Teenagers—the demographic marketers are trying to tag as Generation Y—are the last untapped consumers, and,
these days, plenty of industries are going after the money they earn scooping fries after school. Manufacturers ro-
manticize everything from cell phones and pagers to PCs and CDs to the under-20 population.
There’s always been a strong magazine market for the younger set—
Seventeen
-inspired fashion titles for girls, gui-
tar and skateboarding magazines for boys. But one category aimed at this age group takes itself much more seri-
ously. A hard-core subculture with its own international superstars, language, and gear, surfing feeds largely off
kids, mostly high school-age boys. Among the titles competing for these die-hards’ attention,
TransWorld Surf
stands out for its superior, edgy design.
WHY IT WORKS:
Spectacular, fast-action photography and loud backgrounds fuel the magazine’s throbbing pulse, while a calculated
use of color and type capture the attention of readers whose minds are always trying to tackle the next wave.
TransWorld Surf
High-Energy Sports and Culture
Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)
175# Dtp:120/163 Page:118
Text (DS)
left The October 2000
cover, as usual, featured
an action shot surrounded
by the vivid border for
which
TransWorld Surf
is
known. Every cover is a
gatefold; here, a surf
photographer gears up.
Graphic Design That Works
118
116-123 84823 10/12/05 2:45 PM Page 118
DW)
e:118
Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)
175# Dtp:120/163 Page:119
Text (DS)
TransWorld Media, the magazine’s publisher, has long
been known for its design excellence and experimen-
tation—experimental graphic designer David Carson
headed up the design for
TransWorld Skateboarding
in
the 1990s, for instance.
In the surf magazine’s case, the focus on good design
was largely competitive. “The design is key in the
sense that it’s one of the few vehicles we can utilize
to visibly differentiate from other magazines,” says
art director Marc Hostetter. “Like us, our competitors
have always and probably will always have great
photography. The key to success here is in innovative
delivery and design.”
Though
TransWorld Surf
attempts to be sensitive to a
broad audience, Hostetter says the magazine’s audience
is primarily young males, on average around fifteen
years old. Readers crave everything they can get about
surfing, but they’re also immersed in the offbeat culture
that goes along with the sport.
So profiles and interviews are heavy with slang, atti-
tude, and prankster features such as “Crank Call”—
transcripts of actual prank phone calls to surfers. “With-
out being too offensive, we try to break as many rules as
possible,” Hostetter says.
Articles include fashion features, travelogs, contest
coverage, and technique, but much of the magazine is
about surfing itself. Articles pay tribute to surf profes-
sionals known well in the community—high school
kids with nicknames like Ratboy—and moves that
make readers gasp with envy and respect.
right “Crank Call” is a
spoof that prints real
transcripts from prank
phone calls the editors
make to surfers. While
Hostetter uses two or
three typefaces consis-
tently, different colors
make the type visually
stimulating.
left Another gatefold
cover, with the splash of
surf showing through the
magazine’s logo, features
a shadowy black-and-
white image with a mys-
terious page number as
the inside cover line.
Hooking Young Readers with Attitude
above Repetitive
scenes, like in a conven-
ience store security cam-
era, show surfboards
being “grotesquely de-
capitated” for the hilari-
ous treatment of a
surfboard product re-
view.
119
116-123 84823 10/12/05 2:45 PM Page 119
Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)
175# Dtp:120/163 Page:120
Text (DS)
Capturing these moves with photography is the staple
of a surf magazine, Hostetter explains.
TransWorld
Surf
gives center stage to gorgeous freeze-frame shots
of surfers turning, sliding, and punting. High-speed
film drinks in every droplet of the spray, every muscle
and pose of the boy on the board. Images are exam-
ples of masterful, technically perfect photography and
surfing at the same time.
“It’s definitely meant to inspire, instruct, and, more im-
portantly, entertain,” Hostetter says. “
TransWorld Surf
is going to showcase the moves and surfers of the fu-
ture, not the beauty and purism of the sport. I like to
use the analogy that other surf magazines resemble
museums and ours is more like a video game.”
The magazine makes it a policy not to run a surf photo
smaller than one-sixth of a page. Often, main features
are made up of several spread photographs or facing
full-page photos with small blocks of text. Others in-
clude pages divided evenly into repetitive or progres-
sive photos for instruction or effect.
While not all photography is breaking the waves—
funny or soulful takes often find their way into fashion
spreads and feature profiles—there’s so much exotic
blue and perfect white foam between articles and ads
that, by the end of the book, readers feel exhilarated, if
not a little soggy.
left A silhouette of
comeback surfer Mark
Occhilupo opens another
photo-dominated spread.
In this layout, a pull
quote skids across the
foam in the photo.
below The table of con-
tents is literally a splash
page—an exhilarating
opening that foreshad-
ows the rest of the issue.
The Rich Blues of Surf Photography
above In addition to en-
tertaining, the magazine
aims to teach readers
who want to learn from
their heroes. The “Text-
book” section provides
play-by-play explanations
of a surfer’s technique,
with varied proportions
for visual effect.
116-123 84823 10/12/05 2:45 PM Page 120
Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)
175# Dtp:120/163 Page:121
Text (DS)
DW)
e:120
That’s why Hostetter spends so much effort on the de-
sign of the pages surrounding photos. “It’s hard to be
ultracreative and change on a monthly basis with
seemingly monochromatic images,” he says. “Every-
thing is blue or blue-green in surf photography. With-
out diluting the photo’s impact too much, I wanted to
be creative around and at the edges and borders.”
This is where color becomes part of the magazine’s
look and feel. Many of the pages surrounding or facing
photographs are filled with background color. Rather
than rely on a standard color palette, designers borrow
from trendy colors in clothing, sports, gear, and other
items popular among teens. The backdrop or rule
around a photograph may be the same shades of or-
ange, deep red, or wasabi green seen in swim trunks
or boards featured in ads and articles.
Color plays a large role in helping
TransWorld Surf
as-
sert its identity, says Hostetter. “Competing titles seem
so married to the white-page, black-text, minimalist
mentality,” mostly because they’re dedicated to the pu-
rity of surf photography and don’t want to distract from
the images, he says.
But Hostetter is careful to use color in such a way that
it enhances the photography rather than distracts from
it. One technique he applies is to limit contrast in back-
ground designs. He uses several shades of red or or-
ange as a pattern or borders within borders, yet is
careful not to create too much contrast behind the text
so that it remains easy to read.
The effect is one to which
TransWorld Surf’s
audience,
overstimulated by its visual world, responds well. “It
think it’s important to acknowledge that kids these
days pay more attention to detail and color combos,”
Hostetter says.
above Background de-
signs help generate the
constant buzz and activ-
ity that keep readers
hooked. To facilitate legi-
bility, Hostetter limits
these images to shades
only slightly different
from the rest of the back-
ground color.
left Hostetter finds
color and graphic inspi-
ration in gear and cloth-
ing. Here, green and
yellow merge and divide
across the page. A digital
dot motif and kanji-like
characters—both popu-
lar symbols in youth cul-
ture—decorate the head.
far left Art director Marc
Hostetter applies shades
of color to borders to em-
phasize photos and keep
younger readers stimu-
lated. Here, rounded bor-
ders mix with right angles
to bump and slide readers
through the layout.
Competitive Color
121
116-123 84823 10/12/05 2:45 PM Page 121
Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (LDW)
175# Dtp:120/163 Page:122
Text (DS)
Further charging the buzz created by the magazine’s
content is the edge-to-edge design. Pages are busy
from one end to another, without negative space or
spacious margins. Because the magazine runs surf
photos so large, designers often must crowd images
and blocks of text together into a single layout.
Kids have a short attention span, Hostetter says, so the
constant movement and energy in the pages keeps
them excited. The audience’s wandering minds can
also be a negative factor, though; if the pages are too
hard to read, the magazine will lose them.
The color combinations are Hostetter’s way to create
harmony within a layout, therefore making pages
more accessible. “I consider each element, including
text, an ingredient of a complete graphic,” he says.
“This method tends to look less intimidating.”
Designers also stick to a few consistent typefaces: the
serif Caecilia as a body font and sans serifs Optivenus
and Eurostile as headlines. “I feel like continuity and
simplicity with type styles maintain a critical element
of control,” Hostetter says. “They also strengthen the
magazine’s identity.”
Measured but energetic design not only sets
TransWorld Surf
apart on the newsstand, it creates
page-turners that glorify each incredible surf shot fea-
tured in the magazine. The high-impact but consistent
and thoughtful layouts go a long way toward hooking
young readers—even if they’re so lost in the moves
they don’t realize what’s going on around them.
right This profile is an-
other example of the use
of bold color with sensi-
ble combinations.
Pounding Energy and Movement
left Once again, cryptic
symbols—popular motifs
in clothing, accessories,
and gear for teenagers—
make their way into
a layout.
122
116-123 84823 10/12/05 2:45 PM Page 122
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.