following:
a. The content of the publication. Every typeface has a personality, so I want its personality to respect and communicate the content of the publication.
b. Legibility
c. The medium (screen or paper).
d. The audience. I’ll use a total different set of typefaces for a children’s book and a different one for the annual report of a big company.
e. The overall quality of the typeface. A high quality font with all the letters, ligatures, numbers, punctuation marks, currency and mathematical symbols available is the one that I’ll trust to do my work.

2. Do you prefer serif or sans-serif and why?
It’s difficult to answer this question. I can’t choose between two typefaces knowing only that the one is serif and the other one is san serif. There are many other factors for my choice beside this.

3. Which typeface you would never use for Harper’s Bazaar?
Harper’s Bazaar is a historic American fashion magazine with a very sophisticated perspective about fashion and beauty and with audience in the middle-upper and upper class. Harper’s Bazaar had been the home of many talents such as Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland , Richard Avedon, Man Ray, Andy Warhol and others. The visual identity of Harper’s Bazaar has the signature of his legendary art director, Alexey Brodovitch and his Bazaar’s iconic Didot logo carries a big part of the magazine’s history. Having all these in mind and since typefaces convey the social position of a magazine, determined by the reader’s upbringing and earlier influences, it’s hard to use any typeface which does not convey all the above. In recent past Harper’s Bazaar used DIN, but this is one font that I would never use in this magazine. DIN is not the only font that I would not use for Harper’s Bazaar (of course script and blackletter typefaces are out of the question) but I think this is a very good example for someone to understand which typefaces do not match with this publication.

4. Would you ever compromise legibility for aesthetics and when?
Legibility or readability isn’t the only task of a font. A typeface is not only the medium by which we convey to the reader the meaning of text, it is also shapes and forms. Graphic design is also shapes and forms. Therefore, letters may sometimes loose their legibility for the sake of aesthetics, but this does not necessarily mean that they loose their power.

5. Is economy of text a major concern when it comes to choosing a typeface for your magazine?
Not really. In a fashion magazine like Harper’s Bazaar long articles are not usual, so there is no need for a narrow typeface.

6. What do you see to be the next trend for magazine design?
Magazines and newspapers are no longer the only media we use for news, fashion, entertainment, etc. Needs have changed, therefore the medium has to change as well. In this context, the new magazines must portray their character. The “new” magazines will be like coffee table books. Magazines with a strong concept, sophisticated images and illustrations, eye catching typography, high quality papers, in new formats and all sorts of different sizes. These are the magazines of the future.

7. Which motto describes best yourself and your work?
“Art is not a reflection of reality, it’s the reality of that reflection”
- Jean-Luc Godard

Harper's Bazaar

Harper's Bazzar is one of my favorite magazines. I was always inspired by their logo. Modern typefaces, characterized by horizontal stress, flat and unbracketed serifs and a high contrast between thin and thick were the final step in designing the most fashionable brands such as Harper's Bazaar. They used Didot typefaces for the cover. Harper's Bazaar typeface singled out by the American Society of Magazine Editors as part of "one of the most dramatic magazine reinventions in history."

The Year's Best Magazine Design

The Society of publication Designers announced the finalists for its yearly magazine awards. Check this website: www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang
I was really impressed by some of the works.

1)This is by Christopher Nieman for money


2)A stunning work for W magazine by Edward Leida


3)This is by Scott Stowell, creative director for Good.

4) Bon Appetite by Mattew Lenning. This is a single page photography section. I really want to create similar design for my magazine next year. Using amazing images can really work in designing single page section.

5) By Rober Perino


6) This is a brilliant photo illustration by Andrew Nimmo and Beth Bartholomew for Vanity Fair. In this work you can see how typography is important and can create amazing piece of art.


7) This is an amazing work done by Edward Burtynsky!

8) This work is by David Curcurito for Esquire magazine. I really like the use of image and placement of type.

Magazine typography

I read an article by John D. Berry who is an editor and typographer about the magazine typography. In his article he tells us about how magazines communicate through different ways. One of those ways is through the text. Other ways include photography, artwork, cartoons, headlines and even advertising. For my thesis I really want to come up with a unique typography. I wasn't sure if I want to go with something plain, straightforward and readable or something filled with colorful shots, industrial looking sans serif type with a mixture of graphic elements. Berry explains that the dramatic use of a typeface that has a distinctive character can pull a reader into a story. String contrast, sweeping curves and lively details in the type can really work in fashion magazines. Using type in magazines is one of the most challenging forms of typography. I am planning to go to chapters tomorrow and start looking at different layouts of magazines. I think that's a good start.
D.Berry, John. "Magazine Typography". ITC fonts. 26 March,2010

Logo

I started to look through different fashion magazines across the world. They all have logos which describe their magazine. I could even include this in my research next year. Looking at different logos will help me observe information and design a better one for my magazine.

ADVERTISING DESIGN AND TYPOGRAPHY

I was looking through a book by Alex White. The name of the book is Advertising and Typography. I think is really important for me to start reading books and get some information about designing my magazine for my thesis. The book has great information about advertising strategies. Fashion magazines are full of ads and is important for me to get familiar with the relationship between images and type. In his book, he mentioned different categories of Graphic design, Advertising design and client's marketing needs.
Graphic Design: Advertising and marketing, Digital and interactive and web, Architectural, product, Editorial and publishing.
Advertising Design: Product Design, Marketing, Illustration, Writing, Typography, Photography.
Client's Needs: Promotion, Public Relations, Product Design, Advertising, Corporate identity.
White also points at where you can find advertising : 1) at home 2) In public spaces 3) At the store/restaurant
The Seven levels of communication by Marty Neumeier
Perception: Contrast, Dimensionality, Color
Sensation: Sensuality, Sexuality
Emotion: Feelings, Desires, Needs
Intellect: Knowledge, Language, Humor, Ego
Identification: Familiarity, Need to belong
Reverberation: History, Tradition, Nature, Truth
Spirituality: Morality, Integrity, Intuition, Beauty
Write also talks about the differences between designers and art directors. Designers are skilled at an art and a craft that includes, typography, working with images and organization but art directors are skilled at conceptualizing, visual organization and managing a team of artists. A survey of advertising creative directors pointed several weaknesses when hiring art directors: 1) Things are not though out 2) The designs are tricky, not simple 3) Concepts are weak 4) Art directors who can't design are comparable to writers who can't write 5) Many young AD are heavy on technical skills but light on thinking. An excellent presentation can't make a bad idea good.

White, Alex. Advertising Design and Typography. New York: Allworth Press, 2006.

Magazine readership Sales in Canada

Today, I read an article by Grant Surridge about magazine sales. He mentioned that Hello! magazine is selling 50% more single copies than the same period a year earlier. Hello! magazine is more focusing on British and European celebrity news. Data from the Leading National Advertisers Canada showed that the number of advertising pages in Canadian magazine fell 16% in the fourth quarter copared to 2007. Surridge believed that Hello!'s success is because many Canadians are willing to read about celebrities in order to forget about their economic troubles.

Newsstand sales of magazines in for second half of 2008

In Canada: down 23%

In United States: down 11%

Newsstand sales of Hello! Canada over same period: Up 51%

Newsstand sales of comparable U.S. Publications:

US Weekly: down 21%

OK! Weekly: down 11%

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations

Surridge, Grant."Say Hello!to Canada's magazine sales hit". Financial Post.Feb10,2009.Financial Post newspaper.March17,2010

Reading 5

Why designers can't think ( Michael Beirut )

• Graphic designers are lucky because they can experience many fields for example: they can talk about real state with one client or cancer cures with another.
• American programs seem to fall into two broad categories: 1) process school and other one is portfolio schools or " Swiss school " , "Slick school"
• Process schools favor a form- driven problem solving approach. First assignments are simple exercises such as drawing letter forms, Translating three dimensional objects into idealized high contrast images and basic still life photography.
• In intermediate stages the formal exercises are combined in different ways : combine a letter N with a photograph of a ballet slipper , relate the drawing of a flute to the hand drawn letter N.
• In final stage, these combination are turned into real graphic design
• Advanced student gets an assignment to the design a poster for say, an exhibition of Thomas Edison, he or she is temped to revert to form: combine the letter E, drawing of a movie camera, etc.
• While the unspoken goal of the process school is to duplicate the idealized black and white boot camp regimen of far-off Switzerland, the portfolio school has a completely different, they want to provide student with polished books that will get them jobs after graduation.
• In portfolio school: problem solving is more conceptual with a bias for appealing, memorable, populist imagery.
• the portfolio schools are staffed largely by working professionals who teach part time, who are impatient with idle exercises that don't relate to the "Real World"
• to Portfolio schools, the Swiss method is hermetic and meaningless
• to the process schools, the Slick method is commercial, shallow and derivative.
• East Coast corporate identity firms love the process school
• Package design firms are happy to get portfolio school graduates
• Both process school and portfolio schools have something in common: what is valued is the way graphic design looks, not what it means
• semiotics ( Swiss)
  
• Conceptual problem solving ( Slick )
  

I come to bury graphic design ( Kenneth Fitzgerald)

• Improving life is one of design's ambitions
• Increasing access to the means of production+desire=an explosive mix
• Rem Koolhass is a controversial architect who formed his own design studio. he came up with cool architectural theory like the Harvard guide to shopping
• His engagement to work could be another triumph for the field
• Mac temp Dave Eggars is another designer who's approach is an anti design style
• he uses classically readable text, set Garamond
• Edward Tufte believed that design training isn't necessary for someone to be considered a genius of information design.
• A successful design program is defined as one that (re)produces more professional design and designers
• Design has a death wish. It constantly seeks to eradicate itself.
• Designers are widely seen as possessing an elitist aesthetic agenda insensitive to people's needs.
• Design education is where little designers come from. reviled progressive and experimental programs
• Blauvelt believed that design study without application is unlikely. Academia promotes design education the way the field likes it as practical.
• An education through design rather than in design should be our goal
• A shift in education away from a professional emphasis may also benefit students
• Design constructed itself as professional service—formal speech to commune with industry. Business styles itself as rational, tangible, and methodical. But a glance at any day’s business news shows that those are affectations
• It’s no mystery that the most celebrated, expressive, and inspiring design is either self-motivated or when the designer is truly empowered and entrusted. You must have a personal stake. This is the norm. Its the itinerant artist model that’s an aberration.

The story of Vogue Magazine

A brief history of the monthly fashion magazine, Vogue by Rebecca Wrenn!

In 1892, Vogue made its debut as a weekly publication. Arthur Baldwin Turnure founded the magazine and ran it until his death in 1909, when Conde Nast took over. Nast changed the magazine to a biweekly publication and also took Vogue globally, first in Britain and than making its way to the always fashionable France. Under Nast, the magazine flourished even during the difficult Great Depression.

In the 1960s, with the help of editor in chief Diana Vreeland, the magazine conformed to the times, promoting contemporary fashion and discussing openly the issues of the era. Vogue launched careers of top models like Twiggy and Penelope Tree and featured trends of the time, such as the mini dress. In 1973, decades after the magazine began, the publication went monthly.

Anna Wintour took over as editor-in-chief in 1988, and is also the current editor-in-chief at Vogue. She is considered responsible for having created an appeal for a wider audience for Vogue. She was the first to put a model wearing jeans on the cover, making denim a chic piece of clothing for women everywhere. Wintour is rumored to be extravagant and harsh, nevertheless she is a powerful force in the fashion world.

Vogue in the 2000s: Controversy and Conquest

Vogue has recently been at the center of controversy. In 2007, the anti-smoking group “Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids” criticized the magazine for placing an advertisement for tobacco in the magazine. The group had protested the magazine by sending more than 8,000 responses to the advertisement. Conde Nast responded to that by releasing a statement assuring that Vogue does not promote or advertise tobacco.

About a year later, Vogue drew more criticism with their annual shape issue which featured basketball celebrity Lebron James and supermodel Gisele Bundchen on the cover. Shot by Annie Leibovitz, critics say that the photo showed the athlete stereotypically posed, a few even citing a resemblance to King Kong with Bundchen as a damsel in distress.

Even with the controversies, the magazine today continues to govern the fashion industry all over the world. Today’s top designers such as Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs are complemented with remarkable and genuine stories which reflect today’s world. Recently in March of 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on the cover of the magazine, which shows that the magazine is a celebration of women, culture and style of the ever-changing world.

Careers by Design by Roz Goldfarb

In careers by Design, Roz Goldfrab talks about editorial design and working in that field.
summary:

• Editorial design refers to the design of magazines. magazines could appear in print as well as in online media.
• Publishing is the core for editorial design and it is a field in which the publishers and editors make the primary decisions relating to the focus, concept and marketing of the product.
• A creative director is usually necessary when a publication is very large or there are several publications within a group.
• A weekly publication requires more effort than a monthly.
• The creative director or art director will be responsible for hiring the staff which can also include photo stylists or photo editors.
• The art director directs the creative team.
• The designer is involved with working with layouts and perhaps make some of the type and visual decisions.
• Designers are hired because of their ability to understand the subject matter and visually realize the magazine editor's focus.
• Different categories of magazines: Lifestyle, Fashion, Business, Trade, High tech, Consumer and spacial interest ( computers, children, education, fitness and .....)

Goldfarb, Roz. Careers by Design: A Business Guide for Graphic Designers. 3rd ed. New York: Allworth Press, 2002.

Editorial Design

I'm really interested in doing editorial design in future. Editorial design is a branch of graphic design which is specialized in the lay out and composition of the different applications such as books, magazines and newspaper. I was looking through different websites to learn more about editorial design. Book design online is a good website explaining brief information about editorial design
http://www.bookdesignonline.com

The most important part of a publication is the outer part and a designer should pay attention to the cover and all small details such as spine, flaps and etc. Many people choose a magazine base on what they see and read on the cover. For my thesis I want to design a magazine and I think I should start gather suitable typefaces that can attract my target audience. I should consider their cultural characteristics, their age and gender.
I should also pay attention to legibility of my typeface and images I intend to use. Image is another key element in editorial design and I have to consider it's function and locations i want to place them. choosing a right paper could also be important in publication design. I will definitely look through different papers with different weights, textures and colors.

THESIS ( Fashion magazines and body image)

Yesterday, I read an article by Sherry Turner about the influence of fashion magazines on the body image satisfaction. she did her research on if the depictions of women in magazines would affect women's perceptions of their own bodies. Eight magazines were used as stimulus materials. Each magazine was selected on the basis of its popularity and availability. Four magazines that had reputations for exhibiting the thin fashion ideal among women were chosen: Vogue (November, 1991), Bazaar (October, 1991), Elle (November, 1991), and Allure (November, 1991). The four news magazines used in the control condition included Time (November 4, 1991), Newsweek (October 28, 1991), U.S. News & World Report (October 28, 1991), and Business Week (November 4, 1991).

Thirty-minute appointments were scheduled for those women who expressed an interest in this study. Upon arrival, each participant was greeted by a member of the research team and given a consent form explaining that the study was designed to examine body image satisfaction among college women. After giving consent, each participant was informed that there would be a short delay, asked to leave her books and other items in the lobby, and escorted to a small room where she waited alone.

The waiting room contained three chairs and a coffee table on which four magazines were placed. For half of the participants, the waiting room contained only news magazines; for the remaining half, there were only fashion magazines. No other posters or pictures of people or reading materials were available in the waiting room. After 13 minutes, participants were escorted to a large classroom and given the questionnaire to complete. Unlimited time was given for completion.

Ten participants indicated on their questionnaire that they did not read a magazine while waiting. These students were eliminated from the data analyses. The resulting sample consisted of 18 (37%) participants in the fashion magazine condition and 21 (43%) in the news magazine condition. Their major hypothesis was that when compared to their peers who viewed news magazines, women who viewed fashion magazines prior to completing a body image satisfaction questionnaire would: (1) be less satisfied with their bodies; (2) prefer an ideal body type that is smaller, and (3) express greater preoccupation with thinness and dieting. T-tests were used to examine differences between participants in the fashion magazine and news magazine conditions. The results of this investigation demonstrate the role of the media in shaping, rather than merely reflecting, societal perceptions of the female body. Consistent with our hypothesis, it was found that women's body image satisfaction is, indeed, influenced by their exposure to the thin ideal presented in fashion magazines. Although the two groups of women in this study did not differ significantly in height or weight, those who read fashion magazines prior to completing a body image satisfaction survey desired to weigh less and perceived themselves more negatively than did those who read news magazines. Exposure to fashion magazines was related to women's greater preoccupation with being thin, dissatisfaction with their bodies, frustration about weight, and fear about deviating from the thin standard. The influence of the media on the body image satisfaction and self-perception of non-white women also deserves attention. African American, Asian American, Native American, and Latina women are often overlooked in research on this subject. Further, women of color are grossly underrepresented in fashion magazines and other types of media. Thus, the impact of the media's reinforcement of the thin and white ideal on the physical and emotional well-being of women of color should be understood.

Sherry L. Turner "The influence of fashion magazines on the body image satisfaction of college women: an exploratory analysis". Adolescence. FindArticles.com. 07 March, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles

VOGUE Fashion History

Interview with an expert

Lat week I called Garry Short, a manager of planning, design and development section of Parks. I wanted to ask him few questions regarding our group project. This is my interview:

1) Are all parks accessible for everyone even those with physical disabilities?

At this time not all parks are accessible, however, new facilities and amenities are to be designed and constructed to incorporate the council approved City of Toronto Accessibility Design Guidelines

2) What kinds of methods are people using to navigate through parks? (signs, maps, etc..)

In new facilities, there are ranges of methods to navigate through parks. For many people in Toronto, the City provides an abundance of opportunities and experiences free of limitations imposed upon them by the built environment. For Torontonians with disabilities, however, the built environment imposes numerous obstacles that limit their ability to moving about freely and safely without concern. In June 2000, Toronto City Council adopted a motion to make the City fully accessible by the year 2008. They also came with policies such as:
Public Pedestrian routes should be designed to ensure the comfort and safety of all persons regardless of age or ability.

• All active routes required to accommodate persons using mobility aids, walkers, or persons accompanied by guide dogs, should be a minimum of 1500 mm wide; 1675 mm is preferred.

• All routes should be free of protruding obstacles, overhanging signs, branches
etc., in the walking area, to aid persons with visual limitations.

• The maximum allowable protrusion of objects into any pedestrian route from grade to a recommended height of 2030 mm is 100 mm.

• All accessible parking spaces should be marked with the "International Symbol of Accessibility", (e.g., with a paving sign and a post mounted sign).

• A comprehensive exterior signage and way-finding system is required at every major site or facility, to assist visitors with varying disabilities to locate appropriate parking accessible entrances.

• the street address and/or building/facility name should be clearly visible from the street or public laneway.

• Lettering size should be legible at typical viewing distances (e.g., from the road, approach route, parking area, etc.).

• Signage generally should be in bold ‘sans-serif’ lettering (e.g., Helvetica) on a highly contrasting background.

• Building addresses or identifying signage at street level, whether it is mounted in landscaped areas or on posts, should be high enough to be clearly visible even with snow piled nearby.

• Pedestrian, vehicular, and emergency routes should all be clearly identified.

• One-way routes should be clearly marked – both with paving markings and by post-mounted signs.

• The "International Symbol of Accessibility" should be used to identify special amenities, such as accessible parking, accessible entrances, or accessible washrooms.

Garry short also send us The Accessibility Design Guidelines that can be used by all sectors to conduct accessibility audits and to plan developments as we work towards making Toronto a "barrier free" community.

• All directional signage and locational signage should be mounted at eye-level, between 1370 mm and 1525 mm high, for quick and easy identification by persons who have visual limitations.

• Essential print information should generally be printed in large text on a highly contrasting background color.

3) Do all parks follow the same way finding design?

Not yet, however a Parks Standards initiative is in its early stages and is to standardize service amenities.

THESIS

Last week I was thinking about my thesis subject. I really want to do something related to fashion magazines. I decided to choose fashion and style as subject matters of my magazine. The purpose of my publication is to bring real beauty back. Fashion magazines have established themselves as one of the most powerful influences in the process of self-formation for young people. The purpose of my magazine is to go through ordinary people and show how each one of them is beautiful and unique in their own way. Our fashion magazines are so into models and celebrities that have made teenagers and women more into beauty rather than other important things. They get fashion magazines to see what celebrities did in order to look good. They all are dominated by images of young, slim and attractive females. Hopefully I can come up with more ideas so I can build a stronger concept.

High Park

I visited HighPark last tuesday to get some ideas about the way finding system at the park. I drove there but it was really hard to find a parking spot. You could only see signs for faculty parking. I was really confused and I could not find anyone there. After finding a parking spot, i took my camera and started walking around. there were no signs so i got lost and i started interviewing people. they all had the same problem. One guy told me that he has never seen other parts of the parks because of the poor wayfinding system. you have to know direcions otherwise you'll get lost.

Wayfinding design

Ron Apelt, John Crawford and Dennis Hogan published a guideline about wayfinding design. they believe that, a successful wayfinding system should provide information for users to:

• confirm they are at the correct start or finish point of an individual journey
• identify their location within a building or an external space
• reinforce they are travelling in the right direction
• orient themselves within a building or an external space
• understand the location and any potential hazards
• identify their destination on arrival
• escape safely in an emergency.

The four main categories of graphic wayfinding elements are:

• identification
• reinforcement
• orientation
• destination.

The four main criteria in wayfinding design are:

• architectural clues
• graphic communication
• audible communication
• tactile communication

“The Way finding design guidelines” by Ron Apelt, John Crawford, and Denis Hogan, is an important resource that provides practical and effective solutions to help designers do their roles in improving access to public spaces such as parks, buildings and etc for all people.

Golden Gate park

Bridge at Golden Gate park

Japanese Tea House

Our group has decided to look into parks and green space in the urban environment. we will look at High Park and way finding system. I started looking at other big parks around the world in order to compare high park with them. Golden Gate located in San Fransisco , California is a large urban park and is 20% larger than Central Park in New York. it has over one million trees, nine lakes, several pools and a lily pond within its borders. Young Museum Of Art and conservatory of flowers are also located at Golden Gate. there is also a Japanese tea house in this park. This is the oldest public Japanese garden in United States and a tea house features Japanese and Chinese plants.

proposal for Case Study

For our final proposal we decided to focus more on High Park. our main question is : How effective is high park's way finding system? to help us answer this broad question we came up with smaller questions such as: what kinds of methods are people using to navigate through the park? Is the park accessible for those with mobile disabilities? we will also look at how the park makes aware certain safely concerns such as poison ivy or dangerous conditions to the park's visitors without prior knowledge to these possible conditions.
For better understanding this case i will personally visit High Park and will come up with the questionnaire for this case study.

CASE STUDY

GROUP DISCUSSION

We decided to focus more into parks and green space. we gonna point at what goes into claiming such places and why we have them and if we will continue to have more.

Main Questions:
What roles do parks and green spaces have in the urban environment.
Should companies be required to include a certain amount of green space on their properties?
Should residents be required to include/retain a certain amount of green space on their properties?
who decides what park is or isn't?
what is the purpose of parks and green spaces