Based on the brief three, i went to many Archives in UK such as UAL, UCA and British Library Archive. I am not only learning the rules inside of it and how it work, but also inspired by these places and collections. Countless treasure products from hundred years ago, it is really a inaccessibly chance to get close with pioneer works even touch them.
I found the development of printing technology by John Westwood and the typography of advertising around 1960s at UAL. These works all related with graphic design and alphabet design. With the developing of printing machines, various color could be used on printing books and magazines. In addition, the layout and alphabet design are more valued for the cover page.
However, the collection makes me interested that is Playboy magazine covers from 1953 till now. There are several things get my attention: definitively first one is the women on the cover pages. All of them are hot and sexy without cloth but not too over. Next, the publish date changed with marketing and sales. The last one is influencing from advanced social media.
Playboy enterprise was built in 1953 which involve magazines, clothing, movies and entertainment etc. The position of playboy magazine in the market is entertainment for man as the subheading on the cover page. After some continual arguments from different field in society, the subheading removed from cover in 2017 and changed to ‘entertainment for all’ in 2018.
On the other hand, the developing internet technology seriously effect the marketing sales of paper media. Consumer could look for naked photos online by click bottom rather than buy magazines monthly. According to BBC News (2017), the sales of Playboy magazines got the peak in 1970s and arrived 5,600,000 books monthly but not even close to 700,000 in 2017. At present, the company rely on subordinate beverages and jewelry to earn profits.
Bibliography:
BBC News 中文. (2019). 成人雜誌《花花公子》將重回裸女路線. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/world-38965339 [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
kelly, k. (2019). Playboy magazine circulation has dipped over the past year. [online] Nypost.com. Available at: https://nypost.com/2019/04/16/playboy-magazine-circulation-has-dipped-over-the-past-year/ [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
List of illustration:
Figure1. Chen, L.H. (2019). Letterpress machines. john, w. (2019). printing technology. [magazines] UAL Archive, UAL. London. (primary research)
Figure2. Chen, L.H. (2019). letter words . john, w. (2019). printing technology. [magazines] UAL Archive, UAL. London. (primary research)
Figure3. Chen, L.H. (2019). Alphabet design book cover. John, w. (2019). printing technology. [magazines] UAL Archive, UAL. London. (primary research)
Figure4. E! News. (2019). Playboy’s Most Iconic Magazine Covers From 1953 to 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/883497/playboy-s-most-iconic-magazine-covers-from-1953-to-2016 [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
Figure5. Nast, C. (2019). The Most Iconic ‘Playboy’ Covers of All Time. [online] GQ. Available at: https://www.gq.com/gallery/most-iconic-playboy-covers [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
Chen 