Front covers of Big Issue - January 2014:

The front covers from January's 4 editions:

Taken from: http://www.bigissue.com/mix/latest-issue/3401/issue-1084, viewed on: 23/02/2014.

Large photo, typefaces informal hand writing style, haphazard layout.  text around image feels womans beauty magaine.

Flat colour and illustration outlines, lots of yellow and black - alarming.  Small photo in centre to contrast.  Has journal scrapbook feel.

90's feel, choppy layout of text and images with illustration sketches on graph paper.  Pink and blue conveys equal gender roles?

Full page photo, serious modern and sleek sans serif typeface, little extra text writing.

Ideas development: thick and thin developments

border:

Overall this style, although came together to be stronger than before, lacks a professional touch.

Ideas development: Paint strokes developments

Evening out the spacing:

Then adding red border:

But the look is more of a casual magazine that is in the arts arena specifically.

Ideas development: Scraped letters in paint

Adjusting letters to be more evenly spaced, adding red border:

Ideas development: Bricks logo

Playing with the letters created spelling out "Big Issue" in the bricks:
Feels strong, sturdy, conveys concepts of the street and an urban street life.  Black and white is striking and strong.

Then adding background, with letters cut out:

Then with a red border and black letters:

Although it was interesting to try other ways of using the origonal bricks and lettering, i feel the look of the new developments create a contrived feel that is even slightly dated.  They are not a visually arresting as the origonal.  I will return to try and develop this idea with a closer approach.

Further development of tape letters

Taking the origonal brown tape letters and adding red to the places where they overlap:

Another idea was to make the brown red instead, so all red:

Then to remove the areas of different colour red on the main letter:

I like these workings up because i feel the material and the loosness of layout suit the homeless magazine.  The blocky shapes also convey the key themes i am interested in: stability, home, etc.  Yet I am not convinced this style is the one yet.  It is after all a very loose illustration approach that may not always suit the nature of the articles from celebrities or interviews.

Ideas development: Experiments with the header typeface

based on open demain typeface: perspective sans.

Ideas Generation: logo typeface

vaious from existing free demain typeface

tape brown letters

cardboard strokes

based on existing typeface free demain

paint strokes turned to typefa e

hand drawn quickly

blocky with dark colouring and high stroke difference

italisised blocky and modern

taken from photos of letters down by diglis hotel, 

had to adapt the B and U, but used turned the E into a B and G into the U, through Photoshop.

Pretty dynamic, conveys some of the key words:

Stabiltiy

Hope

Shelter

The War Cry - Street Newspaper from The Salvation Army

Kind of a street paper, as sold by homeless and The Salvation Army to raise awareness of the poor living conditions in London in 1879 on the streets, as well as in clubs, pubs and SA churches.

Been for sale for 133 years now.

Still selling in UK, in locations, also selling in US since 1881 in Missouri, now in 125 countries.

Original paper:

Available at: http://news.salvationarmy.org.uk/sites/default/files/thewarcry.jpg, viewed on: 07/02/2014.

California first edition (1884):

Available at: http://salvationist.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/warcry.png, viewed on: 07/02/2014.

June 2012 edition pages:

Available at: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/uki-cache.salvationarmy.org/c5a8c727-97b5-412b-8528-aa41b57234d1_War+Cry+2+Jun+2012.pdf, viewed on: 07/02/2014.

Analyse:

*The page laid out like a newspaper with many columns, rather than the Big Issue which has magazine feel.

*Overlapping images associate it with cheaper publications such as tv choice magazines.

* Gradient - cheap and simple graphic design techniques.  Dates it.

* 3 colour images give it a more pricey feel as they cost more.

* Typefaces feel clumsy, do not match. there are too many, about 8.

3 years ago was updated to a compact size

(FIND)

App:

Last year The War Cry became available on an app, 99p per issue, or £9.99 for a years subscription.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3CKt9r-VM_U

Image of in app use:

Available at: http://news.salvationarmy.org.uk/sites/default/files/News-Stand.jpg, viewed on: 07/02/2014

Events in Worcester - fund raising for the homeless

Soap Box Derby - Richards Castle

Police and Hostel workers sleep rough and raise £1000 in december

Tesco offer place for shoppers to donate goods, in december

Links - Worcester News 'Homelessness will increase because of council cuts'

Martyn Saunders - Chief Executive of Worcesters Citizens Advice Bureau, and Worcester's housing and Benefits advice centre.  

"For CAB/WHABAC it would entail the loss of contracts which would affect housing related support for substance misusers and offenders across Worcestershire and families at risk of homelessness in Worcester itself. "

Ref: Worcester News (2014) Homelessness will increase because of council cuts says CAB chief executive [Online] Available: http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/10979936.Homelessness_will_increase_because_of_council_cuts_says_CAB_chief_executive/, Viewed: 1/02/2014.

Emmaus charity - homeless support

Emmaus Communities exist around UK - 24 communities currently.

Abbe Piere set it up, moved after homeless woman froze to death.

Now in 37 countries.


Shop:
Sourced from high street shop, new clothing stock.

30 new jobs.
Allows volunteers of 40 people, also has coffee shop.
In Heming Road in Redditch.

Clothes largely sent to Africa and Pakistan.

Furniture selling (second hand) and sold on, furniture upcycling.

Website:
http://www.emmaus.org.uk/news#.Uu4epvnuf0u

News Article:
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/business/10971716.New_home_for_homeless_charity/