This is the conceptually designed title masthead (logo) for the traditional print magazine. I wanted to really capture the look of nature at a first glance, which I think I have achieved solely by the colour scheme. On the other hand focusing on the title, I wanted to create a short but clear name, to easily and quickly give people an idea of what the contents of the magazine would consist of. Since the magazine is about encouraging young adults to walk outside more due to its short and long term benefits for our lives, I took the two key words that link this together and simply came up it ‘Life & Nature’. I believe this creates for a simple but effective name. However, on the logo design, I decide to take away the two spaces around the ampersand, which is a commonly used technique on logos to create a more admirable appearance. Initially, to add that aspect of nature, I chose to make the font a dark shade of forest green, however I felt this looked a bit flat, so I duplicated the text and added a black version of the text behind it to create a 3D effect. I really enjoy this method of highlighting something of importance as it creates an immersive visual experience. The added depth and realism makes the design almost come alive, as it creates an eye-catching and realistic form of visual content. Instead of the logo just consisting of letters, I wanted to add an element of conceptual design within them. I scanned the letters for a while and noticed the ‘A’ in ‘Nature’ obtains the shape of a leaf, so I decided to create the rough shape of a general leaf using the pen tool and started to add an element of conceptual design by altering this letter. This is my favourite part of the design as I believe it looks really effective and creates that tone of nature. I have also found a fairly similar version of this online, which perhaps proves how my idea would be effective (Figure 1). Moreover, because I enjoyed the addition of the leaf so much, I decided to add more of them simply scattered around the typeface, almost acting like little arrows pointing toward and bringing our attention to the type. To add another concept of nature, I created some branches also using the pen tool which I placed around as well, to almost make it look like the type has been caught up within the trees. This contrast between the lighter brown and the darker green shade also creates tonal variation. Furthermore, I believe this design is eye catching for my target audience which is young adults, as there’s quite a lot going on in terms of components and the contrasting colours chosen which is important for this audience who are so used to relying on being entertained by their busy phones, giving most of the generation a much shortened attention span. Therefore something aesthetically pleasing and with an easy visual experience is perfect for this generation. I believe this logo has a sleek but playful mood and voice. Ultimately, this is my masthead logo design which will be used throughout this project in the cover designs.
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Figure 1: Set (2019). Set of nature leaf green logo design concepts vector image on VectorStock. https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/set-of-nature-leaf-green-logo-design-concepts-vector-24583707 [Accessed 8 Jan 2025].