Behind the Web Design of the Magazine
The Project 12 is Revealed - Learn about the inspiration of the W+M Magazine branding!
Web + Marketing = Québec, Canada.
Hello Marketers,
Last December, a new file is saved on a computer desktop. The title: Project 12. The file contains 12 visual proofs for the sales documents of an upcoming monthly magazine.
Twelve selected colours have just been assembled with a theme of the month to produce the Media Kit.
Eight months later, it’s time to explain the process to create images in batch and reveal the inspiration of the colourful W+M Mag and blog. This report is about the technicality behind the branding of this product, from the first step of design to the merchandizing. I know you’re welcome.
So, since last winter, have you guessed the influence of the project?
MusicScore: I wrote this paper while listening to the Bryan Adams’ album, Cuts Like a Knife. Here is This Time to listen to while reading this report!
Listen to the MusicScores complete list on YouTube! Enjoy the Music at Work!
Project 12 - The Branding origin
Yes, Project 12 is the name of the W+M Display Advertising Service image file.
The basic idea of the blog and magazine branding was to add color to the website which presents articles on a white background. Family values and promoting healthy living were important to demonstrate and everything is in French and English.
In addition, it was essential to give a new and never before seen style. All images, colour and template selection, and the creative production were created in-house with web design applications.
A banner to start it all
The first step in developing the brand image of the magazine and the blog was to separate the content of the website concerning the agency and the reading content products: the monthly magazine and the blog articles.
A first colored banner was created to be placed at the top and bottom of all web pages associated with W+M e-Mag products called Monthly Ticket.
The website uses a lot of rectangles and squares. It was important to keep this style in the article and promotional images, keeping the dynamic already installed on all tools. Finally, W+N needed images the pops the eye, whether the image is seen from close on a mobile, or from afar on the screen of the third college of the office.
Insertion of identity in promotional images
Once the visual identity was established, the design of the images for the sales document and its promotion of the advertising spaces could begin.
To promote the qualities of a healthy lifestyle and family spirit, the inspiration of the 12 fruity colored pencils found in school supply stores was the starting point. The concept of associating a fruity color with each month, with a previously defined editorial theme was developed.
Have a taste! This is the YouTube list of the tracks of Project 12! All the branding colors of the Monthly Tickets for 2024.
The composition of the Project 12 articles, the union with a video of a song with the mention of the fruit in the title or the name of the group, and the creation of the playlist followed as the concept evolved.
This design published, and displayed in this article, is actually the second attempt at making it. The first design did not come out well when producing the promo clips. The use of video was an important thing in the planned promotional campaigns all year long. It was decided to start the design again a few days before the launch. (There was time.) A chance! The first design has since been scrapped and deleted! Nothing good is ever going to come out of a poorly tuned guitar, no matter all the effects in the world. It's the same in design. Editing a 15 second video with 3 frames and an audio track is not supposed to take more than 20 minutes. Rather, it was worth packing everything down, spending a few hours to see if a new design could be created, fighting laziness and finding a good CD, and the production started again. In this case, it was for the best. Especially with the popularity of the video medium in 2024. So for Project 12, the second time was the best. ;)
Approved tests
As this design is not used for the public, but for communications for placement and advertising agencies and the media and press relations, the visual impact had to be significant, since the image includes a lot of text and a logo. We therefore needed a full-page design with a punch element in order to highlight the most important thing in the image: the title of the theme of the monthly magazine to sale.
Further down in the article the production process is explained. 48 images in a few hours.
Using the reminder of the colorful banner at the top of the image, the photos to promote the W+M media kits, saved in the famous file called Project 12, were designed on the principle of a general model personalized with a color and topic according to the edition of the magazine. This principle is explained further down in the article with the purple visual for January 2024.
Customizing a serial image
Each edition has its color of the blog banner, subsequently used to create the visuals of the columns, various promos and images in the email signature.
Only a dark black band, a photo of colored lights from pexels.com, was added in order to centralize attention on the title. The gaze returns to the center of the image to read the title. The rest of the information is centralized around the title, and not in the sides or bottom of the image, risking being cut off during mobile display, for example.
Tip: Of course, since the image will have a banner version of the Facebook page, there is nothing in the design at the bottom left, where the profile photo is housed. I always ask for this detail when establishing the design. Where will the visuals be displayed and who is the audience?
The Marketing Blog provides the opportunity to promote companies to its readers through advertising placement in its targeted articles.
These displays are made available to companies wishing to purchase an advertising banner in order to present their products and services to readers at a reasonable cost including a percentage put back into a META advertising budget.
Visit the store displaying banner information and prices.
Have a look at the brand new 2025 Media Kit!
Project 12 is revealed! - the making of a design
Discover the fruity brandings.
App Yourself - Monthly Ticket - January 2024
In this post, the article on programmable applications for businesses gives automation tips. The digital marketing trends article describes what’s new for websites and the music report presents the #demoTalkMusicArt EP project!
MusicScore: Really Glad I discover this humoristic band while doing searches for the music themes. They’re great musicians too! The Cotties - Raisins.
Socials - Monthly Ticket - February 2024
Reports on the introduction of social media for startups and launching businesses. Management and projection tips that will bring success and prosperity to your entrepreneurial project using social media.
MusicScore: And I love this guy! He dances, sings, writes and performs! And he’s a fan of Mme Stevie Nicks, having performed with her several times. Here is Watermelon Sugar from Harry Styles.
Policies - Monthly Ticket - March 2024
A review of policies and information to be disclosed in e-commerce for businesses. Whether your site displays articles, sells products, has a subscription and data collection system, every company, even self-employed workers, must respect Quebec e-commerce and online confidentiality policies.
MusicScore: Chocolate Cake from, and I miss them, Crowded House.
The creation of images in batch for a 12-edition magazine
The process of creating visuals is simple for images in the W+M virtual magazine. This is a colourless main template with general slogans to which a background colour and a title are added. The 12 header images of the Monthly Tickets are based on this model. Each with its colour and title.
From these 12 images, the following formats for social media are extracted:
1200x630 pixels (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube and several banners)
1080x1080 (Instagram format and several ads or profile image)
1080x1920 for story, reel and Tik Tok, YouTube and other clips)
This annual image campaign for W+M media kits promoting advertising space for sale in articles and magazines, includes 48 visuals produced in less than half a day. All checked, revised and approved.
Although establishing the initial template takes more time, once well designed, everything else is just manipulating colour and text into a copied image saved with the name of the month on the server.
Plus, when the campaign is repeated from year to year, and the content is decided (the new colours and themes for the new year), it’s a breeze to produce a full year of visuals.
The 2024 promo pics of the Webmaster Monthly Column: Office News. This was a unique photoshoot and production session done in December 2023. Twelve stages of the office with a different set up were photographed in a night with great rock and roll music lists on the background.
Client’s Relation - Monthly Ticket - April 2024
Serving our customers, with whom we choose to work, will always make the biggest difference, regardless of the field of our profession. In addition, today’s applications and software make it possible to create beautiful presentation documents for our clients and future professional relationships.
MusicScore: R.E.M. and the classic song Orange Crush!
Websites and CMS - Monthly Ticket - May 2024
A question that every website pro must explain when the time comes to start creating a site is the difference between a coded website, or customized according to a specific business need, and a managed system platform model. Website (CMS), with common options such as blogs, sales page with e-commerce, subscriptions with reminders of pending shopping carts, etc.
MusicScore: The Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches. Wait at 2:45 min! ;)
Paid Advertising - Monthly Ticket - June 2024
Beyond any doubt, every company will have to use the services of paid advertising campaigns at one point or another in its existence (paid referencing, or SEA). From its launch, you must plan a campaign budget at the virtual level, just as you prepare administrative documents and a brand identity (branding) with the logo and colours to present your company.
MusicScore: Summer Song! Banana (feat. Shaggy) [DJ FLe - Minisiren Remix] from Conkarah.
Working @ Home - Monthly Ticket - July 2024
Return to the location and condition of the home office. The article explains good work habits and posture in front of a screen. Several other aspects of independent work at home are covered. Presentation of the new music production partner: JM Musique.
MusicScore: Lita Ford, and the non-single song Blueberry from her debut solo album.
Music and Advertising - Monthly Cool Ticket - August 2024
Often combined, advertising and music make a good team in digital marketing. Additionally, with the rise of video-driven social media and virtual clip channels, music selection, voice mixing and pronunciation can be lacking in business communications.
MusicScore: Of course! Mind Over Matter from the incredible Ice T.
Back to School Marketing - Monthly Ticket - September 2024
Several sales opportunities must be prepared, in addition to the annual publication for the following year, which must already begin to be orchestrated and all their visuals. Without forgetting the promotions to be planned for the holidays. Phew! This is how I suggest you prepare everything calmly in the September monthly.
MusicScore: The Country Band Blackberry Smoke with the song Hammer And The Nail.
Visuals of marketing chronicles for startups, new businesses and SMEs. The posts are published each month in Le Mensuel. #itSAMarketingThing.
Search Tools and SEO - Monthly Ticket - October 2024
The rules for good website SEO evolve with technology and the algorithms of search tools. It’s normal to want to understand how these research tools work to satisfy your requests and adjust.
The month of October offers a summary of users' searches for websites to optimize SEO. This will ensure our site is up to date for the holiday season and end-of-year sales.
MusicScore: What a song from Mr. Tom Jones! Little Green Apples.
Stats and Analysis - Monthly Ticket - November 2024
Although it’s good to check the statistics of digital tools daily, it’s also important to take the time to analyze annual data to have a clear idea of the future direction based on the data collected.
Learning from the past for a better future, you will say, well, the study of statistics is exactly that, predicting the future of the company.
MusicScore: Mint Car, what a great tune from The Cure!
Entertainment - Monthly Ticket - December 2024
It’s difficult to talk about digital sales without editorial content in 2024. Also, to entertain customers, we are told to publish up to 70% of entertainment content to promote our products and services. What?, how do I do that in daily life and what does this mean in concrete terms?
Since we don’t want to search for funny videos all our lives, let’s focus on the famous sales techniques using editorial and entertainment content.
MusicScore: The Runaways with Cherry Bomb.
Conclusion
Project 12 being the creation of images for the media kits, the same creation principle was used to produce the cover images of each edition, with their promotional posters. Access the visuals of each edition by visiting the Monthly Ticket!
Of course, as of this writing, there are unpublished editions. We must keep a little surprise between now and their publication. Subscribe to receive everything by email.
Best,
Jeff
Other Blog articles
The Music Track of JM Musique
Partner and Audio Producer of all design, creation and promo from the W+M Services!
Websites - creation, management and design
I edit the content of existing sites via CMS in addition to creating sites with WordPress and Squarespace. I have been producing website content as a webmaster since 1998.
I help companies get their first website up and I improve the performance of existing sites.
Yes, I’m Mr. Analytics and my reaction time to new digital marketing is daily, which allows my clients to have optional and trend-cutting tools.
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