(22)Vintage Cars Mag: a digital zine with a keen eye on classic shapes

Vintage Cars Mag started as a fanzine, but it continues to evolve into a full-fledged digital product.

The main goal was to find a connection between vintage forms and design as a whole, paying tribute to the lettering of the past and simply creating something aesthetically pleasing.

Exploration

The research started with selecting photo content. It was an easy task because I already had a collection of favorite cars on Pinterest.

Interestingly, most of the photos showed cars at an angle, which fit perfectly with my concept of using a grid of diagonal lines that I developed based on the van de Graaf canon.

Favorite cars from Pinterest.

Classic shapes that inspire.

Emblem that serves as the inspiration for the VCM logo.

Elements

At the stage of developing graphic elements, I wanted to remain as open as possible to new solutions. I didn't try to stick to a specific font or color, because each car has its own shape and character - that's what I wanted to express.

However, there were a couple of constant principles: big type, asymmetrical layout, and desaturated colors.

Easy colour selection with a golden ratio.

The colour scheme inherits the car colours.

Layout

My task was to make the static design breathe with dynamism. To achieve this, I used asymmetry and tried not to rely on a repeating layout system.

The consistent grid with an 8px module allowed me to maintain unity while remaining free to choose solutions.

Layout design for 300 SL.

Porsche 912. Asymmetrical layout with a big type and desaturated colors.

The very first draft of the digital zine with a possible logo.

Result

At this stage, I have developed several experimental layouts that I want to unify and present as a full-fledged digital zine.