https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/riposte-magazine
Danielle Pender (editor of Riposte)
'I think there needs to be a different approach to how we talk to and about women. Throughout Riposte we’ve tried to bring something positive; to focus on bold, fascinating women who are doing incredible things. To celebrate them for what they’re doing and saying, rather than what they look like.' - This is shown by the fact that the front cover is imageless, with the focus being the names of the women featured. Showing their ideas and personalities are far more important than their appearance. This is something that could be adopted for Headstrong. I want to make sure the cover doesn't contain a photograph of one women, as this immediately excludes anyone not of that race or body size. From research it has become apparent that for a feminist magazine, portraying an intersectional message is vital for success within the fourth-wave of feminism.
'We wanted a cover which was bold, something that focused on the women in the magazine and what they had to say, rather than what they looked like.'
'It does feel like a lot of titles on offer are a bit formulaic, they don’t take enough risks. Women aren’t all the same so why should the magazines on offer be?'
'It isn’t written from an exclusively female perspective. Gender-related questions become formulaic, why fall back on them when there are so many other aspects of a person’s life and outlook you can talk about? We’ll ask these questions if it’s relevant – for example we have a feature looking at female producers and why it’s such a male dominated industry – but gender politics is not the main focus throughout the magazine.' This also suggests something interesting, the focus of the magazine is about celebrating women and sharing observations and new ideas - not to discuss gender politics throughout. This is important as it shows that women don't have to be defined by the 'feminist' label, the magazine can also explore themes outside of this. Again, research for the essay has suggested that femininity needs to be approached carefully in feminist work, so by discussing issues outside of gender, it means more women might be attracted to the work.
'[Shaz Madini] took her inspiration from old National Geographic magazines which have these incredible layouts and I think her use of colour throughout the magazine contrasted with paired back layouts lets the content speak for itself.' This again links to one of the reasons modern feminist magazines remain relevant, they communicate political information with clear interpretations (away from the chaotic communication online.) It is incredibly important that this magazines adopt an aesthetic that puts the information at the forefront - just a National Geographics do.
This yellow particularly works well here to create a bold effect, but to also highlight the importance of the content. I hope to experiment with using yellow for the cover of Headstrong, to replicate this striking effect.
Creative Review - Riposte
'In its look and feel, the magazine is more like an arts journal than a women’s weekly – cover stars appear on the back instead of the front, which simply lists the names of those featured in the issue.
“Riposte in its meaning is rebellious and provocative, so we wanted to try something that was a bit challenging,” explains Madani. “More importantly, we wanted the women we feature on our cover to stand out for who they are and what they have to say, rather than what they look like or what they wear. It’s a risk to not have an image on the front cover – we all know images sell – but we hope we can capture people’s imaginations first with words,” she says.'
'While Riposte has a structured content format, Madani was keen for title’s design to remain fluid: there are no chapter or section openers, but paper stock changes and colours to signal a change in content. A 16-page visual monograph has been inserted in between the meetings and features sections to break up the longer articles.'
By using different stocks it creates an incredibly tactile experience which is key for the success of modern magazines. A monograph particularly creates something unusual and adds to the sensory experience. As Pender says, it breaks up the magazines, keeping the readers attention, which is essential to compete with the fast stimulation online.
“I wanted to create something elegant that had reason and meaning. But it was important that these attributes didn’t make the magazine feel too stiff or exclusive…we kept stylistic interventions and typographic tricks to a minimum and instead focused on creating simple spreads that don’t overshadow the content and allow the images and words the space to breath,” she adds.
While Riposte features some beautiful full-bleed photography (and illustrations by Le Gun and HelloVon) none of its subjects have been Photoshopped, in keeping with the title’s mantras of openness and honesty. “There’s minimal if any styling, and settings are personal to the people we photograph – you can take a beautiful photo of an older woman without trying to make her look younger or like someone else,” says Pender.
Riposte’s colour palette mixes yellow, pale blue and coral with plenty of white space, and the colour of each cover will be dictated by the back cover image, explains Madani.'
The importance of using typographic tricks to a minimum cannot be understated, the whole magazine is made entirely so that the content can speak to the reader. Riposte ensures the reader isn't overwhelmed. They don't want to gloss over these women and how real there are and this has is important to convey a feminist message. By editing these women it would undermine their personal connection with the reader, making it less likely that women can feel solidarity with them. This community is the reason why feminist magazines are still relevant, and the design has to optimise this.
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