SPD
Society of Publication Designers is an industry website that’s also an excellent way to get familiar with what’s new in magazine design. Be sure to check out the awards pages to see the best of the best in editorial design.

magCulture
This is one of my personal favourite blogs and is dedicated solely to editorial design. The author, Jeremy Leslie, covers all aspects of magazine design, and in different formats too, from traditional print to digital tablet.

Cover Junkie Blog + Magazine
A blog that curates the best magazine covers. And just released earlier this year is Cover Junkie magazine. It features the best covers of the blog along with interviews with Design Directors, like Arem Duplessis (NY TImes Magazine), Francesco Franchi (IL), and Matt Willey (Port), talking about their own work and those of other designers. The bonus feature is an interview with George Lois giving a retrospective on his work. Pick it up while it’s still around!

The Layout Book by Gavin Ambrose + Paul Harris
This book came highly recommended by my editorial design instructors. It’s a very thorough introduction to layout for print design, including book, magazine, brochure, etc. What I found really insightful is its discussion on different design approaches, including  pacing/narrative, juxtaposition, and working with photography.

The Art Directors’ Handbook by Horst Moser
A comprehensive book on the design of magazines. Using examples of real world magazines, it goes through all the different elements of a magazine such as sidebars, masthead, table of contents, etc. What’s really nice is seeing the comparison of different approaches. Although the book’s magazine examples aren’t as current as what you’d see in blogs, it’s still a great resource.

The most challenging aspect of the project was coming up with a name for the product. Initially destined for a market outside of North America, the name (and it’s pronunciation) had to convey ideas of friendliness, security, and community, while not playing into any negative undertones related to the service (IE. fear).

For more information on the development of the logo, check out my process book.

Want to know what I was thinking when I designed this beer? Check out my process book.

You can find more info on the ACAD Portfolio website.

As a side note, this amazing poster is designed by my friend and classmate, Leo Perez.

Stefanie Villeneuve Photography identity design is by Mahmoud Bachir and Mariana Angeli.

Here are some excellent resources for the grid that I use regularly that I thought I’d share:

Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann.
One of the original books on the typographic grid and a book I think every designer should have.  Although the concepts and approaches were written for print design, they still transfer over to digital.

Basics Design 07: Grids.
A great introduction on the typographic grid by my favourite authors on graphic design. Although it’s an introduction, I review it from time-to-time when I’m on a project to freshen up on ideas liked juxtaposition. The print examples are great as well!

960 Grid.
Now a standard and excellent starting off point for any web design project. This grid for the web is based upon screen resolutions of 1024 pixel widths. Although desktop browser screen resolutions have gotten a lot larger than 1024 px widths, this still serves as a happy medium between A-Grade mobile browsers (Apple iOS, Opera Mobile, Android) and typical desktop browsers.

Ordering Disorder by Khoi Vinh.
This book talks about applying the principles of the typographic grid to the web. What’s really helpful is Chapter Four: Execution where Vinh goes through by example the application of the grid during the design process of a website. (Also, check out Vinh’s lastest project: Mixel).

Grid Based.
A survey of websites that make good use of the grid. A great way to see different approaches to layout. And as an added bonus, these are also really good examples of html5 websites.

Top pic is a detail of Karl Gerster’s ad for Schwitter, 1959.

I just caught an encore presentation of an interview with Jason Fried on CBC Radio. Jason is the founder of 37signals, a cloud-based software company – their flagship product is the popular Basecamp collaboration tool. He talks about his and 37signals’ approach to work and the work environment. He promotes the idea of less direct interruptions (less calls, meetings, IM) at work, and more passive communication where one takes conversations online through wiki’s and emails. This allows people to respond to messages according to their schedule.

Having worked in a few open-office environments, I think this makes sense. It’s so easy to have impromptu meetings and interruptions. For myself, it usually takes me awhile to really refocus and get back into my initial frame-of-mind after a call or meeting. But at the same time, chatting with someone in-person or on the phone does resolve problems quickly, and it’s nice interacting with someone tangibly rather than virtually through a computer.

Check out this  TED Talk with Jason Fried where he goes over these same issues.

Here’s a great book lent to me by my friend, Richard, called “Universal Principles of Design” by William Lidwell, Kritrina Holden + Jill Butler. The book covers ideas and concepts that apply to different fields of design, from graphic design, industrial design, interactive design, to architecture. It’s easy to read and digest because each principle is concisely explained within a two-page spread, with great descriptive illustrations and further-reading notes.

One memorable principle for me is the “80/20 Rule” that states 80 percent of the results or effects of a design originate from only 20 percent of the whole design. For example:

• 80 percent of a given product’s usage involves 20 percent of its features.
• 80 percent of innovation comes from 20 percent of the people.
• 80 percent of a compay’s revenue comes from 20 percent of its products.

This concept is great when applied to designing websites (or other interactive projects). Web designers and developers can really focus and concentrate their energy on specific aspects of a website, such as individual pages or components within, that can really benefit users.

Another insightful principle is the “Aesthetic-Usability Effect.”
 It says that when a design or experience is aesthetically pleasing, people will tend to overlook flaws in usability. Impressions based upon how nice a design looks builds upon our level of trust and belief in the quality of the product. In the long term, an aesthetically-pleasing design affects our use of a product in terms of affection, loyalty, and patience.

Although the book’s principles apply to specific fields of design and are not necessarily “universal”, it’s a still a great read (especially for graphic and interactive designers).