The Struggle is Real

This week is the week I die. I have faced the horrors of designer's block in the face and I got to say, it wasn't pretty. I am panicking on the inside, but trying to keep the pose on the outside, because if I don't, people might get concerned.

I thought I had my TOC under control, that the sketch was good, the design was going great... but I didn't. Oh what a delicious cherry on the top of this already messed up Mondae (I'm sorry, I'm tired). After working tirelessly with my new best friend, Illustrator, for three consecutive hours, I had a final product that seemed to me really great. I did stray away from the clean look, but it isn't visually polluted, it's just artsy. Here it is:

Personally, I loved it.

That's not all -this is where the real content is, the names of the pieces with their respective page numbers- there is more to the page, but that's the second phase. I decided to play with the sizes and disposition within the circle and the outlining. I read it over not one, not two, not three, not ten, but around twenty times and I couldn't see any problems. But as I was asking for my classmate's opinion, Santi, he brought it up that it seemed too clustered. I explained that I was looking for an "artsy" look, that it is the table of contents of a literary magazine, which doesn't follow conventional patterns of magazines, to which he responded with "you should try not too conventional, but a little more conventional".

After this conversation I started overthinking (which was good, actually, thanks Santi), because I realized one thing: yes, literary magazines break a lot of rules, but the MAJORITY of the table of contents I have seen and researched are quite simple and straight-forward. Most of them have their own "signature", their exclusive look, but they are not going full artistic route like I am here. So I asked some other people what they thought of it, and most said it looks really nice, I just have to work on arranging the space better.

I realized, then, that I don't really care about the rules or non-rules, breaking or following or challenging. All I really care right now is creating my own brand, my own look, my own signature, my OWN magazine. Over this past four weeks I have grown so passionate about this, that I'm surprising even myself. I have made research after research after research, and yes, I've gathered a lot of knowledge and got much inspiration, but now I am adding my own sugar, spice, and everything nice. I understand, from my research process, what works with the audience, but to be honest, when working with an audience like mine, the artistic risks are more likely to receive a positive response. These are people who are buying magazines for the sole purpose of reading prose or poetry from unknown writers, and seeing artwork from new artists. If not taking risks with them, then with who? And what if I am doing something very different? If there weren't people out there challenging the conventions and innovating we wouldn't have half of the things we consider usual nowadays.

But even though I want to go full out rebellious, I understand that a magazine is a magazine, after all, and a table of contents needs to do what a table of contents needs to do. It is supposed to inform quickly and effectively. So I have decided to take the path "less traveled by" -no just kidding; I've decided to take the middle route. I am working right now on having more space between the titles, things more even, the numbers closer to its owners -you know, making it easily readable. (Don't understand why people wouldn't want to pay attention to a table of contents if it's nicely composed, but let's just conform with human nature). That way I can please those who like the "easy on the eyes" table of contents, and still be creating something unique. Something new.

And in the words of Barney Stinson: New is always better.