Wired Magazine Remake

Wired is a multimedia company that explores how technology is shaping the world. They have a large presence from their print and digital magazines to podcasts, video content, and even live events. Wired covers tech, science, business, and culture with a future-focused, investigative approach, influencing conversations about innovation, ethics, and digital transformation.

The goal of this project was to gain a more in-depth understanding of editorial design. To do this, I deconstructed Wired Magazine down to its key elements and design guidelines, then challenged myself to create my own edition without breaking any of the rules throughout the book.

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I started by researching Wired as a whole and consuming their media. Then purchased a magazine and studied all the intricacies and consistencies throughout the edition. Wired magazine is interesting because they don't have the same consistency as other magazines. At first glance, it looks as though they break their own guidelines for each story. Though after looking closer, they have certain rules that stay consistent throughout, but others that change for each section. In the beginning, this was very confusing, but as I continued my deep dive into the magazine, it began to clear up and make sense. By writing down all of these rules and guidelines as I understood them, I was able to gain a solid understanding of the design rules that needed to be a certain way, as well as the rules I could use to have fun and really make my edition unique. I researched their media kit and other resources to help my comprehension, and then started designing. I had a lot of fun designing my edition and learned how to use design guidelines to my advantage. I learned that rules can actually help guide you to make a better design in some ways, whereas free rein can't.

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