Magazine
Year
2023
Project Type
Editorial Design (Print) | University Project
Skills
Editorial Design | Composition | Typography | InDesign | Photoshop
This editorial design project was created as part of a university assessment and explores storytelling, Composition layout, and visual hierarchy through a print format. While my main focus is UX/UI design, working on this project strengthened core design skills that directly apply to digital products like clarity, structure, and a strong visual language.
Dramaturgy
Dramaturgy in editorial design refers to the narrative structure - the flow and pacing that guide the reader through the content
Mapping content
To shape the dramaturgy and flat plan, I began by jotting down every topic I could connect to Netflix. I then selected a few key ones and arranged them across pages - focusing purely on content weight and flow, not yet on design.
Story Arc
Shaping the narrative
In my initial layout, I placed the synopsis at the beginning, thinking it would introduce the topic clearly. But after some feedback, I realized this structure wasn’t engaging - the order felt random and lacked a compelling narrative. That’s when I shifted perspective and started thinking of the magazine as a story.
Flat Plan
A Flexible Blueprint Before Diving Into Visual Design
This was the last flat plan I sketched before diving into design. As this was my first print project, experimenting visually in InDesign felt more intuitive than overplanning. I gathered content and images for each layout, defined the style guide, and jumped into iterations - bouncing between inspiration on Pinterest and tutorials on YouTube.
Final Layout
From Flat Plan to Final Form: The Editorial Structure Realized
This version shows how the editorial arc and flat plan took shape in the final magazine. While it marks the end result of the content planning phase, the next steps take a closer look at the design decisions and iterations that led to this outcome.
Tonality
Tonality defines the visual personality of the design - its mood and attitude shaped through typography, color, imagery, and grid.
Typography
Finding a Balance Between Identity and Readability
I started with Bebas Neue to reflect the Netflix logos' visual tone. Its bold, uppercase presence worked well for strong titles but lacked legibility in body text. To balance this, I chose Gotham- a modern, clean, and highly readable typeface that compliments Bebas Neue while ensuring versatility across the magazine.
A key part of my decision-making came from attending a typography workshop, where I explored the nuances of font pairing and hierarchy in print. It gave me valuable hands-on experience that directly informed my choices.
Color Palette
Adapting Netflix’s Identity for Print
Choosing Netflix-inspired colors came naturally, but working with CMYK for print was a new challenge. I learned how screen and print colors can differ and when to use rich black vs. flat black for optimal results. These lessons helped me build a palette that feels familiar yet functional for print design.
Grid System
Laying the Foundation for Flexible Layouts
Early in the process, I knew I didn’t want to follow a rigid structure. Since a lot of my exploration came through trial and error, I opted for a 6-column grid to give me more room to experiment with layout. Margins were set at 20mm on all sides for consistency.
While designing, I referred to The Layout Book by Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris and Editorial Design (Digital and Print) by Cath Caldwell & Yolanda Zappaterra - both helped me better understand balance, flow, and rhythm on a page.
Composition
This section highlights my working process - how layouts evolved, what I experimented with, what didn’t work, and how I arrived at the final composition choices through visual hierarchy and grid-based design.
Front & Back Cover
Familiar Bookends for a Familiar Feeling
I wanted the experience of flipping through the magazine to echo the cozy, predictable rhythm of watching Netflix - the calm you feel when you hit “Play.” That inspired the final cover and back cover, built around the idea of a loop, where the end subtly leads back to the beginning.
Table of Contents
A Scroll-Inspired Layout
This was the last spread I designed — and one I was most unsure about. I reworked it to play with the idea of “browsing through Netflix,” complete with playful spoiler alerts that hint at what's inside.
How Netflix came about
Directing attention with composition
Here, I experimented with cutting out parts of an image in Photoshop to make the composition feel more alive - like Hastings' hands breaking out of the page. I also realized that boxed text was too visually heavy, so I let it breathe instead. Swapping the placement of the characters helped frame the story more naturally.
Netflix name
Typography as Composition
I explored XXL text and visual lines that lead the reader's eye across the page and into the next one. I avoided placing text in the centerfold after testing how it might misprint.
Synopsis
Typography as Composition
This idea was in my head from the start - using a timeline layout to lead the reader’s eye naturally across and into the next page.
The co-founder & chairman of Netflix
Distorted Imagery
Inspired by visual tension in my references, I created a layout where Reed Hastings’ image becomes distorted and fragmented - a design I originally imagined for the cover. It ended up fitting much better here, paired with the right context.
Emmy & Oscar awarded work
Connected Yet Contrasting Layouts
These were designed as a set - consistent in tone, but different enough to stay engaging. I experimented with letting elements like the header break outside the grid and played with visual rhythm. Originally, I made all images black & white to match the palette, but realized it dulled their emotional meaning, especially for scenes that were already monochrome.
Final Design
This section shows the final outcome after the full design process. Before wrapping up, I revisited every detail - spacing, alignment, typography - using a checklist of common editorial design “sins” I received in a workshop. This final review helped me spot small mistakes I’d overlooked and ensure the result felt sharp, intentional, and print-ready.