Editorial design

Member lesson

Commissioning photography and illustration

Lesson 7 of 10 in Editorial design.

Lesson

Commissioning is what gives a publication pictures nobody else has, and it is the largest difference between a magazine with a voice and a well-designed aggregation of stock. The brief is the whole craft: say what the image has to achieve and leave how to the person you hired.

An ink drawing of an art director and an illustrator at a cafe table with a one-page brief and an open sketchbook of rough ideas, the art director pointing at one.
A short brief and a sketchbook full of the illustrator's own ideas.
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Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Paying somebody to make something for this piece. The opposite of a stock search.”

    • Column grid
    • Editorial voice
    • Commission
    • Reading mode
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “What the picture has to do, as distinct from what it should show.”

    • Cover line
    • Brief
    • Masthead
    • Usage
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “What is paid when commissioned work is not used. Standard practice, frequently omitted.”

    • Drop cap
    • Standfirst
    • Opener
    • Kill fee

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