Mess Magazine
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Intro
An editorial publication with personality.
Tasked with creating a miniature magazine, I approached the project in a rather unorthodox manner due to a stipulation put in place–the publication was meant to focus primarily on myself as the subject.
Personal
Matt Guay
Providence, RI
2018
Opportunity
Essence of Irony
Not quite sure about how I would approach a magazine revolving entirely around myself, I began my process by researching editorial design trends in order to gain a deeper understanding of what I was working towards. It was during this time that I realized I was drawn to a cleaner, more professional aesthetic. I took this insight and decided to put my own twist on it. I set out to create a satirical, almost parody-like publication that portrayed a self-deprecating nature through the juxtaposition of its style and content.
Leaning into the absurdity, I sketched the basic layouts for each page and solidified their foundations while formatting them digitally. I began with the cover and worked top-down through the magazine, establishing strong compositions and unique hierarchies in each design. I then defined the style of the spreads by utilizing a catalog of fonts, colors, and graphic elements that would lend to the publication’s distinct, business-like feel. I finalized the piece by incorporating the generated content, fine-tuning typographic details such as hyphenation, justification, paragraph spacing, and baseline alignment in order to achieve the desired editorial quality of the text.
Solution
An Organized Mess
Mess Magazine would live as a miniature publication that hides its humor under the guise of sophistication. Featuring a research article, a creative piece, an interview article, and targeted advertisements, this issue strikes a balance between its content and visuals in an expressive, thoughtful manner.
All assets and imagery designed exclusively for Sprout Studios and client.
