Through a little bit of link surfing I came across a page called Xpozio and tripped onto these above Playboy magazine covers. I thought it was so interesting to see how our culture has changed so much in just a short 50 years. The old covers at their time were probably considered risque and exposing, but compared to the covers of the 2000’s they seem like a child’s paint by numbers!

Working as an Art Director for Churm Media and designing covers for OC Family magazine and IE Family magazine it’s part of my job to stay up to date and current with magazine design, so when i see something as extraordinary as this national magazine undergo such huge changes it makes me take a look back at the short 10 years that Churm Media’s Family publications have been around and how much they’ve grown and evolved (to come in a later post, it’s on my to do list)

Title: 1-08 Feature Story Spread (ADHD)

Client: Churm Media, in association with OC Family Magazine & Inland Empire Family Magazine

Program(s) Used: Quark & Photoshop

Time Span: 3-6 Hours

About: A small feature story (full story on ocfamily.com) that was run in OC Family magazine.

Designer Notes: Point. Set. Match. I wanted to design something fun, but serious. I think the content speaks for itself, thanks to the editor Lynn Armitage, and the layout lent itself to the imagery making it fun to read, even though the subject matter is anything but. Children’s health issues are always a huge concern for parents and i wanted them to get a sense of connection with the story, not just pages of information, but something showing that there’s people out there who care and have dealt with this issue too.

Title: 12-07 Feature Story Spread (Annual Family Photography Contest)

Client: Churm Media, in association with OC Family Magazine & Inland Empire Family Magazine

Program(s) Used: Quark and Photoshop

Time Span: 4-8 Hours

About: Throughout the year OC Family and Inland Empire Family magazines run a feature called Picture perfect, which collects submissions from readers of their children’s photographs. Come December of every year they run an annual feature for the winners. Read, and see, the entire 2007 story on ocfamily.com

Designer Notes: My idea was to make this layout look like a worn family scrapbook or photo album. Seeing as this was an annual feature purely dealing with reader submitted photographs, i wanted to make it look fun and inviting. I used a parchment paper background and an image border with frayed edges, to simulate those wacky scissor cuts that people do now. End result, i’m happy with.

Title: 2-08 Feature Story (Full)

Client: Churm Media, in association with OC Family Magazine & Inland Empire Family Magazine

Program(s) Used: Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator

Time Span: 4-8 hours

About: Feature story layout for the OC Family’s annual travel issue (February). The full story can be read here, on ocfamily.com.

Designer Notes: The challenge with this feature story was to really break the boundaries of Churm Media’s regular layouts for OC Family & Inland Empire Family magazines. I tried to look at it from the point of view of being tired of the same old thing. Using a mix of stock photography and some great photographs taken by the writer, and then Executive Editor, Craig Reem, i was able to really step out on my own and land a great layout design. The push of deadline nipping at my heels was always a reminder as well of how it IS possible to churn out great product when deadlines are creeping up around the corner

Full story layout after the jump

Read the rest of this entry »

Title: 12-07 Cover Story Layout Spread

Client: Churm Media, in association with OC Family Magazine & Inland Empire Family Magazine

Program(s) Used: Quark, Photoshop

Time Span: 4-5 Hours to completion (entire layout (8 pages))

About: Every year Churm Media puts out it’s annual issue in OC Family & Inland Empire Family Magazines. This year was the “20 Best Totally Terrific Toys”. Yes, I know, that’s two too many adjectives, but what are you going to do? What client wants, client gets.

Designer Notes: This entire layout was quite the piece of work for photoshop clipping masks! Boy do i love still having to be lulled down by the back and forth of Quark to photoshop… when will they learn that InDesign is the bridge between that gap! But, what doesn’t kill us as designers, will make us always remember the golden rules…. never, EVER, EVER use Papyrus in your designs. You have (or should have) and entire library of fonts, GET CREATIVE! And also, learn from our clients blunders. By the time i finished this layout i knew the intimate ins and outs of the photoshop pen tool. I even “took it out for a romantic seafood dinner… and never called it again!”

Champ Kind: I will take Dorothy Manstooth out to a nice seafood dinner and NEVER call her again!
Wes Mantooth: Dorothy Mantooth is a Saint!
Ron Burgundy: Hey, let’s leave the mothers out of this.