Ivy Tech megaZINE
Every year, Ivy Tech's Visual Communications program (specifically the Graphic Design II classes) creates a magazine based around a specific topic. The topic for the Spring 2014 edition of the megaZINE was "water." This edition of the megaZine was also a collaborative effort, as we also worked with the organization, WaterStep. WaterStep is an organization based around the conservation and provision of clean and safe drinking water.
Although we worked in groups on the final version of the magazine, we were tasked as individuals to create a cover and article for the magazine.
megaZINE Cover
For my individual cover, I really wanted it to tie together with my article. I also wanted to create a cover that would be visually striking and iconic. Moving forward with a Saul Bass-inspired concept, I came up with the title In Deep Water.
While most people would think of water as a life-sustaining substance, I really wanted to tug at the darker corners of water. My magazine cover and the accompanying article revolved around the theme of water-borne illness. To create an almost sinister-feeling image, I kept the colors primarily dark. Dark blues could be seen as waves while the lighter blue colors would help create some depth to the flat colors. A single pure black hand (a reference to the Saul Bass posters for The Man With the Golden Arm and Anatomy of a Murder) rises above the churning waves against a stark white background.
megaZINE Article
I felt that waterborne illness was an extremely important topic that should be discussed in a magazine about safe drinking water. The idea that waterborne illness could affect anyone is a scary but very possible thought. I came up with the title "Waterborne Illness: Dangers of the Deep." The article I wrote and designed describes what a waterborne illness is, how they transmit through water-based organisms, how they affect populations and societies, how to safely treat and store water, as well as describing how important hygiene is.
Simple illustrations in the wave at the bottom of the pages have informative captions describing some of the various bacteria and organisms that transmit the diseases, where they are found, and some of the symptoms of the diseases they transmit. Again, I stuck to the blue, black, and white color scheme to create the same sinister feeling from the cover. At the suggestion of fellow classmates I added a light blue stroke to the organism illustrations to help give them distinction from the dark blue wave.
