October 2009 Archives

Vocab Lesson 8: Circulation

Circulation is the average number of copies of each publication issue that are distributed, whether through subscription or newsstand purchases or through other no-cost methods. … MORE

Smart Quote #7: Inspiration

"You know, it sounds really corny to say it, but since most of my projects are book jackets, for the most part I'm inspired by whatever the book is, or by the manuscript itself. And while there aren't a lot of graphic design "rules" that I adhere to, certainly one of them is...somewhere within the problem lies the solution. I do truly believe that. I think the inspiration comes from the text, and then you sort of take it from there."
--Chip Kidd

Best known for his book cover designs, Chip Kidd is an American graphic designer and also an author. His novel The Cheese Monkeys is an extremely fun read for any art or graphic design student, as it's based on his own experiences in school at Penn State. And while his main area of focus is book covers, any designer -- but especially editorial designers -- can take his advice above to heart.

Check out some of his work here, here and here.

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The above quote comes from the book Inspirability: 40 Top Designers Speak Out About What Inspires by Pash. A great source of inspiration in itself!

"Smart Quote" is a recurring feature on the SPD Student Blog ... look for more wise words every Monday. Got an inspiring or motivating quote to share? Email us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com.
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Vocab Lesson 7: the Flatplan

When you work on a design project with more than a few pages, you quickly realize you need a plan to figure out what content should go on each page. If you've ever sketched out a few boxes to help you do that, then congratulations! You've created a flatplan!

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Smart Quote #6

Bueller? Bueller?

As we plan and create more and more content for our student blog here, we're starting to wonder: is anyone actually reading this stuff? And what DO you guys want, anyway? So instead of us guessing, how 'bout you tell us. 

Vocab Lesson 6: TK

When you start dealing with copy for a magazine or other publication, you'll quickly encounter the use of TK ...

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A Paid Internship! For Recent Grads Too!

Looking over all those unpaid for-credit-only internship listings can get depressing if you're a recent grad looking for work. Well, hopefully you frequently check our Job Board here, cause there's one today for a Condé Nast magazine that is full-time, paid AND doesn't require school credit!

Smart Quote #5

A good photo is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective. --Irving Penn, legendary photographer

As you've probably heard, American photographer Irving Penn died this past Wednesday. Known for his fashion and portraiture photography, he helped shape the path of fashion magazines and photography in general.



Images above from artnet.com See photo editor Greg Pond's reflection of Mr. Penn on our GRIDS blog, here.

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"Smart Quote" is a recurring feature on the SPD Student Blog ... look for more wise words every Monday. Got an inspiring or motivating quote to share? Email us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com.

Vocab Lesson 5: the Gutter

It has many meanings, but in publishing, the gutter refers to the space where 2 facing pages meet. Much like in bowling, you don't want things to fall into it...… MORE

Smart Quote #4: Engage

"Without an active engagement with the material, I'd think the job [of editorial designer] would be minimally rewarding. You need a willingness to read the material, to discuss it thoughtfully and passionately, and to develop visual components that expand the read while still working within the publication's architecture." --Martin Venezky, designer of Speak magazine

That quote comes from Yolanda Zappaterra's book Art Direction and Editorial Design (Abrams Studio) (a great resource, by the way). Wanna know more about this Martin guy and Speak magazine? Click here and here.… MORE

You Ask, We Answer

This is the first post in our new Q&A series. Whether it's about magazines, or the job hunt, or maybe just trying to figure out how to do something in InDesign, send us your question and we'll get our SPD "experts" to give you their answers. Email us at spdstudentoutreach@gmail.com.

The Fall Pub(lications) Crawl was a wonderful experience and I certainly feel like I learned a lot and gained valuable information. I would love to go on the Pub Crawl in the spring. When will the locations be decided, and can I be notified when the information is posted? Once again thank you; it was tons of fun.
Get the answer after the jump...
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