Illustrations
Illustrations can brighten up your magazine considerably. Illustrations come in many forms; for example, diagrams, line drawings, photographs, and so forth. There is also a wide range of graphic devices which can be used to add colour and form to your pages.
If you are producing your magazine personally, there are many instantly available graphics you can find in computer packages; however, many of these have been overused, many will not be entirely appropriate for your purposes and, unless you have considerable design talent yourself, it will be hard for you to produce something that is as good as a publication designed and illustrated by a professional. Also, if you use commercially available graphics they will not be unique to your own magazine. So, as a general rule, keep your design simple and uncluttered and avoid overuse of computer ‘clip-art’.
Headings And ‘signposting’
It is easier for readers to find their way through a magazine that has clear headings, page numbering and other devices to show where you are and what is coming next, than one that lacks these pointers. So do help your readers navigate your pages by assisting them with these elements.
‘modelling’ Design Elements
Do remember the point made in the last chapter about keeping a scrapbook
of design elements that appeal to you. Don’t be afraid to mimic creative treatments that you like – the more you do this, the more you lean about design, layout and effective graphic presentation, and the easier you will find it to enhance the look and readability of your own magazine.
‘stylebooks’
If anybody other than yourself is involved in producing your magazine, it is useful to have a stylebook for reference. A stylebook is an explanation of the style elements used in the publication, for example, when to use capital letters or italics, what form of spelling to use if alternatives are possible, what size of headings and sub-headings to use, and so forth. The stylebook can be given to anyone involved in editorial or design work, and can then be followed to ensure consistency throughout the publication.
There are various stylebooks within the public domain –
either free or available to purchase; two of them are shown below and their websites are listed in Appendix 4.
Circulation
Finally, you will need to decide how many copies of your magazine to print. This will depend on various factors, such as variable costs and income and essential readers (e.g. your members if you are a membership organisation). In essence, the questions to consider are: ‘How many do you anticipate will be required?’ and then ‘How many of these can you afford to produce?’.