Domus redesign – dramaturgy and layout

April 2008 - design by onlab
Creative Direction and Concept: Nicolas Bourquin & Sven Ehmann; Graphic Design: Nicolas Bourquin, Linda Hintz, Thibaud Tissot; Graphic Design Assistance: Marie-Louise Greb, Yvonne Schneider; Type Design: Mika Mischler; Coordination Assistance: Renu Gautam
Publisher: Editoriale Domus, Milan, Italy

The pages of the new domus are based, in fact, on an innovative structure of vertical columns of varying length that are utilized differently in each article.

The score is a set of instructions giving the overall picture of a composition. (Wikipedia)

Editorial Score:
Contents are organised according to intertextual and intervisual relations rather than according to a fixed chapter structure. Each issue works with a basic motif and its variations to create a distinct jazz-like rhythm and flow.
A set of columns channels the vastness of reality into the cultivated eccentricity of the magazine. Columns link the roof to the base.
A set of columns with different widths constitutes the basic layout element. A variety of columns are chosen in reference to the dynamic of a story in order to create a suitable or even unsuitable rhythm.

Each article extends horizontally over multiple columns, sometimes even continuing on the following page. "It is a sort of continuous sheet and the content of domus becomes a flow of ideas that runs across all the pages," says Albanese. "In each issue, we build the score of a composition of content in order to create a harmonic whole."

The structure and size of the content is thus different on each page and in each issue. The result is a variability that determines the "rhythm" of the issue. A rhythm that could be compared to jazz variation.

The content has remained divided into three main areas: the streams - news briefs found in the first pages of the magazine; the highlights - those parts of the text highlighted by underscoring, boxes, etc.; and the main stories - the actual articles that form the issue content.

opposite to the first page of the streams section (news), the contributors page buildss the first column

the colour of the columns of the streams section is changing in every issue

because of the strong column and colour system, the advertising is clearly separated from te content

the first picture of the first story of the magazine is starting underneath the last columns of the streams section.

to give a better space and pertinance to the plans and designs, a shorter page is placed within the story.

it creates a break as well as a suspenseful rythme

this element is also used for the quotes

In short, it is an aspiration to build a system whereby structure can switch to flow. In this way the binder holding things together is primarily a rhythm. It is rather like what happens in music, where it is the score that incorporates the notes of each instrument in an orchestra or ensemble, marking out the pace for them all.

The new design of domus also assigns new importance to the images: it encourages photographers to utilize different approaches, and at the same time provides room for other forms of architectural documentation/representation, such as illustration.

As regards the graphics, the most striking aspect of the new Domus is its aspiration to transform the page frame - the instrument on which, in publishing, the composition of a page layout hinges - into something more fluid and less rigid, freer and more open.