PROJECT
Hachi Mag
CATEGORY
Editorial Design
DESCRIPTION
Hachi Mag is a narrative driven fashion magazine inspired by the story and visuals from Nana, the iconic 2001 manga by artist, Ai Yazawa. The zine follows the perspective of two young women, who we see explore the styles of 2000’s Japanese and British punk as they become the stars of their own story.
CONCEPT
My inspirations for the layout and visual design came from both Ai Yazawa’s art style, as well as Japanese fashion editorials from the early 2000’s such as Fruits, Cutie, and EGG Magazines. Ai Yazawa, took a lot of references from social subcultures, and in Nana, that was the British punk rock scene that grew in popularity around the turn of the millennium in Japan. Regarding the layout, based off the Japanese practice of reading and writing vertically, editorial design in Japan often utilizes columns for display text and pull quotes. I utilized this theme as a major typographic motif throughout the magazine for major pull quotes.
IDEATION PROCESS
The ideation for Hachi Mag began of course with a refresher on the media source. Although Nana was first published as a manga, it was soon after adapted into an equally popular anime series. Even when the story is the same, the two mediums offer differences in art styles for the characters, fashion, and overall creative vision. Therefore, I reread and rewatched respectively, taking greater notice and paying greater detail to major narrative beats that I could emphasize in the spreads, as well as outfit inspiration to pull from. Then was the time for a mix of online and librarial research, into the time period, subculture, and any other information I could find that would help make informed creative decisions. The next step was a physical moodboard to represent my direction.
STYLING PROCESS
The journey of styling this magazine began with a deep dive into the fashion inspiration behind the source material itself. Nana, and many of Ai Yazawa’s works for that matter, are heavily inspired by Japanese Harajuku subcultures, mixed with the major fashion houses of the 1990s like Vivienne Westwood. To represent this unique character styling, I first made sketches that incorporated varations of outfits straight from the source, and also original designs based off supplementary research. Based on these drawings and an overall plan, I began to source materials for the custom pieces, and second hand items that could be upcycled into new designs that fit the vision I wanted to create. Then a long process of fittings, sewing, and burning my hands with hot glue led me to the final.
