New York Times Magazine    motion graphics, information design

For this project, I analyzed the February 3rd, 2008 issue of the New York Times Magazine and created a motion graphics piece that uncovers the systems on the macro and micro levels. The project involved analysis, digramming, and storyboarding prior to producing the animation in AfterEffects.

The instrumental version of “Headlock” by Imogen Heap accompanies the visuals, adding a soft, refreshing tone to convey that this is the New York Times on a relaxing weekend, not a chaotic weekday.

Download and watch nytimesmag.mov.

Storyboard for 1 minute motion graphics piece.

Analysis of the overall structure revealed that the main content (the Cover Stories and Style sections) are placed in the middle of the magazine and uninterrupted by advertisements. Other sections containing shorter articles are placed before and after with advertisements scattered throughout. This structure is the main focus of this motion graphics piece and is consistent in every issue of the New York Times Magazine.

00:00:05. Overview of magazine pages.

A visual overview of the entire magazine gives the viewer an understanding of the whole package and mimics the experience of quickly skimming through the pages before choosing a specific article to read. A colored diagram reveals the overall structure to the viewer. Scans from the magazine are used to highlight articles of interest. All colors used in this motion graphics piece are based on spreads in the magazine.

00:00:21. Articles from the Style section.

In addition to revealing the overall structure to the viewer, I was also interested in revealing the underlying grid on each spread and showcasing some of the main content in greater detail.

00:00:52. A spread from the Style section with grid overlay.

Spring 2008.