Ludology

Ludology is a quarterly magazine that examines the world of tabletop gaming. It looks at how games are made and why people love them. We include interviews with designers, artists and fanatics, lifestyle pieces, reviews, tips for getting into the hobby and more esoteric treatises for the veteran gamer.

Role: Art Direction, Design and Layout, Curation, Print Production

Tools: InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop

—This is a school project

Process: Two things had to be done; I had to find the visual tone that would strike a balance between the fun, playful attitude of the hobby and a maturing industry to be taken seriously and I had to find content that would speak to my audience. I also didn’t want to alienate by being too stuffy or hip.

For branding, it started with moodboards, personas and a style tile. I kept the structure cohesive by creating a layout system; rules for this is what front of book looks like, main articles look like this, etc. I treated the articles like I was DJing, flowing article topics from one to the next in a way that felt like they would take the reader on a journey. The basic structures staying familiar but each article having its own personality, with a few fun curveballs here and there.

My goal for this project is curiate a periodical about tabletop games and gaming that does service to the high level of quality that games have been brought up to in the last few years. Just as board games are tangible experiences, I want to make an artifact that is engaging, fun and will bring readers back to discover new nuggets of wisdom and insight into the hobby.