The designer explains that to design effectively for a target audience, extensive research is needed to understand their world, interests, and what is new and interesting to them. Mood boards are created incorporating style elements to start the design process. Every aspect of the design must connect with the target consumer to establish a unique identity and viewpoint. Both text and imagery need to be carefully balanced throughout the publication to engage readers. Navigation and color choices are also important design elements to consider. The most important thing is to accurately project the tone and point of view to create a consistent and trustworthy personality that will develop loyalty among readers.

1. Industry
Professional
Feedback
I was interested to know how designers understand their target consumers, and how
this informs their design direction. I asked leading UK designer Jeff Kindleysides to
explain how his company Checkland Kindleysides approaches the design of literature
and publications aimed at specific audiences.

2. Where do you typically start the creative
process with this kind of project?
• It’s important to understand your target audience and their
world, the things that they relate to and importantly the new
and fresh things that they search for and they find interesting.
Researching these things and creating mood boards with
typography styles, photographic styles, colour, paper, a
collection of imagery starts the design process.
• My target audience is those between the income bracket of B-E.
This is why I would like the magazine to be a little more
sophisticated but to still however maintain the origins of its
genre to associate with those who are lower in the income
bracket.

3. Is it important that every aspect of the design
connects with the target consumer?
• Absolutely! You need to view the tone and attitude of the
publication as a whole, it needs to have it’s own character. The
design identity should carry the unique viewpoint of the
publication, it should inform it’s audience with authority. It’s
really important. Look at newspapers for example, the
Guardian will feel different to the independent and it’s done
through typography and the column widths, cropping of
photography and headlines etc. subtle differences make a
huge impact remember that.
• For me this is another reason why I have gone for the more
sophisticated look, as it makes my magazine unique and
breaks away from the usual music magazine that talk about
my magazine.

4. I’m interested to know if you consider a balance
between text and imagery? If so how do you arrive at
this?
• Yes this is critical to the style and delivery of stories and articles. Lead
stories will be positioned through the publication and these will have
large arresting imagery and text. This will be balanced off
throughout with articles where strategic or significant
• points are illustrated or bought to life through imagery, this can be a
powerful punctuation to arrest the reader and more importantly
preview the article content.
• This is something to keep in mind when producing my double page
spread. I want to keep the magazine looking more sophisticated
however I do not want too much text. This is why I have decided
upon having a large image of the two in the top right hand corner of
the page to take the viewers eye away from the text at first glance of
the page.

5. What consideration do you give to the
navigation throughout the magazine and how
does this work?
• Navigation is critical and starts with the front cover giving a
tempting view of the contents, this if you think about it is make
or break as to whether someone impulse buys or not. Those
contents need to be then easily located through a contents
page and as I’ve said imagery and headlines breaks
throughout where the key features sit within the magazine.
• For me with my simplistic front cover, making the contents of
the magazine tempt someone into buying the magazine would
be tricky this is why I have to make the image on the front
cover standout and it is why I have gone for the close up of
the artist. This image will then become an advertisement of
the magazines contents.

6. Tell me about the importance of colour
in text headings and imagery?
• This has two key important uses. Firstly the identity and style of the
publication comes through in these key ingredients and how they are
uniquely crafted, remember it’s all about the tone and visual cues
that set you apart. Think about say Vogue, Hello! Or Top Gear v
Autocar they are purposely designed and written in styles that are
very clear to their target audiences.
• For me colour is important as it will set me apart from other
competitors. I was thinking of a grey colour due to its connotations
of sophistication and smartness. However this is subject to change
as the grey colour may or may not standout as much as it should od
on a masthead.
• I have chosen dark colours to go in as backgrounds to text to fit in
with the darkness that is associated with the underground genre
and to appeal to the target audience.

7. What about illustration v
photography?
• It really comes down to what is right for the story or article.
Illustration sometimes gives the reader a different opportunity
to interpret their own view of a situation or a narrative, if you
like it leaves a bit for the imagination and can have huge
energy. Photography is equally as powerful and can by it’s
nature be explicit. It’s down to creative direction and relevance
in the end.
• I felt that photography was what was relevant to the genre. I
could do what I wanted with photogrpahy and could create
images that would connote the passion of the artists through
expression and different camera shot types. I feel that
illustration is rather childish and would not suit this sort of
genre.

8. So what are the most important design
elements to make a publication unique?
• It’s all about tone of voice really, get the design if typography
and graphics to accurately project your point of view. The way
in which the magazine is written and edited underpins the
personality. Critically the best magazines are consistent in
what they do and create loyalty through trust and an
expectation. This trust and expectation is in the depth of
journalistic credibility and the expectation of a unique point of
view. The job of the designer is to bring those things to life
through the personality of the unique identity.
• For a niche magazine a personality is something that should
be at the forefront of its production process. It is for this
reason that I have decided to go for a more relaxed style of
writing when producing the text for the double page spread.