YOU WILL HAVE NOTICED A FEW THINGS ON THIS COVER OF VISI.
We have a new cover design with a tweaked VISI logo, and we recently won a couple of accolades at two international print magazine awards.
All of them relate to one person.
For those of you who don’t know Mark Serra, he is VISI’s multitalented creative director, with a career that spans many top local and international magazines, and a signature style that melds a distinctively graphic use of typography with an elegant, pared-back design approach. Given the changes you see and the fact that this is our annual Design Issue, I’m handing Mark the mic for some insights into his process and how he applied it to VISI.
MARK’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
“It’s about telling a story. I draw from the personality and essence of a story, and produce an opening visual that encapsulates the vision of the architect, interior decorator, photographer and editor. My approach is always about the ‘wow factor’; it happens by being bold, brave, dynamic and graphic, and complementing this with an even balance of white space. There has to be a tension in all my work, created by the balance of negative and positive space, bold type, shapes and colour.
“Typography has never been just letters to me: they are beautifully crafted shapes; shapes that communicate. How you use them makes all the di erence. Typography is my passion – every font has its own personality, and can be manipulated, coloured and distorted to create a beautiful form of communication.”
AND HOW IT’S APPLIED TO VISI
“Designing a magazine is about giving it a personality, authority and consistency, and always keeping the editorial fresh. To me, content trumps design every time, so my role at VISI is to complement the content by giving it another layer. Magazines are designed to a grid – my philosophy is, don’t be afraid to break it!
“VISI is visual splendour, a celebration of brilliant design. It’s the design authority, unashamedly con dent in what it showcases. Our content – especially the images – leads my approach to art direction. What we present must always possess an element of surprise, and this lters through in my design. I want to pique our readers’ interest, entertain them, take them on a surprising and wonderful journey. They know that VISI is going to wow them, so it’s important to deliver that dynamic in every issue.”