Advice for the Young At Art: Magazine Design/Production

In response to a request from my professor at Broward College and for the benefit of students or those just starting out in graphic design I wanted to provide a snapshot of the process involved in putting together a magazine such as Summa Cum Laude. For brevity's sake, I'll break it down into three articles: The Brief, Design, and Production.

The Brief
In an in-house design department the process almost always begins with the production/traffic manager or coordinator, we'll call her Krystal. (If you're freelancing you will be wearing many hats, including Krystal's.) She comes to you and announces a new project, a 24 to 32 page brochure for - fill in the blank. The production/traffic person acts as a liaison between the designers and clients, and coordinates with external vendors such as printers. They delegate the jobs to available personnel, set a production schedule and generally ensure that targets are met. If something goes wrong during the process it is they who will be initially called upon to answer why. So, with an air of confidence you reassure her that it's "no problem" and request the details. The bulk of the assignment falls on your lap, from concept to printed piece, so an air of confidence is vital.

You go over the project with Krystal and establish that this is the second printing of what will turn into an ongoing publication (great, that makes things a little easier) and that you will meet with the clients shortly. Here's what you and Krystal have discussed: The scope of the project - how large a publication (number of pages, size, and other technical particulars), photographs and illustrations - will any photo shoots need to be scheduled or illustrators hired, printing details, and most importantly the deadline.

Thumbnails of page layout.

You next meet with the clients who are generally nice if not somewhat worried. The deadline is looming and they're concerned. This being the second printing they are better prepared than the last time and have showed up with Microsoft Word files for the text and a DVD or CD or Flash Drive loaded with images (you quietly wonder at what resolution the images are and if they're in a format you can use). They've even brought a thumbnail map of the pages indicating the flow of each article. Sweet! They really did learn from their first time around. As you discuss the project with the clients  you reiterate what you and Krystal went over and you will request more details such as target audience the tone they wish to convey, ideas for the cover, are the articles complete (most times no), are all images accounted for (again no), etc. The last thing everyone agrees on is a date for the next meeting to view the first comp.

Being a second issue proved advantageous in that the initial parameters associated with a new publication had been established saving valuable time. We'll discuss that in more detail in the following article: The Design.