Amplify Magazine Design

With the brief of creating an independent magazine on a chosen topic, I began development on Amplify, a periodical focussed on recommending small indie musicians and songs. The goal of this project was to create something more experimental, artistic and aesthetically unique than the more conventional, formulaic music magazines.

This process began with a masthead, trying to create a distinctive and recognisable mark to carry the brand. This involved lengthy development, with this lettering acting as the logo for the entire Amplify brand to reply on. Through various stages of ideation and refinement, a masthead was designed to reflect the complex and unique approach Amplify takes – It combines a variety of shapes, being inspired by piano keys, music notation and modern music production software. The result is efficient and hugely unique, ensuring the magazine can stand out on store shelves from this large brand mark alone.

Wanting to continue the experimental and individual stylisation, I explored different image treatments that could give Amplify a sense of personality and distinction in an oversaturated market. By moving printed photos of artists whilst scanning them, it produced distorted and abstract results reminiscent of indie music’s rustic, imperfect roots. This treatment would become an essential aspect of Amplify’s design and visuals, having the longevity to be continued throughout the magazine’s lifespan. Combined with a bold primary colour and overlayed text to add texture, the first issues cover was created and the brand’s identity was established.

The articles themselves all replicated this approach, combining Amplify’s visual approach with the musician’s own styles to create compelling, varied page designs. Throughout the process of designing this, this design was pushed further to become more abstract and experimental, making these pages incredibly distinctive and conceptual. The below examples present this, showing how Don Broco’s chaotic, rave-like songs and James Marriott’s emotive lyrical-focus are represented within their sections. Use of colour coding benefits navigation and furthers the sense of individuality each article has.

To maintain engagement and the experimental nature, each issue’s structure and design remains fluid and dynamic. For example, it was decided that The Royston Club’s article uses partially transparent paper to overlay the body copy in Welsh over the standard page, reflecting the band’s origins. This ability to keep Amplify original and alternative is essential to its success, being a vehicle for creativity and innovation within the genre.

The binding of this magazine further separates Amplify from its competitors – While this began as a perfect bound publication, Japanese stab stich binding was a much more uncommon, linking to the hand-made and independent nature of indie music. This choice allows the periodical’s form and structure to link closely to its content, unifying the product to become a single, highly consistent output. Amplify’s experimental approach to design, structure and content would ensure its unique position amongst its competitors, with a hugely personable brand creating innovative and appealing magazine.