Magazine Suggestions

[The Late Mitchell Warren]

We're talking about changing the look or "theme" of the magazine soon, so leave me any suggestions. Google search "free word press themes" for specific ideas on color and format.

We're mainly doing this to reorganize the categories, but we figure a complete makeover might be nice for this two year old magazine.

Karla likes green and blue. Anyone prefer the black and white thing we have going now? Less black, more white? (Insert Obama joke here)

Here's a thread to share thoughts.

[karlsie]

Mitch, i like green and blue as trim colors, but i think they should be controlled so as not to create too much of a background statement. Agreeing on a central background color should entail more than just a favorite color preference. The background sets the mood of the magazine.

I know a lot of rebel choices for background is black. Black and red are often associated with revolutionary movements. The problem with black backgrounds is that it hinders the mood. It's an easy color for promoting the brooding thunder of anger, injustice or discontent, but it doesn't improve the atmosphere for peaceful resolution.

I prefer black lettering on white or other highly neutralized pale background for our content as it looks more professional and it's easier on color sensitive eyes. All lettering used within a background should be a good contrasting color. Our readers will have various abilities for discerning subtleties, will have different computer resolution, as well as though who are color blind to certain distinctions. Our current banner cannot be read by the color blind, by those with visual handicaps, or low computer graphic resolution.

Blue, green and brown are my favorite colors because they are nature colors, but i wouldn't want them to be the dominant colors of the mag. I would use them if i was planning a whole earth site, but whole earth is just a part of Subversify's intent. We need a color theme that suggests whole mind.

As far as the overall appearance of the mag goes, i'll have to study the various options some more before i can decide. There were several that looked agreeable, although i still found flaws in the way i would like to see them presented. It does make me wish we could separate our page into two sites; one for the literature and one for the news as i saw several literary set-ups i thought would be sweet, but weren't appropriate for the over-all mag.

[grainnerhuad]

I too would like a straight forward, clean professional presentation in the white against black background. I also like an agreed upon font, unless we are dealing with artistic presentation as in poetry or something of the sort.
As long as the colors aren't bubblegum distractions I could care less about what the background noise is, but it is a good idea to take a look at what options we have. Also will we be changing logos? or just the colors of the logo because I think say blue and brown, won't go with some of them and we will have to look at a logo design change.

[karlsie]

Leon has been looking over the design today, and teaching me a little about my paint program (thank heavens). He said the color theme for the logo definitely needs changing. I also showed it to his girlfriend, who said it looked like bloody fingerprints and you couldn't really make out the lettering. It seems one of the initial designs resembled falling bricks. I think the subliminal suggestion behind this type of presentation would be a good one; something like Pink Floyd's tearing down the wall.

As far as actual color themes; look at any label, any DVD jacket, any syndicated newspaper. Most of them have a three to four color theme. You notice the dominant color because it creates the general background, but within the boxes and lettering, other colors are used to create contrast and force your eye to see the message as a whole, instead of traveling to a small, centralized area. These are trim colors, noticeable only if you pay close attention to the arrangement. Blue is often used as it has a neutralizing effect on the primary colors when its bordered in its complimentary shade. Lighter blues with a dark primary, dark blues with pale primaries.

Green is used for much the same reason; it's versatility in shade distinctions. While blue is a neutralizer, however, green carries deep emotional responses in the viewer. Darker shades make one tend to think of forest or precious stones. Lighter shades have a chilling effect on the primary if the primary is dark. If you were to paint a northern sky in the frigid night, or the shadow of death, you add a little light green to the picture. The duller shades of green are used in camouflage, which was why i thought choosing one of those shades might add an interesting touch, but not as a primary color.

Brown is often rejected as a primary color (incidentally, i'm not talking about the color wheel, but the primary background color we choose) but it's truthfully one of the most beautiful colors in the world. Nature chose to make earth in shades of brown, she chose to make trees in shades of brown, she chose humans in shades of brown. She gives a preferential dominance for brown eyes, brown hair, brown mammals. the only problem with brown is that the colors you use with it must all contrast clearly; but then that's the same problem with black. When choosing the colors, we must also think in terms of contrasting shades, not just color preferences.

What i'd really like to get rid of is so much gray. We don't really need such over-kill neutrality. I often intentionally use very vivid photos for our front page images precisely to liven up the over all neutrality of the page. Sometimes i feel like i'm visiting in one of those houses where the owners paint all the walls and ceiling white so they could "use any color they want" then are afraid to add any real color at all. My environment is stark seven months out of the year. I like a bit of color.

[grainnerhuad]

Karla, I can see what you are saying. I myself am partial to browns, my own backgrounds tend towards them. It is soothing and warm. I'm not sure we want to be entirely soothing here though so definately we will need some eye catching pop. I did go back and take a look though and we do have an aweful lot of grey. That definately could change as could the starkness.
I am almost wondering if we could change periodically, by month, seasons, direction of current events, etc. But that is a lot of work.

[karlsie]

I was thinking seasonal would be good; that's only four times a year. If we made up several different banners beforehand for the top of the page, it wouldn't be that hard to change them on a regular basis.

You understand why i'm thinking so carefully about our color choices. Colors provoke emotional responses. Like you said, brown is a warm color and invites a certain amount of coziness. We don't want to deliver a message of being too comfortable. I was looking at my Native American rugs right now, trying to get an idea of good color themes. Two of them use tan as the background, with brown, brick red, burnt orange and umber in the design. The other uses dark blue, light blue, black, and white, with small splashes of red and a touch of green. We should think in terms of not just primary, but complimentary colors, and the mood we wish to set with them.