Concept Lab: A Circus-core Magazine Editorial

A full breakdown on how to build a relevant magazine editorial pitch

Hi everyone,

This post took me forever to write, and I may have gotten a bit sidetracked along the way. It’s a new edition of Concept Lab, but it also serves as an educational piece on how to start creating editorial work and getting it published as an art director. This one’s a long read and might get cut off in email, so I’d recommend reading it on the app or website. I’m sharing insights I wish I’d had when I started out, walking you through my full thought process: from the initial visual research phase to the final steps of creating a proposal.

Welcome to the second edition of Concept Lab, a series where we dive into the making of a fictional, in-depth art direction concept designed to spark your imagination and inspire your own projects. Last time, we created a brand campaign for Thom Browne that reimagined the American Dream, covering everything from image breakdowns and the brand's history to a campaign film narrative.

This time, we're creating a magazine editorial proposal. I’ll be covering what's essential in a pitch deck, the research needed to ensure your editorial is relevant (from trend analysis to storytelling), and how to pick your team and brief each member (hair, make-up, set design, styling, movement, etc.).

This content is exclusively for paid subscribers, so consider upgrading to a paid subscription to see the full concept and art direction with everything broken down.

Willow Smith by Lea Colombo for Dazed Magazine 2024

In this post, I'll show you an example of trend research and how it can be used as a conceptual starting point for creating a mood board. We'll take this mood board and break it down into multiple elements, finding the right people to bring each aspect to life. I'll share hacks on how to find these professionals and get them to work with you. The editorial we'll be creating today is for Spring/Summer 2025.

Contents

1. Pitching Magazine Editorials as an Art Director

2. When to Pitch and What to Include

   • Timing your pitch for maximum impact.

   • Turning your research into a story.

3. Making Your Magazine Editorial Pitch Relevant to the Zeitgeist

   • Trend research example.

   • Aligning your concept with current cultural moments.

4. Using Trend Research as a Starting Point for a Concept Mood Board

   • Translating trends into visual ideas.

   • Making it relevant to the zeitgeist.

5. Building Out Your Story into Different Elements

   • Breaking down the narrative.

   • Briefing your team.

6. The References

   • Making your editorial art direction a cohesive story.

   • Curating references to support your vision.