Toronto Life Mock Layout
Context
The challenge was to use an article from any publication and redesign the layout to fit into the style of another magazine. In this case, an article that ran in Xtra by Andrea Houston, was redesigned to match the look of a feature spread of Toronto Life.
Research
I looked at many different elements of Toronto Life. Each section of the magazine seemed to change the style guides in their use of a 2 or 3 or 4 column grid and the leading of font. I was able to pinpoint the differences in the magazine’s features articles from their regular articles and focused on reverse engineering a style guide for the various parts of the article (head, deck, folio etc.) Deconstructing the style guides of multiple Toronto Life features, I was able to create a guideline of their font face and size choices and layout spacing. I applied these rules to help create a mockup of a two page spread that would fit in the middle of an issue of Toronto Life.
The style of photography at the time was also quite important. A feature page spread generally carried a 2/3 ratio of image to header and lead article body. Portraits generally carried a environmental surrounding to help the readers place the context of the subject with a deadpan expression. Using a combination of images, I was able to create a photo-manipulation style of a portrait of Brian Burke that would reflect the creative direction of the magazine.
