Nic Bott
September 8, 2013
Typography &
Publication Design
Transworld
As we all know, the message of any successful
magazine is one that will catch the reader’s attention. Transworld
Skateboarding is a magazine designed by skateboarders for skateboarders. Its
purpose is to keep boarders imagining new lines, give them updates on new spots
to skate, and (of course) offer the best product for the readers.
I believe that the readers (fellow
skateboarders) bring about the work that comes from Transworld Skateboarding
magazine. This demand is such for many reasons. For example, a boarder in
Arizona may want to know of a decent spot to skate in Florida without having to
go and search for it himself. The readers, obviously boarders, want to know the
updates around the world without having to travel and spend their money in
finding and testing these many things. The skateboarders send their desires to
the company, the company then perceives the needs and prints the magazine, and
in response the readers get what they have asked for.
So why not a book? Why is this information
printed as a magazine? Because of its ease of accessibility for the readers and
its ability to advertise new promotions, the information is printed as a magazine
rather than a different medium. The magazine is a monthly publication that the
readers can subscribe to. Different writers and editors add both pictures and
humor, making the magazine very enjoyable to read. The magazine is printed in a
factory, put together, and prepped for delivery. It goes out once a month, most
likely by air or by truck freighting, and is delivered to mailboxes and skate
shops all across the world. This magazine then arrives before a specific date
that the company has set up in advance.
The layout of this magazine consists of
many pictures of skateboarders doing what they do best: various tricks that
defy physics and blow our minds. It also contains little text (set up in simple
layouts) because the readers of this magazine don’t want to spend their time
reading, they want to “see”
what is happening in the skate world. Pictures,
and short descriptions fit this demand perfectly: short, sweet, and to the
point.
Keeping this in mind, the reader will look
at the magazine, imagine himself doing the trick, possibly as the one making it
into the magazine, and go out and skate. This is the purpose of Transworld
Skateboarding.
