Article From: The Australian
Title: InStyle in makeover mode as mag redefines celebrity
Author: Sally Jackson
Date: October 20, 2008
Link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24519648-7582,00.html
Keeping on the topic of design changes to publications, this article discusses the changes to be made to InStyle magazine in a bid to lift sales and revamp its look. The article suggests that another reason for the changes is based on the idea of what a celebrity is. New editor of the magazine, Kerrie McCallum, suggests that celebrities are no longer just the A-listers of Hollywood but now also include others that excell in their craft, from chefs to jewellery makers.
This shift in thinking may have spawned the changes taking place at the magazine but it is the design issues I am most interested in. From time to time it is important to refresh a publication to appeal to a new audience to achieve a new purpose. It is clear from this article that the producers and editors of InStyle magazine clearly have this objective in mind; that is, appealing to a new audience. In order to achieve this the magazine needed to undergo some research into what the target audience of the magazine desired from the publication and then revamp it to suit their needs.
The magazine is now including different sections and more of what the readers want. The magazine is trying to put a face to it's people behind the scenes by including pictures of each section's editor, in an attempt to make the magazine more relatable. The readers have also been informed of these changes as the have been publicized in this article and possibly many more.
In this day and age it is important to stay new and fresh as the technology and possibilities are constantly changing. Staying ahead of the times becomes increasingly important and so does being in touch with your audience in order to deliver. Without doing so, we could be asking InStyle who?
Other links:
InStyle website: http://www.instyle.com/instyle/
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1 comment:
As i read this entry i immediately thought of the recent change to the Australian newspapers media section, both online and in the paper itself. Online used to have a link to the media section that incorporated all aspects of the media (film, literature, online etc). There was also a Media Liftout in the Australian itself that came out every thursday. This has since been changed to monday and, as far as i'm aware, there was no warning or indication that both were going to be modified. I think your article points out how important it is to not only create a publication that caters to the intended audience in terms of style and design, but also to warn and communicate with readers (as Instyle did) so as to avoid reader confusion and frustration. To me Instyle's notion of making sure their readers are well informed of changes is excellent use of graphic design, and while it is not particularly mentioned in the readings i think it could relate to consistency as discussed in readings 3 & 7.
I definitely think informing readers of updates should be a part of the process of successful graphic design. Perhaps i will create my own chapter for the readings book!
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