OUGD502: TANK Collaboration 03

Kristina's images capture a sense of British normality we see through everyday high street fashion. From a design perspective I do not feel the images are truly reflective of Tank as the target audiences of who enjoys those trends, and Tank, differ enormously.  The independent magazine has produced a number of different incarnations: bulk pocket book, large wire-bound magazine and finally a rectangular perfect-bound edition. Tank’s independent editorial platform has a motto “Elitism for All”, descending from a maxim by Jean-Francois Lyotard. Each issue revolves around a speculative concept or theoretical framework. Past subjects have included: revolution, disorientation, reality, bubbles and the city. Ane Lynge-Jorlén described the magazine as one of the alternative fashion publications, so I didn't really think the images were an appropriate mix for this magazine. 

After researching past editions of Tank, it was clear that the cover style comes in waves, so I wanted to experiment with adaptations of old cover conventions, suggesting this issue was a special edition of some kind, or even signifying the start to a new wave of Tank descendent of it's experimental past.

TANK cover research- past 16 issues/4 years). Need to keep these in mind and lead the outcome to a solution like this to link to the Tank identity. 

Experimentation:

Developing a grid system

Cover Developments:

The turquoise originally started as pastel green, stemming from the idea of including a form of alternative British culture. As Kristina mentioned in the interview how Weed was one of the most culture shocking things to her, and in a way, a fundamental of British culture in her eyes, the green is therefore referencing this personal meaning to Kristina. However, I felt that the green on its own was quite bland and it needed a brighter quality to it, giving a 'pop' to the masthead, yet keeping with the muted qualities apparent throughout TANK. As Tank has started using white as a border to include issue information, I needed to find a way to bring this brightness in without increasing the border and reducing the size of images- alternatively, adapting a white border and minimal typographic style also reflected to TANK'S conventions of the past 4 years.

Kristina was unsure after a while about incorporating the question mark, so I created designs based on the images formal qualities, using minimal typography where appropriate.

All of this has been a great chance to experiment with brand driven design, experimenting with appropriation and fulfilling a clients needs. Hopefully by working with Katrina now, my interpersonal skills will improve and how I explain ideas to clients will become more  natural with practice. With this in mind, I want to discuss as many relevant ideas as I can with Kris, giving a trust in me and me a trust in her.