WIRED | FIELD NOTES | SPACE

FORMAT

Wired is a monthly tech magazine based in San Francisco, California. Wired is a standard size magazine with dimensions of  8″  by 10 7/8″. I was unable to find any information on the average page count but the January 2020 edition has 100 pages, including the cover, and is broken into the following sections: “Electric Word,” “Mind Grenades,” “Gadget Lab,” “Post,” “Features,” and “Six Word Sci-Fi.” This edition of the magazine contains 4 feature articles, each ranging from about 10-16 pages.

Wired is a heavily text-based magazine. While there are a number of great images, the magazine places a strong emphasis on its interesting journalistic content. The standard size of the magazine makes its abundant written content easy to read, whereas a magazine with less text might not be as large. Being a monthly magazine also proves to be appropriate for Wired, as the constant influx of new technology, and their accompanying controversies, means there is rarely a lack of content for Wired to cover.

GRID

Wired uses 0.5 inch margins on the inside and outside of the pages and 0.75 inch margins on the top and bottom of pages. Occasionally, the margins will increase or decrease with photo-based pages or spreads. The design of these margins allows for a significant amount of text to occupy each page. Additionally, these margins help to create a frame wherein the main content of every page lies, with only supplemental elements like section names or shapes occupying the space in these margins.

The text is often split into three equal width columns, or two columns with one being wider than the other. The latter format is usually used when there is an additional element, like a pull quote or image, added into the flow of the text. I believe this use of spacing is successful because matching the width of the text column to the additional element allows our eyes to easy move from one onto the other.

The gutters in Wired are usually the size of  two inside margins, or around 1 inch. This design will occasionally deviate to accommodate the use of photos or different text organizing.

LAYOUT AND WHITE SPACE

Each section of Wired is visually distinct in its layout.  On one end of the spectrum you have the “Gadget Lab” section, which  uses white margins to enclose colorful photos. This design brings the reader’s eyes directly into the main content of the article. Additionally, the use of negative space to create text boxes that unify the photo with the margins.

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The “Features” section however is far more text based. White space usually feels appropriate for separating different parts of the story, or dividing pull quotes and images from the main story. With so much text on each page, the spacing and layout allow us to easily split it into manageable parts.

However, sometimes elements are placed too close to the edge of a page and feel awkward. In the following two examples, the white space that is usually vacant becomes occupied and makes the text feel abrupt or cluttered.

I believe Wired does a great job of using space to make its text-heavy articles easier to digest. The photo placement always compliments the flow of the story and gives the reader a break from the many lines of text.